Epitaph with poetic quotations from Virgil and symbols of Christ

Photogallery

Epitaph with poetic quotations from Virgil and symbols of Christ
Epitaph with poetic quotations from Virgil and symbols of Christ
Section XVI. Christian inscriptions, II

“Here lies in his (grave) the unfortunate Cicercula, the name of he who lived innocently. May he rest in peace forever! While by nature’s will he reached his fourth year, a dark day stole him, and he had an immature funeral”. The epitaph of theslab, placed for a child called with the affectionate diminutive of the name of a legume, is written in verse and enriched with a classic quote (Virgil, Aeneid, books VI, verse 429, and XI, verse 28) in the last line. This contrasts with the poor quality of the engraving carried out by an illiterate, consistent with the general decay of civilization and culture at the time. In the circle on the right there is the symbol of the Christian faith expressed in the combination of the Greek letters Χ and Ρ, initials of Χριστός (Christós) “Christ”, understood as the “beginning” (the letter alpha, left) and “end” (the letter omega, right) of the universe. The monogrammatic cross engraved at the top, similarly accompanied by alpha and omega, is again evocative of the name and passion of Christ.