Bellarmine · De Controversiis · On the Church Triumphant, Book II: On the Relics and Images of the Saints
Chapter 28: On the Image of the Cross
Our translation, from the Latin of the Opera Omnia (Paris: Vivès, 1870–74), vol. II, De Ecclesia quae Triumphat in Coelis, the fourth general controversy. The Latin source text is public domain; this English rendering is released with the site. Scripture quotations follow Bellarmine's Vulgate citations, rendered in Douay-Rheims wording where he quotes exactly. Click “Show the Latin” for the original (raw OCR of the scan; scanning errors remain — the scan itself is the authority).
Now as to the image of the cross, we have first the testimony of Matthew 24: “Then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven”; by which appearance that sign, that is, the cross, will be made wonderfully venerable. For although Calvin, Musculus and others, whom Marlorat reports in his Catena on this place, deny that the cross is treated of here, and would have this be the sense of these words, “Then shall appear the sign of the Son of man,” that is, then the Son of man will appear so manifestly as if, a sign being given, he had turned the eyes of all upon himself; yet all the ancients to a man expound it of the cross: so Origen, Chrysostom, Jerome, Hilary, Theophylact, Euthymius and Bede on chapter 24 of Matthew; likewise Cyril, catechesis 13, and Augustine, sermon 130 on the Season. The Church too sings on the feast of the Finding: “This sign of the cross shall be in heaven, when the Lord shall come to judge.”
The Sibyl too, book 6, at the end:
O happy wood, on which God himself hung:
the earth shall not hold you, but you shall see the roof of heaven,
when the renewed face of God shall flash out in fire.
And indeed Thomas Waldensis, volume 3, title 20, chapter 158, says not wholly improbably that the very true wooden cross, which is now divided into many particles, will then be re-formed and gathered and will appear in heaven. For the Sibyl and Chrysostom, in the sermon on the cross and the thief, seem to assert this; nor do the other Fathers contradict it.
Nor does that of the Church stand in the way, “This sign of the cross shall be in heaven”; for even the true cross can be called the sign of the cross, that is, an instrument having the figure of the cross. But if this is not admitted, at least a bright image of the cross will appear in heaven, made of air or of condensed fire, as Abulensis and Jansenius and others teach.
And from here a manifold argument is drawn to prove the honour of the cross. For first the cross is honourable because it is called by Christ himself his sign, that is, the standard of Christ; for if the soldiers adore the emperor's standard, as is plain from Sozomen, book 1 of the History, chapter 4, why will not the standard of Christ be adored? Second, it is honourable because it will appear in heaven, namely in a high and honourable place. Third, because it will be carried by the hands of angels, as Augustine teaches, sermon 130. Fourth, because it will shine more brightly than the sun; which Augustine and Chrysostom prove, because it will then appear and be seen by all when the sun and moon and stars have been darkened, as is plain from Matthew, chapter 24.
The second argument can be taken from the testimonies of the sacred councils. For the sixth synod, canon [73?], the seventh synod, the last action, and the eighth synod, the last action, published canons on the veneration of the cross.
The third argument, from the use and testimonies of the ancients. Justin, in the second Apology: “The signs too,” he says, “which are among us declare the power of this thing” (the cross). Tertullian, in the Apologetic, chapter 16, answers the objection of the heathens about the adoration of the wooden cross; Minucius does the same in the Octavius. From which it appears that from the very beginning of the Church, even before the finding of the true cross, Christians were wont to have and venerate the image of the cross. Origen, book 6 on the epistle to the Romans, says that the figure of the cross set before the eyes, if it is attentively considered, avails to drive away every temptation.
Constantine the Great brought the labarum into the form of the cross, as is plain from Eusebius, book 9, chapter 9, of the History, and from book 1 of the Life of Constantine. And because the labarum was adored, Constantine would never have put the cross on the labarum if he had thought it idolatry to venerate the cross. Nay, Sozomen, book 1, chapter 4, of the History, writes that Constantine turned the labarum into a cross for this reason, that the soldiers might grow used to venerating the cross.
You will say: Even before the times of Constantine the labarum had the form of a cross, as Tertullian in the Apologetic, chapter 16, Justin in the second Apology, and Minucius in the Octavius testify.
