HISTORY OF MALTA.

17

t

5

t

t

6n

f

s

n

le

rs

le

a

5

?r

m

id

ted

in a kind of basket: he rests his left hand on the ground,which, on that account, as it appears, is covered with some-thing resembling a sandal; and he presents a cup with theother: the rags which serve him for clothing as low as theknees, are fastened round him by a cord, and a cloak, like thatof a pilgrim, is hung on his shoulders. The whole of this figureis covered with characters, some of which are Greek, someEtruscan, and others those of an unknown language. Themonogram of Christ may be plainly distinguished; and theletters which precede it form in Ionic ©rriET for etyiih, whichjoined to the monogram signifies —The Lord is struck. Thisfigure holds upon his arm the feet of another figure, which havebeen broken off and lost. According to all appearance, theformer represents one of those sectaries who, in the second andthird centuries, employed themselves in imagining a kind ofarithmetical theology, according to which they pretendedthat the letters of the alphabet, particularly those which ex-pressed numbers, contained the power that created the uni-verse j and became, as they asserted, even the physical causeof its production. The principal proof on which they relied indefence of this absurdity was, that Jesus Christ had himself said,I am Alpha and Omega. It was customary with these heretics,in consequence of this extravagant and ridiculous superstition,to inscribe on their monuments a vast number of mysteriousalphabetical characters; and it is therefore probable that thisfigure represented one of their principal chiefs, and afterwards

VOL. i.

v