"In S. Clemente, built on the site of his paternal mansion, and restored at the beginning of the twelfth century, an example is still to be seen, in perfect preservation, of the primitive church; everything remains in statu quo--the court, the portico, the cancellum, the ambones, paschal candlestick, crypt, and ciborium--virgin and intact; the wooden roof has unfortunately disappeared, and a small chapel, dedicated to St. Catherine, has been added, yet even this is atoned for by the lovely frescoes of Masaccio. I most especially recommend this relic of early Christianity to your affectionate and tender admiration. Yet the beauty of S. Clemente is internal only, outwardly it is little more than a barn."--_Lord Lindsay._ On the left of the side entrance is the Chapel of the Passion, clothed with frescoes of _Masaccio_, which, though restored, are very beautiful--over the altar is the Crucifixion, on the side walls the stories of St. Clement and St Catherine. "The celebrated series relating to St. Catherine is still most striking in the grace and refinement of its principal figures: "1. St. Catherine (cousin of the Emperor Constantine) refuses to worship idols. "2. She converts the empress of Maximin. She is seen through a window seated inside a prison, and the empress is seated outside the prison, opposite to her, in a graceful listening attitude. "3. The empress is beheaded, and her soul is carried to heaven by an angel. "4. Catherine disputes with the pagan philosophers. She is standing in the midst of a hall, the forefinger of one hand laid on the other, as in the act of demonstrating. She is represented fair and girlish, dressed with great simplicity in a tunic and girdle,--no crown, nor any other attribute. The sages are ranged on each side, some lost in thought, others in astonishment, the tyrant (Maximin) is seen behind, as if watching the conference, while through an open window we behold the fire kindled for the converted philosophers, and the scene of their execution. "5. Catherine is delivered from the wheels, which are broken by an angel. "6. She is beheaded. In the background three angels lay her in a sarcophagus on the summit of Mount Sinai."--See _Jameson's Sacred Art_, p. 491.