The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1873-06-05
I Fl s..
From the New YORK WoRLp,l

count of visit to The Church o Santa Croce,
in Florence, says sOver the main en-
trance are the original letters his. placed
there by St. Bernardius. of Sienna, who in
vented them IN l437, after the plague to de-
mole the name and mission of Jesus-Jesus
Hominum Salvador.
| There seems to be general misa pprehen.
sion concerning the origin and meaning of
this monogramatic emblem, nothwiths and
ing that it is in common use in both Protest.
ant and Roman Catholic Churches. 1t orna-
mepte chancel walls and windows. II is cary.
ed upon affairs and putpits lit is embroidered
ON the ecclesiastical vestment. and is stamp.
ed on the overs OF sacred books. MANY
Christians regard 1t with an almost SINNER.
stitious veneration. as it 1t possessed some
peculiar inherent holiness, some hidden effi.
cacy whereas, in It's present form, it has no
meaning, and, apart from its associations, Is
possessed OF no III ore significance asa relie-
ious emblem than would be any other three
Letters OF the alphabet arranged in a similar
consecutive order. Historically cons,d ered,
IL possesses some interest, tor it embalms tor.
ever the stupidity of the carelessness of early
t. AGslatorS OF the New Testament. Who did
not know or did not distinguish the differ.
ence between the Greek and Roman letters
In It's proper torn 1t ia SIMPLY an abbrevla-
ton of the name Oh Jesus, and IT, is nearly as
old as the Christian era 1t is used contin-
usIly in the "Codex Sinalticus," which is
considered by many scholars 20 be the dest
known manuscript OF the Holy Scriptures.
antedating even the "Vat,canus L. is
tonnd also in the other 'Codlds,' and very
many secular manuscripts, from the early
centuries down to the time of the invention OF
printing. Many instances of it may be seen
in CssIey's fac sim lies in his Catalogue OF
the Kings MSS. :" notable in the charter
OF Berklng Abbey. of the early date OF A. D.,
o76.
| But, to save time and labor, the early COPY
lists abbreviated all the frequently recurring
words, and We f1nd the name OF Jesus almost
Invariably contracted to HI, u line upon he
top being the sign Of a5prevlaltou The mud.
die letter H is the Greek eta (Roman
aud toe whole is equivalent to the Roman or
FogIish les. or, the 1 and Being identical,
to JES, the first, second, aud the last letters
OF thename OF Jesus. La the latin transcript
tlons the Greek abbreviation INC was re.
tanned, the declensionaI termln atoms being
changed to suit the Latin cases. Ia the
course of time the igno-&ut scriDes who cop
led the manuscripts conlounded the Greek
with the Roman letters, and wro'e IT his,
having no conception. probably, that the
middle letter stood for anything but TIE Ro-
man Fl. In the "Codex Beza," where the
Greek and the Latin texts are given on al
ternAte pages, the error Is very Observable,
The Greek Inc being metamorphosed in, O
tue Latin his.
Finally still another change took place.
The dash, toe sign of abbreviatIon, became a
cross, thus, HIS. and then il was discover
ed that Jesus 4ominum Salvatore was COM
pretended in the three letters, a very pretty
nd suggestive Application, but unfortunate
in that it furnishes additional PROOF that the
copyls;s mistook the middle letter Tor the
Roman IL. lguauus LOyola the founder of
the Order OF Jesus." evidently tell into the
same error. Ia the great seal of the order
the symbol appears HIS, In the midst of
emanating rays OF ng1t with Tie three nails
of the cross beneath, arranged like tau,
with the points inward. THIS, someti mes
written also LII lis, is used for the aborevi-
&tion OF SIN H4c Cruce Salus
The symboi OF Jesus was probably not used
otherwise than as u mAnusCrIpL ab1r.ViaLion
until about the beginning OF the fifteenth
century, when 1t began 10 be en- plOyed as a
distinct emblem in caIigra pho Ornamental
tiou and shortly atterw4rG III church deco
ration The letters are found combined N a
variety OF shapes, often making a very pleas.
ing aud artistic monogram. A singular oCe
described by MOlanus is worth mentioning
He says; 'ln window OF the Orphan Asy
um III Louvaln, building which beiocg d
formerly To the JesuIts, are depicted be-
Tecn the end letters and Brother Igna
tius and Xavier, each looking toward The
other and grasping r'ght hands. which hold
an upr'g 1T eros thus forming the middle
letter H."
ST. Bernardlus, Of Sienna, may have been
the first 10 use the his AS a sacred emblem
in church ornan eutation, but he certainly
did not invent the symbol. nor is it proba
bic that he was the originator OF the legend,
Jesus HomInum SalvAt0 :"
The number OF cheese factories In hi
nols, Wisconsin aud Minnesota is cstimat-
Ell, 10y Hon s. II FavllI, President of the
Northwestern Darymene Association, To.