man was advocating his cause, the Pope answered only four
disheartening words: "Sogni di un archeologo!" (dreams of an
archaeologist). At the same time he gave orders for the immediate
purchase of the vigna (now called dei Palazzi Apostolici) and for the
appropriation of an "exploration fund." In March, 1852, a crypt was
discovered on the very border of the Appian Way; in the crypt was a
tomb, and with it were the missing fragments of the epitaph of
Cornelius.

Some weeks later the young discoverer escorted the Pope to the
historical grave, and pointing to the epitaph exclaimed: "Sogni di un
archeologo!" To judge of the importance of the discovery we must
remember that the identification of the crypts of Lucina, and that of
all the surrounding catacombs, depended mostly upon the identification
of this one. The "Liber Pontificalis" says: "The emperor Decius gave
judgment in the case of Cornelius: that he should be taken to the
temple of Mars _extra muros_, and asked to perform an act of
adoration: in case of a refusal that he should be beheaded. This was
accordingly done, and Cornelius gave his life for his faith. Lucina, a
noble matron, assisted by members of the clergy, collected his remains
and buried them in a crypt on her own estate near the Cemetery of
Callixtus, on the Appian Way; and this happened on September 14 (A. D.
253)." As the Cemetery of Callixtus was the recognized burial-place of
the bishops of Rome, why was this exception made to the rule? The
reason is evident: the estate of Lucina contained the family vault of
the Cornelii, or at least of a branch of the Cornelian race. The
victim of the persecution of Decius was the first Pope of noble and
ancient lineage. Apparently his relatives wished to emphasize this
fact in the place selected for his burial, and by proclaiming his
illustrious descent on his gravestone through the use of the old and
simple language of the republic,--"Cornelius Martyr." The use of Latin
at this age constitutes another conspicuous exception to the rule,
because the Greek language was not only fashionable in the third
century, but had been adopted almost officially by the Church. The
majority of liturgical words, such as hymn, psalm, liturgy, homily,
catechism, baptism, eucharist, deacon, presbyter, pope, cemetery,
diocese, are of Greek origin, and the names of the Popes in the
pontifical crypt of this same cemetery are, likewise, written in
Greek letters even when they are stri