THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES GIFT OF Commodore Byron McCandless n 4^^. y~ mB fe t';^;4 ^iffiiilwii^^^^ m f^}. 'AlMi r- The Southeast Cross, Moiiasterl)oice. From O'Neill's Crosses of Ami ml Ir<-land. Zbc Croee In Tradition, History, and Art BY THE REV. WILLIAM WOOD SEYMOUR S/i7f Cni.\\ dit)u volvitiir orbis MOTTO OF THE CARTHUSIANS WITH ILLUSTRATIONS G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS NEW YORK AND LONDON Ube 1Finic(5crLiocl;cr press 1898 Copyright, 1897 BY G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS Entered at Stationers' Hall, London •Cbc Utnlchcvliotlicr Iprces, Wcw JDocI: BV $52 PUBLISHERS' NOTE OWING to the death of the author, the Rev. William Wood Sey- mour, shortly after the completion of the first draft of the manuscript of his work, the text of this manuscript did not receive the advantage of the author's final revision. The author's friend and literary executor, the Rev. Thomas S. Drowne, had kindly consented to give his personal supervision to the book while it was passing through the hands of the printers, but in con- nection with his own long illness- (an illness which resulted in his death some time before the book was in type) it did not prove practicable for him to give attention even to the completion of the proof-reading. This work has been done with as much care as was practicable in the case of a book of so special a character which had been left without the notes or the final instructions of either author or editor. It had seemed both to the literary executor and to the publishers that there would be no warrant for modifying in any way the author's conclusions or expressions of opinion. If the volume were to be brought before the public in accordance with the author's wish, it was thought essential that the author's own point of view and method of treatment should be adhered to without change. It was further decided by those interested in the undertaking that it was better to take the risk of issuing the volume with certain inade- quacies or imperfections rather than to permit to be thrown away the labor to which the author had devoted years of his life. yanuary /, iSgS. 860'iS9 CONTENTS. List of Illustrations Bibliography ■ PART I. PAGE ix I. — The Cross before the Christian Era and in Prehis toric Times Section i. — In Africa Section 2. — In Asia Section 3. — In Europe Section 4. — In America II. — Types of the Cross . III. — The Early Form and Use of the Cross Section i. — The Cross of Punishment . Section 2. — Voluntaiy Crucifixion Section 3 — Crucifixion of Children by the Jews . IV. — Legends of the Cross Section i. — Its Fabled Antiquity . . ■ • Section 2. — Traditions Respecting the Wood of the Cross ...... Section 3. — Miraculous Appearances of the Cross V. — The True Cross and its Traditionary History . Section i. — The Discovery of the Cross by S. Helena Section 2. — Traditionary Persons at the Cross VI. — The Title of the Cross VII. — The Doctrinal Teaching of the Crucifixion I 2 9 22 34 46 64 64 79 81 83 83 93 103 114 114 126 134 140 VI Contents PART II. I. — The Cross in Early Christian Art II. — The Crucifix in Early Christian Art III. — Monograms of Our Lord . IV. — Rood Screens V. — Altar and Reliquary Crosses VI. — Cruciform Ornaments VII. — Processional Crosses . VIII. — The Crosier and the Pastoral Staff IX. — Pectoral and Absolution Crosses X. — Consecration Crosses XI. — Spire and Gable Crosses XII. — Standard Crosses XIII. — Memorial Crosses XIV. — Sanctuary Crosses XV. — Preaching Crosses XVI. — Market Crosses . XVII. — Landmark Crosses XVIII. — Wayside, Street, and Weeping Crosses XIX. — Mortuary and Burial Crosses XX. — Churchyard Crosses 151 167 188 193 205 2 1 2 226 236 250 257 261 264 275 289 293 308 321 324 331 344 PART III. I. — Varieties of the Cross II. — The Cross in Heraldry . III. — The Cross on Coins I\". — The Banner of the Cross V. — ^The Color of the Cross in Art VI. — The Ordeal of the Cross VII. — The Adoration of the Cross . VI 11. — Superstitions Concerning the Cross 353 36a 375 383 394 396 398 404 Contents vu CHAl'TEK PAGE IX.- -The Si^^n of the Cross .... ■ 4'5 Section i. — Personal U.se of the Sign . • 4'5 Section 2. — In Baptism . 422 Section 3. — In Confirmation . 426 Section 4. — In the Holy Eucharist • 429 Section 5. — In Benediction . • 430 Section 6. — In Ordination • 43' Section 7. — In Prayer .... • 432 Section 8. — In Signatures • 433 Section 9. — In Touching for the King's Evi I • -435 Section 10. — Power of the Sign over Devils • 438 X.- -Puritan Objections to the Cross . • 441 XI.- -The Southern Cross .... • 451 XII.- -Miscellaneous Crosses .... • 456 Section i. — Notewortliy Crosses in History a id Nature, 456 Section 2. — Ingenious Crosses • 463 Section 3. — Cross and Pile . 466 Section 4. — Good-Friday Cross Buns ■ 467 Section 5. — The Crown of Thorns . . 468 Index • 475 ILLUSTRATIONS Inscription Siiowing Different Forms of the Tau Cross ' Ra^ Anion-lva' ........ Amon "......... Soul, Bearing a Crux Ansata, Returning to the Body ' Cross upon Heart "....... Cross on Cake '' . Egyptian Symbols for tlie Five Planets ' . Buddha, with Cross on Breast and Hands' Different Forms of the Fylfot Cross "... Hera, or the Assyrian Venus ° . Assyrian Winged Globe " . Sceptre Knob Found at Troy' ..... Earthen Vessels Found at Castione "... Cylinder Found at Villanova " . Heads of Cylinders Found at Villanova ' Accessory Vase Found at Golasecca "... Ossuary found at Golasecca " . Engraved Gem ' ....... Ancient Gaulish Coins '° . Cross, with the Bust of Neptune, Found near Paris '° Cruciform Druidical Temple " . Sepulchral Monument at New Grange, near Drogheda " Tablet with Cross, in Temple at Palenque, Mexico " ' From Bosio's La Trionfaiiti; e Gloriosa Croce. ' From Haslam's The Cross and the Serpent. ' From Sharpe's The History of Egypt. ■* From Lundy's Momwiental Christianity. * From Lee's Glossary of Liturgical Terms. ' From Layard's Nineveh. ' From Schliemann's Troja. From De Mortillet's La Signe de la ' From Walsh's Essay on Ancient Medals, and Gems. '" From Gould's Curious Myths. " From Higgins's Celtic Druids. "^ From Stephens's Central America. 2 3 3 4 4 5 6 6 lO II i6 i8 21 23 24 24 25 25 27 27 28 31 33 35 Croix. Coins, Illustrations Cross Found at Palenque ' ....... Plan of Sepulchral Chamber at Mitlan " Section of Sepulchral Chamber at Mitlan " . . . . Plan and Section of Sepulchral Chamber at Chila, Mexico ' . Emblems Found in the Mounds in the Mississippi and Ohio Valleys Temple Mound, Lovedale, Kentucky " Temple Mound, Marietta, Ohio "... Roman Mound near Banwell, Wiltshire, England Isaac Carrying the Wood ^ . . ■ . ■ Sacrifice of Isaac "...... The Brazen Serpent ' ..... The Crucifixion ° ..... . Window in Cathedral at Bourges' . Crucifixion b_\- Impaling' ..... Crucifi.xion on Stauros ' . Crucifi.xion by One Hand and Foot " Crucifixion of S. Andrew ' . . . . Crucifixion by Tying' ..... The Crucified Exposed to Wild Beasts' . Crucifixion and Burning' ..... Crucifi.xion Head Downwards ' . . . Crucifixion with Arms and Legs Spread ' Self-Crucifixion of Matthew Lovat . Adam .Sends Scth to Paradise for .Some of the Oil of Mercy". The Archangel Michael Gives Seth Three Seeds of the Tree o Life' Scth Buries Adam and puts the Three Seeds of the Tree of Life under his Tongue " . .... The Three Seeds .Spring Up '' . The Crucifixion '...... The Jews Bury the Crosses' .... ' From Wilson's Ahxico, * From Squier's Serpeni Symbol in America. " From Blake's The Cross, Aueieii/ and Modern. * From Squier's Antiquities of A'etv York and the West. ' From Jameson's History of Our Lord. ' From Twining's Symbols of Ear Mediicval Christian Art. '' From Lipsius's De Cnice. ' From B.-irtholimis's De Cruce Chisli. ' From Veklener's The Legendary History of the Cross, will) Introduction by John Asliton. PAGR 36 38 38 38 42 43 44 45 50 54 54 54 57 65 65 67 71 72 73 73 75 76 80 84 85 86 86 87 88 ly and Illustrations XI The Empress Helena Setting Forth from Constantino[)lc in Scarcli of the Cross ' . The Empress Helena Receiving the Cross ' The True Cross Restoring a Dead Maid to Life ' A Part of the True Cross Placed in a Church by the Empress Helena- Passion Flower' .... The Vision of Constantine " The Labarum '\ Medal of Constantine "... Medal of Constantius ° . . . « Coin of Ptolemy ' . . . . S. Helena in Jerusalem ^ . Discovery of the Crosses ' Test of the True Cross ' . S. Helena Deposits a Portion of the Cross in Jerusalem ' S. Veronica's Napkin at S. Peter's, Rome ' . . . The Descent from the Cross ° . Early Representation of the Crucifixion with Thieves " . The Title of the Cross "....... The Crucifixion (Ivory Work of the IXth Century) ' Sun and Moon at Crucifixion (Ancient Ivory) " Angels Round Cross (Duccio, Siena) " . . . . Angels Attending the Crucifixion (Pietro Cavallini, Assisi) ° Adoration of the Cross (S. Marco, Florence) ° . The Cross Imprinted on the Body' ..... Christ Represented as Orpheus '..... Triple Cross Representing the Second Person of the Trinity ' Representation of Pan Applied to Christ as the Good Shepherd Epitaph from the Catacombs ' . Coin of Crispus ' . . ... First Coin with Cross, Issued by Galla Placidia, Vtli Century 89 89 91 9' 02 04 05 07 07 08 14 15 15 '9 27 29 31 37 41 42 43 43 45 5> 52 53 53 55 56 57 ' From Fisher's Aiitiipii/i,'s tit Stral/ord-on- Avon, '■* From Bosio's La Trionfante e Gioriosa Croct'. ' From Gretser's De Saiichi Cruce. * From Veldener's The Legendary Histery of the Cross, with Introduction by John Ashton. From Harper's Alaga^iite. From Jameson's History of Our Lord. From Twining's Symbols of Early and Mcdiaval Christian Art. From Maitland's Church in the Catacombs. XI 1 Illustrations Christ Holding a Gemmed Cross ' . S. Pudentiana, from Fresco in the Church of S. Pudentiana Mosaic in the Church of S. Maria Maggiore, Rome ' Mosaic in the Church of S. Michael, Ravenna ' The Transfiguration '...... Cross Surmounted by Crown ' . Angel Changing Crown of Thorns for Real Crown The Lamb as a Symbol of Christ. In the Basilica of Romc^ ........ The Lamb as a Symbol of Christ. In the Church of SS. and Damiano " ..... Early Form of Crucifix, from MS. of Vlth Century Crucifix Found in the Catacomb of Pope Julius ° Hohenlohe Siegmaringen Crucifix ^ . Back of Hohenlohe Siegmaringen Crucifix " Early Pectoral Crucifix ' . Cross of Lothario (IXth Century) ' . Adam at the Foot of the Cross ' Mary at the Cross * . Anubis-Christos '..... Identity of Heathen and Christian Symbols ' The Labarum ' . Monograms of the Saviour '' . . . Monogram of the Three F.mblenis Carried in the Mysteries Various Crosses of the Greek Form ' Greek and Latin Crosses of Various Forms ' Monogram in the Lapidarian Gallery, Rome ' Mystic Cross ' . A Cathedral .Screen " . . . . A I'cU'ocliial .Screen " . Peter's Cosma 3° 58 6o 62 64 65 66 69 7' 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 80 81 88 88 88 88 89 89 9' 91 94 96 From Bosio's Za Trionfantc ( Ghriosa ■■ I''rom Didron's Christian It-oiwgraphy ; or Croce. ' From Ciampini's Vetera Mommeiita. '' From Jameson's History of Our Lord. •* From Jameson's Lcgeinls of the Madonna. ' From King's The Gnostics. ' From Jennings's The Rosicrucians, Their liites and Mysteries. the History of Christian .Irt in the Middle Ages. ' From Maitland's Church in the Catacombs. ' F'rom Pugin's Treatise on Chancel Screens and Kood-Lofts. Illustrations xui Iconostasis at Tepekerman ' . Marble Screen in the Church of the Frairi, Venice " Screen and Rood-Loft, Hospital, Lubeck ' Maximianus Welcoming Justinian ' . Reliquary of Orvieto, XlVth Century ' . Bronze Crucifix, Xllth Century ' .... Ciborium, Byzantine, End of XlVth Century" Monstrance of Sedletz Castle, Bohemia, XVth Century Monstrance ° ....... . Monstrance: German Example of the X\'Ith Century" Sceptre Surmounted by the Cross V Crown of Charlemagne '...... English Crown ........ Crown of Austria '....... Crown of Reccesvinthus, Vllth Century " Brooch of Silver Filagree Work (Date Uncertain) ' . Crucifix Made from an Old Spanish Hilt . Sword Hilt, XVHth Century * Dr. Donne's Seal '....... S. Augustine's Interview with Ethelbert ". Processional Cross ° . Processional Cross ' . Processional Cross ' . Processional Crosses "...... Ancient Processional Cross, Circa 1400 '" . Crosier "......... Crosier ° ........ . Tau-Shaped Pastoral Staff of Carved Ivory, Limburg ° Pastoral Staff " Pastoral Staff " 197 198 200 206 208 210 213 214 215 216 216 217 218 218 219 220 222 223 22 '^ 228 229 231 233 234 237 238 239 240 241 ' From Neale's Hiitory of the Holy Easlcrji ChurcJi. ' From Pugin's Treatise on Chancel Screens and Kood-Lofts. ' From Ciampini's Vetera Moninienta. ■* From Labarte's Handbook of the Arts of the Middle Ai^es and Reftaissance. ' From Wheatley's Art Work in Gold and Silver. ' From Lee's Glossary of Liturgical and Ec- clesiastical Terms. ' From Berry's Heraldric Encyclopedia. * From Walton's Complete Angler. ' From an old print. '" From V^tf% Manual of Gothic Architecture. " From Glossary of 7'erms Used in British Heraldry. XIV Illustrations Pastoral Staff witli Knob ' . . . . Forms of Pateressa '' . Pastoral Staff of S. Boniface ' . Cross Worn by One of the " Seven Chiefs against B.C. 1 200 ' Cross Worn by Samsi-Vul IV., King of Assyria, B Museum '...... Mosaic in the Oratory of S. Venantius, Rome "■ Byzantine Pectoral Cross " . . . . Queen Dagmar's Cross ' . Cross of the Knights Templars Exterior Cross ' ...... Consecration Crosses '..... Spire Cross "....... Crosses on Gables " . Front of Stone at Aberlemmo, with Cross '" Crosses in Isle of Man Bearing Runic Inscriptions ' The North Cross, Clonmacnoise " . The Southeast Cross, Monasterboice " Drumcliff Cross '"...... Geddington Cross "' . The Queen's Cross, near Northampton '" . Waltham Cross ....... Waltham Cross "...... Abingdon Cross ...... Charing Cross ....... Frithstool, Beverley Minster " . S. Paul's Pulpit Cross " C S- Thebes 5. B Circa ritish PAGE 242 250 251 252 256 258 261 262 266 268 269 271 273 2 So 282 283 284 286 286 290 295 ' I'rom Rock's Church of Our Fathers. * From Lee's Glossary of I.ifiirgical and Ec- '' From Neale's IJistory of the Holy Eastern clesiastkal Terins. Church. ° l'"rom Parker's Companion to Glossary of ' From Twiniiig's Symbols of Early and Me- 'I'crms Used in Gothic .Architecture. diccval Christian Art. '" I' rem Fergusson's Kude Stone Monuments. ^ From Brock's 'J'he Cross: Heatluii and " Vrom 0'Sei\\'& Crosses of Ancient /reland. Christian. " From O'Neill's Fine Arts of .Ancient Ire- ' From CLimpiiii's Vetera Monimcnta. land. ' From Labarte's llandhook of the Arts of the '' I'rom Brittoii's Architectural .Intiijuities. Middle Ages and Renaissance. " I'rom Holland's Cruciana. ■■ I'rom Stephens's Queen Dagmar's Cross. Illustrations XV S. Paul's Cross ' ..... S. Paul's Cross, Time of Latimer ' Preaching at S. Paul's Cross ' . Rercdos in S. Paul's ''.... Pulpit Cross at Iron-Acton, Gloucester Blackfriar's Pulpit, near Hereford ' . Gloucester High Cross ' . ... Market Cross at Cheddar^ Cross at Chichester, Sussex ' . Winchester Butter Cross .... Mercat (Market) Cross as Restored in 1885 Salisbury Market Cross .... Cross of Stourhead ' . Devizes Market Cross .... The High Cross, Formerly in the Market-Place at Wells Cross at Inverary ' . Tottenham Cross ..... Wayside Cross in the Alps "... " Ampney Crucis," near Cirencester . Stone Coffin of Llewellyn, Prince of Wales. I Stone Coffins with Cross on Lid '" . Stone Coffin-Lids ° . Stone Coffin-Lids " . Headstone Cross in lona .... Cross on Headstones '".... Grecian Headstones " . . . . Head and Base of a Monumental Brass Cross, Lincolnshire " .... Brass Effigy of Thomas Cranley, Archbishop den of New College Chapel, Oxford " ' From an old print. - From a photograph. ^ From Pooley's Old Crosses of Gloucestershire * From Bvitton's Architeclural Antiquities. ' From Arnold's History of the Cross of Edin- burgh. ' From Pooley's Old Stone Crosses of Somerset. ' From Bishop's Pictorial Are hi teeture. n Llanrwst Church of Dublin Grainthorpe Church and War PAGE 304 305 309 311 312 313 315 316 317 318 325 328 329 335 336 337 338 339 339 340 341 342 ' From Boutell's Ch>-isiian Monuments in England and Wales. '" From Cutts's Manual for the Study of Se- pulchral Slabs and Crosses. " From Neale's History of the Holy Eastern Church. '■■ From Boutell's Monumental Brasses of England. From Holland's Crucian XVI Illustrations Monumental Effigy of a Crusader ' Inscriptions in Catacombs " Cemetery Cross at Saillans (XVIth Century) Cemeter}'- Cross at Marcillac ' . Cross at Georget ' . . . Cross Quartered with the Four Gospels. From a Fresco in the Catacombs ' Christ, Armed with the Cross of Resurrection, Descending into Limbo ■■ . Lorraine or Jerusalem Cross ' Greek Cross, with Double Cross Arms (Xlth Century) ' Inhabited Cross, Florentine, 1491 ' Cross of S. George Cross Potent ' . Jerusalem Crosses Tau Cross " Saltire Cross ' Calvary Cross * Cross Botone ' Cross Patonce ' Cross Fleury ' Patriarchal Cross * Cross of S. James Cross Pommee ^ Cross Avellane ' Cross Pattee ' Maltese Cross ' Cross Moline ' Cross Milrine ' Cross Ancr^e ' Cross Barbae ' Cross Ancettdc ' Pall Cross ' I-'rom Cuttb's Manual for the Sliiiiy of St- " From Di-ouyn's Croix de Procession, de Ci- pulchral Slabs and Crosses. nietihrcs cl de Carrefours. From Kip's Catacombs of Rome. ■• From Diilioii's Christian Iconography. ' From Newton's Display of Heraldry. Illustrations XV 11 Merchants' Seals ' Sculptured Monograms ' Roman Quincunx " . Coin of Constantine ' Coins of Constantius * Coin of Nerva " . Coin of Valentinian " Coin of Gratian ' Coin of Theodosius Coin of Justinian ' Coin of Phocas " Coin of Heraclius '' Crosses from Anglo-Saxon Coir Pennies of William the Conqueror and William Ru Labarums from the Catacombs " Labarum from a Coin ' Coin of Constantine " Coin of Justinian * . The Carroccio " . • . Endicott Cutting the Cross from the S. George's Flag Banner of the Spanish Inquisition The Adoration of the Cross " The Conversion of S. Hubert ' . S. Eustace " . . . . Stigmata of S. Francis of Assisi ° The Cross as a Posture in Prayer ° Power of the Cross over Devils ° Medal of Luther ' . . . Coat of Arms of Luther ' . Coat of Arms of Melanchthon ' King's Banner ' I'AGE 373 373 375 376 377 37« 378 379 379 379 380 380 381 382 383 383 384 384 386 390 391 393 398 406 407 411 433 439 443 444 444 ' From Newton's Display of Ihraldry. ' From l^he Art youynai. ' From Gretser's De Saiicta Cruce. * From Walsh's Essay on Ancient Coins, Alfdais, and Gems. ' From Lee's Glossary of Liturgical and Ec- clesiastical Terms. ^ From Hollaml's Criiciana. ' Vxova an old print. * From Jameson's Sacred and Legendary Art. ' From Maitland's Church in the Catacombs. XVllI Illustrations The Southern Cross ' Black Cross of Abingdon ' Magnified Scales of the Minnow ' Cross- or Star-Spored Fungus ^ The Cross in Flowers ' Snow Crystals ' ... Crystallization of a Tear-Drop ' Croce Angelica di S. Tomasa de Aquinae ' Acrostic of Raban Maur "... 451 458 460 460 461 462 463 463 464 ' From Crovvther's The Stariy Cross. ' From T/ie Art Jottrnal. 2 From Palmer and Crowquill's Wanderings ■■ From Holland's Crticiiuia. of a Pen and Pejicil. From Maur's De Laudihiis Sanctir Criicis. BIBLIOGRAPHY BIBLIOGRAPHY A Kempis, Thomas. Serm : De Criicc qitotidie tolleiula in relig. assumpta. (0pp. t. i., ed. Sommal.) Concio sen meditatio de Cruce ycsii, qiinm pro nobis ipse portavit : item, Demerito Lloiiiinica; passionis et dignitate sanctre Crucis. (Opp. t. ii.) Alger, W. R. History of the Cross. Boston, 1858. Ambrosius, S. De Cruce, Serm., 55 et 56. (Opp. t. iii.) Basilse, 1506. Anderson, J. Scotland in Early Christian /"/otcj [Celtic Crosses]. 2 vols. Edinburgh, t88i. Angela de Fulignio. Theologia Crucis. ("Die Theologie des Kreuzes J. Christi" in t;. Terstegen, Aiiscrlesene Lcbensbeschreibungen heiliger Seelen. Bd. St. 5.) Passiis Spirituales, etc., c. 10. (Vita B. Angeloe, auct. Arnold.; A. A. SS. Boll., 4 Jan.) Anselmi. (Pseudo-Anselmi) De Menstiratione Crucis. Arndt, F. The Seven IVords of Jesus upon the Cross. 1842. Arndt, Joh. honograpltia : grtindlicher und christliclier Bericht von Bildern, ihrem Ursprung, reclitem Gebrauch und Missbrauch im A. u. N. Test. . . . Von den Ceremonien oder Zeiclien des Creutzes, auch von der ausserlichen Reverentz und Ehrerbietung gegen den hochgelobten Namen Jesu Christi, unseres einigen Erlosers und Ehrenkonigs. 4to, 1596. Arnold, Thomas. History of the Cross of Edinburgh Commonly Called the Jifercat Cross. Edinburgh, 1885. AsHTON, John. The Legendary History of the Cross, a series of sixty-four woodcuts, from a Dutch book published by Veldener, A.D. 14S3. Preface by S. Baring-Gould. New York, 1887. Astle, Thomas. Observations on Stone Pillars, Crosses, and Crucifixes (Royal Soc. of Antiquaries). London, 1798. Baldwin, J. D. Ancient America. [The Cross in Central Am. Ruins.] New York, 1872. Baring-Gould, S. Curious Myths of the Middle Aoes. [The Legend of the Cross.] Lon- don, Oxford, and Cambridge, 1868. Bartholinus, Thomas. De Cruce Christi, \l^^om\\e.m2Xs.\\. Hafn., 1651. Amstel., 1670. De Latere Christi Aperto Dissertatio. Lugd, Bat., 1646. Baudis, And. Crux Christi ex historiarum monumentis constructa. 4to. Viteb. (Vienna), 1669. Becker, Ferd. Das Spottcrucifix der romischen Kaiserpaldste aus dem Anf. des j Jahrhdts., erldutert. Bresl., 1S63. BerJEAU, J. P. History of the Holy Cross. London, 1863. Berthold von Regensrurg. Sermon ; Von dem hM-n A'riuze. (Pfeiffer, Berthold, etc.) 1862. BetkIUS, Joachim. Mysterium Crucis oder Erinnerung derer Geheimnissen und Krafft des Creutzes Christi. Berlin, 1637. Frankf., 1646 and 1647. Birlinger, a. Die deutsche Sage, Sitte, u. Literaiur in Predigt und Legendenbiichern. OVustrian Vierteljahrschr. f. Kath. Theologie, Bd. xii., 1873.) xxii Bibliography Blake, Willson W. The Cross, Ancient and Modern. New York, 1888. Blight, J. T. Ancient Crosses and Other Antiquities in the West of Cornwall. London, 1856. Ancient Crosses and Other Antiquities in the East of Cornwall. London, 1S58. BOLDETTi. RL A. Osservazioni sopra 1 Cemeteri de Santi! Martiri. [Seal Rings, Greek Cross, etc.] 2 vols., fol. Romce, 1720. Bona VENTURA. Lignum Vita. (0pp. t. v.) Venet., 1754. Borgia, Steph. De Cruce Vaticana. Rom«, 1779. De Cruce Veliterna. Romse, 1780. Bosio, Ant. Roma Sotteranea . [Gemmed and Floriated Cross, Cruciform Nimbus, etc.] 4to. Romse, 1637. BosiUS, Jac. Crux iriumphans et gloriosa. Antverp., 1617. Or, La Trionfante e Gloriosa Croce Trattato di facomo Bosio. Fol. In Roma, 1610. BOUTELL, C. Christian Monuments in England and Wales. London, 1S54. Heraldry, Historical and Popular [chap, vi., " Heraldry of the Cross"]. London, 1864. Bracciolini, F. La Croce Hacquistata. 3 toms. Venezia, 1838. Brand, J. Oiservations on Popular Antiquities [The Cross, Good Friday, etc.]. 3 vols. London, 1842. Brentius, Joh. Etlich Tractetli (1528) : Wie das Holz des Kreuzes behauen und am weichsten angegriffen werden soil, u. s. f. (in J. Hartmann, Joh. Brenz, Leben und ausgewdhlte Schriften). (Other works of Brenz, Urban-Rhegius, etc., falling under this head, see chap, vi.) Bridel, Ph. The Seven Words of Jesus upon the Cross. Lausanne, 1851. Brock, Mourant. The Cross, Heathen and Christian. A Fragmentary Notice of its Early Pagan Existence, and Subsequent Christian Adoption. London, 1S79. Byn.«US, Anton. De morte y. Chrisli couimentarius amplissimus. Lib. iii. Amstel., 1691- 1698. Also in German : Gekreutzigter Christus, etc. Cassel, 1701. Calfhill, J. ^n Answere to the Treatise of the Crosse (John Martiall's). London, 1565. Reprinted for the Parker Soc., Cambridge, 1846. Calvinus, Joh. De Crucis tolerantia, quie est pars abnegationis sui. (De souffrir patiemment la croix, qui est line partie de renoncer a nous ttiesmes) : Instit. Relig. Christ. Lib. iii., ed. 1559 sqq. CarraciolI, J. M. Dissert, de titulo Crucis e sacra: et profana historice monumentis. Neapol., 1656. Chrysostomi, Joann. De Cruce et Latione homil. duo. (Opp. t. ii., ed. Montf.) De Ccemeteris et Cruce (lb.). Pseudochrysostomi Homilia in venerab. ac. vivificam crucem (lb.). ClACCONlus, A. Libellus de Signis sanctissimce Crucis, i. e., de variis Crucis apparitionihus, priscis et novis. Romoe, 1591. ClAMPlNl, J. R. Vetera Monimetita [Pars Secunda, cap. 6, De Cruce Stationali Investigatio historical. 3 toms, fol. RomiE, 1690. Clement, C. E. A Handbook of Christian Symbols [The Cross]. Boston, 18S6. Cooper, H. G. The Philosophy of the Cross, or Christ as Man. Grantham and London, 1855. Copus, Alanus. De Cruce. Cox, 0. W. The Mythology of the Aryan Nations [The Stauros or Cross]. 2 vols. London, 1870. CrossiNc;, W. The Ancient Crosses at Dartmoor, with a l)escri|)tion of tlieir Surroundings. 1887. Crowther, J. The Starry Cross. A Story of Dreamland. London. CULMANN, L. An Crux expediat vel noceat (in loc. Joh. xvi. 7 ; expedit ut ego vadam). Norimb. , 1 550. CUMMINC, J. G. Runic and Other Monumental Remains of the Isle of Man : with Plates of Runic Crosses. Bibliography xxiii Cmrtius, CoRNF.r,. De Clavis /X>miiiiiis I.ilu-r. Aiilverp, 1634, if.70. CUTLS, K. I,. ./ Manual for Ihc Study ,if Ikd S,-puUhral Slabs and Crosses of the Middle Ages. Lomloii, 1849. DAI.L.r.US, Jdann. Adversus Latinoruni de ciilliis religiosi ohjeeto, lib. v., cont. .iryiuiieiita nintra l.aliiiam de religioso Crucium cultii tradilionein proiuia. (Tom. ii.), ed. Oenev,, 1665. Damon, II. The Seven Last Words ofyesiis upon the Cross. 1871. Daniell, MOKTLOCK. Calvary, or the Cross of Christ. LondDii, 1S39. Dassovius, L. .Signa Critcis genlis Helir,T,r. Kil., l6()5. Decker, Conrad. De Staurolatria Rontana. Lib. ii. llanov., if)i7. De FleurY, M. R. Rlcnioire sur les Instruinens de la /'assion de Notre Seigneur y/sus-Christ. Degen, Ph. Das Kreuz als Strafwerkzeiig tmd Strafe der Alteii. Aaclieii, 1873. De Mortillet, G. /(■ Signe de la Croix avant le Christianisme. Paris, 1866. De PRESSENSii, E. The Mystery of Suffering. London, iS6q. De Rossi, J. B. Inscriptiones Christiauie wins Komic sept, sirculo antiijt/iores. Romae, 1857 sqq. De Christiaiiis titulis Carthaginiensilnis. Paris, 1S58. De Christ. Monumentis IXQT'N cxhibcntibus. Paris, 1855. De Venutos, Phil. De Cruce Cortonensi diss . Liburni, 1731. De Voragine, Jac. Opus Aureum, etc. [Z)i' Inventione Crucis, etc.], 1526. Legenda Aurea. Gra'sse, 1851. DiDRON, A. N. Manuel d'leonographie Chretienne. Paris, 1845. Translated into English, Christian Iconography, or the History of Christian Art in the Middle Ages. London, vol. i., 1S51 ; vol. ii., 1886. Annales archeologiques. Paris, li^^sqq. Don Anthonio de Guenara. The Mount of Caluarie : wherein is handled all the mysteries of the Mount of Caluarie, from the time that Christ was condemned by Pilot, until he was put into the sepulchre by Joseph and Nichodemus. London, 1595 and 1597. Draxonis, Thomas (Drake of Warwick). Synopsis consolatoria, s. spiritualia et selectissima Consilia, remedia, et Icnimenta adversus Crucem. P'rancof., 161S. Drelincourt, C. Le Triomphe de I'Eglise sous la Croix. Geneve, 1630. Drouvn, Leo. Croix de Procession, de Cimetieres et de Carrefours. Fol. Bordeaux, 1858. Durandus, G. Rationale Divinorum Offcioruin. [De Inventione Sanctoe Crucis, De Exalta- tione S. C, Crux Christi, etc.]. Fol., Ven., 1482. 4to, Ntirnberge, 1494. 121110, Lug- duni, T584. First book translated into English, The Symbolism of Churches and Church Ornaments. [Introductory Essay, chap, vii., § iii. The Atonement, etc.]. I.eed.s, 1843. Durer, a. Passio Christi. Nurenbergensi efifigiata cum varij generis carminibus Fratris Benedicti Chelidonij Musophili. Edited by Henry Cole. London, 1870. Du .SOMMERARD, M. Album des Arts au Moyen Age. Eai.es, S. J. Via Crucis : Fourteen Sermons on the Passion of our Lord and .Saviour Jesus Christ. London, 1886. Ecclesiologist (Camb. Camden Soc). [Churchyard Crosses, Monumental Crosses, Memorial Crosses, .^^cient Crosses.] g vols. Cambridge and London, 1843-49. (New York). [Cross before Christian Era.] New York, 1S47- Eisengrein, M. ]'on dem Zeichen des heil. Kreuzes, doss es ein recht christlicher, uralter apostolischer, und in Gottes Wort gegriindcter Gebrauch, auch niitz und gut sei . Ingol- stadt, 1572. Farel, Guil. Du vray usage de la Croix de Jesus Christ, et de I'abus et de Vidolatrie eoinmise autour d'icelle. Geneve, 1560. Nouv. ed. Geneve, 1865. Fa VINE, A. The Theater of Honour and Knighthood. [The Crosse of the Order of the Knights of the Holy Sepulcher of Jerusalem, of Malta, of the Temple, etc.] Fol. 1623. xxiv Bibliography Fergusson, T. Rude Stone Moyiuments [Crosses]. London, 1S72. FivizANRS, Aug. Libri III. de more sutnino Pontijici Criicem frecferendi. Romae, 1592. FoNTAM'S, NiC. Responsvm ad Propositam sibi qiuestionem^ An manus, clavis transjixie, pares ferendo eorpori^ inde pendith. (in op. Thorn. Barlholini De Crtice Christi). Hafn., 165 1. Amstel., 1670. Lugd. Batav., 1695. FoSBROKE, T. D. Eneyelcpicdia of Aiitiqititics and Elements of Archeeology [Cross, etc.]. 