,,the ,,non-,,christian ,,cross    ,an  
,enquiry ,into ,the ,origin ,and        
,history ,of  ,the ,symbol ,eventually  
,adopted ,as  ,that ,of ,our ,religion  
,by ,john ,denham ,parsons    ,london   
#ahif      ,o ,crux1 ,splendidior       
,cunctis ,astris1 ,mundo  ,celebris1    
,hominibus ,multum ,amabilis1 ,sanctior 
,universis4                             
,breviarium ,romanum1         ,festival 
,of ,the ,invention ,of ,the ,holy      
,cross4          ,,preface4      ,the   
history of the symbol of the cross has  
had an attraction for the  author ever  
since1 as an enquiring youth1 he found  
himself unable to  obtain satisfactory  
answers to four questions concerning the
 same which  presented themselves to his
 mind4    ,the first of those questions 
was why ,john the ,baptist1 who was     
beheaded  before ,jesus was executed1   
and so far as we are told never had     
anything  to do with a cross1 is        
represented in our religious pictures as
 holding  a cross4    ,the second       

question was whether this curious but   
perhaps in itself  easily explained     
practice had in its inception any       
connection with the  non-,mosaic        
initiatory rite of baptism2 which ,jesus
 accepted as a matter  of course at the 
hands of his cousin ,john1 and in which 
the sign of the  cross has for ages been
 the all-important feature4 ,and it was 
the  wonder whether there was or was not
 some association between the facts     
that the ,new ,testament writers give no
 explanation whatever of the  origin of 
baptism as an initiatory rite1 that this
 non-,mosaic  initiatory rite was in use
 among ,sun-,god worshippers long before
 our  era1 and that the ,fathers        
admitted that the followers of the      
,persian  conception of the ,sun-,god   
marked their initiates upon the forehead
 like  the followers of the ,christ1    
which finally induced the author to     
start  a systematic enquiry into the    
history of the cross as a symbol4       
,the third question was why1 despite the

 fact that the instrument of  execution 
to which ,jesus was affixed can have had
 but one shape1 almost  any kind of     
cross is accepted as a symbol of our    
faith4    ,the last of the four         
questions was why many varieties of the 
cross of  four equal arms1 which        
certainly was not a representation of an
  instrument of execution1 were accepted
 by ,christians as symbols of the       
,christ before any cross which could    
possibly have been a representation  of 
an instrument of execution was given a  
place among the symbols of              
,christianity2 while even nowadays one  
variety of the cross of four  equal arms
 is the favourite symbol of the ,greek  
,church1 and both it and  the other     
varieties enter into the ornamentation  
of our sacred  properties and dispute   
the supremacy with the cross which has  
one of  its arms longer than the other  
three4    ,pursuing these matters for   
himself1 the author eventually found    
that  even before our era the cross was 

venerated by many as the symbol of      
,life2 though our works of reference    
seldom mention this fact1 and never  do 
it justice4    ,he moreover discovered  
that no one has ever written a complete 
history  of the symbol1 showing the     
possibility that the stauros or post to 
which ,jesus was affixed was not        
cross-shaped1 and the certainty that1   
in any case1 what eventually became the 
symbol of our faith owed some  of its   
prestige as a ,christian symbol of      
,victory and ,life to the  position it  
occupied in pre-,christian days4    ,the
 author has therefore1 in the hope of   
drawing attention to the  subject1      
incorporated the results of his         
researches in the present  essay4       
#ad1 ,,st4 ,,dunstan',s ,,hill1         
,,london1 ,e4,c4          ,c ,o ,n ,t ,e
 ,n ,t ,s                               
,,page    ,,chapter ,i4      ,,was ,,the
 ,,stauros ,,of ,,jesus                 
,,cross-,,shaped8             #ac       
,,chapter ,,ii4      ,,the ,,evidence   

,,of ,,minucius ,,felix                 
#ca    ,,chapter ,,iii4      ,,the      
,,evidence ,,of ,,the ,,other           
,,fathers#c                   #da       
,,chapter ,,iv4      ,,curious          
,,statements ,,of ,,irenaeus            
#eb    ,,chapter ,v4      ,,origin ,,of 
,,the ,,pre-,,christian ,,cross         
#eg    ,,chapter ,,vi4      ,,origin    
,,of ,,the ,,christian ,,cross          
#fe    ,,chapter ,,vii4      ,,the      
,,establisher ,,of ,,the ,,church       
#hb    ,,chapter ,,viii4      ,,cross   
,,and ,,crescent#h                      
#ib    ,,chapter ,,ix4      ,,the       
,,coronation ,,orb#i                    
#ajd    ,,chapter ,x4      ,,roman      
,,coins ,,before ,,constantine          
#aai    ,,chapter ,,xi4      ,,the      
,,coins ,,of ,,constantine              
#acc    ,,chapter ,,xii4      ,,roman   
,,coins ,,after ,,constantine           
#adb    ,,chapter ,,xiii4      ,,the    
,,monogram ,,of ,,christ                
#adg    ,,chapter ,,xiv4      ,,the     

,,cross ,,of ,,the ,,logos              
#afc    ,,chapter ,,xv4      ,,the      
,,pre-,,christian ,,cross ,,in ,,europe 
#afi    ,,chapter ,,xvi4      ,,the     
,,pre-,,christian ,,cross ,,in ,,asia   
#agh    ,,chapter ,,xvii4      ,,the    
,,pre-,,christian ,,cross ,,in ,,africa 
#ahc    ,,chapter ,,xviii4              
,,evidence ,,of ,,troy                  
#ahg    ,,chapter ,,xix4      ,,evidence
 ,,of ,,cyprus                          
#aic    ,,chapter ,,xx4                 
,,miscellaneous ,,evidence              
#bjd    ,,chapter ,,xi4      ,,summary  
#bad          ,,the ,,non-,,christian   
,,cross4      ,,chapter ,i4  ,,was ,,the
 ,,stauros ,,of ,,jesus                 
,,cross-,,shaped8    ,in the thousand   
and one works supplied for our          
information upon matters  connected with
 the history of our race1 we are told   
that ,alexander the  ,great1 ,titus1 and
 various ,greek1 ,roman1 and ,oriental  
rulers of ancient  days1 crucified this 
or that person2 or that they crucified  

so many  at once1 or during their reign4
 ,and the instrument of execution is    
called a cross4    ,the natural result  
is that we imagine that all the people  
said to have  been crucified were       
executed by being nailed or otherwise   
affixed to  a cross-shaped instrument   
set in the ground1 like that to be seen 
in  our fanciful illustrations of the   
execution of ,jesus4    ,this was1      
however1 by no means necessarily the    
case4    ,for instance1 the death spoken
 of1 death by the stauros1 included     
transfixion by a pointed stauros or     
stake1 as well as affixion to an        
unpointed stauros or stake2 and the     
latter punishment was not always  that  
referred to4    ,it is also probable    
that in most of the many cases where we 
have no  clue as to which kind of       
stauros was used1 the cause of the      
condemned  one's death was transfixion  
by a pointed stauros4    ,moreover1 even
 if we could prove that this very common
 mode of capital  punishment was in no  

case that referred to by the historians 
who lived  in bygone ages1 and that     
death was in each instance caused by    
affixion  to1 instead of transfixion by1
 a stauros1 we should still have to     
prove  that each stauros had a cross-bar
 before we could correctly describe  the
 death caused by it as death by         
crucifixion4    ,it is also1 upon the   
face of it1 somewhat unlikely that the  
ancients  would in every instance in    
which they despatched a man by affixing 
him  to a post set in the ground1 have  
gone out of their way to provide the    
artistic but quite unnecessary cross-bar
 of our imaginations4    ,as it is1 in  
any case1 well known that the ,romans   
very often despatched  those condemned  
to death by affixing them to a stake or 
post which had  no cross-bar1 the       
question arises as to what proof we have
 that a  cross-bar was used in the case 
of ,jesus4    ,nor is the question an   
unimportant one4 ,for1 as we shall see  
in the  chapters to come1 there was a   

pre-,christian cross1 which was1 like   
ours1 a symbol of ,life4 ,and it must be
 obvious to all that if the cross  was a
 symbol of ,life before our era1 it is  
possible that it was  originally fixed  
upon as a symbol of the ,christ because 
it was a symbol  of ,life2 the          
assumption that it became a symbol of   
,life because it was  a symbol of the   
,christ1 being in that case neither more
 nor less than a  very natural instance 
of putting the cart before the horse4   
,now the ,greek word which in ,latin    
versions of the ,new ,testament is      
translated as crux1 and in ,english     
versions is rendered as cross1  i4e41   
the word stauros1 seems to have1 at the 
beginning of our era1  no more meant a  
cross than the ,english word stick means
 a crutch4    ,it is true that a stick  
may be in the shape of a crutch1 and    
that the  stauros to which ,jesus was   
affixed may have been in the shape of a 
cross4 ,but just as the former is not   
necessarily a crutch1 so the  latter was

 not necessarily a cross4    ,what the  
ancients used to signify when they used 
the word stauros1  can easily be seen by
 referring to either the ,iliad or the  
,odyssey4#a    ,it will there be found  
to clearly signify an ordinary pole or  
stake  without any cross-bar4 ,and it is
 as thus signifying a single piece of   
wood that the word in question is used  
throughout the old ,greek  classics4#b  
,the stauros used as an instrument of   
execution was 7#a7 a small pointed  pole
 or stake used for thrusting through the
 body1 so as to pin the  latter to the  
earth1 or otherwise render death        
inevitable2 7#b7 a  similar pole or     
stake fixed in the ground point upwards1
 upon which the  condemned one was      
forced down till incapable of escaping2 
7#c7 a much  longer and stouter pole or 
stake fixed point upwards1 upon which   
the  victim1 with his hands tied behind 
him1 was lodged in such a way that  the 
point should enter his breast and the   
weight of the body cause  every movement

 to hasten the end2 and 7#d7 a stout    
unpointed pole or  stake set upright in 
the earth1 from which the victim was    
suspended by  a rope round his wrists1  
which were first tied behind him so that
 the  position might become an agonising
 one2 or to which the doomed one was    
bound1 or1 as in the case of ,jesus1    
nailed4    ,that this last named kind of
 stauros1 which was admittedly that to  
which ,jesus was affixed1 had in every  
case a cross-bar attached1 is  untrue2  
that it had in most cases1 is unlikely2 
that it had in the case  of ,jesus1 is  
unproven4    ,even as late as the       
,middle ,ages1 the word stauros seems to
 have  primarily signified a straight   
piece of wood without a cross-bar4 ,for 
the famous ,greek lexicographer1        
,suidas1 expressly states1 ,stauroi2    
ortha xula perpegota1 and both          
,eustathius and ,hesychius affirm that  
it  meant a straight stake or pole4     
,the side light thrown upon the question
 by ,lucian is also worth noting4  ,this

 writer1 referring to ,jesus1 alludes to
 ,that sophist of theirs who  was       
fastened to a skolops2 which word       
signified a single piece of  wood1 and  
not two pieces joined together4    ,only
 a passing notice need be given to the  
fact that in some of the  ,epistles of  
the ,new ,testament1 which seem to have 
been written before  the ,gospels1      
though1 like the other ,epistles1       
misleadingly placed after  the ,gospels1
 ,jesus is said to have been hanged upon
 a tree4#c ,for  in the first place the 
,greek word translated hanged did not   
necessarily refer to hanging by the     
neck1 and simply meant suspended in     
some way or other4 ,and in the second   
place the word translated tree1  though 
that always used in referring to what is
 translated as the  ,tree of ,life1     
signified not only tree but also wood4  
,it should be noted1 however1 that these
 five references of the ,bible to  the  
execution of ,jesus as having been      
carried out by his suspension  upon     

either a tree or a piece of timber set  
in the ground1 in no wise  convey the   
impression that two pieces of wood      
nailed together in the  form of a cross 
is what is referred to4    ,moreover1   
there is not1 even in the ,greek text of
 the ,gospels1 a single  intimation in  
the ,bible to the effect that the       
instrument actually used  in the case of
 ,jesus was cross-shaped4    ,had there 
been any such intimation in the         
twenty-seven ,greek works  referring to 
,jesus1 which our ,church selected out  
of a very large  number and called the  
,new ,testament1 the ,greek letter chi1 
which  was cross-shaped1 would in the   
ordinary course have been referred to2  
and some such term as ,kata chiasmon1   
like a chi1 made use of4    ,it should  
also be borne in mind that though the   
,christians of the first  three         
centuries certainly made use of a       
transient sign of the cross in  the     
non-,mosaic initiatory rite of baptism  
and at other times1 it is1 as  will be  

shown in the next two chapters1 admitted
 that they did not use  or venerate it  
as a representation of the instrument of
 execution upon  which ,jesus died4     
,moreover1 if in reply to the foregoing 
it should be argued that as it  is well 
known that cross-shaped figures of wood1
 and other lasting  representations of  
the sign or figure of the cross1 were   
not venerated  by ,christians until     
after the fateful day when ,constantine 
set out at  the head of the soldiers of 
,gaul in his famous march against ,rome2
 and  that the ,christian crosses of the
 remainder of the fourth century were   
representations of the instrument of    
execution upon which ,jesus died2 a     
dozen other objections present          
themselves if we are honest enough to   
face the fact that we have to show that 
they were so from the first4  ,for the  
,gauls1 and therefore the soldiers of   
,gaul1 venerated as symbols  of the     
,sun-,god and ,giver of ,life and       
,victory the cross of four equal  arms1 

image plus4gif1 or image x4gif1 and the 
solar wheel1  image solarwheel#a4;gif or
 image solarwheel#b4;gif2 while the     
so-called cross which ,constantine and  
his troops are said to have seen  above 
the midday sun was admittedly the       
monogram of ,christ1 image              
monogram#a4;gif or image                
monogram#b4;gif1 which was admittedly an
  adaptation of the solar wheel1 as will
 be shown further on2 and it was  as    
tokens of the conquest of ,rome by his  
,gaulish troops1 that  ,constantine1 as 
their leader1 erected one of these      
symbols in the  centre of the ,eternal  
,city1 and afterwards placed upon his   
coins the  crosses image                
solarwheel#a4;gif1 image                
solarwheel#b4;gif1 image                
monogram#a4;gif1 image monogram#b4;gif1 
image asterisk4gif1  image              
monogram#c4;gif1 image monogram#d4;gif1 
the cross of four  equal arms image     
x4gif1 and several variations of that   
other cross  of four equal arms1 the    

right-angled image plus4gif4 ,and it was
 not  till long after these crosses were
 accepted as ,christian1 and            
,constantine was dead and buried1 that  
the cross with one of its arms  longer  
than the other three 7or two71 which    
alone could be a  representation of an  
instrument of execution1 was made use of
 by  ,christians4    ,another point to  
be remembered is that when ,constantine1
 apparently  conceiving ours1 as the    
only non-national religion with         
ramifications  throughout his world-wide
 dominions1 to be the only one that     
could weld  together the many nations   
which acknowledged his sway1 established
  ,christianity as the ,state ,religion 
of the ,roman ,empire1 the ,church to   
which we belong would naturally have had
 to accept as its own the  symbols which
 ,constantine had caused to be those of 
the ,state in  question4 ,and it should 
be added that the cross of later days   
with one  of its arms longer than the   
others1 if not also the assumption that 

the  stauros to which ,jesus was affixed
 had a cross-bar1 may have been  merely 
the outcome of a wish to associate with 
the story of ,jesus these  ,gaulish     
symbols of victory which had become     
symbols of the ,roman ,state1  and      
therefore of its ,state ,church4        
,anyway1 the first kind of cross        
venerated by ,christians was not a      
representation of an instrument of      
execution2 and the fact that we hold    
sacred many different kinds of crosses1 
although even if we could prove  that   
the stauros to which ,jesus was affixed 
had a cross-bar but one  kind could be a
 representation of that instrument of   
execution1 has to  be accounted for4    
,our only plausible explanation of the  
fact that we hold sacred almost  any    
species of cross is that1 as we do not  
know what kind of cross  ,jesus died    
upon1 opinions have always differed as  
to which was the real  cross4    ,this  
difference of opinion among ,christians 
as to the shape of the  instrument upon 

which ,jesus was executed1 has certainly
 existed for  many centuries4 ,but as an
 explanation of the many different kinds
 of  crosses accepted by us as symbols  
of the ,christ1 it only lands us in a   
greater difficulty4 ,for if we did not  
know what kind of cross ,jesus  died    
upon when we accepted the cross as our  
symbol1 the chances  obviously are that 
we accepted the cross as our symbol for 
some other  reason than that we assert4 
,as a matter of fact our position       
regarding the whole matter is  illogical
 and unsatisfactory1 and we ought to    
alter it by honestly  facing the facts  
that we cannot satisfactorily prove that
 our symbol  was adopted as a           
representation of the instrument of     
execution to which  ,jesus was affixed1 
and that we do not even know for certain
 that the  instrument in question was   
cross-shaped4    ,it need only be added 
that there is not a single sentence in  
any of the  numerous writings forming   
the ,new ,testament1 which1 in the      

original  ,greek1 bears even indirect   
evidence to the effect that the stauros 
used  in the case of ,jesus was other   
than an ordinary stauros2 much less to  
the effect that it consisted1 not of one
 piece of timber1 but of two  pieces    
nailed together in the form of a cross4 
,taking the whole of the foregoing facts
 into consideration1 it will be  seen   
that it is not a little misleading upon 
the part of our teachers  to translate  
the word stauros as cross when rendering
 the ,greek  documents of the ,church   
into our native tongue1 and to support  
that  action by putting cross in our    
lexicons as the meaning of stauros      
without carefully explaining that that  
was at any rate not the primary  meaning
 of the word in the days of the         
,apostles1 did not become its  primary  
signification till long afterwards1 and 
became so then1 if at  all1 only        
because1 despite the absence of         
corroborative evidence1 it  was for some
 reason or other assumed that the       

particular stauros upon  which ,jesus   
was executed had that particular shape4 
,but--the reader may object--how about  
the ,greek word which in our  ,bibles is
 translated as crucify or crucified8    
,does not that mean  fix to a cross or  
fixed to a cross8 ,and what is this but 
the  strongest possible corroboration of
 our assertion as ,christians that      
,jesus was executed upon a cross-shaped 
instrument8    ,the answer is that no   
less than four different ,greek words   
are  translated in our ,bibles as       
meaning crucify or crucified1 and that  
not one of the four meant crucify or    
crucified4    ,the four words in        
question are the words prospegnumi1     
anastauroo1  sustauroo1 and stauroo4    
,the word prospegnumi1 though translated
 in our ,bibles as crucify or           
crucified1 meant to fix to or upon1 and 
meant that only4 ,it had no  special    
reference to the affixing of condemned  
persons either to a  stake1 pale1 or    
post1 or to a tree1 or to a cross2 and  

had no more  reference to a cross than  
the ,english word fix has4    ,the word 
anastauroo was never used by the old    
,greek writers as  meaning other than to
 impale upon or with a single piece of  
timber4#d    ,the word sustauroo does   
not occur in pre-,christian writings1   
and only  five times in the ,bible      
against the forty-four times of the word
 next  to be dealt with4 ,being         
obviously derived in part from the word 
stauros1 which primarily signified a    
stake or pale which was a single  piece 
of wood and had no cross-bar1 sustauroo 
evidently meant  affixion to such a     
stake or pale4 ,anyhow there is nothing 
whatever  either in the derivation of   
the word1 or in the context in either of
  the five instances in which it occurs1
 to show that what is referred to  is   
affixion to something that was          
cross-shaped4    ,the word stauroo      
occurs1 as has been said1 forty-four    
times2 and of  the four words in        
question by far the most frequently4    

,the meaning of  this word is therefore 
of special importance4 ,it is           
consequently most  significant to find1 
as we do upon due investigation1 that   
wherever it  occurs in the              
pre-,christian classics it is used as   
meaning to  impalisade1 or stake1 or    
affix to a pale or stake2 and has       
reference1  not to crosses1 but to      
single pieces of wood4#e    ,it         
therefore seems tolerably clear 7#a7    
that the sacred writings forming  the   
,new ,testament1 to the statements of   
which--as translated for us--we  bow    
down in reverence1 do not tell us that  
,jesus was affixed to a  cross-shaped   
instrument of execution2 7#b7 that the  
balance of evidence  is against the     
truth of our statements to the effect   
that the  instrument in question was    
cross-shaped1 and our sacred symbol     
originally a representation of the same2
 and 7#c7 that we ,christians  have in  
bygone days acted1 and1 alas6 still act1
 anything but  ingenuously in regard to 

the symbol of the cross4    ,this is not
 all1 however4 ,for if the unfortunate  
fact that we have in  our zeal almost   
manufactured evidence in favour of the  
theory that  our cross or crosses had   
its or their origin in the shape of the 
instrument of execution to which ,jesus 
was affixed proves anything at  all1 it 
proves the need for a work which1 like  
the present one1 sets in  array the     
evidence available regarding both the   
pre-,christian cross and  the adoption  
in later times of a similar symbol as   
that of the catholic  faith4    ,nor    
should it be forgotten that the triumph 
of ,christianity was due to  the fact   
that it was a catholic faith1 and not1  
like the other  faiths followed by the  
subjects of ,rome1 and like what ,jesus 
seems to  have intended the results of  
,his mission to have been inasmuch as   
,he  solemnly declared that he was sent 
to the lost sheep of the ,house of      
,israel and to them alone1 the monopoly 
of a single nation or race4    ,for if  

,paul1 taking his and other visions of  
,jesus as the long-needed  proofs of a  
future life1 had not disregarded the    
very plain intimations  of ,jesus to the
 effect that ,his mission was to the    
descendants of ,jacob  or ,israel1 and  
to them alone2 if ,paul had not         
withstood ,christ's  representative1    
,peter1 to the face1 and1 with          
unsurpassed zeal1 carried  out his grand
 project of proclaiming a non-national  
and universal  religion founded upon    
appearances of the spirit-form of       
,jesus1 what we  call ,christianity     
would not have come into existence4     
,the fact that but for ,paul there would
 have been no catholic faith with       
followers in every land ruled by        
,constantine when sole emperor1 for     
that astute monarch to establish as the 
,state ,religion of his loosely  knit   
empire1 because1 on account of its      
catholicity1 that best fitted  to hold  
power as the official faith of a        
government with world-wide  dominions1  

is worthy of a lasting place in our     
memory4    ,nor is the noteworthy fact  
last mentioned unconnected with the     
symbol  of the cross4 ,for1 as will be  
shown1 it is clear that it was because  
,constantine caused the figure of the   
cross to become a recognized  symbol of 
his catholic empire1 that it became     
recognized as a symbol of  the catholic 
faith4    ,not till after ,constantine  
and his ,gaulish warriors planted what  
,eusebius the ,bishop of ,caesarea and  
other ,christians of the century in     
question describe as a cross1 within the
 walls of the ,eternal ,city as  the    
symbol of their victory1 did ,christians
 ever set on high a  cross-shaped trophy
 of any description4    ,moreover1 but  
for the fact that1 as it happened1 the  
triumph of  ,constantine resulted in    
that of the ,christian ,church1 we      
should  probably have deemed the cross1 
if to our minds a representation of the 
instrument of execution to which ,jesus 
was affixed1 as anything but the  symbol

 of ,victory we now deem it4    ,this is
 evident from the fact that the         
so-called cross of ,jesus  admittedly   
fulfilled the purpose for which it was  
erected at the  request of those who    
sought the death of ,jesus4 ,and even   
according to  our ,gospels the darkness 
of defeat o'ershadowed the scene at     
,calvary4    ,to put the matter plainly1
 the victory of ,jesus was not a victory
 over  the cross2 for ,he did not come  
down from the cross4 ,nor was it a      
victory over ,his enemies2 for what they
 sought was to get rid of a man  whom   
they deemed an agitator1 and their wish 
was gratified1 inasmuch  as1 thanks to  
the cross1 ,he troubled them no more4   
,in other words the victory which we    
ascribe to ,jesus did not occur  during 
the gloom which hung like a pall over   
his native land at the  time of ,his    
execution1 but upon the then approaching
 ,sun-day of the  ,vernal ,equinox1 at  
the coming of the glory of the dawn4    
,for the victory in question1 from      

whatever point of view we may look at   
it1 was not the avoidance of defeat1 but
 its retrieval4 ,and its story  is an   
illustration of the old-world promise1  
hoary with antiquity and  founded upon  
the coming1 ushered in every year by the
 ,pass-over or  cross-over of the       
equator by the sun at the ,vernal       
,equinox1 of the  bounteous harvests of 
summer after the dearth of devastating  
winter2  bidding us ever hope1 not      
indeed for the avoidance of death and   
therefore of defeat1 but for such       
victory as may happen to lay in         
survival or resurrection4    ,it is     
therefore clear that even if we could   
prove that the instrument  of execution 
to which ,jesus was affixed was         
cross-shaped1 it would not  necessarily 
follow that it was as the representation
 of the cause of  ,his death which we   
now deem it1 that the figure of the     
cross became our  symbol of ,life and   
,victory4    ,in any case honesty       
demands that we should no longer        

translate as  cross a word which at the 
time our ,gospels were written did not  
necessarily signify something           
cross-shaped4 ,and it is equally        
incumbent  upon us1 from a moral point  
of view1 that we should cease to render 
as  crucify or crucified words which    
never bore any such meaning4            
,,chapter ,,ii4    ,,the ,,evidence ,,of
 ,,minucius ,,felix4    ,the ,fathers   
who wrote in ,latin1 used the word crux 
as a translation  of the ,greek word    
stauros4 ,it is therefore noteworthy    
that even this  ,latin word crux1 from  
which we derive our words cross and     
crucify1 did not in ancient days        
necessarily mean something              
cross-shaped1 and seems to have had     
quite another signification as its      
original meaning4    ,a reference1 for  
instance1 to the writings of ,livy1 will
 show that in  his time the word crux1  
whatever else it may have meant1        
signified a  single piece of wood or    
timber2 he using it in that sense4#f    

,this however is a curious rather than  
an important point1 for even the        
assumption that the word crux always and
 invariably meant something             
cross-shaped1 would not affect the      
demonstration already made that the     
word stauros did not4    ,as our        
,scriptures were written in ,greek and  
were written in the first  century      
,a4,c41 the vital question is what the  
word stauros then meant1  when used1 as 
in the ,new ,testament1 without any     
qualifying expression  or hint that     
other than an ordinary stauros was      
signified4 ,what the  ,fathers chose to 
consider the meaning of that word to be1
 or chose to  give as its ,latin        
translation1 would1 even if they had    
written the same  century1 in no wise   
affect that issue4 ,and1 as a matter of 
fact1 even  the earliest of the ,fathers
 whose undisputed works have come down  
to  us1 did not write till the middle of
 the second century4    ,granting1      
however1 as all must1 that most if not  

all of the earlier of  the ,fathers1 and
 certainly all the later ones1 rightly  
or wrongly  interpreted the word stauros
 as meaning something cross-shaped1 let 
us1  remembering that this does not     
dispose of the question whether they    
rightly or wrongly so interpreted it1 in
 this and the next two chapters  pass in
 review the references to the cross made
 by the ,fathers who  lived before      
,constantine's march upon ,rome at the  
head of his ,gaulish  army4             
,commencing1 on account of its          
importance1 with the evidence of        
,minucius  ,felix1 we find that this    
,father wrote         ,we assuredly see 
the sign of a cross naturally1 in the   
ship when it is carried along with      
swelling sails1 when       it glides    
forward with expanded oars2 and when the
       military yoke is lifted up it is 
the sign of a cross2       and when a   
man adores ,god with a pure mind1 with  
arms       outstretched4 ,thus the sign 
of the cross either is       sustained  

by a natural reason or your own religion
 is       formed with respect to it4#g  
,various other pronouncements to a      
similar effect are to be found in the   
writings of other ,christian ,fathers1  
and such passages are often quoted  as  
conclusive evidence of the ,christian   
origin of what is now our  symbol4 ,in  
reality1 however1 it is somewhat        
doubtful if we can fairly  claim them as
 such2 for the question arises whether1 
if the writers in  their hearts believed
 their cross to be a representation of  
the  instrument of execution to which   
,jesus was affixed1 they would have     
omitted1 as they did in every instance1 
to mention that as the right  and proper
 and all-sufficient reason for          
venerating the figure of the  cross4    
,moreover it is quite clear that while1 
as will be shown hereafter1 the  symbol 
of the cross had for ages been a ,pagan 
symbol of ,life1 it can1  as already    
stated1 scarcely be said to have become 
a ,christian symbol  before the days of 

,constantine4 ,no cross-shaped symbol of
 wood or of  any other material had any 
part in the ,christianity of the second 
and  third centuries2 and the only cross
 which had any part in the              
,christianity of those days was the     
immaterial one traced upon the  forehead
 in the non-,mosaic and originally      
,pagan initiatory rite of  ,baptism1 and
 at other times also according to some  
of the ,fathers1  apparently as a charm 
against the machinations of evil        
spirits4    ,this sign or signal rather 
than symbol of the cross1 referred to   
as theirs by the ,christian writers of  
the second and third centuries1  is said
 to have had a place before our era in  
the rites of those who  worshipped      
,mithras1 if not also of those who      
worshipped certain other  conceptions of
 the ,sun-,god2 and it should be noted  
that the ,fathers  insist upon it that a
 similar mark is what the prophet       
,ezekiel referred  to as that to be     
placed upon the foreheads of certain men

 as a sign of  life and salvation2 the  
original ,hebrew reading ,set a tau upon
 the  foreheads of the men 7,ezek4 ix4  
#d71 and the tau having been in the     
days of the prophet in question--as we  
know from relics of the  past--the      
figure of a cross4 ,nor should it be    
forgotten that ,tertullian  admits that 
those admitted into the rites of the    
,sun-,god ,mithras were  so marked1     
trying to explain this away by stating  
that this was done in  imitation of the 
then despised ,christians6#h    ,that it
 was this immaterial sign or signal1    
rather than any material  symbol of the 
cross1 which ,minucius ,felix considered
 ,christian1 is  demonstrated by the    
fact that the passage already quoted is 
accompanied  by the remark that         
,crosses1 moreover1 we ,christians      
neither venerate nor       wish for4    
,you indeed who consecrate gods of wood 
venerate wooden crosses1 perhaps as     
parts of your gods4       ,for your very
 standards1 as well as your banners1 and

       flags of your camps1 what are    
they but crosses gilded       and       
adorned8 ,your victorious trophies not  
only imitate       the appearance of a  
simple cross1 but also that of a man    
affixed to it4#i    ,this remarkable    
denunciation of the ,cross as a ,pagan  
symbol by a  ,christian ,father who     
lived as late as the third century after
 ,christ1  is worthy of special         
attention2 and can scarcely be said to  
bear out  the orthodox account of the   
origin of the cross as a ,christian     
symbol4  ,it is at any rate clear that  
the cross was not our recognised symbol 
at  that date2 and that it is more      
likely to have been gradually adopted by
  us from ,sun-,god worshippers1 than by
 the worshippers of ,mithras and  other 
pre-,christian conceptions of the       
,sun-,god from us4    ,as our era was   
six or seven centuries old before the   
crucifix was  introduced1 and the       
earliest pictorial representation of the
 execution  of ,jesus still existing or 

referred to in any work as having       
existed  was of even later date1 much   
stress has been laid by us upon what we 
allege to be a caricature of the        
crucifixion of ,jesus and of much       
earlier date4 ,the drawing in question  
was discovered in #ahef to be  scrawled 
upon a wall of the ,gelotian ,house     
under the ,palatine at ,rome2  and as no
 ,christian representations of the      
alleged execution upon a  cross-shaped  
instrument of even a reasonably early   
date exist1 it would  of course be      
greatly to our interest to be able to   
quote this alleged  caricature1 which is
 said to be as old as the third and     
perhaps even as  old as the second      
century1 as independent evidence of the 
truth of our  story4 ,but can we fairly 
do so8    ,the drawing in question is a 
very roughly executed representation of 
a  figure with human arms1 legs1 and    
feet2 but with an animal's head4 ,the   
arms are extended1 and two lines1 which 
are said to represent a cross  but      

appear in front of the figure instead of
 behind it1 traverse the  arms and      
trunk4 ,in the foreground is a man      
looking at this grotesque  figure2 and  
an accompanying inscription is to the   
effect that  ,alexamenos adores his     
,god4    ,tertullian relates that a     
certain ,jew carried about in public a  
caricature of us with this label1 ,an   
ass of a priest4 ,this figure had  an   
ass's ears1 and was dressed in a toga   
with a book2 having a hoof on  one of   
his feet4#aj    ,it is upon the strength
 of this passage and the two lines      
traversing  the figure1 that we1        
ignoring the fact that the figure is    
standing1  claim this much-quoted       
graffito as conclusive evidence of the  
historical accuracy of our story4 ,but  
it may be pointed out that even  if this
 was a caricature of the execution of   
,jesus made at the date  mentioned1 a   
caricature1 made certainly not less than
 two hundred years  after the event1 is 
not altogether trustworthy evidence as  

to the  details4    ,and1 was it a      
caricature of the execution of ,jesus8  
,it would appear  not4    ,to commence  
with1 the two lines or scratches--for   
they are little  more--which we call a  
cross1 need not necessarily have formed 
a part of  the original graffito2 and1  
even if they did1 of themselves prove   
nothing4 ,there is no reference to a    
cross in the inscription1 nor is  there 
anything to show that an execution of   
any kind is what is  illustrated4       
,moreover1 the hoof upon one foot1      
mentioned by ,tertullian1  is not to be 
seen2 a remark which also applies to the
 toga and the book  he mentions4 ,and   
even what ,tertullian referred to was   
not a caricature  of the execution of   
,jesus4    ,it should also be noted that
 the head of the figure in this famous  
graffito1 is more like that of a jackal 
than that of an ass2 and  appears to    
have been a representation of the       
,egyptian god ,anubis1 who  is so often 
to be seen upon relics of the past as a 

figure with a  jackal's head1 with human
 arms extended1 and with human legs and 
feet1  as in this drawing4    ,upon all 
points1 therefore1 our claim concerning 
the graffito is an  ill-founded one2 and
 it cannot be considered evidence       
regarding either  cross or crucifixion4 
,there thus being no opposing evidence  
of any weight1 it is quite clear  from  
the fact that as late as the third      
century after ,christ we find a         
,christian ,father who venerated the    
sign or figure of the cross  denouncing 
it as a symbol1 that no material        
representations of that  sign or figure 
were recognised as ,christian till an   
even later date4  ,and such a conclusion
 is borne out by the striking fact that 
when  ,clement of ,alexandria at the    
beginning of the third century made out 
a  list of the symbols which ,christians
 were permitted to use1 he  mentioned   
the ,fish and the ,dove but said nothing
 regarding the  ,cross4#aa    ,as to the
 sign or figure of the cross referred to

 by the ,fathers of the  second and     
third centuries1 even so high an        
authority as the ,dean of  ,canterbury  
admits1 as we shall see in the next     
chapter1 that it was not  mainly as     
reminding them of the death of ,jesus   
that the ,christians of  the second and 
third centuries venerated it4 ,if1      
therefore1 not in the  main1 and1 it    
would follow1 not originally as a       
representation of the  instrument of    
execution upon which ,jesus died1 what  
more likely than  that the early        
,christians venerated the sign and      
figure of the cross as  the age-old and 
widely accepted symbol of ,life and of  
the ,sun-,god we  know it to have been8 
,anyway ,minucius ,felix may be said to 
stand alone in denouncing the  symbol of
 the cross as non-,christian4 ,and as   
even he expresses  veneration for the   
figure of the cross1 and must have      
approved of the  sign of the cross in   
the initiatory rite of baptism1 that    
denunciation  evidently applied only to 

material representations of the cross4  
,moreover the denunciation in question  
was clearly due to the fear that  such  
objects might degenerate amongst        
,christians1 as they afterwards  did1   
into little better than idols4 ,and if  
the sign or figure of the  cross did not
 mainly remind the early ,christians of 
the death of ,jesus1  it must have      
mainly reminded them of something else4 
,,chapter ,,iii4    ,,the ,,evidence    
,,of ,,the ,,other ,,fathers4    ,the   
works which have come down to us from   
the ,fathers who lived before  the days 
of ,constantine make up over ten        
thousand pages of closely  printed      
matter2 and the first point which       
strikes those who examine  that mass of 
literature with a view to seeing what   
the ,christians of  the first three     
centuries thought and wrote concerning  
the execution of  ,jesus and the symbol 
of the cross1 is that the execution of  
,jesus was  hardly so much as mentioned 
by them1 and no such thing as a         

representation of the instrument of     
execution once referred to4    ,another 
fact worthy of special note is that1    
whether the ,fathers wrote  in ,greek   
and used the word stauros1 or wrote in  
,latin and translated  that word as     
crux1 they often seem to have had in    
their mind's eye a  tree2 a tree which  
moreover was closely connected in       
meaning with the  forbidden tree of the 
,garden of ,eden1 an allegorical figure 
of  undoubtedly phallic signification   
which had its counterpart in the ,tree  
of the ,hesperides1 from which the      
,sun-,god ,hercules after killing the   
,serpent was fabled to have picked the  
,golden ,apples of ,love1 one of  which 
became the symbol of ,venus1 the        
,goddess of ,love4 ,nor was this the    
only such counterpart1 for almost every 
race seems in days of old to  have had  
an allegorical ,tree of ,knowledge or   
,life whose fruit was ,love2  the       
ancients perceiving that it was love    
which produced life1 and that  but for  

the sexual passion and its indulgence   
mankind would cease to  be4    ,starting
 upon an examination of the early       
,christian writings in  question1 we    
read in the ,gospel of ,nicodemus that  
when the ,chief  ,priests interviewed   
certain men whom ,jesus had raised from 
the dead1  those men made upon their    
faces the sign of the stauros4#ab ,the  
sign  of the cross is presumably meant2 
and all that need be said is that if    
the men whom ,jesus raised from the dead
 were acquainted with the sign  of the  
cross1 it would appear that it must have
 been as a pre-,christian  sign4        
,further on in the same ,gospel1 ,satan 
is represented as being told that  ,all 
that thou hast gained through the ,tree 
of ,knowledge1 all hast thou  lost      
through the ,tree of the ,stauros4#ac   
,elsewhere we read that ,the ,king of   
,glory stretched out his right hand1    
and took hold of our forefather ,adam1  
and raised him3 then1 turning  also to  
the rest1 he said1 ',come with me as    

many as have died through  the ,tree    
which he touched1 for behold ,i again   
raise you all up through  the ,tree of  
the ,stauros4'#ad ,some see in this     
peculiar pronouncement a  reference to  
the doctrine of re-incarnation4    ,in  
the ,acts and ,martyrdom of the ,holy   
,apostle ,andrew we are told that  those
 who executed ,andrew lifted him up on  
the stauros1 but did not  sever his     
joints1 having received this order from 
the pro-consul1 for  he wished him to be
 in distress while hanging1 and in the  
nighttime as  he was suspended to be    
eaten by dogs4 ,there is nothing to show
 that  the stauros used was other than  
an ordinary stauros4    ,in the ,epistle
 of ,barnabas are various references to 
the stauros2  mixed up with various     
passages from the ,hebrew ,scriptures1  
quoted--without any justification--as   
referring to the initiatory rite  of    
baptism2 a rite1 be it noted1 that was  
admittedly of ,gentile rather  than     
,israelitish origin1 and not unconnected

 with the ,sun-,god worship  of the     
,persians and other ,orientals of       
non-,hebrew race4    ,the references in 
question commence with the enquiry1 ,let
 us further  ask whether the ,lord took 
any care to foreshadow the ,water and   
the  ,stauros8    ,afterwards we have a 
quotation of ,psalm i4 #c-f--which      
likens the good  man to a tree planted  
by the side of a river and yielding his 
fruit in  due season--and the           
pronouncement1 ,mark how he has         
described at once  both the ,water and  
the ,stauros4 ,for these words imply1   
,blessed are they  who1 placing their   
trust in the ,stauros1 have gone down   
into the  ,water4    ,this further      
reference to the non-,mosaic initiatory 
rite of baptism is  followed by a       
quotation of ,ezekiel xlvii4 #ab1 which 
speaks of a river  by whose side grow   
trees those who cat the fruit of which  
grow for  ever4    ,further on is a     
declaration that when ,moses stretched  
out his hands 7in  a direction not      

specified7 that victory might rest with 
the forces he  commanded1 he stretched  
them out in the figure of a stauros1 as 
a  prophecy that ,jesus would be the    
author of life4    ,a reference is then 
made to the ,brazen ,serpent1 and to the
 pole upon  which it was placed2 and it 
is stated that this lifeless imitation  
of a  serpent was a type of ,jesus4     
,in the ,epistle of ,ignatius to the    
,ephesians we read that the stauros  of 
the ,christ is indeed a stumbling block 
to those who do not believe4  ,the      
evidence of ,irenaeus1 as that of one   
who was through his  acquaintance with  
the aged ,polycarp almost in touch as it
 were with the  apostles1 will on       
account of his importance as a witness  
be specially  dealt with in the next    
chapter4    ,justin ,martyr1 arguing    
that the figure of the cross is         
impressed upon  the whole of nature1    
asks men to           ,consider all     
things in the world1 whether without    
this       form they could be           

administered or have any certainty4     
,for the sea is not traversed except    
that trophy which is       called a sail
 abide safe in the ship2 and the earth  
is       not ploughed without it3       
diggers and mechanics do not       their
 work except with tools which have this 
shape4 ,and       the human form differs
 from that of the irrational            
animals in nothing else than in its     
being erect and       having the hands  
extended and having on the face         
extending from the forehead what is     
called the nose1       through which    
there is respiration for the living     
creature2 and this shows no other form  
than that of the       cross4 ,and so it
 was said by the prophet ,the breath    
before our face is the ,lord ,christ4   
,and the power of       this form is    
shown by your own symbols on what are   
called standards and trophies2 with     
which all your       processions are    
made1 using these as insignia of your   
power and government4#ae    ,elsewhere  

,justin ,martyr declares that the       
,christ         ,was symbolised both by 
the ,tree of ,life which was said       
to have been planted in ,paradise1 and  
by those events       which should      
happen to all the just4 ,moses was sent 
with       a rod to effect the          
redemption of the people2 and with      
this in his hands at the head of the    
people he divided       the sea4 ,by    
this he saw the water gushing out of the
       rock2 and when he cast a tree    
into the waters of       ,marah1 which  
were bitter1 he made them sweet4 ,jacob 
by       putting rods into the water    
troughs caused the sheep       of his   
uncle to conceive 4 4 4 4 ,aaron's rod  
which       blossomed declared him to be
 the ,high ,priest4 ,isaiah             
prophesied that a rod would come forth  
from the root of       ,jesse1 and this 
was the ,christ4#af    ,further on in   
the same work1 ,justin ,martyr1 alluding
 to the statement  in the ,israelitish  
,law ,cursed is every one that hangeth  

on a tree1  states that           ,it   
was not without design that the prophet 
,moses       when ,hur and ,aaron upheld
 his hands1 remained in this       form 
until evening4 ,for indeed the ,lord    
remained upon       the tree almost     
until evening4#ag    ,tertullian writes 
concerning the ,christ ,with the last   
enemy ,death did  he fight1 and through 
the trophy of the cross he triumphed#ah2
 and  elsewhere tells us that ,cursed is
 every one who hangeth on a tree was  a 
prediction of his death4#ai    ,there is
 also in existence a long essay by      
,tertullian which starts by  discussing 
the efficacy of the sign as an antidote4
 ,the sign of the  cross as traced upon 
the forehead in the non-,mosaic         
initiatory rite of  baptism seems to be 
what is referred to2 and no             
representation of an  instrument of     
execution1 or cross-shaped symbol of    
wood or any  material1 is once          
mentioned4#bj    ,in another of         
,tertullian's works we come across the  

passage ,in all the  actions of daily   
life we trace upon the forehead the     
sign4#ba    ,his famous reference to the
 ,sun-,god ,mithras reads as follows3-- 
,the devil in the mystic rites of his   
idols competes       even with the      
essential portions of the sacraments of 
,god4 ,he1 like ,god1 baptizes some1    
that is1 his own       believing and    
faithful followers1 and promises the    
putting       away of sins by baptism2  
and if ,i remember rightly              
,mithras there signs his soldiers upon  
their foreheads1       celebrates the   
oblation of bread1 introduces a         
representation       of the             
resurrection1 and places the crown      
beyond       the sword4#bb    ,elsewhere
 ,tertullian writes3--         ,if any  
of you think we render superstitious    
adoration       to the cross1 in that   
adoration he is sharer with us 4 4      
,you worship victories1 for in your     
trophies the cross       is the heart of
 the trophy4 ,the camp religion of the  

,romans is all through a worship of the 
standards 4 4 4 ,i       praise your    
zeal3 you would not worship crosses     
unclothed and unadorned4#bc    ,in      
another of ,tertullian's works we       
read3--           ,as for him who       
affirms that we are the priesthood of a 
cross1 we shall claim him as a          
co-religionist 4 4 4       ,every piece 
of timber which is fixed in the ground  
in an       erect position is part of a 
cross1 and indeed the       greater part
 of its mass4 ,but an entire cross is   
attributed to us 4 4 4 4 ,the truth     
however is that       your religion is  
all cross 4 4 4 ,you are ashamed1 ,i    
suppose1 to worship unadorned and simple
 crosses4#bd    ,in the ,instructions of
 ,commodianus we read ,the first law was
 in the  tree1 and so1 too1 was the     
second4#be    ,cyprian contends that ,by
 the sign of the cross1 also1 ,amalek   
was  conquered by ,moses4#bf            
,elsewhere ,cyprian tells us that ,in   
this sign of the cross is salvation  for

 all people who are marked on their     
foreheads2 quoting as proof of  this1   
from the ,apocalypse1 ,they had his name
 and the name of his  ,father written on
 their foreheads1 and ,blessed are they 
that do his  commandments that they may 
have power over the ,tree of ,life4#bg  
,methodius tells us that ,he overcame1  
as has been said1 the powers that       
enslaved us by the figure of the cross2 
and shadowed forth man1 who had  been   
oppressed by corruption as by a tyrant  
power1 to be free with  unfettered      
hands4 ,for the cross1 if you wish to   
define it1 is the  confirmation of      
victory4#bh    ,passing on to ,origen1  
we find in one of his works the         
noteworthy  passage3--         ,it is   
possible to avoid it if we do what the  
,apostle       saith ',mortify your     
members which are upon earth1' and      
if we always carry about in our bodies  
the death of       ,christ4 ,for it is  
certain that where the death of ,christ 
is carried about1 sin cannot reign4 ,for

 the power of the       stauros of      
,christ is so great that if it be set   
before       a man's eyes and kept      
faithfully in his mind so that he       
look with steadfast eyes of the mind    
upon that same       death of ,christ1  
no concupiscence1 no sensuality1 no     
natural passion1 and no envious desire1 
is able to       overcome him4#bi       
,whether however this reference to the  
stauros of ,christ is or is  not a      
reference to the figure of the cross1 is
 doubtful4    ,such is the evidence     
regarding the cross1 whether considered 
as  immaterial sign or material symbol1 
obtainable from the writings of the     
,christians who lived between the days  
of the ,apostles and those of           
,constantine2 other of course than the  
,octavius of ,minucius ,felix1  which   
was dealt with in the last chapter1 and 
the writings of ,irenaeus1  which will  
be dealt with in the next4    ,among the
 noteworthy features of the evidence in 
question prominently  stands out the    

smallness of its volume4    ,this is but
 a negative point1 however2 and what    
should be carefully  borne in mind is   
that the evidence as a whole leads to   
the conclusion  that the ,christians of 
the second and third centuries made use 
of the  sign and venerated the figure of
 the cross without1 as ,dean ,farrar    
admits1 it only or even mainly1         
reminding them of the death of ,jesus2  
and therefore otherwise than as a       
representation of the instrument of     
execution upon which ,jesus died4#cj    
,,chapter ,,iv4    ,,curious            
,,statements ,,of ,,irenaeus4    ,the   
special importance of the evidence of   
,irenaeus1 is due to the fact  that of  
all the ,fathers whose undisputed works 
have come down to us he  is the only one
 who can be considered to have been     
anything like in  touch with the        
,apostles4 ,as an acquaintance of the   
aged ,polycarp1 who  is said to have    
been in his youth a pupil of the aged   
,evangelist and  ,apostle ,st4 ,john and

 to have met yet other ,apostles1       
,irenaeus had  opportunities for        
ascertaining facts concerning the life  
and death of  ,jesus which the other    
,fathers upon whose works we rely did   
not possess4    ,what1 then1 does this  
important witness have to say1 which    
bears upon  the points at issue8 ,as a  
matter of fact1 very little4    ,there  
are1 however1 two passages in the works 
of ,irenaeus which it  would not be     
right to altogether ignore4    ,in the  
first of these passages ,irenaeus       
mentions that some ,christians  believed
 that ,simon of ,cyrene was executed    
instead of ,jesus1 owing to  the power  
of ,jesus to metamorphose himself and   
others having been  exercised with that 
object in view4#ca ,this power is       
referred to more  than once in our      
,gospels1 for instance in the account of
 the so-called  ,transfiguration upon   
the ,mount2 the ,greek word rendered in 
our ,bibles  as transfigured being the  
word which in translations of the older 

,greek classics is rendered             
metamorphosed4    ,even if we pass by   
this belief of certain of the early     
,christians that  ,jesus was never      
executed1 a question here arises which  
should at least  be stated1 and that is 
the question how1 if ,jesus was         
metamorphosed  upon the ,mount1 as the  
,gospels tell us1 he can be said to have
 died as  a man at ,calvary8 ,for if    
upon the ,mount of ,transfiguration1 or 
at any  other time previous to the scene
 at ,calvary1 ,jesus was metamorphosed1 
the form which was the result of the    
process of re-metamorphosis  necessary  
to make him recognisable again cannot be
 said to have been  born of the ,virgin 
,mary1 and can have been human only in  
appearance4    ,the other passage in the
 writings of ,irenaeus which deserves   
our  notice1 is neither more nor less   
than an emphatic declaration1 by        
,irenaeus himself1 that ,jesus was not  
executed when a little over thirty      
years of age1 but lived to be an old    

man4 ,explain it away how we will1  the 
fact remains2 and it certainly ought not
 to be ignored4    ,at first sight this 
statement of ,irenaeus would decidedly  
seem to  support the theory advanced by 
some1 that1 as the ,roman ,procurator   
,pontius ,pilate admittedly did not want
 to carry out the extreme penalty  in   
the case of ,jesus1 though he           
reluctantly consented to do so in order 
to pacify the ,jews and allowed ,jesus  
to be fixed to a stauros and  suspended 
in public view1 he took care to manage  
things so that ,jesus  should only      
appear to die4 ,the idea of course is   
that if ,pilate wished  to preserve the 
life of ,jesus he could easily have had 
him taken down  while in a drugged      
condition1 have had the farce of burial 
carried out  at the earliest possible   
moment1 and then have had him           
resuscitated and  removed to some region
 where he could dwell in safety4        
,what ,irenaeus says concerning ,jesus  
is that           ,he passed through    

every age1 becoming an infant for       
infants4 4 4 4 ,so likewise he was an   
old man for old       men1 that he might
 be a perfect ,master for all1 not      
merely as regards the setting forth of  
the truth but       also as regards age1
 sanctifying at the same time the       
aged also and becoming an example to    
them likewise4       ,then1 at last1 he 
came on to death itself4 4 4 4 ,from    
the fortieth and fiftieth year a man    
begins to decline       towards old age1
 which our ,lord possessed while he     
still       fulfilled the office of a   
,teacher2 even as the ,gospel       and 
all the elders testify1 those who were  
conversant in       ,asia with ,john the
 disciple of the ,lord affirming that   
,john conveyed to them that information4
 ,and he remained       among them up to
 the times of ,trajan4 ,some of them    
moreover saw not only ,john but the     
other apostles also1       and heard the
 very same account from them1 and bear  
testimony as to the statement4 ,whom1   

then1 should we       rather believe8   
,whether such men as these1 or          
,ptolemaeus1 who never saw the apostles 
and who never       even in his dreams  
attained to the slightest trace of an   
apostle8#cb    ,the reader must decide  
for himself or herself whether ,irenaeus
 believed  that ,jesus was never        
executed2 or that he was executed but   
survived2 or  that he was born when we  
suppose1 but executed thirty years or so
 later  than we suppose2 or that1 though
 executed when we suppose1 he was then  
an old man1 and was born1 not at the    
commencement or middle or end of  the   
year ,a4,c4 #a1 or ,b4,c4 #d1 or        
whenever the orthodox date is1 but      
thirty years or more before what we call
 our era began4 ,anyhow he  mentions    
neither cross nor execution1 and here   
seems to assume that  ,jesus died a     
natural death4 ,and in any case the fact
 remains that1  however mistaken he may 
have been1 ,irenaeus stated that ,jesus 
lived to  be an old man2 and stated so  

emphatically4    ,even granting that    
,irenaeus must have been mistaken1 his  
evidence none  the less affects one of  
the most important points debated in    
this work4  ,for it is clear that if    
even he knew so little about the        
execution of  ,jesus1 the details of    
that execution cannot have been         
particularly well  known2 and the       
affirmation that the stauros to which   
,jesus was affixed  had a transverse bar
 attached may have had no foundation in 
fact1 and  may have arisen from a wish  
to connect ,jesus with that well-known  
and  widely-venerated ,symbol of ,life1 
the pre-,christian cross4               
,,chapter ,v4    ,,origin ,,of ,,this   
,,pre-,,christian ,,cross4    ,having in
 the foregoing chapters demonstrated    
that it is possible1 if  not indeed     
probable1 that the instrument of        
execution to which ,jesus  was affixed  
was otherwise than cross-shaped2 and    
having also shown that  it was not      
mainly1 if indeed even partially1 that  

the early ,christians  signified that   
instrument by the sign of the cross2 it 
is now desirable  that1 as a preliminary
 to an enquiry into the circumstances   
under which  the cross became the symbol
 of ,christianity1 we should enquire    
into the  origin of the pre-,christian  
cross4    ,that there was a             
pre-,christian cross1 and that it was1  
like ours1 a  ,symbol of ,life1 is      
generally admitted4    ,the authorities 
upon such subjects1 however1            
unfortunately differ as to  the reason  
why the ,cross came to be selected by   
the ancients as the  ,symbol of ,life4  
,and not one of their suggestions seems 
to go to the  root of the matter4       
,let us therefore in thought go back    
tens of thousands of years1 and         
conceive the genus ,homo as a race      
gradually awakening to reason but as    
yet unfettered by inherited traditions  
and creeds4 ,let us imagine ,man  ere he
 began to make gods in his own image4   
,let us remember that what  would strike

 him as the greatest of all marvels     
would of necessity be  ,life itself1 and
 that far and away the next greatest    
marvel must have  been the glorious     
,sun2 the obvious source of earth life1 
and ,lord of  the ,hosts of ,heaven4    
,let us bear in mind1 too1 that though  
the ,nature ,worship of our remote      
ancestors had other striking features1  
the facts mentioned would lead  to the  
predominance of the phallic idea1 and to
 its association with  ,sun-,god        
worship4 ,and as ,life1 the greatest    
marvel of all1 must have had  a symbol  
allotted to it at a very early date1 let
 us ask ourselves what  the untutored   
mind of ,man would be most likely to    
select as its symbol4    ,to this       
question there is1 so far as the author 
can see1 but one  reasonable            
answer3--the figure of the cross4       
,and the author conceives this to be the
 real solution of the difficulty  for   
this reason3--because the figure of the 
cross is the simplest  possible         

representation of that union of two     
bodies or two sexes or two  powers or   
two principles1 which alone produces    
life4    ,for the ancients cannot fail  
to have perceived that all life more    
immediately proceeds from the union of  
two principles2 and the  first1         
readiest1 simplest1 and most natural    
symbol of ,life1 was  consequently one  
straight line superimposed upon another 
at such an  angle that both could be    
seen2 in other words1 a cross of some   
description or other4    ,it is         
evidently probable that this was the    
real reason why the figure  of the cross
 originally came to be adopted as the   
,symbol of ,life4 ,but1  of course1     
whatever the original reason1 as time   
rolled on other  reasons for the        
veneration of the cross were pointed    
out2 nothing being  more natural than   
that primitive ,man should1 or more     
certain than that  he did1 find pleasure
 in connecting with other objects of his
 regard  than ,life itself1 that which  

as the ,symbol of ,life was             
pre-eminently a  symbol of good omen4   
,the most notable instance of this is   
the way in which1 or rather the         
different ways in which1 the figure of  
the cross was connected with the        
,sun-,god4    ,a good example of the    
last named fact1 is the declaration of  
the  philosophers of ancient ,greece    
that the figure of the cross was the    
figure of the ,second ,god or ,universal
 ,soul1 the ,ratio as well as  the      
,oratio of the ,all-,father1 which they 
called the ,logos of ,god2 a  term badly
 translated in our versions of the      
,gospel of ,st4 ,john as the  ,word of  
,god1 as if it signified the ,oratio    
only4    ,it was this ,logos or ,second 
,god whom ,philo1 who was born before   
the  commencement of our era1 described 
as the ,intellectual ,sun1 and even  as 
,god's ,first ,begotten and ,beloved    
offspring1 and the ,light of  the       
,world2 terms afterwards made use of by 
the writers of our ,gospels  in         

describing the ,christ4 ,and1 as will be
 shown in a chapter upon the  subject1  
the reason the philosophers1 among whom 
was ,plato1 gave for  declaring the     
cross to be the figure of the ,logos1   
was that the ,sun  creates this figure  
by crossing the ,equator4    ,an even   
better illustration can be seen in the  
fact that in days of old  almost every  
civilised race held feasts at the time  
of the ,vernal  ,equinox1 in honour of  
the ,passover or ,cross-over of the     
,sun4    ,the fact that the ancients    
were thus at special pains to connect   
the  symbol of ,life with the ,sun-,god1
 and also1 as we know1 spoke of him as  
the ,giver of ,life and the only        
,saviour1 was doubtless due to their    
perceiving1 not only that life is the   
result of the union of the two          
principles distinguished by the titles  
male and female1 but also that  the     
salvation of life is due to the action  
of the sun in preserving the  body from 
cold and in producing and ripening for  

its use the fruits of  the earth4    ,as
 the ,giver of ,life1 the ,sun-,god was 
of course considered to be  bi-sexual4  
,but when the two great lights of       
heaven1 the ,sun and the  ,moon1 were   
associated with each other1 as was often
 and naturally the  ease1 the ,sun was  
considered to be more especially a      
personification of  the ,male           
,principle1 and the waxing and waning   
moon1 as represented by  the ,crescent1 
a personification of the ,female        
,principle4 ,hence the  worship of the  
,god associated with the radiate sun1 as
 of that of the  ,goddess associated    
with the crescent moon and called the   
,sun-,god's  mother or bride1 was       
phallic in character2 and their         
connection is  repeatedly symbolised    
upon the relics which have come down to 
us from  antiquity by the sign of the   
crescent containing within its horns    
either a disc or what we should consider
 a star-like object1 which  latter was  
almost as favourite a mode with the     

ancients of representing  the sun as it 
is with us of representing a star or    
planet1 as will be  shown further on4   
,returning1 however1 to the symbol of   
the cross1 as the first and  simplest   
representation of that union of the     
,male and ,female ,principles  which    
alone produces what we mortals call     
life1 it is extremely curious  that the 
selection of the figure of the cross in 
comparatively modern  times as the      
simplest and most natural symbol both of
 addition and of  multiplication1 should
 have led no one to perceive that1 being
 for  these very reasons also the       
simplest and most natural symbol of     
,life1 a  probable solution of the      
mystery surrounding the origin of the   
pre-,christian cross as a symbol of     
,life1 as it were stared them in the    
face4 ,as to the contention of not a few
 authorities1 apparently founded  upon  
the mistaken assumption that the        
,svastika was the earliest form  of     
cross to acquire importance as a symbol1

 that the pre-,christian  cross was     
originally a representation of the      
wheel-like motion of the  sun or a      
reference to the wheel of the           
,sun-,god's chariot2 it need only  be   
remarked that evidence exists to show   
that the cross was a symbol of  ,life   
from a period so early1 that it is      
doubtful if the ,sun-,god had  then been
 likened to a charioteer1 and not       
certain that either chariots  or wheels 
had been invented4 ,it is true that the 
,solar ,wheel became a  recognized      
symbol of the ,sun-,god1 and that       
additional veneration was  paid to it   
because the figure of the symbol of     
,life was more or less  discoverable in 
the spokes allotted to the ,solar       
,wheel2 but it is  putting the cart     
before the horse to suppose that the    
cross became the  symbol of ,life       
because its form was so discoverable4   
,it only remains to be added that there 
undoubtedly was a connection1  however  
slight1 between the pre-,christian      

,cross as the ,symbol of ,life1  the    
,solar ,wheel as a symbol of the        
,sun-,god1 and the ,cross as the symbol 
of the ,christ4 ,and whatever the date  
at which the cross was first  adopted as
 a ,christian symbol1 or whatever the   
reason for that  adoption1 there is no  
doubt that1 as will be shown further on1
 our  religion was considerably         
influenced by the facts that the        
,gaulish  soldiers whose victories      
enabled ,constantine to become ,sole    
,emperor  venerated the ,solar ,wheel1  
image solarwheel#a4;gif or image        
solarwheel#b4;gif1 and that their       
leader1 who was anxious to obtain  the  
support of the ,christians1 allowed a   
loop to be added to the top of  the     
vertical spoke so that the ,christians  
might be able to interpret  the         
victorious symbol as image              
monogram#a4;gif or image                
monogram#b4;gif1 image monogram#c4;gif  
or image monogram#d4;gif2  i4e41 ,,xp or
 ,,xpi1 the first two or three letters  

of the ,greek word  ,,xpisigma,,tosigma1
 ,christos1 ,christ4        ,,chapter   
,,vi4    ,,origin ,,of ,,the ,,christian
 ,,cross4    ,as has already been to    
some extent pointed out1 it is evident  
that our  beloved ,christendom more or  
less owes its existence to the fact that
  ,constantine the ,great when only     
ruler of ,gaul1 himself a ,sun-,god     
worshipper at the head of an army of    
,sun-,god worshippers1 seeing how       
greatly the small but enthusiastic      
bodies of ,christians everywhere to  be 
met with could aid him in his designs   
upon the attainment of supreme  power1  
bid for their support4 ,for to this     
politic move1 its success1  and         
,constantine's perception that only a   
non-national religion whose  followers  
sought to convert the whole world and   
make their faith a  catholic one1 could 
really weld together different races of 
men1 we owe  the fact that when he      
became ,sole ,emperor he made           
,christianity the  ,state ,religion of  

the world-wide ,roman ,empire4    ,this 
act and its far-reaching effects1 are   
not all we owe to  ,constantine1        
however4 ,it should be remembered that  
even our creed was  to some extent      
decided by him4 ,for it was this        
,sun-,god worshipper--who1  though he   
advised others to enter what he wished  
should become a  catholic and           
all-embracing religion1 refused to do so
 himself till he  was dying--who called 
together our bishops1 and1 presiding    
over them in  council at ,nicaea1       
demanded that they should determine the 
controversy  in the ranks of the        
,christians as to whether the ,christ   
was or was not  ,god1 by subscribing to 
a declaration of his ,deity4 ,it is even
 recorded  that he forced the unwilling 
ones to sign under penalty off          
deprivation  and banishment4    ,from   
these and other incidents in his career 
it would appear that1  either from      
policy or conviction1 ,constantine acted
 as if he thought  the ,sun-,god and the

 ,christ were one and the same deity4   
,the probability of this is more or less
 apparent from what we are told         
concerning the part he played in        
connection with what1 thanks1 as we  are
 about to see1 to him1 became our       
recognised symbol4    ,our knowledge of 
the part played by ,constantine in      
connection with the  symbol of the      
cross1 except so far as we can gather it
 from a study of  ancient coins and     
other relics1 unfortunately comes to us 
solely  through ,christian sources4 ,and
 the first that famous bishop and       
ecclesiastical historian ,eusebius of   
,caesarea1 to whom we owe so large  a   
proportion of our real or supposed      
knowledge of the early days of          
,christianity1 tells us about           
,constantine and the cross1 is that in  
the  year ,a4,c4 #cab--;a quarter of a  
century before his admission into the   
,christian ,church--,constantine and the
 ,gaulish soldiers he was leading  saw  
at noon over the ,sun a cross of ,light 

in the heavens1 bearing  upon it or     
having attached to it the inscription   
,,en ,,toytomega ,,nika1  ,by this      
conquer4    ,the words of the ,bishop1  
who is reporting what he states the     
,emperor in  question to have told him  
personally1 are3--         ,he said that
 at mid-day when the sun was beginning  
to       decline he saw with his own    
eyes the trophy of a cross       of     
light in the heavens1 above the ,sun1   
bearing the       inscription ,,en      
,,toytomega ,,nika2 he himself1 and his 
whole army also1 being struck with      
amazement at this       sight4#cc       
,though this marvellous cross1 declared 
by ,christian writers of that  century  
to have been the so-called ,monogram of 
,christ image  monogram#a4;gif or image 
monogram#c4;gif or image monogram#b4;gif
  or image monogram#d4;gif1 appeared to 
an army of ,sun-,god worshippers1       
,constantine himself--as can be seen    
from his coins--remaining one for  many 
years afterwards if not till his death1 

it is put before us as a  ,christian    
cross4    ,it is also noteworthy that no
 material representation of a cross of  
any  description was ever held aloft by 
adherents of the ,christian ,church1    
until after ,constantine is said to have
 had this more or less solar  cross so  
represented as the standard of his      
,gaulish army4    ,mention should       
therefore be made of the fact that1 upon
 the coins he  struck1 the symbol image 
monogram#a4;gif is perhaps the one which
  occurs the most frequently upon       
representations of the famous ,labarum  
or ,military ,standard of ,constantine2 
but that the symbol image               
monogram#a4;gif1 the image              
monogram#c4;gif and image               
monogram#d4;gif without the circle1 and 
the image solarwheel#a4;gif  and image  
asterisk4gif1 are also to be seen4      
,now the ,gauls led by ,constantine     
specially venerated the ,solar ,wheel4  
,this had sometimes six and sometimes   
four spokes1 image  solarwheel#a4;gif or

 image solarwheel#b4;gif1 and the       
warriors of  their native land had long 
been in the habit of wearing a          
representation of the same upon their   
helmets4 ,it is therefore not           
improbable that even before the date of 
the alleged vision when  marching upon  
,rome1 some such symbol formed the      
standard of  ,constantine's army4       
,anyhow1 that the worthy ,bishop        
,eusebius was1 like other enthusiasts1  
liable to be at times carried by his    
enthusiasm beyond the limits of         
veracity1 or else was the victim of     
imperial mendacity1 is evident4 ,for    
,eusebius tells us in the ,life of      
,constantine he wrote after the death   
of his patron1 that the night after this
 miraculous cross and motto  were seen  
in the sky above the ,sun1 the ,christ  
appeared to ,constantine1  and1 showing 
the ,gaulish general the same sign that 
had been seen in  the sky1 directed him 
to have a similar symbol made1 under    
which his  army--an army1 be it         

remembered1 of ,sun-,god                
worshippers--should march  conquering   
and to conquer6#cd    ,all that is      
really likely to have happened is that  
,constantine1 wishing  to encourage his 
troops1 bade them rally round a standard
 on which was  represented the sacred   
,solar ,wheel venerated by the ,gauls2  
and that as  with this as a rallying    
point ,constantine and his ,gauls became
 masters  of ,rome1 the symbol we are   
discussing became a ,roman--and         
therefore1  later on1 upon the          
establishment of our faith as the ,state
 ,religion of  the ,roman ,empire1 also 
a ,christian--symbol4 ,and a loop seems 
to have  been sooner or later added to  
the top of the vertical spoke of the    
,gaulish symbol1 so that ,christians    
could accept it as a ,monogram of       
,christ2 as has already been hinted1 and
 as will be demonstrated further  on4   
,a noteworthy point is that we have two 
accounts of ,constantine's  alleged     
vision of the ,christ1 and that they do 

not quite agree4 ,the  ,bishop of       
,caesarea's account is1 that the night  
after the ,emperor--then  only ruler of 
,gaul--and all his soldiers saw the     
cross and motto  above the meridian sun1
 the ,christ appeared to ,constantine   
,with the same sign which he had seen in
 the heavens1       and commanded him to
 make a likeness of that sign which     
he had seen in the heavens1 and to use  
it as a safeguard       in all          
engagements with his enemies4#ce    ,but
 the author of ,de ,mortibus            
,persecutorem1 a work said to have been 
written during the reign of             
,constantine1 and attributed to         
,lactantius1  refers to the alleged     
vision as follows3--                    
,constantine was admonished in his sleep
 to mark the       celestial sign of    
,god on the shields1 and thus engage in 
battle4 ,he did as he was commanded1 and
 marked the name       of the ,christ on
 the shields by the letter ,x drawn     
across them with the top circumflexed4  

,armed with this       sign his         
troops--#cf    and the differences      
between these two accounts are greater  
than would  at first sight appear4      
,let us however return to the story of  
the ,bishop of ,caesarea1 who tells  us 
that the morning after the ,christ      
appeared to ,constantine1 the  ,emperor 
told this second marvel to his friends1 
and1 sending for the  workers in gold   
and precious stones who are assumed to  
have accompanied  the ,gaulish army1    
directed them to overlay with gold a    
long spear         ,on the top of the   
whole of which was fixed a wreath of    
gold and precious stones1 and within    
this the symbol of       the ,saviour's 
name1 two letters indicating the name of
       the ,christ by means of its      
initial characters1 the       letter ,p 
being intersected with the letter ,x in 
its       centre4#cg    ,several        
questions naturally arise at this point 
of our enquiry1 and it  is not          
easy--nay1 it is impossible--for us     

,christians to honestly  dispose of all 
of them and yet retain our cherished    
opinions upon this  matter4 ,only one   
such question need be stated1 and it is 
this3 ,is it  likely that the ,infinite 
,ruler of the universe1 either at       
mid-day or at  mid-night1 went out of   
his way to induce a ,sun-,god worshipper
 who would  not enter the ,christian    
,church till a quarter of a century     
later and  ere then was to become a     
murderer of innocent persons like the   
boy-,caesar ,licinius1 to adopt a symbol
 which he warranted would enable        
,constantine to lead on the ,gauls to   
victory8    ,pursuing the narrative of  
,eusebius we find that he1 alluding to  
the  symbol which he describes as a     
monogram but calls a cross1 states that1
  setting this victorious trophy and    
salutary symbol in front of his         
soldiers1 ,constantine continued his    
march against ,maxentius2 and1 with  his
 forces thus divinely aided1 overthrew  
the ,emperor just outside  the ,imperial

 ,city1 entered ,rome in triumph1 and   
thanked ,god that ,he had  enabled him  
to defeat and slay its ruler and assume 
the purple in that  ruler's stead4#ch   
,eusebius then tells us that            
,constantine1 who did not dispose of all
 his  rivals and become sole emperor    
till some twelve years later1 as victor 
in the fight with ,maxentius and master 
of ,rome though not as yet of the  whole
 empire1 at once         ,by loud       
proclamation and monumental inscriptions
 made       known to all men the        
salutary symbol1 setting up this        
great trophy of victory over his        
enemies1 and expressly       causing it 
to be engraven in indelible characters  
that       the salutary symbol was the  
safeguard of the ,roman                 
,government and entire people4          
,accordingly he immediately             
ordered a lofty spear in the figure of a
 cross to be       placed beneath the   
hand of a statue representing himself   
in the most frequented part of ,rome1   

and the following       inscription     
engraven on it in the ,latin            
tongue3--',by       virtue of this      
salutary sign which is the true test of 
valour1 ,i have preserved and liberated 
your city from       the yoke of        
tyranny1 and ,i have also set at liberty
 the       ,roman ,senate and ,people1  
and have restored to them their         
ancient distinction and splendour4'#ci  
,now1 as we have already seen1 what     
,eusebius referred to as the cross      
observed above the mid-day sun 7and     
accompanied by a miraculous  inscription
 in1 presumably1 to agree with the      
monogram1 the ,greek  language2 which   
was1 well1 ,greek to the ,gaulish       
soldiers7 was the  so-called ,monogram  
of ,christ image monogram#a4;gif or     
image  monogram#c4;gif or image         
monogram#b4;gif or image                
monogram#d4;gif4  ,that1 too1 was what  
,eusebius tells us the ,christ          
afterwards told the  ,gaulish leader    
,constantine to model his military      

standard after4 ,that1  therefore1 was  
the salutary symbol and trophy of       
victory referred  to in the above       
passage from the same authority4    ,it 
is therefore clear that this lofty spear
 in the figure of a cross  which        
,eusebius tells us was placed under the 
hand of the statue of  ,constantine in  
the central place of honour in ,rome1   
was referred to by  ,eusebius as a cross
 because it was shaped like or in some  
way  connected with some form or other  
of the so-called ,monogram of ,christ4  
,and such a conclusion is borne out by  
the fact that spears with  cross-bars   
had been in use among both ,gauls and   
,romans for centuries1  whereas this one
 is referred to as something out of the 
common4    ,it should also be noted that
 it was as a victorious military        
standard1  and not as either a monogram 
of the ,christ or a representation of   
the  stauros upon which ,jesus was      
executed1 that ,constantine caused this 
image solarwheel#a4;gif or image        

asterisk4gif1 or image  monogram#a4;gif 
or image monogram#c4;gif1 or image      
monogram#b4;gif  or image               
monogram#d4;gif 7all which variations   
occur upon the coins  of ,constantine   
and his successors71 to become a symbol 
of the ,roman  ,empire4    ,further on  
in his history of the ,emperor1         
,eusebius tells us that  whenever       
,constantine saw his troops hard        
pressed1 he gave orders that  the       
salutary trophy should be moved in that 
direction1 and that  victory always     
resulted4    ,the ,bishop of ,caesarea  
then goes on to relate that ,constantine
 selected  fifty men of his bodyguard1  
the most distinguished for piety1       
valour1  and strength1 whose sole duty  
it was to defend this famous standard2  
and that1 of the elect fifty1 those who 
fled were always slain1 and  those who  
stood their ground were always          
miraculously preserved4#dj    ,one would
 imagine from all this that there was   
only one labarum4 ,many  different kinds

 are1 however1 represented upon the     
coins of  ,constantine2 as also almost  
every variety of ordinary cross1 except1
  perhaps1 such as might conceivably    
have been a representation of an        
instrument of execution1 like that which
 has since come into vogue  among us4   
,eusebius also tells us that            
,constantine caused to be erected in    
front  of his palace a lofty tablet1 on 
which was painted a representation of   
himself with the salutary sign over his 
head and a dragon or serpent  under his 
feet4#da    ,he also informs us that    
inside the palace and in the principal  
apartment1 on a vast tablet in the      
ceiling1 ,constantine caused the  symbol
 of our ,saviour's passion to be fixed1 
composed of a variety of  precious      
stones inwrought with gold4#db    ,which
 of all the salutary signs that appear  
upon the coins of  ,constantine these   
particular crosses were1 we do not know2
 but it is1  at any rate1 obviously     
unlikely that a worshipper of ,apollo   

who refused  to enter the ,christian    
,church till he was dying1 and on his   
coins  always attributed his victories  
to the ,sun-,god1 elevated either as a  
representation of an instrument of      
execution4    ,as to the alleged finding
 at ,jerusalem1 by ,helena the mother of
  ,constantine1 of three stakes with    
transverse bars attached1 all of  which 
were ancient instruments of execution   
and one of which was shown  by the      
occurrence of a miracle to have been a  
cross to which ,jesus was  affixed three
 centuries before1 it is clear that this
 is a fairy tale4  ,the story cannot be 
traced further back than to ,st4 ,cyril 
of ,jerusalem  about ,a4,c4 #cej2 and   
,eusebius1 who gives an account of      
,helena's visit to  ,jerusalem1 does not
 mention any such occurrence as that in 
question2 a  sure sign that it was an   
invention of later date4    ,the        
,christian ,church1 however1 in a weak  
moment vouched for the truth  of this   
ridiculous story2 and while what was    

suffered to remain in  ,jerusalem of the
 true cross became the treasure of that 
city and a  trophy captured by its foes 
but afterwards secured from them and    
once  more placed in its holiest shrine1
 what was broken up into relics for  the
 faithful throughout ,christendom       
multiplied into a thousand  fragments2  
one of which forms the centre of the    
,vatican ,cross1 and such  few others of
 which as survive would not if examined1
 'tis said1 even  prove to be all of the
 same kind of wood1 or even limited to  
the two  kinds for the presence of which
 a supposed cross-bar of another kind of
  timber might be held accountable4     
,the same ,christian ,bishop to whom    
this fairy tale can be traced1 in a     
letter to one of the ,emperors that     
succeeded ,constantine declared that  on
 the seventh of ,may ,a4,c4 #cea he and 
all the inhabitants of ,jerusalem  saw a
 brilliant cross in the heavens1        
stretching from ,mount ,golgotha to  the
 ,mount of ,olives1 and shining like the

 ,sun for several hours4#dc  ,and this  
marvellous vision is vouched for by ,st4
 ,jerome1 ,socrates1  ,matins1 and the  
,alexandrine ,chronicle1 as well as by  
,st4 ,cyril2 and is  still kept in      
memory by the ,greek ,church1 a solemn  
festival being held  upon anniversaries 
of the day in question4 ,but which      
particular  salutary sign thus shone in 
the sky like the ,sun for hours1 is     
uncertain4    ,these painfully obvious  
inventions cannot but incline           
broad-minded  ,christians to the belief 
that our ,church went to great lengths  
in order  to induce people to believe   
that the cross was essentially a        
,christian symbol2 which tends to show  
that there was a danger of  their       
thinking otherwise4    ,it is also clear
 from the evidence already quoted       
concerning the  adoption by ,christians 
in the fourth century of a symbol they  
denounced  in the third1 that whether   
,jesus was executed upon a cross-shaped 
instrument or not1 that was not the     

chief reason why the phallic symbol  of 
,life became recognised as the symbol of
 the ,christ4    ,the striking fact that
 though1 as will be shown1 the cross of 
four  equal arms 7a cross which1 as we  
have seen1 preceded the ,latin cross as 
a ,christian symbol1 and one form of    
which is still the favourite symbol  of 
the ,greek ,church2 while even in the   
other two great divisions of            
,christendom its numerous variations1   
wheel-like and otherwise1 as a  whole   
dispute the supremacy with the ,latin   
cross7 occurs many times  upon the coins
 of ,constantine1 yet it was the        
so-called ,monogram of  ,christ or      
adapted solar wheel of the ,gauls which 
the ,christians of the  fourth century  
were most careful to claim as a         
,christian symbol1 should  also be      
noted4 ,for though the cross of four    
equal arms was also put by  ,constantine
 upon his coins as a solar symbol1 yet  
that1 being then1 as  for ages          
previously1 a symbol of the ,sun-,god of

 world-wide acceptation1  and one which 
as we shall see had already appeared as 
such upon ,roman  coins1 it was not so  
much a ,gaulish symbol as the other2 and
 it was  evidently because that other   
was the symbol followed by the          
triumphant  leader of the ,gauls and his
 victorious army1 that the ,christians  
wished  to specially identify it with   
the ,christ4    ,in any case1 whether   
the so-called ,monogram of ,christ was  
more or less  forced upon ,christianity 
when ,constantine made our faith the    
,state  ,religion of his empire1 or     
whether it was adopted by ,christians of
  their own volition1 it was a politic  
move 7than which few possible  moves    
could have done more to secure the      
triumph of our faith7 to  accept as the 
symbol of the ,christian ,church what   
was at one and the  same time the symbol
 of ,constantine1 of the ,roman ,state1 
and of the  universally adored          
,sun-,god4    ,that the more generally  
accepted symbol of the ,sun-,god1 the   

cross of  four equal arms1 should in    
time supplant the more local one1 was of
  course only to be expected2 as was the
 adoption of a cross with one arm       
longer than the others1 as being the    
only kind which could possibly be       
connected with the story of ,jesus as   
the ,christ incarnate4    ,as to the    
possible objection that what has been   
dealt with in this  chapter has been    
rather the origin of the ,christian     
custom of  manufacturing and venerating 
material representations of the sign or 
figure of the cross than the origin of  
the ,christian cross itself1 the  answer
 is obvious4 ,and the answer is that the
 first cross which can  justly be called
 ,christian1 was the one which was the  
first to be  considered1 to use ,dean   
,farrar's expressions1 mainly1 if not   
only1  a representation of an instrument
 of execution2 which cross was          
undoubtedly not a transient sign or     
gesture but a material  representation  
of the cross with one arm longer than   

the others and was  introduced after    
such representations of the cross of    
four equal arms  and of the so-called   
,monogram of ,christ had come into vogue
 among  ,christians as a consequence of 
the influence of ,constantine4          
,,chapter ,,vii4    ,,the ,,establisher 
,,of ,,the ,,church4    ,having already 
shown not a little cause for believing  
that the adoption  of the cross as our  
symbol is due to the fact that we       
,christians helped  to secure the       
triumph of the ambitious ruler of the   
,gauls1 and after  receiving numberless 
smaller favours from ,constantine during
 the years  he was ruler of ,rome but   
not as yet sole emperor eventually      
obtained  from him the establishment of 
,christianity as the ,state ,religion of
 the  ,roman ,empire1 adapting the      
victorious trophy of the ,gauls and the 
various crosses venerated by them and   
other ,sun-,god worshippers to our      
faith as best we could1 it is desirable 
that we should pause to trace  the      

career of the man we hail as the first  
,christian ,emperor4    ,to do this     
properly we must commence by referring  
to ,constantine's  father1 ,constantius 
,chlorus2 and to the favour shown to    
,constantius  ,chlorus by his patron the
 ,emperor ,diocletian4    ,finding the  
supreme rule of the almost worldwide    
,roman ,empire too much  for one man in 
ill-health to undertake successfully1   
,diocletian in the  year ,a4,c4 #bhf    
made ,maximian co-emperor4 ,and in      
,a4,c4 #bib ,diocletian  followed this  
up by conferring the inferior position  
and title of  ,caesar upon ,galerius and
 ,constantius ,chlorus4    ,in ,a4,c4   
#cje ,diocletian relinquished power     
altogether1 forcing ,maximian  to       
abdicate with him2 ,galerius and        
,constantius ,chlorus thus obtaining    
the coveted title of ,augustus1 and     
sharing the supreme power4    ,galerius 
now ranked first1 however2 for it was to
 the ruler of  ,illyricum and not to    
that of ,gaul that ,diocletian gave the 

power of  appointing ,caesars to govern 
,italy and the ,east4    ,constantius   
,chlorus died in ,britain ,a4,c4 #cjf1  
the year after ,diocletian  abdicated2  
and ,galerius1 who had married a        
daughter of ,diocletian1  naturally     
thought that under the circumstances he 
ought to become sole  emperor4    ,the  
legions of ,gaul1 however1 proclaimed   
the son of ,constantius ,chlorus  as    
,augustus in his stead2 and as          
,constantine thus became ruler of ,gaul 
and a power to be reckoned with1        
,galerius thought it best to give way   
so far as to grant ,constantine the     
inferior title of ,caesar4    ,soon     
afterwards ,galerius conferred the title
 of ,augustus upon ,severus2  and a     
little while after that the ,eternal    
,city was lost to ,galerius  through the
 revolt of his son-in-law ,maxentius1   
the son of ,maximian4    ,the ,senate of
 ,rome then asked ,maximian to re-assume
 the purple1 and he  and ,maxentius     
shared the power between them1 both     

taking the title of  ,augustus4    ,upon
 this ,severus at the request of        
,galerius marched upon ,rome4 ,he was1  
however1 defeated and slain4    ,after  
being more or less expelled by his son  
,maxentius1 ,maximian in the  year      
,a4,c4 #cjh marched to ,gaul and married
 his daughter ,fausta to  ,constantine2 
at the same time conferring upon him the
 title of  ,augustus4 ,about this time  
,galerius made his friend ,licinius an  
,augustus  in the place of ,severus2    
whereupon ,maximin1 the ,governor of    
,syria and  ,egypt1 demanded and was    
granted that title also4    ,there were 
thus in the year ,a4,c4 #cjh some       
half-a-dozen ,roman ,emperors  instead  
of one2 there being ,constantine and    
,maximian in the west1  ,maxentius at   
,rome1 and ,galerius1 ,licinius1 and    
,maximin elsewhere2 not  to mention     
,diocletian1 who was content to remain  
in retirement4    ,this decided break-up
 of the ,roman ,empire was              
,constantine's  opportunity2 and he was 

favourably placed1 for he had a warlike 
and  faithful people under him4         
,moreover by reversing so far as lay in 
his power as ruler of ,gaul the         
traditional policy of ,rome towards     
,christianity1 and setting himself      
forward as a champion of a non-national 
religion which had been  persecuted     
because it was non-national1            
,constantine was secure of the          
enthusiastic backing of all the         
,christians to be found in the dominions
  of his various rivals4    ,in ,a4,c4  
#caj ,constantine either executed his   
father-in-law the ,emperor  ,maximian1  
or caused him to commit suicide2 and the
 first of his five  rivals was disposed 
of4    ,in ,a4,c4 #caa the ,emperor     
,galerius died from disease1 and        
,constantine's  most formidable         
competitor1 and one who undoubtedly had 
a better claim  than himself to the     
position of sole emperor1 thus          
opportunely made way  for the ruler of  
,gaul4    ,in ,a4,c4 #cab ,constantine  

marched at the head of the ,gauls       
against the  ,emperor ,maxentius1       
defeated him near the ,milvian ,bridge  
outside ,rome1  and entered the ,eternal
 ,city in triumph4 ,maxentius is said to
 have been  drowned in the ,tiber2 and  
the ,senate decreed that ,constantine   
should  rank as the first of the three  
remaining ,augusti4    ,in ,a4,c4 #cac  
the ,emperor ,maximin fought the        
,emperor ,licinius2 but his  forces were
 defeated1 and he soon afterwards died4 
,some ten years or so later ,constantine
 went to war with his only  remaining   
rival1 ,licinius1 defeated him1 and     
became sole emperor1 ,a4,c4  #cbd4      
,that despite his great qualities as a  
ruler the character of  ,constantine was
 not perfect1 can be easily seen from   
the fact that1 not  content with        
executing the ,emperor ,licinius after  
accepting his  submission1 he murdered  
the young ,licinius2 a boy certainly not
 over  twelve years of age1 and         
according to some authorities two or    

three  years younger than that4 ,he also
 put his own son ,crispus to death1 and 
other relations as well4    ,we are told
 that ,constantine was so tortured by   
the memory of these and  other crimes   
that he applied to the priests of the   
,gods of ,rome for  absolution1 but that
 they bravely said that there was no    
absolution for  such sins1 whereupon    
this worshipper of the ,sun-,god turned 
to his  friends the ,christians and they
 gave him what he desired4#dd    ,this  
statement seems somewhat improbable1    
however1 as one would imagine  that the 
,pagan priests1 when called upon by one 
who was ,pontifex  ,maximus and         
therefore their spiritual superior as   
well as the supreme  emperor1 would not 
have scrupled to invent some purifying  
rite--if they  had none such--warranted 
to blot out the stain of every crime and
  thoroughly appease offended heaven4   
,however this may have been1 these      
terrible crimes of ,constantine1 all    
committed many years after his alleged  

conversion to our faith1 show  how badly
 advised we are to so needlessly go out 
of our way to claim as  a ,christian one
 who refused to enter the ,christian    
,church till he was  dying and possibly 
no longer master of himself4    ,it is  
said that this refusal of his to be     
baptised till he was weak and  dying and
 surrounded by ,church officials who    
would perhaps have spread  the report   
that he had been baptised even if they  
had not then at last  been able to      
induce him to take the decisive step1   
was due1 not to want  of belief1 but to 
excess of belief2 ,constantine's idea   
being that the  longer he put off the   
rite in question1 the more crimes would 
it wash  out4 ,or1 in other words1 that 
delay would enable him to sin with      
impunity a little longer4    ,this may  
possibly have been the case1 but it     
should at the same time be  borne in    
mind that whether ,constantine called   
him ,apollo or ,christ1 it  seems       
probable that it was the ,sun-,god to   

whom he referred4 ,for  everything tends
 to show that this astute emperor1 who  
so naturally  wished to establish and   
mould a religion which all his subjects 
of  whatever race or nationality might  
be reasonably expected to become in     
time willing to accept1 acted during his
 reign as supreme ruler of the  ,roman  
,world1 if not from first to last1 as if
 the ,christ were but  another          
conception of the ,sun-,god he was      
brought up to worship as  ,apollo and   
all countries venerated under some name 
or other4    ,this point is not only    
demonstrated by the fact that upon his  
coins  ,constantine repeatedly declared 
that the ,sun-,god was his invincible   
guide and protector and the giver even  
of the victory foreshadowed by  the     
alleged vision of the cross or ,monogram
 of ,christ above the  meridian sun1 but
 is also clearly shown by certain       
incidents connected  with the founding  
towards the end of his life of the new  
metropolis  which in less than a century

 equalled ,rome in all save antiquity4  
,new ,rome1 or1 as we now call it1      
,constantinople1 the city of            
,constantine1 was built on the site of1 
and often called by the name of1        
,byzantium4 ,it was not designed till   
,a4,c4 #cbd1 and was not dedicated  till
 ,a4,c4 #ccj1 or1 as some think1 an even
 later date3 ,constantine dying  in the 
year ,a4,c4 #ccg4    ,we are told that  
,constantinople was dedicated to the    
,virgin ,mother of  ,god4#de ,this      
should remind us of the fact that long  
before our era1  and right down to the  
time when ,constantine selected         
,byzantium as the  site of a new        
capital1 that place was considered      
dedicated to the  ,virgin ,queen of     
,heaven4    ,now in the central place of
 honour in his new metropolis1 one would
  naturally expect ,constantine to erect
 something or other to the honour  of   
the ,god to whom he attributed his      
victories4    ,whose1 then1 was the     
statue ,constantine towards the end of  

his life1  and about twenty years after 
his alleged conversion to our faith1    
erected in the centre of the ,forum of  
,new ,rome8    ,it was a statue of the  
,sun-,god ,apollo2 or1 as some explain  
it1 a statue  of himself adorned with   
the attributes of the ,sun-,god4    ,in 
fact1 taking the career of ,constantine 
as a whole1 there is nothing            
inconsistent with the supposition that  
he was a ,christian only in so  far as1 
out of policy or conviction1 he acted as
 if he considered the  ,christ to be one
 of many conceptions of the ,sun-,god4  
,for although1 as  has been mentioned   
and will be shown in a later chapter1   
,constantine1  upon the many varieties  
of coins he issued1 repeatedly acclaimed
 the  ,sun-,god as his companion and the
 author of his triumphs1 he never once1 
except in so far as he may have         
considered the ,god we ,christians      
worship to be the ,sun-,god1 so         
attributed his victories to the ,christ4
        ,,chapter ,,viii4    ,,cross    

,,and ,,crescent4    ,before passing in 
review the evidence regarding the symbol
 of the cross  derivable from ,roman    
coins and other relics of antiquity1 a  
few  introductory remarks are necessary 
regarding the too often forgotten  fact 
that the ancients naturally looked upon 
the ,giver of ,life as  bi-sexual2 no   
life being known to them which was not a
 result of the  conjunction of the ,male
 and ,female ,principles4    ,the       
necessarily bi-sexual character of the  
creator of both the ,male and  ,female  
,principles1 was1 it should be          
remembered1 borne in mind by the        
thinkers of old all the while they      
accommodatingly spoke of the ,sun-,god  
or ,giver of ,life as being a           
personification of the ,male ,principle 
and  gave him a ,bride or ,virgin       
,mother to represent the ,female        
,principle4    ,moreover1 just as the   
disc of the ,sun1 or the star-like form 
which the  ancients often used to       
signify the radiate or impregnating     

,sun1  naturally came to be recognised  
as the symbol of the ,male ,principle1  
so  the ,crescent1 as signifying the    
increasing ,moon and the lesser of the  
two great lights of heaven1 in like     
manner came to be adopted as the        
natural symbol of the ,female           
,principle4    ,in this connection it   
will not be amiss to draw attention to  
the symbol  of the conquerors of the    
city founded by ,constantine4 ,for      
though  misleadingly called the         
,crescent1 that symbol is1 as the reader
  cannot very well fail to be aware1 not
 a mere crescent2 but one which  has    
within its horns what we consider to be 
a star-like form and  therefore call a  
star4 ,and though it is possible that it
 was not  knowingly adopted as such by  
the ,moslems1 this dual symbol was a    
combination of the ancient symbols of   
the ,male and ,female ,principles4      
,an erroneous account of the origin of  
this symbol as a ,moslem symbol is      
given in all our works of reference     

which deal with the matter1 as if  their
 compilers copied one from another      
without troubling to consider  the      
evidence for themselves4    ,the        
incorrect but widely accepted           
explanation in question1 is to the      
effect that the so-called star and      
crescent had its origin as a  ,moslem   
symbol in the capture of ,byzantium or  
,constantinople by the  ,turks in ,a4,c4
 #adec2 our works of reference stating  
that it was then  adopted by ,mahomet   
,,ii41 as the symbol of the famous city 
he had taken  from the ,christians4     
,but was the star and crescent the      
symbol of the ,city of ,constantine8    
,it would appear not4    ,ancient       
,byzantium was1 as stated in a previous 
chapter1 considered1  long before our   
era and right up to the days of         
,constantine1 as  dedicated to the      
,virgin ,queen of ,heaven2 whose symbol 
was a crescent4  ,and when ,constantine 
rebuilt and renamed ,byzantium1 he      
dedicated ,new  ,rome--or1 as we now    

call it1 ,constantinople--to the ,virgin
 ,mother of  ,god and ,queen of ,heaven2
 whose symbol1 as can be seen upon      
reference to  both ancient and modern   
representations of the ,virgin ,mary1 is
 also a  crescent4 ,it would therefore  
appear that the symbol of the city is   
more  likely to have been a simple      
crescent than the so-called star and    
crescent4 ,such a conclusion is entirely
 borne out by the evidence4 ,for  though
 the so-called star and crescent can be 
seen upon three or four  coins struck at
 ,byzantium before such a place as ,new 
,rome was thought  of1 this proves      
little if anything2 inasmuch as the     
symbol in question  was a very common   
one in days of old1 and occurs          
frequently upon coins  struck elsewhere4
    ,moreover the question is what the  
symbol of ,constantinople was at the    
time it was captured by the ,turks4 ,and
 an inspection of the coins  issued by  
the ,christian rulers of that city      
during the thousand years  and more it  

was in their hands1 will reveal to the  
enquirer that though  the crescent with 
a cross within its horns appears        
occasionally upon  the coins of the     
,emperors of the ,east1 and in one or   
two instances we  see a cross of four   
equal arms with each extremity piercing 
a crescent1  it is doubtful if a single 
example of the so-called star and       
crescent symbol can be found upon them4 
,we learn from other sources also that  
the symbol of the imperial  ,christian  
,metropolis captured by the ,turks      
nearly five hundred years  ago and ever 
since retained by them1 was a simple    
crescent4 ,and there  is no doubt       
whatever that the dual symbol of the    
,moslems was adopted by  them1 not when 
they brought about the downfall of      
,constantinople as a  ,christian city1  
but centuries before1 as a result of the
 conquest of  ,persia4    ,it was in the
 year ,a4,c4 #fda that the battle of    
,nehavend1 ever after  called by the    
,moslems the ,victory of ,victories1    

laid at the feet of  the followers of   
the ,prophet the kingdom of ,iran or    
,persia1 and brought  to an end the     
,sassanian ,monarchy4    ,now the coins 
of the ,sassanian kings then and for the
 previous two  centuries bore upon them1
 with scarcely an exception1 the        
so-called  star and crescent2 and it was
 as the symbol of this ,zoroastrian     
dynasty and of the fair land of ,iran1  
that the ,moslems adopted it as  their  
own4 ,what the star-like object         
7star-like1 that is1 in our  opinion7   
represented upon the coins of ,iran or  
,persia when placed  within the horns of
 a crescent1 was1 of course1 the ,sun4  
,the  supposition of certain writers    
that the dual symbol represented the two
  crescent-presenting orbs1 ,venus and  
the ,moon1 is entirely mistaken4 ,for   
though the conjunction of the two       
crescent-shaped and feminine lights  of 
heaven1 was of old1 like the combination
 of the symbol of the  ,sun--as         
representing the ,male ,principle--with 

that ever feminine symbol  the          
,crescent1 held to signify ,increase and
 ,life1 we are dealing with  what was   
admittedly a ,mithraic symbol4 ,and not 
only was the star-like  object in       
question the symbol of the ,sun-,god    
,mithras1 but it was1 as  any student of
 the coins of the ,sassanian dynasty can
 see1 substituted  for the disc4        
,upon the ,sassanian coins the so-called
 star1 in reality a  representation     
neither of a star nor of a planet but of
 the radiate  ,sun1 seems to have been  
first substituted for the round disc as 
a  representation of the ,sun1 by       
,perozes1 about ,a4,c4 #deg2 the disc in
 the  horns of a crescent being the     
symbol on the coins of his father       
,isdigerd ,,ii4 and other predecessors4 
,but the dual symbol miscalled the  star
 and crescent was one even then of great
 antiquity1 as will be  shown in a later
 chapter dealing with ,phoenician relics
 discovered in  ,cyprus and elsewhere4  
,the primary signification of the dual  

symbol in question1 often  accompanied  
on the ,sassanian coins by a prayer that
 the monarch might  increase1 or        
flourish generally1 was undoubtedly     
,life4 ,and it is  clear that the       
conjunction of the ,crescent as the     
symbol of the ,female  ,principle of    
,life with the star-like figure which   
represented the  radiate1 life-giving1  
or impregnating ,sun1 must have not only
 signified  ,life1 but also the         
necessarily bi-sexual ,giver of ,life4  
,we are thus brought to the conclusion  
that the ,cross and the so-called       
,crescent are more or less allied in    
signification4    ,nor is this          
noteworthy fact to be wondered at4 ,for 
only words and forms  divide the faiths 
of ,mankind1 and at heart the one object
 of our  desires is ,life4 ,even those  
who piously lay down their lives for    
others  here1 do so in the hope of being
 rewarded with longer life and more     
blissful life hereafter4    ,another    
point which is too often overlooked1 is 

that if the followers  of the so-called 
,crescent have1 as would appear to be   
the case1  forgotten the meaning of     
their symbol and the fact that it       
alludes to  the bi-sexual nature of the 
,creator1 we followers of the ,cross may
 all  unconsciously be in a very similar
 position regarding our symbol4 ,and  as
 the ,cross as the recognised symbol of 
the ,christ is not of older  date than  
the conquest of ,rome by the ,gauls1 and
 more or less resulted  therefrom1 it is
 clear that the same remark applies if  
we consider the  ,moslems to have       
adopted their symbol as that of the land
 they conquered  from the ,sassanian    
kings1 rather than as one with the      
primal and  natural interpretation of   
which they were content4    ,anyway the 
cross as well as the star and crescent  
is more or less a  bi-sexual symbol1 as 
will be clear to those who understand   
how the  cross came to be recognised    
ages before our era as the natural      
symbol  of ,life4 ,and a good           

illustration of the fact in question    
still exists  in the ,caroccio crucifix 
of ,milan2 in which relic we see1 under 
the  usual inscription1 an androgynous  
,christ upon a cross1 with a man's  head
 but half the body of female form1 and  
with1 instead of a cloth or  fig-leaf1  
the phallic crux ansata1 or ,egyptian   
cross or symbol of  ,life1 placed       
sideways1 and as if the oval represented
 the female organ  of reproduction1 and 
the tau or incomplete cross that of the 
other  sex4    ,like the ,red ,cross of 
to-day1 the ,carocco bi-sexual crucifix1
 once so  common in ,italy1 was a symbol
 of ,life and ,salvation in two senses2 
it  not only being considered so in     
itself1 but being also used on the      
battlefield as a rallying point for     
wounded soldiers1 signalling to  them   
that bandages1 drugs1 and surgical aid1 
could be obtained where it  towered     
aloft4    ,these references to the fact 
that in days of old many very naturally 
came to the conclusion that the ,creator

 and ,giver of ,life and only  ,saviour 
must be bi-sexual1 should remind us     
,christians that our  assertion that the
 ,infinite ,spirit is ,our ,father is   
not from all  points of view an         
improvement upon the ideas of the       
ancients4 ,for they  also1 and rightly1 
conceived what we wrongly ignore1 viz41 
that the  ,infinite ,author of all      
existence must also be ,our ,mother4    
,in this respect ,protestants have if   
possible gone even further astray  than 
members of the ,greek and ,roman        
,churches4 ,for in the veneration  paid 
by the latter to ,mary of ,nazareth as  
the ,bride of ,god1 the ,mother  of     
,god1 the ,star of the ,sea1 and the    
,queen of ,heaven1 can be seen a        
survival1 however toned down or         
distorted1 of the old idea that the     
,deity must necessarily be of both      
sexes4    ,even the plainly evident fact
 that1 while in pre-,christian days the 
symbol of the cross represented the two 
sexual powers in conjunction1  it has in

 ,christian times come to be considered 
the symbol of ,life as  being the symbol
 of the ,,son of ,god1 should1 moreover1
 lead us to note  that our religion     
scarcely does justice to the part played
 in the  economy of ,nature by the fair 
sex4 ,this is doubtless due to the fact 
that the moulding of our creed and the  
interpretation of things hard to  be    
understood has for the most part been in
 the hands of the sex which1  as the    
author belongs to it1 may by way of     
contrast be called unfair4    ,what1 for
 instance1 can be more unfair than the  
assumption that ,god1 if  incarnated as 
one of the genus ,homo1 must have been  
born a male8 ,yet  that assumption is at
 the very basis of modern ,christianity4
    ,moreover1 even granting that the   
,deity was specially incarnated in      
,jesus the ,nazarene and therefore as a 
male1 why should we1 as if  supposing   
that a passing form could stamp its sex 
upon an ,infinite  ,spirit1 speak of    
,god the ,son yet never of ,god the     

,daughter8    ,the fact is that the     
natural disabilities and disadvantages  
of the  childbearing sex have from the  
first resulted in the power of the male 
sex to rule the roast1 and one result of
 the predominance thus ensured  to the  
male sex by the laws of ,nature has of  
course been a similar  predominance for 
the opinion that the ,creator is of the 
male sex4    ,some enthusiastic champion
 of her sex1 alluding to the fact that  
the  opposing sex now has a monopoly of 
the priesthood1 may even go so far  as  
to ask with a special meaning1 ,has not 
,man from the beginning made  ,god in   
his own image8    ,the male sex did not 
always have a monopoly of the           
priesthood1 however2  and in few if any 
instances did the priests of old go so  
far as to  teach that the ,creator1 whom
 out of compliment to the ,deity--or    
themselves--they naturally spoke of as  
belonging to the stronger sex1  was a   
male and only a male4 ,nor did they even
 assume such a thing4  ,though the      

different gods and goddesses were spoken
 of as belonging to  this or that sex1  
more than one were regarded as in       
reality  androgynous2 and the fact that 
the ,creator and ,giver of ,life must of
  necessity be so was very generally    
recognised4    ,as a matter of fact it  
is by no means certain that the ,creator
 is not  represented as being           
androgynous even in our ,bible4 ,for in 
the account  of the ,creation which the 
,jews brought with them from ,babylon1  
the  ,creator is represented as saying  
,let us make man in our image2  and a   
race which like the ,jews solemnly      
declared that there was but one  ,god1  
could only1 it would seem1 have accepted
 such a declaration as a  divine        
revelation if they conceived the ,god   
supposed to be speaking to  be          
androgynous1 and addressing the other   
part of himself4 ,this would  account   
for the emphasis laid upon the statement
 that man was created  male and female1 
like1 or in the image of1 the ,creator4 

,in any case it is clear that if ,god be
 not female as well as male1 ,man  was  
not created in the likeness of ,god4    
,the theory of the ancients that ,man   
himself was created an androgynous      
being1 capable1 like the ,creator1 of   
creating life in himself1 but was       
afterwards divided into halves1 one of  
which is ever seeking to find  the      
other1 need only be mentioned4          
,suffice it to add that it can scarcely 
be said to have been altogether         
progress in the right direction1 which  
has led us mortals to call the  ,author 
of all ,life ,our ,father1 to the utter 
obscuration of the  equally important   
fact that the ,deity in whom we live and
 move and have  our being must also be  
,our ,mother4        ,,chapter ,,ix4    
,,the ,,coronation ,,orb4    ,the fact  
that though we ,christians fail to do   
the matter justice1 the  ancients upon  
the contrary recognised that the        
,creator and the ,giver of  ,life cannot
 be rightly spoken of as belonging to   

one sex and one alone1  is not the only 
fact which those who examine relics of  
antiquity1 such  as the coins of the    
,roman ,empire1 with a view to          
ascertaining what  evidence is derivable
 from them that bears upon the history  
of the  symbol of the cross1 should ever
 bear in mind4 ,another point to be kept
  in view is the evolution of the       
,christian symbol now known as the      
,coronation ,orb4    ,this compound     
symbol1 which plays so prominent a part 
in the regalia of  a ,christian         
,monarch1 also crowns the topmost height
 of many a ,christian  ,temple including
 both ,st4 ,peter's at ,rome and ,st4   
,paul's at ,london4 ,and  it is         
noteworthy that it bears a certain      
resemblance to the  representation of   
the ,apex1 once worn by the ,salian     
priests and  afterwards by the ,pontifex
 ,maximus and the ,flamens generally1   
which  appears upon ancient coins of the
 ,fabia gens2 the office of ,flamen     
,quirinalis having been hereditary in   

the ,fabia family4    ,upon other coins 
also1 what is said to be meant for the  
pontifical apex  occurs as a round ball 
surmounted by something very like a     
cross1 in  the hand of a female figure  
representing ,rome2 exactly as the      
so-called  ,coronation ,orb is to be    
seen upon coins of later date in the    
hand of  this or that ,christian        
,emperor4    ,the evidence as a whole1  
however1 favours the supposition that   
the  ,coronation ,orb1 instead of having
 been derived from the ,apex of the     
,pagan priests and thus signifying the  
claim to priesthood or headship  of the 
church so often made by monarchs1 is a  
development of the round  object1       
frequently unsurmounted by anything1 so 
continually to be met  with upon ancient
 coins of ,rome in the hand of this or  
that ,god1  ,goddess1 or ,ruler4        
,this being the case1 it is a matter of 
very considerable importance  that we   
should be quite sure what the round     
object in question used to  signify1 and

 should base our assurance upon the     
results of personal  investigation      
rather than upon the assumption that the
 popular  explanation is necessarily the
 correct one4    ,though the round      
object in question was1 as stated1 in   
days of old  often used as a symbol by  
itself1 it was sometimes1 and1 as time  
rolled  on1 more and more frequently1   
surmounted by a small female figure with
  wings2 which figure was a             
representation of ,victory4 ,this figure
 was1  after the establishment of       
,christianity as the ,state ,religion of
 the  ,roman ,empire1 gradually1 and    
only gradually1 supplanted by the figure
  of the cross4    ,although several    
writers of note assume that the         
initiative in this  direction was taken 
by ,constantine himself1 the first step 
seems to  have been taken upon the death
 of ,constantine1 when a coin or medal  
was  issued on which the deceased       
monarch is called a ,god and is         
represented  as holding a round object  

surmounted by the so-called ,monogram of
  ,christ2 a symbol continually referred
 to by ,eusebius and other writers  of  
the fourth century as a cross4    ,later
 on an instance occurs of the ,monogram 
surmounting a round object  held by a   
female figure representing ,rome4 ,this 
is upon a coin issued  by ,nepotianus1 a
 nephew of ,constantine4    ,passing on 
to the reign of ,valentinianus ,,ii41 we
 find that that ,emperor  issued a coin 
upon which a round object surmounted by 
a cross is to be  seen in the hand of   
,victory herself4 ,this would appear to 
have been the  first instance in which  
what we should call a cross1 supplanted 
the  representation of ,victory as a    
small female figure with wings1 as a    
symbol surmounting the round object     
which we are considering4    ,a similar 
coin was issued by ,theodosius ,i41     
surnamed the ,great2 the  last of the   
,emperors of ,rome whose rule extended  
throughout the whole  of the ,roman     
world4    ,the instances named are1 it  

will be understood1 the exceptions to   
the  general rule during a considerable 
period4 ,and upon many of the coins  of 
the ,emperors mentioned1 as well as upon
 those of the intervening  ,emperors1   
the round object held by those rulers is
 surmounted by either  a ,victory or a  
,phoenix2 usually by the former1 but in 
several instances  by the latter4       
,the first ruler who caused himself to  
be represented as holding a  round      
object surmounted by an ordinary cross1 
was ,theodosius ,,ii41  ,emperor of the 
,east4    ,the fact that for a long time
 the ,victory1 the ,phoenix1 and the    
,cross1  were made use of as symbols    
which might be substituted one for      
another1  is worthy of special note4    
,for the facts that the round object    
held by  ,theodosius ,,ii4 is as often  
surmounted by a ,victory as by a ,cross1
 and  that a ,victory instead of a      
,cross was often used by succeeding     
,christian ,emperors1 tend to show that 
the ,victory1 the ,phoenix1 and the     

,cross were allied in signification1 and
 equally connected with the  round      
object the nature and meaning of which  
we are about to enquire  into4    ,the  
reader may possibly object that no case 
has been made out for such  enquiry1    
inasmuch as not only did the cross in   
course of time entirely  supplant the   
,victory1 but the round object from     
first to last1 and  whether unsurmounted
 by anything or surmounted by a ,victory
 or a  ,phoenix or a ,cross1 signified  
the world upon which we dwell1 the round
  world1 and nothing but the world4     
,such is1 of course1 the popular        
assumption2 based upon what we are      
taught in school books and in standard  
works of reference4 ,but1 as a  matter  
of fact1 in many cases the round object 
admittedly signified an  apple2 the     
,golden ,apple of the ,hesperides3 a    
well known phallic symbol4  ,whenever a 
round object unsurmounted by anything is
 to be seen in the  hand of either the  
,sun-,god ,hercules or ,venus the       

,goddess of ,love1 it  admittedly may   
have been1 for it admittedly often was1 
a  representation1 not of the world1 but
 of the ,golden ,apple4 ,and not only   
does it so occur upon a very large      
number of coins1 but in some  instances 
we see the ,victory surmounting it2     
recalling to our minds the  fact that   
victory1 as signifying the triumph of   
,life over ,death1 had a  phallic as    
well as a martial meaning1 and is       
achieved every time that a  man is born 
into the world as a result of the       
tasting of the fruit of  the ,tree of   
,life or of the knowledge of good and   
evil4    ,moreover1 though the fact is  
now for some reason or other ignored1   
the  so-called ,coronation ,orb of      
,christian ,monarchs was itself once    
known as  the ,golden ,apple4 ,it is so 
referred to in important ,latin         
documents of  the ,middle ,ages2 for    
instance in the famous ,bull of ,charles
 ,,iv4  regarding the ,imperial         
elections1 wherein we read of the right 

of the  ,counts ,palatine of the ,rhine 
to carry the symbol in question at the  
coronation of their ,emperor4 ,and to   
this very day the so-called  ,coronation
 ,orb is known throughout ,germany and  
,austria as  ,reichsapfel1 the ,imperial
 ,apple4    ,it is therefore by no means
 certain that the round portion of the  
,coronation ,orb which thus caused the  
name of the ,golden ,apple to be  given 
to this compound ,christian symbol1 is  
not1 like the cross above  it1 to some  
extent a phallic symbol4    ,every one  
should know the classic story of the    
,golden ,apple2 how the  tree which bore
 the ,golden ,apples grew up in the     
,garden of the  ,hesperides in honour of
 the wedding of ,hera1 a goddess who    
more or less  personified the female    
sex2 how the ,golden ,apples are        
variously said to  have been dedicated  
to the ,sun 7,hellos71 to the ,sun-,god 
7,dionysos71 and  to the ,goddess of    
,love 7,aphrodite72 how the ,sun-,god   
,hercules as one of  the twelve labours 

which represented the months1 slew the  
,serpent which  guarded the tree1 and   
plucked the fruit2 and how the ,goddess 
,eris1 who  alone of all the deities was
 not invited to the nuptials of ,peleus 
and  ,thetis1 revenged herself by       
throwing among the guests a ,golden     
,apple  inscribed ,to the fairest1 and  
,paris awarded it to the ,goddess of    
,love1 ,aphrodite or ,venus4    ,the    
story of the ,garden of the ,hesperides 
is at heart one with that of  the       
,garden of ,eden2 for it is obvious that
 the same phallic meaning  underlies    
each1 and that they are but different   
versions of the same  allegory4    ,it  
may here be called to mind that it has  
this century been discovered  from the  
cuneiform inscriptions of ,western      
,asia1 that ,eden was the name  given by
 ,babylonians in days of old to the     
plain outside ,babylon1  whereupon1     
according to the legends of that city1  
the creation of  living beings took     
place4 ,also that much evidence has     

accrued which1  impartially weighed in  
the balance1 leads clearly to the       
conclusion  that the all-important      
commencement of ,genesis1 which forms as
 it were  the very basis of both the    
,jewish and the ,christian ,scriptures1 
was  borrowed by the ,jews from         
,babylon4 ,and that it was in reality a 
,babylonian tradition or series of      
traditions of far older date than  any  
writing of purely ,jewish origin1 has   
not only been amply proved by  recent   
discoveries1 but might indeed have been 
guessed from its  reference to the      
,tower of ,babel or ,babylon4    ,nor is
 this all1 for among the age-old relics 
discovered in ,western  ,asia is a      
pictorial representation of the         
allegorical ,temptation and  ,fall4     
,upon this noteworthy piece of evidence 
the ,tree of ,knowledge or ,life1  with 
which the figure of the cross was       
identified by the early  ,christians2   
the ,serpent1 which in all countries and
 every age has been  more or less       

identified with the sexual powers2 the  
,man2 the ,woman2 and  the ,apple2 are  
all represented4 ,and it is important to
 note that1  according to the cuneiform 
inscription upon another time-worn relic
 in  the ,british ,museum1 the          
,babylonians of old1 at a time when the 
descendants of ,jacob or ,israel were   
without scriptures of their own1  had a 
tradition to the effect that the fate of
 our first parents--who1  thanks to a   
wicked ,serpent of ,darkness1 tasted of 
the forbidden fruit  which grew in the  
,garden of the ,gods--was placed in the 
hands of  their ,redeemer4    ,it should
 also be pointed out that this voice    
from the dim and distant  past          
distinctly states that the ,redeemer in 
question was--the ,sun-,god4    ,in     
ancient days the so-called forbidden    
fruit or apple seems to have  borne     
somewhat the same symbolic meaning that 
the egg did4 ,but while  the apple not  
only represented ,life1 but also1 and   
primarily1 that  union between two sexes

 or principles which produces life1 the 
egg more  or less lacked the latter     
meaning1 and1 on the other hand1        
signified  ,existence in a wider sense  
than the apple did4    ,the ,cosmos     
itself was an egg according to the      
conceptions of many of  the ancients2   
and few ideas were more widely spread1  
or can be traced  further back1 than the
 one that the whole visible creation    
emerged from  the original ,chaos or    
,darkness in the shape of an egg4       
,the egg also1 and above all1 signified 
the ,sun-,god1 as the acknowledged      
,giver of ,life and ,saviour of ,life4  
,hence the prominent part which it      
played in the various religious         
mysteries of the ancients1 and also the 
fact that the ,egyptians represented the
 ,sun-,god ,ra as giving forth such     
utterances as ,i am the ,creative ,soul 
of the celestial abyss4 ,none sees  my  
nest1 and none can break my egg4 ,the   
egg referred to1 was of course  the ,sun
 itself4    ,even our ,christian custom 

of exchanging eggs at ,easter is more or
 less  derived from ,sun-,god worship1  
being a survival from customs practised 
long before our era at that particular  
period of the year1 the time of  the    
,vernal ,equinox or ,pass-over of the   
,sun1 when the ,orient ,light  crosses  
the ,equator to rise once more in the   
,northern ,hemisphere4    ,nor are these
 the only facts connecting the egg with 
,sun-,god worship1  for the ,sun-,god   
,apollo was of old represented as born  
from the egg of  ,leda1 and the         
,sun-,god ,osiris was also said to have 
been born from an  egg4    ,moreover the
 ,chinese believe that the first man was
 born from an egg1  the ,orphic hymns   
speak of the ,first-,begotten ,one as   
egg-born1 and  the ,greeks fabled that  
their ,sun-,god ,dionysos sprang from   
the cosmic  egg4    ,as to the origin of
 the ,coronation ,orb1 it is noteworthy 
that no finer  or more natural symbol of
 ,power could have been fixed upon than 
a  representation of that ball of fire  

which was so frequently spoken of  in   
bygone ages as the ,orb1 and from which 
all earthly life and power  may be said 
to proceed4    ,however the available   
evidence certainly seems to show that   
the round  object we are considering is 
more likely to have signified the cosmic
  egg than the solar orb4    ,in any    
case the object in question cannot be   
shown to have represented  the world    
upon which we dwell and that alone2 and 
nothing is more  likely than that so    
famous a symbol should1 like the cross  
which now  adorns it1 have more or less 
signified ,life4    ,it should also be  
pointed out that this symbol of ,power  
may have  signified1 not so much that   
the ,ruler who used it laid claim to    
world-wide dominion1 as that he held in 
his hand power over the lives  of       
others2 and1 possibly1 also that he     
claimed to be1 as the vicegerent  of the
 ,sun-,god and ,giver of ,life1 the only
 legitimate ,saviour of his  country4   
,the facts that the symbol was used in  

clays of old by others than the         
,emperors whose sway extended over the  
whole of the ,roman ,empire1 and is     
nowadays considered the rightful symbol 
of every ,christian ,monarch  however   
limited the area over which his power is
 felt1 should also be  borne in mind2   
though not of much value as evidence1 as
 even petty  rulers have been known to  
boast that they held the world in their 
grasp4    ,it should however be         
remembered that though the ancients1    
struck by the  dome-like appearance of  
the sky and the circular movements of   
the  constellations1 conceived the      
cosmos or universe to be spherical1 and 
in some instances even constructed      
celestial globes upon which to  record  
the movements of ,sun1 ,moon1 ,planets1 
and ,stars1 it is doubtful  if a single 
one of them considered the world upon   
which we dwell to be  spherical4 ,also1 
that many a ,christian ,monarch has used
 the ,coronation  ,orb as a symbol of   
power1 and yet believed the earth to be 

otherwise  than a globe in shape4    ,in
 this connection it should be pointed   
out that the round object which  the    
ancients represented ,atlas as          
supporting upon his shoulders1  usually 
in the presence of ,jupiter1 was not as 
is vulgarly supposed the  earth1 but the
 heavens2 ,hesiod telling us that ,atlas
 bore heaven with  his head and hands1  
,ovid that upon ,atlas rested heaven and
 all the  stars1 and other writers of   
bygone ages that ,atlas was a king who  
first  taught men that heaven had the   
shape of a globe4    ,it is of course   
possible that the ancients may have     
conceived the earth  to be otherwise    
than spherical1 and yet1 because the    
horizon which  appears to limit its     
extent seems to be circular1 or for some
 other  reason1 have considered a round 
object to be a representation of it4    
,even where1 however1 the ball-like     
symbol we are considering may have      
represented something other than the    
,golden ,apple1 the probability is  that

 it seldom if ever represented the      
earth4    ,for as1 though the ancients  
may have conceived and spoken of the    
world  we live upon as being round in   
the same sense as a circular coin is    
round1 they did not think of it as being
 a globe1 it is obvious that  the       
ball-like symbol in question is much    
less likely to have signified  the--in  
their belief--non-globular earth1 than  
it is to have been a  representation of 
something which they did consider to be 
globular4    ,such is the nature of the 
evidence which tends to show that we    
,christians may be mistaken in supposing
 that our famous symbol the  ,coronation
 ,orb represents the round world upon   
which we dwell1  surmounted by the      
instrument of execution upon which      
,jesus died4    ,although1 however1 most
 points have now been touched upon1     
including  the important fact that the  
so-called ,coronation ,orb of ,christian
  ,monarchs used to be called1 even by  
,christians1 the ,golden ,apple1 the    

idea that it may have been the crux     
ansata1 or ,egyptian symbol of  ,life   
7an upright oval1 perhaps signifying the
 female principle1 set  upon the top of 
the tau1 or image t4gif cross1 and thus 
turning  into a complete cross what is  
really an incomplete one1 and may be    
supposed to have signified the male     
principle71 reversed 7e4g41             
,archaeological ,journal xlii4 #afd71   
should at least be mentioned4 ,it       
ought1 however to be pointed out that   
the ,orb is even more like the  ancient 
symbol of the planet sacred to ,venus1  
the ,goddess of ,love1  reversed4       
,even this point does not exhaust the   
subject in hand2 for the fact that  in  
days of old we used to represent the    
,christ as the ,pagans  represented the 
,sun-,god1 viz41 as standing by the     
,tree of ,life and  holding a round     
object meant for the phallic apple1 has 
not yet been  dealt with in any way4    
,it is however desirable that before    
discussing the matter further we  should

 ascertain the nature of the evidence1  
regarding this and kindred  subjects1   
derivable from the coins of the ,roman  
,empire4        ,,chapter ,x4    ,,roman
 ,,coins ,,before ,,constantine4        
,bearing in mind the matters mentioned  
in the two last chapters1 let us  now   
pass in review the coins struck by the  
,romans1 and make a note of  such       
features as may1 directly or indirectly1
 bear upon the history of  the cross4   
,the first cross we meet with on the    
coins in question1 is upon one of       
,julius ,caesar2 who was appointed      
,flamen ,dialis ,b4,c4 #hg1 ,pontiff    
,b4,c4 #gd1 ,military ,tribune ,b4,c4   
#gc1 ,quaestor ,b4,c4 #fh1 ,pontifex    
,maximus  ,b4,c4 #fc1 and ,dictator     
,b4,c4 #di4    ,the cross in question   
consists of the name ,c4 ,cossutius     
,maridianus  arranged as a cross of four
 equal arms4 ,and it should be noted    
that it  is admitted1 even by such      
well-known authorities as ,mr4 ,c4 ,w4  
,king1  ,m4,a41 that the name was so    

arranged out of compliment to the       
official  in question because his name  
had reference to the meridian sun4#df   
,upon a coin struck by ,caesar's heir1  
the almost equally famous ,augustus     
7,consul ,b4,c4 #dc1 ,emperor ,b4,c4    
#bi--;,a4,c4 #ad71 about twenty years   
before  our era1 we see a head of the   
,sun-,god ,bacchus upon one side2 and on
 the  reverse a man presenting a        
military standard1 the banner of which  
is  ornamented with a ,st4 ,andrew's    
cross4    ,two other coins of the same  
reign and about the same date1 have upon
  them representations of military      
standards bearing the same symbol4      
,upon another coin struck by ,augustus  
we see a crescent with a star or        
radiate sun within its horns1 the       
ancient phallic symbol adopted by the   
followers of the prophet ,muhammad      
centuries later4    ,a similar symbol   
occurs upon the coins of ,hadrian       
7,a4,c4 #aag-ach74    ,upon two coins of
 ,antoninus ,pius 7,a4,c4 #ach-afa7 we  

see the ,sun-,god  ,hercules plucking   
the ,golden ,apple from a tree around   
which the  traditional serpent is       
coiled4    ,on another coin of the same 
reign the ,sun-,god ,hercules can be    
seen  holding a round object which      
admittedly represents the ,golden       
,apple2  that symbol both of the        
,sun-,god as 7#a7 the bi-sexual ,giver  
of ,life and  7#b7 the personification  
of the ,male ,principle1 and of the     
,goddess who  represented 7#a7 the ,love
 of the two sexes and 7#b7 the ,female  
,principle4    ,upon another coin ,jove 
holds a similar looking object4    ,many
 coins issued in the name of ,annia     
,galeria ,faustina the wife of          
,antoninus ,pius1 and by ,marcus        
,aurelius 7,a4,c4 #afa-ahj71 and in the 
name  of his wife ,annia ,faustina1 have
 upon them representations of ,venus the
  ,goddess of ,love holding a round     
object which is admittedly meant for    
the ,golden ,apple4 ,the favourite      
legends are ,venus ,victrix1 ,venus     

,felix1 and ,venus ,genetrix1 and of    
phallic import2 and in one  instance the
 ,goddess of ,love holds an infant      
wrapped in swaddling  clothes as well as
 the phallic apple4    ,other coins of  
,marcus ,aurelius or his wife have upon 
them  representations of ,eternity as a 
female figure holding a round object4   
,in some cases the round object is      
surmounted by a ,phoenix4    ,upon a    
coin struck by ,lucius ,aurelius ,verus 
7,a4,c4 #afj-afi7 that ruler  is to be  
seen holding a round object surmounted  
by a ,victory4    ,on the coins of      
,commodus 7,a4,c4 #ahj-aib7 sometimes   
,jove and sometimes  the ,emperor holds 
a small round object4 ,a ,victory in    
some cases  surmounts it4    ,venus     
holding the ,golden ,apple--that is1 a  
round object which in such  instances is
 admitted to have represented the       
,golden ,apple--is to be  seen upon many
 coins issued in the name of ,lucilla1  
the sister of  ,commodus4    ,upon coins
 issued by ,caius ,pescennius ,niger a  

small round object  surmounted by a     
,victory is to be seen in the hand of   
,jove4 ,on a coin  struck by ,septimus  
,severus 7,a4,c4 #aic-baa7 we see ,rome 
represented as a  female figure with a  
shield at her side marked with a cross4 
,upon another coin we see the ,goddess  
of ,love holding a round object         
admittedly meant for the ,golden ,apple1
 while a child is stationed at  her     
feet4 ,the legend is ,venus ,genetrix4  
,among the coins issued in the  name of 
,julia ,domna1 the wife of the last     
named ,emperor1 are nearly a  dozen     
varieties upon which ,venus is          
represented as holding a round  object4 
,a crescent occurs upon the reverse in  
some instances4    ,upon several coins  
of ,caracalla 7,a4,c4 #baa-bag7 we see  
that ,emperor  holding a small round    
object surmounted by a ,victory2 upon   
others he is  to be seen holding a      
,victory only4    ,various coins issued 
in the name of ,fulvia ,plantilla the   
wife of  ,caracalla1 show us the        

,goddess of ,love holding a round       
object4 ,the  legends are ,venus ,felix 
and ,venus ,victrix4    ,in the reign of
 ,elagabalus or ,heliogabalus 7,a4,c4   
#bah-bbb7 a coin was  struck on which we
 see the ,goddess ,astarte1 ,ashtoreth1 
,ishtar1 or  ,venus1 holding a cross4   
,venus holding a round object is to be  
seen upon many coins issued in  the     
names of ,soaemias the mother of        
,elagabalus1 his wife ,julia ,aquilia   
,severa1 ,julia ,mamma the mother of    
,alexander ,severus1 and his wife       
,orbiana4    ,on a coin of the ,emperor 
,decius 7,a4,c4 #bdi-bea7 struck at     
,maeonia1 we  meet with the so-called   
,monogram of ,christ upon a ,roman coin 
in the  form image monogram#c4;gif for  
the first time4    ,upon a coin of      
,trebonianus ,gallus 7,a4,c4 #bea-bed7  
,eternity is  represented as a female   
holding a small round object4    ,on    
another coin of this reign we see a     
,phoenix instead of a ,victory  upon the
 round object held by the ,emperor4     

,many of the coins of ancient ,rome     
acclaim the ,sun-,god as the ,saviour1  
and upon a coin issued by ,gallienus    
7,a4,c4 #bed-bfh7 we see the ,sun-,god  
,apollo holding a cross4    ,upon a coin
 issued by the younger ,valerian we see 
the ,sun-,god holding a  small round    
object4    ,a coin struck by ,tetricus  
7,a4,c4 #bfg-bfd7 has upon its reverse a
  representation of the ,sun-,god       
holding a round object1 while in the    
field near the ,sun-,god is a cross4    
,on a coin issued by ,claudius ,,ii4 we 
see the ,sun-,god ,hercules holding a   
round object admittedly meant for the   
,golden ,apple4    ,upon a coin issued  
by ,aurelianus we see the ,sun-,god     
holding a round  object surmounted by a 
crescent4    ,on a coin issued by       
,vabalathus we see the ,sun-,god        
,hercules holding a  round object       
admittedly representing the ,golden     
,apple4    ,upon a coin of ,numerianus  
7,a4,c4 #bhc-bhd7 we see the ,goddess of
 ,love  holding a round object          

surmounted by a ,victory4 ,such         
instances as this  should be specially  
noted1 as nothing distinguishes the     
round objects  so surmounted from those 
held by ,venus which admittedly         
represent the  ,golden ,apple1 and the  
present fashion of our symbol the       
,coronation ,orb  or ,imperial ,apple is
 due to the fact that a century later   
,theodosius  ,,ii4 ,emperor of          
,constantinople started the idea of     
substituting a cross  for the ,victory4 
,upon several coins of ,carinus 7,a4,c4 
#bhb-bhd7 we see the ,sun-,god holding  
a small round object4    ,on other coins
 of this reign ,eternity appears as a   
female holding a  small round object    
surmounted by a ,phoenix4    ,upon the  
coins issued in the name of ,magnia     
,urbica1 wife of ,carinus1 on  which we 
see ,venus holding a small round object 
which admittedly  represented the       
,golden ,apple1 the ,crescent frequently
 accompanies the  representations of the
 ,goddess of ,love4    ,on coins issued 

by ,diocletian 7,a4,c4 #bhd-cje7 we see 
both ,jove and the  ,sun-,god holding a 
small round object2 like the ,emperor   
himself4 ,a  ,victory in some cases     
surmounts it4    ,the ,sun-,god         
,hercules holding a round object which  
admittedly signified  the ,golden ,apple
 is to be seen on other coins issued    
during this reign4    ,among the coins  
issued by ,diocletian's co-,emperor     
,maximian1 is one  bearing a            
representation of the ,sun-,god         
,hercules in the ,garden of the         
,hesperides near the ,tree encircled by 
the ,serpent he slew4 ,the ,sun-,god    
holds a round object representing a     
,golden ,apple plucked from the ,tree   
in question4    ,on the reverse of      
another coin bearing the names both of  
,jove the  ,all-,father and ,hercules   
the ,sun-,god1 we see the latter        
represented as  holding a round object1 
admittedly meant for the ,golden ,apple4
    ,in some cases where ,hercules holds
 the ,golden ,apple-for instance1 upon  

a coin bearing the legend ,herculi      
invicto ,aug4--the ,golden ,apple is    
surmounted by a ,victory4    ,a coin    
issued by ,constantius ,chlorus1 the    
ruler of ,gaul and father of            
,constantine the ,great1 represents the 
,sun-,god ,hercules in the act of       
plucking a ,golden ,apple from the      
famous ,tree4    ,a coin issued in the  
joint names of ,galerius and            
,constantius ,chlorus1  bearing the     
legend ,genio ,populi ,romani1 has in   
the field on the  reverse side a cross1 
which takes the place occupied upon     
otherwise  similar coins by a star-like 
object not improbably representing the  
sun4    ,such are the more striking     
features of the evidence which can be   
obtained from the ,roman coins issued   
prior to the accession of  ,constantine 
to the throne of ,gaul4    ,the reader  
will have seen that the symbol of the   
cross occurs several  times upon the    
coins in question1 and in almost if not 
quite every  instance in connection with

 the ,sun-,god4    ,the fact that upon a
 coin of ,julius ,caesar1 and therefore 
before our  era1 a cross admittedly     
occurs as a symbol of the sun1 will also
 have  been remarked4    ,it will also  
have been noticed in how very large a   
number of cases the  round symbol which 
was a precursor of our ,coronation ,orb 
admittedly  signified the ,golden       
,apple1 and therefore was of phallic    
import4    ,another point which the     
reader cannot very well fail to bear in 
mind1  is that where the ,goddess of    
,love1 as the representative of the sex 
whose felicity lies in motherhood or the
 victorious production of life1  is seen
 carrying the symbol in question1 the   
surrounding legend is  ,venus ,genetrix1
 or ,victrix1 or ,felix1 or some        
variation or other  of the same2 and    
that the said legends are obviously     
phallic in  signification4    ,if we    
also keep before us the fact that the   
,golden ,apple whether held  by the     
,sun-,god or his complement the ,goddess

 of ,love1 was at times  surmounted by  
the figure of ,victory for which        
,christian ,emperors  gradually and only
 gradually substituted the figure of the
 cross1 it is  curious to note that in  
early ,christian representations of the 
,christ  he is often to be seen with the
 ,apple or forbidden fruit of the ,tree 
of  ,life or of the knowledge of good   
and evil4    ,when the ,christ is in    
such cases depicted as a youth1 the     
phallic apple  is usually to be seen    
lying near him2 but when the ,christ is 
represented as a man1 it is placed in   
his hand4    ,for instance a good       
example of the ,christ holding the fruit
 of the ,tree  of ,life is reproduced   
for us in the well known work on the    
likeness of  ,jesus by the late ,thomas 
,heaphy4#dg ,here we see1 in a picture  
which  occurs upon a glass ornament     
found in the ,catacombs of ,rome in the 
tomb  of a ,christian named ,eutychia1  
an illustration of the ,christ standing 
by the side of the ,tree of ,life4 ,the 

rays of the ,sun surround the head  of  
the ,christ1 and in his hand is the     
phallic ,apple4    ,it will have been   
remarked that the round object to be    
seen upon  innumerable ,roman coins in  
the hand of this or that ruler or deity1
 and  popularly supposed to have always 
represented the round world upon  which 
we dwell although it is at the same time
 believed that the world  was not then  
considered to be round1 frequently      
occurs in the hand of a  female figure  
representing ,eternity4 ,it is          
self-evident that a  representation of  
the world we live on is less likely to  
have been so  placed than a symbol of   
,life4    ,a still more striking fact1  
which cannot fail to have been noticed  
by  the reader of the evidence from the 
coins of ancient ,rome quoted in the    
earlier part of this chapter1 is that in
 several instances a ,phoenix  and not a
 ,victory surmounts the so-called orb4  
,for the story of the  ,phoenix was     
derived from the ,egyptian ,city of the 

,sun4#dh ,and the  fabulous bird in     
question was1 according to ,tacitus as  
well as  ,herodotus1 specially connected
 with the temple of the ,sun-,god at    
,heliopolis4    ,upon this point it may 
be added that the famous story of the   
,phoenix  seems to have been known to   
the writer of ,job2 the ,septuagint     
version  of ,job xxix4 #ah1 being ,i    
shall die in my nest and shall multiply 
my  days as the ,phoenix according to   
some of the best authorities4    ,the   
various ages allotted to this           
allegorical bird had reference to the   
calendar2 as indeed we learn from       
,pliny1 who tells us that         ,the  
revolution of the ,great ,year in which 
the seasons       and stars return to   
their former places1 agrees with the    
life of this bird4#di    ,this is borne 
out by the periods spoken of as the     
lifetime of the  ,phoenix2 as among them
 are one of #fjj years1 the ,great ,year
 referred to  by ,josephus and others1  
and one of #a1dfa years1 which was the  

,sothic  period of the ,egyptians4      
,it is also clear that1 like the        
,victory and the ,golden ,apple it      
surmounted1 the ,phoenix and its        
wonderful egg were not only connected   
with the ,sun-,god1 but also had a      
phallic signification4    ,the problem  
as to whether bird or egg first existed 
scarcely applies to  the fabulous       
,phoenix and its equally fabulous egg1  
and need not be  discussed here4        
,suffice it to say that the round object
 from which that  ,christian symbol the 
,coronation ,orb is descended1 though it
 may at  times have more or less        
represented the world upon which we     
dwell1  seems to have primarily         
signified1 as associated with each other
 in  idea1 both the ,golden ,apple of   
,love and the ,phoenix-like life        
principle  enshrined in the ,egg1 both  
the egg-like ,cosmos or ,universe and   
,eternity2 but in all1 and through all1 
and above all1 the basis of all  power  
whether finite or infinite1 viz41 ,life4

    ,it is therefore not surprising to  
find that the monarchs of ancient  days 
claimed to rule by divine right as      
vice-gerents of the ,sun-,god1 to  whose
 favouring influence all earthly life is
 traceable2 and caused  themselves to be
 represented1 upon ,roman coins as      
receiving the ,golden  ,apple1 and upon 
,egyptian monuments as receiving the    
,cross1 from the  ,sun-,god1 as the     
symbol of their authority4    ,yet      
another point to be borne in mind1 is   
that we ,christians are  expressly      
taught that ,god the ,father and ,god   
the ,son are as nearly  identical as the
 ancients considered the ,central ,fire1
 which they  deemed the ,parent of all  
things1 and the ,warmth and ,light      
issuing  therefrom to be2 or the ,sun's 
disc and the emanations therefrom2 the  
,christ being represented as saying ,i  
and ,my ,father are one and ,he  that   
hath seen ,me hath seen the ,father4    
,for though we describe ours as  a      
co-equal ,trinity1 no such identity with

 either ,god the ,father or  ,god the   
,son is affirmed of ,god the ,holy      
,ghost1 and it is remarkable  that in   
our ancient illustrations of the ,three 
,persons1 both the ,first  and the      
,second are represented as holding the  
so-called globe and  ,cross1 while the  
,third1 even where depicted as of human 
shape like the  other two1 is not4      
,the fact is that the co-equality of the
 ,holy ,spirit of a ,god who is         
,himself1 as ,jesus declared1 a ,spirit1
 is an idea which did not find  much    
acceptance among ,christians till a     
comparatively late date and is  the     
outcome of confused thought4 ,and the   
separate personality of this  ,spirit of
 a ,spirit being entirely a ,christian  
conception1 and without a  counterpart  
in the theology of the ancients1 few if 
any ,pagan symbols  such as the         
so-called globe and the cross would have
 been associated  with it in any case4  
,,chapter ,,xi4    ,,the ,,coins ,,of   
,,constantine4    ,we are more or less  

in the habit of assuming that just as   
,paul1 the  founder of the catholic     
faith1 was converted1 not altogether by 
reason  but as it were by force and with
 the rapidity of a flash of lightning1  
under the rays of a meridian sun 7,about
 noon suddenly there shone  from heaven 
a great light round about me1 ,acts     
xxii4 #f2 ,at  mid-day1 ,acts xxvi4     
#ac71 so ,constantine1 the establisher  
of that  faith as the ,state ,religion  
of the empire in which ,paul was so     
proud of  his rights as a citizen1 was  
in similarly rapid fashion converted by 
the appearance of a miraculous cross of 
light and an accompanying  legend above 
a meridian sun 7,at mid-day1 ,eusebius1 
,vit4 ,const4  ,i474    ,but1 as has    
already been pointed out1 this alleged  
vision of  ,constantine is said to have 
taken place during his march upon ,rome 
in  the year ,a4,c4 #cab2 and during the
 remaining twenty-five years of his     
life he acted rather as if he were      
converting ,christianity into what he   

thought most likely to be accepted by   
his subjects as a catholic  religion1   
than as if he had been converted to the 
teachings of ,jesus  the ,nazarene4     
,the fact is that ,constantine was      
favourable to our religion out of       
policy rather than conviction2 and if   
after refusing so long he did  indeed1 a
 quarter of a century after the alleged 
vision1 consent to be  baptised when ill
 and dying1 policy doubtless swayed him 
even then4  ,anyway1 as has already been
 stated and will now be seen1 the       
evidence  of his coins conclusively     
shows that the ,god to whom ,constantine
 from  first to last attributed his     
victories1 was--the ,sun-,god4    ,upon 
one coin issued by ,constantine we see  
upon the reverse a nude  figure crowned 
with rays1 with the right hand elevated 
toward the east1  and a round object in 
the left hand4 ,in the field is a cross 
widened at  the extremities1 and the    
surrounding legend is a significant one1
 ,soli  ,invicto ,comiti4 ,this coin was

 struck years after the alleged         
conversion of ,constantine1 and the     
combined reference to the ,sun-,god  and
 use of the cross are worthy of special 
notice4    ,upon two somewhat similar   
coins of ,constantine the cross is      
placed  within a circular wreath of bay 
or laurel4    ,on another coin with the 
same legend we see the same nude figure 
crowned with rays1 representing the     
,sun-,god and carrying a round  object2 
while in the field we see the ,gaulish  
symbol1 sometimes called  a cross1 which
 by the addition of a loop was1 as we   
shall see later on1  turned into the    
so-called ,monogram of ,christ4    ,upon
 a coin with the anything but ,christian
 legend ,marti  ,conservatori1 is a     
cross with four equal arms4    ,on a    
somewhat similar coin with the same     
legend1 the helmet on the  reverse is   
ornamented with the so-called ,monogram 
of ,christ4    ,upon another coin we see
 ,mars leaning on a shield adorned with 
the  so-called ,monogram of ,christ1 the

 legend being ,marti ,patri             
,conservator4    ,on a coin issued in   
the name of his son ,crispus during the 
reign of  ,constantine1 we see two      
,victories holding a shield upon a      
pedestal  marked with a cross of four   
equal arms4    ,a similar cross appears 
upon a coin issued during this reign in 
the  name of another son of             
,constantine4    ,upon a coin bearing   
the inscription ,constantinus ,max4     
,aug4 we see  upon the reverse a cross  
of four equal arms4    ,on an otherwise 
similar coin a compound tau cross of    
four equal arms1  image taucross4gif1   
appears4    ,upon a well-known engraving
 of a coin in the ,annales              
,ecclesiastici of  ,baronius1 the image 
monogram#c4;gif form of the so-called   
,monogram of  ,christ appears upon the  
helmet of ,constantine4 ,some           
authorities1  however1 state that this  
is copied as the familiar image         
monogram#c4;gif in error2 what appeared 
on the helmet being the  ,gaulish symbol

 image asterisk4gif with a dot          
representing a star  near the top of the
 vertical bar4 ,such a dot can be seen  
in a similar  place upon two or three   
coins bearing the legend ,virtus        
,exercit4    ,on another coin the legend
 ,gloria ,exercitus surrounds two       
soldiers  holding military standards1   
between which is the symbol of the      
cross4    ,on a somewhat similar coin   
the compound tan cross1 of which we have
  already noted an example1 occurs      
between the standards4    ,a cross of   
four equal arms appears upon a coin     
bearing the legend ,pax  ,publica4    ,a
 coin issued during the reign of        
,constantine the ,great in the name of  
his son ,constantine1 has upon its      
reverse a cross of four equal arms1  the
 extremities of which are rounded4      
,on an otherwise similar coin the       
compound tau cross appears4    ,upon a  
coin bearing the inscription            
,constantinus ,max4 ,aug4 a cross of    
four equal arms occurs near a soldier   

armed with spear and shield4    ,on the 
reverse of one coin we see two soldiers 
holding military  standards1 and between
 the standards the so-called ,monogram  
of ,christ  appears4    ,a coin of      
similar type was issued during the reign
 of ,constantine the  ,great in the name
 of his son ,constantine4    ,upon a    
coin which on the obverse bears the     
inscription ,constantinus  ,max4 ,aug41 
we see upon the reverse ,victory        
carrying a palm4 ,in the  field is the  
symbol image monogram#d4;gif4 ,the      
surrounding motto is  ,victoria         
constantini ,aug4    ,several coins with
 the legend ,gloria ,exercitus have upon
 the same  side two soldiers with a     
labarum or military standard between    
them1  upon the banner of which is the  
symbol image monogram#d4;gif4    ,on a  
coin with the legend ,victoria ,caesar  
,,nn we see ,victory carrying  a palm4  
,in the field is the ,gaulish symbol    
image asterisk4gif4    ,the reverse of  
another coin has the legend             

,constantinus ,aug41 and  represents    
,constantine as holding a labarum or    
military standard  terminating in a     
round object4 ,upon the banner is the   
symbol image  monogram#d4;gif4    ,on a 
coin bearing upon its obverse the       
inscription ,constantinopolis1  we see  
upon the other side a figure of ,victory
 and a cross of four  equal arms4    ,on
 another coin bearing the same legend we
 see upon the reverse ,victory  standing
 upon a ship1 and to the left the       
so-called monogram4    ,upon another    
coin we see the same symbol above the   
wolf and twins of  the city of ,rome4   
,a rare coin bears upon the obverse the 
inscription ,constantinus ,max4  ,aug41 
and on the reverse1 surrounded by the   
legend ,spes ,publica1 a  labarum or    
military standard the handle or base of 
which transfixes a  serpent4 ,upon the  
banner three globules are embroidered1  
and the symbol  image monogram#c4;gif   
appears above the cross-bar from which  
the  banner hangs4    ,upon one medal or

 coin of ,constantine we see the        
significant legend  ,soli ,invicto      
,aeterno ,aug4 inscribed around the     
quadriga of the  ,sun-,god ,phoebus4    
,on another piece struck by ,constantine
 the ,great1 the ,sun-,god is given  the
 title ,comes ,aug42 ,companion1        
,guardian1 or ,saviour1 of the          
,emperor4    ,upon several coins we see 
the legend ,comiti ,aug4 ,,nn1 and1     
surrounded  by the same1 the ,sun-,god  
holding a small round object4    ,on    
numerous other coins also1 the ,sun-,god
 is represented as holding a  small     
round object4    ,other significant     
,sun-,god legends to be met upon the    
coins of this  alleged ,christian       
,emperor1 are ,comis ,constantini ,aug41
 ,soli ,invicto1  ,soli ,comiti ,augg4  
,,nn1 ,soli ,invicto ,com4 ,d4,n4 and   
the like4    ,upon a coin bearing the   
legend ,soli ,comiti ,aug4 ,n4 we see   
the ,sun-,god  presenting ,constantine  
with a small round object surmounted by 
a  ,victory4    ,on a coin with the     

legend ,pax ,augustorum1 ,constantine   
holds a  standard ornamented with a     
cross4    ,upon another coin            
,constantine is to be seen holding what 
is said to be  a representation of the  
,zodiac4    ,on a coin issued in his own
 name1 as upon others already mentioned 
as  issued in the names of his sons1 we 
see two ,victories supporting a  shield 
upon an altar ornamented with a cross4  
,upon a somewhat similar coin the altar 
is ornamented with the star-like  object
 which in days of old so often stood for
 the radiate sun4    ,a coin with the   
inscription ,divo ,constantino1 and on  
the reverse the  legend ,aeterna ,pietas
 and a representation of ,constantine   
holding a  round object surmounted by   
the symbol image monogram#d4;gif1 though
  usually included in the coins of that 
,emperor was evidently struck  after his
 death and deification4    ,the same    
remark applies to a somewhat similar    
coin1 which has an  additional symbol in
 a plain cross in the field to the right

 of the  ,emperor-,god4    ,it should be
 noted that the question here arises as 
to how far it is  fair of us to claim   
this cross and so-called ,monogram of   
,christ as  ,christian and at the same  
time denounce as ,pagan the deification 
of  ,constantine referred to upon the   
same coins4    ,as to the coins of      
,constantine the ,great as a whole1 it  
need only be  remarked once more that   
while upon many of the pieces struck by 
him  ,constantine attributed his        
victories to the ,sun-,god1 not upon a  
single  one of them did he attribute    
them to the ,christ2 while it was ever  
the  ,sun-,god and never the ,christ    
whom he alluded to on his coins as his  
,companion1 ,partner1 ,guardian1 or     
,saviour4    ,this being so1 how can we 
honestly claim that the so-called       
,monogram of  ,christ1 and other forms  
of the cross1 were ever placed upon his 
coins  by ,constantine as symbols of the
 ,christ1 yet never as symbols of the   
,sun-,god8        ,,chapter ,,xii4      

,,roman ,,coins ,,after ,,constantine4  
,passing on to the ,christian successors
 of ,constantine the ,great1 we are  at 
once met with the significant fact that 
,constantine the ,second  issued many   
different coins bearing a representation
 of the ,sun-,god  holding a small round
 object2 and1 as the surrounding legend1
 ,claritas  ,reipublicae4    ,another   
coin of this son of ,constantine the    
,great1 and one which  deserves special 
attention1 has upon its reverse a ,cross
 and a ,crescent  in juxtaposition1 as  
if the cross signified the sun4    ,a   
very similar coin has the symbol image  
monogram#c4;gif between the  military   
standards4    ,upon another coin we see 
on the reverse both this ,christian     
,emperor and  the ,sun-,god2 the former 
holding a small round object1 and the   
latter  crowning him4 ,the surrounding  
legend is ,soli ,invicto ,comiti4       
,the reverse of another coin bears the  
same ,sun-,god legend1 and  represents  
the ,sun-,god as holding a small round  

object4    ,upon another coin we see    
,constantine holding a small round      
object  surmounted by a ,victory4 ,on   
the reverse is the symbol image         
monogram#c4;gif4    ,constans ,i41      
another son of ,constantine the ,great1 
issued a coin on  which he is           
represented as holding in one hand a    
simply formed labarum  or military      
standard consisting of a straight pole  
terminating at the  top in a crossbar1  
from which hangs a banner bearing the   
symbol image  monogram#c4;gif2 while in 
the other hand he holds a small round   
object  surmounted by a ,phoenix4       
,constantius ,,ii41 yet another son of  
,constantine the ,great1 issued a  coin 
on which is the symbol image            
monogram#c4;gif between the letters     
alpha and omega 78 ,,apxomega72 the     
legend being ,salus ,aug  ,nostri4      
,on another coin is ,constantius ,,ii4  
as the ,sun1 upon one side2 and upon    
the other the symbol image              
monogram#c4;gif between the letters     

alpha  and omega once again4            
,nepotianus1 a nephew of ,constantine   
the ,great who took ,rome in ,a4,c4 #cej
  but was killed as an usurper the same 
year1 issued a coin on the  reverse of  
which1 surrounded by the legend ,urbs   
,roma1 is a female  figure representing 
,rome and holding in her hand a round   
object  surmounted by the symbol image  
monogram#c4;gif4    ,the symbol image   
monogram#d4;gif frequently occurs upon  
the coins of  ,valeus 7,a4,c4 #cfd-cgh74
 ,and upon one coin of this ,emperor we 
see the  letter ,p surmounting a cross2 
surrounded by the legend ,gloria        
,romanorum4    ,upon a coin of          
,valentinianus ,,ii4 we see ,victory    
holding a round object  surmounted by a 
cross1 the legend being ,victoria       
,augustorum4    ,on the coins of        
,theodosius ,i4 7,a4,c4 #cgh-cie7 we    
find representations of  the ,emperor   
holding a round object surmounted by a  
,phoenix1 and of the  ,emperor holding a
 round object surmounted by a ,victory2 

as also of  ,victory holding a round    
object surmounted by a cross4    ,this  
,emperor ,theodosius ,i41 better known  
as ,theodosius the ,great1 after        
securing sole control of the ,roman     
,empire brought about the final         
disruption of the world-wide dominions  
of ,rome by bequeathing them in  two    
portions to his sons ,arcadius and      
,honorius2 the elder1 ,arcadius1        
becoming ,emperor of ,constantinople and
 the ,east1 while the younger1          
,honorius1 became ,emperor of ,rome and 
the ,west3 ,a4,c4 #cie4    ,less than a 
century later1 viz41 between the years  
,a4,c4 #dge and #dhj1  the ,western     
,empire was finally extinguished by     
,odoacer2 the ,eastern  ,empire         
surviving it nearly a thousand years1   
lasting as the latter did  from the     
partition in ,a4,c4 #cie to the capture 
of ,constantinople by  ,mahomet ,,ii4 in
 ,a4,c4 #adec4    ,it was1 as stated in 
a previous chapter1 upon the coins of an
 ,emperor  of the ,east1 viz41          

,theodosius ,,ii41 that the first       
example occurs of a  representation of  
an ,emperor holding a round object      
surmounted by a  cross2 though1 as has  
been noted1 instances of ,victory       
carrying an  object so surmounted had   
previously occurred4 ,and it need only  
be added  that the symbols image        
monogram#c4;gif and image               
monogram#d4;gif1  often the centre of a 
circle or surrounded by a circular      
wreath of bay  or laurel1 continually   
occur upon the coins of the ,eastern    
,empire1 the  symbol image asterisk4gif 
frequently1 and the undisguised solar   
wheel1 image solarwheel#a4;gif upon the 
coins of ,eudoxia1 ,theodosius  ,,ii41  
,leo ,i41 and others4    ,the evidence  
of the coins of the ,roman ,empire given
 in this and the two  preceding         
chapters1 coupled with the too-often    
forgotten fact that the  only form of   
cross which could possibly be a         
representation of the  instrument of    
execution to which ,jesus was affixed   

was the very last  form of cross to be  
adopted as a ,christian symbol1 cannot1 
it will be  seen1 lead the unprejudiced 
enquirer to any other conclusion than   
that  the cross became the symbol of    
,christendom because the advent of      
,constantine and his ,gauls made it a   
prominent symbol of the ,roman  ,empire4
 ,and that the symbol in question was   
not altogether unconnected  with        
,sun-,god worship1 should be equally    
clear to the reader4        ,,chapter   
,,xiii4    ,,the ,,monogram ,,of        
,,christ4    ,the so-called ,monogram of
 ,christ --a term which has at one time 
or  another been applied to each of the 
symbols image solarwheel#a4;gif  or     
image asterisk4gif1 image               
monogram#a4;gif or image                
monogram#c4;gif1 and image              
monogram#b4;gif or image                
monogram#d4;gif1 as but variations of   
one and the same  symbol--deserves a    
chapter to itself4    ,though not first 
placed upon the coins of the ,roman     

,empire by  ,constantine any more than  
was the right-angled cross of four equal
 arms  or the so-called ,st4 ,andrew's  
cross1 the symbol image monogram#c4;gif 
was1 like the image x4gif cross and the 
many varieties of  right-angled crosses 
of four equal arms1 first brought into  
prominence  as a ,roman symbol by the   
,emperor in question4    ,from the      
evidence at our disposal it would appear
 that ,decius was the  first ,roman     
ruler to make use of this form of the   
so-called ,monogram of  ,christ4        
,anyhow1 as has already been remarked1  
this symbol image  monogram#c4;gif      
occurs upon a coin of the ,emperor      
,decius struck at  ,maeonia about ,a4,c4
 #bej2 and therefore more than half a   
century before  the days of             
,constantine4 ,and it is noteworthy that
 it was as a ,pagan  symbol that the    
image monogram#c4;gif thus first        
appeared upon the  ,roman coinage4      
,the coin in question is a bronze one1  
and the ,monogram of ,christ  occurs in 

the centre of a ,greek inscription      
surrounding a  representation of the    
,sun-,god ,bacchus2 and1 apparently1 as 
an  amalgamation or contraction of the  
two ,greek letters equivalent to our  ,r
 and ,,ch1 viz43 the ,greek letters ,p  
and ,x4#ej    ,why these particular     
letters should have been contracted1 is1
 however1  uncertain2 and the question  
arises as to whether the image          
monogram#c4;gif first arose as a        
contraction of such ,greek letters1 or  
as an amalgamation of the ,roman letters
 ,p and ,x1 or as the cross image  x4gif
 plus the ,greek ,p 7our ,r7 as the     
initial letter of the ,greek  name for  
,rome4    ,moreover if it be decided    
that the symbol first arose as a        
contraction  of certain letters1 yet    
further questions arise2 viz42 in what  
order  those letters were first read1   
and what word they first represented4   
,before going into such matters as      
these1 however1 it is important that  we
 should fully realise how certain it is 

that the so-called ,monogram  of ,christ
 was originally a ,pagan symbol4 ,for   
even if this be not  considered         
demonstrated by its occurrence upon a   
,roman coin long  before1 according to  
our ,church1 the ,christ caused         
,constantine to use  it as the military 
standard of the ,gauls1 it is clearly   
shown by its  occurrence upon many      
relics of pre-,christian date4    ,the  
so-called ,monogram of ,christ can be   
seen1 for instance1 upon a  monument of 
,isis1 the ,virgin ,mother of the       
,sun-,god1 which dates from  the second 
century before our era4#ea ,also upon   
the coins of  ,ptolemaeus2 on one of    
which is a head of ,zeus ,ammon upon one
 side1 and  an eagle bearing the image  
monogram#c4;gif in its claws upon the   
other4#eb ,the symbol in question also  
appears upon ,greek money struck  long  
before the birth of ,jesus2 for instance
 upon certain varieties of  the ,attic  
tetradrachma4 ,and the image            
monogram#d4;gif occurs upon  many       

different coins of the first ,herod1    
struck thirty years or more  ,b4,c4     
,whether the ,pagan image               
monogram#c4;gif and the ,pagan image    
monogram#d4;gif originally had the same 
signification or not1 is  uncertain4    
,almost equally uncertain is the date at
 which we ,christians first  adopted    
these ,pagan symbols as ,christian      
symbols because they could be           
interpreted as formed of the two first  
letters of the ,greek word              
,,xpisigma,,tosigma1 ,christos1 ,christ4
    ,the probability is that ,christians
 had at least drawn attention to this   
possible interpretation of the symbols  
in question before the days of          
,constantine4 ,but this scarcely renders
 less noteworthy the fact1 shown        
further on1 that the favourite symbol of
 the ,gaulish warriors1 the  solar wheel
 image solarwheel#a4;gif or image       
solarwheel#b4;gif1 was  sooner or later 
altered by their leader into image      
monogram#a4;gif or  image               

monogram#b4;gif to please the           
,christians2 while the symbols  image   
monogram#c4;gif and image               
monogram#d4;gif were also made use  of  
by ,constantine4    ,which form of solar
 wheel1 monogram1 or cross1 was that    
actually  carried by the ,gauls in      
triumph within the walls of ,rome and   
set up by  their leader in the heart of 
the ,eternal ,city1 is not quite        
certain4  ,but it is clear that as both 
the image monogram#c4;gif and the image 
monogram#d4;gif appeared upon coins     
struck before our era1 ,constantine     
cannot very well have been ignorant of  
the fact that these were  originally    
,pagan symbols1 when he favoured the    
addition of a loop to  the top of the   
vertical bar of the ,gaulish solar      
symbols image  solarwheel#a4;gif or     
image asterisk4gif and image            
solarwheel#b4;gif or image plus4gif in  
order that what his ,gaulish  army      
venerated as triumphal tokens might be  
accepted as symbols of  victory by his  

,christian supporters also4    ,that    
this ,gaulish monarch did so alter1 and 
for the reason named1 the  symbol or    
symbols venerated by his troops1 is     
admitted by1 amongst  others1 that well 
known writer the ,reverend ,s4 ,baring  
,gould1 ,m4,a4 ,for1  referring to the  
solar wheel as a symbol of the ,sun-,god
 venerated by  the ancient ,gauls1 this 
author tells us that ,constantine       
,adopted and adapted the sign for his   
standards1 and the       ,labarum of    
,constantine became a common ,christian 
symbol4 ,that there was policy in his   
conduct we can       hardly doubt2 the  
symbol he set up gratified the          
,christians in his army on one side and 
the ,gauls on the       other4 ,for the 
former it was a sign compounded of the  
initial letters of ,christ1 to the      
latter it was the       token of the    
favour of the solar deity4#ec    ,as the
 fact that both the image               
monogram#c4;gif and image               
monogram#d4;gif were in use as symbols  

before the commencement of our  era     
thoroughly disposes of our contention as
 ,christians that the  so-called        
,monogram of ,christ had its origin in  
the formation of a  monogram out of the 
two first letters of the ,greek word    
,,xpisigma,,tosigma 7,christos1         
,christ71 it is clear that these        
symbols must have had some other origin4
    ,assuming that the symbols image    
monogram#c4;gif and image               
monogram#d4;gif had the same origin1 and
 the same signification1 and  that if   
the image monogram#d4;gif was a         
combination of two letters  the ,greek  
or ,latin ,t 7instead of ,x7 was not one
 of them2 or rather1 as  these would be 
very considerable assumptions1 more or  
less confining  our attention to the    
image monogram#c4;gif as the more likely
 of the  two to have arisen as a        
combination of the ,greek letters ,p and
 ,x2 let  us in passing briefly enquire 
into the origin of the so-called        
,monogram  of ,christ as a ,pagan       

symbol4    ,if we seek for that origin  
as a combination of the first two       
letters of  some other ,greek word than 
,christos1 ,christ1 and for the moment  
assume the letters ,p and ,x to have    
occurred in the same order as in  that  
word1 we see at once that the monogram  
may have been derived  either from the  
word ,chrestos1 ,good1 or the word      
,chronos1 ,time1 or  the word ,chrusos1 
,gold4    ,there is1 by the way1 another
 curious connection between the three   
,greek words in question4 ,for the name 
of the famous god ,kronos or  ,cronos   
was often spelt ,,xponosigma i4e41      
,chronos4#ed ,and this god              
,chronos--the father of ,zeus2 and more 
or less a personification of  ,time1 the
 ,old ,father from whom we are all      
descended--was identical with  ,saturn1 
while the ,saturnian ,age was1 as in    
,virgil's fourth eclogue1  ever that    
spoken of as the ,golden age when the   
ancients were referring  to what they   
pictured as the good old times4    ,it  

will not do1 however1 to assume that if 
the symbol we are  considering first    
arose as a combination of the ,greek    
letters ,p and ,x1  they were of        
necessity taken from1 and representative
 of1 a word in  which they occur in the 
same order as in ,christos4 ,and the    
fact that  in the image monogram#d4;gif1
 if not also in the image               
monogram#c4;gif1 the ,p is the leading  
feature1 gives emphasis to the  point in
 question4    ,if we suppose that the   
so-called monogram arose as a           
combination of the  ,greek letters in   
question occurring in the order ,p ,x1  
the student of  such matters can        
scarcely fail to note that the letters  
in question  occur in that order as the 
centre both of the word ,,apxh1 the     
,head1  ,chief1 or ,first2 and also as  
the centre of the kindred word          
,,apxomega1 to be first1 the only       
remaining letters of which1 and         
therefore the first and the last of this
 word as of the old ,greek  alphabet1   

are1 as will be seen1 ,alpha and ,omega1
 the letters so  continually placed on  
either side of the symbol image         
monogram#c4;gif  in ,christian times4   
,in this connection it should be pointed
 out that according to some of  the best
 authorities the first image            
monogram#c4;gif which occurs  upon any  
,roman coin1 coming as it does after the
 letter alpha in a  ,greek inscription1 
should be taken with that letter as     
forming the ,,px  of ,,apx1 the latter  
being an abbreviation of some form or   
other of the  title ,archon4 ,this title
 was that given to the dignitary who was
 at  one and the same time the chief    
magistrate of the state and its chief   
priest1 and it may be worth remark that 
as ,bacchus was the deity  worshipped in
 ,lydia1 the ,archon in question would  
therefore have been  the chief priest of
 the ,sun-,god4    ,several writers     
have1 in their zeal for our religion1   
outrun their  discretion1 and gone so   
far as to assume that the existence of  

the  so-called monogram of ,christ upon 
this coin of the ,emperor ,decius is    
due to some ,christian having been      
employed in turning out the coin in     
question1 and having in his zeal        
surreptitiously introduced a symbol  of 
his faith4 ,but though gravely supported
 by more than one great  authority1 this
 is obviously an absurd position to take
 up4 ,and in any  case the facts remain 
that it was in this instance placed over
 a  representation of the ,sun-,god1 and
 had for centuries been in use as a     
,pagan symbol4    ,passing on1 however1 
we have next to note that1 as before    
hinted1 even  if the symbol image       
monogram#c4;gif arose as a combination  
of two  letters1 though we know that    
symbol to have been often used as a     
contraction of the ,greek letters ,p and
 ,x 7our ,r and ,,ch71 there is no      
proof that it arose as a combination of 
two ,greek letters2 and the  symbol may 
have arisen as a combination of the     
,roman letters ,p and ,x4    ,it should 

therefore be pointed out that in the    
inscriptions which have  come down to us
 from the ,gaulish ,christians of the   
sixth1 seventh1 and  eighth centuries   
after ,christ1 the symbols image        
monogram#c4;gif and  image              
monogram#d4;gif are continually used as 
contractions of the  ,latin word ,,pax1 
,peace4 ,for though the fact that the   
,monogram was  often so interpreted by  
,christians centuries ,a4,c4 can by no  
means be  considered evidence that it   
was thus that it first arose as a ,pagan
  symbol centuries ,b4,c41 such a       
possibility should be kept before us4   
,but did the so-called ,monogram of     
,christ first come into being as a      
combination of two letters2 ,greek1     
,roman1 or otherwise8    ,even this is  
not certain1 for this pre-,christian    
symbol may originally  have been a      
cross1 as a symbol of ,life and of the  
,sun-,god1 plus the  ,greek letter ,p as
 the initial character of the word ,rome
 in what may  be called the court       

language of the time4    ,such an       
explanation would more or less account  
for the variations  image               
monogram#c4;gif and image               
monogram#d4;gif2 these being  obviously 
the natural ways of adding the letter   
,p1 signifying ,rome1 to  the crosses   
image x4gif and image plus4gif          
respectively4    ,all the foregoing     
references to the origin of the         
so-called monogram as  a ,pagan symbol  
of pre-,christian date1 are but         
speculations however4 ,its  origin      
cannot be ascertained for certain4      
,the revival of this pre-,christian     
symbol1 and the prominence given to  it 
upon the coins of the ,roman ,empire1   
are1 however1 traceable4 ,and1  as has  
been shown1 they are traceable to       
,constantine2 who induced the           
,christians to accept as the ,monogram  
of the ,christ1 and therefore as a      
,christian as well as a ,gaulish symbol 
of victory1 the ,solar ,wheel  venerated
 by the ,gaulish conquerors of ,rome4   

,nowadays the so-called ,monogram of    
,christ is almost always reproduced  for
 us as image monogram#c4;gif or image   
monogram#d4;gif2 but the  fact that     
,constantine sometimes so used it should
 not blind us to the  facts that it was 
at first usually the centre of a circle1
 like the  spokes of a wheel2 and that  
the undisguised solar wheel image       
solarwheel#a4;gif appears upon not a few
 of the coins issued by the  ,christian 
successors of ,constantine1 while since 
his reign the solar  wheel image        
solarwheel#b4;gif and many an artistic  
variation of the  same have been        
,christian symbols1 and when in our     
ornamentation of  ecclesiastical        
properties we omit the circle we as     
often as not make  the cross itself     
wheel-like by rounding the extremities  
and widening  them till they nearly     
meet4    ,moreover it should not be     
forgotten that it was evidently one form
 or  other of the solar wheel of the    
,gauls1 plus the politic loop to one  of

 its spokes1 which ,constantine and his 
,gaulish warriors are said to  have seen
 above the meridian sun1 with the       
divinely written legend ,,en            
,,toytomega ,,nika1 ,by this conquer1   
attached4 ,for though that  miraculous  
symbol is referred to as a cross1 the   
,monogram itself was  so referred to2   
and ,eusebius1 after telling us that the
 ,christ appeared  to ,constantine and  
commanded him to make a military        
standard for the  ,sun-,god worshipping 
,gauls1 ,with the same sign which he had
 seen in the  heavens1 expressly        
describes this as composed of ,two      
letters  indicating the name of the     
,christ1 the letter ,p being intersected
 with  ,x at the centre4 ,and on this   
particular ,labarum of ,constantine1 as 
on  the majority of the ,labara         
represented upon his coins1 the image   
monogram#c4;gif was the centre of a     
circle or circular wreath1 like  the    
spokes of a wheel4#ee    ,in any case   
the fact that the symbol image          

monogram#c4;gif was a  ,pagan one       
centuries before the ,christ is said to 
have made it a  ,christian one for the  
,sun-,god worshipping ,gauls to follow  
on to  victory1 coupled with the facts  
that they are said to have seen it      
above the mid-day sun1 and that it was  
admittedly a politic adaptation  of the 
,solar ,wheel1 show us how much         
,eusebius and other ,christian          
chroniclers both invented and           
suppressed1 and also how largely the    
influence of ,sun-,god worship permeated
 and moulded our religion4    ,in this  
connection it may be noted1 as a curious
 fact rather than as  evidence1 that    
according to some authorities the       
so-called ,monograms of  ,christ were in
 earlier ages ,monograms of the         
,sun-,god ,osiris4#ef ,also  that both  
,socrates and ,sozomen tell us that when
 the temple of the  ,sun-,god ,serapis  
at ,alexandria was pulled down1 the     
symbol of the ,christ  was discovered   
upon its foundations and the ,christians

 made many  converts in consequence a   
somewhat significant statement4         
,moreover we are told that upon every   
,dies ,solis1 or in other words  upon   
that day of the week which throughout   
the ,roman ,empire was held  sacred to  
the ,sun-,god and throughout            
,christendom is called ,sun-day1        
,constantine made his troops1 assembled 
under what was admittedly a  solar      
symbol1 recite at a given time1 which   
was probably dawn or  mid-day1 a prayer 
commencing ,we acknowledge thee to be   
,god alone1 and  own that our victories 
are due to thy favour4#eg ,who could    
this ,god  have been but the ,sun-,god1 
seeing that it was to the ,sun-,god that
  ,constantine upon his coins ever      
attributed his victories8 ,and what is  
more likely than that1 wishing to take a
 friendly view of the deity  worshipped 
by their supporters the ,christians1 it 
was as conceiving the  ,christ to be but
 the latest addition to the many        
conceptions of the  ,sun-,god1 that     

,constantine altered the solar symbols  
of his troops into  the so-called       
,monograms of ,christ1 and that his     
troops accepted the  alterations8       
,and1 passing from the symbol to the    
deity represented1 let us remember  that
 it is recorded that various ,christian 
paintings of ancient times  bore upon   
them the dedicatory words ,,deo ,,soli4 
,for this remarkable  legend means both 
,to ,god alone and ,to the ,sun-,god1   
both ,to the  ,sole ,god and ,to the    
,god ,sol2 and forcibly reminds us1 not 
only of  the prayer which ,constantine  
caused his troops to repeat1 but also of
  that fine address to the universally  
adored ,sun-,god commencing             
,latium calls thee ,sol because in      
honour thou                art          
,solitary1       ,after the ,father4#eh 
,now1 as will be shown further on1 a    
cross of some description or other  was 
in every land accepted as the symbol of 
the universally adored  ,sun-,god4 ,and 
while not a single one of the many books

 forming the ,new  ,testament states    
that ,jesus was executed upon a         
cross-shaped  instrument1 and the first 
crosses ,christians used as signs or    
symbols  bore every form but that which 
a cross-shaped instrument of execution  
would have borne1 the ,christians of the
 fourth century1 as we have  seen1 went 
out of their way to claim even the      
so-called ,monogram of  ,christ as a    
cross2 ,eusebius so carefully speaking  
of it as such even  where he relates    
that ,constantine and his soldiers saw  
it above the  meridian sun1 that one    
might not unreasonably imagine him to be
  claiming it as ,christian because it  
was more or less cruciform and          
therefore more or less like the         
world-wide symbol of the ,sun-,god4     
,,chapter ,,xiv4    ,,the ,,cross ,,of  
,,the ,,logos4    ,having made clear the
 part played by ,constantine in the     
prominence  given in his lifetime to the
 cross as a symbol of the ,roman ,empire
 and  therefore of what he made its     

,state ,religion1 and having also shown 
that while the ,christian chroniclers of
 those days are silent  concerning the  
various forms of crosses placed by      
,constantine upon his  coins they went  
out of their way to allude to the       
so-called ,monogram of  ,christ as a    
cross1 to claim it as such1 and even to 
associate it with  the sun1 let us now  
turn our attention again to the         
pre-,christian  cross4    ,so great was 
the veneration in which that phallic and
 solar symbol the  cross was held in the
 ages which preceded the birth and death
 of ,jesus1  that the philosophers of   
those days even went so far as to       
declare that  the cross was the figure  
of the ,life or ,soul of the ,universe4 
,though it is a matter of very          
considerable importance1 we ,christians 
for some reason or other ignore the fact
 that long before our era  commenced    
philosophers thus conceived the figure  
of the cross to be the  symbol of the   
,logos of ,god4    ,now although1       

following the ,gospel of ,st4 ,john1 we 
have made it a main  article of our     
belief that the ,logos1 really the      
,thought plus ,speech1  of ,god1 became 
about the year ,b4,c4 #d specially      
incarnate in the person  of ,jesus the  
,nazarene1 we ought not to forget that1 
being the one ,power  by which all that 
ever came into existence was created and
 all that  exists is sustained1 the     
,logos in any case ever was1 is1 and    
will be1  incarnate in every sentient   
being4    ,as the ,logos of ,god 7or1 as
 the ,authorised ,version of the ,bible 
into  ,english most inadequately renders
 it in the first chapter of ,st4 ,john's
  ,gospel1 the ,word of ,god7 was by the
 philosophers called the  ,intellectual 
,sun and the ,light of the ,world1#ei   
being1 as a  personification of the     
,thought and ,speech of the             
,all-,father1 a  personification of     
,wisdom and ,reason 7which1 in an even  
more real sense  than the emanations of 
the physical sun1 form the ,light of the

 ,world1  or1 as the original text of   
the ,new ,testament puts it1 the ,light 
of  the ,cosmos71 the fact that         
pre-,christian philosophers affirmed    
that  the cross was the symbol of the   
said ,light of the ,cosmos1 is          
obviously one which every writer        
concerning the cross as a ,christian    
symbol ought in common honesty to deal  
with4    ,that pre-,christian           
philosophers did so affirm1 can be seen 
by turning  to the ,timaeus of ,plato1  
where1 referring to the begetting of the
  ,universal ,soul 7whom ,philo1 another
 pre-,christian philosopher1 speaks  of 
as the ,second ,god2 and as ,god's      
,beloved ,son1 ,image1  ,ambassador1    
,mediator1 and ,first-,begotten71 ,plato
 says         ,such was the whole plan  
of the ,eternal ,god about the          
,god that was to be3--and in the centre 
he put the soul       which he diffused 
throughout the body3--and he made the   
,universe a circle moving in a circle4  
,having these       purposes in view he 

created the world a blessed ,god3--he   
made the soul on this wise--joined--at  
the centre like       the letter ,x4#fj 
,concerning this pronouncement of the   
great ,teacher he so revered1  ,proclus 
wrote as follows         ,two circles   
will be formed1 of which one is interior
       but the other is exterior4 ,one  
of these is called the       circle of  
the ,same and one the circle of the     
,different1       or of the ,fixed and  
of the ,variable1 or rather of the      
,equinoctial ,circle and of the ,zodiac4
 ,the circle of the       ,different    
revolves about the ,zodiac1 but the     
circle of       the ,same about the     
,equinoctial4 ,hence we conceive that   
the right lines are not to be applied to
 each other at       right angles but   
like the letter ,x1 as ,plato says1 so  
as       to cause the angles to be equal
 only at the summit but       those on  
each side and the successive angles to  
be       unequal4 ,for the ,equinoctial 
,circle does not cut the       ,zodiac  

at right angles4 ,such therefore in     
short is the       mathematical         
discussion of the figure of the         
7,universal7       ,soul4#fa    ,even   
the ,fathers of the ,christian ,church  
admitted that their ideas of  the ,son  
of ,god and of the cross being his      
symbol1 were more or less  derived from 
pre-,christian philosophers4 ,for we    
find ,justin ,martyr  remarking that    
,plato declared that         ,the ,power
 next to the ,supreme ,god was figured  
in       the shape of the letter ,x upon
 the universe4#fb    ,and in another    
place this famous ,father states that   
,whereas ,plato1 philosophising about   
the ,son of ,god1       says ,god       
expressed him upon the universe in the  
shape       of the letter ,x1 he        
evidently took the hint from ,moses1    
who took brass and made the sign of the 
cross and       placed it by the holy   
tabernacle1 and declared that if        
people would look upon that cross and   
believe they would       be saved4#fc   

,the value of all this evidence is so   
obvious that its mere parade is  almost 
sufficient4    ,it should however be    
pointed out that this cross image x4gif1
 being  avowedly adopted by the         
pre-,christian philosophers as the      
symbol of the  ,logos or ,first-begotten
 of ,god in preference to the image     
plus4gif because the zodiac or pathway  
of the ,sun does not cross  the equator 
at right angles1 was clearly a solar    
symbol4 ,and it may be  added that      
though ,justin ,martyr is careful to    
claim this particular  solar cross as a 
symbol of the ,christ1 no one claims    
that ,jesus was  executed upon an       
instrument so shaped2 while the story   
that ,st4 ,andrew  was affixed to an    
instrument of execution so shaped1 is   
admittedly a  worthless legend4    ,this
 claim of ,justin ,martyr that the solar
 cross of the philosophers  was a       
pre-,christian symbol of the ,christ1   
is1 when considered in  connection with 
the fact that nearly all the ,fathers   

allude to the  figure of the cross1 any 
kind of cross1 as a life-giving symbol  
from  time immemorial1 significant of   
much4        ,,chapter ,,xv4    ,,the   
,,pre-,,christian ,,cross ,,in ,,europe4
    ,that the symbol of the cross was   
widely venerated in ,europe long before 
our era1 is well known to               
archaeologists4 ,of ,britain in those   
days we  know next to nothing1 history  
being almost silent upon the subject and
  relics conspicuous by their absence4  
,the cross is however a conspicuous     
feature upon certain funeral urns which 
are said to date back to the  period in 
question4 ,and it is noteworthy that    
both it and the solar  wheel occur upon 
several of the earliest ,british coins2 
which whether  issued as some say       
before1 or as others aver after1 the    
advent of  ,julius ,caesar1 were        
admittedly of pre-,christian date4      
,evidences of the  veneration of the    
cross in ,france before our era are so  
numerous and  easily ascertainable1 that

 it will only be necessary to refer the 
reader to the ,collection ,roujou1 the  
pages of the ,revue de  ,numismatique1  
and the writings of ,messieurs ,de la   
,saussaye1 ,lenormant1  ,de ,saulcy1 ,e4
 ,lambert1 and other ,french            
authorities4    ,if1 continuing our     
journey eastwards1 we pass over the     
border into the  northern provinces of  
,italy1 we find equally striking        
evidence of the  pre-,christian         
veneration of the symbol in question4   
,let us take for example the evidence   
furnished by the remarkable  discoveries
 made in the pre-,christian cemetery    
unearthed at ,gola-,secca4  ,for upon a 
very large proportion of the articles   
discovered in the  ancient tombs of the 
cemetery in question1 a cross of some   
kind is the  prominent feature4         
,particulars of these articles can be   
found recorded in the literary and      
scientific journals of ,france4 ,and the
 conclusion arrived at by the           
authorities upon such matters cannot be 

better put than in the revised  edition 
in book form of an article in the ,revue
 ,archeologque by  ,monsieur ,g4 de     
,mortillet4    ,after referring to the  
relics of so much of ancient ,gaul as is
  comprised in modern ,france1 a subject
 he takes leave of in the words--       
,but the pre-,christian cult of the     
cross was not       confined to ,savoy  
and the environs of ,lyons4 ,a glance at
       the coins of ancient ,gaul is    
sufficient to show that it       existed
 in nearly every part--    ,m4 de       
,mortillet1 crossing the frontier and   
dealing  with the said tombs of         
,gola-,secca near ,milan  in ,italy1    
sums up as follows         ,one sees    
that there can be no doubt whatever     
concerning       the use of the cross as
 a religious sign for a very long       
time before ,christianity4 ,the cult of 
the cross was well       spread over    
,gaul before its conquest and already   
existed       in ,emilia in the ,bronze 
,age1 more than a thousand years        

before ,jesus ,christ4    ,let us pass  
on to yet another country1 ,switzerland4
 ,here also we find  unexceptional      
evidence of the general recognition of  
the cross before  our era as a symbol   
which should above all others be        
venerated4    ,the ,lake ,dwellings of  
,switzerland may be said to have been   
brought to  light by the extraordinary  
drought experienced in the years ,a4,c4 
#ahec-d2 for though piles and ancient   
remains were found upon the shores  of  
various lakes before that date1 no great
 heed was paid to them till  the drought
 in question lowered the waters of the  
lake of ,zurich and of  other lakes to  
an unprecedented extent1 and certain    
discoveries due  thereto led to the     
matter being thoroughly investigated by 
antiquarians4    ,the result was that   
many relics of the ,lake ,dwellers were 
found4 ,and1  placed upon those relics  
by this forgotten race of hoary         
antiquity as  the sign they venerated1  
was the symbol of the cross4    ,these  

relics1 preserved for us by the sediment
 carried into the lakes  by various     
rivers1 cannot be less than #c1jjj years
 old1 are not  improbably #d1jjj years  
old1 and may quite possibly be #e1jjj   
years old2  some authorities--,monsieur 
,morlot for instance--estimating their  
age at  from #f1jjj to #g1jjj years4    
,suffice it to record the fact that     
these  relics are admittedly            
pre-,christian4    ,upon the articles in
 question1 as on those discovered in the
  pre-,christian tombs of ,gola-,secca1 
the cross is stamped as a symbol of     
life1 of good omen1 and of salvation4   
,even dies for stamping articles  with  
the cross have been discovered among the
 remains of the ,lake  ,dwellers4 ,and  
the crosses are of three kinds2 7#a7 the
 right-angled  cross of four equal arms1
 of which so many variations1 some      
enclosed in  circles and some with the  
extremities widened and rounded1 are    
used as  ,christian symbols2 7#b7 the   
other cross of four equal arms1 known as

 the  ,st4 ,andrew's cross or ,chi      
cross2 and 7#c7 the ,fylfot or ,svastika
  cross4    ,the last named cross is a  
peculiar one of quite unmistakeable     
design2  and there are two varieties1   
image svastika#a4;gif1 and image        
svastika#b4;gif1 of which one is        
obviously an impression or reverse  view
 of the other4    ,the names ,fylfot and
 ,svastika are very generally applied to
 both  these symbols4 ,the term         
,svastika1 an ,indian one1 is however   
applied  by the inhabitants of          
,hindostan to one only2 they calling the
 other  ,sauvastika4 ,and it is curious 
to note that the meanings attached to   
these names1 though1 like the symbols   
allied in nature1 are1 also like  them1 
the reverse or negative or complement of
 each other4    ,for instance we are    
told by ,sir ,g4 ,birdwood that the     
right handed  ,svastika signifies the   
,male ,principle1 the ,sun on its daily 
journey  from ,east to ,west1 ,light and
 ,life2 and that the left-handed        

,svastika  signifies the ,female        
,principle1 the ,sun in ,hades or the   
,underworld on  its journey from ,west  
to ,east1 ,darkness and ,death4#fd      
,this more or less official             
pronouncement may be taken as a fairly  
accurate one1 although it is obvious    
that the annual as well as the  diurnal 
movement of the ,sun should have been   
referred to2 the half year  between the 
,vernal ,equinox and ,autumnal ,equinox 
representing ,light and  ,life1 and that
 between the ,autumnal ,equinox and     
,vernal ,equinox ,darkness  and ,death1 
just as clearly as do the half days     
between sunrise and  sunset1 sunset and 
sunrise4 ,but it is to be feared that   
even those who  remember how often      
,death and ,darkness are referred to as 
periods of  ,gestation1 will have some  
difficulty in seeing how a sign or      
symbol of  the ,female ,power of        
,generation can have signified ,death4  
,the fact of course is that the symbol  
in question represented both ,life  and 

,death1 and represented the latter only 
in a minor sense and owing  to the fact 
that the ,female ,principle of ,life was
 regarded as the  necessary reverse1    
negative1 or complement of the ,male    
,principle2 which  latter1 having of the
 two the better claim to be considered  
the starter  of life1 was the one more  
particularly identified with ,life and  
therefore with the vernal ,sun-,god4    
,it would also appear that the two      
symbols in question to some extent      
signified ,fire and ,water2 ,fire being 
of course the ,male ,principle1 ,day1   
,summer1 ,light1 and ,life2 and ,water  
the ,female ,principle4 ,this still     
further illustrates the point dealt with
 above2 for though ,water is the        
negative of ,fire1 yet ,fire cannot     
produce ,life without the aid of        
,water4    ,returning however to our    
consideration of the cross as a symbol  
of ,life  of pre-,christian date and    
origin1 and having already dealt with   
the  lands now known as ,britain1       

,france1 ,italy1 and ,switzerland1 let  
us now  consider the evidence of        
,greece4    ,at ,mycenae and elsewhere  
,dr4 ,schliemann discovered1 among other
 relics  of a bygone age1 not only      
articles marked with the ,svastika cross
 and  the cross of four equal arms1 but 
even seals and dies giving  impressions 
of such crosses2 thus demonstrating how 
large and prominent  a part the symbol  
of the cross played in pre-,christian   
times among  those in whose classic     
tongue the earliest known copies of the 
,christian ,scriptures were written     
centuries later4    ,it is also         
remarkable that ,dr4 ,schliemann found  
golden crosses in the  previously       
unopened tombs he discovered and        
explored at ,mycenae2 as  many as five  
such crosses having in some instances   
been placed with a  single body by those
 who sealed up the vaults in question   
thousands of  years ago and many        
centuries before the commencement of our
 era4    ,as few if any unrifled tombs  

of so ancient a date have been          
discovered  in ,greece and first        
explored by a trustworthy investigator1 
and as1  moreover1 it would only have   
been with the bodies of important       
personages that crosses of so valuable a
 material as gold would have  been      
buried1 these discoveries1 coupled with 
the self-evident fact that  crosses of  
more perishable material may have been  
buried with the  bodies of less         
distinguished people1 and by this time1 
like both the  bodies and the tombs     
which enclosed them1 have gone to dust1 
are most  remarkable4 ,and they entirely
 corroborate the testimony borne by the 
coins of ancient ,gaul1 the contents of 
the tombs of ,gola-,secca1 and the      
remains of the ,lake ,dwellers of       
,switzerland1 to the veneration paid    
long before our era by the inhabitants  
of ,europe to the cross as the          
recognised symbol of ,life4 ,nor as the 
symbol only of the life which  ends in  
the grave1 but also of the glorious hope

 that as the ,sun1 from  whom we derive 
that life1 whether considered from a    
daily or yearly  point of view sinks but
 to rise again1 even so we who owe our  
brief  lives to the ,sun-,god1 may1 like
 the ,giver of ,life and only ,saviour1 
rise from one life to another4    ,for  
whether the ancients were or were not   
unphilosophic enough to  believe in the 
resurrection of bodies whose constituent
 atoms are  continually changing and in 
time form part of other bodies1 it is   
absurd to assume that they did not at   
times like ourselves conceive and  dwell
 upon a hoped-for1 if unexpected and    
improbable1 ,life-to-come4    ,moreover 
it is with us1 as it was with them1 a   
hope2 and it is  disingenuous to label  
as ,christian what was pre-,christian1  
and to claim  as ours what has been     
common to the reasoning minds of        
suffering men  and women of all eras4   
,it is equally disingenuous on the part 
of us ,christians to keep in the        
background the noteworthy fact that even

 in pre-,christian ages the  symbol of  
that hope was--the cross4               
,,chapter ,,xvi4    ,,the               
,,pre-,,christian ,,cross ,,in ,,asia4  
,if1 leaving ,europe1 we pass on into   
,asia1 we find that not only have  the  
two varieties of ,svastika crosses for  
thousands of years played a  prominent  
part as a religious symbol in           
,hindostan1 ,thibet1 and ,china1  but   
that other kinds of crosses also were in
 bygone ages venerated by  their        
inhabitants4    ,for instance our       
,eastern ,empire is strewn with the     
remains of ancient  temples built1 like 
those of ,christendom in later days1 in 
the shape of  a cross2 and we are told  
that the oldest of its rock-hewn caves  
were  planned after the same figure4 ,it
 is also well-known that isolated  stone
 crosses of pre-historic date are to be 
seen in various parts of  ,india4       
,the evidence of ,hindostan is however  
outweighed by that obtainable from  the 
antiquities of ,western ,asia1          

concerning some of which ,sir ,a4 ,h4   
,layard wrote3         ,the crux ansata1
 the tau or sign of life1 is found in   
the sculptures of ,khorsabad1 on the    
ivories of       ,nimroud--which as ,i  
have shown are of the same              
age--carried too by an ,assyrian        
,king4#fe    ,we have also to note the  
equally significant facts that the      
recognised  symbol of the ,phoenician   
,goddess of ,love--,astarte1 ,ashtoreth1
 or  ,ishtar1 the ,bride of the         
,sun-,god--was a cross2 that a cross was
 also  associated with the ,phoenician  
,baal or ,sun-,god2 and that the circle 
and  cross1 now the symbol of the planet
 held sacred to the ,goddess of ,love1  
frequently occurs upon the ancient coins
 of ,western ,asia and was not          
improbably more or less akin in         
signification to the crux ansata of     
,egypt4 ,the fact that upon very ancient
 remains still existing the ,baal  is   
represented as crowned with a wheel-like
 nimbus of rays should also  be         

mentioned4    ,the cross more especially
 connected with the ,phoenician ,bride  
of the  ,sun-,god in ancient days1 was1 
as can easily be seen upon reference to 
ancient coins1 where it occurs in the   
hand of the goddess in question1  a long
 handled cross such as is frequently to 
be seen in our pictorial                
representations of ,john the ,baptist4  
,as ,john the ,baptist was an ,asiatic  
and to some extent a pre-,christian     
,asiatic1 we can here1 without wandering
 very far from the matter in  hand1     
pause to consider the question why we   
,christians represent ,john  the        
,baptist1 who had nothing to do with a  
cross1 as holding a cross2 if  it be not
 that while ,jesus was supposed to      
represent the ,sun in its  annual       
ascension1 ,john was supposed to        
represent the ,sun in its annual        
declension8 ,what other rational        
explanation have we of the facts1 7#a7  
that ,john is represented as saying that
 he baptised with water but that  ,jesus

 would baptise with fire 7where the     
rains of winter and the heat  of summer 
may be referred to72 and 7#b7 that the  
,christian ,church in  framing its      
calendar fixed upon what we call        
,midsummer day as the  birthday of ,john
 the ,baptist1 and upon the clay which  
bears the same  relation to the other   
solstice as the birthday of ,christ1 as 
if wishing  to illustrate that other    
remarkable pronouncement of ,john1 thus 
placed  at the point where the days     
begin to shorten1 concerning ,jesus1    
thus  placed where the days begin to    
lengthen1 ,he must increase but ,i must 
decrease8    ,the probability that to   
its original signification of ,life1    
that of  ,salvation was added to the    
cross as a recognition of the fact that 
the  salvation of ,earth-,life in       
general and of ,mankind in particular is
 due  to the fact that at the ,vernal   
,equinox the ,sun-,god crosses to save1 
summer and the fruits of the earth and  
therefore salvation and increase  being 

due to the fact that the ,sun then      
crosses the ,equator1 is  supported by  
evidence from all quarters4 ,and if we  
refuse to admit that  ,christianity is  
permeated with the ideas of ,sun-,god   
worship1 we not  only have no rational  
explanation to offer of the prophecies  
put by the  ,evangelists in the mouth of
 ,john the ,baptist to the effect that  
,jesus  would baptise with fire and     
would increase1 but also none to offer  
of many another prominent feature of our
 religion2 such as1 for  instance1 the  
fact that while pretending to reverence 
all the ,ten  ,commandments we          
deliberately make a point of breaking   
one of them in  order to keep as a day  
of rest not the seventh day but the     
first1 the  day which from time         
immemorial was held sacred throughout   
the ,roman  ,empire as ,dies ,solis1 the
 ,day of the ,sun4 ,for to aver as we do
 that  ,jesus was not made the subject  
of a ,sun-,god allegory1 but purposely  
rose from the underworld on the ,day of 

the ,sun1 at the time of the  ,vernal   
,equinox1 in order to annul a           
commandment previously laid down by     
,god and substitute a new one in        
silence1 is only to make ourselves      
ridiculous4    ,returning however to the
 matter more particularly in hand1 it   
should be  pointed out that the crux    
ansata mentioned by ,layard is not the  
only  kind of cross to be found upon the
 relics of ancient ,babylonia and       
,assyria4 ,for the cross of four equal  
arms and the solar wheel are also  to be
 met with4    ,moreover1 as all visitors
 to our museums should be aware1 the    
monarchs  are represented as wearing in 
the place of honour round their neck and
  on their breast1 a ,maltese cross4    
,and this cross1 worn by the kings      
centuries before our era as the symbol  
which should above all others be        
venerated1 or as best signifying their  
power over the lives of their  subjects 
and their position as vice-gerents of   
the ,sun-,god1 is admitted  by all the  

best authorities to have been the sign  
and symbol of the  ,sun-,god4#ff        
,,chapter ,,xvii4    ,,the              
,,pre-,,christian ,,cross ,,in ,,africa4
    ,passing on to ,africa and a        
consideration of the crux ansata or     
so-called ',key of the ,nile1' we find  
that this variety of cross had  much the
 same significance attached to it by the
 ancients as had the  more widely       
accepted varieties4    ,as a matter of  
fact no one acquainted with ,egyptian   
antiquities who  enquires into the      
matter in thorough going fashion1 can in
 the end fail  to be convinced that the 
,egyptian cross was a phallic symbol    
having  reference to the sexual powers  
of generation and to the ,sun1 and being
  therefore a symbol both of ,life and  
of the ,giver of ,life4    ,the         
connection between the crux ansata and  
the ,sun-,god in the minds of  the      
inhabitants of the ,land of the ,nile in
 pre-,christian days1 is very  clearly  
set forth by an illustration of         

,khuenaten in the act of  distributing  
gifts to his courtiers which faces page 
#dj1 volume ,i41 of  ,sir ,j4 ,gardner  
,wilkinson's ,manners and ,customs of   
the ,ancient  ,egyptians4 ,for this     
monarch--also known as ,amenophis       
,,iv4--and his  wife are both           
represented as receiving the crux ansata
 from the  ,sun-,god1 and the ,sun is   
marked with the crux ansata as its      
peculiar  symbol4    ,upon ,plate ,,iv4 
facing page #dc of the same famous work1
 we see ,seti ,i4  surmounted by the    
,sun2 two crosses adorning the latter4  
,the crosses  are1 moreover1 attached to
 two serpents issuing from the sun2 and 
these  were in ancient days phallic     
signs representing the sexual powers4   
,on page #dje is a representation of the
 ,egyptian god ,khem1 or ,amen-,ra      
,generator2 the ,egyptian ,priapus1 or  
god of ,generation4 ,the names of  this 
phallic deity show his connection with  
the ,sun4    ,it is noteworthy that this
 particular conception of the ,sun-,god 

is  accompanied by emblems of the sexual
 organs of reproduction1 and that  he   
bears a ,st4 ,andrew's cross upon his   
breast4    ,upon page #bd of volume     
,,iii4 of the same work is another      
representation  of ,khem1 or ,amen-,ra  
,generator4 ,in this case also he is    
accompanied by  phallic and solar       
emblems and wears a ,st4 ,andrew's cross
 upon his  breast4    ,on page #bf ,sir 
,j4 ,gardner ,wilkinson tells us that   
,khem was considered the generating     
influence of the       sun1 whence      
perhaps the reason of his being         
connected       with ,amen-,ra3 and in  
one of the hieroglyphic legends         
accompanying his name he is styled the  
sun2 that is the       pro-creating     
power of the only source of warmth1     
which       assists in the continuation 
of the various created       species4   
,upon ,plate ,,xxii41 facing page #dd of
 volume ,,iii41 are three different     
instances of the crux ansata being      
attached to the sun as the symbol of    

the ,sun-,god4    ,upon page #df is     
another instance of the crux ansata     
being attached to  the solar serpent    
issuing from the sun's disc4    ,on     
,plate ,,xxiii41 facing page #eb1 is    
another illustration of the  reception  
of the crux ansata from the ,sun-,god4  
,upon page #hb ,sir ,j4 ,gardner        
,wilkinson rightly observes that it is  
absurd to speak of the crux ansata or   
,egyptian cross as the ,key of the      
,nile1 inasmuch as this cross is less   
frequently seen in the hand of  the ,god
 ,nilus than any deity of the ,egyptian 
pantheon4    ,upon the remarkable ,plate
 ,,xxxi41 facing page #acf1 we see      
inscriptions  describing the reigning   
,pharaoh as the ,vice-gerent of the     
,giver of  ,eternal ,life2 or1 in other 
words1 of the ,sun-,god4 ,other         
expressions  applied to the ,pharaoh are
 ,giver of ,life and ,strength like the 
,sun2  ,who gives all ,life1 ,stability1
 and ,health like the ,sun2 and         
,approved  of the ,sun and ,giver of    

,life like the ,sun4    ,it is thus     
clear that ages before our era the cross
 was venerated in  ,egypt as in other   
lands as the symbol both of ,life and of
 the ,giver of  ,life2 and that the     
deity worshipped as the ,giver of ,life1
 and ever  associated with that salutary
 symbol the cross1 was the ,sun-,god4   
,,chapter ,,xviii4    ,,evidence ,,of   
,,troy4    ,dr4 ,schliemann has told us 
that in his researches upon the site of 
,troy  he found that in pre-,christian  
if not indeed pre-historic times the    
cross was1 in that classic locality as  
elsewhere1 a phallic emblem and  the    
symbol of life2 as well as a solar      
emblem and the symbol of the  holy fire 
with which life was more or less        
identified4 ,for instance on  page #ccg 
of his ,ilios 7#ahhj edition7 ,dr4      
,schliemann describes a  leaden idol    
discovered by him and of great          
antiquity4 ,he tells us that  it was    
female in character and had the vulva   
marked with the triangle1  a symbol of  

the ,feminine ,principle4 ,and he points
 out that within the  triangle was the  
,svastika cross4    ,on page #eba ,dr4  
,schliemann describes an ancient terra  
cotta vase1 with  the characteristics of
 a woman upon it1 and on the vulva a    
,st4 ,andrew's  cross4    ,upon page    
#ebc is a reference to another vase of  
similar design4 ,here  also a cross     
appears to mark the vulva4    ,on page  
#cec ,dr4 ,schliemann admits that the   
,svastika cross drawn within  the       
triangle marking the vulva1 shows that  
this cross was a sign of  generation in 
ancient and pre-historic times4 ,this   
remark should  evidently have been      
applied by him to the ,st4 ,andrew's    
cross as well1  for he shows that also  
to have been used as a sign of the organ
 of  generation1 as has been shown      
above4    ,we are here reminded of the  
fact1 already noted1 that the ,egyptians
  represented their ,god of ,generation1
 ,khem1 or ,amen-,ra ,generator1 as     
wearing a conspicuous ,st4 ,andrew's    

cross4 ,and as ,khem was the ,egyptian  
,priapus it ought also to be pointed out
 that it was in ancient times  the      
practice to erect wooden crosses to this
 conception of the ,sun-,god4    ,an    
illustration of one example of the      
crosses erected to ,priapus can be  seen
 in figure ,,xi4 of plate ,,xxix4 of    
that well-known work1 ,antique  ,gems   
and ,rings4#fg ,and the phallic nature  
of such crosses cannot be  denied4      
,returning1 however1 to the discoveries 
of ,dr4 ,schliemann upon the site  of   
,troy1 we find on page #cej of ,ilios   
that both varieties of the  ,svastika   
cross are extraordinarily common upon   
the articles he  discovered4    ,as an  
,indian symbol the ,svastika cross can  
only be traced back as far  as the      
fourth or fifth century ,b4,c42 and its 
occurrence upon these and  other relics 
of earlier ages and other lands1 shows  
us that it is  inaccurate and misleading
 to speak of it as ,indian4    ,the     
origin of the ,svastika cross1 whether  

the image svastika#a4;gif1  or the image
 svastika#b4;gif1 is unknown2 but ,dr4  
,schliemann quotes  with approval       
,professor ,max ,muller's remarks to the
 effect that ,mr4  ,thomas our          
distinguished ,oriental numismatist     
,has clearly proved that on some of the 
,andra coins and       likewise on some 
punched coins depicted on ,sir ,w4      
,elliot's plate ix4 ,madras ,jour4 ,lit4
 and ,science1 vol4       ,,iii41 the   
place of the more definite figure of the
 sun       is often taken by the        
,svastika1 and that the ,svastika       
has been inserted within the rings or   
normal circles       representing the   
four suns of the ,ujjain pattern on     
coins4 ,he has also called attention to 
the fact that in       the long list of 
the recognised devices of the           
twenty-four ,jaina ,tirthankaras the sun
 is absent2 but       that while the    
eighth ,tirthankara has the sign of the 
half-moon the seventh ,tirthankara is   
marked with the       ,svastika1 i4e41  

the sun4 ,here then1 ,i think1 we have  
very clear indications that the         
,svastika1 with the hands       pointing
 in the right direction1 was originally 
a symbol       of the ,sun1 perhaps of  
the vernal sun as opposed to the        
autumnal sun1 the ,sauvastika1 and      
therefore a natural       symbol of     
light1 life1 health1 and wealth4 ,that  
in       ancient mythology the sun was  
frequently represented as       a wheel 
is well known4 ,grimm identifies the    
,old ,norse       hjol or hvel1 the     
,a4-,s4 hvehol1 ,english 'wheel1'       
with kappaupsilon with                  
tonoskappalambdaomicronrho1 ,sk4 ,kakra1
 wheel2 and       derives jol1          
'yule-tide1' the time of the winter     
solstice1 from hjol1 'the 7solar7       
wheel4'    ,both the image              
svastika#a4;gif and the image           
svastika#b4;gif occur  upon the famous  
footprints of ,buddha carved upon the   
,amaravati ,tope1  and ,dr4 ,schliemann 
remarks that we find the ,svastika or   

,sauvastika  cross         ,in ,ezekiel 
ix4 #d1 #f1 where--in the form of the   
old       ,hebrew letter ,tau--it is    
written as the sign of life on       the
 forehead1 like the corresponding       
,indian symbol4 ,we       find it twice 
on a large piece of ornamental leather  
contained in the celebrated ,corneto    
treasure preserved       in the ,royal  
,museum at ,berlin2 also on ancient     
pottery       found at ,konigsberg in   
the ,neumark and preserved in the       
,markisches ,museum in ,berlin2 and on a
 ,bowl from ,yucatan       in the       
,berlin ,ethnological ,museum4 ,we also 
see it on       coins of ,gaza1 as well 
as on an ,imperial coin of ,asido2      
also on the drums of the ,lapland       
priests4    ,it is noteworthy that in   
the neighbourhood of ,troy1 as in       
,cyprus and  other places1 a cross of   
four equal arms1 like our sign of       
addition1 in  days of old shared with   
the ,svastika crosses the veneration of 
the  people and was evidently more or   

less akin to those crosses in           
signification4 ,dr4 ,schliemann tells us
 that this cross of four equal  arms    
occurs innumerable times on the whorls  
of the three upper  pre-historic cities 
of ,hissarlik1 and that if1 as ,burnouf 
and others  suggest1 the image          
svastika#b4;gif and image               
svastika#a4;gif  represented primitive  
fire machines1 this other cross might   
also claim  the honour of representing  
the two pieces of wood for producing the
  holy fire by friction4    ,elsewhere  
in the same work ,dr4 ,schliemann quotes
 with approval the  opinion of          
,professor ,sayce that the ,svastika    
cross1 image  svastika#b4;gif or image  
svastika#a4;gif1 was a symbol of        
generation4    ,as phallic worship and  
,sun-,god worship were admittedly always
 closely  connected1 it is not          
surprising to find that ,dr4 ,schliemann
 also very  highly commends a           
dissertation on the image               
svastika#b4;gif and  image              

svastika#a4;gif by ,mr4 ,edward ,thomas1
 whose conclusion is that         ,as   
far as ,i have been able to trace or    
connect the       various manifestations
 of this emblem1 they one and all       
resolve themselves into the primitive   
conception of       solar motion1 which 
was intuitively associated with the     
rolling or wheel-like projection of the 
sun through the       upper or visible  
arc of the heavens4    ,it may therefore
 be considered proven that the          
inhabitants of classic  ,troy like those
 of the ,land of the ,nile and other    
countries1 recognised  a close affinity 
between the productive forces and the   
sun1 and were  one in accepting a cross 
of some description as the natural      
symbol  whether of ,life or of the      
,giver of ,life4        ,,chapter ,,xix4
    ,,evidence ,,of ,,cyprus4           
,although now1 owing to the march of    
events1 the island of ,cyprus is out  of
 the way and seldom visited1 it was once
 otherwise4 ,for in days of  old it     

occupied a favoured position between the
 countries then foremost  in the arts of
 civilisation4    ,in those days ,cyprus
 was a centre of ,phoenician enterprise4
 ,and1 as we  are told in that fine work
 ',kypros1 the ,bible1 and ,homer3      
,oriental  ,civilisation1 ,art and      
,religion in ancient times1' ,the oldest
 extant  ,phoenician inscriptions1      
themselves the earliest examples of     
letters  properly so called1 come from  
,cyprus4    ,as1 moreover1 when face to 
face with the relics of the ,phoenicians
 we  are1 as ,dr4 ,max                  
,ohnefalsch-,richter also remarks1 ,in  
the very midst of  ancient ,canaanitish 
civilisation as depicted in the ,old    
,testament1 it  will be seen that a     
study of the antiquities of ,cyprus     
should have a  special interest for us  
,christians4    ,let us therefore see   
what the ancient remains found in the   
island in  question1 and others referred
 to in the work mentioned as            
illustrative  of the same1 can tell us  

regarding phallic worship in general and
 the  pre-,christian cross in           
particular4    ,one of the first points 
to be noted in the illustrations        
supplied by  ,dr4 ,max                  
,ohnefalsch-,richter is in a cut of an  
ancient ,cyprian coin on  ,plate ,x42   
upon which coin we see over a temple    
gateway the phallic  symbol since       
adopted by the ,moslems1 and commonly   
spoken of as the  'star and crescent'   
although1 as already shown1 it          
originality  represented the radiate    
,sun or ,male ,principle in conjunction 
with the  ,crescent moon or ,female     
,principle4    ,upon ,plate ,,xix4 we   
see several examples of the ,svastika   
cross occurring  upon an ancient        
,cyprian vase4    ,on ,plate ,,xxv4 we  
are shown a gold leaf taken from an     
ancient grave1  upon which the ,svastika
 cross occurs4    ,figure #aj upon the  
same plate shows us a gold leaf         
discovered at  ,amathus upon which we   
see the ,sun and ,moon in conjunction1  

the ,sun in  this instance being        
represented as a disc in the horns of   
the crescent4    ,upon ,plate ,,xxvi4 we
 have representations of stone pillars  
at ,atheniaon1  upon the capitals of    
which are phallic emblems1 including    
that of the  ,sun as a disc within the  
horns of the ,crescent moon4    ,on     
,plate ,,xxx4 we have in figure #g a cut
 of an important cylinder now  stored in
 the ,berlin ,museum1 upon which are    
represented both the ,sacred  ,tree and 
the ,ashera4 ,the winged ,sun-disc      
appears over the former and  the        
,crescent moon over the latter4         
,figure #aa upon the same plate shows us
 a ,masseba representing the ,male      
,principle1 surmounted by the star-like 
form which represented the  radiate     
,sun2 and an ,ashera1 representing the  
,female ,principle1  surmounted by the  
,crescent moon4    ,just as in modern   
,christianity we make a distinction     
without alleging  much difference       
between the ,father and the ,son1 even  

so in ancient  times a distinction of a 
similarly vague kind was made between   
the  ,all-,father ,fire and ,his ,image 
and ,first-begotten ,son ,light4 ,the   
disc of the ,sun seems to have          
represented the former and the ,sun-star
  or radiate ,sun the latter where both 
were represented in one  illustration1  
as for instance in figure #ab on the    
plate last mentioned4    ,the           
illustration in question is an important
 one4 ,on the left is an  ,ashera under 
a ,crescent moon2 in the centre is a    
,masseba under the  ,sun-star or radiate
 ,sun2 and on the right is an altar     
under a sun disc4    ,the phallic       
meaning of all this is evident2 and a   
kind of ,trinity is  presented to us1   
viz4 7#a7 ,the ,female ,principle and   
perhaps the  primeval ,darkness1 needing
 impregnation or illumination ere the   
same  can cause aught to be2 7#b7 the   
,male ,principle and ,light1 the        
,first-born  ,son of ,fire2 and 7#c7    
,fire itself1 the one origin of all     

things and  ,father of ,spirits1 made   
manifest unto mortals by ,his           
,first-born ,son1  and best symbolled1  
as is ,light1 by the ,solar ,orb4    ,on
 ,plate ,,xxxi4 we have in figure #d a  
representation of the goddess  ,ishtar1 
the bride of the ,sun-,god4 ,over her we
 see the phallic symbol of  the radiate 
,sun and ,crescent moon in conjunction4 
,on ,plate ,,xxxii4 we see in figure #bc
 the ,svastika cross under a tree1 in  a
 representation of a scarab from        
,ialysos4 ,this cross coupled with the  
presence of two bulls1 one on either    
side of the tree1 seem to show  that the
 ,male ,principle is referred to4    ,on
 ,plate ,,xl4 we have a cut of a votive 
arm1 holding in its hand that  phallic  
symbol the apple1 and obtained from the 
sanctuary of ,apollo at  ,voni4    ,on  
,plate ,,lviii4 in representations of   
the stone capitals of two votive        
pillars from the shrine of ,aphrodite at
 ,idalion1 we see various phallic       
emblems2 including the familiar ,sun    

disc and ,crescent moon in  conjunction4
    ,the same remark applies to ,plate  
,,lix41 where two more such pillars are 
illustrated4    ,upon ,plate ,,lxix4 are
 given no less than #acd illustrations  
of ancient  religious symbols1 and the  
phallic character of nearly if not quite
 all  is plainly apparent4    ,in twelve
 of these the presence of the ,sun or   
the ,crescent ,moon as the  case may be1
 points out that in the former event the
 ,male ,principle of  ,life1 and in the 
latter the ,female ,principle of ,life1 
is referred to4  ,in six other cases the
 presence of the ,sun and ,crescent moon
 in  juxtaposition shows that both those
 ,principles are referred to4 ,and in   
four other examples the presence of the 
,sun and ,crescent moon in  conjunction 
shows that the union of those           
,principles is referred to4    ,besides 
the numerous ,masseboth and ,asheroth1  
respectively representing  the ,male and
 ,female ,principles1 we see numerous   
examples of the  triangle which         

represented the female vulva and of the 
diamond shaped  symbol which represented
 the female pudendum4    ,among the     
remaining symbols is the cross of four  
equal arms4    ,upon ,plate ,,lxxv4 is  
an illustration of a vase painting in   
red figures  from a ,stamnos from ,vulci
 ,panofka4 ,the representation is one of
 the  ,sun-,god ,dionysos upon a cross4 
,the said cross1 which like various     
,christian crosses of the ,dark and     
,middle ,ages has projecting branches   
and foliage1 seems to have been  more or
 less connected with the ,tree worship  
of ancient times4    ,on ,plate ,,lxxvi4
 we are given thirteen examples of      
,sacred ,trees  discovered in the groves
 of ,astarte-,aphrodite and             
,tanit-,artemis-,cybele1  being clay    
copies of the ,sacred ,trees erected at 
the entrances to the  temples4 ,as ,dr4 
,ohnefalsch-,richter states1 these      
evidently phallic  symbols undoubtedly  
played a part in the worship of the     
,sun-,god  ,tammuz-,adonis and his bride

 ,astarte-,aphrodite4    ,upon ,plate   
,,lxxvii4 we have a cut of an important 
,phoenician seal1 where  we see 7#a7 a  
man kneeling in adoration to a ,divine  
,trinity connected  with the winged disc
 of the sun1 and 7#b7 a priest          
worshipping three  symbols4 ,the three  
sacred symbols in question are 7#a7 the 
,ashera or  symbol of the ,female ,life 
,principle2 7#b7 the ,masseba or symbol 
of the  ,male ,life ,principle2 and 7#c7
 a combination of the ,ashera and       
,masseba  symbols representing the two  
,life ,principles in conjunction4    ,on
 ,plate ,,lxxix4 we have in figure #ad a
 representation both of the  ,sacred    
,tree and of the combined ,ashera and   
,masseba4 ,over the latter we  naturally
 see the radiate ,sun and ,crescent moon
 in conjunction4    ,in figure #af on   
the same plate are representations of an
 ,ashera and a  ,masseba1 respectively  
surmounted by a ,crescent moon and a    
radiate ,sun4    ,a similar remark      
applies to figure #ag4 ,a sacrificing   

priest can be seen  in this and the last
 named instances4    ,on ,plate ,,lxxx4 
we have in figure #a a representation of
 a holy pillar1  the volute capital of  
which has on it a ,crescent moon within 
the horns  of which is a disc plainly   
marked with a cross4 ,this is taken from
 an  ancient cylinder of ,hittite       
origin4    ,on the same plate we see in 
figure #g a ,sun column from ,tyre1 upon
 which  we see the ,crescent and disc in
 conjunction as in the last case1 but   
without the cross4    ,on ,plate        
,,cxviii4 we have in figure #h a cut of 
a fine vase from ,melos  ornamented with
 a ,svastika cross4    ,upon ,plate     
,,cxxxiii4 we have1 in figures ,i to #d1
 representations of a  sacred ,boeotian 
chest or ark4 ,on the front are seven   
,svastika crosses  7some of each        
variety7 and one ordinary cross like our
 sign of  addition4 ,on the lid we see  
two serpents surrounded by eight        
,svastika  crosses 7some of each        
variety7 and eight crosses formed of tau

 crosses1  image taucross4gif2 besides  
two other crosses4    ,on the back are  
eight ,svastika crosses 7some of each   
variety7 and eight  other crosses4      
,in figure #f we have a cut of a chest  
from ,athiaenon upon which two          
,svastika crosses will be noticed4      
,in figure #h of the same plate is an   
illustration of one side of another     
sacred chest or ark from ,athiaenon1 on 
which two ,svastika crosses of  the     
other variety can be seen4    ,upon     
,plate ,,clv4 we have in figure #i a cut
 of an important ,cyprian               
,graeco-,phoenician ,amphora discovered 
in an ancient grave at ,kition and  now 
stored in the ,british ,museum4 ,the    
object represented upon it is a  ,sacred
 ,tree marked at the bottom with a ,st4 
,andrew's cross and  surrounded with    
,svastika crosses4    ,on ,plate        
,,clxxiii4 we see in group #ai various  
objects discovered in  ancient graves2  
one bearing several ordinary crosses and
 also several  ,svastika crosses1 one   

bearing a ,svastika cross of the other  
variety1  and a third bearing ,svastika 
crosses of both kinds4    ,upon ,plate  
,,cxcii4 are cuts of various ,cyprian   
coins1 the phallic symbol  of the circle
 and cross occurring upon ,nos4 #a1 #i1 
and #aj4    ,leaving the ,book of       
,plates and turning to the illustrations
 given with  the ,text of the valuable  
work we are considering1 we discover    
upon page  #fb a cut showing the        
impression of a chalcedony cylinder from
 the  collection of the ,due de ,luynes1
 where the ,sun is represented by a     
,cross of four equal arms4    ,upon page
 #he we have in figure #aag an          
illustration of an inscribed  cylinder1 
now belonging to the ,bibliotheque      
,nationale of ,france1 in  which1 as    
,dr4 ,ohnefalsch-,richter remarks1 the  
priest or king  represented is raising  
his arm         ,in adoration in the    
direction of the ,cross suspended in    
the air before him1 a holy object we    
often meet on       ,assyrian and       

