THE CANADIAN JOURNAL. NEW SERIES. No. LXVII. DECEMBER, 1868. CHRISTIAN EPITAPHS OF THE FIRST SIX CENTURIES. BY THE REV. JOHN MCCAUL, LL.D., PRESIDENT OF UNIVERSITY COLLEGE, TORONTO, ETC. V. THOSE IN WHICH THE OCCUPATION OR POSITION IN LIFE OF Prie (pridie) [Kal.] Junias pausabet (pausavit) Prætiosa, annorum "On the day before the Calends of June, Prætiosa went to her rest, a young 75. HIC QVIESCIT GAVDIOSA CF ANCILLA DEI QVAE CALLEPIO VC CONƒ (In S. Pauli; De Rossi, n. 739.) Hic quiescit Gaudiosa, Clarissima Femina, ancilla Dei, quæ vixit annus (annos) XL et menses V. Deposita, X Kalendas Octobres, Callepio, Viro Clarissimo, Consule. "Here rests Gaudiosa, a most distinguished woman, a hand-maid of God, who lived forty years and five months. Buried on the tenth day before the Calends of October, in the Consulship of Callepius, a most distinguished man,” i, e. September 22nd, 447, a. d. VI. THOSE IN WHICH THERE IS MENTION OF OR REFERENCE TO THE PLACE OF BURIAL. (a.) Locus factus : 76. LOCVSBASILEONIS SEBIBOFECIT XENEBENEMEREN TIINPACE DPRID NONASNOVEMB CONSS HONORI AVG VII ETTHODO SIITER AVGG (Ad S. Laurentii in agro Verano; De Rossi, n. 576.) Locus Basileonis, se bibo (se vivo, vivus) fecit. Xene (Xena) benemerenti in pace. Deposita, pridie Nonas Novembres, Consulatu Honorii Augusti VII et Thodosi (Theodosii) iterum Augustorum. "The place of Basileo. He when alive made it. To Xene well-deserving in peace. Buried on the day before the Nones of November in the Consulship of Honorius Augustus, for the seventh time, and Theodosius for the second time, the two Augusti,” i, e. November 4th, 407 a. D. 1.2. se bibo. In Pagan epitaphs such forms are found as se vivo, se vivus, se vivis, me vivus. Fecit. This word is used in various connexions. In n. 31, I have noticed its use with cum in the sense "spend." We find it, also, with fatum, scil. fatum fecit = died; and with titulus, scil. titulum fecit="made the inscription" or "caused the inscription to be made;" also with locus, scil. locum fecit " made the place of burial" or "caused the place to be made." F. C.faciundum curavit, so common in Heathen epitaphs, is very rare in Christian. In both cases, I suspect, the place of burial was, sometimes, actually made by the person himself. Thus in Henzen's n. 6394-communi labore sibi fecerunt. 1. 3. Xene. I have regarded this name as Greek, although I do not recollect having ever met with an example of it. Xenis occurs, and also Xinna, which Reinesius strangely believed to stand for Cinna. This stone is remarkable as presenting the most ancient example of the representation of the cross in dated epitaphs. This symbol of Christianity, so common in inscriptions from the latter part of the fifth century, does not appear in any one of those of the first four centuries. The monogrammatic cross, as it is called, was used before this, not however as early as 209, as Zannoni inferred from an inscription given by Boldetti, p. 83. There is, certainly, a monogrammatic cross in that epitaph, but the date is 456, as is evident from the words DN AVITI, i. e. Domini Nostri Aviti scil. the emperor of that name. Boldetti, who was not aware of the Consulship of Avitus Augustus, interpreted the words as referring to Avitus, Consul in 209. The same careless investigator, p. 351, introduced a new fashion of cross on the authority of a stone that he found in the Catacomb of St. Agnes. This he not only figured, but described as a decussated cross transfixed with a spear, whilst it is really no more than an imperfect Constantinian monogram. His mistake led to serious waste of time and trouble, for some learned men, as De Rossi remarks, arcanam significationem inani labore investigarunt. See Cavedoni, Bull dell'. Ist. 1843, p. 152. Aringhi, vol. ii. pp. 377-380, furnishes another example of the result of extravagant symbolism. More than four columns of his work are devoted to the explanation of certain figures, that he calls representations of the heart, in the inscriptions found in the Catacombs, and the subject is illustrated by