Project Gutenberg 2008-02-23 Public domain in the USA. 519 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.) Reading ease score: 82.2 (6th grade). Easy to read. 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 Category: Historical Novels Category: Novels Category: History - Ancient 219208 2025-06-10T09:08:15.556279 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 1443285 2025-06-10T09:08:27.364264 application/epub+zip 1447376 2025-06-10T09:08:20.896288 application/epub+zip 138917 2025-06-10T09:08:17.443280 application/epub+zip 1866370 2025-06-10T09:08:30.224726 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 1854602 2025-06-10T09:08:24.325275 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 236856 2022-09-11T11:23:57.776075 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 206652 2025-06-10T09:08:14.889313 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 206492 2008-02-23T16:24:48 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 78913 2008-02-23T16:25:12 text/plain; charset=us-ascii application/zip 19955 2025-06-10T09:08:30.382703 application/rdf+xml 13630 2025-06-10T09:08:18.022281 image/jpeg 3705 2025-06-10T09:08:17.726300 image/jpeg 1440962 2025-06-10T09:08:15.641288 application/octet-stream application/zip Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at https://book.klll.cc/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog en.wikipedia