Professor Bryce finds two paintings in which the theory of the mediaeval empire is unmistakeably set forth; one of them in Rome, the other in Florence, (a fresco in the chapter-house of S. M. Novella).

"The first of these is the famous mosaic of the Lateran triclinium, constructed by Pope Leo III., about A.D. 800, and an exact copy of which, made by the order of Sixtus V., may still be seen over against the facade of St. John Lateran. Originally meant to adorn the state banqueting-hall of the popes, it is now placed in the open air, in the finest situation in Rome, looking from the brow of a hill across the green ridges of the Campagna to the olive groves of Tivoli and the glistering crags and snow-capped summits of the Umbrian and Sabine Apennine. It represents in the centre Christ surrounded by the apostles, whom He is sending forth to preach the gospel; one hand is extended to bless, the other holds a book with the words 'Pax vobis.' Below and to the right Christ is depicted again, and this time sitting: on His right hand kneels Pope Sylvester, on His left the Emperor Constantine; to the one He gives the keys of heaven and hell, to the other a banner surmounted by a cross. In the group on the opposite, that is, on the left side of the arch, we see the Apostle Peter seated, before whom in like manner kneel Pope Leo III. and Charles the Emperor; the latter wearing, like Constantine, his crown. Peter, himself grasping the keys, gives to Leo the pallium of an archbishop, to Charles the banner of the Christian army. The inscription is 'Beatus Petrus dona vitam Leoni P. Pet victoriam Carulo regi dona;' while round the arch is written, 'Gloria in excelsis Deo, et in terra pax omnibus bonae voluntatis.'

"The order and nature of the ideas here symbolized is sufficiently clear. First comes the revelation of the gospel, and the divine commission to gather all men into its fold. Next, the institution, at the memorable era of Constantine's conversion, of the two powers by which the Christian people is to be respectively taught and governed. Thirdly, we are shown the permanent Vicar of God, the apostle who keeps the keys of heaven and hell, re-establishing these same powers on a new and firmer basis. The badge of ecclesiastical supremacy he gives to Leo as the spiritual head of the faithful on earth, the banner of the Church militant to Charles, who is to maintain her cause against heretics and infidels."--_J. Bryce_, _Holy Roman Empire_, ch. vii. pp. 117, 118, 3rd ed., 1871.

In the building behind the Triclinium, attached to a convent of Passionist monks, and erected by Fontana for Sixtus V., is preserved _the Santa Scala_. This famous staircase, supposed to be that of the house of Pilate, ascended and descended by our Saviour, is said to have been brought from Jerusalem by Helena, mother of Constantine the Great, and has been regarded with especial reverence by the Roman Church for 1500 years. In 897 it was injured and partially thrown down by an earthquake, but was re-erected in the old Lateran palace, whence it was removed to its present site on the demolition of that venerable building. Clement XII. caused the steps to be covered by a wooden casing, which has since been repeatedly worn out by the knees of ascending pilgrims. Apertures are left, through which the marble steps can be seen; two of them are said to be stained with the blood of the Saviour!

At the foot of the stairs, within the atrium, are fine sculptures of _Giacometti_, representing the "Ecce Homo,"--and the "Kiss of Judas,"

purchased and placed here by Pius IX.

Between these statues the pilgrims kneel to commence the ascent of the Santa Scala. The effect of the staircase (especially on Fridays in Lent, and most of all on Good Friday), with the figures ascending on their knees in the dim light, and the dark vaulted ceiling covered with faded frescoes, is exceedingly picturesque.

"Reason may condemn, but feeling cannot resist the claim to reverential sympathy in the spectacle daily presented by the Santa Scala. Numerous indulgences have been granted by different popes to those who ascend it with prayer at each step. Whilst kneeling upon these stairs public penance used to be performed in the days of the Church's more rigorous discipline; as the saintly matron Fabiola there appeared a penitent before the public gaze, in sackcloth and ashes, A.D. 390.... There is no day on which worshippers may not be seen slowly ascending those stairs; but it is during Holy Week the concourse is at its height; and on Good Friday I have seen this structure completely covered by the multitude, like a swarm of bees settling on flowers!"--_Hemans' Ancient Sacred Art._

"Brother Martin Luther went to accomplish the ascent of the Santa Scala--the Holy Staircase--which once, they say, formed part of Pilate's house. He slowly mounted step after step of the hard stone, worn into hollows by the knees of penitents and pilgrims. An indulgence for a thousand years--indulgence from penance--is attached to this act of devotion. Patiently he crept half-way up the staircase, when he suddenly stood erect, lifted his face heavenward, and, in another moment, turned and walked slowly down again.

"He said that, as he was toiling up, a voice as if from heaven, seemed to whisper to him the old, well-known words, which had been his battle-cry in so many a victorious combat,--'The just shall live by faith.'

"He seemed awakened, as if from a nightmare, and restored to himself. He dared not creep up another step; but, rising from his knees, he stood upright, like a man suddenly loosed from bonds and fetters, and with the firm step of a freeman, he descended the staircase, and walked from the place."--_Schonberg-Cotta Chronicles._

"Did the feet of the Saviour actually tread these steps? Are these reliques really portions of his cross, crown of thorns, &c., or is all this fictitious? To me it is all one.