I answer that before the times of Constantine the labarum had a certain likeness of the cross, because it was a banner hung on a pole, yet did not have properly the figure of the cross except from the time of Constantine. The same Constantine, as Eusebius reports, book 1 of the Life of Constantine, at Rome, after defeating Maxentius, set up a cross in a most famous place with these words: “This saving sign.” And again he ordered a cross to be placed in the right hand of his statue with these words: “By this one sign of true fortitude I have freed your city,” and so on. The same also provided by decree that thereafter no criminals should be fixed to the cross, that the cross might no longer be for horror, but for love and veneration to all, as Sozomen writes, book 1, chapter 8, and Augustine, sermon 18 on the Words of the Lord. And on the contrary he ordered the figure of the cross to be struck on the coins, which all love, as Sozomen reports in the same place.
Theodosius, imitating the godliness of Constantine, forbade the cross to be carved or painted on the ground, lest the sacred sign be trodden underfoot; for so it is had in book 1 of the Code, title 8, the law Cum sit nobis. Which testimony the adversaries cite corruptly from Petrus Crinitus, book 9, chapter 9, as if Theodosius had forbidden the image of the cross to be carved or painted.
Following Theodosius, his son Arcadius ordered gold money to be struck with the sign of the cross, on the witness of Prosper, On the Predictions and Promises, part 3, chapter 34.
Tiberius too, a most excellent emperor, following the law of Theodosius, when he had seen a cross cut in marble on the ground in the palace, at once ordered it to be raised, saying: “With the cross of the Lord we ought to guard our forehead and breast, and do we tread it underfoot?” Paul the Deacon is witness, book 18 of the Roman History. Where he adds too that under that marble a huge treasure of more than a hundred thousand gold pieces was found, as a reward, namely, for the godliness of so religious a prince.
In the time of Constantine Lactantius wrote a poem on the cross, in which among other things we read:
Bend the knee, and adore the venerable wood of the cross.
Not long after, Athanasius, question 16 to Antiochus, gave the reason why Christians make and honour images of the cross rather than of the lance or the sponge: because, namely, if the heathens say that we worship wood, at once, the two pieces of the cross being taken apart, we destroy the figure of the cross, and venerate it no longer.
John Chrysostom ordered silver crosses with burning torches to be carried before the processions, as Socrates, book 6, chapter 8, and Sozomen, book 8, chapter 8, testify. The same Chrysostom too, in the book That Christ Is God, says that in his time the figure of the cross was wont to be painted in all places, in cities, in houses, in bedrooms, on vessels, in the desert, on the mountains, and so on. Augustine, tractate 36 on John, and on Psalm 36: “He who gave such honour to his punishment,” he says, “what does he keep for his faithful?” Cyril, book 6 against Julian, answers Julian, who found fault with the Christians for adoring the wood of the cross and painting its figure before their houses. Rufinus, book 2, chapter 29, of the History, testifies that in Egypt, when the Egyptians were being converted to the faith, crosses were painted everywhere in place of the bust of Serapis, which the heathens venerated. Bede, book 1 of the History of the English, chapter 25, writes that Augustine, sent by blessed Gregory for the conversion of the English, carried before him as a standard a silver cross and an image of Christ painted on a panel. Gregory himself too, book 7, letter 5, speaks of the veneration of the cross. Leo, sermon 8 on the Passion of the Lord: “He carried,” he says, “the trophy of his triumph in a beautiful form, and the sign of salvation of his most unconquered power, to be adored by all peoples.”
Sedulius, in the Easter Poem:
He was himself the peace of the cross, and, making glorious the cruel wood
with his own limbs, he clothed the punishment with honour,
and made the torment rather the sign of salvation,
and, sanctifying the torments in himself, he blessed them.
And lest anyone not know that the figure of the cross is to be honoured,
which bore the Lord in triumph…
The fourth argument, from the appearances and miracles of the cross. First, a most bright cross appeared to Constantine in the air with these words: en toutō nika, that is, “In this conquer.” Eusebius reports it, book 1 of the Life of Constantine; where he adds too that he received this from Constantine himself, who swore to him about it. Nor did the cross appear to him in sleep, as Sozomen, book 1, chapter 3, and Paul the Deacon, book 11 of the Roman History, say; but plainly awake, and making a march with his whole army, as Eusebius says.
