The Martyr of the Catacombs

So I was poking around the Gutenberg website the other week and downloaded some books to read, including "The Martyr of the Catacombs" by Anonymous, who wrote this in the 1850s and also managed to write the book "Primary Colors" about Bill Clinton in the 90's and now has moved on to "hacktivism".

The story is well-written and the feel of some of the extra-Biblical accounts of the time, like Ben-hur.
It is a simple tale, but powerful. It tells of Marcellus, Praetorian who comes to Rome around 250 AD, disenchanted with the roman religion of gods and emperor worship. His fellow soldier Lucullus takes him to the Coliseum where he witnesses the games, described in graphic detail that was as bad as I could imagine, and certainly shocking for an 1850s audience.

Marcellus is intrigued by the Christian gladiator who chooses death overr killing his wounded opponent and at young girls who die singing praises to God. As a solder he does not fear death but he sees people who accept it with joy. This intrigues him. What he sees does not line up with the lies being spread about Christians - that they are subversives with detestable practices. Nor does his experience of Christians on his journeys correspond with what he is told about them.

By a twist of fate (or the pen), he is assigned to ferret out the Christians in the catacombs, eventually finding access and asking WHY they face death with joy. He converts and winds up in the catacombs himself in short order.

The descriptions of life in the catacombs was interesting. I had not thought of the prolonged effects of living below ground with stale air or air filled with smoke from torches, little light, dampness seeping in. That this would lead to death for the young and old had not occurred to me.
The author describes in detail their worship filled with symbols of hope in the resurrection, and also the inscriptions on the tombs of the martyrs.

The outcome of the story is a bit predictable (no spoilers here) but it is still a moving tale, easily read in an afternoon and a reminder of those in Revelation 7 with white robes, who have  

"washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb and made them white. 15“That is why they stand in front of God’s throne and serve him day and night in his Temple. And he who sits on the throne will give them shelter.  16They will never again be hungry or thirsty; they will never be scorched by the heat of the sun. 17For the Lamb on the throne will be their Shepherd. He will lead them to springs of life-giving water. And God will wipe every tear from their eyes.”

And a reminder of those being added to their numbers throughout the centuries down through to our own.