2 vols. 4to. London, 1S25. Frame, J. The Song of the Cross. An Exposition of Psalm xxii. London, 1872. Freybe, a. De Karfreitag in der deiitsehen Diehtnng. (A companion volume to Morris's Legends of the Holy Rood.') Gutersloh, 1877. Friedlieb, T. H. ArehSologie der Leidensgesehiehte. Bonn, 1843. Fkiedricii, C. Kritischer Riiekblick auf die Literatur iiber die Geschiehte und Arehdologie des Kreutzes. Bonn. Theol. Lit., Nos. 17-19. 1S75. FULDA, J. Ji;l. Chr. De Crucis signaciilo, Chrislianorum preciim comite destinato. Lips., 1759. FULKE, W. A Rejoinder to John MartialVs Reply against the Answer of Master Calf hill to the Blasphemous Treatise of the Cross. London, 1580. Reprinted for the Parker Soc, Cambridge, 1848. Garrucci. II crocifisso graffito in casa dei Ceesari. Romre, 1857. Geistliche Kranken-Apothek, d. i. christliche Unterweisung, wie Kranke und Sterbende ihr Kreuz geduldig Iragen KSnnen. Stuttgart, 1703. Gibson, W. Observations on the Remains of a Stone Cross or Pillar at Hemsby, A'orfoli, lidth Conjectures on its Ancient Designation and Use. (Royal Soc. of Antiquaries.) London, 1801. Giorgi (Georgius) Dom. De monogrammate Christi Domini. Romae, 1738. Glossary of Terms in British Heraldry. [Crosier, Cross.] Oxford, 1847. Grandis, L. Les perfections de Dieu connues par la Croix. Paris, 1642. Greswell, D. Colloquia Crucis. London, 1 871. Gretser, Jac. De Critce Christi rebusque ad cam pcrtinentibiis. Libri iv. 4to. Ingolstadii, 1598. Tom. ii., ibid., 1600. Tom. iii., ibid., 1605. De Cruce Christi, t. i., nunc tertia editione niultis partibus anctus, ut ferme novum opus videri possit. 4to. Ingolst., 1608. De Cruce. Tom. iii., lib. i. : De numismat. crucigeris ; lib. ii. De inscriptionibus crucigeris. Ilortus .v. Crucis. Ingolst., 1610, 1630, etc. Signa Crucis, d. i., ein liistiger und nutzlicher Tractat vom dem Zeichen des heil. Creutzes, aus dem Lat. verdeutscht durch Carolum Slengelium. Ingolst., 1612. Opera Omnia de Sancta Cruce, tiunc accurate recognita, multis partibus locupletata, etc. Fol. Ingolst., 1616. Greypenberg, a. Die Lehre vom Creutz der Chriilen in 4 Ilaubtartikel geteilct und zu Wit- tenberg in fiinf Predigten ausgelegt. Wittenberg, 1567. Grierson, J. Voices from the Cross : or, The Words uttered by our Lord during the Hours of His Crucifixion. Edinburgh, 1855. Gkon, M. The Abbe. The Practical Science of the Cross. London, 1S71. GUENEKAULT, L. J. Dictionnaire Iconographique des Monuments de I'Antiquitc' Chrt'tienne et du Moyen Age. [Croix de J. C. ; Croix dites Gemmecs, Ilistoriees, I'ectoralcs, Grecqiie ct I.atine. Crosses, Crucifix, etc.] 2 toms. Paris, 1845. Habichhorst, And. Dan. De Crucifxione Christi satis factoria in medio tnalefactorum facta, ex ratione. Is. liii., Ps. xxii., etc. 4to. Grypliiswald, 16S1. Handbook of English Ecclesiology. [Pinnacle and Cluircliyard Crosses, etc, J London, 1847. Bibliography xxv [Iarenberg, J. Cll. Exercitalio lie Cnuis sii;iti\ syiitbolo saliitis frontibus Israelitarum inipo- neiido, ad Ezecli. ix., 4. (In the Bibl. Brem. hist, philol. theol,, Class vi., fasc. 6.) llASLAM, W. The Cross and the Serpent : being a brief History of the Triumph of the Cross through a h:ing series of Ages, in prophecy, types, and fulfibnent. Oxford, 1849. Hausen, Cii. a. Theologia paracletica gcneralis et specialis, oder griindliche Erklarung von der Christen Kreuz luul Trost in Predigten. 2 vols. Dresden, 1706, 1723. H^FTENUS, Ben. Schola Criicis. Antverp., 1629. Via regia Crtieis. Antverp., 1654. Heales, A. The Archaology of the Christia)! Alhir ill Western Europe. [The Cross.] Lon- don, 18S1. IIeermann, Joii. Crux C/irisli, oder die schmerzreiche Matirwoche unseres Ileilands. 161S. New edn. Ruppin, i86i. [fcptalopis Chrisli, oder die sieben Worte am Kreuz, i6ig. I'.erlin, 1856. Hemans, C. I. A History of Aneieiii Christianity and Saered Art in Italy. [Discovery of the Cross, Croziers, Crucifix.] Florence and Rome, 1866. A History of Mediczval Christianity and Sacred Art in Italy. [The Crucifixion as treated in Art; Crusades, etc.] 2 vols. Florence and Rome, 18O9. Hemming, JoH, Jesu Christi vieditatio sacra de passione Christi siiiiulqne de Crttcis ligno ct signo eiusque usu et ahttsu. Han., 1657. Hennebekg, J. V. Philol. -histor. 11. A'rit. Coiiiiiieiitar ii/>. d. Geschiehte der Leiden und des Todes Jesu. Leipz., 1822. HiGGINS, G. The Celtic Druids. [The Cross common to (Ireeks, I'.gyptians, and Indians ; Crosses and Globes, etc.] London, 1829. • Anaealypsis. [The Meaning of the Cross ; Monograms of Christ, etc.] 2 vols. 4to. London, 1836. New edn. begun in parts, 1875. Holland, J. Cmeiana. Illustrations of the most striking aspects under which the Cross of Christ, and Symbols derived from it, have been contemplated by Piety, Superstition, Imagination, and Taste. Liverpool, 1835. Holy Crosse : A Briefe Treatise of the Vertue of the Crosse, and the true manner how to honour it. Translated out of French into English, 1599. Hook, W. F. The Cross of Christ ; or, Meditations on the Death and Passion of our Blessed Lord and Saviour. London, 1S44 ; New York, 1845. Husenbeth, F. C. Emblems of Saints by -which they are Distinguished in IVoi is of Art. [Cross, Crucifix.] London, 1850, 1854. Huzard. " Observations sur I'origine et la signification du symbole appele la croix ansce." M^moires de I' Acad, des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettrcs. Tom. xvii. Jameson, A. Legends of the Madonna. [Part iii., Lo. Spasimo ; The Procession to Calvary — The Crucifixion — The Descent from the Cross — The Deposition.] London, 1857. and Lady E.A.stlAKE. The History of our Lord as exemplified in Works of Art. 1 vols. London, 1864. Jennings, H. The Rosicrucians, their Rites and Mysteries. London, 1S70. 3d ed., 2 vols. , 1887. JeWETT, Llewellynn. The Cross, in Xature and Art. Series of eight papers. London Art Journal, 1874. The Cross Tail, as an Emblem, and in Art. lb., 1875. The Fylfot Cross ; or, Thorr's Hammer. //'., 1S75. Ancient Irish Ait ; the Shrine of St. Manchnn. lb., 1875. Art in the Belfry. lb. , 1872. Keane, M. The Towers and Temples of Ancient Ireland. [.Ancient Irish Crosses and Prime- val Tradition.] Dublin, 1867. Kegel, Phil. Geistliche Kampfschul, welcher maassen ein Chiistl. Ritter die Muhseligkeit dieses Lebens erdulden soil, etc. Leipzig, 161O. xxvi Bibliography Kemble, J. M. Elene : or, The Recovc-ry of the Cross; The Holy Rood, a Dream, {The Codex Verci/lensis, with an Englisli translation, printed fur the A\\[nc Soc.) London, 1856. Kesson, J. T/ie Cross and the Dragon. London, 1854. King, C. W. Early Christian Numismatics. London, 1873. The Gnostics and their Remains. [Crux Ansata.] /li., 1864. Kip, W. J. The Catacombs of Rome as illustrating the Church of the First Three Centuries. [Monograms of Christ, etc.] New York, 1854. Kipping, H. Lib. de Cruce et cruciariis, in Exercitalt xxxv. Brem., 1679. Knox-Little, W. J. The Three Hours' Agony of Our Blessed Redeemer. Manchester, 1S77. The Mystery of the Passion of our Most Holy Redeemer. Manchester and New York, 1881. Krummather, F. W. Der Lcidcnde Christus. Ein Passionsbuch. Bielefeld, 1S54. Also in English : The Suffering Saviour. La Croi.x de Notre-Seignetir Jesus-Christ ou R,'f!,'.xions sur Ji'sus-Christ Crucift'. Amsterdam, 1727. Langbein, B. A. Das IFort vom Kreuze. Sermons. 4 vols. Leipzig, 1857-1860. Langen, Jos. Die letzte7i Lebenstage Jesu. Freiburg in Br., 1864. Lancer, F. W. The Seven Words of Jesus upon the Cross. 1S42. Lavater, Lud. De Crueis tolcrantia. 1586. Lecroix, p. Military and Religious Life of the I^Iiddle Ages. [Absolution Cross — Reliquary Cross — Monograms of Christ — Crown of Thorns, etc.] London, 1S77. Leo, Magn. De Passione Domini. XIX. Serm. (In Migne's /'ucc, libri /res, ad sacram profanamque historiam utiles. Antverp., I5q4. ^l'--, 1595' ^^-t 1597- ^/>-, 1599- ^b-- i6o6- Amstel., 1670. Vesal, 1675. Antverp.. 1694. Lugd. Batav. , 1695. LOhe, W. The Seven Words of Jesus upon the Cross. 1859. Lowe, J. B. The History of the Cross Practically Considered. London, 1849. LObke, W. Ecclesiastical Art in Germany during the Middle Ages. [Crosses and Reliquaries.] Edinburgh, 1877. LUNDY, /. P. Monumental Christianity, or the Art and Symbolism of the Primitive Church [Jesus Chri.st as Sufferer]. New York, 1S76. Luther, M. Peine christl. Gedanken der alien hcil. Vater und Lehrer der Kirche, dass ein Christ das Kreuz, so ihm von Golt aufgelegt isl, mit Geduld tragen solle. 1530. Sermonen von Kreuz und Leiden. Prcdigten am Kreuzerfindungslnge und am Kreuzcrhebungstage. M'Ciikyne, FIdgar R. The Philosophy of the Cross. London, 1874. Macgeorge, A. Flags, Some Account of their Histoiy and Uses. [Sl:>n(lar(l of Constantinc, S. George's Cross, etc.] London, Glasgow, and Edinburgh, 1881. Mackay, A. B. The Glory of the Cross. London, 1877. Macintyre, J. J. The Cross and the Crescent as Standards in War. London, 1854. Maitland, C. The Church in the Catacombs. [Earliest Forms of the Cross] London, 1846. Malan. C. The True Cross. London, 183S, 1872. Martial:., J. Treatise of the Crosse enthred ovt of the Scriptures, Councelles, and auncieni Fathers of the primitive Church. Antwcr]>, 1564. A Reply to Mr. Calfhill's lilasphemous Answer against the Treatise of the Cross. Lovan., 1566. Biblioc^raphy xxvii Mautyr, p. Dc Cruce et nfflictiiynilnis piffcrendis. Hasil., 1580. Maurus, Rabanus. De lauiiibui S. Crueis. Fol. liadcn, 1503, 1607, 1847. McLane, W. W. The Cross in the Lig/it 0/ To-Day. I'hiladelphia, 18S3. Melanchthon, Ph. Loc dc calamilatihus ct de Crucc^ et de veris consolatio}jibHs. MenckenO. Diatribe de Mouogrammalc Cliristi. I.ips. , 1734. Menken, Gottfr. Ucbcr die eherne Sclilatige uiid das symbol. Vcrluiltuiss dirselbcn zur Pcr- somtnd Gcschichte Jesu Christi. 1S12. Bremen, 1858. Merillius, Emundus. Nola philologies in passionem Christi. Roterod., 1693. Mermannus, A. De Veneratione ss. Reliqiiiariitn. De Rogationibits. Lovan., 15O6. Montfaucon, B. Antiquity Explained and Represented in Sculptures. Translaleil by David Ilumplireys. [The Cross the most Common Punishment used by the Ancients, cU- ] 5 vols. London, 1722. Morris, R. Legends of the Holy Rood., Symbols 0/ the Passion, and Cross : Poems in Old I'.nt;- lish of the Eleventh, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Centuries. London, 1S71. Mueller, H. Creutz^ Buss, und Betschuh\ vorgestellet 7'on. David im /./j Psalm und der Ge- vieine Christi zu St. Jl/arien in Rostock in zioeijiihrigen Bett-Stunden geoffnet. Rostock, i66r, i6f>5, 1671, 1674. Frankf., 166S, 1671, 1674, 16S7, and frequently since. MUEl.I.ER, L. Ueber Sterne, Kreuze, inid Kreise als religiose Synibole de alien Cultervolher. Copenhagen, 1S64. Muenter, F. Sinnbildcr und Kunstvorstcllun,s;en der alien Christen. Altona. 1S25. MUENZ, P. J. Archdol. Bemerhungen fiber das A'reuz, das Monogramm Christi, die Altchrist- lichen Symbole, das Crucifix. Frankft.-a/M., 1867. MuLLER, H. Historia passionis, crucifixionis et sepultur,z Domini nostri y. Christi, notis iheologico-historico-critieis illustrata. Rostoch., 1661. MURATORI, L. Ant. Diss. 21, De Cruce A'olana (Antiqu. Ital., tom. ii.). Mussafia, A. Sulla legenda del legno delta Croce. Vienna, 1870. Mystere de la Croix af/ligeante et consolante, morlifante et vivifante, humiliante ct trioin- phante, de fisus-Christ et de ses Membres. Par un disciple de la Croix de Jesus. 1732. Nouv. edit. Lausanne, 1791. Londres, 1859. German : Das Geheimniss dcs Kretizes yesu Christi und seiner Glieder. Leipzig, 17S2. Newton, W. A Display of Heraldry [chap, xxii., Various Forms of Crosses]. London, T846. NlCET,,^, PapHLAG. Oral, in exaltat. ven-Crucis. (In Combefis, Auctar. Bibl. patrum. novis- sim.) Par., 1672. NiCQUETUS. Titulus SanctiT Crueis, seu historia ct niysterium tituli Sanet,r Crueis. Par., 1648. Antverp., 1670. Vesalia;, 1675. Lugd. Bat., 1695. NiHiisius, E. De Cruce, epistola ad Thorn. Bartholinum. Colon., 1647. NiSBET, A. A System of Heraldry, Speculative and Practical : with the true Art of Blazon, according to the most approved Heralds in Europe [chap. xv. , Of the Cross, and its acci- dental and proper Forms]. Edinburgh, 1722. Olearius, Joii. Christliche Geduldschule sammt herzerquickendem Troste. Halle, 1668. O'Neill, W. Illustrations of the Most Interesting of the Sculptured Crosses of Ancient Ireland. Large fol. London, 1S57. The Fine Arts and Civilization of Ancient Ireland, [.\ncient Crosses.] London and Dublin, 1863. Owen, E. Old Stone Crosses of the Vale of Chuyd and jVeighboring Parishes. London, n. d. 1 886. Paciandi, p. De vcteri Christi erucifixi signo et antiquis erucibus, qme Ravenmr sunt, dissert. (Gori : Symbola Literarice, tom. iii.) 174S. Paget, F. F. Tract upon Tomb-Stones. [Crosses,] London, 1847. Palmer, \V. An Introduction to Early Christian Symbolism. London, 1S59. Fol., 1S85. xxviii Bibliography Parker, J. H. A Glossary of Architecture [Cross, Rood. etc.]. 3 vols. Oxford, 1836, 1850. Companion vol., 1841. Perrot, a. M. Collection Historiqtic des Ordres dc Chevalerie Civils el Mili/aircs existant chez les diffi'rents peuples du Monde. Paris, 1846. PetrIE, G. The Ecclesiastical Architecture of Ireland^ anterior to the Anglo-A'orman Invasion. [Stone Crosses.] Dublin, 1S45. Pettigrew, T. J. Chronicles of the Tombs. [Ancient Saxon, Irish, and early Latin epitaphs.] London, 1S57. Piper, F. Der Baum des Lebens. (Evangel. Kalend.) Jahrg., 18G3. POOLEY, C. An Historical and Descriptive Account of the Old Stone Crosses of Somerset. London, 1877. Motes on the Old Crosses of Gloucestershire. London, 1868. Prime, \V. C. Holy Cross : a History of the Invention, Preservation, and Disappearance of the Wood Known as the True Cross. New York and London, 1877, 1S86. Proceedings of the A rchtcological Institute [Salisbury, Market Crosses, etc.] London, 1851. PuGiN, A. W. Glossary of Ecclesiastical Ornament and Costume. [-Cross, Crosier, Crucifix, etc.] London, r. 4to., 1844, 1846, i808. QuiRSFELD, J. Geistliches Myrrhengiirtlein , versetzt mit Jo traurigen Cypressen, worunter die geangstigte Seele in allerlei Creutz und I'Viderivdr tigkeiten mit Christo ihr trostliches Gesprdch halt. Leipzig, 1696. Raoul-Rochette. " De la croix ansee, ou d'un signe qui lui ressemble consideree principale- ment dans ses rapports avec le symbole egyptien sur des monuments etrusques et asia- tiques." M^moires de V Acad, des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres. 4to. Paris, 1846. Rapp, Ed. " Das Labarum und der Sonnencultus." In fahrhb. des Vereins von Alterthums- freunden im Rheinlande. Bonn, 1866. Ribadeneira, p. Flos Sanctorum. [Invention of the Cross, etc.] Fol., 1665. RiCCI, Bart. Triumphits fesit Christi crucifixi. cuni iconobus niartyrmn (.luct. A. CoUaert). Antverp., 1614. RiCHTER, Ch. Godofr. (G. H. Zeibicii). Disscrtatio de signo Crucis e templis nostris elimi- nando. 4to. Viteb., 1735. Rimmer, Alfred. Ancient Stone Crosses of England. London, 1875. Rock, Daniel. The Church of Our Fathers. [Pectoral, Papal, Patriarchal and Archiepiscopal Crosses, etc.] 3 vols., Svo. London, 1S49. — — Ilierurgia : or, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. [Chap, ix.. On the Cross]. 2 vols. London, 1833; 1 vol., 1S51. RooS, Friedr. Krcuzschule, oder Antveisung zu einetn christliihcn J'erhal/en unter dem Leiden. Tubingen, 1779; Stuttg., 1S57. 7th ed., 1875. Rued, J. J. Seelen-Apoteck, oder Labsal und Erquickung in allerhand Creutz und Triibsalen, Nurnberg, 1653. Sai.mAsius, Claud. Epistola de Cruce. Altera Epistola ad Thorn. Battholinium. De Hyssop et Cruce, Tertia Epistola. Lugd. Bat. 1646. Savonarola, Hieron. // trionfo delta Croce. 1497. Triumphus Crucis sive de veritate fidei, lib. iv. , recens in hicem, edit. Lugd. Bat., 1633. SCHEELE, E. Das Kreuz y. Christi. Passions und Ostcrprcdiglen. Halle, 1857. ScHLICHTER, CllR. LuD. De Cruce apud yud.ros, Christianas, el Gentiles signo Salutis. 4to, HaliC, 1733. ScHLlEMANN, H. Troja, Results of the Latest Researclus and Discoveries on the Site of Homer's Troy [Stauros or Cross]. New York, 18S4. ScHMlli, J. A. De Crucis dominice per Helenam, Constantini, matrem, inventione. Hclmstad, 1714. Biblioi^raphy xxix SCHROEDER, E. Van dem holte des hilligcn Creuzis. (Middle Low-Germ. Poem, with Inirod. Notes and Glossary). Erlang., 1869. SCRIVER, CilR. Seeli-nschatz, odtr von der menschlichen Sccle hoher Wiirde, tiefern iind IdSi^- lichfin Siindenfalle, Busse uiid Ernueritng ditich Christum, gottlichem hciligfit Leben, vielfdlligem Kreuze und Trost iiii Krciiz, etc. Magdeburg, 1681, xCiga. Magd. and Leipzig, 1737, ^nd often since. ScuLTETUS, M. Warer Christen Crcutz. In diesen KUmmerlichen Zeiten alien hochbctriibten und vilgeplagten Creutztragern zu Unterricht und Trost beschrieben. Zerlist, 1592. Shaw, H. Dresses and Decorations of the Middle Ages, [The Cross from Mt. Athos. Proces- sional and Reliquary Crosses.] 2 vols. London, 1858. Shutti.evvortH, W. C. The Last Words of Our Saviour. Oxford and London, 1878. SiMEONis, Franc. Gymnasium Crucis. Greutzschule, gerichtet auf die sonnt.igliche Evan. gelia. Hamburg, 1670. Smith, Wm. A Dictionary of Christian Antiquities. [Cross. Adoration of the Cross. Poind- ing of the Cross. Sign of the Cross. Crucifix.] 2 vols. London and Boston, 1875. Spanheim, E. Discours sur la Croix de notre Seigneur. Geneve, 1655. Spener, Ph. Gottl. Das Kreuz. (In Evangelischer Glaubenstrost aus den gbttlichen Wohl- thaten.) Frankfurt, 1694. Stephens, G. Queen Dagmar's Cross. Facsimile in Gold and Colors of the Enameled Jewel. London and Cheapinghaven, 1863. Stockbaukr, J. Kunstgescliichle des Kreuzes. Die bildi. Darstellung des Erlosungstodes Christi im Monogramm. Kreuz, u. Crucitix. Schaffhausen, 1870. Stoeckel, Luck. Creutzschule der gUiuhigen Kinder Gottes. Oppenheim, 161 1. Stokes, M. Early Christian Art in Ireland. London and New York, iSSS. Stroud, Wm. Treatise on the Physical Cause of the Death of Christ. London, 1847. The Cross-Bearer. A Vision. Boston, 1861. Theremin, Franz. Das Kreuz Christi. 4 vols. Berlin, 1828-1S41. TiLANDRl, Thom. Schola Crucis et Lucis in etlichen Predigten. 410. Rostock, 1616. Twining, L. Symbols and Emblems of Early and Medi,eval Art. [Second Person of the Trinity represented by the Monogram and by the Cross.] London, 4to, 1852 ; New ed. 8vo, 18S5. Tympius, M. Creutz-Fahnlein. 4to. Mtinster, i6ig. Typotius, Jac. Symbola Divina et Humana, Pontificum , Imperatorum, Regtim [Symbola S. Crucis]. Fol. Praga*, i6or. Tyrwhitt, K. St. Christian .irt and Symbolism. London, 1872. Variorum orationes encomiasticir de inventione S. Crucis item de exaltatione et de adoratione S. Crucis. (Alexand. monarch., Georg. Hamartolos, Sophron. Hierosol., Andreas Cretens., Joseph. Thessalonicens, etc.) In Gretseri de Cruce, torn. ii. Ingolst, 1616. Vaughan, C. J. The Seven Words of yesus from the Cross. London, 1875. Lessons of the Cross and Passion, etc. London, 1886. Vaux, J. Edward. Christ on the Cross. London, 1873. Veldener, J. Geschiedenis van het heylighe Cruys : or History of the Ifoly Cross, reproduced in facsimile from the original edition of 14S3. Text and engravings by J. Ph. Berjeau. London, 1863. ViSCHER, Christ. Trostschrift, wie sick ein Christ in Allerlei Creutz trosten solle. Schmal- kalden, 1570. Von Bunsen, Ernst. Das Symbol des Kreuzes bei alien iVationen, und die Entstehung des Kreuz-Symbols der Chr. Kirche. Berlin, 1S76. Von Meyer, J. F. " Das Kreuz Christi." Blatter f. hoh. Wahrheit, Bd. vii. Waite, A. E. The Real History of the Rosicrucians. London, 1S87. Wakeman, W. F. Handbook of Irish Antiquities, Pagan and Christian [chap, iv., Crosses, etc.]. Dublin, 1858. XXX Bibliography Walch, Jo. E. Imm. " De antiqua cruce statiunali aeria inaurata diss." Miscell. Lips. iwv. vol. ix. Lips., 1752. Walcott, Mackenzie E. C. Sacred Archeology. [Cross, Crucifix, etc.] London, 1868. Walsh, R. An Essay on AncUnt Coins, JMiuials, and Gems, as illustrating the Progress of Christianity in the Early Ages. London, 1830. \V-\LTHER, Ant. Balt. Juristisch-historische Betrachiingen iiber das Leiden und Sterben Jesu Christi, etc. Bresl. and Leipzig, 173S. Wareurton, E. The Crcscettt and the Cross, London, 1844. New York, 1845. Ward, II. Dana. History of the Cross: the Pagan Origin, and Idolatrous Adoption and Worship of the Image. London and Philadelphia, 1S71, 1S72. Weerth, E. Aus'm. Das Sieges krenz der byzantinischen Kaiser Constantin VJl., Porphyro. genittis u. Romanus LL., etc., erliiiitert. Fol. Bonn, 1S66. Weidner, Joh. Gliiubiger Kinder Gottes Kreuzschule. Augsburg, 1731. Westcdtt, B. F. The Victory of the Cross. Sermons in Hereford Cathedral. London and Cambridge, 1888. Wichelhaus, Joh. Verstick eines aiisfiihrlichen Coiiimentars zit d. Geschichte des Leidens y. Christi nach den vier Evr. Halle, 1855. Wildvogel, Chr. De Venerabili signo Crucis. 4to. Jenas, 1690. WUDRIAN, V. Schola Crucis, Creuzschul. Stralsund, 1641, Bremen, 1641, and often else- where. Also Latin : Schola Crucis et tessera Christianismi. LUneburg, 16O6. ZesTERMANN, A. Cn. A. Die bildliche Darstellung des Kreuzes u. der Kreuzigung Christi. (Zwei Programme der Thomasschule.) 4I0. Leipz., 1867, 1S6S. ZOECKLER, Otto. The Cross of Christ : Studies in the History of Religion and the Inner Life of the Church. Trans, by M. J. Evans. 8vo. London, 1877. PART 1. THE CROSS IN TRADITION HISTORY, AND ART CHAPTER I THE CROSS BKFORK THE CHRISTIAN ERA, AM) IX PRE-HISI-()KIC TIMES Section I. — In Africa. Section 2. — /// Asia. Section j. — In Europe. Section ^. — In America w HAT is now called the Christian religion has existed among the ancients, and was not absent from the beginning of the human race until Christ came in the flesh, from which time The True, i.e., the Christian, Relig- the true religion, which existed alread}', began to be ddlcd ion before Christ. Christian." ' These words of S. Augustine are the keynote of this chapter. Its intention is to show that among other traces of the true religion, pre- served in traditions, rites, and symbols, God has handed down through all ages a prophetic type of the cardinal truth which was indissolubly connected with, and not only revealed in, the Atoning Sacrifice. It is well known that the leading truths of the primeval religion im- parted to man by his Creator, in Paradise, may be traced through the princi[5al pagan mythologies; and that a symbol of the fundamental article of the Christian creed and hope has been recognized as sacred in the very earliest records of antiquity, acknowledged as holy by nations who lived long before the Sacrifice of Calvary, and were far removed from the " chosen people," to whom were committed " the oracles of God " ; reverenced in all ages, and by nations in every stage ' S. Augustine, Rclrc.cl., i., 13. 2 History of the Cross of ci\'ili7.ation from the lowest to the highest; in a word, tliat God never left Himself li'itlioiit a ivitiiess among men, that many ' ' shall come from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south, The Leading Point, "Atone- and shall sit down with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in ment," -Universal. ^ ^^ , , , , ^j,, ■ r i i i i the kingdom ot God. 1 his tact has been almost unnoted. And yet it is universal. In every kind of relic which time has spared, it is clearly to be read. It is graven on rocks and monoliths, painted upon the walls of temples and tombs, enamelled upon vases and sepulchral urns, stamped upon coins and medals, moulded in ornaments and amulets, used as a talisman upon the humble hearth, and traced in the plans of the dwelling-places of the Deity, whether subterranean or super- terranean, whether formed in the earliest mounds and rudest caverns of the rock, or in the ornate and grand cathedrals and minsters which the piety and skill of the Middle Ages have bequeathed to our times. Section i. In Africa, — Let us examine first the testimony of Egypt, the mother of art and of civilization, a land which traced its pater- Cross in Egypt, . mty directl)- to Menes or Mizraim, the son of Ilain, the son of Noah. Here, unchanged for thousands of }-ears, we find among her most sacred hieroglyphics the cross in various forms. The simplest, with four arms of equal length placed erect, +. "'' 1''^'-' 'i" X ; but the one known sjiecially as the " Cross of Egypt," or the Tau cross, is shai)ed like tin- letter T, often with a circle or ovoid above it. Yet this mystical symbol was not peculiar to this country, but was Inscription showing tliffercnt forms of tlie i'au Cross. From IJosio's /(/ Trioitfanti: € Gloriosa Croce. .S. Luke xiii., 2y. Before the Christian Era The Crux Ansata. reverenced as " the hidden wisdom " amcMiL; the Chaldeans, I'lux-nicians, Mexicans, and every ancient people in both hemispheres. In Egyptian hieroglyphics the cross has been variously interpreted. When with four equal arms, sometimes formed of serpents, it has been assumed to be an emblem of the four elements. When „^ interpre- composcd of two or four sceptres with a circle at the point tation. of intersection it is said to indicate " di\'iiie potentiality." The simi)le cross has been interpreted as meaning " support," or " Saviour," some times " avenger," ' and " protective power " "; but when the circle, the emblem of eternity, is placed upon it, forming the crux an- sata, its signification, which also is implied often in the sim- pler forms of the cross, is " Life to come." To this interpretation tlie early Christian historians bear witness, and their statement has been confirmed by modern sav- ants.' The crux aiisa/a.there- fore, is the inseparable ac- companiment of the chief triad of the P^gyptian deities, Ra, Amon-Ra, and Anion, who are represented as hold- ing in one hand the crook, or crosier-like staff, the sym- iif {^^ \ bol of power, peace, and Ti/ '/ V 1 purity, and in the other the sacred Tau." ' It is very significant that the second person, Amon-Ra, is gener- Amon-Ra. Ra. ally represented as seated up- From Haslam's r/ie Cross., mi The Serpent. From Haslam's The Cross o\\ a throne, wearing the e erpoi . Pharaoh crown, with outstretched arms offering to his worshipper the cross and the crosier, i.e., eternal life and peace. The ancient Egyptians believed that he had two ' Champollion, Pre'eis du Systeme I/ierog., torn, ii,, iios. 277, 34S, 19I. ' Sup. Eneyclop. Brit., vol. iv., p. 66, no. 108. ' Rufinus, lib. ii., cap. 39 ; Sozomen, lib. iii., c.ip. 15, etc. ; Young, Reeent Discoveries in Hieroglyphics, p. 156; Champollion, Precis, etc., 277; I.ayard. A'ineveh, vol. ii., p. 213. For another interpretation, considering the circle as the apple, see infra note, p. S. •" Wilkinson, Ancient Egyptians, vol. ii., ]>. 2S3. History of the Cross natures, divine and human, that he was their defender against evil, and also the inspirer of counsel and wisdom. Nor is the crux ciiisata con- fined to the superior deities; the inferior also fretjuently bear it. ¥or instance, we find the goddess of Truth pre- senting it to the figure of the Sun, as if intimating that life — of which the sun is tiie source — and truth are eternal. The cntx a?isata is placed, to indicate the ever- li\-ing spirit, on tombs and sarcophagi. Some- times it is in the talons of a conventional figure, representing the soul, bearing a human head and the body of a bird, hovering over, and protecting the body of the departed. The deities are fre- qucntl}- depicted holding the sacred Tau in their mouths,' or presenting or receiving it from the lips of a dying man,' who is often lying on a lion- shaped couch.' A most decisive proof of the meaning at- tached to this hierogram was given at the de- ,T , '"°'!^, r. struction of the Serapeum at Alexandria, the from Haslam s Tkt' Cross and thi Serpent. shrine of the gigantic emerald, or glass, statue of Serapis, the god of healing, which Crux Ansata in had been brought, by the Temple of ^ Serapis. Order of Ptolemy Soter, from Sinope on the southern shore of the Black Sea (M.C. 293), and re- erected within the labyrinth on the banks of Lake Moeris. U[)on this idol, and upon the walls of the temple, was engriived the (Viix aiisaia. Theodosius destroyed it (A. I). 3891, des[nte the earnest prayers of the Egyptian priests for its preservation, because it was the ' As a passport for the soul. That the soul was exhaled from the mouth of the (lying, is a superstition retained from the time of the ancients to the present clay. It was believed among the common people in the last century that the soul could be seen, in semblance of a light-blue smoke, passing from the lips. Hogarth, it will be remembered, in his last painting, represents Time prone on his back exhaling a puff of breath that curls from his mouth bearing the word Finis. ■ Sir R. Ker Porter, Travels, vol. ii., p. 415. ' .Sharpe, Voeabulnry of Egyptian 7/ierog/iplis, no. S33. Soul. Ijcaring a Crux .\nsat;i, returning tt) the body. Before the Christian Era 5 symbol of tlicir t^^od, and c_)f " Life to come. " Some Christians wlio muler- stood the ML;y|>ti,in hicroLjlyphics conliiiiied tiu' intei-pretation, and this, together with a traditinn that when this fi^aire of tile cross shoidd appear their relis^iDn would come to an end, induced many of the jjagans to embrace Christianity.' Not only the priests, who were intelli^reiit, were converted, but we are told that frcui e\'ery house the bust of Serapis was removed and the cross substituted.''' The Christians not only accepted the crux ausnta as the symbol of their faith, but used it and the Tau in place of the Latin and Greek cresses in their churches and elsewhere. Besides, in a The Crux Ansata Christian inscription at Phile may be seen both the Maltese Adopted by , Christians. and Egyptian crosses. \\\ the cluirch of the cemetery of El-Khargeh in the Great Oasis are other examples." I-l\-en in the desert to the east of the Nile is a church with the following inscription: KAeO-f^AIKH+EKKAH^i^CIA. At Edfou also, the cross is painted upon the walls, with an inscrip- tion, perhaps, of later date, " The Cross of the Christians." ' As among many other nations, the cross was worn as an amulet by the Egyptians. Sometimes the chief ornament of the necklace was a little image of Amon-Ra \\\\.\\ a Tau cross upon the back; Cross Worn sometimes the emblem was tattooed or painted upon the apparently as 1 1 • 1 1-1 • • r 1 ) ^" Amulet. arms and thighs, as represented m the paintings tound by Belzoni in the tombs of Thebes. J A significant symbol is the long cross surmounting a heart. It means " good," or" goodness." Upon the front of many of the houses in Thebes and Memphis it is cross surmount- depicted, intimating, " This is the abode of the ingaHeart. Cross upon good." Pharisaism, it seems, e.xisted long before the ad\-ent Heart. ^ *= of Him whose type we are considering. 'Socrates, Hist. Eccles., lib. v., cap. 17; Sozomen, lib. viii.. cap. 16; Rufinus, lib. i!., cap. 29. ' Fleiiry, Eccles. Hist., xix., 2g. * S. Baring-Gould, Curious .'\fyl/is of t/ic Middle Ages, vol. ii., p. 93 ; Hoskin. I'isit lo the Great Oasis, plate xii. See Wilkinson's Ancient Egyptians, vol. ii., pp, 2S3-2S4, fur use of Tau cross in Christian monuments. ■* Bradford, American Atitiquities, p. 392. ® 6 History of the Cross The sacred bulls and reptiles were fed upon a cake composed of flour, honey, and milk, or oil. All symbolical materials, upon which was im- pressed a cross pattec ; and on the higher Cross on Cake. , , . festivals the priests and worshippers partook of it.' This crossed cake was the jiieroglyph for " civilized land," but in that rude character there was a deeper mysti- Cross on Cake. If i. T) 1-3 From Hasl.im's cal reference to Paradise. j.;,^ ^ross ami The invention of the astronomical signs is generally '''"' •^^'y*'''"'- attributed to Egypt, but those used by the ancient Greeks, Babylon- . , . , ians, Druids, the natives of India and of America, so closely Astronomical ' J ^'S"^- resemble them that they indicate a common origin. Fi\-e of these characters are plainly composed of the circle, or parts of it, and the cross : * ? ^ ? ^ Egyptian Symbols for the Five Planets. From Haslam's 'J'hc Cross anJ tlw Serpent. while that of the earth, the circle filled with the cross, is significant. In these hieratic monograms the position of the cross varies, sometimes being placed above, at others below or at the side of the disc, hence it has been supposed that the position not only " distinguished one spliere from another, but also indicated the degree of happiness in each."' The signs of Jupiter, Venus, and Mercury are sometimes placed in the hands of the corresponding Egyptian deities. Ra. or Osiris, Isis, and Hermes. The monogram of the last is a variation of the caduceus or mystic wand of Mercury, and, according to Kircher, was originally the sacred Tau, to which was added the cross and crescent, modified after- wards b\- Thoth, the Egyptian Mercury, into serpents and wings, syin- ' .An evident type of the lOucharist. Similar types were found in .\sia and in .\merica, both on the North and South continents. See ch. ii. ' The tradition of the four rivers of Paradise flowing towards the cardinal points, thus dividing the land cruciformly has been handed down in many mythologies. In the Sineru of the Huddhist, grows the four-limbed Damba-tree, or tree of life, and from its roots gush forth four sacred streams northward, southward, eastward, and westward ; from the four sides of the golden Mount Meru in the Sl.avratta. or "celestial earth" of the Hindoo, proceed the four primeval rivers. The Tien-Chan, or " celestial mountain land " of the Chinese and Tartars, is divided by the four overllowing streams of Tycliin, or Immortality, and through Asgard, the abode of happiness of the Scandinavians, flowed four rivers of milk. ' EdinburgJi A'e-'., vol. cxxxi., p. 23S. Before the Christian Era 7 bolizing the power of the crossover the devil.' I lence ji;i, called the TaiUic emblem," is the sign of power, and Mercury always bears the caduceus when conducting a soul to Hades, for by its touch the god could release the spirit of the dying or recall the dead to life; like the cross, also, it had power over enmity. By its influence, enemies found their hatred changed to love. How to account for the peculiar shape of the crttx ansata passes our power. Its universality — it is found in every quarter of tlic earth — attests the reverence in which it was held by the primeval 1 T. • /- 1 1 r .. 1 ^'■"'' Ansata. nations, biit as l-iaring-Lioiikl confesses, no one knows, and probably no one ever will know, what originated this sign and gave it such significance." ' It has been suggested that the T represents a table or an altar, and the ovoid symbolizes a vase,' or an egg ' upon that altar, others suppose it to be a mere handle, because it is often so used, but not always. On a Bab\donian cylinder the god holds the sacred emblem by the long arm, whilst a priest offers him a gazelle. ° On a stele from Khorsabad the two parts are disjoined, — an eagle-headed man holds the circle in his right and the Tau in his left hand.' This was af^.xed to the end of the pole of a war chariot, doubtless as a talisman. An able writer suggests that in the first instance the crux ansata was intended to denote the solar and terrestrial spheres respectively, and, subsequently, when princes and conquerors had conceived the exalted idea of ruling by divine right, or of pretending a divine origin, each ' Kircher, Hicrog., lib. iv., 20, quoted in Deane's Serpent IVms/iip, p. 133. "The caduceus in its present form represents a modification of the universal Ophite hierogram, em- blematic of the Trinity ; the circle for light, the serpents for wisdom, and the wings for life ; signs corresponding to the title Trismegistus, or thrice great Hermes." Haslam, Cross and Serpent, p. 173. "^ The monogram of the Egyptian Tau is formed of three Taus thus, K -I > similar to the Masonic jewel of the Royal Arch. Maurice, Indian Antiquities, vol. vi., p. 68. Three Taus also compose the symbol of the Scandinavian Teutates. ^ Curious Myths, vol. ii., p. 94. ■* Ungarelli, Interpreiat. Oheliscorum Urbis, p. 5. ' Dognee, Les Synibvles Antiques-V CEuf. The " Mundane egg " is often represented with a horizontal line passing through the middle dividing it into two cones. The space outside and around the figure symbolizes heaven, boundless as is the universe ; " the space within the upper cone, above the line which represents the earth's surface was the KozAos or coelus, the hollow vault, 'the fertile womb of all teeming nature' . . . and the space below the line and ■within the lower cone was the region of fire, the abode of the mysterious spirits." Haslam, Cross and Serpent, p. 72. ' Curious Myths, vol. ii., p. q6. ' Botla, Mon. de Xineve, vol. ii,, pi. 158. 8 History of the Cross adopted the circle, and, associating with it the equally expressive cross, the two conjoined thus became emblematical of dominion; and this symbol of royalty has been perpetuated to our day by e\-ery Christian potentate in Europe, whose coronation orb surmounted by a pectoral cross is nothing more than the embodiment of the o'lix aiisa/a.' Kircher menti-ms a curious tradition that Thoth recei\x-d the sign from which he formed the crux aiisafa from tlie patriarchs. " It was received bv Moses from Shem, who received it from Noah, Tradition of its Transmission who rcccivcd it from Enoch, who received it from Seth, from Angels. who received it from Adam, who received it from the angel Raziel,^ who gave it to our first father as a talisman of great power against demons, etc. (Abeneph)." McCulloch, quoting the abo\'e, inquires : " Who is ' Abeneph ' ? If a Jew or a Mahometan, and his name would give color to that opinion, then his testiinon}- would be of great value as to the mysterious significa- tion of the cross in very ancient times. It is not likely that a follower of Judaism, or Islam, would invent a tradition honoring a Christian symbol." ' From Egypt the reverence for the cross doubtless spread throughout the other parts of Africa, but, owing to the low state of cis'ilization, we must not look for monumental evidence, but to traditionary usages pre- served to the present day, for traces of the ancient use of the hierogram. Nor do we look in vain ; although the degraded people have forgotten the meaning of the symbol, yet they have religiousl}- preserved it because it has been transmitted from their ancestors. ' Etiinbitri^h Rt7\^ vol. cxxxi., p. 232. For obvious reasons the ]>liallic tlieory is not dis- cussed. Sir Gardner Wilkinson declares that there is no ground in its favor ; true the Egypt- ian word signifying " life " bears a resemblance to the Yoni 1 ingam of the Hindoos, but in Kgypt the Tau was the symbol of purity, the greatest gift of God to man. Ancient Ei^yptiaus^ vol. ii., p. 283. S. Uaring-Gould pronounces the theory " Monstrous and devoid of evidence." Cu'ious Myths, vol. ii., p. 93 and App. A. On the Rosetta stone it is used to translate the title alavofiioZ given to Ptolemy Epiphanius. Ibid., |>. 92. For the contrary opinion con,sult Cox, Aryan Mythology, App. C. Nor is the Tau the Nile key ; that is of a different shape, and Nilus is of all the gods the least often represented with it in his hantl. — Wilkinson, vol. iv., P- 341- '' Raziel, according to the Rabbins, was the angel who instructed Adam in the Cabbala, or oral law, or traditions of the Jews. S. Baring-Gould says, it was related by the Arabian Philosopher, Ibn-ephi, that the circle signifies the api)le, and thus the Carthusian emblem which bears the motto, " Stat crnx duni volvitur ori'is'' is in reality the mystic symbol of Adam — a mound and cross — the crux ansata or life out of death. — Legends of the Old Testament, p. 54. ' McCulloch, Researches among the American Aborigines, p. 335. Before the Christian lira 9 At Susa, in Abyssinia, anions^ otlicr i-cliyious rites, tiic natives pluns^c a cross in the Iviver Gitche. Tliis is tlie ciistoni among all the (jalla tribes, but fur whieh they can assign no other reason tlian crossin that it iiad been haiuled ilown from their forefathers.' Abyssinia. The Kabyle women, although Moh.imnietlans, tattoo a cross between tlicir eyes. No deNout Arab, althdugh professing the same faith, will marry one of them until the sign is obliterated by a corrosive liiiuiil.' In Wanyamwizi, or the Land of the Moon, the inhabitants decorate their walls with crosses and serpent-like ornamentations painted with ashes and red and black clay. The Moslem companions of , n . i I In Central Burton dechired them to be idolatrous, but the natives as- Africa, serted that they paid them no worship, yet were unable to tell the origin of the custom." At a period far remote, before the foundations of Carthage were laid, a Berber nation, now called the \^uaricks, overspread the desert, and conquered the oases and mines. This terrible peojjle are yet the scourge of the peaceful farmer and the passing caravan. They camp in leather tents; they are armed with lance and sword, and with shields, on which is painted the image of a cross. . . . They established a line of kingdoms from the Niger to the Nile, in tlie border land between the Sahara and the parallel io° N. Timbuctoo, Haoussa, Bornow, Baghirmi, Waday, Dorfur, antl Kordofan were the names of these kingdoms; in all of them Islam is now the religion of the state." * Section 2. In Asia. — Leaving Africa, and proceeding to Asia, we find, in India, the cross bearing the same meaning as in Egypt. When with four equal arms it signifies the four elements, which crossinAsia the Hindoos consider as eternal, and the component parts India, of all things. The gods, the soul of man, antl the life of animated nature they suppose to be generated from them. Hence their doctrine that nothing will be annihilated, but only changed — souls by transmigra- tion, matter by transmutation: and therefore Siva, the Destroyer, also the Preserver, the deity who presides over the elements, is represented ' Harris, highlands of Ethiopia, vol. iii., p. 79. * Perry, Carthage and Tunis, p. 274. There is a tradition in tliis tribe that when 1200 years liave passed since the flight of Mahoinet the religion of .Side Aissa (Jesus Chiist) will be restored. — C. E. Oakley at British .Soc. Evang. of the East, April, 1864. ^ R. F. Burton, Lake Region of Central Africa, pp. 222, 297. * Winwood Reade, Martvrdom of Man, p. 2S5. lO History of the Cross with a cross upon his breast. The cross is also found in the hands of Siva, Brahma, \'ishnu, and Tvashtri. When with a wheel in the centre it is called Kiakra, or Tschakra, " and is said to be the oldest ensign of majesty in India." ' When held by Vishnu, the world-sustaining principle, it signifies his power to penetrate heaven and earth and bring to naught the powers of evil. It symbolizes his eternal and ever-vigilant government of the world. Hence, probably, its use as a sceptre by the ancient kings of India. An Indian painting represents Brahma crowned with clouds, witli lilies for eyes, with four hands; one holding the necklace of crea- , ^. . , tion, anotiier the Veda, a third India Acknow- ledging the Cross, the chalicc of lifc, the fourth the fiery cross. Another painting represents Krish- na in the centre of the world as its sustaining principle, with six arms, three of which hold the cross, one holds a sceptre of dominion, an- other a flute, a third a sword. Another gives Jama, the judge of the nether world, with spear, sword, scales, torch, and cross. Another gives Brawani, the female earth principle, holding a lily, aflame, a sword, and a cross." " To this day, in Northern India, the cross is used to mark the jars of sacred water taken from the Indus and Ganges, as in the Cross now in ^ North India. northeastcm parts of Africa the women impress this sign as a mark of possession upon their vessels of grain, etc. In Southern India the cross is used as an emblem of In South India. (.liscmboilied Jaina saints. The worshippers of Hrahma anil I5uddha outnumber' those of Christ; and the symbol, identified as that of our Master, was More Followers of Brahma than rcvcrcd by the East Indians — their Lao Tse, centuries of Christ. before our Lord appeared upon earth. ' Ediii. Kcv., vol. cxxxi., p. 232. ' Mliller, G/aulvn, IVisstii, tiinl Kiiiist, tier Alh'n //iiu/iis. Tnb. i,, fit;. 2 ; Tab. i., fig. 78 I Tab. ii., fig. 61 ; Tab. ii., fig. 140. Quoted in (Imild's Curious Myths of the Middle Ages, vol. ii., p. 1 10, ' licrghaus, in liis /'hysieal Atlas, places tlic Hiuldliists and lirahmiiis at 44.6 per cent, of the human race, while Christians are 30.7. Max Mliller, Chips from a German Workshop, vol. i., 11. 214. Buddha, with Cross on breast and hands. From Lundy's Monumental Christianitv. Before the Christian Hra 1 1 Fylfot Cross. Frequently wc meet in hulia with a peculiar form of the cross, ivhich in its universahty and interest yields only to the Tau of Egypt. More tlian three thousand years ago was the strange cruciform symbol, known as the Fylfot cross, rev'erenced in India.' It is a sacred symbol in the tombs of Fg}'pt and in the catacombs of Rome. It is graven on the temples of the pre-historic nations of both the Eastern and Western Hemispheres. The heraldry of the Middle Ages blazoned it on tlieir shields. To-day it is used as a mystic symbol ^1^ Different forms of the Fylfot Cross. From Lee's Glossary of Liturgical Tertns. among the secret societies who ape the form, but have lost the soul, which animated the brotherhoods of those ages, now known, in the spirit of sarcasm, as dark. Modern heralds term it gniiniioiiioii, and crux gainuiata, considering it as composed of a fourfold repetition of the Greek gannna. Edmondson defines it as the cross potent rebated, or cross contpo)iic. The Buddhists call it the Sawastika, or, in the Pali form, Suti, meaning, " It is well " or " So be it," and it is the symbol of resignation. The Jainas consider it the emblem of the seventh deified teacher of the present era, Supraswa, or Suparswaneth. Its use extended from the earliest day to the present. It is found on early Hindoo coins and seals, and is used to-day by the women as a charm ■against evil. Among the most ancient, interesting, and valuable relics, from our point of view, are two rude crosses of stone recenth- discovered in Cen- tral India, just within the Vindhyazone, in a region which must at some remote period have been cultivated, for there are remains of terraces and walls: but for many miles the country', for centuries and centuries, has been uninhabited and overgrown with dense forests. The population was driven away " not improbably three thou- Crosses in India. ' Mowe, Hindoo Pantheon, pi. ii., figs. 71, 72, S4. The List page is .npparently the ground plan of a temple in the shape of a Fylfot. 12 ^ History of the Cross sand years before the advent of our Saviour." They are monoliths resembling the Cornish crosses (especiall}- that of St. Huryaiii, the one about ten feet nine inches and the smaller, eight feet six inches above ground, and are similar to others near Rajunkolloor in the Dcccan, and are probably the work of the same people. "' Here, then, amongst these now fragmentary peoples, from the debris of a widely spread pri- me\al race, we find the symbol of the cross, not onlv expressing the same mystery as in all other parts of the world, but its erection, doubtless, dating from one of the very earliest migrations of our species. // !s im- possible to adduce any clearer or stronger proof of its aiitiqiiitv than this. ' ' ' The glory of the East is her temples, and the plan of many of these exhibits her faith in the saving symbol. Tavernier describes the niag- - ., nificent pagoda of Bindh Madhu at Benares. The body of Cruciform r^ & J Temples. jj^g edificc was an immense cross, with a lofty dome in the centre, above which a pyramitlal structure arose to a great height. At each extremity of the cross was likewise a p\'ramid, so that the form of the cross was visible at a vast distance. Tavernier visited this in the end of the seventeenth century, not many years before it was destroyed by Aurungzebe, who afterwards built a mosque on its site." Temples of a similar form are found at Mahratta, on the Jumna, and elsewhere. E\cn when the l:)uildings are rectangular, their pyramidal towers are placed crosswise. At the temple of Chillambrum on the Coromandel coast, there are seven lofty walls, one within another, round the quadrangle, and as many pyramidal gateway's in the middle of each side, which form the limbs of a vast cross, consisting of twent_\--eight pyramids, extending more than a mile in one continuous line.' The cave tem[)les are even more wonderful than the superterraneous structures, and arc perhaps older." .Among the most celebrated is that called Elephanta by the I'luropeans. (ihari]nni by the Cave Temples. natives. It is situateel on a small island in the harbor of Bombay. The cave is nearly in the form of a (Ireek cross, its dimen- ' Ellin. Rev., vol. cxx.si , ]i. 253. ' T.tvt-rnier, Voyages, toin. iv., p. 149 ; Maurice, Indian Anlii/., vol. iii., p. 47. * Ilaslam, Cross and Serpent, p. 100. * The nr,ihniiiis say they arc six thousand years old. 'I'alboy's Oxford 'tables of Chroni'logy ]>laces them two lliousand B.C. Fergusson thinks they may h.ave been constructed since the Christian era. .\\. all events the relii^ion of which they are syniliols antedates Christianity. Before the Christian Era 13 sions bcintr lon!j;itiuIin;illy one luini.Irccl aiul tliirty-tlircc feet, transversely one hundred and twenty-three, heit^ht about seventeen feet. At tlie extremity is tiu' Hindni) triad; the cni.v ansata is conspicuously placed in one arm, and the walls are covered with gigantic figures, in low relief, allusive to Siva. Bishop Heber considered this temple specially dedi- cated to that god in his character as Supporter or Destroyer.' .Similar cave temples are foiuul at Salsette and Mllora. Java received her civilization and art directK' from India. Her temples may date since the Cliristian era, but her religion, — in a ]iart of the island, — ^Buddhism, was antecedent. Of the Chandi . . -, ^ . Cross in Java. Sewu, or thousand tem[3les, .Sir .Stamford Raffles writes: " In the whole course of my life I have ne\'er met with such stupendous and finished specimens of human labor and of the science and taste of ages long since forgot, crowded together in so small a compass as in this little spot, which, to Lise a militar\- phrase, I deem to have been the head-quarters of Hinduism in Java." (3f course the sacred symbol is prominent. The Chandi Sewu is a vast parallelogram of two hundred and ninety-si.K small temples with pyramidal roofs composed of five or si.K steps, of which the lower three are in the figure of a cross.' The ground plan of the larger temples, as the Chandi Loro, Jongrang, and the Chandi K;Ui Bening, are cruciform. In the vicinity of the temples are found small siKx-r coins bearing the impression of a cross and of some unintelligible characters. We follow Buddhism and its kindred religion into China. Here the Lao-tseu, as the cross is called, is acknowledged to be one of the most ancient devices, known long anterior to the Sakya-Buddha Cross in China. era, long before the expiatory Cross was erected upon Calvary. It is portrayed upon the walls of their pagodas, it is painted upon the lanterns used to illuminate the most sacred recesses of their temples. It s_\-mboIizes hea\-en. Also, as in Africa and in other parts of Asia, the pottery of China often bears the Fylfot, probably with the same secondary meaning employed by the people, the sacred right of possession.^ ' Dudley, Xaology, p. 333 ; Asiatic Researches, vol. iv., no. 31. ' Raffles, Hist, of Java, vol. ii., pp. 15-18, 65. ^ It has been said that an iron cross bearing a date corresponding to A.D. 239, was found in the province of Kiang-see. Kesson, Cross and /)ra<^oii, \>. 10. If so, it may have been a Christian relic, presuming the tradition to be true that S. Thom.is preached the gospel in China; 14 History of the Cross From China we pass to Japan, and find the Fylfot cross the distinct- I We badge of the ancient sect of Xaca Japonicus. or first reforming Buddaka. The di\'inity, now worshipped as supreme, wears the Fylfot on his breast.' This curious symbol (the Fylfot) seems a bond among nations of a certain zone. In Thibet it has pre-eminence among the royal regalia, on n ■ -ruK . the crowns and sceptres of the Bonpa deities, whose Cross in Thibet ^ ^ andTartary. thcology claims to be the most ancient of all others. The gaDiuiodion is graven on the Artec, or musical bell, borne by Balgovind. the herald of peace. Among the Tartars, the name of both priest and deity. Lama, signi- fies a cross, and the symbol is used in their worship." Even in the extreme bounds of Asia, in Kamchatka, Humboldt but there is a geniiine relic, which, although of late date, it may not be out of place to notice here. In 1625, in digging a foundation in the city of See-gan-foo, capital of the province of Shen-se, a monument was discovered on which was sculptured a cro'^s resembling that upon the traditionary tomb of S. Thomas at Maliapore. The termination of the arms resembling the cross bottoiie, its base is surrounded with clouds. The inscription gives the date of its erection, recording the name of the bishop, emperor, etc. " In the margin is written in Syriac: ' In the days of the Father of Fathers, Mar Ananjesus, the Patriarch.' Below are these words, also in Syriac ; ' In the Greek year iog2, Mar Jezedbuzd, a Presbyter and Chorepiscopus of the royal city of Chumdan, the son of Millesius of happy memory, a Presbyter of Baikh in Tochuristan, erected this tablet of stone, in which are described the precepts of our Saviour, and the preaching of our fathers to the Emperor of the Chinese.' These notices fix the date of the monument to A.D. 781. The Patriarch Ananjesus died about 77S, but it is highly probable that the intelli- gence of his death had not yet reached the far-distant regions of China." Layard, A'iiicvcli, vol. i., p. 206, Am. ed. The inscription further contains a profession of Christian faith, an exposition of Church ceremonies and observances, according to the Nestorians, and a general description of the introduction and progress of Christianity in the empire. Then follows a list of missionaries since a.d. 636. The names are in Syrian, Persian (or Pehlevi.) and Chinese. Voltaire and others have sneered at the genuineness of this interesting monument, but Milman in his note to Gibbon's Decline and Fall, chap, xlvii., cites the evidence of its authenticity. A full translation of the inscription is given in Kesson's Cross ami Dragon, chap. ii. ; see also Layard as above. ' lidin. Rev., vol. cxxxi.. p. 23S. "^ Cardinal Wiseman, Science and Revealed Religion, vol. ii., ji. 256 ; Voyage de la Chine, par .Xvril, p. 194. The cross was S. Andrew's or the Saltire. Iliggins says it represents per- fection, indicated by the fingers of both hands. The Mexicans used the same character in their secular calendars. The Tartars derive the word Lama from the Scythian lamh, a hand. The Irish hiam means a head of a church, an obbol, etc. Higgins, Celtic Druids, p. 312; Brad- ford, Am. Antiq., 392. The double pyramid, or hand, of the Egyptians, signifying fire and water, formed of two triangles V was the famous Hexalpha, X^ or Solomon's seal, or Wizard's Foot. According to Eastern allegory, it was placed (as that of S. Michael) upon the rebellious spirits in their abyss or prison. Hargrave Jennings, The Rosicriicians, \!. 160. The original meaning of dt'cussh was the number ten, the Roman numerical sign for which, .\, is made of two Vs joined. See Sir Thomas Browne's Garden of Cyrus. Before the Christian Era 15 found the cross and rude remains of hieroglyphics, similar to those of Etrvpt, but, unfortunatelv, to the deLTenerated nati\'es, the 0-' 1 » ' . ' r> Cross in mystic signs, though revered because handed down from Kamchatka, their forefathers, were as dead letters," all tradition even of their origin having been lost. Returning southward, Persia is still more satisfactory. The cross is noted among the sacred s\nibols, and appears consjjicu- , . , 1-11 ■ -11 • , Cross in Persia. ously upon an ancient tomb to winch homage is still paid. as that of the prophet Daniel. It is at Susa, known in the da\'s of the captivity as Shushan. Sir Robert Ker Porter describes it Tomb of Daniel, as of green granite, one side covered with hieroglyphic figures in low relief. The first now contains the sun, moon, and a star; the second, animals, hare, dog, etc, ; the third, a figure with the head and lower extremities of a tiger, the arms of a man, and the tail of a goat. Three symbolic figures separate this monster from another, also half-man, half-bnite, hnlding a staff; the fourth now presents an ante- lope, a serpent, and a scorpion; the fifth, a trident, two birds, and a cross with four equal arms." The gems and " stones wrought by man's device," also bear in\-alu- able testimony. Dr. King records an intaglio, the bust of a Persian, upon a sard. " In the field of the design was engraved a _ . . ,. 1 t> t> Cross in Antique ram's head, a double cross, precisely as on the coins of Sala- Gems, mis in Cyprus, thus indubitably marking the portrait as that of a Persian satrap of that island, at some period before the age of Alexander (died B.C. 323), after whose time the Persian dominion over the Greek islands had entirely ceased.' The treasures of art and religion in Assyria have lately been opened to us. The cross is everywhere dominant. In the early Christian cen- turies, Europe adopted the custom of prefixing the sign of Cross in Assyria. the cross to signatures and inscriptions of a specially sacred nature; but the reverential practice had been anticipated thousands of ' Haslam, Cross and Serpent, p. loi, ' Porter, Travels in Georgia, Persia, and Armenia, vol, ii., p, 413. This traveller gives the same interpretatimi as later archaeologists. "The cross indeed (in wonderful coincidence) is generally understood to be symbolical of the divinity, or eternal life." Vol, ii., p. 415. Prideaux refers to the tradition of Daniel's death and monument at Susa " even to this day." Connections, pt. i,, b, iii. The Persians adored the sun, the moon, and the elements. Hence the cross> Herodotus, quoted by Layard, vol. ii., p, 335. See also Layard, Croix Anse'e, pp, 25-32. ^ C, W, King, Antique Gems, p. 146, i6 History of the Cross years before, for Layard tells us that when the cruciform characters are Cross before the placed crosswisc before a word, '" there is every reason to Name of a Divinity. bclievc that they precede tlie name of a divinity."' The sculptures of Khorsabad and the i\ories from Nimroud exhibit nearly every variety of the cross. The cross pattcc is supposed primarily to have t\'i)ified the elysiuin of the four great gods of the Assyrians, — Ra and the first triad, Ann, Belus, and Hea; when in- serted in a roundlet, it is emblematic of .Sansi, or the sun, dominat- ing the earth as well as the heavens." It certainly appears to have been used as the symbol of go\'ernment, or roy- alty, and part of the paraphernalia in regal religious ceremonies, for it is figured on the breast, or [ilaced in the hands of the monarchs on the Assyrian marbles now in the British MLiseum. A large cross pattcc thus ornaments the breast of Tiglath Pileser in a tab- let from Nimroud. Another king from Nineveh bears a Maltese cross, and an- other, from the hall of Nisroch, wears an emblematical necklace consisting of the SLin surrounded by a circle, the moon, a Maltese cross within a circle, a three-horned cap, and a s}-mbol like two horns. The Assyrian Venus, Her;i, also bears in her hand the crux aiisitta." The frequenc}- of the cross gra\'en upon the cyliiuK'rs, or seals, should be noticed. Miiny of these are foniul among the ruins in Assyria, veiifying the assertion of Herodotus that every man car- Cross on Sitjnet. ried a siLTnet of his own. These c\'linders are froni one Hera, or tlie Assyrian Venus. I'roni I .ayard's \itii'vc/t. ' Layard, Nineveh, vol. ii., p. 153. See infra, part iii., clia]!. ix., sec. S. '^ Kdinl). Rev., vol. cxxxi., p. 237. 'Phis writer thinks "that the multiplication of small dots, minor orbs, and oiht-r adjuncts about the end of the arms, and in the angles of intersection, are undoubtedly emblematic of celestial as well as terrestrial sovereignty, denoting the number of superior deities, and their peculiar attributes." " Layard, .\iii<-'f/i, vol. ii., p. 346. Before the Christian Era 17 to two inches in k-n^'tli, and about lialf these (Hmensions in tliick- ness, pcrforateti lenL;lh\vise, and worn like a bracelet on the wrist. When signets arc mentioned in the early IKirt of the (Jld Testament, they are spoken of as worn on the hand, rarely, if ever, upon the finger. Hence most of them must have been of this type, allliough rings of very ancient date have been found.' Pharaoh took oiT his signet ring from liis hand to bestow it upon Joseph (Gen. .xli., 42). The Amalekite brouglit unto David the crown and bracelet, /. c\, the signet of Saul (2 Sam. i., 10). The Lord declared of Coniah, " Though he wore the signet upon my right hand," etc. (Jer. x.xii., 24) ; and of Zorobabel, " Even he was as a signet on the right hand " (Ecclesiasticus xlix., iij. The impression of the seal was taken by rolling it over a. lump of tem- pered clay. Hence the comparison used by the Almighty to Job, the heavens are " turned as clay to the seal " (Job xxxviii., 14). Layard divides the cyhnders into four classes: the early and lower Assyrian, the purely Babylonian, and the Persian. The first class ends with Shalmaneser in the eighth century B.C.^ Among e.x- r 1 • 1 • IT'- r 1 1 Division of Seals. amples of this class, given by King, we find the cn/.i ansata. Among the ne.xt class is an instance of a woman holding a Tau cross, apparently in the act of worship to the moon, Astarte, pne of whose symbols, it will be remembered, was the cross. Upon a cylinder in the Paris Cabinet of Antiquities, published by Miinter, are four figures, the first winged, the second armed with thunderbolts. Beside the latter is the crux iDisata, with a hawk perched on the oval handle. The cross here is not a subordinate figure, but half the height of the deity. The other figures are those of a woman and child. In the same collection are other cylinders bearing the sacred symbol. Upon one, a monarch, or deity, is seated, on either side is the crux ansata. behind the throned figure a servant holds up a cross, and still behind liim is a Maltese cross. Upon another specimen a god is represented extending the cross to a priest, who offers him a gazelle.' These cylinders were disused after the Mace- donian conquest.' ' The signet ring of Cheops is preserved in the .Vbbott Collection of Egyptian Antiquities, in the Historical Society. New York. ' A cylinder was discovered at Konyunjik, supposed by Layard possibly to be the signet ring of Sennacherib, eighth century, B. c. The King is worshipping before the sacred oak. Above is the emblematic representation of the divine presence in the form of a winged cross passing through a circle (the' emblem of eternity), surmounted by three heads, the symbol of a triune god. Lysons, Otn- British Ancestors, p. 220. See also King's Antique Gems, pp. I2g- 132. ^ Gould, Curious Mvths, vol. ii., p. 95. ''King, Antique Gems, p. 130. i8 History of the Cross Although worn among the ornaments, even by the women in their earrings, yet, probably, the cross was held sacred as an amulet, for the captives were not deprived of it. Usually it is pendant Cross as an Amulet or froHia ncck'lace, or attached to the collar of the dress, as was customary among the Shari, an Assyrian tribe, and also among the Rot-n-no, supposed to be Lydians, and likewise among the Rebo, a Northern Asiatic tribe resembling the Parthians. Sir Gardner Wilkinson adduces these instances to show that " the cross was already in use as early as the fifteenth century before Christ." ' The winged globe is common to Egypt, Persia, and other Eastern nations. But the Feroher, as it is called, is most fully developed ,.,. ^ r-, u in Assyria. In Nin- Winged Globe, or Feroher. ^.^.g]^ ^^g j^,^J withiu the circle the figure of a deity armed with a bow ; the wings and figure forming a Tau cross. As the Psalmist says, " He hath bent his bow and made it ready " (Ps. vii., 12). If the scene be that of a battle, the deitj- who hovers above in his cruciform nimbus holds the bow drawn; if a triumph is repre- sented, the bo\\- is unbent; if he presides over an act of worship, the right hand is raised in benedic- tion. This symbol is never repre- sented except over a king, as his protecting spirit or guardian, or else as receiving his royal homage Assyri.in Winged Globe. From Layard's A'/wi'w/S. and worship.' Some have inter- preted the Feroher as a symbol of a triune god, antl translate the circle as Tracesof a Belief symbolizing eternity ; the wings, omnipresence, and the in a Trinity. i^uman figurc, wisdom or intelligence.' ' Wilkinson, Ancient Egyptians, vol. i., p. 376. '' Layard, Nineveh, vol. ii., p. 339. M. Layard conjectures that the circle denotes eternity, surrounding the image of Baal with the wings and tail of a dove to show the association of Mylitta or the Assyrian Venus, and the whole is a symbol of the triad. Observations sur la Croix Anst'c. ^ Rawlinson, Five Great Monarchies, vol. ii., 230. Before the Christian Era 19 From the mines of Wadi Makhara, or " Valley of the caves," near Feiran in Arabia, tiie nations bordering on the Red Sea procured their copper. The caves show the extent of their excavations, Cross in Arabia. and the many inscriptions on the rocks give evidence of the long ages during which the work was carried on. Among these inscrip- tions are the cartouches of Cheops, of the fifth Egyptian dynasty, the builder of the Great Pyramid at Gizeh ; and Rameses of the eighteenth dynasty, the great-grandson of the I'haraoli who pursued the Israelites in their passage through the Red Sea. According to Wilkinson, between these reigns 1500 years elapsed. Prominently among these ancient writings in the rock appear the Tau cross, and that surmounting an orb.' Mesopotamia was connected with Arabia in patriarchal ages. Relics of ancient date are few. In post-Christian times, although still in anti- Christian countries, we find a cross carved on earlv Cufic _ ' Cross in gems, the legends being arranged so as to form a Tau, or a Mesopotamia, cross. The Cufic characters were disused after the thirteenth century, so we have a clue to the antiquity of the signets.^ We approach the Holy Land with reverence, for we remember by whom every tittle of the ceremonial law was ordained as typical of higher things. Universal tradition asserts that the blood Cross in Pales- of the Paschal lamb was sprinkled upon the lintels and door- tine, " under the Law." posts, on the eve of the Passover in Egypt, in the form of a cross. ° According to the Talmud, Jarchi, and Maimonides, when the officiating priest sprinkled the blood of a victim in sacrifice upon the ' Various theories concerning these inscriptions have been put forth. Some consider them the work of the Chaldeans, others that of the Israelites during their sojourn in the wilderness, others that of the early Christians, and still others that of a tribe of ancient Arabians before the Arabic language was known in the desert. Robinson, Bihlical Researches, vol. i., pp. g2, 95, 113, etc. ' King, Antique Gems, p. 153. The Cufic, or square Arabic char.icter, was one of the modifications of the Pehlevi. It took the name from the fact of its having been adopted by the transcribers of the Koran at Cufa in Mesopotamia. Ilnd., p. 477. ^ It is done so to this day in some countries. In Patras and Corfu, " we observed the doors of the Jews marked on the door-posts and lintels with the blood of the Paschal Lamb ; and the mark was alway made in the shape of the Cross," . . . and so " seems a witness against themselves. It is Christ's death lying at their doors. It is a mute echo of the awful, prophetic, self-invoked curse, ' His blood be on us and on our children.' " F. W. Faber, Sights and Thoughts in Foreign Churches, etc., p. 3gg. At Corfu the cross was inscribed with a lock of the lamb's wool dipped in its blood. Tuckerman, The Greeks of To-day, p. 3og. In India, blood is still painted on the door-posts by the natives as a charm against cholera, jfournal of Sacred Lit., 1863, p. 504. During the plague in London, it will be remembered, the red cross was so used. 20 History of the Cross consecrated bread and hallowed utensils, it was in the form of a cross, and the same sign was traced in consecrated oil upon the heads of the priests when annointed.' Even whenever occasion required the moving of the \ictims, or the wa\'ing of the branches of palm, the motion was made to indicate the figure of a cross/ Especially should this be noted in the solemn heave and wave offer- ings, called by the Jews, Tcmtplia. Dr. Adam Clarke says, " As the wave offering was agitated to and fro, and the heave offer- Cross Figured in Heave and Wave ing up and dowu, somc have concei\x-d that this twofold Offerings. , _ ^ , action represented the figure of the cross, on which the great peace offering between God and man was offered in the personal sacrifice of our blessed Redeemer. Had we authority for this conjecture, it would certainly cast much light on the meaning and intention of these offerings, and when the intelligent reader is informed that one of the most judicious critics in the whole republic of letters is the author of this conjecture, viz., Houbigant, he will treat it with respect. I shall give his own words on this verse. ' The heave and wave offerings, as two cei'emonies in the same oblation, are here distinguished. The wa\'e offering implies that the victim was moved hither and thither, to the right hand and to the left; the heave offering was lifted up and down, and this was done several tiines. In this way the Jews explain these things, and teach the Christians that by these acts the cross was adum- brated, upon which that Peace offering of the human race was lifted up which was prefigured by all the ancient victims.' " ' Most significant, also, it is that the heave offering was a peace offering (Lev. vii., 32), and the wave offering was part of the " consecration of sweet savour " (Lev. viii., 28, 29) of Aaron and his sons as High Priest and priests. Yet these ceremonial anil prefigLii'ative sacrifices were instituted 1528 years before the Lamb of God, both priest and sacrifice, was offered, the Peace Offering and Redeemer, upon Calvary. Between Phoenicia and Judea there was frequent intercourse, but we have sad evidence that the pagan country had the weightier influence in religion. Therefore we cannot suppose tliat Tyie and Sidon derived ' It is thus prescribed in the " Office of the dironatiim of the Sovereigns of Great Britain." Sir Thomas Browne thinks the oil was poured in a circle on the heads of Jcwi!:h kings, hut decussatively on the heads of jiriests. — Il'ori-s. vol. iii., p. :V)ii. * Maimon, De Vafcd Rufii, p. 495, — quoted in Faber's llora Mosaica, vol. ii., p. 1S8. ^Clarke, Commentary. Kx. xxix., 27. Before the Christian Era 21 tlicir ndoratidii for tlic cross from Israel. Yet tlu-y lickl it as a sacred symbol. Astarte, the moon, the yoddess of the waters, was a fit tutelary divinity for a commercial nation, and she is represented on Cross in the coins of Byblus and other cities as standing"- on the Phcenicia, Asia Minor, etc. prow of a vessel holding a long cross. Solomon, in the apostasy of his old age, worshipped at her shrine a thousanil years before Christ. In sin and ignorance the wisest man knelt before an idol. But that image bore in its hand the .symbol of light and truth to future ages. Phcenicia extended her colonies throughout the Mediterranean. So we find in Gozzo, an island near Malta, a cruciform temple of Astarte. At Citium, in Cyprus, colonized by the Phienicians more than eight hundred years li.C, a medal has been found bearing on one face a lamb, on the other a circle of beads resembling a rosary, and a cross. The crux aiisata is stamped upon the coins of this island, and also on those of Cilicia in Asia Minor, with I'hienician legends. Upon one coin the cross fills the whole face; upon another it is ])laced below the throne of Baal of Tarsus; others bear the sacred bull accom- panied with the cross, or a lion's or ram's head on the obverse and the cross and circle on the reverse. A superb medal of Cilicia with a Phoenician inscription, struck under the Persian subjugation, three to five hundred years B.C., has u])on one face Astarte with the crux aiisata by her side. The last example we shall cite of Phoenician work is an exquisite intaglio of chalcedony, given in the Maiioi7-cs dc l' Acadaiiic royale dcs Inscriptions ct Belles Lett res? Between two stars a figure of a deity stands, above his head is the triangle, or symbol of the trinity, beneath are cruces ajisattB.'^ Before leaving Asia we pause to notice the cross upon the tomb of Midas, king of Phrygia, li.C. 71S, and the Fylfot cross upon the coins of „ • du ^ i Cross in Phrygia Chalcedon. A gold-headed staff or seep- and chaicedon. tre knob, ornamented with an engraved cross, has been lately found on the site of Homer's Troy, among other discoveries of curious jewels in gold, silver, cop- Sceptre Knob, found , at Trov. From per, and bronze. i- , ,• ' , ^ . ^ ' bctiliemann s 7 raja. ' See vol. xvi. 'Clarke, Travels, vol. iv., p. 77; McCulloch, Researches, p. 332; Humboldt, Xotiveau Continent, torn, ii., p. 355 ; Could, Curious Myths, vol. ii., p. g6. " Henry Schliemann, Troja, p. 107. 2 2 History of the Cross Section 3. In Europe. — Leaving the land of Shem and passing to the tents of Japhet, we are welcomed at the very cradle of European art and civilization by the cross. It may have been brought Cross in Greece. with other traditions by those who wandered into Greece after the dispersion of Babel, or it may have been transmitted from Egypt, or IMuenicia, but the same promise of " future life " was sym- bolized.' It was used also as a sign of mercy in extending temporal existence, for when a criminal was condemned to death, his name was marked on the judicicd tablets with a T/icta, the initial of ddvaros, death; but when acquitted, with a T, the Tau cross, as a sign of life. The Romans borrowed these symbols for the same purpose.^ It has been conjectured that this use of the cross was derived from that marked with the blood of the Paschal lamb on the door-posts of the children of Israel on the night of the Passover in Egypt. ^ It is plain that a sacred symbolic meaning was connected with the cross in Greece. Four hundred \-ears before Christ, Plato, in his Epistle to Dionysius of Syracuse, intimated his belief in a trinity, and elsewhere expressed an opinion that the form [symbol ?] of the second person was stamped upon the universe in the form of a cross." ' An inscription in Thessaly, EPM.-I.d XQfJNIOP, is accompanied by a Calvary cross.' Numerous examples of the Fylfot cross are found on Greek pottery, circa B.C. 600, and on the coins of Corinth and also Cross in Greece. r /~' those of Gnossos, or Cnassos, a city of Crete, B.C. 500-450. Northern Italy was inhabited by a people so many ages ago that history has forgotten them. Research has discovered that tliey dwelt in villages built on platforms over lakes, that they were Cross in Italy. ignorant of the arts of civilization, but they knew enough to believe in the cross as a religious s_\-mbol, " and that they trusted in the cross to guard, and it may be to revive, the loved ones whom they committed to the dust." ° ' Caylus, Ri-cucil d'AiilUj. ; Fosbroke, Encyc. Antiq., p. 159. " Kaoul Rochette, Sui- la Croix Ans/e, note 7 ; Persius Sat., iv. 13. ■' It " is, in fact, a symljol of acquittal : God having acquitted or justified them, they there- fore were to be spared. From this original emblem of divine protection, the Greeks derived the notion of marking the names of the acquitted with a T wiiliout knowing its real signification." Deane, Serpent Worship, p. 143; Godwin, Roman Aniii;., p. 241. ■" .S. Augustine acknowledged his indebtedness to I'lato in enabling liim to underst.tnd the doctrine of the Trinity. — Lysons, Our British Ancestors, p. 215. ' (lould. Curious Myths, vol. ii., p. 98. ' //«■ii;v thinks that Gould has been misled by the tresul, or trident, and that the figure is tliat of I'roteus, not Neplune. Vol. cx.\xi., p. 335. ' Transactions of the Society of Northern Antiijiiaiians for iSj6. ' Gould, Myths, vol. ii., p. S6. Before the Christian Era 29 the sign of the head of a spear, that is, witli the sign of the cross; for, " The sign of Tiior's hammer, or the head of a battle-axe, or liaiberd," says Laing, " was used as the sign of the cross after the introthiction of Christianity as a kind of consecration by a holy symbol." ' Of King Hacon, we are told that he was a Christian, and wished his people to be " baptized, and belie\'c in one God, and in Christ, the son of Mary, and to refrain from all sacrifices to heathen gods. They re- fused, and insisted upon the King's offering sacrifice at the harvest festival. The King sat on his throne. Now when the first full goblet was filled. Earl Sigurd spoke some words over it, blessed it in Odin's name, and drank to the King out of the horn; and the King took it and made the sign of the Cross over it. Then said Kaare of Gryting, ' What does the King mean by doing so ? Will he not sacrifice ? ' Earl Sigurd replied, ' The King is doing what all ui you do who trust to your power and strength. He is blessing the full goblet in the name of Thor, by making the sign of his hammer over it.' On this there was quietness for the evening, for his followers called tiiemselves the children of Thor, and expected to be saved in the last day by Thor's hammer," ^ i. i\, the cross. Longfellow refers to the Scandinavian symbol and the cross when describing King Olaf keeping Yule-tide at Drontheim: " O'er his drinking iKirn the sign He made of the Cross divine. As he drank, and muttered his prayers ; But the Berserks evermore Made the sign of the hammer of Thor Over theirs," In reality both were the same — " And in foaming cups of ale The Berserks drank washael To the Lord." Even to this day, Thor's hammer, or the Fylfot cross, is used in the magical rites still practised in Iceland by the witches, who . ' Cross in Iceland. claim thereby to rule the elements. I came not to bring peace, but a sword," was the sad prophecy of ' Laing, Chronicles of the Kings of A^orivay, vol. i., p. 224. ' Ibid., p. 330. 30 History of the Cross the Prince of Peace, and even his symbol was misused to fulfil his word. One custom, probably derived from the Scandinavians, descended to a late date : the summons among the north-western nations The Fiery Cross. , _. of Europe to council or war by means of the Fiery cross, i.e., a cross the ends of which had been scorched. Scott's graphic description, of the preparation and hurrying on of " — the ffU cross of blood and brand," " is not exaggerated. In the island of Lewes, one of the Hebrides, when the Danes became oppressive, a fiery cross was circulated among the Gaels with the brief announcement: " Every one shall slay his guest.'" The strangers, being unwarned and dispersed, were murdered singly.' Even as late as June 9, 1685, the fiery cross was sent, by order of govern- ment, through the west of Fife and Kinross, that all between sixteen and sixty might rise and oppose Argyle.' It is said also to have been circulated in some parts of Scotland in 1745, but without effect. The cross was held in high reverence in the religious rites of tlie Druids. In the consecration of their holy oaks, the trees were made r, cruciform either by being lopped in the desired shape, or Cross among .'Git x^ ' the Druids. j^y jj^g insertion of other branches. At the intersection of the arms the word Thau, or God, was inscribed, on the right Hesus, on the left Helenus, and in the middle of the trunk Tharnis, the names of the Druidical triad.' In Charnwood Forest, Leicestershire, England, is ' Herbert, Iceland Poetry, pt. i. " Lady of the Lake, canto iii., stanzas viii-xxi. ' Worsaae, Danes and A'ortcuxians in England, p. 293. * " Diary of LordFountainhall, 1680 to 1701," Forsyth, Antiquarian Portfolio, vol. i., p. 351. ' Borlase, Antiquities of Cornwall, p. 108 ; Maurice, Indian Antiquities, vol. vi., p. 49. The cutting of the mistletoe is too significant to be passed without notice. The fete was on the sixth day of the moon. (Christ suffered on the sixth day, at the sixth hour, and that number has always been considered symbolical of suffering, hence even the chalice to hold the my.stical blood represents the number in the form of its foot.) The mistletoe was sought for upon an oak of about thirty years growth. (Christ was about thirty when He bore His cross.) When the oak was found, a triangular altar was raised. In the procession the Eubagi marched first, con- ducting two white bulls which had never borne the yoke, then followed the bards chanting hymns to God. Next came the novices, students, and disciples, accompanied by a herald clothed in white. These were followed by the most ancient pontiffs, one carrying the bread which was to be offered ; the second two bearing two vessels filled with 7vine and water ; the third a wand terminating in a hand of ivory representing Justice and Power. Next came the clergy, preceded by the supreme pontiff, in a white robe, and a girdle of gold, and the procession was closed by nobles and people. Having arrived at the oak, prayers were offered, and a burnt offering of some of the liread, wine, and w.itcr. The remainder of these elements was distributed among hell of which was Fva- Z A_' L. ^ A_ <■> o JL O j«_ '/ c^ Before the Christian Era 31 an oak, known as the Copt, or coppetl oak, the outer s in existence about fift)- years ago, and was evidently one of the Druidic Thaus; it is prt)bably more than two thousand years old.' Some of the remains of what arc presumed to the priests. The celelirant then ascended ^/^ / the tree and cut off, with a golden sickle, c the mistletoe, one of the principal priests receiving it with great reverence. The . supreme pontiff, aided by others, immo- lated the two bulls, and the ceremonv concluded by the prayer that God's bene- "^ ^ diction would rest upon jj^,.^, ^ ,,,..D the gift to be distributed ^ among the people, then prostrate u|ion the \ ^ b ^ ground. The inferior order of Druids ^E^ then distributed portions of the sacred ^ ^ Q> mistletoe, some of which were sent to the fL temples, and some were worn as amulets ^^ against sickness, evil spirits, thunder, etc. ^_^ Manet, A'otcs and Queries, 3d ser., iv., C^ P- 485. ^ ' The Druidical name of the mistlotoe, ^ a^ " All Heal," is significant. Its British ^ name, Gui, signifying spirit, life, the , ^ Jk spirit of healing and divination. There « ^ seems to be an underlying tradition of the a « prophetic value of a branch which was to » a ^ have healing powers, as Zechariah fore- » * tells: " Behold I will bring forth my ser- • • vznt i\\e branch." Zech. iii., 8. It was • * a branch which sweetened the waters of el /t- • Mara. Even the golden branch of Virgil, I\i n and other mythological traditions, may jr point to the " religious branch " foretold by the prophets, as springing from the n^^l AI c^» " stem of Jesse." Again, the mistletoe \^. was of a different nature from the oak on — _ /"B which it grew. A mystical representation of the expected Saviour, the " All Heal" •** taking another nature than that which belonged to him by prior generation, ;'.<•., the grafting of the human upon the divine ^j IX *. nature. The oak itself was sacred to God, the name in Hebrew, Ale/i, having the same root as divinity s 10 20 to itself. Lysons, Our British Ances- tors, pp. igg, 201. ' Dudley, Naohgy, p. 136. ^1. A. Cruciform Druidical Temple. From Higgins's Ce/tic Druids. 32 History of the Cross have been their temples are cruciform. An example is found near Class- ernis, in the island of Lewes. Thirty-nine massive stones form the longer „ ., limb of the cross, thirteen the circle, in all fifty-two; twelve Cruciform ' y ' Temples. composc the head and arms. The stones are from four to seven feet in height, except the centre one, which is thirteen. The diam- eter of the circle is sixty-three feet; the length of the cross at present is five hundred and eighty-five feet, formerly it was seven hundred; the length of the arms is two hundred and four feet.' The Druids considered that the long arm of the cross symbolized the way of life; the short arms the three conditions of the Symbolism. . . . i tt 11 2 spirit world, equivalent to Heaven. rurgator\-, and Hell. According to enthusiastic Irish antiquarians, their cave, or rather subterranean mound, temples are more ancient than any other ec- clesiastical remains in Great Britain. One of the best Cross in Ireland. . ,• t>t /- t^ 1 , • , 1 known is that of JNiew Grange, near Urogheda, m the county of Meath. It is formed of vast stones covered with earth. The ground plan is cruciform., about eighty feet in length by New Grange. ... twenty-one in the transverse. The height of the gallery, at the entrance about two feet, gradually increases until it becomes nine. The temple appears to have been dedicated to Thor, Odin, and Friga.' Valiancy considered the inscriptions, in Ogham and symbolic characters, the most ancient in Ireland. He translated that on the right of the long arm of the cross, " The Supreme Being," or" Active Principle." On the same side, thrice repeated, are cliaracters of a somewhat like import, signifying " The Great Eternal Spirit." On the " covering stone " of the east transept is, " To the great Mother Ops," or " Nature." In front of the head of the cross is " Chance, Fate, or Providence." On the north stone of the west transept is, " The sepulchre of the Hero," on a stone on the left of the gallery are " men, oxen, and swine, probably signifying the several species of victims sacrificed at tliis temple in honor of universal Nature, Providence, and tiie names of the hero interred within." Vallency supposes that this tumulus was erected towards the close of the second century.' If not pre-Christian, it is at least the work of men who knew nothing of Christianity.' ' Toland, Hist, of the Druids^ p. 136. ' Gould, AfylJis, vol. ii., p. 86. 'Wright, /.out/liana, p. 15. * Valiancy, "Col. Rel. llib.," vol. ii., p. 211, quoted in Higgins, Cfltic Druids, p. xliii. * For full description sec Fcrgusson's h'lide Stone Monuments. 34 History of the Cross In the neighborhood of New Grange are two other mounds, known as the Hills of Nowth and Dowth. The latter was explored in 1847. It resembled New Grange, and within its chamber is a quad- Nowth and ^ ^ Dowth. rangular stone covered with carvings, among which the cross is conspicuous.' The Tau cross, according to McCulloch, was known among the an- cient Irish as the symbol of Wisdom. Section 4. In America. — We might slightly alter Bishop Berkeley's famous prophecy, adapting it as a fact, that America. " Westward the ' Cross' of empire takes its way " — for, in passing from the Old to the New World, we find that the cross rules almost from Behring's Straits to Cape Horn. It has been found from Oregon to Patagonia. When the Spaniards first landed in Mexico and Central America " They could not suppress their wonder," says Prescott, " as they be- , ,. . . held the cross, the sacred emblem of their own faith, raised In Mexico and ' ' Central America, gg ^,^ object of worship in the tcmples of Anahuac."' Even among the relics of nations whose existence had been forgotten by those who then inhabited their lands, the cross had been adored. Pal- enque is supposed to have been founded by Votan in the ninth century before the Christian era. One of the principal buildings in that city is a palace, or temple, two hundred and eighty-eight feet long by one hun- dred and eighty feet in width, and forty feet high. At the back of one of its altars, sculptLired on a slab of gypsum, is a cross ten feet high, richly decorated with symbolic figures. On the lower limb is a fish, re- minding us of that Christian symbol in the Catacombs of Rome ; above the cross sits a bird, which Stephens thinks is the Ziiitzitizilian, or hum- ming-bird of the Mexicans, which corresponds, in their traditions of the deluge, to the dove of Noah; but Gould considei's it the eagle, Nisroch, or rain cloud, already noticed on the cylinders of Babylon. On each side of the cross is a human figure, one of which holds up a child to the <:ross. The garments of tlie three are profusely decorated with crosses.' ' Wakeman, Handbook of [risli Antiqutics, chaps, iii., iv. ' I'rcscotl, Con(]ui-sl of Mexico, vol., iii., pp. 383, 384. ''Stephens, Central America, vol. ii., p. 351. mmmmmmwa^s^^^ m¥Mmm£^7^:j3mm^ u 36 History of the Cross The same cross is represented on old pre-Mexican MSS. , as in the Dresden Codex, and that in possession of Herr Fejervary, at the end of which is a colossal cross, upon which is represented a bleeding deity, and figures stand around a Tau cross upon which is perched the sacred bird." ■ The Spaniards also found Tau crosses of metal, ^ but whether used as ornaments, or amulets, they appear to be ignorant. The Tau is figured upon the breasts of bronze statuettes of unknown antiquity which have recently been disinterred in the cemetery of Juygalpa, in Nicaragua.' Throughout the whole of Mexico we find this veneration of the cross. It occurs in the north among the Mixtecas and in Quere- daro. An Indian cross was found in the cave of Mixteca Baja, and similar ones were discovered among the ruins on the island of Zaputero in Lake Nicaragua. White marble crosses were found on the island of S. Ulloa, and wooden ones in Acjuatolco and among the Zapotecas.'' In Oajaca, there was a cross which the natives liad reverenced as a divine symbol from time immemorial. ]-5y or- der of the Bishop of Cervantes, it was placed in a sumptuous chapel in the cathedral, and infor- mation concerning its discovery, together with a cup cut from its Cross in Oajaca. Cross found at Palciir[ue. From Wilson's Mexico. wood, was sent to Paul V. at Rome, who received it upon his knees, singing the hymn \\-xilla Regis." In Cholula there is a temple which its discoverers presumed to be dedicated to the worship of the cross," and in the " Casas de Piedras in ' (;oiil. 161. * Gould, lifyt/is, vol. ii., p. 107. ' Caldcran, I.i/e in Mexico, Letter 37. Tlic cross of Cozumcl niii;hl als.i be instanced. Stephens thinks it of Spanish origin, Yucatan, vol. ii., chap. 20 ; but I'rescott considers it native, Mexico, vol. iii., p. 334. ' Kingsborough, Mexico, vol. vi., p. 418. Before the Christian Era ^7 Chiapa some of the windows arc in liic form of the Greek cross, and on the wall of one of the apartments is a tablet of sculptured stone, ex- hibiting the figure of a large and richly ornamented cross , , In Cholula. placed upon an altar or pedestal. kingsborough gives a curious example of a cross with a skull at the foot similar to the medi- aival crucifixes in the Eastern Hemisphere." Nor are cave temples wanting to complete the resemblance to the Eastern Hemisphere. One at Mitia, " the city of the moon," has been hewn out of the solid rock, its limbs being one hundred and cruciform twenty-three feet in length, and about twenty-five in width. ^"^ '""p '=^- Upon the walls the figure of a perfect Maltese (Greek?) cross is carved.' Upon certain high festivals, the Mexicans made crosses out of Indian corn and the blood of their sacrificial victims. These were first wor- shipped, and afterwards broken and distributed among the Cruciform Cake. worshippers, who ate them as a symbol of union and brother- hood. Such close resemblance to the Sacrament of the holy Eucharist probably led the Spaniards to think that S. Thomas and his disciples had found the way from India to these countries.* But not only the type of one sacrament was practised by the natives previous to the arrival of the Spaniards, but also even a rite of baptism.' The sepulchres of the ancient inhabitants of Mexico and Central America were generally cruciform." Uu Paix gives a number of in- ' Bradford, American Antiquilies, p. 8l. ' Kingsborough, Mexico, vol. ii., pi. 37. ^ Ibid., vol. vi. , p. 429. ■* Prescott, Mexico, vol. i., p. 60; vol. ii., p. 5 ; vol. iii., pp. 383-386. The last syllable of Quetzacoatl signifies a twin. By some confusion of ideas, probably, the Spanish writers sup- posed this intimated Didymus, /. e., Thomas. ^ " Their surprise was heightened, when they witnessed a religious rite which reminded them of the Christian Communion. On these occasions, an image of the tutelary deity of the Aztecs was made of the flour of maize mixed with blood, and, after consecration by the priests, was distributed among the people, who, as they ate it, showed signs of humiliation and sorrow, declaring it was the flesh of the deity. How could the Roman Catholic fail to recognize the awful ceremony of the Eucharist? With the same feelings they witnessed another ceremony, that of the Aztec baptism, in which, after a solemn invocation, the head and lips of the infant were touched with water and a name given to it, while the goddess Civacoatl, who presided over child-birth, was implored that the sin which was given to us before the beginning of the world, might not visit the child, but that, cleansed by these waters, it might live and be horn anew." " The Spaniards were not aware," continues Prescott, " that the cross was the symbol of wor- ship of the highest antiquity in Egypt and Syria, and that rites resembling those of Communion an 1 Baptism were practised by pagan nations on whom the light of Christianity had never shone." Prescott, Mexico, vol. iii.. pp. 383-387. •* Squier, Serpent Svmbol in America, pp. 9S-100. 38 History of the Cross GEEBF Cruciform Sepulchres. stances. From ]Mitlan, or " the palace of the dead," from the structure upon the commencement of the Mijian Mountains, from the town of Chila on the summit of the mountain called Tortuga, and elsewhere, do not these witnesses in- timate a belief in tlie Resurrection by mcans of the truth hidden in the sacred symbol ? And is not this confirmed by the ancient Mexican names for the cross ? The " Tree of Nutriment," the " Tree of our Flesh," the " Tree of Life " I ' And that this symbol was placed on their tombs and temples shows that the significance was not limited to this life only ! ^^^^S'w ,-^. Plan of Sepulchral Chamber at Mitlan. From Squier's St-rpeni Symbol. Section of Sepulchral Chamber at Mitlan. From Squier's Serpent Symbol. Plan and Section of Sepulchral Chamlier at Chila, Mexico. From Squier's Serpent Symbol. A tradition a])])cars to have been common throughout Mexico and Central America, that a nation, bearded and white, bearing the cro.ss, ' Brinton, Myths of the New World, pp. 95. g6. Before the Christian Hra 39 should come from a ilistant land; hence in many places the Spaniards were welcomed as expected guests, the priests informing them that an- cient prophecies had foretold the coming of a nation bearing ^ j. . 'I '^ *= Traditions of the sacred sign, and that their own religion would disappear strangers bring- ^ *= ' ' ing the Cross. before it.' In Yucatan, the early Roman Catholic mission- aries have preserved some of the hymns of the natives in which these ancient traditions have been embodied. Admitting all due allowance for the religious bias of the missionaries in their translation of the native chants, yet the substratum of truth is acknowledged by early historians. We quote a translation, said to be literal, of one hymn as an example: " At the close of the thirteentli Age of the world, While the cities of Itza and Tancah still flourish, The sijr» of the Lord of the Sky will appear, The light of the dawn will illumine the land, And the Cross will be seen by the nations of men. A father to you will He be, Itzalanos, A brother to you, ye nations of Tancah, Receive well the bearded guests who are coming, Rringing the siirii of the Lord from the daybreak. Of the I^ord of the Sky, so clement yet powerful." This is said to have been composed about 1450, therefore before the arrival of the Europeans, and was used throughout Yucatan.' Although the ancient ofificial annals of Mexico were destroyed by the Spanish invaders, yet tradition and early histories have preserved the outlines. Successively the country has been occupied by Antiquity of the Chichimecs, the Colhuas, the Toltecs or Nahuas, and Mexican 1 A 1111 1 • 1 1 ■ r Customs. the Aztecs, who had been the inhabitants for more than two centuries before they were conquered by Cortez. Advanced as they were in civilization, still, in some respects, they were behind their pre- decessors. In architecture, they were surpassed by the Toltecs and Colhuas. The former of these occupied the land more than a thousand years before the Christian era.' How much more ancient were their pre- ' Stephens, Yucatmi. vol. ii , p. 377. Kingsbnroiigh, Mcwico, vol. vi., pp. 41S-420. '' Lizana, Hist, de A''iifslra Sfi'iora lie Itzamal, lib. ii., cap. i ; Brasseur, Hist, dii Mc.xique, ii., p. 605, quoted in Biinton's Myths, p. 222. '• Brasseur de Bourbourg says : " In the histories written in the Nahualt language, the oldest certain date is 955 years before Christ." It is quoted from the Codex Chimalpopaca, and refers to a division of land, and it shows that they had been settlers in the land long before the civil war made this necessary. Quoted in Baldwin's Ancient America, p. 204. Baldwin examines the subject of Antiquity more fully than these pages will allow. 40 History of the Cross decessors, the Colhuas, we have not the means at hand for ascertaining. Concerning their edifices, Eubank writes: " I am not aware that there has been even a conjecture as to the date of these ruins. The concentric circles of some trees growing upon them mark 973 years, but how many centuries had elapsed from the ruin and desolation of the city, and for the accumulation of the soil over it ere this tree took root, can only be conjectured." Waldeck counted 1609 rings of annual growth upon a tree which he felled." ' Enough for our purpose that they were pre-Christian, and that the cross as an honored symbol appears frequently upon them. Among the later Mexicans the cross was adored as the emblem of Ouiateot, the god of rain. An old chronicler, when describing a temple, saith : Cross, the Sym- bol of the God " At the foote of this temple was a plotte like a church- }'ard, well walled and garnished, in the midst wliercof stoode a crosse of ten foote long, the which they adored for the god of Rayne, for at all times when they wanted rayne, they would go thither in pro- cession devoutly, and offer to the crosse quayles sacrificed, for to appease the wrath that god seemed to have against them, and none was so ac- ceptable a sacrifice as the blood of that little birde. They used to burn certain sweete gume, to perfume that god withall, and to besprinkle it with water, and this done, they believed assuredly to have rayne."' Even to our day traces of this superstitition are preserved among the Mexican Indians. Lieutenant Whipple, in his exploration for the route of the Pacific Railroad found boards erected bearing the Tau cross, con- secrated, as he was told, to the god of rain.* Among the ancient Mexicans, the showery month, Quiahuilt, re- ceived its name from the weeping god, Quiateot, their Nisroch. Water, as the generator, was honored under the symbol of the cross in Cibola. In Cozumel, in time of drought, sacrifices of quails and incense were offered to the cross, which was taken from its shrine in the temple and borne in procession, as in the ancient Christian litanies. The Aztecs ' Eubank, Jfydrauliis. p. 164. ' North Am. Rev., vol. li., p. 428. ' The pleasant Ilistorii of the conquest of West India, now called New Spain. Translated out of the Spanish tongue by T. jV., ibjS. It is curious to note the similarity of a custom in Borera, one of tlie Hebrides. A stone cross was placed opposite tlic Church of S. Mary called the water cross. When the islanders wanted rain it was erected, when they luid enough, it was laid down. Martin, Western Isles, p. 59 ; Brand, Antiquities, vol. iii., p. 169. ' Whipple, Rep. for Exploration of the Pacific Railroad, vol. iii., p. 40. Before the Christian Era 41 offered a more bloody sacrifice, crucifying; youiii^ men and maidens, but, with cruel mercy, did not suffer them to die upon the cross, but put thein to death with arrows. The Aztec goddess of rain bore a cross in her hand, and the Tohecs claimed that their deit\-, Quetzalcoatl, taught them the sign and ritual of the cross, hence his staff, or sceptre of power, resembled a crosier, and his mantle was covered with red crosses.' The actual cross was also used as an instrument of punishment in Mexico, and, at times, with a refinement of cruelty unknown in the Eastern Hemisphere. The Itz.'Exes, a tribe in Yucatan, The Cross as an enclosed the criminal in i)f of tlic iini\'crsality of the cross even in such monuments as these. Similar mounds are found in Wis- consin and CJregon, some with the transverse placed ob- liquely. Doubtless other examples will be discovered west of the Mississippi, when the archaeologist, as well as the sur\-cyor and miner, explore that region. The later tribes who inhabitLcl the Atlantic States used the figure of the cross in their re- litjious rites. The Lenni Lenai^e, ° '■ The Cross once one of the most numerous among the Later Indians. and widely spread tribes on the Atlantic coast, in their sacrifices for rain placed upon a figure of a cross some red stuff, a gourd, and some tobacco. The Creeks, at their festi- val of the Busk, a feast celebrated to the four winds, formed a cross out of four logs, pointing to the cardinal points, and at the intersection built a fire.' That not a link may be wanting in the chain which binds all nations, Jew, Gentile, and Pagan, even the islands between the Western and Eastern Continents are hallowed b\- the " shadow of the Cross in Islands Cross." The inhabitants of the Gambler Islands tattooed between the Continents. themselves with this emblem, and the discoverers of the Mulgrave Islands were welcomed by natives decorated with necklaces from which crosses were suspended. ° So also in the isles of Tonga, Viti, and Easter. Two colossal statues from the last, bearing the Tau upon their backs, are now in the l^ritish Museum. Thus we have com- pleted the circuit of the globe, and find this holy symbol with a sacred signification in ages far apart and among nations widely separated, and, for the most part, utterly ignorant of each other's existence.' And yet all embodying, in a greater or less degree, according to their advance in civilization, the primal truth of all religions adumbrating the great truth of Christianity, — Redemption by sacrifice, — symbolized by the Cross. ' Brinton, Myths, etc., p. qS. '' Mavor, Vogagt's, vol x., p. 159 ; Beechey, iVan-alive, etc., p. 126. ^ Ec/iii. Hev., vol, cxxxi., p. 231. CHAPTER II TYPES OF THE CROSS " *" I ^HE Law was a shadow of good to come. This good was Christ; i the law was a shadow; when the sun is behind, the shadow is before, when the sun is before, the shadow is behind : so was it in Christ to them of old ; this Sun was behind, and therefore the Law or shadow was before : to us under grace the Sun is before : and so now the shadow or cere- monies of the Law are behind. . . . And those that went before, and they that followed after, they all sang, Hosaiiiia to t/tc Son of God." ' In the present chapter the magnitude of the " stumbling block " which the Cross was to the Jews and Gentiles is explained, but the greatness of the scandal did not in one whit deter the early teachers of Christianity from preaching Christ, the promised Messiah crucified, not only literally upon Calvary, the abhorred place of execution for the vilest of criminals, but also in type and shadow in the lives of the patriarchs, and in the Law and the Prophets. Even Justin Martyr, although he knew that he stirred to its depths the prejudice of his adversary Tryi^ho, the Jew, especially urges the manner of the Sacrifice foreshadowed by the types. True, in their desire to show that all the particulars of Christ's death were sym- bolically set forth in the Old Testament, the Fathers resorted to, what appears to us, strained and far-fetched images, yet the knowledge of these is necessary to understand the expression of the lo\'e for Christ whicli is exhibited in the literature and art of the niedi;e\al ages. The types of the Cross deduced from the llnly Scriptures by the early Christian writers may be classified as: Those which refer to the material Classification of the Cross ; Thosc wliich symbolizc its form; ami, Those ypes. which shadow forth its triuni})h.^ The last class falls not within our ])rovince. To (|uote a lithe of the references b}' the h'athers ' Suttnn, I.iuii)! lo I iri\ cli.ip. i , sec. 14. '•' llaslaiii, Cross ami Serpent, ]). 187. 46 Types of the Cross 47 relative to the others would retiuire a folio; therefore only a few perti- nent extracts will be given. Of the first class, the most prominent in point of time and in im- portance, is the Tree of Life. " The Tree of Life, which was planted bv God in Paradise, prefigures the precious Cross," writes Tree of Life. Damascenus, " for after that death was by the means of a Tree, it was needful tluit by a Tree should be given Life, and the Resur- rection." ' Like the Tau cross, representations of a sacred tree, as the symbolical source of life, long preceded Christianity. The The Palm. palm {Plianiix dactylifcra) was thus employed by the Egypt- ians, and by them transmitted to other nations. On a stele, preserved in the Berlin Museum, found by Dr. Lepsius in the village of Abousir, near the Great Pyramid, the palm is thus delineated: From its stem proceed two arms, one administers fruit or the bread of life to a kneel- ing person, the other pours from a vase the water of life into the mouth of the recipient. The date of the stele is at least fifteen hundred years before Christ. The sacred symbolism of the palm was recognized under both dispensations in the Holy Scriptures. Solomon adorned the Tem- ple witli its representations, and to S. John in Patmos was revealed " the Tree of Life which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month, and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations " (Rev. xxii., 2). So of the palm it was believed that it put forth a shoot every month, and, as its leaves were used for writing purposes, the words of the Gospel may have been inscribed upon them. The early and mediaeval Christian artists frequently represented the Tree of Life as a palm. There is an example in the mosaic in the apse of S. John Lateran at Rome. The tree is guarded by an angel. Upon a branch is perched a phcenix (the symbol of immortality), an aureole surrounding its head; and the first two persons of the Holy Trinity stand on either side. As the Cross was sometimes more than a symbol, being used as synon- ymous with Christ, so also was the palm-tree. In an Evangel- J ' c o Palm Synon- inni of the ninth century, in the British Museum, a miniature ymous with the Cross. represents the four Evangelists gazing up to a palm on the top of which is placed the cross, with the A and il suspended from its arms." ' S. John Damascenus, Orthodox Fidci, lib. iv. , c. 12. = See Dr. Barlow's able article in The Builder, Oct. 30, 1858. In the Assyrian sculptures the winged figures personifying principles of the Deity are placed on each side of a palm-tree, 48 History of the Cross Noah's ark is a favorite type of the cross among tlic Fathers. Justin Martyr says: " For Ciirist, though he was the first begotten of every creature, was also again made tlie author of a new race, who are regener- ated through him by water and faith, and wood, which was Noah's Ark a Type of the a type of the cross, even as Noe was saved by wood, sailing on the water with his family. Wherefore when the prophet says, ' In the time of Noe have I saved thee," as I said before, he speaks to a people that were faithful to God, and had these types." ' The next type is derived from the history of Isaac. " A clearer type can scarcely be concei\'ed of the Saviour of the world, in whom all The Wood of nations of earth were to be blessed, than Isaac was. . . . ce. fi-n-i-efore Isaac bearing the wood, did signify Christ bearing the Cross," says Bishop Pearson, adding, " this is not only the observa- tion of the Christians, but the Jews themselves ha\'e referred to this type unto that custom ; for upon Gen. xxii., 6 — ' And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it upon Isaac his son ' — the lesser Bereshith hath this note, ' as a man carries his cross upon his shoulders.' " " Isaac in this prefigured the Saviour's sacerdotal capacity, for it was part of the priest's office to carry the wood to the altar.' It may be objected that the symbolism is not perfect from the fact that Isaac was not slain, but in truth the figure is the more closely ful- filled. Isaac fell not by his father's hand, because God in Death, the Work ^ of the Dev.i, tlic Scripturcs clearly points out that death is not His work, not of God. but that of the adversary, the devil. " For God made not death, neither hath He pleasure in the destruction of the living." (Wisdom of Solomon i., 13.) " God created man to be immortal, and made him to be an image of his own eternity. Nevertheless, through envy of the devil came death into the world." (//'., ii., 23, 24.)* S. Gregory also assigns as a reason, " In this sacrifice for us, He died as to His humanity, but His immortalit\- rL-inained from His di\-inity." ' holding in their hands a pine cone, as the Egyptian deities do the crux ausatn. The cones point towards the tree, significant . 303, London ed., 1S39. " Origcn in Gen., Horn., 8. ■* Of course the ."Vpocryiiha is not cited as positive proof, yet the Churcli selects, at times, lessons from it, and the interpretation given above is not strained. ' S. Gregory in ICzck., lib. i., Horn. 6. Types of the Cross 49 The gist of patristic interpretation may be summed up in the words of S. Ephraim : " Isaac ascended tlie mountain hearing the wood that he miglit be immolated like an innocent laml), and the Saviour S. Ephraim. went up Mount Calvary that He might be offered as a lamb for us. When thou contemplatest the sword (Abraham's knife), con- sider the lance. When thou lookest upon the wood, let thy mind dwell upon the Cross. When thou seest the fire, embrace in thy thoughts the love and desire; and when thou beholdest the ram caught by the horns in the plant Sabec, behold the Lamb of God, see Him with pierced hands hanging from the Cross. The plant called Sabec is, by interpretation, remission, or liberation. The old man dismissed, and liberated, his son from slaughter, designating the Cross which remitted sins to the world and ministered life to it. The ram suspended in the shrub Sabec alone mystically liberated Isaac, but the Lamb of God suspended upon the cross liberated the world from death and hell." ' The change of type from Isaac to the ram presents no difficulty. " Both Isaac who was not slain, and the ram which was slain, were types of Christ crucified. The first represented him in his divine nature, ^ Substitution of which died not, and in his sacerdotal office, or capacity, as e Temp., ser. 86, 8_7. ' Sever., Orat. 4 In Cruce, etc. Oral. 3 Dc Imagine. ■* There is a tradition among the Jews, that the sea was divided into twelve openings for the separate reception and safety of each tribe. Parker, Biblio. Bib., Ex. iv. , 21. ' .S. Aug., De Temp., ser. loi, go, Horn. 27, 50. 52 History of the Cross sign, or test, of a miracle, to keep him mindful of his sometime obscure condition. The opening of the Red Sea was not done by the column of fire, or the Shechinah, but b\- Moses' rod." The rod is the special ensign of power. Moses had his, and Aaron, Pharaoh, and Nebuchadnezzar theirs, saith S. Hilary.' " This rod of Moses by which Egp)'t was subdued is in a figure the Cross of Christ, by which the world is conquered," saith Origen.'' " Death came by the serpent, if so, wood in the serpent showed Christ crucified," writes S. Augustine." Again the rod turning into a serpent, and being returned into a rod, showed the Resurrection, argues S. Cyril.' And also the rod and the serpent were emblems of power and wisdom. As S. Ambrose says, the serpent was a symbol of the divine wisdom in the decree and economy of Christ crucified.^ The Jews admitted that the brazen serpent had a symbolic meaning the mystery of which they could not understand. So confessed one of the Jews present at the discussion of Justin Martyr with Brazen Serpent. ^ , e -r, j. ■ -r ■ • i u ^l ,.1 1 rypho. 1 he true significance is recognized by the author of the Wisdom of Solomon, who terms the brazen serpent " a sign of sal- vation. . . . For he that turned himself toward it was not saved by the thing that he saw, but by thee, that art the Saviour of all." (Wis- dom .x.xi.. 6, /. ) Our Blessed Saviour himself quoted the figure, appl_\-- ing it personally. (S. John iii.. 14.) " The lifting up of the serpent is the deatli of Christ," saith S. Augustine, " the cause, by a certain mode of construction, being put for the effect. . . .' Our Lord, however, did not transfer sin, /. <•., the poison of the serpent, to his flesh, but death, in order that, in the likeness of sinful flesh, there might be pun- ishment without sin, by virtue of which sinful flesh might be deli\-ered both from punishment and from sin."' " Christ is therefore the ser- pent," says Nicetas, "like as in the similitude of sin He was made man." And again, " The brazen serpent was not verily a serpent, but the figure of one, it had no venom. In the same manner, Christ, who had not the venom of sin, was not one of us, who bear the form of a ser- ' S. Hilary in Ps. 134, Col. 405. '■' Origen in Exodus, c. 7, J/om. 4, p. 42. 'a. Aug. in Ps. 73. § 5. * S. Cyril. Catech., 18. Parker, Biblio. Bib., V.y^. iv., 3, 4. ' S. .Vmbrofe, Ps. 108, ser. 6, § 18. Parker, Biblio. Bib., Num. xxi., 8. ' Justin MartjT, Dialog, with Trypho, g 94. ' S. Aug., quotcil in Qitciia Aiiifa, ,S. John iii., 14. Types of the Cross 53 jicnt." ' That is, have the poison of wickedness. " See then the apt- ness of the figure," exclaims The(ii)h\iacl, " tlie figure of the serpent has the appearance of the beast, but not its poison; in the same way Christ came in the likeness of sinful flesh, being free from sin." ' That the early Church fully understood the type, S. Augustine shows when he writes, " To prefigure His Cross, Moses, by the merciful com- mand of God raised aloft upon a pole the image of a serpent in the desert, that the likeness of sinful flesh, which must be crucified in Christ, might be prefigured." ' Another witnesses: " If any one feigncth not to see that the image of tlie brazen serpent, after the manner of one hanging, signified a type of the Cross of the Lord which was to deliver us from serpents, that is, from the angels of the Devil, while it hanged up the Devil, tliat is, the serpent which had been slain by its means (or whatever other interpreta- tion of that figure hath been revealed to more worthy men), so long as the apostle declareth that all thii/gs happoiLii at that time to t lie people in a fipinre (I Cor. x., ii). I am content that the same God who in the Law- forbade any likeness to be made, should by a special mandate have inter- posed His command that the likeness of a serpent should be made. If thou obeyest the same God, thou hast His law. TIiou sliall not make the likeness of any thi)ig, if thou regardest also the command touching the likeness made afterwards, do thou also follow Moses' example, and not make any image contrary' to the law, unless God command thee like- wise." ■" Yet another says, " It may seem unaccountable that they should be commanded to look up to a serpent in order to their safety. Why not rather to Heaven, or to the Tabernacle, or to the holy things reposited therein, to the ark, or the mercy seat, or the cherubim, or the altar, or the candlestick, or the veil ? Why not any of these rather than an image, whether graven or cast, which Moses had but so little time before forbidden absolutely to be made. What then can wo make of this but that it was a type of our Saviour's crucifixion as himself hath told us ? But still it may be asked why the figure of a serpent should be chosen ' Nicetas in notes ad 2 Oral, in Pascha. Greg. Razianzen. ' Tlieophylact, in loc. Catena Aurea, S. John iii., 14. ' S. Aug., Ps. cxix., V. 123., vol. v., p. 430, Oxf. Trans. S. .\ug. on S. John, Horn, xii., also S. Aug., City of God, b. x, c. 8. ■* TertuUian on Idolatry, vii., 6. 54 History of the Cross for a type of Christ ? I answer that this serpent was a symbol, or emblem, of wisdom, of the divine wisdom in the decree and economy of Christ crucified. And as this brazen serpent had nothing of poison in Sacrifice of Isaac. The Brazen Serpent. The Crucifixion. From Twiniiig's Svmhols of Early and Mcdiai'al Christian Art. it, SO the blessed antitype was sent in the likeness of sinful flesh (Rom. viii., 3), yet without sin (Isa. liii., 9)." ' The illustration is from a book of the fifteenth century, in the British ' Severian.. qiu)k-'l in Parker's Hihlia. Bib., Num. xxi., S. Types of the Cross 55 Museum. The Venerable JJede gives us early authority for the use of the type in art in iMighuul. In A.M. 677, the monasteries of S. Peter at Wearmouth, and S. Paul's at Jarrow were founded by S. l^ennet who " adorned it with many pictures disposed in such a manner as to repre- sent the harmony between the Old and New Testaments, and the con- formity of the figures, the one with the reality of the other; thus Isaac carrying the wood ivhich was to make the sacrifice of himself, was ex- plained by Christ carrying the Cross on which he was to finish his sacri- fice, and the brazen serpent was illustrated by our Lord's crucifi.xion." ' Another type is the wood cast into the water at Marah. S. Ambrose interprets it: " By the bitter water is designated the Law of Moses, but by the wood the Passion of Christ, which was completed bv ^ ' ' Wood Cast in the wood of the Cross. The people who came out of Egypt the pooi of Marah, found bitter water because they received the law which they were not able to fulfil, but to the Gentiles coming to the faith of Christ the bitterness of the law is changed through the Passion and Resurrection of Christ into sweetness." " Others of the Fathers consid- ered the calamities of life figured by the bitter waters which are sweet- ened by the grace of the Cross, the sign of Avhich we receive in holy Baptism, by which also we are revivified, even as those dying of thirst in the wilderness are refreshed by living water.^ Concerning the cluster of grapes borne by the spies of Israel as an earnest from the Promised Land, S. Augustine writes, " For e\en the Divine Word may be understood by the grape; for the The cluster Lord even has been called a cluster of grapes, which they of Grapes, that were sent before by the people of Israel brought from the land of promise hanging on a staff crucified as it were." * " Jesus Christ is the cluster," says S. Gregory, " exhibiting himself on the wood that bore Him up, whose blood is joyfully drank by the saints in order to their salvation in the Kingdom of Heaven." ' The two bearers are sometimes taken for the Old and New Testaments. S. Ephraim considers them as typical of the " Prophets and Apostles."' Perhaps the interpretation ' Twining, Symbols of Early and Mcdiaval Christian Art, p. SS. '^ S. Ambrose, Super. Apocal. , c. 6. ' S. Aug., in loc, Tertul. ad yttdtos, c. 13. " S. Aug., Ps. 8. ' S. Greg., .\yssen, in Cant. Cor., //o/n. 3. * .S. Ephraim. Rhythum, xviii., iinte K., Oxf. Trans. 56 History of the Cross of S. Ambrose is better: " The one wlio preceded was the Jewish Church, heralding by type and prophecy the coining Messiah, yet saw Him not, and despised Him; the bearer who followed was the Gentile which had Him constantly before his eyes.'" ' The vine and grapes naturally commended themselves to art. In a window of Lulliiigstone Church, Kent, England, Christ is represented nailed to a vine in the form of a Y or Pall cross rising from Use in Art. • 1 ^^ r • c • i r i • ^ the middle of a cistern, from one side of which water is flo\\ing. People of all ranks approach and some are filling vessels. A monk is digging a channel to let the water flow freely. Above is the text, " If ani man thirst, come to me and drink " (S. John vii., 37J. The date of the glass is about 1520.^ A type more familiar in art than in the writings of the Fathers is, the action of the Widow of Sarepta when, gathering two sticks to dress food The Two Sticks fo"" hei'sclf and son, she is met by Elijah. S. Augustine Gathered by the ^.j^pi-jj,,^ ^j^g woiiiau as tvpifviug the Chuixh, and the sticks. Widow of ^ -' I . & Sarepta. j-jqj- only 111 material but number, the Cross. ^ The mediiEval artists seized the tradition that the Widow held the wood in the form of a cross, and perpetuated it, as in the windows of Notre-Dame in Chartres, and on the sculptures at Rheims.* The cross is generally represented as a Saltire. The illustration is from a window in the cathedral of Bourges and is of the thirteenth century. The cross is of a green color, as is frequently the case when the symbolic, and not the actual tree is represented. S. Augustine also draws a simile from the staff of Elisha when laid upon the dead child of the Shunamite woman. " The staff without Elisha avails naught, because the Cross without Christ is staff of Elisha. , , t- powerless. Therefore the blessed Elisha ascends into the chamber, as Christ ascends upon the Cross, Elisha bows himself that the child may be resuscitated, so Christ humbled himself that he might raise up the world l\"ing in sin. .See how this man of perfect age contracts himself that he may agree with this little dead child. What Elisha pre- figured in the boy, Christ filled up in the whole human race." " ' S. Ambrose, ser. 72 De A'lilnh: S. (Cyprian. See also S. Isidore, Num. xi., and others. ^ Arc/ur(>lo!;ical jfoiiriial. 1856. The blessed Virgin is sometimes compared to the I'romised Land which produced the grapes. ' S. Augustine, in lib. 1. I7omiliariiiii, Ifoni. 18, ,t Horn. Contra /•'mistiim, lib, xii, c. 34. * Didron, Christ. Icon., vol. i., p. 37 and note. ' S. Aug., /> Temport-, ser. 206. Types of the Cross 57 other Types. These are only a part of the types hi which the warmth of early Christ- ian love delighted to trace the mystery of the Cross. The club of Cain, Aaron's rod that budded, Rahab's scarlet cord, the nail of the tent used by Jael, Gideon's oak, David'.s stai? and his judgment seat, the axe rescued by Elisha, etc., were pressed into the service.' And although these typical and alle- gorical representations may appear strained and far-fetched to us, they were ' ' used in com- pliance with the custom of those times, and had their use amongst those who had been familiar- ized to that sort of argument." ' The types of the Cross in the New Testa- ment are few yet sig- nificant. Prominent is , , , , . , , Window in Cathedral at Bourges. From Twining's iVw/Wj. that of the bier of the *" '' - son of the Widow of Nain. S. Ambrose says, " There was hope of his rising: again, because he was borne on wood, which though ^ c> ' ' & Types of the before it did not benefit us, yet after Christ had touched cross in the New Testament. it began to profit unto life, that it might be a sign that The Bier of the salvation was to be extended to the people by the wood of son of the , , ^^ ,, 3 A 1 . •. 1 *' TT -1- • i. "Widow of Nain. the Cross. As a later writer remarks: Here it is not the dead that He touches, but the bier; like the staff of Elisha, laid on the dead child. He touches us but through the wood of his Cross; His communication of Himself to us is through the dead, and dead-bearing but life-giving wood." " A happy similitude is that of the ship tossed upon the \vavcs of the Lake of Genneseret. " It is necessary that we should be in the ship," • For a fuller account of these types see Bosio, La Tiionfante Cioce, lib. iii. ' Prelim. Diss, to Brown's Trans, of Justin Martyr, p. ii., ed. 1S46. ^ S. Ambrose, in Lucan, cap. 7. * Isaac Williams, Our Lord's Ministry, Second Year, p. 103. 58 History of the Cross saith S. Augustine, " but this wood in which our infirmities are carried, is the Cross of Christ, in which we are signed and saved from the Ship on Lake of drowning of the world." ' " The wood of the Cross is the Gcnncseret. ^^^-^ ^j ^^^ safety," ' saith S. Ambrosc. Frequent reference is made by the Fathers to the Hght which was to be placed not under a bushel, but upon a candlestick. S. Hilary de- clares, " The lamp, /. c. , Christ Himself, is set upon its The Candlestick on which the stand wlieu suspended on the Cross in His Passion, to giv'e light forever to those that dwell in the Church; to all that are in the house." ^ S. Augustine, commenting on the Passion, says, " The Lord commended that very cross by bearing it upon His shoul- ders; and for that candle which was to be lighted and not to be put under a bushel, the Lord bore the candlestick." * There are other t},-pes made use of by the Fathers, but they are far- fetched, and want of space compels their omission.^ The second class of types refer to the form of the Cross. A striking one is adduced by Tertullian, interpreting the action of Jacob when blessintj the sons of Joseph. " His hands being laid upon Second Class of ^ ■' ' & i Types Referring their hcads and interchanged, and turned indeed crosswise, to Form. . the one over the other, so that, representing Christ in a figure they might even then foreshow the blessing to be accomplished in Christ." ' S. Augustine beautifully alludes to this type when apostro- phizing divine wisdom. " O Thou Light . . . which Jacob saw, when blind through great age. with illumined heart, in the persons of his sons, shed light on the different races of the future people, in them fore- signified ; and laid his hands mystically crossed, upon his grandcliildren by Joseph, not as their father by his outward eye corrected them, but as himself inwardly discerned." ' The Jews, as has already been stated, marked tlic posts and lintels Blood of the '^^ their doors with the blood of the Paschal lamb in the form Paschal Lamb. „f ^j^^ j.^^, ^ross." " And the lamb concerning which this precept is given," sa_\-s Justin Ahu't}-r, " should be roasted whole, a ' S. Augustine, Di- Dizvrsis. ser. 22. - S. Ambrose, Df Spiritii Sanclii, lib. i., cap. 8. ' S. Hilary, quoleil in Cah-na Aurca, S. Matt, v., 15. ■■ S. -Augustine on .S. John, Horn, cxvii., § 3. ' .See Hosio, La Trioiifaiitc Croce, lib. iii., cap. 2S, and Gretser, Dt- Cruce. lili. i., cap. 47. ' Tertullian on Bapt., viii ; Tcrtul. .also applies the action, crossed hands, to Contirmation. ' S. Angus., Confess., x., S 52, p. 211, Oxf. Trans. 'See chap, i., alsoDidron, Christ. Iconog., vol. i., p. 370. Types of the Cross 59 type of that punishmciit i>f the Cross which Christ was to undergo. For a lamb when it is roasting is like the figure of a cross; for one spit is run straight through from the lower parts to the head, and another is run through the back, on which the shoulders of the lamb do hang. " ' Bishop Pearson, quoting the above, considers it no " far-fetched figure of the C» t 3 ross. S. Cyprian, exhorting martyrs to patience, instances Moses passing the whole day in prayer and elevation of his hands. " Which example of perseverance," he declares is written, " because Moses ' The Posture of to overcome Amalek, who in figure is the devil, elevated Moses' Hands when Israel his hands in the sign and sacrament of the Cross. Neither Overcame 1 ] t 1 • 1 • 1 , , .,. . Amalek. was he able to overcome his adversaries but by stability in the sign, therefore he persevered in the elevation of his hands. "° S. Augustine also often employs this type, cx.gr., Moses, " the friend of God, who overcame the enemy, extended his hands to Heaven, even then exhibiting the figure of the Cross of Christ." ' Among the ancient Jews was preserved, unconsciously, another type. The unspeakable Name was written with three jots within a circle and beneath the sacred Tau. Many of the coins of Samaria are ... ,...,, , . , , Tetragrammaton. SO inscribed, and it is said that tJiis was graven on the plate of gold worn on the forehead of the High Priest. Bede and others, re- ferring to the figure and its position, consider it as a type of the Cross, and adopt the words of S. Paul, " God forbid that I should glory save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ " (Gal. vi., 14).' It may have been some lingering recollection of this sign which assisted in prompting the literal figuring of the cross on the brow by some early Christians." The form of the Cross was likewise typified in the number three hun- dred which was the numerical value of Tau. S. Barnabas thus speaks of it: " Understand, therefore, children, these things more , All ir !•• The Number 300. fully, that Abraham, who was the first that brought in cir- cumcision looking forward in the spirit of Jesus circumcised, having re- ' Justin Martyr, Dialog, with Trypho., sec. I, xl.; see also S. Ephraim, Rhythmn, xviii., § 3, p. i6S and note, Oxf. Trans. " Pearson on the Creed, art. iv. ' S. Cyprian, De Exort. Rfarlyrum. ^ S. Aug., De quinque Hivresilies ; see also Justin Martyr, ^§ go, iir, and note in translation. ' Bede, De Taberiiaciilo. lib. ii., c. 21. * Bede speaking of Pharaoh's signet ring which he gave to Joseph, refers to the Cross which the Christian wears as a seal on his forehead and in his heart. Baptism, is called by the Fathers " The Lord's .Signet," " The Church's Seal," etc. 6o History of the Cross ceived the mystery of three letters. For Scripture says, that Abraham circumcised three hundred and eighteen men of his house. But what was therefore tlie mystery that was made known unto liim ? I\Iark, first, the cigliteen and next the three hundred. For tlie numerical let- ters of ten and eight are I. II., and these denote Jesus, and because the Cross was that by which we were to find grace, therefore he adds three hundred, the note of which is T, the figure of His Cross. He who has put the engrafted gift of His doctrine within us, knows that I never taught to any one a more certain truth ; but I trust that ye are worthy of it." ' Three hundred and eighteen was the number of Abraham's servants when, having conquered the four kings, he met Melchizedec, and did ,.,_ homaa;e to him as the typical Great High Priest to whom Number of Abra- » -' J^ ° ham-s Servants LgyJ should pay tithcS. Three hundred, the number Tau, were the chosen men of Gideon, who destroyed Midian,° of whom Paulinus remarks, not the number or . valor of the letrion, but the sacrament of the Cross, ex- And of Gideons » men- pressed in the numeral for three hundred, Tau, overcame their enemies." " By the three liundred, comprised in the letter Tau (which bears a resemblance to the cross), it is expressed that the sword of the enemy is overcome by the wood of the Cross." ' Bosio reminds us that the very form of anointing the The Anointing of the High High Priest was typical. While the unction of kings was somewhat like a crown, in the shape of the letter capli, that of the High Priest was in the form of a Saltire cross." The early Christians loved to trace the type of the .symbol of salva- tion in everything in nature. " See ye to it," exclaims Justin Martyr, " if there be aught in this world which without this form Type of the Cross in Every- hath its ordcrings, or can minister to intercourse between thing in Nature. ,, . , .' , . man and man. .S. hphrami abounds m examples. A single gem only we give in conclusion: " And if the little bird drew in ' S. Barnabas, Catholic Epistle, Wake's Trans., § 9. ' It is noteworthy that Gideon himself was typified by the barley cake of which he dreamed. (Jud. viii., 13), and the barley cake was the sacrificial cake which we have seen (chap, i.) w-as marked with a cross. ' P.iulinus, Efist., i. ■" S. Gregory, Morals on Job, b. xxx., c. 74. Clemens Alexand. applies this type to the dimensions of the ark. Stromaliiiii, lib. 6., c. 4; also S. Chrysostom on S. Mark, I/oni. iv.; see Bosio, La Trionfanle Crocc, lib. iii., cap. 2. ' Abarbanel, quoted by Bosio, lib. iii., cap. 10. The unction in coronation in the present day is in the above form. * Justin Martyr, Apol. 2. Types of the Cross 6i its wings, and refused to use the silly mystery of the Cross, the air would then refuse her, and not ijear her up; hut ller uin<_;s piaise the Rood. And if a ship spreadeth her sails for the sea, in the mystery of the Rood and from the yoke of wood, she maketh a bosom for the wind; when she hath spread forth the Rood, then is the course spread clearly out for her voyage. i\nd if the shij) was that of the Jew, the Cross rebuked him by his deed, since though not intending it, in the shiji himself with his own liands, he hath spread and displayed the mystery of the Rood. The sea by the Rood was subjected to the unbelievers; but unless the crucifiers had made wood into the form of a cross, and upon it had hung the Body as a sail, the voyage would have halted. " ' I believe," writes one of tlie worthiest scholars of this century, " that a spiritualized eye, seeing all the human race shut u[) in the person of our Lord, having before it always the figure in which it pleased Almighty God to place him before us on the Cross, might expect to find a similar figure — the figure of the Cross — placed here and there all over the work of creation, as a religious spirit in better days than the present erected that Cross on high, wherever a human foot might be arrested by it; and as the ancient Fathers detected it in the most hidden allusions of Scrip- ture — Moses stretching out his hands to the Amalekites, his rod, the branch which he threw into the bitter waters, the wood of the ark, the tree of life — in every animal and material nature he would expect to dis- cern the figure of a cross; and he would not be surprised to find all mathematical figures were reducible to this element, or, as modern anatomists have suggested, that the whole animal world is framed upon this type — a central column with lateral processes. It is one of the grand speculations of zoological science."' APPENDIX NOTE ON THE SYMBOLICAL MEANING OF THE WORD ARK " Altho' nothing indeed can be more ridiculous and absurd than the childish play which some people make with names and words, it is nevertheless certain that some names and words there are which are naturally expressive of those things they are imposed upon, and that there are certain powers of the ' S. Ephraim, Rhylhnm, xviii. See also TertiiUian, Apology, chap, xx., xxx.; Gretser, De Cruc,\ lib. i., cap. 52 ; Lipsius, De Cruce, lib. i., cap. x.; Bosio, La Trionfante Croce, lib. iii. '^ Sewell, Christian Morals, p. 323. 62 History of the Cross letters, and combinations of those powers, which bear some sort of signature of the things expressed, so that both letters and words are sometimes purely symbolical, and in some sense sacramental ; whereof instances, both in the Old and New Testament, are obvious enough. Of this nature is the name, THE- BAH, which God was pleased to give to that structure which he commanded Noah to make, and that with all exactness, according to the pattern of it which was shewn him. Now this name is not originated from any other Hebrew word so far as we can find, but is in itself an original, and therefore also triliteral, as the original words in that tongue generally are. Notwithstanding which, since it is a sacred name, and God himself imposed it, though the origination of it may not be so plain to every vulgar eye, yet we may safely conclude that there could not but be some very good reason for the choice thereof. Something of which we may be able perhaps to glance at. But the deep ground of the imposition of this, or indeed of any other name given by God. we must not expect ever fully to penetrate into. It consists, then, of these three letters, Thau, Beth, and Hi- : all of which are here symbolical. " n, Than, is the symbol of man and of the human nature which is the perfection and end of all the creatures, says Chcedamus. And Christ, who is from the Greek alphabet called Alpha and Omega, is, according to the Hebrew, called Aleph and Thau, the first and the last, or God and man ; Thau being the perfection of the creation ; and the abbreviation of Thiimmim. Whence the Syriac has translated it, / am Urim and Thiimmim. This Thau is also made a note of repentance \Thishnbah\, and of the preservation which is consequent of it. And therefore, in the vision of Ezekiel, God is repre- sented as commanding his angel to set a Thau upon the foreheads of the men that sigh, and lament the publick sins and abominations. And this Thau, the mark of the angel of penitence, and of the soul's Theshubah, or return to God, several of the fathers make to be the sign of the Cross; how truly I determine not. " 2, Beth, signifies a house after the manner of which was built the Ark ; and it denotes the superior wisdom, or the house of wisdom wherein (say the Hebrew doctors) all things were ab origine disposed in their archetypes, before they were yet brought forth into their proper form, or species; and by which Wisdom all things that are created, were created, and produced, according to the Psalmist. /// loisdom hast thou made all things, that is, in the Son, which is the beginning of all things as well as the ending, Gen. i. and John i., or the first and the last in the alphabet of nature; as filling indeed the whole book of nature. This is the second symbol or literal characteristick of the ark, impressed by divine science in the very name of it; And the third is " n, //'•, which is the letter that was afterwards given by God to .Vbraham, as here to Noah; concerning which the learned Jews observe that it is doubled in the great name of Gon, because in Xhc Jirst Hk, God, formed and produced the world in his mind, and in the second he unfolded things into their several kinds and jjroper specifick forms, but with this provision: that the l.ieings explicated or manifested in the second production or creation, should in Types of the Cross 6 similitude and consonance imitate and emulate the first, or the heavenly originals themselves. " And this is the radical inter|)retation of the name, Thkhah, as it was given by the wisdom of God to the ark or vessel of Noah, namely, ' That it was to represent to him, and to his posterity, the perfection of the human nature such as it is in Christ, and the preservation thereof through the waters, even the vi^aters of Baptism and Regeneration.' " The comment of our learned commentator is rich in lore. It is with regret a line is omitted, especially as the work is very rare. Room must be made for one more observation: " That the one and the same word being read from the right to the left is Thebah, and from the left to the right is Ha-beth, /. r., The House, which is as much as Beth-Ha-Kadcsh, the Sanctuary, or the Church, Conformable to which was that constant primitive application, as we find in the holy fathers, of the Ark to the Church." — Bibliotheca Biblica, annotation xiv. (to Genesis vii.). CHAPTER III THE EARLY FORM AND USE OF THE CROSS Section i. — The Cross of Piiitishnient. Section 2. — \'oIiintary Crucifixion. Section j;. — Crucifixion of Children by the jfeivs THE cross was at first a simple stake upon which the sufferer was impaled, or to which he was fastened ; in time it became a gibbet of various shapes. The original signification is preserved in the Greek GTavpos, stauros, and ffHoXoi/', sko/ops, both primarily signifying a sharp stake set in the ground. The development of the instrument of death is shown in the Latin names, crux, patibuliini, and fnrea. The cross was not recognized in the Mosaic law, hence the Jews had no Original Cross. , , i i i i word to express it, but used a double term expressing con- junction, the loarp and ivoof.^ Section i. The Cross of Punishment. — The cross was used in an- cient times as a punishment for flagrant crimes in Egypt, Ass_\-ria, Persia, Inventor of Palestine, Carthage, Greece, and Rome; the explorers found the Cross. jj- j,^ Mexico, and modern travellers in China, Japan, and Madagascar. Tradition ascribes the invention of the punishment of the cross to a woman, the Queen Semiramis, by whom, or by her husband Ninus, Farno, King (if Media, with his wife and seven sons, were cruci- fied.'' As it is uncertain when the celebrated Assyrian Queen lived, ' I'e.Trson on the Creed, art. iv. ; yet I.ysons, tracing the origin of the word, says, " C/irns/i tflp signifies boards or pieces of timber fastened together, as we should say, crosswise ; the word is so used in Exodus xxvii , 6. This seems a very natural and probable etymon for the term, but it may also allude more to the agony suffered on such an erection, and then its origin per- haps may be traced to J,np, C/irutz, ' agitation.' This word also means to be ' kneaded ' and broken in pieces like clay in the hands of a potter. Chrotshi in Chaldee, we are told by I'arkhurst, means accusations, charges, revilings, reproach," — all of them terms applied to our Lord in his sufferings. " Ciux ponitiir pro oiiiiti angore, strictius pro morte in ligiio." Pliny shows that the punishment of the cross among the Romans was as old as Tarquinius Priscus ; how much older, it is perhaps difficult to say. '' Diodorus Siculus, Antiq., lib. ii., c. i. 64 Early Forms and Uses 65 it may be doubted whether .she is eiititletl to the unen\-iable credit of devising tlie most agoiiiziiiuj death ])()ssible. Josephus says' tliat i'lia- raoh's cliief baker was crucified not hanj^ed, as our English translation reads, and Pharaoh may have preceded Seiniramis. Among notable instances of crucifixion, are those of the Queen of Scythia by Cyrus in the sixth century B.C. Alexander the Great is said Crucifixion by Impaling. From Lipsius' Dc Ci'uce. Crucifixion on Stauros. From Lipsius' Dc Cf'Jict\ to have crucified two thousand Tyrians. By the cross perished Poly- crates, King of Samos. This monarch had been uniformly Notable fortunate, never in any of his plans or wishes havilig been instances. ,even disappointed. Becoming alarmed at his uninterrupted happiness, he resolved to sacrifice his most highly prized treasure, to avert unknown ' Josephus, Aiifiq., b. ii., c. 5. Semiramis by some historians is supposed to have lived B.C. 2000 ; by others, li.c. 1250. I'haraoh cir. B.C. 1720. 5 66 History of the Cross future ills. Accordingly he thre\v into the sea his signet ring which he valued above all else ; it was swallowed by a fish which was caught soon after and the ring restored to him. His evil fate came at last. He was conquered by Oroetes, a commander of Darius, and crucified. Leonidas, after death, was hung upon the cross by Xerxes, B.C. 480. Ariarathes, King of Cappadocia, in his eighty-first year, was flayed alive, and then crucified, together with his ofificers, by order of Perdiccas, B.C. 322. So, also, was Regulus at Carthage, B.C. 255. Eight hundred Jews W'Cre thus put to death, and the throats of their wives and children cut by command, and in the presence of Alexander Jannzeus, while he and his wives partook of dinner heightened by this zest. As early as the time of Tarquin B.C. 600, the Romans singled out this punishment as one of peculiar disgrace, by exposing upon the cross the corpses of those who had committed suicide to escape Bodies of Sui- cides Exposed imposed labor. The Carthaginians. Egyptians, and Persians on the Cross. i i i i i- r i i 111 treated ni like manner the dead bodies ot those they held specially dishonored.' The Jews deny the crucifixion of persons alive, because their law re- quired tliat executions should be accomplished, and the bodies buried „ .^ . ,. that same day.' Yet Maimonides describes their gibbet as Crucifixion by .^ >^ the Jews. similar to a cross, and Lipsius supposes that thus suffered the " Heads of the people " for the idolatry of Baalpeor,' the King of Ai,' the five kings, and the sons of Rizpah.^ But no nation has suffered more severely by this mode of execution than the Jews, when the measure they had meted out was returned unto them. " His blootl be upon us, and upon our children," was their imprecation, and it was fulfilled. Varus at one time crucified two thousand of them for sedition. At the siege of Jerusalem, the Romans " caught every day five hundred Jews, nay sometimes they caught more . . . and nailed them one after one way, and another after another, to the crosses, by way of jest, when their multitude was so great that room was wanting for the crosses, and crosses wanting for the bodies."' " So that they which had nothing but ' crucify ' in their mouths, were therewith paid home in their own bodies, early suffering the reward of tlu'ir imprecations, and properly in the same kind." ' I Lipsius, De Cruce, lib. iii., cap. 12. ' Deut. xxi., 22, 23. ' Num. xxv., 4. * Josh, viii., 29. ' Josh, x., 26 ; 2 Sam. xxi., q. ' Josephus, Ai:fii/.,h. xvii., c. 10. ' Browne, l'11/i.'iv ami Common Errors. 1). v., c. 21. Early Forms and Uses 67 Death by the cross was the most ij^nominious that could be inflicted. The Roman citizen was exempt from it; to the Jew, " cursed" was, " everyone that hantjeth ui^on a tree"'; the Greek re- , „„ . „, J o 1 Ignominy 01 garded with mingled contempt and pity the preacher who the cross, proclaimed " The unknown God " to be one who had submitted to such a disgraceful death. One unac- qi intcd with the tone of feeling among Jews and Gentiles at tlie time of our Saviour's crucifixion can form no conception of the "scandal of the cross." The great obstacle to the building up of the Christian Church was, that the " Headstone of the corner " was " a stone of stumbling and a rock of ofTence." ' The force of the Apostle's expression can be very imperfectly estimated by tiiose who have not read the early Christian documents. ° Among the Jews there was some chance of mercy and escajie from death offered Chance of Ob- tO the accused. Ac- taining W.tness to Innocence. cording to the Mish- na, before any one was punished for a capital crime, proclamation was made before the prisoner by the public crier, that if any one knew aught of his innocence, he should appear before the judge and declare it. And the Gemara of Babylon says, that, " before the death of Jesus this proclamation was made for forty days, but no defence could be found." ' ' Gal. iii., 13. '-' i Pet. ii., 7, S. ' Blunt, Hist, of the Christian Church, First Three Centuries, p. 135. "From this cir- cumstance the Heathen are fully convinced of our madness, for giving the second place after the immutable and eternal God, and Father of all, to a person who was crucified." Justin Martyr, Apology 2 ; see also Minutius Felix, pp. 57, 147, ed. Davis. Cantab, 1712. ■■ Lowth on Isaiah liii., 8. On the passage from the Gemara above mentioned. Lardner observes, " It is truly .surprising to see such falsities, contrary to well-known facts." Testi- Crucifixion by One Hand and Foot. From Bartholinus' De Cruce Christi. 68 History of the Cross Now it is plain, from the history of the four Evangelists, that in the trial and condemnation of Jesus no such law was observed (though, ^ . ,. according to the account of the Mishna, it must have been Denied to our o ' ^°''^- in practice at that timet: no proclamation was made for any person to bear witness to the innocence and character of Jesus, nor did any one voluntarilj' step forth to give his attestation to it. And our Saviour seems to refer to such a custom, and to claim the benefit of it, by his answer to the High Priest, when he asked him of his disciples and of his doctrine : " I spake openly to the world ; I ever taught in the syna- gogue and in the temple, whither the Jews always resort; and in secret have I said nothing. Why askest thou me ? ask them which heard me, what I have said unto them; behold, they know what I said" (John xviii. 20, 21). This, therefore, was one remarkable instance of hardship and injustice, among others, predicted by the prophet, which our Saviour underwent in his trial and sufferings.' Previous to the execution, the sufferer was stripped of his clothing; nor is it probable that our Lord was spared this indignity. Jeremy D„i™:„=,.;,c t„ Tavlor says, " For as soon as Adam was clothed he quitted Execution. Paradise; Jesus was made naked that he might bring us in again."" In this state of nudity the scourging was inflicted. This was either with rods, or with whi[)s of cords or leather, to which small bones were sometimes fastened to increase the severity. By the Jewisli law the stripes were limited to forty, and to lean to the side of mercy in case of a miscount, only thirty-nine were inflicted, thirteen blows being given with a scourge having three thongs. There was no limit in the Roman law, only a freeman ci:ndd not be punished with a whip. This exemp- tion was not extended to our Sa\'iour; he received the chastisement of a slave. ° Such was the severity of the flagellation, that death frequently inoiiics, vol. i., p. 19S. Lowth proceeds: "The report is certainly false, but this false report is founded on the supposition that there was such a custom, and .so far confirms the account above given from the Mishna." The Mishua was composed in the middle of the second century, according to I'rideaux. Lardner ascribes it to the ye.ir of Christ, iSo. ' l.owth, /hid.: " ,S. Paul likewise in similar circumstances, standing before the judgment seat of Festus, seems to con)|)lain of the same unjust treatment : that no one was called, or would appear to vindicate his character. ' My manner of life from my youth, which was at the first among mine own nation at Jerusalem, know all the Jews ; which knew me from the beginning, if they would testify, that after the most straitest sect of our religion I lived a Pharisee. '" — Acts xxvi., 4, 5. 5 Jeremy Taylor, Life of Christ, ])art iii., sec. 15. ■' Some Romish writers have imagined an enormous number of stripes inflicted upon our Lord. S. Urigitta, in her Kevelatioin, savs five Ihousand, others more. Early Forms and Uses 69 anticipated tlic intended torture of tlie cross. Sometimes the \ictini was gagged, or liis tongue cut out, lest in his agony lie might reveal unpleas- ant secrets, or revile his judge. The additional insults: the ironical crowning witli thorns, the [uuple robe, and mocking homage to which our Lord was subjected, were founded on no customary or legal usage, but were merely the exhibition of malicious cruelt)', or tlie\- may be otherwise accounted for. It has been conjectured that Possible Reasons Pilate, moved either by the warnings of his wife, or" the for piiate's in- tended Mercy, more afraid " because Jesus " declared himself the son of God," sought to pacify the Jews by scourging Jesus; and exhibiting Him, thus disgraced, to ridicule, and so to pLirchase for our L(.)rd immu- nity from further torture. Hut if such feelings moved the stern Roman governor, they were crusiietl by the change of attack by the Jews. Aban- doning their first charge of blasphemy, they accused our blessed Lord of sedition and treason (for which crucifixion was the special punishment), and excited Pilate's fears. "If thou let this man go, thou art not Caesar's friend: whosoever maketh himself a king speaketh against Ca;sar " (S. John xix. 12). It n'as part of the condemnation for the sufferer to bear his cross to the place of execution. This deprived him of the right of sanctuar}-, and added, if possible, to the disgrace. The lowest term of re- cross Borne by proach that a Roman could apply to another was ' ' crucifcr, ' ' ""= victim. " cross bearer." " Sin laughed to see the king of heaven and earth, and the great lover of souls, instead of the sceptre of his kingdom, to bear a tree of cursing and shame; but Piety wept tears of joy, \vlien she sIkuiUI be- hold that Cross, which lo.ided the shoulders of her Lord, afterward sit ujion sceptres, and be engraved and signed upon the forehead of kings." ' It has been supposed that Jesus bore only the transverse beam, while Simon the Cyrenian, carried the rest of the cross, but it is generally pre- sumed that our Lord sustained the whole," until he sank Portion of the under its weight ; as Lsaac, his type, carried the wood of the Cross Borne by our Lord. mystical sacrifice. No Jew or Roman could touch the in- strument of shame without defilement, so a passer-b)- is pressed into the service, betokening the gathering in of the Gentiles. The meaning of the names are significant. Cyrenian signifying" obedient." and Simon, ' Jeremy Taylor, Life of Christ, part iii., sec. 15. Discourse .xx.; see also S. .\ug. on S. John xix., 17. '' Chrysos. Hoin. on S. Joliii, S5 ; TertuUian, Contra Jiiti.; S. Ephraim, ser. in .\braham. yo History of the Cross "an heir." "It was not a Jew," says S. Ambrose, "who carried the cross, but a foreigner and wayfarer; neither did he precede, but follow, according to the Scripture, — take up thy cross and follow me. " ' Sometimes a tablet studded with sharp nails was fastened to the border of the garment of the condemned, and S. Cyprian affirms, " that „ , _ . , Christ did stick to the wood that he carried, being galled Heels Goaded ' o £5 with Nails. with the iron at his heels, and nailed even before his cruci- xion. The place of execution was usually by the roadside, or on an eleva- tion without the city," that passers-by might take warning. Wine medi- ^ . cated with myrrh was given to the victim, to blunt the Stupeyiying ^ o P°''°"- sensibility by partial stupefaction. This our Lord refused, in order that His mind might be unclouded. This benumbing potion must not be confounded with the draught offered to Jesus when upon the cross; that was a mixture of sour wine and water called Posca, a common beverage among the Roman soldiers. The cross rarely exceeded ten feet in height, although there is a tra- dition that our Saviour's was fifteen feet high, and the transverse eight feet long.' The sufferers were not always fastened to the Height of Cross. . , ., , . , ... , -, cross With nails, but were sometimes bound with cords. In this manner, according to tradition, S. Andrew was crucified, hence his agony was protracted for several days'; and the thieves are generally represented in art as at least with their feet tied. Probably in the in- stance of our Lord, the prophecy of the Psalmist, " They pierced my hands and my feet," was literally fulfilled, yet some conjecture that his feet were only bound to the Cross.' Additional agony was sometimes ' S. Ambrose, lib. x. in Lucan. ^ S. Cyprian, De passione ; Taylor, Life of Christ, part iii., sec. xv. Discourse xx. ; Lipsius, Dc Crtice, lib. ii., cap. 11. ^ " Wherefore Jesus also, thai he might sanctify tlie people with his own blood, suffered without the gate." Heb. xiii., 12. ■* Gretser. De Cruce, lib. i., cap. 7. Perhaps palms, not feet, are meant. A ]>alm is 8.7 inches. The height of the cross is generally much exaggerated by jiainters. In the mys- tery attributed to S. Gregory Nazienzen a more correct idea is given, for the body of our Lord is not raised above the reach of his Virgin Mother. " Per hos tuos sacros pedes,quos oscular Matcrno amore, te nunc, niiscrenl mei." ' This tradition is very ancient. On the old seal of the city of Rochester, England, proba- bly taken from that of a convent established cir. A.D. 600, the saint is thus represented. Yet S. Peter Chrysologos says he was crucified on a tree, and other writers specify it as a palm-tree. "Dr. Paulus, followed by Kosenmuller, Kuehnoel, and Frische. It is admitted that binding was common both as to the hands and feet when the former were nailed ; hence probably also Early Forms and Uses 71 inflicted by exposing the crucified to the attacks of wild beasts, or, by building a fire at the foot of the cross, the sufferer experienced the tor- ture of burning and suffocation, as in the case of Pionius, a presbyter of Carthage. The bodies of the victims were generally left upon the cross until they decayed or were devoured by wild beasts and birds. On great oc- casions, such as birthdays, etc., the Konian governors gave permission that they might be taken down, but out of respect to the law, already alluded to, the Jews were allowed to hasten the death of the crucified, so that by burial " that same day, the land be not defiled." Hence the legs of the fellow-sufferers with Jesus were broken ; yet so carefully did God preserve his prophecies, that not only not even a bone of our I.ord's body was broken, either by the lance that pierced His side, or the nails which wounded His hands and feet, but as the Romans were the execu- tioners, not even a hair of His head perished, although by the Jewish law that of malefactors was shorn.' The cross was generally erected previous to the execution, that more effect might be given '^ '^ When the Victim to the warning punish- was Fastened to the Cross. mcnt. Thus in the war of the Romans against the Jews, Lucilius Bassos having taken capti\-e Eleazar the chief of the young Israelites, "' set up a cross as if he were just going to hang Eleazar upon it immediately ... in order to pre- vail with them to surrender the city for the preservation of that man." ^ were the latter. Oldshausen on Luke xxiii., 27-34. According to a writer in Gciith'riifii's Mtig., April, 1738, binding was peculiar to the Romans. On the Irish standard crosses, the feet are represented as bound. ' Browne. Hydriotaphia or Urn-Burial, chap. i. '^ Tosephus, Jewish War, b. ii., chap. vi. Crucifixion of S. Andrew. From Lipsius' De Cruce. History of the Cross Sometimes the victim was nailed to the cross while it was prostrate, as in the instance of the martyr Pionius.' The risk of the body's being torn from the nails, by its swaying, while the cross was being lifted up and settled in its place, was guarded against by the binding, and the projec- tion in the upright post, which passing between the thighs supported the Crucifixion by Tying. From Lipsius' De Cruce. body. Irensus thus describes the cross: " The structure of the cross has five ends, or summits, two in length, two in breadth, and one in the middle on which the crucified person rests." " Justin Martyr says," tliat which is fixed in the middle, to whicli they who are crucified are fas- tened, stands up like a horn."' Tcrtullian's description is very clear. " A part, and indeed the principal part of the cross, is any post which is fi.xed in an upright position ; but to us the entire cross is imputed including its transverse beam, .uul the projecting bar which serves as ' Lipsius, De Cruce, lili. ii., c.ip. 7. ' Ireiiicus, Opera, p. 166. 'Justin Martyr, Dialog, with Trypho, g gi. Early Forms and Uses 7i a scat." ' Ilencc such phrases as frc(|LiciUly occur in oltl writers, " to rest upon the sharp cross," etc." Tlie modern Japanese and inhabitants of Madat^ascar and the Soudan are said to construct their crosses after this manner. In art this portion of the cross is ignored, and the suppcd- ancitiii, Dr suppoi't beneath the feet, is substituted. Neither from the sim[)le narrative of the livantjelists, nor from tr.idi- The Crucified Exposed to Wild Beasts. Crucifixion and Burning. From Lipsius' Dc Cnice. tion, can we learn exactly how our Sa\Mour was fastened to the Cross, except that the evidence demanded by, and offered to, the sceptical S. Thomas (S. John xxi, 27) shows that at least those holy hands — which had healed the leper, blessed the babes, gi\'en food to thousands — were riveted to the cross. Guevara, Bishop of Mondoncdo, chaplain to Charles V. of Spain, gives a very curiously fanciful, supposititious account of the * Tertullian, Ad A'titiotn-s^ lib. ii. "^ Cicero against Vt-rrcs, v., 66, 74 History of the Cross Crucifixion. He presumes that as Adam used his hand in plucking the forbidden fruit, so Christ first extended his hand to be nailed, the left, Supposititious the hand of the heart, " because the heart of Christ should Accounts of f^^ 1^,^ ^^.j^j^j^ ^,^^. ,^^,^|.j ^f _j^j,^j^^ ^jj^j offend, and the Christ s t - ' Crucifixion. hand of Christ should pay for that which the hand of Adam did steal." Then the cross was raised and rudely settled in the ground while the feet swung roughly against the cruel tree, lastly the feet, the left being placed over tlie other, were fastened.' In Romish legends we read that to S. Bona\'enture it was revealed that Jesus ascended a ladder to be af^xed to the cross. Fra Angelico, Raphael, and others, have adopted this method. S. Brigitta, in her visions, witnessed both modes; hence some few painters have represented our Lord as supine on the cross before its erection. According to tradition our Lord's back was turned towards Jerusalem, which was in the east, and his face toward the west." This may have been a refinement of crueltv on the part of the executioners. Position of Christ on the Jcsus' back was placed toward the capital of the nation of whom the Roman governor had written he was " King," and his face turned to the setting sun, not only to remind him of his departing glory, as his enemies fondly deemed, but that no torture, however petty, yet agonizing, as the blaze of the sun would be, might be spared. Yet Damascenus spiritualizes even this. " Jesus' eyes," he says, " were turned toward the West, toward the Roman Church, Avhither the chief of the apostles, SS. Peter and Paul, were to go."' Our Saviour was crucified with his face to the West," says Bishop Hall, " which, however spitefully meant of the Jews, as not allowing liim worthy to look on the holy city and temple, yet was not without a mystery. His eyes look to the Gentiles, saith the Psalmist; as Christ therefore on his cross looked toward us sinners of the Gentiles, so let us look towards him." ' ^ Mount of Calvaiii-. pt. i., cliap. 31-33. ' Bede, in Lucum, cap. 93. ' Damascenus, lib. iv., cap. 13. ^ Bisliop Hall's Sermon xxxv. The position of Jesus, averted from his city, may have been intentional on the ])art of the Roman centurion. When Verres seized Gavius in Sicily, about to embark for Rome, he stripped and scourged liim in the market-place. The poor wretch uttered no cry but the oft repeated words " Civis Romanus sum," "as if," says Cicero, " those niaj^ic words had power to save him." But in vain. Verres ordered a cross to be erected on a head- land that commanded a view of Italy across the strait, saying in savage mockery that as Gavius called himself a Roman citizen, he might have ihc opportunity of looking toward his native land, and there he was crucified. Early Forms and Uses 75 The position of the crucified was not invariably the same. S. Peter, at Ills request, accordint^ to tradition, was executed witli his head down- wards, considering it too high an honor for one wlio had position of the denied his master to suffer in the same manner that he did. Crucified. The apostle was not alone in his mode of martyrdom. Many saints, especially in Egypt, were jnit to death in the same manner;' others Crucih.xioii Head Downwards. From Lipsius' De Cruce. suffered, like S. Andrew, upon the cross since known as the Saltire cro.ss, or the cross with one arm and the foot resting upon the ground.' In short, the cross was turned any way that infernal art could L^ngthofLife suggest to add to the torment. In spite of the fearful on the cross, agony on the cross, men sometimes lingered a long time. Doubtless some instances are exaggerated, yet others are too well authenticated to ' Forsyth, Life of Cicero, vol. i., p. 58. - Eusebius, Ecclcs. Hist., b. viii-, c. S ; Lipsius, De Cruce. lib. iii.. cap. S. Hemans says this is a Parthian, not a Roman mode. The Builder, March i(., 1S72, p. 210. History of the Cross be doubted. From Bosio we learn that the Apostle S. Andrew lived two days on the cross, preaching to the people. Victor, Bishop of Amaterna, crucified with his head downwards, also lived two days, which was the usual time that crucified persons lived. Timotheus and Maura, a married pair, are said to have lived nine days and nights, and expired on the tenth day. This story is probably an e.xaggeration. The Reverend Alban Butler relates, that Marceus and Marcellainus, " twin brothers, of an illustrious family of Rome, were condemned to be bound to two pillars with their feet nailed to the same. In this posture they remained a day and a night, and on the following day were stabbed with lances." In the year 297, by order of Emperor Maximian, seven Christians at Samo- sata were crucified. Hipparchus, an old man, died in a short time ; James, Romanus, and Lollianus ex- pired the next day, being stabbed by the soldiers ; Philotheus, Habibus, and Paragrus were taken down still living; Calliopius, a youth of Pam- ph_\-lia. was executed after sufler- ing the most cruel tortures, being scourged, broken on tlie wheel, and partially burnt; he was crucified with his head downward on the fifth day of Passion week, and ex- pired on the following, or prepara- tion, day at the same hour. The fortitude displayed under crucifixion by Bomilcar is thus described by the pagan historian Justin: After a severe defeat of the Cartiiaginian army by Agathocles, King of Sicih', this African chief had shown a dis- position to desert to the enemy, — " for which nlfcnce," says Justin, " he was nailed by the Carthaginians to a gibbet in the midtlle of the forum, that the same place which had been the scene of his honor Crucifixion with Arms .iml Legs Spread. From I-ipsius' Dc Crucc. Early Forms and Uses T'j n^ifjht now witness liis pimisluncnt. Ikit l^nmilcar bore tlie cruelty of the citizens with nKiL;iianiniity, and from tlie heiL;ht of the cross, as from a tribunal, declaimed against the crimes, etc. liaving thus spoken with a loud voice amid an immense concourse of the people, he expired." Besides the law already referred to, requiring the bodies to be buried before sundown, there was also a superstition among the Jews, that if the corpse was left upon the cross, the departed soul knew ., _ . ^ i i ^ No Rest in the no peace, but wandered in unrest until the interment of its Grave unless "■ Buried. former tenement. The Jews did not pray, at least publicly victims not in their synagogues, for those who were crucified, nor would Prayed for. they allow their bodies to be [jlaced in the family tombs, until the flesh had decayed in the public cemeteries. Hence 'we can understand why special mention is made that Joseph of Arimathea, moved by the Holy Ghost, " begged the body of Jesus " to place it in his own sepulchre. The act was so contrary to that customary in his own nation, that it was noted by the Evangelists and thus not only was the prophec}' ful- filled — " He made His grave with the rich " (Isa. liii., 9) — but the iden- tity of the body, and the reality of his Resurrection, were established beyond a doubt. After the death of the \'ictim, the cross was buried with him. Adam Clarke says in his commentary on Isa. xiv., 19: " I5ut thou art cast out of thy grave like an abominable branch, and as the raiment Cross Buried of those that are slain, thrust through with a sword, that go with the . Sufferer. down to the stones of the pit; as a carcase trodden under feet." That is, as an object of abomination and detestation; such as the tree is, on which a malefactor has been hanged. " It is written." saith S. Paul (Gal. iii., 13), " ' Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree (from Deut. xxi., 23). The Jews, therefore, held also as accursed and pol- luted the tree itself on which a malefactor had been executed, or on which he had been hanged after having been put to death by stoning. And Dr. Clarke quotes from Maimonides and Kalinski : " The Jews never hang any malefactor upon a tree that is growing in the earth, but upon a post fixed in the ground, that it misht never be said, ' that is the tree on which such an one was hanged ; ' for custom required that the tree should be buried with the malefactor. In like manner, the stone by which a criminal was stoned to death, or the sword by which he was be- headed, or the napkin or handkerchief b_\- which he was strangled, should 78 History of the Cross be buried with him in the same grave. For as the hanged man was con- sidered the greatest abomination, so the very post or wood on which he was hanged was deemed a most abominable thing, and therefore buried under the earth." ' The value of these testimonies to the dis- posal of the instruments of death, will be seen when we come to examine the evidence for the discovery of the true Cross. The sufferings endured by a person, on whom this punishment is in- flicted, are narrated by Georg Gottlob Richter, a German physician, in a Dissertation on the Saviour's Crucifixion:'' " I. The position of the body is unnatural, the arms being extended back and almost immovable. In case of the least motion an extremely painful sensation is experienced in the hands and feet, which are pierced with nails, and in the back, which is lacerated with stripes. " II. The nails, being dri\'en through the parts of the hands and feet, which abound in nerves and tendons, create the most exquisite anguish. " III. The exposure of so many wounds to the open air brings on an inflammation, which every moment increases the poignancy of the suffering. " IV. In those parts of the body which are distended or pressed, more blood flows through the arteries than can be carried back in the veins. The consequence is, that a greater quantity of blood finds its way from the aorta into the head and stomach than would be carried there by a natural and undisturbed circulation. The blood-vessels of the head become pressed and swollen, which of course causes pain and a red- ness of the face. The circumstance of the blood being impelled in more than ordinary quantities into the stomach is an unfavorable one also, be- cause it is that part of the sy.stem which not only admits of the blood being stationary but is peculiarly exposed to mortification. The aorta, not being at liberty to empty in the free and untlisturbed wa\-, as for- merly, the blood which it receives from the loft ventricle of the heart, is unable to receive its usual quantity. The blood of the lungs, therefore, is unable to find a free circulation. This general obstruction extends its effects likewise to the right ventricle, and the consequence is an internal ' Hone gives a curious account of the execution of a Jew in London in 1S21. The execu- tioner, at the request of his friends, did not touch his body, not even his toes. The Jews took down the corpse and buried it, the rope with which his hands were tied, and everything they could obtain, used at his execution (as it seems from the narrative), and this according to their law, before sundown.— Year Hook, p. 1383. * See work, p. 36 et seq. Early Forms and Uses 79 excitement, and exertion, ami anxiety whicii are more intolerable than the anguish of death itself. i\Il the large vessels al^out the heart, and all the veins and arteries in that part of the system, on account of the accumulation and pressure of blood, are the source of inexpressible misery. " V. The degree of anguish is gradual in its increase, and the person crucified is able ti) live under it, commonly till the third, and sometimes till the seventh day." As we would be glad to relieve God's once chosen people from any of the crime and shame of rejecting their Saviour, so we catch at even such a straw as the following tradition given by Southey: ah of the jews " When Toledo was recovered from the Moors by Alonzo "°' DeLth of our VI., the Jews assured him that they were descendants from ^°"^- part of the ten tribes sent by Nebuchadnezzar into Spain, and that when Caiaphas the High Priest wrote to their ancestors, they objected to the death of Jesus of Nazareth, asserting that the prophecies appeared to be fulfilled in that just person. This answer is said to be preserved in the archives of Toledo." ' Section 2. Voluntary Crucifixion. — Instances have occurred of per- sons, who, being influenced by fanatical enthusiasm, have voluntarily undergone the fearful torture of crucifixion. In 1756, at Paris, two girls, pupils in a Roman Catholic sisterhood, suiTered crucifixion for the profane purpose of exhibiting a lively image of the Saviour's Passion. Each was nailed to a cross, through the hands and feet, and continued in that position for more than three hours. After the nails were drawn, and the wounds dressed, the sisters sat down to a repast, pretending that the operation had been attended with no pain, and that on the contrary they had experienced exquisite pleasure. The\' had indeed, by wonderful self-command, suppressed all audible in- dications of anguish; but their agony, specially at the drawing of the nails, was shown by writhing, and other unequivocal demonstrations. 'Southey also quotes a Jewisli authority, who states that there are three different races of Jews. "One, who took counsel for the death of Jesus of Nazareth; these are in continual motion. The second, who urged on his sufferings : these never can look any man in the face and with difficulty can raise their eyes to Heaven. The third were the descendants of David, who strove to prevent the death of Christ, and shut themselves in the temple that they might not witness it : these are affable, good men, who love their neighbors and can look anywhere." — Don Roderick, p. iSl, ed. lSl6. 