And that it was not said in vain to Constantine, “In this sign conquer,” appears from Constantine's victories. For in book 2 of the Life of Constantine Eusebius writes that Constantine always ordered the labarum, marked with the cross, to be carried in battles to that part of the line which was most hard pressed; and wherever the labarum came, victory at once followed. He adds in the same place that when the man who carried the labarum had left it through fear of the enemies' charge, he was at once killed; but the one who took it up from the hand of him who threw it away could never be struck, even though countless weapons were thrown at him; for they all, a marvellous thing to say, stuck in the pole of the cross.
Second, a most bright cross appeared above the Mount of Olives in the time of the Emperor Constantius, of which appearance there is a letter of Cyril of Jerusalem to Constantius.
Third, it appeared in the time of Julian the apostate, who persecuted it, as Gregory Nazianzen tells, oration 1 against Julian. For when Julian was inspecting the entrails of a victim for the sake of divination, he found a cross crowned; and certain soothsayers of skill, as Paul the Deacon reports in his life, said that it signified that the Christian religion, which venerated the cross, would be everlasting, and could not be conquered by Julian. But his flatterers said that it signified straits, and as it were the prisons of the cross; but the outcome showed the former opinion true. At the same time, when the Jews, at Julian's command, wished to build the temple at Jerusalem in dishonour of the Crucified, there appeared again in the air a huge bright circle surrounding a most splendid cross; and besides, on the clothes of almost all the men of that place crosses appeared, as if worked with the highest art, as the same Nazianzen writes, oration 2 against Julian.
Fourth, a cross appeared in the air in the time of Arcadius, when the emperor undertook a war for the faith against the Persians, persecutors of the Christians, in which war he was helped by God. Blessed Prosper testifies this, in the book On the Divine Promises, part 3, chapter 34.
Fifth, crosses appeared on the clothes of men in the time of Leo the Iconoclast, when the heretics were raging against the sacred images, as Paul the Deacon testifies in the Life of Leo the Iconoclast. To this kind can be referred the appearance of a cross on a tree in England, in the year [1559?]; on which see Alan Cope.
Besides these appearances, miracles without number done through the figure of the cross could be reported. Notable is that of Hilarion, which blessed Jerome reports done at Epidaurus. For when the sea was going beyond its bounds, and there was a danger lest it overwhelm the city, Hilarion traced three crosses on the shore. And when the sea came to it, it began to swell and, rising into a great height like a wall, [it stood there raging for a long time, as if angry at its hindrance, and then, little by little yielding to the power of the cross, it fell back; the lines are damaged in the scan].
Bede, book 3, chapter 2, of the History of the English, also reports many miracles done through the wooden cross set up by King Oswald, and that first one above all, that he himself with a few fought against countless enemies and conquered.
The last argument, from reason. If the images of the saints are holy and venerable, as we showed above, surely every cross is holy and venerable, because it bears the image of Christ crucified, that is, of Christ busy in the very work of redemption, than which nothing holier can be thought.
Show the Latin (Vives edition, OCR)
CAPIT XWIII.
/)(• ivuKjina crucis.
Jiim vrMO do imapino rrucis hiihnntis primo lc-
sliiuuuitim .M;illh. ii.Tunc apparebil siijnuni jiUi
homini>t incoe.lo: v\ cpiii iiiiparilionc tiiiro itiodo
vciKMiihih; rcddetiir si},Mium illud, idest, crux.Niiiii
ctsi C;d\iniis. Miisoiilus. el ;ilii qtins rcferl iii su.i
oalona ;id liuiic lociiin M;irlor;ilus, negetil hic ajii
dc oruro.;u' volinl Iiunc csse horiim vcrhorum sen-
stiin: Tunc apparebit i^ignum FiUi /io»//?ij.s-,idosl,
luiic iipparrhil Filius homiiiis t;iin manifesle. ac si
cdilo signo in sc omniuiu oculos convcrlissel : o
innes lamcn voteres iid iinum exponunl do cruce :
ilii Orijionos, Chrysoslnmus, Hicronymus, llihirius,
TiKMipliylaclus. Eulhymius, Beda in cap. 24. Mat-
Ihaei: itom Cyrillus calcchesi lo. cl Auguslinus
sorm. \'M). de tcmpore. Ecrlesia quoquc canil in
foslo inviMilioiiis; 7/oc signum crucis orilin coelo.
cum Dominus adjudicandum venerit.
