[738] The pagan Lucian satirizes the Christian doctrine of the Trinity, “one in three and three in one”—Ἓν ἐκ τριῶν, καὶ ἐξ ἑνὸς τρία.—Philopatr., ad fine. Pliny mentions the Christian worship of Christ as God, “Carmenque Christo quasi Deo.”—Ep. ad Had. In response to the heathen accusation of worshipping a mere man, a crucified impostor—ἀνεσκολοπισμένον σοφιστὴν, (Luc., de Mort. Pereg.,) the Christians reply that he is also God: Υἱος καὶ πατὴρ εἷς ἄμφω κύριος—Clem., Paed., iii, 12; “Deus est et Dei Filius, et unus ambo.”—Tertul., Apol., 30. In contrast to Christian monotheism, Tertullian ridicules the polytheism of the heathen, and compares the contests of the gods in Homer to those of gladiators.—Ad. Nat., 10. Imitating the keen irony of Isaiah, he exclaims, “You make a cooking pot of Saturn, a frying pan of Minerva. Even the mice gnaw, the spiders defoul your gods.”—Ibid., ii, 12. The trinity of Plato and the Hindoo sages was a mere speculative subtlety. Tertullian spurned the fusion of philosophy and Christian doctrine. “Away with such mottled Christianity,” he exclaims.—De Præscrip. Hæret., c. 7. Compare his noble confession of faith in God, the eternal Spirit, an incorporeal essence, the true Prometheus who gave order to the world, concluding with the noble words, “We say, and before all men we say, and torn and bleeding under your tortures we cry out, ‘We worship God through Christ.’”—Apol., 17-22.
[739] Bryant’s Thanatopsis.
CHAPTER III.
CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER AS READ IN THE CATACOMBS.
The inscriptions of the Catacombs give us many interesting indications of the social position, domestic relations, and general character of the primitive Christians, as well as of their religious belief. They lift the veil of ages from the buried past and cause it to live again, lit up with a thousand natural touches which we seek in vain from books. They bridge the gulf of time, and make us in a sense contemporaries of the early church. They give us an insight into the daily life and occupations of the ancient believers, of which no mention is made in the crowded page of history. The winding Catacombs are the whispering gallery of the bygone ages. Their humble epitaphs are echoes thrilling with a deep and tender meaning, too low and gentle to be heard across the strife of intervening years. In their touching pathos we seem to hear the sob of natural sorrow for the loved and lost, “the fall of kisses on unanswering clay,” the throbbings of the human heart in the hour of its deepest emotion, when the parting pang unseals the founts of feeling in the soul. We read of the yearnings of an affection that reaches beyond the grave, and hungers for reunion with the dear departed above the skies; the expression of an inextinguishable love that death itself cannot destroy. We see the emblematic palm and crown rudely scratched upon the grave wherein the Christian athlete, having fought the fight
and kept the faith, has entered into dreamless rest. We read, too, the records of the worldly rank of the deceased—sometimes exalted, more often lowly and obscure—frequently accompanied by the emblems of their humble toil.
The very names written on these marble slabs are often beautifully and designedly expressive of Christian sentiment or character. Sometimes the correspondence of name and character is indicated, as in the following: ΣΙΜΠΛΙΚΙΑ Η ΚΑΙ ΚΑΛΩΝΥΜΟΣ—“Simplicia who was also rightly so-called;” HIC VERVS QVI SEMPER VERA LOCVTVS—“Here lies Verus, who ever spoke verity.” These names were frequently assumed in adult age, when the convert from paganism laid aside his former designation, often of an idolatrous meaning, in order to adopt one more consistent with the Christian profession. Thus we have such beautifully significant names as INNOCENTIA, “Innocence;” CONSTANTIA, “Constancy;” PRVDENTIA, “Prudence;” DIGNITAS, “Dignity;” DECENTIA, “Comeliness;” PEREGRINVS, “A pilgrim;” SABBATA, “Rest;” ANASTASIA, “The resurrection;” ΠΙΣΤΙΣ, “Faith;” ΕΛΠΙΣ and SPES, “Hope;” ΑΓΑΠΗ, “Love;” ΕΙΡΗΝΗ, “Peace;” ΑΓΑΘΗ, “Good;” ΕΥΣΕΒΙΟΣ, “Pious;” ΕΥΚΑΡΠΙΑ, “Good fruit;” PROBVS, “Just;” FELIX, “Happy;” FIDELIS, “Faithful;” FORTVNATA, “Fortunate;” VERVS, “True;” DIGNVS, “Worthy;” CASTA, “Pure;” BENIGNVS, “Kind;” NOBILIS, “Noble;” AMABILIS, “Amiable;” INGENVA, “Sincere;” VENEROSA, “Venerable;” GAVDIOSA, “Rejoicing,” GRATA, “Pleasing;” CANDIDVS, “Frank;” DVLCIS and ΓΛΥΚΥΣ, “Sweet;” SEVERA, “grave;” with the comparatives, FELICIOR, NOBILIOR, etc., and the superlatives, FELICISSIMA, “most happy;” NOBILISSIMA, “most noble;” FIDELISSIMA, “most faithful;” DIGNISSIMA,
“Most worthy;” DVLCISSIMA, “Most sweet;” and the like.[740]
Sometimes, too, a pious word or phrase was used as a proper name, as among the ancient Hebrews and the English Puritans. Thus we have such examples as, QVOD VVLT DEVS, “What God wills;” DEVS DEDIT, “God gave;” ADEODATVS[741] and ADEODATA, “Given by God;” ΘΕΟΤΟΚΟΣ, “God-born;” ΘΕΟΔΩΡΑ, “God-given;” DEO GRATIA, “Thanks to God;” ΘΕΟΦΙΛΟΣ, “God-beloved;”[742] RENATVS, “Born again;” REDEMPTVS, “Redeemed;” ACCEPTISSIMA, “Very well pleasing;” BONIFACIVS, “Well-doer;” ΕΥΠΡΟΣΔΕΚΤΟΣ, “Accepted” or “Acceptable;” and ΣΩΖΟΜΕΝΗ, “Saved.”[743] De Rossi thinks that the expressions, ANCILLA DEI, “Handmaid of God;” and SERVVS DEI, “Servant of God,” are sometimes proper names.