THE FIRST SIX CENTURIES. 13 



mended by similar phraseology ia Muratori's n. 2, p. 431 — " Ohlit 

 house memoris& Ceesaria medium noctis die Dominica inlucescente VI 

 Id. Becevibris." Thus also Suetonius, Ceesar^ «. 81 — Ea nocte, cut 

 illuxit dies cxdis, &c. In Kirclioff's n. 9119 we have the correspond- 

 ing Greek phrase — trtcra)'7x[oy<7v;? r^?] oyoor,'; too \i iJS^p'l .'J-V^'J^- 

 But I am not satisfied. The objection to De Rossi's reading is — that 

 he does not supply the letter in the place left vacant by the stone 

 cutter scil. between N and V". Can it be .that the vacant space was 

 intended for the monogram, with the letters Af2 incorporated with it, 

 as they often were, and that this having been omitted either from the 

 ignorance or inadvertence of the workman, AQ were cut in the corner, 

 but yet should be read between In and vixit — scil. '•'• in Afi visit-'' i. e. 

 in Deo or Chrisio vixit, in the sense '' lived in God," " died?" See n. 

 65, &c. 



1. 6. Die Saturni land vigeshna signo Capricorno. This inscrip- 

 tion has been discussed chronologically and astronomically by Blan. 

 chini, Lupi and Marini, but De Eossi is the first who has shown that 

 the notices in it are really astrological, and that they should be regarded 

 as forming a horoscope of birth. Thus, p. LXXXIY, he proves that 

 each of these characteristics — scil. the fourth hour of Saturday, the 

 Moon in Capricorn, and the twentieth day of the May moon — was 

 regarded as unlucky. See also his comment. 



(c) Day of the month, octave of Easter, and year : — 88. 



NATV • SEVERINOMTNEPASCASIYS 

 DIESPASCALESPRIDNOYAAPRILN 

 DTEIOBISFL-CONSTANTINO 

 ETRVFOYVCCCONSSQVIYIXIT 

 ANNORYMVI • PERCEPIT 

 XIKALMAIASETALBASSYAS 

 OCTABASPASCAEADSEPYLCRY^r 

 DEPOSYITD • IIITKALMAIFLBASILTO 



YCCO«s 

 (Vrhiiu in cedihiis pnhlicis ; De Rossi, v.. 810.) 



jS!alu{i) Sever i nomine Pasc{Ji)asiusdies Pasc(Ji)ahs p^idie Nonas 

 Apriles, hi die Jovis, Flavio Constantino et Rnjo, Yiris Clarissimis, 

 Considibus, qui vixit annorum (annos) VI. Percepit XI Calendaa 

 Maias et cdbas siias Octavas (Octavis) Paschse ad sepvlcrura deposuit , 

 lY Kalendas Maias, Flavio BasiUo, Viro Clarissimo, Consule, 



