sually called in the
catacombs an Orante. This explanation is of course conjectural only,
but seems not improbable. The painting is so much damaged that it is
difficult to tell to what period it belongs. A part of this great
catacomb is as early as the second century. In this passage _stravit_
may mean covering the walls with slabs of porphyry also, as well as
the floor. It is evident that in several instances the word _platonia_
is applied by Anastasius to a chapel lined with marble plates for
inscriptions, as at S. Sebastian's.

HEAD OF CHRIST IN AN AUREOLE.--MARY, MOTHER OF
CHRIST, AND MARY MAGDALENE.--ST. MARK,
ST. PAUL AND ST. PETER.

This cemetery or catacomb is on the western side of the Tiber, about
half a mile beyond the Porta Portuensis, on the road to Porto, but on
the hill above, and on a higher level than the road in what is now a
vineyard. The soil in which this catacomb is made is quite different
from the others; instead of the granular tufa, or volcanic sand, which
is the soil generally used for them near the Via Appia and the Via
Ardeatina, this is an alluvial soil formed by the action of water on
the bank of the Tiber. Whether from this cause, or from some others
that have not been explained, the paintings in this catacomb are far
more perfect than those in any other; they are the most celebrated and
the most popular, and those that have been more often engraved and
published than any others.

[Illustration: CHAMBER OF A CATACOMB. (_With head of Christ,
etc., of the first century._)]

The picture of the head of Christ is a very fine one, in an aureole or
circular nimbus, with the cross on it, called also a cruciform nimbus.
This head has been many times engraved and published, and it is
amusing to compare those commonly sold in the shops of Rome with the
original as shown in the photograph. These will illustrate the manner
in which the clever modern artists have _improved upon_ the originals;
it is difficult to understand that they are intended for the same
picture.

The figures of the three saints, St. Paul, St. Peter, and St. Mark,
are painted on the ceiling, while Mary, the Mother of Christ, and Mary
Magdalene are over and on the left side of the head of Christ.

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TRUTH OF THE BIBLE.

It may seem presumptuous for us to undertake to write upon this
subject. "It is to paint the sun with charcoal," for the most
scholastic divi