Project Gutenberg 2008-02-23 Public domain in the USA. 212 De Mille, James 1833 1880 Mille, James de DeMille, James Anonymous Christian Christian, Anonymous The martyr of the catacombs : $b a tale of ancient Rome Original published anonymously "The Martyr of the Catacombs: A Tale of Ancient Rome" by James De Mille is a historical novel written in the late 19th century. The book explores themes of faith, martyrdom, and the persecution of Christians in ancient Rome, primarily through the stories of various characters caught in the brutal realities of this historical context, particularly focusing on a young gladiator and his struggle between his duty and his faith. The opening of the tale presents a vivid scene set in the grandeur of the Roman Coliseum during a festival, highlighting the bloodthirsty nature of the crowd as they revel in the brutal spectacles of gladiatorial combat. The main character, Macer, is introduced as a renowned gladiator who chooses to refuse to kill his fellow man in favor of his Christian beliefs, leading to a dramatic confrontation with the emperor's desires for entertainment and violence. As the novel unfolds, Marcellus, a soldier tasked with seeking out Christians, begins to grapple with his own beliefs and values, setting the stage for a deeper exploration of faith and sacrifice amidst the oppressive regime of the time. The opening portion effectively captures the stark contrast between the cruel entertainment of the Romans and the profound convictions of the early Christians, foreshadowing the moral dilemmas that the characters will face. (This is an automatically generated summary.) en Historical fiction Church history -- Primitive and early church, ca. 30-600 -- Fiction Rome -- History -- Empire, 30 B.C.-284 A.D. Christian fiction BV PS Text Browsing: History - General Browsing: Religion/Spirituality/Paranormal Browsing: Fiction 219112 218461 2024-09-10T12:41:54.046480 2023-09-11T05:56:30.153318 text/html text/html 213145 2008-02-23T16:24:48 text/html; charset=utf-8 1366101 2008-02-23T16:25:14 text/html; charset=utf-8 application/zip 1422066 2024-09-10T12:42:03.500908 application/epub+zip 1426338 2024-09-10T12:41:57.592943 application/epub+zip 137299 2024-09-10T12:41:54.586469 application/epub+zip 1820504 2024-09-10T12:42:06.095901 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 1808624 2024-09-10T12:42:00.753972 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 236856 2022-09-11T11:23:57.776075 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 206652 206648 2024-09-10T12:41:53.386476 2023-09-11T05:56:29.594294 text/plain; charset=us-ascii text/plain 206492 2008-02-23T16:24:48 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 78913 2008-02-23T16:25:12 text/plain; charset=us-ascii application/zip 19520 2024-09-10T12:42:06.242902 application/rdf+xml 13644 2024-09-10T12:41:54.934454 image/jpeg 3696 2024-09-10T12:41:54.758455 image/jpeg 1420908 2024-09-10T12:41:54.117451 application/octet-stream application/zip Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at https://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog en.wikipedia