tomb of St Cyprian, and of those qui se in memoriis martyrum inebriant, and (what is more to the point) writes: De basilica beati apostoli Petri (i.e. the Vatican basilica) quotidiana vinolentia proferebantur exempla. The Christians were, of course, merely continuing (with the added intention of securing the advocacy of departed saints and martyrs) the practice of pagan families and burial-clubs. The editors of the 'Graffiti' have failed to draw the interesting parallel afforded by an inscription from Palestrina* which mentions a memoria set up by one Aurelius Vitalio for the association of the Syncratii, whose signum he bore, and adds: Et hoc peto ego Syncratius a bobis universis sodalibus ut sine bile refrigeretis: SYNCRATIORVM.' They have, however, borrowed from similar inscriptions the convenient name triclia; this we find (in various forms) applied to the arbours annexed for a similar purpose to pagan burial-places, which, as Lanciani has pointed out, must have been similar in appearance to the osterie which line the roads leading out of modern Rome. Now the graffiti of S. Sebastiano which appear to belong partly to the third and partly to the fourth century, imply the presence hard by of a memoria of SS. Peter and Paul. It has been suggested that this commemorated the residence of the Apostles in this region in their lifetime (in which case habitasse in the lines of St Damasus must be taken literally), or their temporary resting-place after martyrdom; but it is surely far more natural to interpret the facts with reference to the date of A.D. 258 given in the martyrologies, and to suppose that the represssive measures of Valerian (who prohibited Christian worship in the recognised cemeteries) led to a hasty transference of the bodies of the Apostles for fear of worse to follow. It is true that the precise resting-place of the bodies has yet to be identified, and it is much to be hoped that further exploration of the constructions adjacent to the triclia on the north-east will throw further light upon this point. It should be mentioned that from the atrium and triclia a flight of steps led down to a subterranean gallery tunnelled in the rock below the level of the chamber-tombs, which originally ended in a stuccoed

* Dessau, 'Inscriptiones Latina Selectæ,' 8090.

niche the sides of which were covered with graffiti similar to those of the triclia; this niche was at some time broken through and the tunnel continued as far as a well, the upper aperture of which is not far from the 'Platonia.' It would, however, be hazardous to affirm, as Marucchi is inclined to do, that the niche marked the spot where the bodies of the Apostles were concealed.

We cannot, of course, say for how long a period the precious relics remained ad Catacumbas; but they must have been retranslated when the Constantinian basilicas were built.* The refrigeria, however, continued to be celebrated until the basilica Apostolorum was built and the triclia with its adjacent structures were covered up. That this was the work of St Damasus—as the 'Liber Pontificalis' seems to show-is not disproved by the existence of a child's tomb bearing the date A.D. 356 or 357 in the floor of the basilica. It is possible, too, that St Damasus may have suppressed the refrigeria, which had no doubt led to the abuses censured by St Augustine, and constructed the double cenotaph of the Platonia as a memoria Apostolorum; but the last word has perhaps still to be spoken on this question.†

What, then, may we infer from the recent discoveries, when interpreted in the light of the earliest traditions? Probably this much: that in A.D. 200 the Christians in Rome could point to graves in pagan surroundings in which, as they believed, SS. Peter and Paul had been buried close to the scenes of their martyrdom; that in A.D. 258 the bodies were removed from these graves to the site ad Catacumbas on the Appian Way, where Christians had for some time past owned places of burial; and that from this time on the rite of refrigeratio was practised ad Paulum et Petrum, even after the retranslation of the remains, until the basilica Apostolorum took the place of a more modest memorial.

* No stress can be laid on the 'forty years' of the Salzburg Itinerary' (see above, p. 400). The 'Liber Pontificalis' actually speaks of the retranslations as taking place during the papacy of Cornelius (A.D. 251–253).

† Dr La Piana ('Harvard Theological Review,' 1921, p. 53 ff.) and Mgr Barnes ('Dublin Review,' vol. 175 (1924), p. 15 ff.) incline to the belief that St Peter received hospitality from the owner of the ancient villa (to which the 'Platonia' may originally have belonged); and the latter writer puts forward a theory as to the history of the site which involves much that is conjectural and cannot here be discussed in detail.

Had the invention' of the supposed bodies of the Apostles been a pious fraud of the Constantinian age, it is hardly likely that it would have taken place except in one of the early Christian cemeteries.

