BUDDHIST OPINIONS AND MONUMENTS OF ASIA. 267 
timately connected with Spain, which explains St Paul’s remark in his Epistle to the 
Romans,* ‘‘ whensoever I take my journey to Spain I will come to you” (chap. xv. 
ver. 24); ‘and I will come to you into Spain” (ver. 28). This proves that congrega- 
tions of Christians existed in Spain in the first century, from whence, most probably, 
the spirit of conversion early found its way to Britain. It is in vain to conjecture 
by what means the Christian missionaries reached the northern part of Scotland. 
The enthusiasm of these primitive Christians was quite sufficient to overcome 
these obstacles; and the liberal Buddhists, open to reason, and eager for the ac- 
quisition of truth, would be easily converted, and become enthusiastic followers 
of the new faith. But, retaining their liberality of sentiment, they did not imme- 
diately reject the symbols of the Deity which their more ignorant followers held 
in veneration; and we may still mark the changes which their feelings under- 
went by those on the engraved stones. In all those erected after this period, the 
pagan symbols were subservient to the Cross, and this became more and more 
marked, until the symbols at length disappeared from the emblem of the Chris- 
tian faith. 
According to that able antiquary, Dr D. Wirson, “the interlaced patterns, and 
figures of dragons, serpents, and nondescript monsters, bearing a close and un- 
mistakeable resemblance to the decorations of some of the most ancient Irish ma- 
nuscripts, and several of the beautiful initials from the Book of Kells, an Irish MS. 
of the sixth century, as engraved in Mr Westwoon’s Paleeographia, bear a close 
resemblance to the style of ornament of these sculptures; while the interlaced 
network on the case of the shield of St Maido, which Dr Perrier conceives can- 
not be later than the eighth century, though less distinctly characteristic, and by 
no means peculiar to Ireland, very nearly corresponds in its details to the orna- 
mentation frequently introduced on the Scottish monuments.” + 
There is much difficulty in determining on the age in which these crosses were 
erected, as we have no direct evidence on the subject. From the peculiarity of 
their form, of their decorations, and locality, they must have been prepared before 
the dissolution of the great Pictish kingdom in the ninth century; and the 
adoration of the cross appears to have been practised in the ancient churches, for 
which reason the heathen, particularly Julian, reproached the primitive Christians 
with this species of idolatry. This may be traced to a misapprehension of the ex- 
pressions of the apostles and fathers “taking up the cross and following Christ— 
of enduring the cross—suffering persecutions for the cross—should not glory save 
in the cross.” The custom of making the sign of the cross may be traced to the 
third, but most probably was used at a much earlier period. Constantine the 
Great first used the cross, or token under which he fought and conquered, and is 
supposed to have first erected crosses in public places. Others believe that it was 
not until the Empress Helena found the true cross that it became an object of 
* ap. 60. } See his Archeology and Pre-historic Annals of Scotland, p. 497. 
VOL. XXI. PART II. 4c 
