he tomb of S. Lorenzo. This
sarcophagus, hardly noticed by visitors in spite of its great
historical associations, is preserved in the vestibule of the
Capitoline Museum.

[Illustration: Inscription found near the Porta del Popolo, 1877.]

As regards mixed marriages, a discovery made in 1877, near the Porta
del Popolo, has revealed a curious state of things. In demolishing one
of the towers by which Sixtus IV. had flanked that gate, we found a
fragment of an inscription of the second century, containing these
strange and enigmatic words: "If any one dare to do injury to this
structure, or to otherwise disturb the peace of her who is buried
inside, because she, my daughter, has been [or has appeared to be] a
pagan among the pagans, and a Christian among the Christians" ... Here
followed the specification of the penalties which the violator of the
tomb would incur. It was thought at first that the phrase _quod inter
fedeles fidelis fuit, inter alienos pagana fuit_ had been dictated by
the father as a jocose hint of the religious inconsistency of the
girl; but such an explanation can hardly be accepted. A passage of
Tertullian in connection with mixed marriages leads us to the true
understanding of the epitaph. In the second book Ad Uxorem, Tertullian
describes the state of habitual apostasy to which Christian girls
marrying gentiles willingly exposed or submitted themselves,
especially when the husband was kept in ignorance of the religion of
the bride. He mentions the risks they would incur of betraying their
conscience by accompanying their husbands to state or civil
ceremonies, thus sanctioning acts of idolatry by the mere fact of
their presence. In the book De Corona, he concludes his argument with
the words: "These are the reasons why we do not marry infidels,
because such marriages lead us back to idolatry and superstition." The
girl buried on the Via Flaminia, by the modern Porta del Popolo, must
have been born of a Christian mother and a good-natured pagan father;
still, it seems hardly consistent with the respect which the ancients
had for tombs that he should be allowed to write such extraordinary
words on that of his own daughter.

We must not believe, however, that gentiles and Christians lived
always at swords' points. Italians in general, and Romans in
particular, are noted for their great tolerance in matters of
religion, which sometimes degenerates into apathy and indifference.
Whether it be a sign of