," Lord, whither goest thou? To which the Saviour
replied, turning upon Peter the old look of mournful pity when he
denied Him in the High Priest's palace at Jerusalem, "Venio Roman
iterum crucifigi," I go to Rome to be crucified a second time--and
then disappeared. Peter regarding this vision as an indication of his
Lord's mind, that he ought not to separate himself from the fortunes
of his fellow-Christians, immediately turned back to the city, and met
with unflinching courage the martyr's death on the yellow sands of
Montorio; being crucified with his head downwards, for he said he was
not worthy to die in the same way as his Master. This legend has been
made the subject of artistic treatment by Michael Angelo, whose famous
statue of our Lord as He appeared in the incident to St. Peter is in
the church of Santa Maria sopra Minerva, and was for many years a
favourite object of worship, until superseded by the predominant
worship of Mary. A cast of this statue stands on the floor in front of
the altar in the church of Domine quo Vadis. It represents our Lord in
the character of a pilgrim, with a long cross in His hand, and an
eager onward look in His face and attitude. It is very simple and
impressive, and tells the story very effectually. Besides this plaster
statue of the Saviour, a circular stone is placed about the centre of
the building, surrounded by a low wooden railing, containing the
prints of two feet side by side, impressed upon its surface, as if a
person had stopped short on a journey. These are said to be the
miraculous prints of the Saviour's feet on the pavement of the road
when He appeared to Peter; but like the copy of Michael Angelo's
statue, this slab is a facsimile, the original stone being preserved
among the relics of the neighbouring basilica of St. Sebastian.
Unwilling as one is to disturb a legend so beautiful, and with so
touching a moral, there can be no doubt that it was an after-thought
to account for the footprints; for the material on which they are
impressed being white marble, proves conclusively that the slab could
never have formed part of the pavement of the Appian Way, which it is
well known was composed of an unusually hard lava, found in a quarry
near the tomb of Caecilia Metella; and the distinct marks of the chisel
which the impressions bear--for I examined the original footprints
very carefully some years ago--indicate a very earthly origin indeed.
The traditional relic in all