ANTIQUITIES NEAR LISKEARD. 55 



St. Clare. Secondly, the registering such gifts upon 

 stone is unusual, and, I believe, in that age, among 

 the Britains, without precedent : besides, the make 

 of this stone evidently shews, that it was part of a 

 cross, and why should the grant of lands be inscribed 



on a cross 



? 



" Others have thought that this was a place of 

 devotion, and that Doniert usually prayed here for 

 the good of his soul, and erected this cross himself, 

 being willing that his name and piety should descend 

 together, in order, by such an illustrious example, 

 to raise the emulation of posterity. But it was very 

 uncommon not to say vain, and unbecoming a sin- 

 cerely religious man, to record his own acts of piety 

 in such a manner ; besides, the word Rogo cannot 

 properly signify to pray to God. 



"I rather think that Doniert desired in his life 

 time, that a cross might be erected in the place 

 where he should be interred, in order to put people 

 in mind to pray for his soul. So that this is, in my 

 opinion, a sepulchral monument; and, if we take it 

 in this sense the word rogavit is proper, and the 

 whole inscription intelligible, and according to the 

 usage of ancient times. 



" Christians generally placed a cross (about this 

 • time) at the beginning of inscriptions ; and, I think, 

 part of one (the corner of the stone being here broken 

 off) may be seen in this, before the D. When pray- 

 ing for the dead came into use, it was a general 

 custom (as in the Catholic countries it is at present) 

 to intreat all comers to pray for the soul of persons 

 buried there ; and that they might, after death, have 

 (as they thought) the benefit of frequent prayers, 

 sometimes a church or oratory was erected, at other 

 times it was only an altar ; sometimes it was a tomb- 

 stone, that desired the prayers of the reader; and 

 sometimes a real cross of stone ; and all these memo- 

 rials were said to be erected pro anima, for the good ' 

 of their souls, because their intent was to excite the 

 devotion of persons that passed by, in favour of the 

 dead. 



