ence to the Scythian cold must be in connection with Britain. Pudens urges Martial to give a decent edition of his poems. Martial sends a book to a fellow countryman of Aulus Pudens. Epig. vii. II. Epig. vii. 97. The poet wonders how Claudia Rufina, sprung from the painted Britons, could possibly have such graces, and he thanks the gods that she has borne children to her sainted hus Epig. xi. 53. band, and that she has the prospect of having many sons and daughters-in-law. Then he wishes her to enjoy for a long life the company of her one husband, and the honour of being the mother of three children. Martial complains that he gets no "Cattæ" from Umbria now. Pudens sends them all to his lord, Aulus Plautius. Epig. xiii. 69. This and the following are addressed to one Aulus, who may not improbably be the same person as Aulus Pudens. They do not, however, throw much light upon our subject, so they are left unreviewed.1 Epig. v. 28. vii. 14. xi. 38. xii. 51. Now we have before us all the means of forming an opinion of Pudens' character. When we take into consideration the circumstances of the time, it is not an unfavourable one. As is already said, the coarse insinuations and vulgarities found in the Epigrams reviewed must be the reflection of Martial's mind. On two occasions Pudens seems to take exception to Martial's writings; the poet shuts his eyes to this, but no one can help noticing the change in the later Vid. Orig. Celt., where the whole subject is worked out. Epigrams. There is more respect shown to Pudens, and the last one is nothing else but a complaint of Pudens' neglect. The gulf between the two may have been widening for some time. And as for his commendation of Claudia, "A wanton poet, in his chaste intervals, might praise that goodness in another which he would not have practiced himself."1 On the whole, then, these Epigrams, supported by so many concurrent probabilities, are highly favourable to the hypothesis that the Pudens and Claudia mentioned by S. Paul are the same persons as those of Martial's Epigrams. This hypothesis is supported by Bale-who was the first, it is believed, to identify the names-Camden, Ussher, Collier, and others. But it is still more strongly supported by an inscription which is written on a slab found at Chichester A. D. 1790. about seventy years after Archbishop Ussher's death, in 1723; and which excited a great deal of interest at that time among the antiquaries of the day. "It was mutilated, but the inscription was restored by Roger Gale, and informed the reader that a certain guild of workmen, with their Priests, 'dedicated under the authority of King Tiberius Claudius Cogidubnus, the Legate of Augustus in Britain, a Temple to Neptune and Minerva for the safety of the divine house (i. e., the Imperial family), Pudens, son of Pudentinus, giving the right.' "4 The restoration of the letters PUD to Pudentinus is consistent with Roman usage in respect of family names, which commonly differed only in their ending. King Cogidubnus has been identified with the Cogidunus who is mentioned by Tacitus1 as governor of certain British States in 1 Fuller, book i. § i. 10. 3 Phil. Trans., No. 379. 2 Orig. Celt., p. 130. 4 Orig. Celt., p. 124. A. D. 80. the reign of Claudius. And his name of Tiberius Claudius has been accounted for by referring to the well-known custom of allowing tributary kings and foreigners to assume the name or names of their sovereign.* Here, then, we have in the inscription of this slab the name of Pudens, coupled with the name of a British Prince and with a Roman name of Claudia, connected with the erection of a public building devoted to Roman gods for the protection of the Imperial house. The adoption of the name of Claudius by this Prince would, according to Roman usage, necessitate the adoption of the name of Claudia for his daughter. Thus we have a Pudens, a Claudia, and a Roman Prince of the name of Claudius, all of British birth and all connected with Britain.* We learn also from Martial that a Pudens no doubt had been to Britain, and had married a British lady of the name of Claudia: ' and from S. Paul we learn that there was a Pudens and a Claudia who were Christians living at Rome when he wrote his second Epistle to Timothy in A. D. 68. Now, were these the same persons? We have already seen that Aulus Plautius had a Christian wife of the name of Pomponia Græcina, who, on account of her faith, had to live apart from her husband. This may have been the result of the disturbances raised by the Jews against the Christians, which led Claudius in A. D. 57 to expel both Jews and Christians alike from Rome. It was possibly on this occasion that Aquila and Priscilla left Rome. This would take place about ten years before S. Paul wrote his Epistle to Timothy. 1 Agric. 14. addita insuper veteranorum colonia; quaedam civitates Cogiduno regi donatae, is ad nostram usque memoriam fidissimus mansit. 2 Suet. Claud. 25. 4 Supra. 3 Supra. 5 Ep. vi. 58; iv. 13; xi. 53. Pomponia would naturally live in strictest seclusion, being thus accused of the " foreign superstition," if only on the ground of saving her husband from dishonour; and thus the fact that she is not mentioned by S. Paul may be accounted for. Now one of the families of the Pomponian "gens" was called the Rufi; and if we presume that Pomponia was adopted to this family we may account for Martial addressing two of his Epigrams to a Rufus, and also it may be for the name of Claudia Rufina-Rufina being also a name borne by female members of this "gens" One is mentioned in Roman history. In Martial's Epigram vi. 58, there is ground for believing that, when it was written, Aulus Pudens was serving in Britain. And the name of Aulus here given to him gives some ground for believing that there was some connection between him and Aulus Plautius. And the friendship 1 Supra, and Tacitus Annal. xiii. 22. Suet. Claud. 25. 3 Acts xviii. 2. 4 Venbl. J. Williams' Claudia and Pudens, Llanddyfrey, 1848. (Quoted by Guest, p. 125.) 5 Dion Cassius, lxxvii. 16. of Aulus Plautius with the faithful British Prince, Cogidubnus, and Pudens Cogidubnus' early friend, may have pointed out Martial's Pudens as a fit person to visit the court of Cogidubnus. "If Pudens were married to the daughter of Cogidubnus, there could not have been a better appointment."1 2 A. D. 47-50? Aulus Plautius retired from Britain about A. D. 47. It is quite probable he may have taken with him the infant daughter of Cogidubnus, he being a favourite at Rome, either as a hostage for her father's further fidelity, or to be educated in the capital among the best society. If this were so he would naturally intrust her to the care of his wife, Pomponia; and thus we can somewhat account for Claudia's Christianity, and her connection with Timothy in A. D. 61-62. Presuming she is Claudia of S. Paul's Epistle to Timothy, she must have been about fifteen when she received instruction in the Faith from Timothy; and about twenty-two when she sent greetings in A. D. 68. Thus she would be about forty when the Epigram on her marriage was published, in the reign of Domitian, though she may have been married and the Epigram written long before. Epig. iv. 13. 3 During the troubles in Britain raised by Arviragus, she and her husband, Pudens, may have been despatched there to strengthen the authority of Cogidubnus. We know from Tacitus he remained faith Guest, quoting Williams. 2 Probably not till 51 A. D. The war began in 42 A. D. In the ninth year of it Caractacus was captured. 3 Juvenal, iv. 121. |