Bellarmine · De Controversiis · On the Church Triumphant, Book II: On the Relics and Images of the Saints
Chapter 29: On the Sign 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).
Chapter 29. On the Sign of the Cross
There remains the sign of the cross, which is traced on the forehead or in the air, or made with the finger over any things whatever. That this sign is sacred and venerable can be shown, first, from the figures of the Old Testament. For the blood of the lamb on the doorposts of the houses, Exodus 12, signified nothing else than the sign of the cross on the foreheads of Christians, Augustine witnessing in the book On Catechizing the Unlearned, chapter 20. Likewise that Thau which in chapter 9 of Ezechiel is ordered to be marked on the foreheads of those who mourn most plainly pointed to the sign of the cross, which we trace chiefly on the forehead, Cyprian witnessing in the book against Demetrian, and Jerome in the commentary on Ezechiel. Add to these that of Apocalypse 14: “Having his name, and the name of his Father, written on their foreheads,” that is, the sign of the cross. Likewise that of Apocalypse 7: “Hurt not the earth, nor the sea, nor the trees, till we sign the servants of our God in their foreheads.” For that this sign is the sign of the cross Oecumenius, Bede, Anselm and Rupert teach on this place. Jacob too, when with crossed hands he blessed the sons of Joseph, Genesis 48, signified that a time would come when blessings would be given with the sign of the cross.
Second, it is proved from the testimonies of the ancients who flourished in the first five hundred years. Dionysius, chapters 4, 5 and 6 of the Church Hierarchy, says that the sign of the cross is used in all the sacraments. Justin, question 118, answers the heathens who asked why Christians prayed toward the east, and says the cause is that the better things are to be given to God: “As also,” he says, “we make the sign of the cross with the right hand rather than the left, when we bless anyone.” A certain Hippolytus, a very ancient writer and familiar with the apostles, whose book Palladius cites in the Lausiac History, chapter 148, writes that a certain virgin, guarded by the sign of the cross, escaped unharmed from a brothel.
Tertullian speaks thus in the book On the Soldier's Crown: “At every going forward and moving, at every coming in and going out, at dressing, at putting on our shoes, at the baths, at the table, at the lamps, at bed, at sitting down, whatever occupies us in our daily life, we wear the forehead with the little sign of the cross.” He has the same in book 2 To His Wife, and at the beginning of the Scorpiace.
Cyprian, book 4, letter 6, at the end: “Let the forehead be guarded, that the sign of God may be kept safe.” And in the book On the Unity of the Church, past the middle, he says: “Ozias was struck with leprosy on the forehead, the Lord being offended, in that part of the body in which those are signed who win the Lord.” And in the book On the Lapsed, at the beginning: “The forehead pure with the sign of God could not wear the devil's crown; it kept itself for the Lord's crown.”
Pope Cornelius, in the letter to Fabius, which is in Eusebius, book 6 of the History, chapter 33, says that Novatian was seized by a demon because he had not received the seal of Christ on his forehead.
Origen, on chapter 15 of Exodus, homily 6, says thus: “Fear and trembling fall upon them” (the demons) “when they see in you the sign of the cross faithfully fixed,” and so on. That Gregory of Neocaesarea often used the sign of the cross against demons Gregory of Nyssa testifies in his life. Lactantius, book 4, chapter 26, says that Christ profits all those who have written the sign of the cross on their forehead.
Cyril, catechesis 4: “Let us not be ashamed,” he says, “of the cross of Christ. And if another hides it, do you openly sign yourself with the cross on the forehead.” And below: “Make this sign both eating and drinking, and sitting and standing, and speaking and walking, and in sum in every business.” He repeats the same in catechesis 13.
Athanasius, in the book On the Incarnation of the Word: “By the sign of the cross,” he says, “all magic is held in check,” and so on.
Basil, in the book On the Holy Spirit, chapter 27, puts among the first apostolic traditions to sign oneself with the sign of the cross. Gregory Nazianzen, oration 1 against Julian, says that even soldiers were wont to use the sign of the cross at table. Chrysostom, homily 55 on Matthew, teaches that all the sacraments are accomplished with the sign of the cross; and in the homily That Christ Is God he pursues at great length and most eloquently the glory of this sign.
