First Sentence

"A VAST number of ancient Christian inscriptions have unfortunately been lost through the destruction of monuments, and the dispersion of the inscribed marbles which were once so abundant in cemeteries and basilicas; the text, however, of many of these lost inscriptions, so indispensable for the purpose of our studies, has been preserved to us in ancient manuscripts or in archaeological works; before attempting, then, the study of the various classes of Christian inscriptions, it is incumbent on us to indicate with clearness the sources from which we derive our knowledge of the text of ancient inscriptions; some of these sources are also common to a certain extent to the study of classical epigraphy, as they consist of records in which both Christian and pagan inscriptions are preserved."