For the sake of completeness a few words may be added concerning other discoveries made in recent years. The researches of Marucchi have led to a definite identification of the site ad nymphas S. Petri ubi baptizabat mentioned in the Passion of St Marcellus, which is also called the cymiterius Ostrianus ubi Petrus apostolus baptizabat in the Acts of St Liberius (the predecessor of St Damasus in the Papacy), and the sedes ubi prius sedit Sanctus Petrus in the parchment of Monza, which gives a list of the oils collected in vials at the tombs of the martyrs for the Lombard Queen Theodolinda. It was in the very early Catacomb of Priscilla, mentioned above (p. 394), as occupying part of a villa belonging to the Acilii Glabriones; and the nympho are to be recognised in the piscina found on that site, which appear to have been adapted for the baptismal rite. It would be rash to base an argument for the survival of a primitive tradition upon documents decidedly later than the Peace of the Church; but it is of interest to note that, as Mgr Wilpert has shown in his recent study of the representations of St Peter on Christian sarcophagi,* the striking of the rock by Moses (a prototype of Peter, as is shown by the legend PETRUS attached to the figure on certain glasses adorned with engraved discs of gold-leaf †) is found in at least seventy examples (one of which is as early as the second half of the second century A.D.), and has a symbolical reference to the rite of baptism. Nor would it be wise to lay stress on the typical portraits of the Apostles found on the monuments of Early Christian art; we could scarcely believe them to be traceable to contemporary works, and the type of St Peter is not in fact fixed. The discovery in 1919 of a richly decorated hypogeum, with a suite of tomb-chambers, in Viale Manzoni, aroused widespread interest, since it was said to contain a series of early full-length portraits of

* 'Studi Romani,' vol. 111 (1922), p. 140 ff.

·

+ One of these gold-glasses, found at Podgoritza, has the quaint inscription Petrus virga perquodset (i.e. percussit): fontes ciperunt quorrere i.e. cœperunt currere).'

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the Apostles. The monument, which dates from the

early part of the third century, is indeed of outstanding importance for Early Christian art,* but the 'Apostles are only eleven in number, and though two of the figures might pass muster as those of SS. Peter and Paul, the only conclusion which can safely be drawn is that Christian artists drew, as they were obliged to do, upon the répertoire of types common to the painters of their time.

In the foregoing pages an attempt has been made to treat the question discussed according to those strict canons of historical criticism which scholars of the 20th century recognise, whether as generally valid or as specially applicable to the literature and material remains of the Early Roman Empire. Little, perhaps, has been proved in a positive sense; but the writer hopes to have made it clear that there are no cogent reasons for the assertion that the Christian community in Rome was wrong in revering as its founders Peter of Galilee and Paul of Tarsus.

H. STUART JONES.

* The strange mixture of Christian and pagan symbolism found in the frescoes suggests that the owners belonged to an unorthodox sect.

Art. 12. THE GREAT ISSUE: SOCIALISM VERSUS CAPITALISM.

[TRADES Unionism and Communism occupy a large place in public interest to-day. The doctrines of the extremists are shouted from the housetops; assertion takes the place of argument, and some of the leaders are so busy rushing from place to place in their motor-cars and haranguing meetings that apparently they have but little time to study the questions in which they profess to be experts.

Starvation is a telling word to use to an uneducated mob, and those who vaguely talk of the existence or imminence of starvation as the result of Capitalism' do not hesitate to advocate a general strike which would with certainty cause starvation to thousands of their defenceless fellow-subjects who are outside the bounds of Trades Unionism.

The proceedings of the recent Congress at Scarborough show that there is still a strong force of that sound common sense which has always characterised the bonâfide British workman, but the organisation and method of voting which exist are hopelessly inadequate for present needs, and common sense can often hardly obtain a hearing when the Communistic element has 'captured the machine.'

The newspaper reports indicate that at the Scarborough Congress-from first to last-not one word of the greatest good of the greatest number was uttered. The welfare of the community at large is wholly ignored by men who claim that they will soon abolish or override Parliament. Such baseless statements as that employers are carrying on a determined campaign against labour, and that the Colonies are a form of Capitalist exploitation, were thrust upon a meeting which was incompetent to test and criticise them, even if the opportunity had been given-but this was denied. Mr Thomas, who could speak with authority, was hardly allowed a hearing. One strange delusion which seems to exist among these men is that they can continue to draw on the wealth of the community indefinitely without adding to it, and one speaker went so far as to thank God he had never saved a penny in his life when taunted with