Ephrem, in the book On Penance, chapter 3: “Let us paint,” he says, “on our doors, and on our foreheads, and on our mouth, and on our breast, and on all our limbs, the life-giving sign. Let us arm ourselves with this unconquerable armour of Christians.” Likewise in the book On Spiritual Armour, chapter 2: “Instead of a shield guard yourself with the sign of the cross; for it is the strongest armour.” Blessed Antony, as Athanasius reports in the life of the same Antony, bids the monks be safe against all terrors by the sign of the cross alone. Palladius, in the Lausiac History, chapter 2, writes that a certain holy old man, when he had seen an asp in a well, guarded that well with the sign of the cross, and then without fear drew water and drank. Theodoret, in the Religious History, mentions again and again the cross and its power.
Ambrose, sermon 43, exhorts us to begin all works with the sign of the cross. And in sermon 90 the words of St. Agnes are recited, saying: “He has set a sign on my face, that I admit no lover but him.” For that is the sign of the cross, by which we are dedicated to God.
Jerome, in the letter to Demetrias: “Shut the chamber of your breast; guard your forehead with the frequent sign of the cross.” Likewise to Eustochium: “At every step let your hand trace the cross of the Lord.”
Augustine, tractate 118 on John, toward the end: “What is the sign of Christ, which all know, but the cross of Christ? Which sign, unless it is applied, whether to the foreheads of believers, or to the very water by which they are regenerated, or to the oil with which they are anointed with chrism, or to the sacrifice by which they are fed, none of these things is rightly done.” Likewise book 1 of the Confessions, chapter 11: “I was already signed with the sign of his cross, and seasoned with his salt.”
Blessed Martin, in Sulpicius: “I,” he says, “protected by the sign of the cross, not by shield or helmet, will go safely through the ranks of the enemy.”
Prudentius, in the hymn before sleep:
When, called by sleep,
you seek your chaste bed,
let the figure of the cross
sign your forehead and the place of your heart.
The cross drives away every sin;
darkness flees the cross;
the mind dedicated by such a sign
knows not how to waver.
Paulinus, in the eighth birthday poem of St. Felix:
The sign of the unconquered cross and our confession guard us,
and, our minds armed with God, we do not seek
arms for the body; and though we seem unarmed in our limbs,
yet we bear arms, with which even in calm peace
we fight in soul against enemies without bodies.
Third, it is proved from the miracles done by the sign of the cross. Tertullian at the beginning of the Scorpiace says that Christians by signing or adjuring often help not only Christians but even heathens. Lactantius, book 4, chapter 27, says that when a Christian was present who had signed his forehead with the cross, the demon did not dare give answers to the emperor who asked them. Epiphanius, heresy 30, writes that a certain Joseph, not yet a Christian, drove out demons with the sign of the cross, and afterwards, made a Christian, destroyed the enchantments of the Jews with the same sign. Nazianzen, oration 1 against Julian, writes that Julian himself, though a heathen, when he saw certain spectres while the necromancers performed their mysteries, guarded himself with the sign of the cross, and at once all the spectres vanished. Nyssen, in the Life of Gregory the Wonderworker, writes that his deacon, guarded by the sign of the cross, came out unharmed by night from baths among countless spectres, from which baths none of those who had entered by night had ever come out alive.
Athanasius in the Life of Antony, Jerome in the Life of Paul the first hermit, Theodoret, book [5?] of the History, chapter 21, and Gregory, book 3 of the Dialogues, chapter 7, write of many miracles which God did at the sign of the cross alone, and most of all in the driving out of demons. Palladius, in the Lausiac History, chapter 54, writes that a certain man, guarded by the sign of the cross, remained a long time unharmed in the midst of the flames. Theodoret, in the Life of St. Julian and in the Life of St. Marcian, writes that huge serpents were killed by each of them in his time with the sign of the cross. Likewise in the Life of St. Aphraates, St. Macedonius, St. Peter and others, he writes that they cured various diseases with the sign of the cross. Sulpicius writes the same in the Life of blessed Martin, Jerome in the Life of Hilarion, and Augustine, book 22 of the City of God, chapter 8. Victor of Utica, book 2 On the Vandal Persecution, writes that a blind man was cured by Eugenius, a Catholic bishop, with the sign of the cross alone. And if we wished to bring forward the miracles done after the first five hundred years, which are reported by approved authors of St. Benedict, Bernard, Francis and others, we would never finish.
