The Irish standard., 1896-08-29
DYING ON THE CROSS
The Ancient Il Mode of Punishment
Graphically Told.

The Ancient Mode of Pt,nis hment
Graphically Told. u
1t was only natural that the early and
medieval Christians, finding the cross q
symbol of life among the nations Of an
/ tiuuity should look curiously intothe Old
Testament to see whether there weresnot
foreshadowings in it OF the wood where
by righteousness cometh,' says the
Standard and Times.
| Nor was their search unrewarled. Ia
Isaac leaving the wood Of the sacrifice
they saw prefgured both Christ and the
cross. They saw the cross in Moses with
arms expanded on the mount; in the pole,
with transverse bars, upon which was
wreathed the brazen serpent: in the two
sticks gathered by the Widow Of Sarpe-
| ia. But plajnest OF all they read in
Ezekial ix.. 4-6, eco through the midst
of Jerusalem and set a mark upon the
! foreheads OF the men, that are to be
! saved from destruction by the sword
The word here rendered .mark' is in the
Vulgate sigma than" The thau was the
old Hebrew character shaped like a
cross, which was regarded as the sign OF
life, felicity and safety.
Yet the cross was not always symbol
of honor. Among the Phoenicians and
Syrians, and later among the Romans, 1t
was punishment inflicted on slaves, rob-
bers, assassins and rebels-among which
last Jesus was reckoned on account OF his
proclaiming Himself King or Messiah.
The person sentencedato this punishment
was stripped Of his clothes, except {. COW
ering around the loins In a. state OF nu-
dity he was beaten with whips. Such
was the severely of this flagellation that
numbers died of it. Jesus was crowned
with thorns and was made the subject
OF mockery, but insults Of this kind were
not common. In this instance they
were owing to the petulance Of the Ro-
man soldiers.
The criminal having been beaten was
condemned to the further sufferings of
carrying the cross to the place of pun
ishment, which was commonly hill
near the public highway and out OF the
city. The place of crucifxion at Jeru-
salem was hill to the northwest OF the
city. The cross, otherwise called the
"post, the unpropitious or ominous
tree-consisted of a piece of wood erect
ed perpendicularly and intersected by
another one at right angles near the top
The crime for which the culprit suffered
was inscribed on the transverse piece
near the top of the perpendicular one.
There is no mention made by the ancient
writer's of anything on which the feet of
the crucified person rested. 1t is known,
however, that near the base Of the per-
pendicular beam there projected piece
Of wood on which he sat and which an
swered as support to the body, since
the weight of the latter might have
otherwise torn the hands by the nails
driven through them.
The cross, when driven firmly in the
ground, rarely exceeded 10 feet in height.
The victim was elevated and his hands
were bound by a rope around the trans
verse beam and nailed through the palm.
His feet were also nailed. He thus re-
manned fastened until death ended his
sufferings. When he exhibited any signs
of life he was watched by guards; but
they left him when it appeared that he
was dead If there was no prospect that
the victim would die on the day OF exc
cution, the executors fastened the end
by kindling fire at the foot of the cross
SO as to suffocate him with smoke; or by
letting loose upon him wild beasts or oc-:
casionally, when in peculiar haste, by
breaking his bones upon the cross with
g. mallet, as upon an anvil: -
It was at one time customary to offer
the criminal before the commencement
of the sufferings a medicated drink, COM
pounded of wine and myrrh. The OBJ
ject of this was to produce intoxlcation
and thereby lessen the suffering.
Cruciixion was not only the most ig-
nominious, but by far the most cruel
mode of punishment. The victim some
times lived until the seventh day. The
thieves who were executed at the same
time with our Savior were broken with
mallets on the same day, and in order to
ascertain the condition of Jesus a lance
was thrust in His side, but no signs of
life appeared.
Cicero says the very name of the cross
should be removed afar, mot only from
the body, but from the thoughts, the
eyes. the ears of the Roman citizens, for
of all these things. not only the actual
occurrence and endurance, but the very
contingency and expectation, nay, the
mention itself, are unworthy of Roman
citizen and free man. Hence the
force Of St. Pauls frequent allusion to
the humiliation which Christ endured
when he suffered death upon the cross.
It was precisely this idea which made
the early Christians seize upon the cross
as the emblem of their faith. That which
had been the symbol of shame now be-
came their glory. The instrument Of
Christ's passion, by His death upon it,
became hallowed for all time.
0dds aud Ends 90 n