hrist, and enlisted him among the gods; a project
attributed also to Hadrian. There is no doubt that Hadrian ordered
temples to be erected in every city to an unknown god; and because
they have no statue we still call them temples of Hadrian. He is said
to have prepared them for Christ; but to have been deterred from
carrying his plan into execution by the consideration that the temples
of the old gods would become deserted, and the whole population turn
Christian, _omnes christianos futuros_."[6]

The freedom enjoyed by the Church under Caracalla is proved by the
_graffiti_ of the Domus Gelotiana, described in my "Ancient Rome."[7]
The one caricaturing the crucifixion, which is reproduced on p. 122 of
that volume, stands by no means alone in certifying to the spreading
of the faith in the imperial palace. The name of Alexamenos, "the
faithful," is repeated thrice. There is also a name, LIBANUS, under
which another hand has written EPISCOPUS, and, lower down, LIBANUS
EPI[SCOPUS]. It is very likely a joke on Libanus, a Christian page
like Alexamenos, whom his fellow-disciples had nicknamed "the bishop."
It is true that the title is not necessarily Christian, having been
used sometimes to denote a municipal officer;[8] but this can hardly
be the case in an assembly of youths, like the one of the Domus
Gelotiana; and the connection between the _graffiti_ of Libanus and
those of Alexamenos seems evident. In reading these _graffiti_, now
very much injured by dampness, exposure, and the unscrupulous hands of
tourists, we are really witnessing household quarrels between pagan
and Christian dwellers in the imperial palace, in one of which
Caracalla, when still young, saw one of his playmates struck and
punished on account of his Christian origin and persuasion.

Septimius Severus and Caracalla issued a constitution,[9] which
opened to the Jews the way to the highest honors, making the
performance of such ceremonies as were in opposition to the principles
of their faith optional with them. What was granted to the Jews by the
law of the empire may have been permitted also to the Christians by
the personal benevolence of the emperors.

When Elagabalus collected, or tried to collect, in his own private
chapel the gods and the holiest relics of the universe, he did not
forget Christ and his doctrine.[10] Alexander Severus, the best of
Roman rulers, gave full freedom to the Church; and once, the
Christians having taken possession