The Lives of the Saints, Volume 02 (of 16): FebruaryBaring-Gould, S. (Sabine)
Religion
The Lives of the Saints, Volume 02 (of 16): February
Baring-Gould, S. (Sabine)
Christian saints
The next, and more precise account is that of the apocryphal letter of
Lentulus, (who is supposed to have lived at the time of Christ, and to
have been about the person of Pilate, to the Roman senate,) which is
said to have been extracted from the Roman annals by a certain
Eutropius. This first appears in the writings of S. Anselm, (d. 1107).
"He is a man of tall stature, comely, having a venerable countenance,
which those beholding must love or fear. His hair is waving and
curled, rolling to his shoulders, having a parting in the middle of
the head, after the manner of the Nazarenes, a brow smooth and serene,
a face without wrinkle or blemish of any kind, rendered beautiful by a
moderate colour. There is no fault to be found with the nose and
mouth; he has a full and red beard, the colour of his locks, not long,
but forked, and eyes bright and changeable." Another version of this
letter adds that the hair was the colour of the hazel-nut, the eyes
greyish-blue, and full of light. "His hands and arms are beautiful. He
is terrible in reprehension, but mild and full of love in instruction;
cheerful, but with steadfast earnestness. No one ever saw Him laugh,
but often has He been seen to weep. Precise and modest in his speech,
he is in all perfect, and the fairest of the sons of men."
But the most precise and complete account is that of Nicephorus
Callistus, (fl. 1330). His description is as follows:--"He was
beautiful in body, his height seven complete spans, his hair was
yellowish, not bushy, and at the ends somewhat curled. His eyebrows
were black, only a little arched, and without break; his eyes were
hazel, of that description called bright-eyed, not dim, in no way
misformed, not wandering. His nose was prominent, his beard reddish,
not profuse, but the hair of his head was abundant, for never had
razor or hand of man shorn it. His neck was somewhat bent, so that he
did not walk perfectly upright; the colour of his face was a
yellow-brown, like ripe wheat; his face was not round, nor pointed,
but, like his mother's, a little drooping, and slightly blushing. His
very countenance indicated a man of intelligence, with manners grave,
calm, and removed from anger. In all things, he was like his most pure
mother."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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