DOI chapter:
Introduction
DOI Page / Citation link:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.62036#0012
vi
INTRODUCTION.
We may be inclined to wonder at the uniformity of the various illustrations of
one subject; but it should be remembered that, during the periods from which they
are derived, the different nations of Europe were influenced by the same forms of belief,
and adhered to the same traditions; therefore national distinctions found no place in
the works of Art, which expressed the faith of those nations.
It cannot be otherwise than interesting to contemplate the outward signs of a
tendency which has shown itself in the people of all ages, and of all lands; viz., to
express the invisible objects of their belief by visible signs. And though Christian
Symbolism cannot claim for itself originality, yet the fact of our being able to trace
this tendency to a still earlier period of the world’s history, and to its connection with
the most ancient people, tends to increase, rather than to diminish, its claim upon our
attention and study.
The desire of expressing his conceptions, naturally inherent in man, was restrained
in the early Christians by two causes; the hatred of Pagan idolatry, or worship of
images, and the prohibitions of the Jewish religion against every outward repre-
sentation of things divine or human : but notwithstanding such discouragements, this
desire asserted itself, even in the first ages of Christianity, in the imperfect, but
expressive system of Symbols, or signs of the real things signified.
From the Catacombs of Rome, where the early Christians were accustomed to
assemble for prayer, and to bury their dead in secret, through fear of the enemies of
their religion, we derive our chief knowledge of the first efforts of Christian Art, which
consist of Bas-reliefs on Sarcophagi, Carvings on Grave-stones, and Paintings on the
walls and ceilings. There, with the imperfect means at their command, they expressed
the thoughts and facts of their religion in Symbols, which remind us of the mysterious
hieroglyphic language found on more ancient monuments, and the meaning of which
was hidden from their persecutors. But a further and wider expression of ideas was
permitted even there, though it still fell far short of what could be called a direct
representation of a sacred subject; for instance, in the images of “ the Good Shepherd”
and “ Orpheus,” Christ appears in a human form indeed; but one strictly symbolical
of His divine character and mission, the first derived directly from the words of
INTRODUCTION.
We may be inclined to wonder at the uniformity of the various illustrations of
one subject; but it should be remembered that, during the periods from which they
are derived, the different nations of Europe were influenced by the same forms of belief,
and adhered to the same traditions; therefore national distinctions found no place in
the works of Art, which expressed the faith of those nations.
It cannot be otherwise than interesting to contemplate the outward signs of a
tendency which has shown itself in the people of all ages, and of all lands; viz., to
express the invisible objects of their belief by visible signs. And though Christian
Symbolism cannot claim for itself originality, yet the fact of our being able to trace
this tendency to a still earlier period of the world’s history, and to its connection with
the most ancient people, tends to increase, rather than to diminish, its claim upon our
attention and study.
The desire of expressing his conceptions, naturally inherent in man, was restrained
in the early Christians by two causes; the hatred of Pagan idolatry, or worship of
images, and the prohibitions of the Jewish religion against every outward repre-
sentation of things divine or human : but notwithstanding such discouragements, this
desire asserted itself, even in the first ages of Christianity, in the imperfect, but
expressive system of Symbols, or signs of the real things signified.
From the Catacombs of Rome, where the early Christians were accustomed to
assemble for prayer, and to bury their dead in secret, through fear of the enemies of
their religion, we derive our chief knowledge of the first efforts of Christian Art, which
consist of Bas-reliefs on Sarcophagi, Carvings on Grave-stones, and Paintings on the
walls and ceilings. There, with the imperfect means at their command, they expressed
the thoughts and facts of their religion in Symbols, which remind us of the mysterious
hieroglyphic language found on more ancient monuments, and the meaning of which
was hidden from their persecutors. But a further and wider expression of ideas was
permitted even there, though it still fell far short of what could be called a direct
representation of a sacred subject; for instance, in the images of “ the Good Shepherd”
and “ Orpheus,” Christ appears in a human form indeed; but one strictly symbolical
of His divine character and mission, the first derived directly from the words of