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. Wilson, "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 Westwood's Palseographia, 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 Petrie 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." f 



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 



* a.d. 60. -j- See his Archaeology and Pre-historic Annals of Scotland, p. 497. 



VOL. XXI. PART II. 4 C 



