Walks in Rome. Augustus J. C. HareЧитать онлайн книгу.
writing to Philemon, Paul chooses to speak of himself as the captive of Jesus Christ. Yet he went whither he would, and was free to receive those who came to him. It is interesting to remember amid these solemn vaults, the different events of St. Paul's apostolate, during the two years that he lived here. It was here that he converted Onesimus, that he received the presents of the Philippians, brought by Epaphroditus; it was hence that he wrote to Philemon, to Titus, to the inhabitants of Philippi and of Colosse; it was here that he preached devotion to the cross with that glowing eagerness, with that startling eloquence, which gained fresh power from contest and which inspiration rendered sublime.
"Peter addressed himself to the Circumcised; Paul to the Gentiles,[13]—to their silence that he might confound it, to their reason that he might humble it. Had he not already converted the proconsul Sergius Paulus and Dionysius the Areopagite? At Rome his word is equally powerful, and among the courtiers of Nero, perhaps even amongst his relations, are those who yield to the power of God, who reveals himself in each of the teachings of his servant.[14] Around the Apostle his eager disciples group themselves—Onesiphorus of Ephesus, who was not ashamed of his chain;[15] Epaphras of Colosse, who was captive with him, concaptivus meus;[16] Timothy, who was one with his master in a holy union of every thought, and who was attached to him like a son, sicut patri filius;[17] Hermas, Aristarchus, Marcus, Demas—and Luke the physician, the faithful companion of the Apostle, his well-beloved disciple—'Lucas medicus carissimus.'"—From Gournerie, Rome Chrétienne.
"I honour Rome for this reason; for though I could celebrate her praises on many other accounts—for her greatness, for her beauty, for her power, for her wealth, and for her warlike exploits—yet, passing over all these things, I glorify her on this account, that Paul in his lifetime wrote to the Romans, and loved them, and was present with and conversed with them, and ended his life amongst them. Wherefore the city is on this account renowned more than on all others—on this account I admire her, not on account of her gold, her columns, or her other splendid decorations."—St. John Chrysostom, Homily on the Ep. to the Romans.
"The Roman Jews expressed a wish to hear from St. Paul himself a statement of his religious sentiments, adding that the Christian sect was everywhere spoken against. … A day was fixed for the meeting at his private lodging.
"The Jews came in great numbers at the appointed time. Then followed an impressive scene, like that at Troas (Acts xxi.)—the Apostle pleading long and earnestly—bearing testimony concerning the kingdom of God—and endeavouring to persuade them by arguments drawn from their own Scriptures—'from morning till evening.' The result was a division among the auditors—'not peace, but a sword,'—the division which has resulted ever since, when the Truth of God has encountered, side by side, earnest conviction with worldly indifference, honest investigation with bigoted prejudice, trustful faith with the pride of scepticism. After a long and stormy discussion, the unbelieving portion departed; but not until St. Paul had warned them, in one last address, that they were bringing upon themselves that awful doom of judicial blindness, which was denounced in their own Scriptures against obstinate unbelievers; that the salvation which they rejected would be withdrawn from them, and the inheritance they renounced would be given to the Gentiles. The sentence with which he gave emphasis to this solemn warning was that passage in Isaiah, which recurring thus with solemn force at the very close of the Apostolic history, seems to bring very strikingly together the Old Dispensation and the New, and to connect the ministry of Our Lord with that of His Apostles:—'Go unto this people and say: Hearing ye shall hear and shall not understand, and seeing ye shall see and shall not perceive: for the heart of this people is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed; lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.'
" … During the long delay of his trial St. Paul was not reduced, as he had been at Cæsarea, to a forced inactivity. On the contrary, he was permitted the freest intercourse with his friends, and was allowed to reside in a house of sufficient size to accommodate the congregation which flocked together to listen to his teaching. The freest scope was given to his labours, consistent with the military custody under which he was placed. We are told, in language peculiarly emphatic, that his preaching was subjected to no restraint whatever. And that which seemed at first to impede, must really have deepened the impression of his eloquence; for who could see without emotion that venerable form subjected by iron links to the coarse control of the soldier who stood beside him? how often must the tears of the assembly have been called forth by the upraising of that fettered hand, and the clanking of the chain which checked its energetic action.
