Page:The Classical Heritage of the Middle Ages.djvu/340

 322 THE CLASSICAL HERITAGE [chap. novel and spiritualized import which, they had for Christians. The ancient Jewish religion held scant expectation of a future life; divine deliverances related to the earthly fortunes of the chosen people. Not so with Christians. Their faith did not deliver them from human enemies and earthly torment. The faith of Christ delivers from the bondage of death, and raises up the believer unto eternal life. Natu- rally the Christian interpreted Old Testament deliver- ances and also the miracles of Christ as symbolical of this. The first cause of its need, the sin of our first parents, was frequently shown in the catacombs.^ On the other hand, habits of allegorical interpreta- tion prevailed in both pagan and Christian literature ; allegory and symbolism were common in pagan sculp- ture and painting; and sheer symbols are frequent in the catacombs. When symbolism and allegory were common in art, and when that system of allegorical interpretation which made the Old Testament prefig- urative of Christ was coming to universal acceptance, many Christians must have thus interpreted these Old Testament scenes. Such allegorical significance may also have been in the minds of the painters, or at least of those who directed them. This mention of subjects and these suggestions as to their interpretation are far from exhausting the range or significance of the paintings in the Roman catacombs. There occur Christian themes not readily falling within the topic of the saving power of God, 1 Perhaps the teachings of Paul — as in Adam we all died, so in Christ are we made alive (Rom. v) —had something to do with the frequency of this subject in the Roman catacombs.