“Enough,” resumed the excavator. “The ceiling is the oldest part of the painting, as is natural; for that was done when the crypt was excavated, whereas the walls were decorated, as tombs were hollowed out. You see the ceiling has a sort of trellis-work painted over it, with grapes, to represent perhaps our true Vine, of which we are the branches. There you see Orpheus sitting down, and playing sweet music, not only to his own flock, but to the wild beasts of the desert, which stand charmed around him.” “Why, that is a heathen picture altogether,” interrupted Torquatus, with pettishness, and some sarcasm; “what has it to do with Christianity?” “It is an allegory, Torquatus,” replied Pancratius, gently, “and a favorite one. The use of Gentile images, when in themselves harmless, has been permitted. You see masks, for instance, and other pagan ornaments in this ceiling, and they belong generally to a very ancient period. And so our Lord was represented under the symbol of Orpheus, to conceal His sacred representation from Gentile blasphemy and sacrilege. Look, now, in that arch; you have a more recent representation of the same subject.” [Illustration: Our Lord under the Symbol of Orpheus. From a picture in the Cemetery of Domitilius.] “I see,” said Torquatus, “a shepherd with a sheep over his shoulders--the Good Shepherd; that I can understand; I remember the parable.” “But why is this subject such a favorite one?” asked Tiburtius; “I have observed it in other cemeteries.” “If you will look over the _arcosolium_,”[103] answered Severus, “you will see a fuller representation of the scene. But I think we had better first continue what we have begun, and finish the ceiling. You see that figure on the right?” [Illustration: The Good Shepherd. A woman praying. From the _arcosolium_ of the Cemetery of Sts. Nereus and Achilleus.] “Yes,” replied Tiburtius; “it is that of a man apparently in a chest, with a dove flying towards him. Is that meant to represent the Deluge?” “It is,” said Severus, “as the emblem of regeneration by water and the Holy Spirit; and of the salvation of the world. Such is our beginning; and here is our end: Jonas thrown out of the boat, and swallowed by the whale; and then sitting in enjoyment under his gourd. The resurrection with our Lord, and eternal rest as its fruit.” “How natural is this representation in such a place!” observed Pancratius, pointing to the other side; “and here we have another type of the same consoling doctrine.” “Where?” asked Torquatus, languidly; “I see nothing but a figure bandaged all round, and standing up, like a huge infant in a small temple; and another person opposite to it.” “Exactly,” said Severus; “that is the way we always represent the resurrection of Lazarus. Here look, is a touching expression of the hopes of our fathers in persecution: The three Babylonian children in the fiery furnace.” [Illustration: A Ceiling in the Catacombs. In the Cemetery of Domitilla, third century.]