IKGYC
BONO ET INOCENTI FILIO
PASTOKI • QV • X • A • N • IIII
NNIS • X
ixerc
The first contains the mistake of k for x- At other times the fish itself was figured, as recommended by Cle- ment of Alexandria (PwduffOff. iii, lOG), who, besides the fish, proposed as Christian emblems for signets fisher- men, anchors, ships, doves, and lyres.
sailing ship, e. g. upon an inscription of Firmia Victoria, in the jiur.li of Maria in Trastevcre, in Rome, and (Mai, liiarriji. Chr. p. HSO, (5) upon the tomb-stone of a certain virgin niinuil Screnila. The same is also foimd in the Vatican. Clement calls it vavQ otiparo£ponovaa, " the ship hastening heavenwards." The li/re, as far as we know, does not occur on tomb-stones. The lyre is per- haps an ideal picture of the harmony which reigns in the Christian soul, or is used instead of Orpheus, by whom also Christ was represented. The dove, also spe- cified by Clement, and the olire-hranch, are more numer- ous, as the signs of love and ])eace. The -woxA peace is added to this i'ac-similc from the Lapidarian Gallery.
PAX
The olive-branch which it bears is borrowed from the history of Noah : it was sometimes carried in the claws of the* bird, as in the copy below given, which is taken from the Vatican library.
lENVARIE BIRGINI BENEJIEKENTI IN C» PACE BOTIS DEPOSITA
"To Jennarin. i virgin, well - deserving. Buried in peace, with vowb."
The substitution of hotis and birrjini for votis and rir- f/ini : the b and v are sometimes as absiu-dly reversed.
This specimen Maitland also copied from the Lapidarian Gallery. In a metrical Grecian inscription at Antrim, Christ himself, at the supper, is called ('x^i'C- Usually, how- ever, it is the fisherman, who is Christ himself; he who also called the apostles to become tlie fishers of men (Matt, iv, 19 ; Mark i, 17). Clement observes that it re- fers to the apostle Peter, and the boys who were drawn out of the water (of baptism). To these the anchor is added, which, as early as the letter to the Hebrews (vi, 19), is made the symbol of hope resting in the centre of holiness (comp. JMai, Inscrip. Chr. p. .375, 4; 415, 9 ; 424, 7 ; 430, 10 ; 449, 4 ; 460, 6). Less frequently we find the
rv.-Q Q
BIB • BEO\ MEREN
OVENE \R^ 'To ENTI yC w-cW-iV
Bibbens, the eservinL'."
DECEMBER S EVIVO FECIT SIBI BISOM\^I.
"In Christ. Decem- ber, while living, made himself a Bisomum."
Clement, among other things, forbids Christians to carry pitchers and swords upon their rings. Thajntch- er, with or without handle, does occur, however, fre- quently in Rome, Trier, and elsewhere, on Christian graves, usually between two doves. Whether this sym- bol refers to the doves drinking from a bowl, or whether it points to the water of life which is to refresh the thirsty soul, is not known. Instead of the sword, the axe occurs a few times on Christian tomb-stones: thus in Rome, at the church Nereo ed Achille, in the Palazzo Guilelmi, several times at Aringhi, etc. They are most probably a concealed representation of the cross, whose form they somewhat resemble. The Christians could use this symbol more readily, because it was also used by the heathens as dedicatio sub ascia. In addition to these, we find the severt-armed candlestick, which occurs in the cloister of St. Paola at Rome and elsewhere upon Je\\-ish tomb-stones, but also upon Christian basilisks of Rome; not so frequently on graves, e. g. Mai, Inscripf. Chr. p. 408, 4. The lamb occurs seldom, e. g. INIai, In- script. Chr. p. 401, 3; the same, between two doves, p.
INSCRIPTIONS
610
INSCRIPTIONS
3G3, 5. The balance occurs twice at Aringhi; and upon private sarcophagi, repre- sentations of the good shep- lierd, Old and New Testa- ment liistories, etc. Besides these, there are also occa- sionally met with the anchor, '• understood to signify the close of a well-spent life : the conclusion of a successful This supposition is strengthened by the fact that the Church was often represent- ed by a ship sail- ing heavenward : »/ vaiiQ oupavoSpo- jxovrra of Clement : in later times steer- ed by Sts. Peter and Paul." This sym- bol maj' help to ex- plain the expression used by Peter, '• So shall an entrance be ministered unto you abundantly," generally referred to the prosperous entrance of a vessel into port. " The ignorance displayed by the sculptor is scarcely to be accounted for, except- ing by the circumstance that the traffic on the Tiber was confined to barges, unprovided with masts and sails, and towed by horses. The peacock is said to have been used as an emblem of immortality. This idea was borrowed from the pagans, who employed it to signify the apotheosis of an empress: for this purpose it was let ily from the funeral pile on which her body was con- sumed. The phoenix was also adopted by the Chris- tians with the same intention ; so, also, the crowned horse, as a sign of victory." The supposed emblems of martyrdom, such as a figure praying, a crown, or a palm branch, which generally belong to this class, are bor- rowed from paganism, with additional signiticance in Christian cases, especially on account of the mention of it in the book of Kevclation. "On the strength of some cx|iressions there used, antiquarians of later times have taken it for granted that the early Church employed both crown and palm, or either separately, as emblems of martyrdom." This supposition, though apparently reasonable, has been alianduned from want of proof; and such a fragment as the following, found in the cemetery of St. I'riscilla ( Lapidarian ( iallerv), is now only supposed to belong to the epitaph of an ordinary Christian: