The daily phoenix. [volume] (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1878, 1874-03-15
I. 81. S.-On1o1N AND MEANING OF

ohnta Croce, Ill Florence, says: "Over
tho mnin entrance are the original let
ters 1Hs, placed there by ST.. Bcrnar-
dIus. Of Sienna, who invented them in
l437, after the plague, to denote the
name and mission of Jesua-Jesus Ifo-
ninnm Safoator." There seems to be a
general msapprehension conccrring the
origin and meaning of this monogrn-
matte emblem, Notwithstanding that it
is In common nsa in both Protestant
aud Roman Catholic Churches. 1t
ornaments ohancel walls and windows;
1t is carved upon altars and pulpils: il
is embroidered on eccleeiastical ye,t.
ments. aud is stamped ON tho covers of
.ncred books. Many Christians regard
lt With au almost suporstitious yenera-
tlon, as If it possessed some peculiar in.
helent holiness, some hidden efficacy:
whereas, in its present form, il has no
meaNDg. and, apart from its ussocia-
tions. Is possessed of no moro bipniti
cance as religious emblem than would
be any other three letters Of the aIpha-
| bet arranged in similar consecutive.
order. Historically considered, i. pos
sessfs some interest, for it e,ubaIms for
ever tue stupidity OR the clrelessncss of
early transcribers Of the New Testament.
who did not know or did not distlt.-
gnish the difference between Greek aud
Roman letters. In its proper form 1t is
simply al ab5reviation of tho name
Jesus, and it is nearly us old us tie
Christian era. It is used continually in
the "Coris.r SinriticuS," Which Is con
sidered by many scholars to be the
oldest known manuscript OF the Holy
Scriptures. AntedRting evcn the "Vuii.
cdnus." l. is found also in the other
Goddess" aud in very many secular
manuscripts. from the cnriirsl centuries
down to the time Of the invention of
printing. Many instances Of it may be
seen in Cas!ey IS fac similes in his "Cata-
loGne Of the Kings MSS" notably in
the charter Of Berking Abbey, Of the
early date OF 4. D. G70.
The Greek form of Jesus is Jesous.
From little before the Christian era
down TO the time Of the invention OF
printing. the ancient letter of sigma wus
superseded by "a Q, later form of
sigma. and having the same powers and
sound. In oil ths New Testament ma
nuscrlpts OF this date, Jesus appeurs as
lHOYC; or rather it would appear as if
1t were never written out in full. Bot to
save Time and labor, the early copyist
abbreviated all the frequently recurring
words, and We find the name of Jesus
almost invariably contracted to tho INC,
line upon the top being the sign of
authorization. The middle letter Ii is
the Greek eta, (Roman E,) and the
| whole is equivalent to the Roman or
English les, or the and the j being
Identical to JE5, the first, second aud
last letters of the name Of Jesus. IL
the Latin transcription, the abbrevintiou
lHO was retained, the declensionul ter
munitions being changed TO suit tue
| Latin cases. In the course Of time, the
ignorant scribes who copied the mann
scripts confounded the Greek with the
Roman letters, and wrote it his, hav.
ing no conception. probably. that The
| midIle letter stood for anything but the
Roman II. In tho "Cou.x Bezu,"
where the Greek rad tue Latin texts are
very observable, the Greek INC being
meiamorphos:d into the Latin his.
Finally. still another change took
place. The dash, the s,gn Of nbbreyi.-
ton. became cross; aud then it Was
discovered that ",IsSns Hominuna SIlru.
tor" was compreliended In tie tirco let
tere, very pretty aud suggestive rxph-
cation. Dnt unfortunate III that it fur
nishcs additional prouf that the cooy,s,
mis!ook the middle letter for tn. Roman
II. lguatius 10y ola, the founder ci The
Order Of Jesus" evidently fell into
the same error. La the great seal Of the
order. the symbo! appears as HIS, with
GROSS above the connecting line Of Tie
II, III tha midst Of r:nnnut!uy ruvs OF
light, with the three nails Of tho cross
beneath, arranged like fan, wi,a the
points inward. This, sometimes writlcu
ulso HIS. is used for tho abbrcyialiun
Of I'm Hdc C,.uce .Stlus :"
! Tho symbol Of Jesus was probably
not used otherwise thau Us a mnnuscript
abbreviatiun until about the beginning
OF the fifteenth century, when 1t began
to he employed as I distinct emblem in
ca'ligraphic ornamentation, and shortly
afterwards in church decoration. The
letters are found combined in variety
OF shapes, often making u very pleasing
aud artistic monogram. a singular one
described by Mo!anus is worth men
tioniDg. He Gays: "Iu window of the
Orphnn Asylum of Louvain, building
which belonged formerly to the Jesuits,
aro depicted between the end letters
and $, Brothers 1gnatius ANA Navions
each looking towards tho other, nnd
grasp!ng right hands, which hold an up-
right cross, thus forming tho middle
letter II. ST.. Bcrnurdins, OF Sienna.
may huyo bean tha first tn ,,,, ia, III,