"We shall see hereafter that these labours of the imprisoned Confessor were not fruitless; in his own words, he 'begot many children in his chains.' Meanwhile, he had a wider sphere of action than even the metropolis of the world. Not only 'the crowd which pressed upon him daily,' but also 'the care of all the churches' demanded his constant vigilance and exertion. … To enable him to maintain this superintendence, he manifestly needed many faithful messengers; men who (as he says of one of them) 'rendered him profitable service'; and by some of whom he seems to have been constantly accompanied, wheresoever he went. Accordingly we find him, during this Roman imprisonment, surrounded by many of his oldest and most valued attendants. Luke, his fellow-traveller, remained with him during his bondage; Timotheus, his beloved son in the faith, ministered to him at Rome, as he had done in Asia, in Macedonia, and in Achaia. Tychicus, who had formerly borne him company from Corinth to Ephesus, is now at hand to carry his letters to the shores which they had visited together. But there are two names amongst his Roman companions which excite a peculiar interest, though from opposite reasons—the names of Demas and of Mark. The latter, when last we heard of him, was the unhappy cause of the separation of Barnabas and Paul. He was rejected by Paul, as unworthy to attend him, because he had previously abandoned the work of the Gospel out of timidity or indolence. It is delightful to find him now ministering obediently to the very Apostle who had then repudiated his services; still more to know that he persevered in this fidelity even to the end, and was sent for by St. Paul to cheer his dying hours. Demas, on the other hand, is now a faithful 'fellow-labourer' of the Apostle but in a few years we shall find that he had 'forsaken' him, having 'loved this present world.'
"Amongst the rest of St. Paul's companions at this time, there were two whom he distinguishes by the honourable title of his 'fellow-prisoners.' One of these is Aristarchus, the other Epaphras. With regard to the former, we know that he was a Macedonian of Thessalonica, one of 'Paul's companions in travel,' whose life was endangered by the mob at Ephesus, and who embarked with St. Paul at Cæsarea when he set sail for Rome. The other, Epaphras, was a Colossian, who must not be identified with the Philippian Epaphroditus, another of St. Paul's fellow-labourers during this time. It is not easy to say in what exact sense these two disciples were peculiarly fellow-prisoners of St. Paul. Perhaps it only implies that they dwelt in his house, which was also his prison.
"But of all the disciples now ministering to St. Paul at Rome, none has a greater interest than the fugitive Asiatic slave Onesimus. He belonged to a Christian named Philemon, a member of the Colossian Church. But he had robbed his master, and fled from Colosse, and at last found his way to Rome. Here he was converted to the faith of Christ, and had confessed to St. Paul his sins against his master."—Conybeare and Howson, Life of St. Paul.
A fountain in the crypt is shown, as having miraculously sprung up in answer to the prayers of St. Paul, that he might have wherewithal to baptize his disciples. At the end of the crypt are some large blocks of peperino, said to be remains of the arch erected by the senate in honour of the Emperor Gordian III., and destroyed by Innocent VIII.
Far along the right side of the Corso now extends the façade of the immense Palazzo Doria, built by Valvasori (the front towards the Collegio Romano being by Pietro da Cortona, and that towards the Piazza Venezia by Amati). Entering the courtyard, one must turn left to reach the Picture Gallery (which is open on Tuesdays and Fridays, from ten till two)—a vast collection, which contains some grand portraits and a few other fine paintings.
The 1st Room entered is a great hall—to which pictures are removed for copying. It contains four fine sarcophagi, with reliefs of the Hunt of Meleager, the Story of Marsyas, Endymion and Diana, and a