Callista : a Tale of the Third Century

by John Henry Newman

  CHAPTER XXXV.

  THE CORPO SANTO.

  The sun of Africa has passed over the heavens, but has not dared with oneof his fierce rays to profane the sacred relics which lie out before him.The mists of evening rise up, and the heavy dews fall, but they neitherbring the poison of decay to that gracious body, nor receive it thence.The beasts of the wild are roaming and roaring at a distance, or nigh athand: not any one of them presumes to touch her. No vultures may promisethemselves a morning meal from such a victim, as they watch through thenight upon the high crags which overlook her. The stars have come out onhigh, and, they too look down upon Callista, as if they were funerallights in her honour. Next the moon rises up to see what has been goingon, and edges the black hangings of the night with silver. Yet mourningand dirge are but of formal observance, when a brave champion has died forher God. The world of ghosts has as little power over such an one as theworld of nature. No evil spirit has aught to say to her, who has gone inher baptismal white before the Throne. No penal fire shall be her robe,who has been carried in her bright _flammeum_ to the Bridal Chamber of theLamb. A divine odour fills the air, issuing from that senseless,motionless, broken frame. A circle of light gleams round her brow, and,even when the daylight comes again, it there is faintly seen. Her featureshave reassumed their former majesty, but with an expression of childlikeinnocence and heavenly peace. The thongs have drawn blood at the wristsand ankles, which has run and soaked into the sand; but angels receivedthe body from the soldiers when they took it off the rack, and it lies,sweetly and modestly composed, upon the ground.

  Passers-by stand still and gaze; idlers gather round. The report spreadsin Sicca that neither sun by day, nor moon by night, nor moist atmosphere,nor beast of prey, has power over the wonderful corpse. Nay, that theycannot come near it without falling under some strange influence, whichmakes them calm and grave, expels bad passions, and allays commotion ofmind. Many come again and again, for the mysterious and soothing effectshe exerts upon them. They cannot talk freely about it to each other, andare seized with a sacred fear when they attempt to do so. Those who havemerely heard their report without seeing her, say that these men have beenin a grove of the Eumenides, or have suddenly encountered the wolf. Thepopular sensation continues and extends; some say it is magical, othersthat it is from the great gods. Day sinks again into evening, eveningbecomes night; the night wears out, and morning is coming again.

  It begins to dawn: a glimmer is faintly spread abroad, and, mixing withthe dark, makes twilight, which gradually brightens, and the outlines ofnature rise dimly out of the night. Gradually the sacred body comes tosight; and, as the light grows stronger around it, gradually too the formsof five men emerge, who had not been there the night before. One is infront; the rest behind with a sort of bier or litter. They stand on themountain side of her, and must have come from the country. It has been abold enterprise theirs, to expose themselves to the nightly beasts, andnow again to the rabble and the soldiers. The soldiers are at some littledistance, silent and watchful; such of the rabble as have passed the nightthere have had some superstitious object in their stay. They have thoughtto get portions of the flesh for magical purposes; a finger, or a tooth,or some hair, or a portion of her tunic, or the blood-stained rope whichwas twisted round her wrist and ankle.

  As the light makes her at length quite visible to the youth on the otherside, who stands by himself with clasped hands and tearful eyes, heshrinks from the sight. He turns round to his companions who are providedwith a large winding-sheet or pall, and with the help of one of them, tothe surprise of the populace, he spreads it all over the body. And havingdone this, he stands again trembling, just for a few seconds, absorbed inhis meditations, praying and weeping, and nerving himself for what is tofollow. Ah, poor Agellius! you have not risen yet to the pitch of triumph;and other thoughts must be let to range through your breast, otheremotions must spend themselves, before you are prepared simply to rejoice,exult, and glory in the lifeless form which lies before you. You are upona brave work, but your heart is torn while you set hand to it, and youlinger before you begin.

  It was in the pride of her earthly beauty and the full vigour andelevation of her mind, that he last had seen her. It seemed an age sincethat morning, as if a chasm ran between the now and the then, when she sofascinated him with her presence, and so majestically rebuked him forbowing to that fascination. Yet on his memory every incident of thatinterview was fixed, and was indelible. O why should the great Creatorshatter one of His most admirable works! If the order of the sun and starsis adorable, if the laws by which earth and sea are kept together mark theHand of supreme Wisdom and Power, how much nobler perfection of beauty ismanifested in man! And of human nature itself here was the supereminentcrown, a soul full of gifts, full of greatness, full of intellect, placedin an outward form, equally surpassing in its kind, and still moresurpassingly excellent from its intimate union and subordination to thesoul, so as almost to be its simple expression; yet this choicest, rarestspecimen of Almighty skill, the Almighty had pitilessly shattered, inorder that it might inherit a higher, an eternal perfection. O mystery ofmysteries, that heaven should not be possibly obtained without suchgrinding down and breaking up of our original nature! O mysterious, thatprinciple in us, whatever it is, and however it came there, which is soantagonistic to God, which has so spoilt what seems so good, that all mustbe undone, and must begin anew! "An enemy hath done this;" and, knowing asmuch as this, and no more, we must leave the awful mystery to that daywhen all things shall be made light.

  Agellius has not been idle while these thoughts pass through his mind. Hehas stooped down and scooped up such portions of the sand as are moistenedwith her blood, and has committed them to a small bag which he has takenout of his bosom. Then without delay, looking round to his attendants, andsigning to them, with two of the party he resolutely crossed over to theother side of the corpse, covering it from attack, while his twoassistants who were left proceeded quickly to lay hold of it. They hadraised it, laid it on the bier, and were setting off by an unusual trackacross the waste, while Agellius, Aspar, and the third were grappling withsome ruffians who had rushed upon them. Few, however, were there as yet totake part against them, but their cries of alarm were bringing others up,and the Christians were in growing danger of being worsted and carriedoff, when suddenly the soldiers interfered. Under pretence of keeping thepeace, they laid about them with their heavy maces; and so it was, theblows took effect on the heads and shoulders of the rabble, with butslight injury to Agellius and his companions. The latter took instantadvantage of the diversion, and vanished out of view by the samemisleading track which their comrades had already chosen. If they, or theparty who had preceded them, came within the range of sight of anygoatherds upon the mountains, we must suppose that angels held thoseheathen eyes that they should not recognise them.