But perhaps the most remarkable of all Pasquin's productions is his famous Antithesis Christi:
"Christus regna fugit—Sed vi Papa subjugat urbem.
Spinosam Christus—Triplicem gerit ille coronam.
Abluit ille pedes—Reges his oscula præbent.
Vectigal solvit—Sed clerum hic eximit omnem.
Pavit oves Christus—Luxum hic sectatur inertem.
Pauper erat Christus—Regna hic petit omnia mundi.
Bajulat ille crucem—Hic servis portatur avaris.
Spernit opes Christus—Auri hic ardore tabescit.
Vendentes pepulit templo—Quos suscipit iste.
Pace venit Christus—Venit hic radiantibus armis.
Christus mansuetus venit—Venit ille superbus.
Quas leges dedit hic—Præsul dissolvit iniquus.
Ascendit Christus—Descendit ad infera Præsul."
The statue called Pasquin is said to represent Menelaus with the body of Patroclus, and to be the same as two groups which still exist at Florence, but so little remains of either of these heroes, that it could only have been when overpowered by "L'esprit de contradiction," that Bernini protested that this was "the finest piece of ancient sculpture in Rome."
"A l'angle que forment deux rues de Rome se voit encore il Pasquino, nom donné par le peuple à un des plus beaux restes de la sculpture antique. Bernin, qui exagérait, disait le plus beau; cette assertion fut sur le point d'attirer un duel à celui qui se l'était permise. Tout homme qui s'avise d'avoir une opinion sur les monuments de Rome s'applaudira pour son compte, en le regrettant peut-être, qu'on ne prenne plus si à cœur les questions archéologiques."—Ampère, Hist. Rome, iii. 440.
"Jan. 16, 1870: The public opinion of Rome has only one traditional organ. It is that mutilated block of marble called Pasquin's statue ... on which are mysteriously affixed by unknown hands the frequent squibs of Roman mother-wit on the events of the day. That organ has now uttered its cutting joke on the Fathers in Council. Some mornings ago there was found pasted in big letters on this defaced and truncated stump of a once choice statue the inscription, 'Libero come il Concilio.' The sarcasm is admirably to the point."—Times.
Following the Via dell' Anima from hence, on the right, opposite the mediæval Torre Mellina, is the Church of Sant' Agnese. It was built in 1642 by Girolamo Rainaldi, in the form of a Greek cross, upon the site of the scaffold where St. Agnes, in her fourteenth year, was compelled to be burnt alive.[306] When
"The blessed Agnes, with her hands extended in the midst of the flames, prayed thus: 'It is to thee that I appeal, to thee, the all-powerful, adorable, perfect, terrible God. O my Father, it is through thy most blessed Son that I have escaped from the menaces of a sacrilegious tyrant, and have passed unblemished through shameful abominations. And thus I come to thee, to thee whom I have loved, to thee whom I have sought, and whom I have always chosen."—Roman Breviary.
Then the flames, miraculously changed into a heavenly shower, refreshed instead of burning her, and dividing in two, and leaving her uninjured, consumed her executioners, and the virgin saint cried:—
"I bless Thee, O Father of my God and Saviour Jesus Christ, who, by the power of this thy well-beloved Son, commanded the fire to respect me."
"At this age, a young girl trembles at an angry look from her mother; the prick of a needle draws tears as easily as a wound. Yet fearless under the bloody hands of her executioners, Agnes is immoveable under the heavy chains which weigh her down; ignorant of death, but ready to die, she presents her body to the point of the sword of a savage soldier. Dragged against her will to the altar, she holds forth her arms to Christ through the fires of the sacrifice; and her hand forms even in those blasphemous flames the sign which is the trophy of a victorious Saviour. She presents her neck and her two hands to the fetters which they bring for her, but it is impossible to find any small enough to encircle her delicate limbs."—St. Ambrose.