8o History of the Cross In a second exhibition by the sisterhood, two of their number, Fanny and Mary, were the insane victims. Fanny suffered with the greatest heroism. She remained upon the cross for three hours, and was shifted during that time in a great variety of positions. But Mary, who was lacking in faith, or fortitude, shuddered at the fastening of the nails, and in less than an hour shouted for relief. She was accordingly taken from the cross and carried out of the chamber in a state of insensibility. These instances may have been among the followers of the Abb6 Paris, commonly known as Convulsiouarics. These fanatics afford other examples. One of them. Sister Felicite, declared that she had been crucified /'Krw/i'-f'wr times! Probably an exaggeration. Five others of the same sect are mentioned, one of whom suffered twice, another three times. They remained upon the crosses for different periods, varying from half an hour to nearly four hours, yet they uttered no cries, lost but little blood, and all speedily reco\y;red. As late as 1787, a girl was crucified in the parish criurch of Fareins, near Trevou.x, in the diocese of Lyons. As may be con- jectured. Good Frida}' was the day profaned by this exhibition." There is also a very curious instance of a self-inflicted crucifixion. Matthew Lovat Self-Crucifixion, was a shocHKiker in Venice. Matthew Lovat. Q,^ September 21, 1803, having made a cross of the wood of his bedstead, he attempted to fasten himself to it in the street called the Cross of Biri, but was pre- vented as he was about to drive the nail into his left foot. Three years after this, he Self-Cruciii.\ion of Matthew Lovat. made a second attempt which was more suc- cessful. Having prepared a cross, he stripped himself naked except for a girdle about his loins. h'earing that he would not be able to attach him- self securely to the cross, he covered the lower ]iart with a net, extending from the suppcdaiiaiin to the transverse. i laving introduced himself ' Nealc, Hisl. of the yanscnisls, p. 58. Early Forms and Uses 8i into this, he next drove a nail throuL^h the pahn of his rij^ht hand by striking it on the floor until the point appeared on the outside. He then drove a nail throu,i,di both feet, fastening them to the wood. lying himself around the waist to the cross, he next wounded himself in the side with a knife. He was yet in the room: to show himself to the people required the exercise of much fortitude and resolution. The foot of the cross having been placetl Lipon the window-sill, he di'ew himself forward by means of his fingers pressing on the floor, until the lower end, overbalancing the rest, the cross fell outside of the house and hung by ropes previously fixed to sustain it. He then fastened the right hand, already pierced by the nail, to its proper place, but after driving the nail through the left hand he was unable to affix it. This took place at eight o'clock in the morning. As soon as he was seen he was taken down and carried to the hospital where his wounds were completely cured.' Section 3. Crucifixion of Children by the Jews. — The Jews have been accused of crucifying young children upon Good Friday, in derision of the solemn event then commemorated, and in revenge for the loss of their prosperity. The names of some of their \-ictims have been pre- served in the Hagiology of the Roman Church: S.S. William of Nor- wich, said to have suffered in 1137; Richard of Fontoise, in 1182; Hugh of Lincoln, in 1255," for whose death eighteen Jews were hanged; Simon of Trent, in 1472. A child in Norwich, in 1235, was stolen by the Israelites, circumcised, and his crucifixion attempted ; but the offenders were discovered and compelled to pay a fine of fifty thousand njarks.^ Another child was crucified in Northampton, for ^vhom fifty Jews were drawn at horses' tails and hanged. S. Hugh of Lincoln is the most celebrated of these youthful martyrs. Matthew Paris gives a detailed account of the tortures inflicted on this saint. He was fed ten days with milk, then, the Jews being . Hugh of Lincoln. assembled, each individual stabbed him with a knife; he was forced to drink esel, was mocked as Jesus, the false prophet, cruci- fied, and, finally, pierced in the side with a lance. The body was thrown ' For a full account, see Cesare Ruggiere, M.D., Xarrativc of the Critcifixion of Matthew Lovat, Pamphleteer, vol, iii., pp. 361-376; Winslow, Anatomy of SiiiciJe. pp. 329-337; Stroud, Physical Causes of the Death of Christ, pp. 372-375. ^ About 1254, Alexander IV. being Pope, seventy-one Jews were imprisoned on charge of crucifying a boy, of which fact twenty-five knights made oath, — Oxford Tables of Chronology. " F. C. H., Notes a>id Queries, 2d ser,, vol, viii., p. 261, 82 History of the Cross into a well where it was found by a miracle. One of the Jews being arrested, confessed that his nation did so every year.' A statue of freestone, twenty inches high, of S. Hugh existed until 1779. This had been removed from his tomb and was found behind the high altar of the Cathedral of Lincoln.' Chaucer immortalizes him in the Prioress's tale. " O, yonge Hew of Lincoln slain also With cursed Jews, as it is notable. For it is but a litel while ago. Pray eke for us, we sinful folk unstable, That of his mercy God so merciable. On us his grete mercie multiplie. For reverence of his moder ALirie." In art S. Hugh is represented as a child about three years old, nailed upon a cross, or standing with a palm in one hand and a cross in the other. S. Simon of Trent, as a child with a cross by his side, or cruci- fied, with a man cutting his breast ; or, as in a picture attributed to Agostino Caracci, holding a palm in one hand, in the other the long bodkin with which his side was pierced. S. William of Norwich, as a child crucified, or crowned with thorns, holding two nails, a knife in his left side; or as a child bound to two posts, but one foot nailed, the Jews mocking him and one stabbing his left side and catching the blood in a bowl ; or three nails in his hand and a hammer in his left ; or with the cross in his right hand and three nails in his left, the wounds in his hands and feet bleeding. These instances of martyrdom have been generally believed to have occurred, but Mrs. Jameson speaks of them as " real or imaginary," and Southey strongly protests against their being authentic' ' Matthew Paris, pp. 912-913; Gent. Mug., 1795, p. 372. "^ ArcluTologia, vol. i., p. 26. 'Jameson, Legends of Monastic Orders, 2<1 ed., p. 137. Southey says: " During those ages when tlie Jews were objects of popular hatred throughout Cliristeudoni, and when the slightest excitement sufficed for setting the rabble loose to butcher them and sack their houses, a common pretext for such atrocities was to assert that they had crucified a Christian child, or in- sulted a crucifix, or profaned a consecrated wafer, and that the murder, or the s.acrilege, had been discovered by a miracle. .\ confession of the imputed crime was forced from the parties by torture, after which they were put to the cruellest death that exasperated bigotry could devise. The supposed victim was then made a popular saint. . . . Such instances ... I be- lieve have occurred in every country where the papal power has been acknowledged, to tlie re- proach of all. . . . Regardless alike of probability and humanity, the local ecclesiastical authorities entertained these charges, inconsistent as they were, contented with such ]iroof as couhl he wrung from flesh and blood by the extremity of torture." — Letters to Chas. Butler, vin- dicating the C/iurth 0/ England, p. 414. CHAPTER IV THE LEGENDS OF THE CROSS Stxtioii I. — Its Fabled Antiquity. Section 3. — Traditio)is Respecting the Wood of the Cross. Section j. — '/'he Miracu/ous Appea?'ances of the Cross THE germ of the so-called Legend of the Cross is found in the Apocryphal gospel of Nicodemus, but it has been developed so that, while the different versions agree in the main ideas, it is difificult to dovetail these details so that a connected story can be presented.' Omitting some minor particulars, it is as follows: Section i. Its Fabled Antiquity. — Adam was weary of life, and longed to die. Calling his son Seth, he bade him " Go to the gates of Eden and ask S. Michael, who guards the Tree of Life, to ° Mission of Sclh send me some of the oil of mercy which God promised fortheoiiof Mercy. me when he thrust me out of Paradise." Seth replied, " Father, I am ready, but I know not the way." — " Go," commanded Adam, " by that valley which lieth Eastward; there is a green path along which you will find blackened footprints, for where my feet and those of your mother trod in leaving the garden no grass has since grown." When Seth approached the gates of Eden he found them guarded by ' The principal authorities are the Aurea Legenda of Jacobus de Voragine, and a curious Dutch blocli-book, Gescliiedenis van het heylighe Crtiys, printed by J. Veldener in 1483. Of the latter only three copies are known to exist ; one in the Royal Library at Brussels, one in the col- lection of Mr. Schinkel at The Hague, and another in the library of Lord Spencer. M. Berjeau has translated and reproduced in fac-simile the last, with additions from a French MS. of the thirteenth century which is in the British Museum. The legend is also found in the Vita Chrisla, printed at Troyes in 1577, and in the Catalogus Sanctorum of Peter de Notalibus. It has been condensed and given in a modern dress in Lord Lindsay's Christian Art, Mrs. Jameson and Lady Eastlake's History of Our Lord, and S. Baring-Gould's Curious Myths of l/u- .Middle .'l-^fs. 83 84 History of the Cross an angel in whose hands was a sword of living fire, but he was permitted a glimpse of the Paradise lost by his father's transgression. Setli beheld a crystal fountain whose sands were of silver, through which the water rolled in four mighty ri\-ers. Before the fountain was a gigantic tree, but bare of fruit and foliage; around its trunk a terrible serpent had writhed himself and had burned the bark and devoured the leaves. Be- neath the tree was an awful precipice, for its roots reached to the depths of Hell. The only human inhabitant there was Cain, who strove to climb the tree to re-enter Paradise, but the roots, as if in- stinct with life, twined around and entangled the murderer, even penetrating his flesh. A]:)palled, Seth raised his eyes to implore mercy, and gazed at the top of the tree. Its head reached unto Adam Sends Seth to Paradise for Some of the Oil of Mercy. From \"eldener's The Lcgi-ndaiy History of the Cross. Heaven, and its brandies were covered w ith foliage, flowers, and fruit, and what was most beautiful of all, a little babe was listening to the songs of seven white doves circling around him, and a woman more glorious and lovely than the moon bore the child in her arms.' ' The above passage is given from S. Baring-Gould's Myths. It is not to he found in the authorities to which the writer has access : " In an Apocryphal MS. entitled The Book of the Prophet Moses, in the possession of tlie Hon. Robert Curzon, is recorded the following conversation between God and Adam after the Fall ; ' Then I called him, saying, Oh .\dam ! thou hast transgressed my command ; lift up thine eyes. Then I said unto him, What seest thou ? He said, I see a tree standing above my head. " ' riien I answered Iiini, and said untu liini Thou hast spoken trutli. " ' lie said. Oh Lord ! this tree above my head is like a cross.' " — Jameson, //ist. of Our Lord, vol. i., p. io8. Ill an ancient commentary on S. Matthew, the star which appeared to the Wise Men had the form of a radiant child bearing a cross. — Jameson, Legends of the Madonna, p. 211. Legends of the Cross 85 The angel at the gate refused to give Seth the oil of mercy, telling him that it could not be bestowed u\n>n man until five thousand five hundred years had elapsed, but, in token of future pardon, he gave him three seeds from the Tree of Life,' and commanded him to bury them with his father. So Seth returned. When Adam heard the message of the angel he became merry, and laughed for the first time since his transgression, and said : " O God, I have lived long enough. Take my soul from me." Adam died the third day after Scth's return, and his sons buried him in the Valley of Hebron." The three seeds pro- duced three saplings, which mar- p,„j^,^ <,f Vellously be- the seeds. came one, yet preserved their distinct natures. This sapling Moses found, and plucked it as his rod ' ; it was this that sweetened the bit- ter waters of Marah, and The Arcliaiiyirl .Michael dives Seth Three Seeds uf tlie Tree of Life. From Veldener's Tin- Legendary History of the Cross. drew forth water from the rock in the wilderness. As the Prophet was punished for his presumption in not calling upon God when he smote ' The usual reading is the Tree of Knowledge. " But the Aungelle seyd to him that he myghte not have of the Oyle of mercy. But he toke him three greynes of the same Tree that his fadre ete the appulle off, and bad him, als sone as his fadre was ded, that he sholde putte theise three Greynes undre his tonge, and grave him so : and he dide." — Voiage and Travaile of Sir John Mauiideville, p. 13. The angel gave .Seth a branch of the tree whereof Adam had eaten, bidding him plant it on Mount Lebanon, and that when it bore fruit his father should be healed. — Legenda A urea. - The tree, with the bones of Adam, was preserved in the ark by Noah, who divided the relics among his sons. The skull fell to the share of Shem, who buried it in a mount of Judea called from this circumstance Calvary and Golgotha. The tree Noah himself planted on Mount Lebanon. It was at once palm, cypress, and cedar. — Tentzelius' A'timial Treatise, quoted in Southey's Omniana. vol. i., p. 2S1. The woods here are evidently typical of Victory, Death, and Eternity. ^ See chap, ii., " Types of the Cross," for a somewhat different story of Moses' rod. 86 History of the Cross Setli Piuries Adam and I'utb the Three Seeds of the Tree of Life under his Tongue. From V'eldeiier's The Lf:gt'ndajy Jli story of the Cross. the rock the second time, he was not permitted to carry the rod into the Promised Land, so he planted it in RIoab. David, being moved by an angelic vision to transplant it to Jerusa- lem, sought it for three days before he found David Finds 't. On his the Tree. Way tO tllC Holy City di\ers mir- acles were wrought ; the sick were healed, a leper cleansed, and three black men made white b\' its touch. The monarch planted it in that part of his garden to which he resorted for private devotion, and under it bewailed his grievous sins ; he also begirt it with thirty- rings of sapphire, and built a wall around it. In time, the tree became gigantic, and Solom on Solomon Uses it. desired to use it as a coluinn in the Temple; but, cut it as the)' might, the work- men found that the beam miraculously be- came cither too Ion;.; or too short for their purpose. In an!_,u;r it was thrown aside. A rhf '1 hiut' .Seeds Sprini^ [']'. woman, named SihvUa, Fr„ni \eldcner's Vhe Lcgeiuhuy History of the Cross. Legends of the Cross 87 sat upon it to rest; suddenly litT clothes took fire, and she- pro])hcsicd that Christ shi.iuhl hant^- u])(in that beam, whereupon the Jews beat her to death, and then threw the beam as a foot-bridge across a stream that it might be trampled under foot. When Balkis, the Oueen "^ Visit and of Sheba,' visited King Solomon, she, prophetically dis- Prophecy or Queen of Sheba. cerning its future destmation, refused to walk o\er it, but, worshipping it, took off her sandals and forded the stream. And she declared to Solomon that upon that holy wood the Saviour of Adam and his posterity would suffer. Thereupon the King commanded that the beam should be overlaid with silver, gold, and jewels, and placed it over the door of the Tem[ile, which faced the rising sun. His grand- son, Abijah, coveting the treasure, stripped the adorn- ^^,.^^^„j,^^„^ mentS from Conceals the Sacred Beam. the wood, and, toconceal the theft, j buried the beam in the ground. Aspringwellcd forth from the place, which in after times was known as the Pool of Bethesda, and the an- gel, to whom was com- 1 he L rucih-xiim. From Veldener's T/te Legendary History of the Cross. mitted the care of the sacred wood, at times " troubled the water," and the tree, giving forth its virtue, healed the sick. At the time of the crucifixion of our Lord, the wood floated to the surface, and from it the Cross was formed in which were u Reveals itseif r • r ^ if ..11 when Needed four species of wood, yet made of one tree: the palm, forchrisfs cypress, cedar, and olive. Sacrifice. When S. Helena, the mother of Constantine, visited Jerusalem, the Spirit having infused into her the wish to discover the Cross of our Lord, ' Bruce calls her Maqueda. The kings of Abyssinia have always claimed to he the lineal descendants of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. — Sale, JiToran, vol. ii., p. I74. note; Bruce, Travels, vol. ii., p. 165. 88 History of the Cross she called together the wise men, and elders of the Jews, who, much fearing, sought anxiously among themselves what this assembling could , , , mean. One of them, named Judas, said : " I know that she S. Helena's -^ Mission. wishes to learn where is the wood of the Cross upon which Jesus was crucified, but beware lest ye reveal it, for as soon as that Cross shall be found, our Law will be done away. I have learned this from my forefathers, one of whom, Zaccheus, was the father of Stephen." That was the protomartyr. But the Jews declared that they had never heard these things before, and agreed on no account to re\eal where was the wood of the Cross. Rut when they were brought to the Empress, they were terrified by her threats of death by fire, and pointed out Judas as a just man, and the son of a prophet, who was skilled in their law and traditions. The old man being obdurate, S. Helena commanded him to be cast into a pit to starve until he disclosed the truth. He endured the agonies of hunger for si.x days; on the se\enth day he yielded, and led the Empress to Calvary. Upon the sacred mount was a temple of Venus, which Satan had subtilely caused Hadrian to build in order that when the Christians came to that spot to worship they might be charged with adoring the Paphian godtless. Judas having prayed, the earth trembled, and a fragrant odor was diffusetl. .S. Helena commanded the pagan temple to be dcmolislied aiul its foundatimi ])loughcd u[). Then Judas began to dig vigorously, and at the depth of twenty feet he foLind three crosses. But a new difficulty arose, for they could not distinguish the Cross of Christ from that of the thieves. And about the # 0^%"^^ The Jews Bury the Crosses. From Veldeiier's T/w Legendary History of the Cross. w . c (^ go History of the Cross ninth hour a certain dead man was carried by, and Judas stopped the bier and laid the first and the second cross upon the dead man, but he moved not. Then they laid the third Cross upon him, and im- Discovery of the Cross and Subse- mediately he came to life. A certain woman also, of the quent Miracles. ,.,. ,.,,,,, , «, first rank m the city, was l\"ing nali dead, to whom IViacarius, the Bishop of Jerusalem, applied the first and second crosses, but they profited nothing; but the third being laid upon her, she rose up whole. But the devil \\'as vexed, and cried in anguish, " By the first Judas I gained many souls, but by the second Judas I have lost all that I gained "; he also threatened him with torments and persecution, which came to pass under the reign of Julian the Apostate. For Judas was converted by these miracles, and was baptized, his name being changed to Quiriacus, and, after the death of Macarius, he became Bishop of Jerusalem. S. Helena desired also the nails by which our Lord was fastened to the Cross, and Bishop Quiriacus having pra\-ed, the nails immediately appeared upon the ground, glittering like gold; being de- Discovery of ^i ^ ^ ^ -^^ & ' o the Nails. livercd to the Empress, she reverently adored them, and caused one to be placed in the crown, or helmet, of her son Constantine; another was forged as a bit, or placed upon the bridle of his war-horse, in verification of the prophet's words, " In that day shall be upon the bells [margin drid/cs] of the horses. Holiness to the Lord " (Zech. xiv., 20); and the third she reserved for herself; but, being in a dangerous storm on the Adriatic, she threw it into the sea, which until that time had been a whirlpool. Some say there was a fourth nail, which was placed in the statue of Constantine which overlooked the city of Rome. The Cross of the Lord she divided ; part she sent to her son, and the rest she enclosed in a silver shrine and left at Jerusalem. And she ap- pointed the Feast of the Invention of the Muly Cross to be solemnly celebrated every year. And in the course of many seasons, as time flowed on, the Lord per- mitting his peopli- to be scourged for their sins, Chosroes, King of the . „ Persians, subdued all the kingdoms of the East to his Cross in Posses- ^ sion of Chosroes. tloniiiiion. But, comiugto Jerusalem, lu; fled terrified from the sepulchre of the Lord, yet carried away the portion of the Lord's Cross left there by S. Helena. Wishing to be adored as a god, he caused to be constructed a tower of gold, silver, and precious stones, 92 History of the Cross and placed therein images of the sun, moon, and stars. By slender con- duits artificial rain fell, and chariots drawn with a great noise in a subter- ranean passage shook the tower and imitated thunder. And giving up the kingdom to his son Chosroes, he enthroned himself in the tower as the Father, and put the Cross upon his right in place of the Son, and a cock for the Holy Spirit.' Then the Emperor Heraclius, being roused from his natural indol- ence by this blasphemous impiety, came with a mighty army against the son of Chosroes to recover the holy Cross. And thc\- met Rescue of the Cross by by the river Danube, and the two princes agreed to fight Heraclius. i i . , , i i 1111 in Single combat upon the bridge, and that he who should remain victor should dispose of the army of the other. Heraclius, com- mending himself to God and the holy Cross, after a severe conflict, over- came his antagonist, who, refusing to be baptized, was slain. " And immediately the whole army of the Persians, as if by dixine impulse, yielded itself to the Christian faith and received holy Baptism." Heraclius offered to Chosroes, as he had revered the Cross after his fashion, that his life and kingdom should be preserved. " And that in- fidel not acquiescing, Heraclius straightway beheaded him. But because he had been a king, and had after a manner honored the Cross of Christ, he ordered him to be buried." The tower was destroyed, the silver given to the soldiers, but the gold and precious stones the Emperor reser\ed to repair the churches which the tyrant had destroyed. The rest of the legend is given in the quaint language of Caxton's version : Heraclius " thenne tooke the Holy Crosse and brought it agaync to Jerusalem. And as he descended fro the Mount of Olyuete and wolde haue entred by the gate, by whiche our Sauyour wente to his Passyon, on horsbacke adurned as a kyng, sodainly the stones of the gates de- ' ";\fler reailini; this history, some comeption may be formed of tlie important place lield by the cross in Christian Iconography. 'I'he cross, as lias been said, is not merely the instrti- ment of the punishment of Jesus ( In ist, but is also the figure and symbol of the Saviour. Jesus, to an Iconologist, is present in tlie cross as well as in the lamb, or the lion. Chosroes flattered himself that in possessing the cross, he possessed the Son of God, and he had it enthroned on his ris;ht hand, just as the Son is enthroned by Ciod the Father, so also the earliest Christian artists, when making a representation of the Trinity, placed a cross beside the Father and the Moly Spirit ; a cross only, without our crucified Lord. The cross did not only recall Christ to mind, but actually showed him. In Christian Iconography, Christ is actually present under the form and semblance of the cross. The cross is our crucified Lord in person : ' Where the cross is. there is the martyr,' says S. Paulinus." — Didron, Christ. Icon., vol. i., p. 369. Legends of the Cross 93 sccnded and ioyiicd lliL-in togyder in the gate lil-:c a wallc, and all the peo[)le were greatly aba.sshed. And theiine the angel of our Lorde ap- pvered vpon the gate holdyng the syne of the Crosse in his ^•' ^ ° J o ^ Return of the honde & sayd, Whan the Kyng of Heuen wente to hys Pas- cross to Jerusalem. syon by this gate, he was not arrayed lyke a kyng, or on liorse- backe, but came humbl)- vppon an asse in shewynge the example of humylytc, which he lefte to tiicym that honour hyni. And whan that was sayd he departed & vanysshed awaye. Thenne the Emperour tooke of his hosen and shone hymself in wepynge, and despoyled hym of all his clothes in to his sherte, and then tooke the Crosse of our Lorde and bare it moche humbly vnto the gate. And anone the hardenesse of the stones sette the celestyal commandemcnt, and renieued anone and opened and gaaf entre vnto all theym that entred. And thus was the precious tree of the Crosse restabl\'.shed in his place, and the ancient miracles renewed." A dead man was raised, four paralytics were cured, ten affected with leprosy cleansed, divers devils were cast out and diseases healed, and as a proof of the divine blessing the sweet odor, that had departed from the day when the Cross had been removed from the tower of Chosroes, returned, and refreshed them all with its sweetness. " Thenne the Emperour dyde repayre the chirches and gaft to them grete gyftes and after retourned home to his Emjjyre." This Exaltation of the Cross really took place on September 14, about A.D. 620. The festival has greater antiquity, having been insti- tuted when S. Helena placed the Cross on the summit of an altar, September 24, A.D. 326. Section 2. Traditions Respecting the Wood of the Cross. — To various trees is assigned the mournful honor of furnishing the material of the holy Cross. Perhaps the most general tradition ascribes ^^.e cross Made it to the aspen,' because the leaves ever tremble, as if ofthe Aspen. ' Other traditions cluster around the aspen — ex.gr.: All the trees drooped their leaves at the time of their Creator's sacrifice, but the aspen haughtily asked, " What are thy sufferings to us? the plants need no atonement, we are not fallen." The Angel of Death breathed upon the boaster, and it has trembled ever since. Mrs. Jameson also relates a legend of the journey of the infant Jesus and the blessed Virgin and S. Joseph, when flying from Judea to Egypt. As they passed through a forest of trees, they would have lost their way, but for the guidance of an angel. As they entered the forest all the trees bowed themselves in reverence to the infant Ciod, only the aspen in her exceeding pride refused to acknowledge Him, and stood upright. Then the infant Christ pronounced a curse against her for her arrogance, and her leaves have trembled ever since. — LcgcnJs of the Madonna, p. 234. 94 History of the Cross shuddering at the remembrance of the awful use in which it had been once employed. Anciently, it was a widespread beH^-f that the Cross of our Lord was made of the mistletoe which formerly was a large tree, but the curse which He bore who hung thereon, being in part transferred Mistletoe the Material of to the tree itself, it dwindled away and became the parasite the Cross. . r ^ ■w~\ • ^ • 1 • 1 It IS now. The ceremonies of the Druids in gathering the mistletoe, or" All Heal," as they called it, were peculiarly symbolical of the of^ces of the Cross. In Scandinavian mythology, the mistletoe furnishes the wood from which is made the arrow with which HiidLir, at the instigation of Loki, kills Baklur. Formerly, small pieces of mistletoe were worn as amulets to protect pious souls from the temptations of Loki. In some parts of Great Britain the elder is respected as the wood which bore the Lord of Life in death, and some persons religiously abstain ,. , from using it as fuel. In this instance the legends respect- Cross Made t* & i^ of Elder. i,-)g t-]-,g (-pgg pf Q^r Saviour and that of his betrayer have become interchanged. Sir John Mandeville says: " Fast by the Pool of Siloam, is still the elder tree on which Judas hanged himself in despair wlien he sold and betrayed our Lord." ' Tliat this tradition was ac- knowledged in England as late as the golden age of Elizabeth is seen from the frequent references by authors in her time and previously. Shakespeare thus plays with the word in Loves Labour's Lost. " HoliferiH's : Begin, Sir. You are my elder. Biron : Well followed ; Judas was hanged on an elder." Ben Jonson says also in Every Man in Llis Humour " He shall be your Judas, and you Shall be his elder tree to hang on." Ni.xon, in his Strange Footpost, writes, " Our gardens when they have in them not one of those elders whereupon so many covetous Judases hang themselves." Richard Flecknoe also refers to the same tree whose ' M.iiKleville, Travels, p. 175. liohn's e