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e many,
' v h 0 •'> ' v *io hold the contrary, amongst whom is Mr. Hope,an^ 8 ’ aS exaiu ples of such adaptation, the Sessorian basi-"'ei'e *. *kat in the palace of the.Lateran , which he saysilI '8Uiif IVeri to the church by Constantine . The strongesthtti 0l eil p on this side, is, we think, the triumphant decla-re,! ^l ^usonius, that the ancient halls of justice were
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, "'••Jwutuoj mat tiio aiivjiciit nano vt juoutu »»uc
Oew^!^ 1 Christian worshippers ; the above - mentioned“ \y Cl nlludes to this passage in the following words:—^asiljp* lave already seen that no one of the Christian
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tctif. 8t ^ ora e, resulted from any adaptation of the civil
^1L t,, l ? s °f heathenism to religious purposes. The columns«r ’ *° ns*, j,. __i..
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e ‘ lca preserved by its application to Christian worship.5ii Sn ri i ‘Nation is given in the ancient capital to the orator’s^'icl, fif,’ Uniting, in the presence of Gratian , at the crowds^e al| cipnt halls of justice, then, as he boasts,f'*y i„ with hymn and praise ; yet we can point out one11 tf Utl, 1 kis assertions are not a rhetorical phrase, buttofct-r] '
Sa lute hetor
Co we seek for the verification of the words of the“ Basilica , olim negolus plena, nunc votis pro tua
S'd, aS(it ptis ?’’ Here we find that which at Rome weXp, e - * u vain. Here alone can we behold the oneHie|, v ° f a basilica consecrated as a Christian church, in'»g their U entei > an< l see the Corinthian capitals just display-'s f<id Braceful foliage, mutilated and yet distinct—throughiNtiief 6 ' Va H which encircles them—whilst the shaft ofl(i Port, j ^placed and broken, lies in gigantic bulk beforeHi ch a °f the edifice. This indeed is the very city in!l,ll l tlt e Poet-rhetor was speaking—for he is Ausonius—Treves. The ancient capital of the Romanj U, 'e.s j \ V )^ 0U< -1 tbe Alps , furnished the model for the struc-11 do l0 | * ar 'not'e than those of Rome herself, assistedt| ( ,, ( Ve °Pnient of Christian architecture.”
'kfiL i' 101 ^'Ink this a satisfactory method of getting overof nU; v » Ausonius seems to speak of such facts as well
a C ari S f, rsall y known ; he is describing the general effectand glorying in its success; his are sweeping' Storig.. ’, llot applicable to merely individual instances, butt j U,lv ert e( j CU3t oin. Besides, if the Christians at Trevest(I e Sa ttie K as ‘l‘ cas Into churches, why should they not do\ Vi4s e Sew bere ? and especially in the metropolis, where" l ; , l of „i a ^ ar ger proportion of such buildings, and greater
!'v>ifc hes -.
a ymg this, we do not mean to deny that there
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tj repugnance amongst the early Christians to
t l|at had been connected with paganism, andOi^ity dp P lica tion of the basilica was rather a matter of4 Hd* S tiunit, n °koice. When Constantine legalizedHo |j. - ’ die Christians numbered somewhat considerably,Increased rapidly upon that event; many whoOlsten avoure d that religion, but were fearful of theces of an avowal, now openly professing it.Mi er ' Vere needed more than ever, and they had not
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\ te c li (1| .^ v ‘ t b to erect them ; what could be done ? where
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6 th e ; M ‘ es to be found, while new ones were building ?a p an y existing buildings that could be adapted totfi * u se s k°- se ■ The pagan temples were not fitted forbut e | Ven there been no repugnance to their(i(,j ^ tb e j r t ‘ ,e basilicas would answer the purpose well, as\V| t'ou s j c ° ns truction was concerned, nor were there equal■ jj'tf n 3 0( . p °,.*:bem on the score of their previous employment.I,..... 11 kely than that they should be used at least for
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cou, ne ' v structures could be erected ?tuples o at cr-argu me nt arising from the absence of anydttfeO. r su ch adaptation of the civil basilica, may her Without much difficulty: they were destroyed,4 o
to afford materials for new structures on other sites. Theprincipal cause of their destruction or removal, is to besought in the veneration of the Christians for the gravesof the martyrs. On this subject, Mr. Knight says—
“From the custom which bad originated in the catacombs—from the habit which the primitive Christians had acquiredof visiting the graves of the martyrs ; it became a matter of jnecessity to associate the church with the tomb, and to pro-vide a place of worship below ground, as well as above.This, in several instances, was accomplished at Rome by ; ;placing the church immediately above a part of the cata- : jcombs, as at San Lorenzo and Santa Agnese ; or, as at St.Peter’s, by placing the altar immediately above the spot to ,which the mortal remains of the apostles had been removed. j ;
“ The practice of associating the churches with the graves ;of martyrs, was the cause of their being frequently placed \in situations which had little reference to public convenience ; j inamely, without the walls of the cities to which they be- I !longed ; for, as executions usually took place without the j Iwalls, and as the martyrs were often buried, or supposed to ! jhave been buried, where they were put to death, the wish j ■of that age could not be accomplished without frequentlyplacing the churches in remote and insulated situations.
Thus it was that Constantine placed the church of St. Peter I jadjacent to the circus of Nero, though the city of Rome was, ! Iat that time, at some distance from the Vatican Hill . Theo- | jdosius, for similar reasons, placed the church of St. Paul at |an equal distance from the city on the opposite side. Atthat time, a liability, which afterwards exposed insulated !churches and their frequenters to much peril, did not exist. : jAt that time, the interior of the empire was still inviolate, : jand those who built the churches never imagined that the j jday might come, when their descendants could not go out of ! !the walls without being liable to attacks, and when thechurches themselves would be exposed to insult and injur}-.Little did Constantine imagine, that men of a neuter religionthan his own would ever reach and deface the cathedralwhich he had planted within sight of the metropolis of theworld.”
The existence of such a feeling amongst the early Chris-tians , coupled with the circumstance of the tombs of martyrsbeing usually without the walls, and the prevalent custom ofemploying the materials of old buildings for the constructionof new, will account, as we think, satisfactorily for the want jof more tangible evidence of the conversion of the heathenbasilica to Christian uses. j
While we contend thus far, we do not wish to ally our-selves with those who maintain, that the arrangement ofchurches was derived from that of the civil basilica : thereis no doubt a similarity of distribution and a certain analogybetween the purposes which each division in either buildingserved; still, there are strong grounds for believing that 1
such disposition in the churches arose from the naturalrequirements of the religion, rather than from any extra-neous influence. The description of the several orders ofpenitents, and of their positions in the church, as abovegiven, is sufficient proof of such being the case, for that was |written during times of persecution, before Constantine hadascended the throne; the division into parts, therefore,was determined long ere any basilicas were given up forChristian worship. It is not improbable, however, that theform of later churches was derived from that of the basilica; ifor it must needs be, that either some existing form was jcopied, or an entirely new idea originated. That the latter 1was the case is very improbable, from the nature of things,almost all novelties having emanated, in some degree or other, !from tilings previously existing: but, besides this, such an j