"'He is not here, he is risen!' said the angel at the tomb. The worship of the bodily covering which the spirit has cast off belongs to the soul still in the larva condition; and the ascending of the Scala Santa on the knees is too convenient a mode for obtaining the forgiveness of sins, and at the same time a hindrance upon the only true way."--_Frederika Bremer._

Ascending one of the lateral staircases--no _foot_ must touch the Santa Scala--we reach the outside of the _Sancta Sanctorum_, a chapel held so intensely sacred that none but the pope can officiate at its altar, and that it is _never_ open to others, except on the morning before Palm Sunday, when the canons of the Lateran come hither to worship, in solemn procession, with torches and a veiled crucifix, and, even then, none but the clergy are allowed to pass its threshold. The origin of the sanctuary is lost in antiquity, but it was the private chapel of the mediaeval popes in the old palace, and is known to have existed already, dedicated to St. Laurence, in the time of Pelagius I. (578--590), who deposited here some relics of St. Andrew and St. Luke. It was restored by Honorius III. in 1216, and almost rebuilt by Nicholas III. in 1277.

It is permitted to gaze through a grating upon the picturesque glories of the interior, which are chiefly of the thirteenth century. The altar is in a recess, supported by two porphyry columns. Above it a beautiful silver tabernacle, presented by Innocent III. (1198-1216), to contain the great relic, which invests the chapel with its peculiar sanctity,--a portrait of our Saviour (placed here by Stephen III. in 752), held by the Roman Church as authentic,--to have been begun by St. Luke and finished by an angel, whence the name by which it is known, "Acheirotopeton," or, the "picture made without hands."

"The different theories as to the acheirotopeton picture, and the manner in which it reached this city, are stated with navete by Maroni--_i.e._, that the apostles and the Madonna, meeting after the ascension, resolved to order a portrait of the Crucified, for satisfying the desire of the faithful, and commissioned St. Luke to execute the task; that after three days' prayer and fasting, such a portrait was drawn in outline by that artist, but, before he had begun to colour, the tints were found to have been filled in by invisible hands; that this picture was brought from Jerusalem to Rome, either by St. Peter, or by Titus (together with the sacred spoils of the temple); or else expedited hither in a miraculous voyage of only twenty-four hours by S. Germanus, patriarch of Constantinople, who desired thus to save such a treasure from the outrages of the Iconoclasts; and that, about A.D. 726, Pope Gregory II., apprised of its arrival at the mouth of the Tiber by revelation, proceeded to carry it thence, with due escort, to Rome; since which advent it has remained in the Sancta Sanctorum."--_Hemans' Mediaeval Christian Art._

Above the altar is, in gilt letters, the inscription, "non est in tota sanctior urbe locus." Higher up, under gothic arches, and between twisted columns, are pictures of sainted popes and martyrs, but these have been so much retouched as to have lost their interest. The gratings here are those of the relic chamber, which contains the reputed sandals of Our Saviour, fragments of the true cross, &c. On the ceiling is a grand mosaic,--a head of Our Saviour within a nimbus, sustained by six-winged seraphim--ascribed to the eighth century. The sill in front of the screen is covered with money, thrown in as offerings by the pilgrims.

The chapel was once much larger. Its architect was probably Deodatus Cosmati. An inscription near the door tells us, "Magister Cosmatus fecit hoc opus."

Here, in the time when the Lateran palace was inhabited, the feet of twelve sub-deacons were annually washed by the pope on Holy Thursday. On the Feast of the Assumption the sacred picture used to be borne in triumph through the city, halting in the Forum, where the feet of the pope were washed in perfumed waters on the steps of Sta. Maria Nuova, and the "Kyrie Eleison" was chaunted a hundred times. This custom was abolished by Pius V. in 1566.

The _Modern Palace of the Lateran_ was built from designs of Fontana by Sixtus V. In 1693 Innocent XII. turned it into a hospital,--in 1438 Gregory XVI. appropriated it as a museum. The entrance faces the obelisk in the Piazza di San Giovanni. The palace is always shown, but the terrible cold which pervades it makes it a dangerous place except in the late spring months, and a visit to it is often productive of fever.

The ground floor is the principal receptacle for antiquities, found at Rome within the last few years. It contains a number of very beautiful sarcophagi and bas-reliefs.

Entering under the corridor on the right, the most remarkable objects are:--

_1st Room._--

LEFT WALL:

Relief of the Abduction of Helen.

RIGHT WALL:

High relief of two pugilists, 'Dares and Entellus.'

Grand relief of Trajan followed by senators, from the Forum of Trajan.

The sacred oak of Jupiter, with figures.

Bust of Marcus Aurelius.

_2nd Room._--

Beautiful architectural fragments, chiefly from the Forum of Trajan.

_3rd Room._--

ENTRANCE WALL:

Statue of aesculapius.

RIGHT WALL:

Statue of Antinous, called the Braschi, found at Palestrina.

Bought from the Braschi family by Gregory XVI for 12,000 scudi.

WALL OF EGRESS:

Sarcophagus of a child, with a relief representing pugilists.

_4th Room._--

ENTRANCE WALL:

Greek relief of Medea and the daughters of Peleus.

Above (one of a number of busts), 762. Beautiful head of a Dryad.

Statue of Germanicus.

RIGHT WALL:

Statue of Mars.

WALL OF EGRESS:

Copy of the Faun of Praxiteles.

IN THE CENTRE: