The ashes thus collected were then finally deposited in the urn, which was made of different materials, according to the quality of the dead; usually of clay or glass, but sometimes of marble, bronze, and even the precious metals. The ceremony thus over, the præfica gave the word, Ilicet (the contracted form of Ire licet, It is lawful to go), and the bystanders departed, having been thrice sprinkled with a branch of olive or laurel dipped in water, to purify them from the pollution which they had contracted, and repeating thrice the words, Vale, or Salve, words of frequent occurrence in monumental inscriptions, as in one of beautiful simplicity which we quote:
"Farewell, most happy soul of Caia Oppia. We shall follow thee in such order as may be appointed by nature. Farewell, sweetest mother."
The distinction between cenotaphs and tombs has been already explained. Cenotaphs, however, were of two sorts: those erected to persons already duly buried, which were merely honorary, and those erected to the unburied dead, which had a religious end and efficacy. This evasion of the penal laws against lying unburied was chiefly serviceable to persons shipwrecked or slain in war; but all came in for the benefit of it whose bodies could not be found or identified. When a cenotaph of the latter class was erected sacrifices were offered, the names of the deceased were thrice invoked with a loud voice, as if to summon them to their new abode, and the cenotaph was hallowed with the same privileges as if the ashes of the deceased reposed within it.
The heir, however, had not discharged his last duty when he had laid the body of his predecessor in the tomb; there were still due solemn rites, and those of an expensive character. The Romans loved to keep alive the memory of their dead, showing therein a constancy of affection which does them honor; and not only immediately after the funeral, but at stated periods from time to time, they celebrated feasts and offered sacrifices and libations to them. The month of February was especially set apart for doing honor to the manes, having obtained that distinction in virtue of being, in old times, the last month of the year. Private funeral feasts were also celebrated on the ninth day after death, and indeed at any time, except on those days which were marked as unlucky, because some great public calamity had befallen upon them. Besides these feasts, the dead were honored with sacrifices, which were offered to the manes, and with games; but the latter belong more to those splendid public funerals which we have professed not to describe. The inferiæ consisted principally of libations, for which were used water, milk, wine, but especially blood, the smell of which was thought peculiarly palatable to the ghosts. Perfumes and flowers were also thrown upon the tomb; and the inexpediency of wasting rich wines and precious oils on a cold stone and dead body, when they might be employed in comforting the living, was a favorite subject with the bons vivans of the age. It was with the same design to crown it with garlands, and to honor it with libations, that Electra and Orestes met and recognized each other at their father's tomb. Roses were in especial request for this service, and lilies also:
Full canisters of fragrant lilies bring,
Mixed with the purple roses of the Spring;
Let me with funeral flowers his body strow,
This gift which parents to their children owe,
This unavailing gift at least I may bestow.
Dryden, Æn, vi. 883.
HIEROGLYPHICS.[ToList]
Inscriptions.—Before entering upon a description of the catacombs, we will speak of the inscriptions of the ancients. Most of the tombs are really Egyptian, and no nation has left so many inscriptions as the Egyptian. All its monuments are covered with them. Its temples, palaces, tombs, isolated monuments, present an infinite number of inscriptions in hieroglyphic, hieratic, and demotic characters. The Egyptians rarely executed a statue, or figured representation, without inscribing by its side its name or subject. This name is invariably found by the side of each divinity, personage, or individual. In each painted scene, on each sculptured figure, an inscription, more or less extensive, explains its subject.
The characters used by the Egyptians were of three kinds—hieroglyphic, hieratic, and demotic. The latter has been also termed enchorial, or popular. The first was doubtless a system of representational signs, or picture writing—the earliest form of writing, in the first stage of its development; the hieratic is an abbreviated form of the hieroglyphic; the demotic, a simplified form of the hieratic, and a near approach towards the alphabetic system.