The Annual register : or, A view of the history, politics, and literature for the year .. . fterious parts of recon-dite erudition, the parfon was calledin to his affiftance ; he too, as wellas the fquire, was incapable of de-cvphering the charadlers. In thisdreadful dilemma, the divine tooka copy of the infcription, and fentit up to the fociety of antiquaries,whilll all pofhble fecrecy was ob-ferved, left fuch an invaluable re-lique fhould by any means be con-veyed —A meeting of themembers of that learned body wasfummoned on this occafion; butit was impofTible to form an abfolutedetermi
The Annual register : or, A view of the history, politics, and literature for the year .. . fterious parts of recon-dite erudition, the parfon was calledin to his affiftance ; he too, as wellas the fquire, was incapable of de-cvphering the charadlers. In thisdreadful dilemma, the divine tooka copy of the infcription, and fentit up to the fociety of antiquaries,whilll all pofhble fecrecy was ob-ferved, left fuch an invaluable re-lique fhould by any means be con-veyed —A meeting of themembers of that learned body wasfummoned on this occafion; butit was impofTible to form an abfolutedetermination, at firft view, towhat this infcription might opinions at that time a-mounted merely to conjedure ;however, after fome months fpentin abftraiiled contemplation, thefollowing are the explanationswhich it received from fome of themore erudite members; which, to-gether with an exaft draught of thellone and its infcription, are infcrt-cd for the infpeftion of the curious,The original, with the debates atlarge upon it, may be feen in thejournal of that venerable fociety,. A R 1771: 199 The firft opinion was as follows: On the hrft examination ofthsftone, I was not able to form anyfatisfaftory conjecture concerningthe infcription ; but, as the iden-tity of the place where it was foundought to be materially confidered, I wrote to the gentleman at L n for information, if there were anynfefiigia of antiquity, as camps,fortifications, &c. in the anfwer to which enquiry I wasinformed, that there was nothingof this kind which he knew of, ex-cept the ruins of a priory about az»z//^ diftant. This is, indeed,//-fcient for our purpofe, and clearsup the matter at once. Clemens pon-tifex :c jacety faniiiis fewiis fecond letter being evidentlyan L, and the I. D. E. a tranfpofi-tion of Dei, from the ignorance ofthe fculptor: a Hone eredled to thememory of one Clemens, a dignifiedbrother in the convent. Nothingcan be more plain and eajy thanthis, Signed X.
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