various quotations from the Holy Scriptures, the Fathers, and Greek and Latin heathen authors. These figures, however, on which so much learning is wasted, are in reality nothing more than leaf-points, or leaf-decorations, that are commonly found in both Christian and Pagan inscriptions. See examples in Plate iii. 2. Nor was this ridiculous mistake limited to Aringhi. Boldoni suggested that the figure-unquestionably a leaf with a stem-signified dolorem cordi intimum, and Grasser believed that it was the representation cordis spina transfixi, and meant cordolium! The Constantinian monogram is, as might be expected, of frequent occurrence on Christian sepulchral stones, but a great object of search relative to this symbol has been to find an example before the year 312 A. D. It was believed that one was found on a stone discovered by Boldetti, of the date 291 A. D., but De Rossi, n. 17, has, I think, correctly regarded this figure as merely an ornamental point. He himself, however, gives an example (n. 26), which may be, but cannot certainly be proved to be, of the date 298 A.D. The earliest that I have noticed is of the date 331 A. D. SE IANVARIVM ET BRI TIAM LOCVM ANTE DO MNA EMER ITA AEOSSO RIBVS BVRDONE ETMICI NVM ET MVSCO RVTIONE AVRISOLI O VM VN SEMES CONS D D N N THAE (In coenobio S. Pauli; De Rossi, n. 653.) Co(n)stat nos emisse, Januarium et Britium, locum ante domna (dominam) Emerita (Emeritam), a eossoribus (fossoribus) Burdone et Micinum (Micino) et Musco, ratione auri solidum (solidi) unum (unius) semessem (semissis), Consulibus Dominis Nostris Theodosio et Valentiniano iterum. "It is unquestionable that we Januarius and Britia bought a place in front of (the sepulchre of) Lady Emerita from the diggers Burdo and Micinus and Muscus for the consideration of one solidus of gold and a half in the Consulship of our Lords Theodosius and Valentinian for the 2nd time," i. e. 426 a. d. The formula constat nos emisse is not rare in monuments of this age, whence it appears that the line between costat and nos is merely a mark of punctuation. The sepulchre of Saint Emerita was in the cemetery of Commodilla, behind the basilica of St. Paul. She and Digna are said to have suffered death at Rome, under Valerian and Gallienus. *I do not take into account the use of crosses and monograms before Christianity, the meaning of which was of course different from the Christian signification. Examples of the gammadion occur on Roman altars found in Britain. The solidus was originally called the aureus. It had different values at different periods. From the time of Constantine there were 72 (OB) coined to the pound of gold. The semissis and tremissis were coins respectively and of the solidus. Northcote, "Roman Catacombs," p. 28, notices this inscription, and remarks, "A solidus and a half the price paid for a single [?] grave was a sum equivalent to about eighteen shillings [sterling] of our own coin." in LOCVM QVEM DONAVIT DOMINVS PAPA (In S. Martini in montibus; De Rossi, n. 980.) Hic requiescit in pace Amen 8, qui fecit cum oxure (uxore) annos [Depositus] in locum (loco) quem donavit Dominus Papa Hormisda. Possedatur (possideatur) locus; eum ne quis unquam remobat (removeat). Defunctus est, Nonas (Nonis) Novembris (Novembres, Novembribus), Flavio Symmaco (Symmacho) et Voetio (Boetio), Viris Clarissimis. "Here rests in peace Amen s who passed with his wife years. Buried in the place which the Lord Bishop Hormisda gave (to him). Let the place be held in possession; let no one ever remove it (or him). He died on the Nones of November, in the Consulship of Flavius Symmachus and Boetius, most distinguished men," i. e. November 5th, 522 A. D. PETRONIVS IN PACE XVII KALENdas . NIS QVI VIXIT ANNVS LXVI· CONSVLATv olybrio et SEBIBA FECIT BISOMVS VACAT. Petronius in pace, XVII Calendas quæ nis qui vixit annus (annos) LXVI, Consulatu Olybrio (Olybrii) et Probino (Probini) Viris Clarissimis (Virorum Clarissimorum). Hic requiescit in pace quæ se biba (se viva) fecit. Bisomus vacat. *For locus concessus see Epitaph 67. |