Cañon City record., 1899-03-30

appears Twice In our alphabet, a. the
letter T and the letter. x. II u worn
BY priests ON their sacrihcial robes. By
distinguished laymen as sign OF dis
tnction ON occasions Of state, and by
male and female nonentities as taste
may direct. 1t is craven ON eucharis-
ito vessels, embroidered on altar cloths
and cut In relief on tombs and monu-
and cathedrals of Christendom are
fashioned in its shape. In European
countries It is common to see large
crosses erected in public places. The
famous Charing (chere relne) Cross. In
London, derives its name from the
fEct that 1t was one Of the places at
which King Edward set mp cross to
mark where the body Of his Queen
Eleanor rested during the progress Of
the funeral cortege to Westminster.
Yet 1t is a mistake to suppose that
the cross has only Christian history.
1t was used as religious symbol by
the aborigines of North and South
America, as well as the most ancient
nations of the old world Prescott
tells US that the Spaniards found the
cross as an object of worship In the
temples of Mexico. Researches in
Central America prove that it was
used in the same way by the inhabi-
tants Of those countries. DR.. Brinton,
In Myths of the New World" informs
us that the Indians regard the cross as
a mystic emblem OF the four cardinal
points of the compass.
The ancient Phoenicians, Persians,
Assyrtans and Brahmins looked upon
the cross as a holy symbol, as is abun-
dantly shown by the numerous hero
glyphics and other pictorial represen-
Osiris by the cross gave light eternal
to the spirits of the Just, beneath the
cross the Muysea mothers laid their
babes, trusting by that sign to se-
cure them from the power of the evil
spirits. and with that symbol to pro-
tect them, the Etruscans, the ancient
people Of northern Italy. calmly laid
them down to die.
The Thau of the Jews and the Tau
of the Greeks, whence came the T Of
the Roman alphabet, were held to be
not merely letters. but sacred symbols.
on account of their being suggested by
a Cross.
Among the Scandinavians Thorr was
the thunder, and the hammer was his
symbol. It was with this hammer that
Thorr crushed the head of the great
Mitgard serpent; that he destroyed the
giants; that he restored to life the
dead goats, which ever after drew his
car; that he consecrated the pyre of
Baldur. This hammer was a cross. In
Iceland the cross Of Thorr is still used
as a magical sign in connection with
storms Of wind and rain. IonGfellow
tells US how King Olaf kept Christmas
at Droutheim:
Der his drinking horn, the sign
He made Of the Cross Divine,
AZ he drank and muttered his pray
~ ers;
But the Berserks evermore
Made the sign OF the Hammer OF
Thorr
Over theirs. pt
Neither King Olaf nor his Berserk-
ers. nor. indeed. Longfellow himself.
seem to have realized that the two
symbols were identical.
Comparative mytholoeists draw va
rious deductions from these remark
able facts. Let us. however. appeal TO
q man who is not only a comparative
mytholosist. but Christian priest.
For my own part" says the Rev.
Barring Could, "I see no dimculty in
believing that the cross formed por-
tion Of the primeval religion. traces of
which exist over the whole world,
among every people; that trust in the
cross was part Of the ancient faith
which taught men to believe In Trim
ity. in q war In heaven, q Paradise
from which man fell. . Flood and q
Babel, faith which was deeply I'm
pressed with conviction that . vir-
gin should conceive and bear Son.
that the dragons head should be
bruised, and that through shedding of
blood should come remission. The
use OF the cross as a symbol Of life and
regeneration through water is as wide
IL spread over the world as the belisf
in the ark OF Noah. Maybe the aha
dow Of the cross was cast further back
into the night Of ages, and fell on n
wider range Of country than we are
aware Of.
It was only natural that the early
and medieval Christians, findinx the
cross q symbol Of life among the ma :
tions OF antiquity. should look curious
.Iy into the Old Testament to see
whether there were not foreshsdow-
ings in It Of "ths wood whereby right
eoumess cometh.s Nor was their
search unrewardsd. In Isaac leaving
the wood Of the sacrifice they saw pre-
figured both Christ and the cross. They
saw the cross in Moses with arms ex-
panded on the Mount. in the pole. with
transverse bars, upon which was
wreathed the braxen serpent. In the
two sticks gathered by the widow Of
Sarpeta. But plainest of all they read
It in Ezekiel. TX, 4, 6. go througf, the
midst of the city, 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" 10 In
the Vulgate sigma thau." The Than
was the old Hebrew character, shaped
like q cross, which was regarded a. tne
sign Of life. felicity and safety. s
Yet the cross was not always a SYM
Dol Of honor. Among the Phoenicians
and Syrinns and later among the Ro-
mans !. was punishment inflicted ON
slaves, robbers, assassins and rebels
among which last Jesus was reckoned
on ACCOUNT Of Hts proelaiming Himself