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Article THE ROMAN COLLEGIA. ← Page 2 of 7 →
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The Roman Collegia.
"The chapter of the senatus con & ultum applicable to colleges funerum causa is first quoted , and then the rules of the college itself follow . It appears from this preliminary statement that in such colleges the meetings were only to be held once a month , and were to be confined
to the receipt of monthly contributions and to conferences upon the subject of the burials in their club . * The rules , however , extend this action considerably . The brethren meet to transact the grave business which is the motif oi the institution , and when that isover it is evident vnat they dine as genially as if good-fellowship only had congregated them . " But a habit of dining together on the part of cultivated men
meant , as we know in England , the habit also of a free interchange of thought . Free thought , therefore , found in the colleges a refuge and a home . However the law might restrict the number of meetings and dictate the subject of their formal conferences , it never affected to interfere with what occurred at the social board . Upon that the cold
shadow of absolute power was never projected . There rational freedom prevailed , and as De Rossi has triumphantly demonstrated , it was the glorious work of the Christian colleges , funerum causa , formed under the same law and regulated by the same rules , to nourish and preserve , as the creators of the catacombs , our nascent and struggling
faith . Under cover of a Roman burial club , the Christian Church received its early increment , and by these human means the Divine scheme of man ' s redemption , was permitted to be carried out . " The rules themselves of this college of Antinous and Diana are to the following effect : —
"' 1 . Placuituniversis , utquisquis in hoc collegium intrare voluerit , dabit Kapitulari nomine HS . C . N ., et vini boni amphoram , item in menses singulos AV " . '
" ' 2 . Item placuit , quisquis mensibus continenter non pariaverit , et ei humanitus acciderit , ejus ratio funeris non habebitur , etiamsitestamentum factum habuerit . '
"' 1 . It is determined , that whoever shall wish to enter this college shall pay an entrance fee of 100 sestertii , and give an amphora of good wine then and
every succeeding month . ' " ' 2 . Also it is determined , that whenever any member shall die without having paid up his subscriptions , the college shall have nothing to do with his funeral , although he may have left a
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Roman Collegia.
"The chapter of the senatus con & ultum applicable to colleges funerum causa is first quoted , and then the rules of the college itself follow . It appears from this preliminary statement that in such colleges the meetings were only to be held once a month , and were to be confined
to the receipt of monthly contributions and to conferences upon the subject of the burials in their club . * The rules , however , extend this action considerably . The brethren meet to transact the grave business which is the motif oi the institution , and when that isover it is evident vnat they dine as genially as if good-fellowship only had congregated them . " But a habit of dining together on the part of cultivated men
meant , as we know in England , the habit also of a free interchange of thought . Free thought , therefore , found in the colleges a refuge and a home . However the law might restrict the number of meetings and dictate the subject of their formal conferences , it never affected to interfere with what occurred at the social board . Upon that the cold
shadow of absolute power was never projected . There rational freedom prevailed , and as De Rossi has triumphantly demonstrated , it was the glorious work of the Christian colleges , funerum causa , formed under the same law and regulated by the same rules , to nourish and preserve , as the creators of the catacombs , our nascent and struggling
faith . Under cover of a Roman burial club , the Christian Church received its early increment , and by these human means the Divine scheme of man ' s redemption , was permitted to be carried out . " The rules themselves of this college of Antinous and Diana are to the following effect : —
"' 1 . Placuituniversis , utquisquis in hoc collegium intrare voluerit , dabit Kapitulari nomine HS . C . N ., et vini boni amphoram , item in menses singulos AV " . '
" ' 2 . Item placuit , quisquis mensibus continenter non pariaverit , et ei humanitus acciderit , ejus ratio funeris non habebitur , etiamsitestamentum factum habuerit . '
"' 1 . It is determined , that whoever shall wish to enter this college shall pay an entrance fee of 100 sestertii , and give an amphora of good wine then and
every succeeding month . ' " ' 2 . Also it is determined , that whenever any member shall die without having paid up his subscriptions , the college shall have nothing to do with his funeral , although he may have left a