the other. The Latin cross, rising out of a heart, like the Catholic emblem, the " crux in corde," was also used by the Egyptians; it represented goodness. We have seen that the heart was a very old Pagan emblem, and was an outgrowth of erroneous impressions with regard to the physiology of the body; the heart being supposed to be the seat of the affections-the organ of love.

"Few

Under the foundations of the temple of Serapis, at Alexandria, were discovered a cross and phallic emblems, which caused the shocking murder of Hypatia by Cyril's monks. We thus see that the cross was used as a religious emblem many centuries before Jessæanism, or even early Christianism, by nearly every nation of the earth. cases," says the Rev. C. W. Cox, "have been more powerful in producing mistakes in ancient history than the idea, hastily taken by Christians, that every monument of antiquity marked with a cross, or with any of those symbols which they conceived to be monograms of their God, was of Christian origin."* Neither the Jessæanism nor early Christianism, which was old enough to develop conflicting sects, had any knowledge of a cross except as a symbol attached to a faith which they were gradually leaving

behind.

The Labarum, which the imperial murderer Constantine saw in his dream, was the emblem of the crucified sun-god of the Romans, and, in fact, of the Pagan world, by which he subsequently attempted to blend the new religion with the old. The great weekly festival of "Sol the Invincible " became the new and only festival of the Christians. The festival of the adoration of the crucified sun-god in the heavens became gradually the festival of the crucified Jesus. The Labarum was the sacred monogram of Jupiter Ammon and the Egyptian Osiris, and consisted, as we have seen (p. 179), of the two letters Chi and Rho (X and P), which, in old Samaritan (as found on coins), stood for 400 and 200. There is a medal at Rome of Constantius-Constantine's predecessor-with the Labarum, and with a similar inscription attached-"In hoc signo victor eris," so that

ANCIENT PAGAN SYMBOLS.

Constantine saw in his dream nothing new.

263

It was also

found on the coins of the Ptolemies and of Herod the Great forty years before our era.

Notwithstanding the destruction of MS. which might be considered detrimental to their religion by the Christian fathers, the following admission from the holy father Minucius Felix in 211 C.E. has, by some oversight, been preserved. He says, in a retort to a Pagan opponent : "We neither adore crosses nor desire them; ye Pagans it is who......adore wooden crosses......for what else are your ensigns, flags, and standards but crosses gilt and beautiful ?" The victorious trophies of the Romans not only represented a simple cross, but a cross with a man on it—a crucifix. The cross of Constantine, which was adopted by the Christians at the Council of Constantinople in 707, as we have seen, was not the same as the Christian cross of the present day.

The monogram of Bacchus-the god of wine-seen in the temple dedicated to him in Rome, and now a Christian church, consisted of the Greek letters YHΣ=Hues, or IHZ = Ies, which had its origin in phallic and planetary worship and represented generative vigour. These letters were surmounted by a Roman cross, and the whole was surrounded by a halo, representing the sun's rays="glory." Ies, pronounced Ye-es, was the Phoenician for Jeshua or Yesua, and constituted the first three letters of the Greek name for Jesus-Iesous. The Christian sacred monogram is IHS, a survival of the above, which is now represented as meaning "In hoc salus" and "Iesus hominum salvator"; but no one seems to know which of these two it is really intended for; the Greek capital Eta, or long e-H, being either designedly or ignorantly mistaken for the Roman H.

The Lamb and the Fish were both of zodiacal origin. When Aries was the vernal equinoxial sign, the Lamb or Ram was worshipped, and when Pisces was the vernal equinoxial sign the Fishes were worshipped. The Lamb was represented stabbed and bleeding, and was addressed as "The Lamb of God taking away the sins of the world," and "slain from the foundations of the earth," typifying the crucified sun, and representing his passage through the sign Aries, which sign was called the "lamb of God"; and this was addressed in the Pagan Litany, with frequent

repetitions, as "O Lamb of God that takest away the sins of the world, have mercy upon us"; the latter part of the prayer being varied with "Grant us thy peace," just as it is now found in the Christian Litanies.

Aries was the Saviour, and was believed, during the time that it was the vernal equinoxial sign, by the Vedic Aryans "to die" annually "to save all flesh.' Horses were sacrificed-Aries being also the zodiacal horse. The “guardian spirits" of the Prince Sakya Buddha sing the following hymn, written about five centuries B.C.:—

"Once, when thou wast the white horse,
In pity for the suffering of man,

Thou didst fly across the heaven

To the region of the evil demons,

To secure the happiness of mankind.
Persecutions without end,

Revilings and many prisons,

Death and murder, these

Hadst thou suffered

With love and patience,

Forgiving thine executioners."

