Hidden in the Catacombs, meeting only by stealth
in private houses or in the open fields, in constant
fear of persecution, and liable at any moment to
be dragged before the magistrate, these early
Christians <iould find no room in the stern neces-
sities of their life for the softer pursuits of the
Arts. When at length Constantine sounded the call
to disarm, and gave freedom to the persecuted
Church, a new danger arose from a totally different
quarter. The Church had next to engage in a life
and death struggle with heresy. The primitive
gospel had to be encrusted in creed and dogma, the
Church had to define its faith, had to formulate its
articles, and to settle its constitution. These were
days of fierce quarrels, of embittered rivalries, and
even of faction fights, when the streets of Alexandria
were filled with a mob of fanatical and rival monks,
and when the sanctity of her Churches was often
disturbed by scenes of riot and bloodshed. When
at length the Church had finally ejected those
heresies which threatened her with disruption, and
peace reigned within her borders, there came that
event which so profoundly moved the men of the
Middle Ages — the fall of the Roman Empire. With
its destruction there disappeared that sense of
security and buoyant hopefulness which are necessary
conditions for the pursuit of Art. Ceaseless wars de-
vastated Europe, disturbed trade, arrested exchange,



THE DAWN 5

rent communities into small and isolated fragments, and
made the art of war the ceaseless occupation of the
people. With this disappearance of the visible seat
of authority, and the loss of the sense of security, a
profound gloom settled upon the minds of men. The
Roman Empire had lasted so long, had displayed a
grandeur so august, had survived so many shocks,
that it seemed to be rooted in the foundations of the
world ; and when at last the huge, but now en-
feebled mass toppled over, and came crashing to the
ground, it appeared as if the world were coming to
an end. Men's thoughts, instead of being directed to
the beauty of the visible universe, to the conquest
of nature, or the growth of knowledge, were forced
inward. 