Syhilla cliam iih. (). in line:
0 liijnnm fctix, in quo Deus ipse pependii.
I\'ec lc. lerra capil, scd cocli lccla videbis,
Cuin rcnovaUi JUci facies ignila inicabit.
El quidem Thomas Waldensis tom. 3. lilul. 20.
oap. l.")8. non omnino improhiihililcr dicit, ipsam
ver;.'m crucom ligneam , quae nunc divisa csl in
tnultas parlioulas. lunc relormandam, el colligen-
dam, ct iippariturnm in coelo. .Aiim id videnturas-
serere Sybilla et Chrysoslomus in serm. dc cruce
cl lalronc: nec nlii Palrcs contradicunl.
Ncqnc ohslnl illud Ecclesiac: Iloc sigmim eni-
cis eril in coelo. Nam oli;im vora crux dici i^oiesl
si!:nuni cruris. idcst. instruu.cnlum hiihcns i^myi-
508
DE IM.UilMJlUS SA.\CTOUUM
v;v.n crucis.Scd si lioc non <nilmilliiUir,Sitltcm ima-
^o rrucis Iiicida in coclo nppiirebil cx iicrc, vcl i-
gnc! ronilcnsalo. nl Abulciisis cl Jiuiscnins, cl alii
liocciil.
Ilinc anlcm mulliplex argumcnlnm dicilur ad
probandnm honorcm crncis: IVam prinio bonorabi-
lis csl cru.x, quia ;d) ipso Chrislo vocalur sigruiin
cjus, idcsl. \cxilium Chrisli: si enim vexillum im-
peraloris nnlites ador;mt. ul palcl cx Sozomeno
iib. 1. liist. cap. 4. cur vcxillum Cbristi non ado-
r;d)itur?Secundo lionorabilis est. quia in coclo ap-
parel)il,lo('o nimiruin sublimi ct hoiiorificc.Terlio,
quiii manibus Angelorum ferclur , ut Auguslinus
ducel serm. 130. Quarto, quia splcndebil clarius
sole: quod probanl Augusliiius cl Clirysoslomus :
(]uia tuiic ai^parcbil cl conspiciclur iih omnibas ,
(iuaiido sol cl luna, ct stellac obscuraiac luerint,
ulpalel ex Maltb. cap. 24.
Argumcntum secundnm sumi potesl a leslimo-
niis s;icrorum conciliorum. N;un sj^nodus VI. ciin.
1(1). synodus Yll. act. u!l. el synodus YIIL act.
iu;in ull. canones cdidcrunt dc vcncralione crucis.
Tcrlinm iirgumcntum abusu cl lcslimoniis vcle-
rum. Juslimis in apologia secuiida: Signa. inquil,
clnoUie, quac apud nos snnt, liujus rci (crucis)
xiiiutem ([cdarant. Terlullianns in apologetica
cap. 10. objeclioni gentiliuin respondcldc adora-
lione crucis ligncae; Idem facit Minulins in Ocla-
vio. Ex quo apparcl, ;ib ipso Ecclesiac exordio ,
cliam anle crucis vcrae invenlionem Christianos
solilos Jiabcre , cl vcncrari crucis imaginem. 0-
rigcncs lib. 0. in cpist. ad llomanos. dicit cru-
cis liguram antc oculos positam , si allcnte consi-
dcrclur , valcre ad depellendam omnem tcnlalio-
ricm.
Conslanlinus Magnus labarum in formam crucis
rcdegit, ut patet ex Eusebio lib. 0. cap. I). bisl. cl
rx lib. 1. de vita Const:mtini. Quia vcro labarum
iidorabalur, numquain Consiantinus crucem in la-
baro pusuisset, si putassel , cssc idololalriam vc-
ncrari cruccm: Immo Sozomenus lib. 1. cap. 4.
hist. scrihit, idco Constanlinuni vcrtissc l;ib;irnm
in cruccm.ut milites assuesccrenl erucem vcner;iri.
