290 CHRISTIAN EPITAPHS OF 



• 



Viscilius Niceni, costce sute, quce fuit annorum plus minus XXXI, 



ex quibus durabit (duravit) mecum annos XV. Feci in se si eo 

 dono sim. Exibit (exivit) de scbcuIo, VI Idus Julias, Mamertina 

 et Nevita (Nevitta). 



" Viscilius, to Nice his rib, who was of thirty-one years (of age) more 

 or less, of which she passed with me fifteen years. I made it for our-' 

 selves, if I am ^(should be) worthy of such a gift. She departed from this 

 world, on the sixth day before the Ides of July, in the Consulship of 

 Mamertinus and Nevitta," i.e. July 10th, 362, a.d. 



1. 1. Niceni. Tiis change of the declension of nouns is common. 

 Thus we have Leopardeti, Eireneti, &c. Ispeti, for Spei, is a 

 notable example of metaplasmus, with the introduction of the prefix 

 i. See n. 41. 



Burgon was not aware of this usage. In p. 197, he gives an 

 inscription— ^Z2<^ Merciirajieii — and asks : " Who ever heard of such 

 a name as Mercuranetis ? and yet, since I am sure that the word 

 is copied accurately, what else can the nominative be ?" It was 

 Mercurane, otherwise Mercu?'iane. 



Costce. There is no authority for the use of costa for uxor, but 

 there are two examples in Greek, in which Grregory Nazianzen uses 

 the term, doubtless with reference to Genesis, ii., 21. 



1., 3. Feci in se si eo dono sim. It is very difficult to give a satis- 

 factory interpretation to these words. Lami, to whom we are indebted 

 for the suggestion that costce stands for uxori, does not attempt to 

 explain them. Oderic enquires: an forte FECI, hunc nimirum titu^ 

 lum, ne conjux mea SINE EO DONO SIT, nempe ne careat hoc 

 amoris mei pignore ? Danzetta proposes: FECI»m« IN SEcmZo 

 Slwe VLLO DOLORE SIMmL De Rossi justly rejects both of 

 these. He explains FECI IN SE, as standing for FECI INTER 

 SE, i.e. annos XV feci una cum ea, and explains EO DONO as 

 governed by dignus understood ; whilst he regards SIM as used 

 for fuerim, or fui, i.e. si tamen eo dono dignus fuerim, or fui — 

 "quo elogio non aliud aptius Christianas uxori ab viro Christianae 

 humilitatis studioso potuit inscribi." 



This is an ingenious, but unsatisfactory, explanation. I am inclined 

 to take/ece in the ordinary sense, "made," and se as used for "our- 

 selves;" and, adopting De Rossi's suggestion of an ellipsis of dignus, 

 to regard dono as referring to the "gift," or "blessing," of Jburial. 

 with her ; but I am not satisfied. 



