, 1873-05-11
Hrs.

~ From ths Xe,o York Fa7ld. : >
A writer in q late periodical, giving an account
Of D yisit to the Church Of Santa Croee, in
Florence, says: "Oyer the main entrance are
the original letters lbs, placed thsre by St. Bar
na1dius, of Sienna, who invented them in 1887,
after the plague, to denote the name and mis-
sion Of Jesus-Jesus Hominum Salvador.
. There seems to be a general uieapprehension
concerning the origin and meaning ct this
monogramatic emblem, notwithstanding that
it is in common use in both Protestant
and eRoman Catholic churches: It ona-
mentB chRncel walls and windoWs, it is
carved upon altars and pulpite; it is en-
broidered on the ecclesiastical vestments, and is
stamped on the covers OF eacred books. Many
Christians regard it With an almost aupsrstitious
yene1atton, as it 1t possessed some peculiar in
hereut holiness, some hidden efficacy whereas,
in its present form, it has no meaning, and,
more Significance az = religious emblem than
would be. any other three letters Of the alphabet
arranged in d similar consecutive order His
torically considered, it possesses some interest,
leaaness Of early translators Of the New Testa-
ment, who did not know or did not distinguish
the difference bstneen the Greek and Roman
letters. .
In its proper form it is simply an abreviation
OF the name OF Jesus. aud it is nearly as old as
the Christian era. Il is used continually in the
"Code1 6inaiticus," which is considered by many
scholars TO be the Oldest known manuscript OF
the Holy Scriptures, antedating eTen the q Vah.
canus." It is found also In the other Goodies"
early centuries down to ths time Of the invention
OF printing. Many instances Of it may be seen
in Caaley's fac~similes in his " Catalogue OF the
Kings Mss. !" notable in the charter Of Berking
Abbey, OF the early date OF L. D. 676.
But, to save time and labor the early copyists
abbreviated all the fequently-recurring words,
md we find the name Of Jesus almost invariably
contracted to INC, q line upon the top being the
sign Of abbreviation. The middle letter e is
the Greek eta Roman E), and the whole is
equivalent to the Roman or English les, or, the
and being identical, to JE5, the first, Sec
ond, and last letters OF the name Of Jesus. In
tho Latin prescriptions the Greek abbreviAtion
INC WAS retained, the declensional terminations
being changed to suit the Latin casea. In the
cou1se Of time the ignorant sc1ibes who copied
the manuscripts confounded the qreok With the
Roman letters, and wrote it lbs, having no con-
ception, probably, that the middle letter stood
for anything but the Roman 81. In the "Code1
Beza, where the Greek and tho Latin te1ts are
given on alternate pages. the error il very OBJ
servab1e, the Greek 1HC being metarnorphosed
into the Latin IHS. -.
Finally still another change. took place. The
dash, the sign Of abbreviation, became cross,
thus, IHS.; and then it Was discovered that
" Jesus Hominum salvator" " was comp1ehended
in the three letters, q very pratty, and suggea-
tive e1plication, but unfortunate In that It fur
uishes additional proof that the cop{iHts mis-
I0Ck tu6 u1uuAb lotL3A AO1 LILO AAN4A4A4 AAe AAA1-
titus Loyola, the founder Of the :" Order OF
Jesus" +" evidently fell into the Same error. In
the great seal Of the order the symbol appears
IHS., in the midst of emanating rays Of light,
with the three nails Of the Cross beneath, ar
ranged like fan, with the points inward. This,
sometimes written also HIS, is used for the
abbreyiation Of ttIn Hac Crnce Salus."
Tbs symbol Of Jesus WAS probably not used
Otherwise than as . manuscript abbreviation
until about the beginning Of the fifteenth cen
tu1y, when it began to be employed AZ distinct
emblem in ca1igraphic ornamentation and ehortly
afterward IN church decoration. The letter. are
found combined in q variety OF shapes, often
making very pleasing. and nd .ytistio monogram; a5
mentioning. He says: SIN q window Of the
Orphan Asylum in Louyain building Thieh sa be- BE-
tween the end letters and Brothers Ignatius
aud Xavier, each looking toward the other and
grasping right hands, which hold an upright
cross. thus forming the middle letter " Il.
st. Bernardius, OF Sienna, may have been the
first to use the IHs as sacred emblem in church
ornamentation, but he certainly did not invent
the symbol, nor is 1t probable that he WAS the
originator Of the legend, " jesus Hom'num Sal
rator." -.