Dices: Etiiim ;inle Conslantini tempora Iab;irum
liahuil formam crucis, ul TerluUianus in apologe-
tica cap. Ki. Justiims in 2. apologia, cl Minulius in
Oclavio tcstanlur.
Ijcspondeo: Labarum ante Conslanlini tcmpora
ihibuisse quandam crucis simililudincm, nui;i crat
velum in Iigno suspcnsum,non lanien propriccru-
cis liguram b;ibuissc. nisi lemporc Constantini. I-
dcm Conslantinus, ulreiertEusebius lib. I.de vita
Conslantini, Iiomac dcvicto Maxenlio, in loco ce-
lcberrimo crcxit cruccm cum his verbis: IIoc sa-
lutarcsifimm.Ei rursum in manu dexlcra slatuac
suae cruccm apponi jussit cum liis verbis://oc uno
vcrac 1'ortiludinis signo urbcm vcstram libcravi
etc. Idem cUam decrclo cavil. ne deinceps ulli fa-
cinorosi cruci aifigcreiilur, nt crux non amplius
horrori, scd amori ct vcncralioni nmnibus cssel,
ul scrihit Sozomcnus lib. 1. cap. 8. et Augnstinns
scr. 18. de vcrbis Domini.Et contrario in pccuiiiis,
quas omncs ;imanl, crucis figuram excudi jussil ,
ut ibidcm Sczomcnus rcferl.
Conslantini pielatcm imitalus Theodosius , pro-
bibiiit nc crux humi sculpcrclur, vel pingcrctur ,
ne sacnmisignurn pcdihus calcareluriita oulm ba-
betur lib. I.codicis, tit. 8. L. CAim sit nobis.Quod
tcstimonium cx Pelro Crinito lib. 9. cap. 9. adver-
sarii corrupte citant, quasi Theodosiiis probibuis-
sel iiiiagineni crucis sculi)i, vel [lingi.
Theodosium sequulusArcadius iili'us,anrcam mo-
nclam cum signo crucis cudi jussil, lcstc Prospc-
ro dc praedictionibus cl promissionibus part. 3.
c;ip. 34.
Tiberins quoque optimns imperalor, Thcodosii
legcm se(|uutus, cum vidissct in p;iIatiohumi cru-
ccm in marmorc incisam, mox crigi jussit,dicciis:
Crwce Domini frontcm et pcctus munirc dcbe-
mus, et nos cani pedibus tcrimus'? tcstis Paulus
diaconus lih. 18. reriim romnn. Ubi eliam ;iddit,
sub illo marmorc reperluni mgcntem thcsauruin
amplius ccntum milliuni ;iiircorum , in reimmera-
tionein vidclicct pietalis tiim rcligiosi principis.
Conslanlini tcmpore srripsil Jiiiclanlius c;irmcn
dc crucc, in quo inter caetcra lcgimus :
Fleclerjenu, lignumque cnicis venerabile adora.
Non diu poslea Alhanasius quacsl. IG. ad Antio-
cbum reddidil caussam, cur Christiani faciaut ct
colanl polius imagincs crucis , quam liinccae , vel
spongiae; quia videlicct si clhnici dicant nos celc-
re lignum, mox duobus ligiiis crucis disjimclis fi-
guram crucis destruimus, nec amplius veneramur.
Joanncs Chrysostomiis in snpplicalionihus nr-
genlcas cruccs cum ardcrilibus lacibus praelcrri ju-
bebat, nl Socrales lib. G. cap. 8. 'U Sozomcn. Jib.
8. cap. 8. tcslantur. Idem etiam Chrysostonms in
lib. quod Chrislus sit Deus, dicil. suo lempore cru-
cih lignram omnibus in locis dcpingi solitam, in
urbibus, in domibus, in cnbiculis , in vasis, in so-
Jiludine, in monlibus ctc. Auguslinus tract. 30. in
Joan. ct in psal. 30. Qui tantum, inquil. honorcm.
tribuit swpplicio suo. quid scrrat jidclibus suis?
