PART II
TWO EXAMPLES OF RECENT DISCOVERIES
CRYPT OF S. CECILIA—THE BURIAL-PLACES OF
S. FELICITAS, OF JANUARIUS, AND OF HER
OTHER SONS
I
Out of the many pages of Catacomb lore, the story of the
Crypt of S. Cecilia and its recent discovery, and the
identification of the burial-places of S. Felicitas and
her seven sons, have been selected to be told here as specially
interesting examples of the historical and theological importance
of these investigations among the forgotten cemeteries
of subterranean Rome.
Allard's words in his edition of Northcote and Brownlow's exhaustive résumé of a portion of De Rossi's monumental work, deserve quoting. Writing of S. Cecilia, he says:
"Les découvertes modernes l'ont bien vengée du scepticisme ou de la prudence excessive de Tillemont: on sait aujourd'hui que Sainte Cecile n'est ni un mythe, ni une martyre venue de Sicile, mais une vraie Romaine, du plus pur sang romain; sa noble et gracieuse figure est décidément sortie des brumes de la légende pour entrer dans le plein jour de l'histoire."
The "Acts" of her martyrdom in their present form are probably not older than the fifth century, although S. Cecilia suffered in the reign of the Emperor Marcus Antoninus, circa A.D. 177. But these "Acts" are undoubtedly very largely based upon a contemporaneous record: the recent discoveries have enabled historical criticism fairly to restore what was original in the story of the martyr.