We can easily recognize some N. T. expressions in the above. When the vernal equinox passed from the sign Aries to that of Pisces, the "Divine Fishes," instead of the "Lamb of God," became the figure of the Pagan Christs on the cross, and ancient crosses have been found in Scotland and Ireland with fishes upon them.

The Dag or Fish thus became the symbol of reproduction, as the egg was of life. The sign of the Buddhist Christ coming was the conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter in the sign Pisces. The fish was worshipped in Chaldæa as Oannes (Joannes or Jonas); in Syria, Phoenicia, and Philistia as Dagon. Oannes was represented, like the Christian Janus, as being man, god, and fish. Yahuh's rival, Dagon, was represented as a mermaid, half woman, half fish. In 1 Sam. v. 4 the word rendered " 'stump," relating to Dagon, ought to be rendered "the fishy part." The image of Dagon fell down in the presence of the ark containing the sacred "Law," and on which was the throne of Yahuh, and was so injured that there was nothing left of him but his fish tail. The fish part of Dagon is there represented as indestructible. Dagon was sacred to Venus, and her day is now commemorated by Catholics and called

"Fish Day" (Friday, or Venus Day), as it was in ancient days; and fish-and-egg sauce are almost inseparable with eggs themselves, from ideas of Lent and Easter, the fish being the symbol of Lent and the egg of Easter.

Vishnu, the Hindu "Matsaya" (Messiah), was identical with the Chaldæan Oannes and the Syrian and Phoenician Dagon. He was incarnated in fish form, and was thus symbolized. The Greek word, Ichthus = fish, was a title of Bacchus, Horus, and Jesus. The Jews obtained the fishgod from the Babylonians during their captivity; and we find the expected Messiah of the Talmud called " Dag."

The earliest emblem of the Christian Messiah was, as we have seen, the fish, representing him in his special capacity as Saviour." He was also represented later as the lamb or ram-slain, as the good shepherd, and by the solar monogram IHS. But we find, in early Christian symbolism, the greatest prominence given to the fish. It is found on tombstones, mural decorations, seals, lamps, and wherever ingenuity could engrave or paint it. We find it in the stories of feeding the multitude and of the resurgated Messiah eating broiled fish before he "ascended." In the catacombs he is represented as two fishes, crossed like crossed swords. We find, too, fish and fishermen frequently mentioned in connection with the Christian Messiah. He told his apostles (fishermen) that he would make them "fishers of men," and said that his only sign was "that of Jonas (Oannes), who was said to have been swallowed by a fish. Tertullian says: "But we little fishes (Pisciculi), after the example of Icthus [i.e., the fish], are born in water." Icthus was the Greek name for Oannes and Dagon, St. Augustine calls Jesus "the Icthus that lives in the midst of the waters." Julius Africanus calls him "that great fish who fed from himself the disciples on shore, and offered himself as a fish to the whole world." Many Christian ideas and expressions can be traced in the above, especially in the Vedic Hymn.

The triangle, trefoil, and tripod were all symbols of trinities; the idea of the three in one originating, as we have seen, in phallic worship. The triangle is conspicuous as a sacred emblem in Hindu and Buddhist temples, sometimes with the mystical letters AUM on it, one letter at each angle Brahma, Vishnu, and Siva-the Hindu trinity. The

Triangle is also seen in the obelisk and pyramids of Egypt. The Trefoil adorned the head of Osiris, and was used among the ancient Druids.

The Dove was the symbol of the "spirit" among all the nations of antiquity, as it is now with Christians. The Samaritans had a "brazen fiery dove," instead of a "brazen fiery serpent"; both referred to fire-the symbol of the Holy Ghost." The cross was the quiescent, and the serpent the energizing phallus; the latter representing, besides, fire, life, and healing, and was so worshipped by the Egyptians and Jews. They are united in the brazen serpent of the Pentateuch. Buddha is represented like Jesus, with a dove hovering over his head. The goddesses Juno, Venus, Astarte, Cybele, and Isis were often represented with doves over their heads.

The dove was like the fish, sacred to Venus, and symbolized the vital spirit or ghost, which fructified inert matter, assuming the form of wind and breath, and thus signifying incubation.

The Crescent as a religious emblem originated with moon-worship, and was used in connection with the worship of the Babylonian and Egyptian "Queens of Heaven "— Astarte and Isis-who were represented, as is the Christian virgin of modern days, with the crescent moon beneath their feet, and twelve stars above their heads, representing the twelve zodiacal signs. It became later the palladium of Christian Constantinople; and, upon the conquest of that city by the Turks, was adopted by the Sultan as the Mohammedan symbol. All the moon deities, and most of the Egyptian, were horned, as Moses was said to have been when he descended the mountain with the tablets; the crescentic horns-of Aries, the ram, and of the crescent moon-being the symbol of power.