Cyrillus lib. 0. Julianum, rcspondct Juliano rcprc-
Iiendcnti Christianos, quod lignum cru(;is adora-
renl,cjusquc figuram anle do«)os suas dcpingerenl.
Ruflinus Iib. 2. cap. 29. Irisl. teslalur , apud Aegy-
ptum, cum ad fidem convcrtcrcntnr Aegyptii, ubi-
quc fuisse depictas cruccs loco thoracis Serapidis,
quem clhnici vcnerabantnr. Beda lib.l. hist. Angl.
cap. 2.3. scribit, Augiislinum a b. Gregorio missum
ad Aoglorum convcrsioncm , cruc6m argenteain
ct imaginem Chrisli in tabula depiclam pro vcxillo
practulissc. Ipse cliam Grcgorius lib. 7. cpist. 5.
de crucis vcneralione loquitur. Leo serm. 8. dc
passione Domini: Pulclira spccie, inquit , triuin-
phi sui trophacum, et inviclissiniac poiicnliac
sujnum salutis adorandum populis omnibus in~
fercbat.
Sedulius in carmine paschali :
Pax crucia ipse fuit, violentaquc robora membris
lUustrans propriis, poenain vcslivil lionorc.
Supplidumque dedit signum magis esse saluiis,
Ipseque sanclificans in se tormenia beavit :
Neve quis iqnorel specicm crucis esse colcndam,
Quae Dominim poriavit ovans elc.
Mlll.H Si:( I MiCS
SN
Ar^Miiiiriiliiiii i|iMrliiiii iih :i|i|t:irill(i!ii' i<t iiilnirii-
IJH i'ituis.Pi'iiii(i,ii|>|i.iriiil (',nii>i,iiihiiii I ru\ liiciillH*
Miiia III iiiM't) ('iiiii illis vrrhis: Mv :'^-,j.j vtx-i. idosl,
III li(i(> vliicc: riilcrl l'!iis(*|iiiis lih. 1. iln vtl.i ('.(iii*
sliiiiliiii. l hi rliiiiii iiililll. si< KJ iicccpissr nh l|isii
CiiiisliiiitiiKi Jiiriiiilc riiii ilii SI1 li;itM>riK Ni>(|iio .ip-
p.iriiil illi crii\ iii .sdiiino , til .So/.oiiicinis lih. t.
4'ii|). il. cl l'.iiiliis (liiicoiiiis lih. II. r(Miiiii ruiii.iii.
(Iictiiil; scil |<liiic vi^ihiiili, ct ilcr ruciciili ciiiii lii-
t(i cvcrcilii, iil Kiischitis tlicii.
iNirro iioii rriislrii (licltiiii csso Coiisliiiiliiio : /'(
hor ,s/,i//i(i vinii'. iippiir(>t cv victoriis <loiisl,iiiiii)i ,
iiiiiii lih. 2. (h^ vila (liiiisliiiiliiii scrihil l'iii>chiiis ,
iii priicliis iiissis.-.c (lonsliiiiliiiiiiii scinpcr dclcrri
liih.iriiui cruci' iiisij^iiituin inl c.iiii p.irlciii ii^iiiiiii>,
<|itiic iiiii^is luhoiMhiil; (^l (pioctiiiKpic lahartini iic-
«•csnisscI, ino\ cliiiin vicloriiiin scipii soliliiiii. ,\<l-
tlil ihiilcin, ctiiii, (pii l.ihnriiiu (lclcrchiil. ctiiii iiictii
hostitini irrtKMiliiiin ri>li(piissol lahiiriiin . (*oiitliiiio
nocntnin cssc: (pii atilcin illiid dc inanu iihjici(>nli.i
susccpit, nuuKpiiiin rcriri jioluissn . «>li;uiisi inuii-
incrahili.i |u°op(^ lcia iii illiiin coiijccla ruisscnl: o-
niiiia ciiiin (^iiiiriihih^ diotn) in liasla crucis iiiii^'c-
]);inttir.
S(>cuiido. app;iruil crtix hicidissiina supra mon-
lcni Olivcltiin tciiiporc Conshinlini inip(M'aloris ,
dc (itia ;ippiuili()iic c\slal cpisl. (lyrilli liii^rosoly-
liiilani :id Oonslaiiliuni.
