V. Intcriptiont and Symbolt.—FoT a specific account of the inscriptions and symbols of the Catacombs, see the articles Inscbiptions ; Stxbolism. The collec- tions of the Vatican and the Lateran contain multi- tudes of these remains, which can no^ be studied in De Rossi's Intcriptionet ChristiantB Urbis Roma (1^61), and in other works named at the end of this article. On most of the slabs is found the Constantinian mono- granl of Christ ^ , or a ;|^ cu. The sculptures and paintings are either historical or symbolicid. Among the former, fh>m the Old Testament, are the fall of Adam and Eve, Noah in the ark, the sacrifice of Abra- ham, Moses striking the rock, the story of Jonaf, Daniel in the lions' den, tho three Israelites in the furnace, the ascent of Elias, etc From the New Testament, the Nativity, the adoration of the Magi, the change of water into wine, the multiplication of loaves, the heal- ing of the cripple, the raising of Lazaras, Christ enter- ing Jerusalem on an ass, Peter denying Christ, between two Jews; the arrest of Peter, Pilate washing his hands; in one instance (on a sarcophagus), the soldien crown- ing our Lord in mockery, but a garland oijluwert being substituted for the crown of thorns. No Crudjhcion occurs among tlie remains ; nor does the Virgin Maxy or St. Peter appear before the fourth century.
" Turning to the purely symbolic, we find most flre- quently introduced, the lamb (later appearing with the nimbus round its head), and the various other forms in which faith contemplated the Redeemer, namely, the good shepherd, Orpheus charming wild animals' with his lyre, the vine, the olive, the rock, a light, a col- umn, a fountain, a lion ; and we may read seven poetic lines by Pope Damasus enumerating all the titles or
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symbols relerring to the same divine personaliiyy com- prising, besides the above, a king, a giant, a gem, a gate, a rod, a hand, a house, a net, a vineyard. But, among all others, the symbol most firequently seen is the fish. See Iohthus. We find also the dove for the Holy Spirit, or for beatified spirits generally ; the stsg, for the desire after baptism and heavenly troth ; candelabra, for illumination through the Gospel; a ship, for the Church — sometimes represented sailing near a light-house, to signify the Church guided by the source of aU light and truth ; a fish swimming with a basket of bread on its back, for the eucharistic sacrament; the horse, for eagerness or speed in em- brsdng divine doctrine ; the lion, for martyr fortitude, or vigilance against the snares of sin (as well as with that higher allusion above noticed) ; the peacock, for inmuvtality ; the phcenix, for the resurrection ; the hare, for persecution, or the perils to which the faith- Ail must be exposed ; the cock, for vigilance— the fox being taken in a negative sense for warning against astuteness and pride, as the dove (besides its other meanings) reminded of the simplicity becoming to be- lievers. Certain trees also appear in the same mystic order: the cypress and the pine, for death ; the palm, for victory ; the olive, for the fhiit of good works, the lustre of virtue, mercy, purity, or peace ; the vine, not only for the eucharist and the person of the Lord, but also for the union of the faitlifU in and with him" (Hemans, in Cofdemp, Review^ Sept 1866).
As to the spirit of the inscriptions and symbols, two things are to be noticed : 1. Their entire opposition to the Pagan spirit. 2. Their almost entire freedom from the later Romanist errors. As to the first, the inscrip- tions on Pagan tombs are remarkable for their painful exhibition either of despair or of rebellion against the DiTiae will ; for instance, one taken from the right- hand wall of the Lapidarian gallery: '* Caius Julius MjixiMus, (age^ two year$_<mdjhe months, 0 reUrU- kmfoTtime, who deiightest in cruel deaths why is Maxi- MXjssossuIdeniifsnoUchedJrommef He who laidy used tolUjagfuloHmybosotn, This stone now marks /ds tomb —behold his mother." In the Christian inscriptions, on the other hand, we find expressions of hope, peace, reaignation, but nothing of despair, hardly even sor- row. " * Yivis in Deo,' most ancient in such use ; 'Tire in stamo ;' * Pax spiritn tuo ;' ' In pace Domini dormis,' frequently introduced befbre the period of Constantine's conversion, but later falling into disuse ; *In pace* continuing to be the established Christian formula, though also found in the epitaphs of Jews ; whQe the 'Yixit in pace,* very rare in Roman inscrip- tions, appears conmionly among those of Aflrica and of several French cities, otherwise that distinctive phrase of the Pagan epitaph, ' Yixit' (as if even in the records of the grave to present life rather than death* to the mental eye), does not pertain to Christian termi- nology" (Hemans, 1. c).
As to the other point, the fk^edom from later Roman doctrines and superstitions, we take the following pas- •ige firom Klllen (The Ancient Church, p. 851 sq.) : "These witnesses to the fSedth of the early Church of Rome altogether repudiate the worship of the Yirgin Mary, for tiie inscriptions of the Lapidarian Gallery, aQ arranged under the papal supervision, contain no iddreeses to the mother of our Lord (MaStland, p. 14). They point only to Jesus as the great Mediator, Re- deemer, and Friend. Farther, instead of speaking of masses for the repose of souls, or representing departed believers as still to pass through purgatory, £e inscrip- tions describe the deceased as having entered imme<U- atdy hito eteoial rest ^Alexander,' says one of them, *is not dead, but lives beyond the stars, and his body nsts m this tomb.^ * Here,' says another, * lies Pauli- na, in the place of the blessed.' < Gemella,' says a tlurd, * sleeps in peace.' *Aselus,* says a fourth, ' sleeps hi Christ' (Maitland, pp. 88, 41, 48, 170). On a third pointy vis. celibacy, we gather the following