,babylonian monuments4    ,this cross1  
like that last named1 is more like a    
,greek cross than a  ,maltese cross4    
,on page #adh we have in figure #aej an 
illustration of a coloured image  of    
,aphrodite or ,astarte discovered in an 
early ,graeco-,phoenician tomb  at      
,kurion4 ,this representation of the    
,goddess of ,love and ,bride of the     
,sun-,god is marked with several        
,svastika crosses1 and is yet further   
evidence of the phallic and solar       
character of that symbol4    ,such is   
the evidence of the phallic worship and 
,sun-,god worship of the  ,phoenicians  
and their neighbours1 of the close      
relationship between  such phallic      
worship and ,sun-,god worship1 and of   
the part played in  connection with the 
same by the pre-,christian cross1 borne 
by a work of  research so free from bias
 against the views of the ,christian    
,church  that it has prefixed to it a   
letter of warm commendation from that   
veteran statesman and theologian1 the   

author of the ultra-orthodox            
,impregnable ,rock of ,holy ,scripture4 
,,chapter ,,xx4    ,,miscellaneous      
,,evidence4    ,the most noteworthy     
features of the available evidence      
illustrative of  the real origin and    
history of the symbol of the cross have 
now been  placed before the reader1 but 
a number of more or less miscellaneous  
facts directly or indirectly throwing   
additional light upon the subject  have 
still to be drawn attention to4    ,for 
instance1 no mention has yet been made  
of the ,hermae of bygone  ages4 ,and    
although their origin may have had no   
connection with the  symbol in question1
 it is noteworthy that some at least of 
the early  ,christians discovered in the
 more or less cruciform outline of the  
,hermae a reason or excuse for paying   
them homage1 while very similar  figures
 are to be seen illustrated upon        
,christian antiquities1 such as  the    
mosaic of which the great cross of the  
,lateran forms the principal  feature4  

,the ,hermae venerated by the ancient   
,greeks were pillars1 usually of  stone 
and quadrangular1 surmounted in most    
instances with a head of  either ,hermes
 or ,dionysos2 and with a peculiar      
transverse rail just  below the head1   
much used for hanging garlands upon1    
which made the  whole look more or less 
like a cross4    ,these pillars were    
erected in front of temples1 tombs1 and 
houses2 but  more especially as sign    
posts at cross roads2 and whether the   
head at  the top was that of ,hermes the
 ,messenger of the ,gods1 or1 as was    
very  often the case1 that of ,dionysos 
the ,sun-,god1 a phallus was always a   
prominent feature4    ,moreover these   
phallic and often solar erections called
 ,hermae1  undoubtedly more or less     
cross-shaped owing to the transverse    
rail1  were worshipped as conducive to  
fecundity4    ,it is also worthy of     
notice that the cross is well known to  
have been  venerated in ,america before 
even the ,norsemen who preceded         

,columbus set  foot upon that afterwards
 rediscovered continent4    ,for        
instance a cross surrounded by a circle 
was in use among the  ancient ,mexicans 
as a solar sign1 another cross was a    
solar symbol of  the natives of ,peru   
from time immemorial1 and we are also   
told by the  authorities that a cross of
 four equal arms with a disc or circle  
at  the centre was the age-old ,moqui   
symbol of the ,sun4#fh    ,other        
noteworthy points are that the cross    
occurs upon ,runic monuments  in ,europe
 long before ,christianity was          
introduced into the regions  containing 
them2 that ancient altars to the        
,sun-,god ,mithras bearing the  sacred  
symbol of the cross have been discovered
 even in ,england2 and  that the        
,laplanders of old when sacrificing     
marked their idols with the  symbol of  
the cross1 using the life blood of their
 victims for that  purpose4#fi    ,it   
should also be pointed out that on a    
coin of ,thasos bearing  representations

 of a phallic character connected with  
the worship of  the ,thracian ,bacchus1 
a ,svastika cross is a prominent symbol2
 that upon  ancient vases the headgear  
of ,bacchus is sometimes ornamented with
 the  cross of four equal arms2 that    
upon a ,greek vase at ,lentini1 ,sicily1
 an  ancient representation of the      
,sun-,god ,hercules is accompanied by no
  less than three different kinds of    
crosses as symbols2 and that upon an    
archaic ,greek vase in the ,british     
,museum1 the ,svastika cross1 the ,st4  
,andrew's cross1 and the other and right
 angled cross of four equal  arms1      
appear under the rays of the ,sun4 ,nor 
should it be forgotten that  though the 
,svastika cross has almost died out as a
 ,christian symbol and  was perhaps     
never thoroughly acclimatised as such1  
it often appeared  upon ,christian      
ecclesiastical properties of the ,middle
 ,ages1 and1  either as a ,pagan or     
,christian symbol1 continually occurs in
 the  catacombs of ,rome4    ,we are    

told that circular wafers or cakes were 
used in the mysteries of  the ,sun-,god 
,bacchus1 and1 being marked with a      
cross1 resembled the  disc-like wafers  
of the ,christian ,mass4 ,whether this  
was so or not1 it  is noteworthy that a 
cross is said to appear upon the        
representation of  a circular wafer used
 in the mysteries of ,mithras which     
occurs upon an  ancient fresco at ,rome4
    ,in this connection it may be       
mentioned1 as a series of curious       
coincidences1 that in the ,zoroastrian  
religion long before our era the        
,sun-,god ,mithras bore much the same   
relation to the ,all-,father that the   
,christ does in ours1 and is referred to
 in the ,zend ,avesta as the  ,incarnate
 ,word2 that ,mithras is said1 like the 
,christ1 to have been  born in a cave2  
that the ,fathers admitted that the     
new-born ,sun had  been worshipped in   
the cave at ,bethlehem to which the     
story of the  birth of ,jesus referred2 
and that in framing its calendar our    

,church  fixed upon the recognised      
birthday of ,mithras1 the ,natalis      
,invicti of  the ,roman ,brumalia1 as   
the birthday of the ,christ4    ,it is  
also noteworthy that the ,christ is thus
 said to have been born as  well as to  
have risen again the third or fourth    
7,after three  days1 ,matt1 xxvii4 #fc2 
after ,three days and three nights1     
,matt1  xii4 #dj7 day4 ,for the birthday
 of ,mithras and afterwards of the      
,christ1  known to us as ,christmas day1
 seems to have been fixed upon as the   
third or fourth day after the winter    
solstice1 and as that upon which  the   
sun's resurrection from the south was   
first discernible after its  apparent   
cessation of movement or death4    ,in  
this connection it should be added that 
,lucian records the fact that  the      
,sun-,god referred to by the ,fathers as
 worshipped at ,bethlehem was  lamented 
as dead once a year and always acclaimed
 as alive again the  third day2 that in 
several places in the ,zend ,avesta we  

meet with  passages which show that the 
,mithras worshippers of old believed    
that  at the death of a man his spirit  
sits at the head of the corpse for      
three days and three nights1 and then1  
at dawn1 rises free from all  earthly   
attachments2 and that we say that the   
execution of ,jesus took  place at the  
time of the ,passover or ,vernal        
,equinox1 while instead of  the         
prophesied three days and three nights  
in the heart of the earth  7,matt4 xii4 
#dj7 the period between the death and   
burial on ,good  ,friday evening and the
 resurrection before dawn on ,easter    
,sunday is  just about that during which
 the ,sun's disc is at the ,vernal      
,equinox  transfixed by the ,equator1   
viz41 #cb #b_/c hours4    ,the question 
why the ,cock so often1 like the ,cross1
 surmounts the  steeples wherewith we   
adorn our ,christian churches1 is       
brought before  us by the fact that it  
was in ancient days a well-known symbol 
both of  the generative powers and of   

the ,sun-,god2 often appearing as such  
upon  the top of a sacred pillar in     
,assyrian and ,babylonian               
representations  of priests in the act  
of sacrificing or worshipping4 ,it was  
probably as  the herald of the dawn that
 this bird became a symbol of the       
,sun-,god1  and it would seem that we   
place its effigy aloft with the same    
idea in  view4    ,another point to be  
noted is that in the ,kunthistorisches  
,museum at  ,vienna is an ancient vase  
upon which is a representation of the   
,sun-,god  ,apollo bearing upon his     
breast as his one ornament and symbol a 
,svastika cross4    ,we are reminded of 
the facts that we ,christians were once 
in the habit  of alluding to the cross  
as the ,tree of ,life1 and that the     
ancients  dressed up the trunks of trees
 and worshipped them as symbols of life 
and growth1 by an ,attic vase of the    
fifth century ,b4,c4 ,upon this is a    
red coloured painting of a tree so      
dressed1 on which is to be seen near    

the top a head of the ,sun-,god         
,dionysos1 and surrounding the trunk a  
shirt or garment covered with crosses4  
,as to the evidence obtained from the   
ruins of ,herculaneum and ,pompeii1  it 
is said that much which is of a phallic 
character has been1 from  quite worthy  
motives1 kept in the background4 ,an    
important fact has  however been        
mentioned by ,mr4 ,c4 ,w4 ,king1 ,m4,a41
 in his well known work  on the         
,gnostics and1 their ,remains1 and this 
at least can be  commented upon4 ,he    
tells us that the ,cross and the        
,phallus were found  placed in          
juxtaposition upon the walls as meaning 
one and the same  thing1 and he goes on 
to add that         ,this cross seems to
 be the ,egyptian ,tau1 that ancient    
symbol of the generative power and      
therefore transferred       into the    
,bacchic mysteries4    ,the foregoing   
are the last of the evidences throwing  
light upon the  origin and history of   
the symbol adopted by our religion as   

its own1  which the author thinks it    
necessary to bring forward in support of
 his  contention4 ,and however much of  
the evidence sought out by the author   
and in this work marshalled by him into 
something like order may seem  by itself
 to be untrustworthy or worthless1 no   
reader can reasonably  deny that it has 
been proved that the cross was a well   
known symbol of  ,life long before our  
era1 and that as a whole the evidence   
tends to  show that it became such as a 
phallic symbol1 and therefore as a      
symbol  of the ,sun-,god4    ,and what  
is the moral of the real1 as            
distinguished from the imaginary1       
history of the symbol of the cross but  
this3 that from the beginning  nought   
has caused the beliefs of men to assume 
an appearance of radical  difference1   
save the difference in the name or dress
 with which this or  that set of men    
have clothed similar ideas8    ,for1 as 
has already been hinted1 ,humanity has  
ever had but one ,god and  but one      

,religion4 ,and as from one point of    
view ,life is but another  term for the 
,real ,presence1 and ,death but another 
term for the  withdrawal of ,deity1 it  
may be said that that ,god is ,life1 and
 that  ,religion the desire for ,life1  
more ,life1 and fuller ,life4 ,moreover1
 as  has been said before1 this         
universal worship of ,life is           
discernible  even in the willingness of 
some to sacrifice what remains to them  
of  mortal life in the hope of thus     
being enabled to lay hold of a life     
immortal which is not for all4    ,the  
worship of ,life is natural1 and must of
 necessity continue4 ,let us  however   
render it nobler by recognising its     
catholicity2 and by  contemptuously     
refusing to either seek or accept a life
 of bliss  hereafter which any of our   
brothers and sisters are1 either in our 
imagination or in reality1 to be        
debarred from sharing4        ,,chapter 
,,xxi4    ,,summary4    ,at the         
commencement of this work it was shown  

that1 as the ,greek text  of the        
writings forming the ,new ,testament    
testifies1 not one of the  ,apostles or 
,evangelists ever stated that ,jesus was
 executed upon a  cross-shaped          
instrument of execution4 ,the           
circumstances under which the  figure of
 the cross became the symbol of our     
religion1 were then made  clear4 ,and1  
having since demonstrated the existence 
in pre-,christian  ages of a widespread 
veneration of the figure of the cross as
 the  symbol of ,life and of the        
,sun-,god1 which may have given rise to 
the  desire to associate ,jesus         
therewith1 little remains for the author
 to  do save draw the notice of the     
reader to the admissions of other       
writers concerning the rise of the cross
 as the symbol of ,christianity2  for   
the sake of brevity more or less        
confining his attention to two  well    
known works upon the history of         
religious art4    ,it should first      
however be pointed out that though we   

,christians affirm  that crucifixion was
 a form of capital punishment made use  
of in days  of old1 and abolished the   
fourth century after ,christ by         
,constantine  because ,jesus was so     
executed1 we cannot exactly prove that  
the  staurosis thus abolished was       
crucifixion1 or even that it included   
crucifixion4 ,for various as are the    
different forms of 'death by the        
stauros' of which descriptions have come
 down to us from pre-,christian  ages   
and the first three centuries of our    
era1 no relic of that date  bears a     
representation of an instrument of      
execution such as we cause  to appear in
 our sacred pictures1 and even if1      
regardless of the more  exact meaning of
 the word stauros1 we suppose the term  
staurosis to  have included every form  
of carrying out the extreme penalty by  
means  of affixion or suspension1 we    
meet with no description of such an     
instrument of execution as we picture4  
,therefore even if we were to  exclude  

from the staurosis abolished by         
,constantine all forms of  transfixion  
by a stauros1 we could not1 upon the    
evidence before us1  fairly say that    
what that astute ,emperor abolished was 
what is usually  understood by the term 
crucifixion4    ,it will not be         
necessary to quote again the admission  
of the ,reverend  ,s4 ,baring-,gould1   
,m4,a41 to the effect that the so-called
 ,cross of  ,constantine or monogram of 
,christ was but the symbol of the       
,sun-,god of  the ,gauls with a loop    
added by their crafty leader to please  
the  ,christians1 but it may be pointed 
out that this fact is also admitted  in 
,chambers's ,encyclopaedia2 where we    
read that         ,the so-called cross  
of ,constantine was not really a        
cross but a circle containing the ,x ,p 
,i1 the first three       letters of the
 name of ,christ in ,greek2 and was     
merely       an adaptation of a symbol  
of a ,gaulish solar deity4    ,and it   
may be added that the fact that the     

,monogram of ,christ and the  ordinary  
cross so frequently used as symbols by  
,constantine upon his  coins and        
elsewhere1 and thus made symbols of the 
,roman ,empire in the  first half of the
 fourth century1 were at first ,pagan   
rather than  ,christian symbols1 also   
seems to be borne out by ,dean ,burgon  
in his  ,letters from ,rome1 where he   
states         ,i question whether a    
cross occurs on any ,christian          
monument of the first four centuries4#gj
    ,passing on however to the          
representative works on ,christian ,art 
already  referred to1 we first come to  
,mrs4 ,jameson's famous ,history of ,our
  ,lord as exemplified in works of art4 
,upon page #cae of ,volume ,,ii4 the    
gifted authoress1 after confessing that 
the cross was venerated by the heathen  
as a symbol of ,life before the  period 
of ,christianity and referring to ,st4  
,chrysostom1 who flourished  half a     
century after ,constantine1 admits that 
,it must be owned that ancient objects  

of ,art1 as       far as hitherto known1
 afford no corroboration of the use     
of the cross in the simple transverse   
form familiar to       us at any period 
preceding or even closely succeeding    
the words of ,st4 ,chrysostom4    ,that 
is to say1 although ,constantine        
introduced the ,monogram of ,christ  and
 the cross of four equal arms before    
,st4 ,chrysostom was born1 and1  making 
them symbols of the ,roman ,empire1     
would1 whether a ,sun-,god  worshipper  
or a ,christian1 in any case have       
imposed them upon what he  established  
as his ,state ,religion1 it was not till
 after these solar  symbols of the      
,gauls were accepted as ,christian that 
such a cross as  could possibly have    
been a representation of an instrument  
of execution  was introduced4    ,as to 
the crucifix1 we are told that though   
this is said by some to be  referred to 
in the works of ,st4 ,gregory of        
,nyssa--a ,bishop of ,tours who  lived  
in the sixth century1 and also in the   

injunctions of the often  quoted council
 of ,greek bishops ,a4,c4 #fib called   
the ,quini-sextum or  in ,trullo1 the   
evidence is         ,insufficient to    
convince most modern archaeologists     
that a crucifix in any sense now        
accepted was meant4    ,in other words1 
not only is it clear that the cross as a
 representation  of the instrument of   
execution upon which ,jesus died was not
 introduced  till after the days of     
,constantine1 but it is also evident    
that the  crucifix1 the earliest known  
representation of that execution1 was   
not  introduced till centuries later4   
,other noteworthy admissions are made in
 the work above quoted from1 but  we    
must pass on to the ,dean of            
,canterbury's comparatively recent work 
upon the same subject4    ,dean ,farrar 
states upon page #aa of his ,life of    
,christ as represented  in ,art that ,of
 all early ,christian symbols the ,fish 
was the most  frequent and the          
favourite4    ,the ,fish2 and not the   

,cross4    ,moreover the ,dean          
significantly adds upon the next page1  
that the ,fish         ,continued to be 
a common symbol down to the       days  
of ,constantine4    ,and the            
significance lies in the fact that the  
introduction by  ,constantine of the    
solar symbols venerated by the ,gauls1  
may account  for the displacement of the
 symbol of the ,fish from favour4       
,upon page #ai ,dr4 ,farrar goes on to  
say that         ,two symbols continued 
for ages to be especially common1       
of which ,i have not yet spoken4 ,they  
were not generally       adopted1 even  
if they appeared at all1 until after the
       ,peace of the ,church at the     
beginning of the fourth       century4  
,i mean the cross and the monogram of   
,christ4    ,here again1 it will be     
seen1 the ,dean admits that the cross1  
as the  symbol of our religion1 came in 
with ,constantine4    ,directly after   
the passage last quoted ,dean ,farrar   
very misleadingly  remarks3 ,it must be 

remembered that the cross was in itself 
an object  of utter horror even to the  
,pagans4 ,for the exact reverse is the  
truth1 inasmuch as in almost every land 
a cross of some description had  been   
for ages venerated as a symbol of ,life4
    ,the fact of course is that the     
,dean here and elsewhere1 like other    
,christian writers1 does not take the   
trouble to distinguish between the      
symbol of the cross and the death caused
 by execution upon a stauros2  which    
instrument1 by the way1 was1 as has been
 shown1 not necessarily  in the shape of
 a cross1 and appears to have been in   
most cases a stake  without a transverse
 rail4 ,what the ,pagans held in utter  
horror was the  awful death caused by   
transfixion by or affixion to a stauros1
 whatever  its shape2 the symbol of the 
cross was1 upon the contrary1 an object 
of  veneration among them from time     
immemorial4    ,on page #bc ,dr4        
,farrar1 alluding to the use of the     
transient sign of the  cross by the     

,christians of early days1 makes the    
admission         ,that it did not      
remind them of the ,crucifixion only    
or even mainly is proved alike by their 
literature and       other relics4      
,exactly so3 for the non-material sign  
traced by them 7and by us7 upon  the    
forehead in the non-,mosaic initiatory  
rite of baptism and perhaps  also upon  
the breast or in the air at other times1
 seems to have been  the survival of a  
,pagan and pre-,christian custom4       
,upon page #bd ,dean ,farrar admits that
         ,the cross was only introduced 
among the ,christian       symbols      
tentatively and timidly4 ,it may be     
doubted       whether it once occurs    
till after the vision of                
,constantine in #cab and his accession  
to the ,empire of       the ,east and   
,west in #cbd4    ,further on upon the  
same page the ,dean of ,canterbury1     
passing without  notice from symbols to 
instruments of execution and making no  
distinction whatever1 states that       

,crosses were of two kinds4 ,the ,crux  
,simplex1 'of       one single piece    
without transom1' was a mere stake1     
used sometimes to impale1 sometimes to  
hang the victim       by the hands4     
,exactly so4    ,but1 to bring this work
 to a conclusion with what is the crux  
of the  whole matter1 is it not         
disingenuous in the extreme upon the    
part of  those of us ,christians who    
know better1 to hide the fact that it   
may  have been upon some such cross as  
the ,dean here refers to1 that is1  upon
 no cross at all1 that ,jesus was       
executed8 ,is it not dishonest of  us to
 place before the masses ,bibles and    
,lexicons wherein we ever  carefully    
translate as cross a word which at the  
time the ancient  classics and our      
sacred writings were penned did not     
necessarily1 if  indeed ever1 signify   
something cross-shaped8 ,is it not gross
 disloyalty  to ,truth to insist1 as we 
do in our versions of the ,christian    
,scriptures1 upon translating as crucify

 or crucified four different  words1 not
 one of which referred to anything      
necessarily in the shape  of a cross8   
,another point which should be          
mentioned1 though such matters cannot be
  discussed here1 is that the questions 
whether ,jesus did not prophesy  that   
the final ,day of judgment would come   
before those whom he  addressed should  
die1 and did not solemnly declare that  
his mission was  to the descendants of  
,jacob or ,israel and to them alone1    
undoubtedly  affect our story4    ,as to
 the ,gospel of the ,cross1 have not we 
,christians by1 in our  imaginations1   
limiting its saving effects to the few  
who are able to  believe in it1 all the 
centuries that we have re-echoed the cry
 the  ,kingdom of ,heaven is at hand    
forced upon the same the unutterably    
selfish meaning that the kingdom at hand
 for the many who simply cannot  believe
 is that of ,hell8 ,was that what ,jesus
 meant1 and all that the  so-called     
cross effected8    ,moreover1 whether   

the message of ,jesus which we proclaim 
and variously  interpret was or was not 
a gospel--that is1 glad tidings --to all
  men1 and from an unselfish point of   
view1 what possible good purpose  can be
 served by insisting upon supplementing 
the simple story of his  stressful life1
 his magnificent love for the afflicted 
and suffering1  his equally magnificent 
hatred of qualities not altogether      
dissimilar  from that which enables some
 of us to claim to be not only admirers 
but  also genuine followers of a        
,communist who declared that those who  
would  follow him must first sell all   
their possessions and give the proceeds 
to the poor2--what good purpose can be  
served by supplementing this1  and the  
account of the final conflict of ,jesus 
with the officials of  his native land  
and his subsequent execution upon a     
stauros or stake  not stated to have had
 a cross-bar attached1 by the adoption  
and  culture of a partisan and          
misleading fiction regarding the origin 

and  history of the symbol of the cross8
        ,,the ,,end4                    
---------------------  ,,footnotes  #a  
e4g41 ,iliad1 xxiv4 #dec2 ,odyssey1 xiv4
 #aa  #b e4g41 ,thuc4 iv4 #ij2 ,xen4    
,an4 v4 #b1 #ba4  #c ,gal4 iii4 #ac2 ,i 
,pet4 ii4 #bd2 ,acts v4 #cj2 ,acts x4   
#ci2      ,acts xiii4 #bi4  #d e4g41    
,hdt4 iii4 #abe4  #e e4g41 ,thuc4 vii4  
#be4  #f ,livy1 xxviii4 #bi4  #g        
,minucius ,felix1 ,oct4 xxix4  #h ,de   
,praescrip4 xl4  #i ,oct4 xxix4  #aj ,ad
 ,nationes1 xiv4  #aa ,poed iii4 ,,ii1  
#ei4  #ab ,nicodemus i4  #ac ,nicodemus 
vii4  #ad ,nicodemus viii4  #ae ,apol1  
i4 #ee4  #af ,dial4 cum ,trypho1 lxxxvi4
  #ag ,dial4 cum ,trypho1 xcvii4  #ah   
,against ,marcion1 iv4 #bj4  #ai        
,against ,marcion1 iii4 #ah4  #bj       
,scorpiace1 i4  #ba ,de ,corolla1 iii4  
#bb ,de ,proescrip1 xl4  #bc            
,apologiticus1 xvi4  #bd ,ad ,nationes1 
xii4  #be xxxvi4  #bf ,testimonies      
against the ,jews1 ii4 #ba4  #bg        
,testimonies against the ,jews1 ii4 #bb4

  #bh ,apud ,gretserum1 ii4  #bi ,epist4
 ad ,romanos1 ,lib4 vi4  #cj ,christ in 
,art1 p4 #bc4  #ca ,against ,heresies1  
i4 xxiv4  #cb ,against ,heresies1 ,,ii41
 xxii4 #d-e4  #cc ,vit4 ,const4 ,i4  #cd
 ,vit4 ,const4 ,i41 #bh1 #bi1 #cj4  #ce 
,vit4 ,const4 ,i41 #bi4  #cf ,de ,mart4 
,pers41 c4 #dd4  #cg ,vit4 ,const4 ,i41 
#ca4  #ch ,vit4 ,const4 ,i41 #cg4  #ci  
,vit4 ,const4 ,i41 #dj4  #dj ,vit4      
,const4 ,,ii4 #g-i4  #da ,vit4 ,const4  
,,iii4 #c4  #db ,vit4 ,const4 ,,iii4    
#di4  #dc ,opera ,s4 ,cyrilli cura ,ant4
 ,touttee #cea ,menaeum ,graecum        
ad diem #g ,maii4  #dd zosimus ii4  #de 
,both ,zonaras and ,cedrenus bear       
testimony to this effect4  #df ,early   
,christian ,numismatics4  #dg ,the      
,likeness of ,christ1 p4 #bj4  #dh      
,herodotus ,,ii41 #gc4  #di ,pliny1 x41 
#b4     #b ,tacitus1 ,annal4 ,vi41 #bh4 
,editorial note3 ,there is no reference 
in the text to this footnote #b at the  
bottom of page #acj  #ej ,an engraving  
of the coin can be seen in ,duruy's     

,histoire       des ,romains1 ,torn4    
vii4  #ea ,bockh1 ,c4,i4,g4 n4 #dgac b4 
#eb ,berlin ,collection #dbh4  #ec      
,strange ,survivals1 #bhf4  #ed e4g41   
,arist4 ,mundi4  #ee ,bar4 ,ann4 ,a4,c4 
#cab4  #ef ,basnage1 iii41 #bc4  #eg    
,eusebius1 ,vit4 ,const4 iv4  #eh       
,martianus ,capella4  #ei e4g4 ,philo1  
,de ,somniis1 i4  #fj ,timaeus1 #cd-cf4 
#fa ,theol4 ,plat4  #fb ,apol4  #fc     
,apol4  #fd ,report on the ,old ,records
 of the ,india ,office1 ,london1        
#ahia1 x41 xi4  #fe ,nineveh1 ii4 #bac4 
#ff e4g41 ,c4 ,w4 ,king1 ,m4,a4  ,early 
,christian ,numismatics2                
,professor ,rawlinson2 c41 c4  #fg ,c4  
,w4 ,king1 ,m4,a4  #fh ,first ,annual   
,report ,u4 ,s4 ,bureau of ,ethnology4  
#fi ,ol4 ,varelli1 ,scandage ,runic2    
,ans4 ,rudbeckins1 ,atlant43       e4g4 
an altar discovered ac ,rudchester1     
,northumberland3 ,sheffer1              
,lapponic4  #gj ,letters from ,rome1    
#ahfb1 p4 #baj4    ------  ,for those   
who do not have access to the images    

used in the above text1  here are some  
crude representations of                
them4--7,editor7        x4gif    ,x     
,x    ,x       ,x      ,x   ,x        ,x
      ,x   ,x    ,x       ,x  ,x        
,x        t4gif    ,,xxxxxxxxxxxxx      
,x        ,x        ,x        ,x        
,x        ,x        plus4gif          ,x
        ,x        ,x  ,,xxxxxxxxxxxxx   
,x        ,x        ,x                  
asterisk4gif    ,x     ,x     ,x    ,x  
,x   ,x      ,x ,x ,x        ,x      ,x 
,x ,x    ,x   ,x   ,x  ,x     ,x     ,x 
solarwheel#a4;gif          o ooooo o    
o      ,x      o   o ,x      ,x      ,x 
o  o    ,x    ,x    ,x    o  o      ,x  
,x  ,x      o  o         ,x         o  o
       ,x ,x ,x       o   o    ,x   ,x  
,x    o     o      ,x      o        o   
ooooo o        solarwheel#b4;gif        
o ooooo o     o      ,x      o   o      
,x        o  o         ,x         o  o  
,x         o                            
o,x,x,x,x,x,x,x,x,x,x,x,x,x,x,x,x,x,x,xo
  o         ,x         o   o        ,x  

o    o       ,x      o       o ooooo o  
monogram#a4;gif          o ooooo o     o
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  ,x  ,x      o  o         ,x         o 
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,x    o     o      ,x      o        o   
ooooo o      monogram#b4;gif          o 
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,x  ,x     o  o         ,,xxx       o  o
         ,x         o                   
o,x,x,x,x,x,x,x,x,x,x,x,x,x,x,x,x,x,x,xo
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monogram#c4;gif           xxx  ,x      x
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,,xxx           ,x  ,x           ,,xxx  
,x   ,,xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx           ,x  
,x           ,x        svastika#a4;gif  
,x       ,,xxxxxxxxxx   ,x       ,x   ,x
       ,x   ,x       ,x                 
,,xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx           ,x       
,x           ,x        ,x           ,x  

,x   ,,xxxxxxxxx        ,x              
svastika#b4;gif     ,,xxxxxxxxx         
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,x           ,x        ,x               
,,xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx   ,x       ,x   ,x 
,x   ,x       ,x   ,x       ,,xxxxxxxxxx
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        ,x   ,,xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx   ,x  
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