Terlio. apparuil lomporc Juliani aposlalac, (pii
(>ain porsc(pi(*halur, nl uiirral (Jrc<:oriiis nazianzc-
nus orat.l. iii .liiliautiin. !\am ctiiii .luliniius iuspi-
ccrcl o\sia i>cciulum ;iriispicii ^rati;i, iiivcnil crti-
ccni ooronalam: cl (]tildam artispiccs pcrili. nl rc-
fcrl raiihis diiicouus in (\iiis vita. dicchaiil si^iiili-
oari rcligioucm chrisliaiiam. (piac oruccm vciicra-
batur, forc pcrpcluam, ncc posse vinoi a Juliaiio.
.Vduhilorcs autcm cjus diochant . sifrnifHMri an;:u-
slias, cl (]uasi caroorcs orticis : scd cvcnlus prio-
reui scnlcnlKim vcram oslcndil. Eodcm lcmpore ,
omn Judaoi, Juliani Jussu exslrucrc vcllcnt lcm-
pltim in llicrosolyuns iu dedccus cruriilxi . appa-
luil rursum in iiorc ciroulus ingcns lucidus. cru-
cem splendidissimam amhicns: ct praeterea in ve-
slibus ferc omniuni hodiinum cjus loci apparue-
runl cruocs (]uasi summo arlilioio claboralae , ul
scribil idcm INazian/.cnus or. 2. in Julian.
Quarlo apparuil orux in iicre tcmpore Arcadii .
cum iniperalor bellum susoipcrel pro iide contra
Persas, Ohrislianorum pcrse^iuulores. in quo bel-
lo divinitus adjutus fuil : testatur hoc b. Prn-
spcr in lib. dc promissionibus divinis parl. .3.
cap. 34.
Quinlo, apparuerunt cruccs in vcslibus liomi-
num lcmpore Leonis Iconomacbi. cum baerelici
contra imagines sacras iusanirenl, ut leslalur Pau-
lus diaconus in vila Leonis Icononiachi. Ad boc
genus referri polcst apparitio orucis in Anglia in
arbore, anno looy. de qua vide Alanum Copum.
Praeter bas appariliones miracula sine numero
per crucis liguram eiTecta referri possent. Insi-
gnc estillud Hilarionis, quod refert b.Hieronymus
facium apud Epidaurum. Nara cura mare egrede-
retur terrainos suos. et periculum esset, ne civita-
tem obrucrcl, Hilarion in littore Irescrucespinxit.
DtllARMI.M Voi. II.
Miirc niilcin cuin ('o |MTVorii«tn«!l,ro««plt iiitiiinci' <*•
ri*,i'l iti iiiii^niiiii iiltiliiiiiiiciii inst.ir iiiiiri r.iijiis(|:.in
cxuruvilHiirHiiiii voriiiis.^iiiti-^ifrcriiiMi'» ('l in(li(;ii v.
i|itiii| pro(^'r('(li iilicrlim pn li' - • ' iikIciu «mc
ciH vlrliili ccilcns.lluctu . s(i iiii rclorolt.
.>liill<i ipi(i(pi(! miriiciila furiti riarnit Uirdii lib. .'{.
ciip. 2. hislor. AiiKlor. pcr lit.Mi('airi criiccin.fih ()"♦•
w.ildo rc|;i' .i.iMclo crccl.iiii, iic ilhid (iiiiiiiiiin pri
tiiiiin, (piod ipso ciiiii paucift cuiilru iiiiiuiiicrabili-M
hoslcs pui»ii.ivit cl vicit.
Ar^^umciiium iiltiiiiiim u ralionc fiatn isipua rc-
riiin s iiicliiriiiii siitict:i ct vciii;r;ihilia sunt. iil sii-
pra ostcndiiiiiis: corto (piiiclihiit crux sanrta ct vc-
ncrabihs cst.ipiia ^'cril im;i^'incin Chri-ili crucillxi,
id(>sl. (Ihristi in ipso opcrc rcdciiiplioms oiciipati,
i|uii iiiliil siiucliiis cogilari polcsl.