THE FIRST SIX CENTURIES. 3 



the place of burial" or " caused the place to be made." F. C. = 

 faciundum curavit, so common in Heathen epitaphs, is very rare in 

 Christian. In both cases, I suspect, the place of burial was, some- 

 times, actually made by the person himself. Thus in Henzen's u. 

 6394 — communi lahore sibi fecerunt. 1. 3. Xene. I have regarded 

 this name as Greek, although I do not recollect having ever met vv^ith 

 an example of it. Xenis occurs, and also Xinna, which Reinesius 

 strangely believed to stand for Oinna. 



This stone is remarkable as presenting the most ancient example of 

 the representation of the cross in dated epitaphs. This symbol of 

 Christianity, so common in inscriptions from the latter part of the 

 fifth century, does not appear in any one of those of the first four cen- 

 turies. The monogrammatic cross, as it is called, was used before this, 

 not however as early as 209, as Zannoni inferred from an inscription 

 given by Boldetti, p. 83. There is, certainly, a monogrammatic cross 

 in that epitaph, but the date is 456, as is evident from the words DN 

 AVITI, I. e. Domini Nostri Aviti scil, the emperor of that name. 

 Eoldetti, who was not aware of the Consulship of Avitus Augustus^ 

 interpreted the words as referring to Avitus, Consul in 209. The same 

 careless investigator, p. 351, introduced a new fashion of cross on the 

 authority of a stone that he found in the Catacomb of St. Agnes. 

 This he not only figured, but described as a decussated cross trans- 

 fixed with a spear, whilst it is really no more than an imperfect 

 Constantinian monogram. His mistake led to serious waste of time and 

 trouble, for some learned men, as De Rossi remarks, arcanam signi- 

 ficationem inani lahore investigarunt. See Cavedoni, Bull dell' . 1st. 

 1843, p. 152. Aringhi, vol. ii. pp. 377-880, furnishes another example 

 of the result of extravagant symbolism. More than four columns of 

 his work are devoted to the explanation of certain figures, that he calls 

 representations of the heart, in the inscriptions found in the Catacombs, 

 and the subject is illustrated by various quotations from the Holy Scrip- 

 tures, the Fathers, and Grreek and Latin heathen authors. These figures, 

 however, on which so much learning is wasted, are in reality nothing 

 more than leaf-points, or leaf-decorations, that are commonly found in 

 both Christian and Pagan inscriptions. See examples in Plate iii. 2. 

 Nor was this ridiculous mistake limited to Aringhi. Boldoni suggested 

 that the figure — unquestionably a leaf with a stem — signified dolorem 

 Gordi intimum, and Crasser believed that it was the representation 

 cordis spina transfixi, and meant cordolium! 