Chapter 30. The Objections of the Heretics Are Answered
From what has been said it will be easy to undo the objections of the heretics noted above. To the first, then, which was taken from this, that the cross brought pain and shame to Christ, we answer: if the cross had brought Christ only pain and shame, it would rightly be cursed; but it brought him also joy and glory, because of the devil conquered and the human race redeemed; which joy and glory were so great that they wholly swallowed up that former pain and shame, as is plain.
To the second, which was taken from the likeness of those whose parents perished on gibbets, who would be thought impious if they honoured such gibbets, I say that these are not alike. For those who are now hanged on gibbets by the sentence of a judge are hanged for their own fault, either true or at least lawfully proved in court. Besides, they are hanged unwillingly. Lastly, they gain nothing from death itself but punishment and infamy. But Christ was not crucified for a true or proved fault; for it is certain that the judge himself testified several times that he found no cause in him. Besides, Christ gave himself up of his own will to those who crucified him, that he might fulfil the Father's obedience, when otherwise he could have escaped if he had wished, as is well known; since when he said, “I am he,” all his enemies fell backward. Lastly, Christ drew from death itself very many good things, as we have said, both for himself and for us. Nor do we see this only in the death of Christ, but also in the deaths of others who are killed for God or for their country; for their friends most gladly keep the instruments of their passion as monuments of their virtue.
To the third argument, that to honour the cross is as it were to rejoice at the death of Christ, as his enemies did, I say that we have nothing in common with the enemies of Christ. For when we rejoice at the passion of Christ, we do not rejoice at what his enemies rejoiced at, but at what he himself rejoiced at, that is, at his triumph, not at his shame. For otherwise we also know that we must suffer with Christ suffering, and honour his pains with godly tears.
To the fourth argument I say that it does not follow, if we honour all crosses, that we must also honour all mangers, all thorns, all lances, all rods and so on. For we adore all crosses because they are all images of the true cross on which the Lord hung, and besides of Christ crucified himself. But mangers, thorn bushes, lances and the like are not images of Christ, nor even of the manger, the thorns and the like which touched Christ. For likeness is not enough for an image; it is required that one be expressed from the other. Wherefore a brother is not called the image of a brother, though they are alike, because one is not from the other; but a son, because he is not only like the father but also comes from him, is truly called and is the image of the father. Now all crosses are made to express that first one, and are its images; but mangers, lances and the like are not made to express those, but for other uses, and so are not images. But when a manger is painted or carved to represent the nativity of Christ, or a pillar to represent the scourging, then, because the manger and the pillar are images, they do not lack a certain veneration of their own.
If you ask why it is that we paint and adore the cross even without Christ crucified, and do not paint or adore the manger or the pillar without Christ:
I answer: for three causes. First, because the cross even alone represents Christ crucified himself; those others do not do so. Second, because the cross has no other use than to represent, especially after the edict of Constantine against crucifying men; but those others have other uses; and so he who saw a pillar painted could not easily know what it signified, whether the pillar of Christ, or the pillar of Trajan, or of Adrian, or of Hercules, or of others. Third, because (as Athanasius says, question 16 to Antiochus), when we are accused of adoring wood, we can at once show that we honour the figure, not the matter, by separating those two pieces of wood from each other; which in the pillar, the lance, the sponge and the like could not be done so easily.
To the fifth, about honouring the lips of Judas and the hands of those who killed Christ, both because of the contact of the sacred body and because they were instruments of the passion, I answer that there is a great difference between the cross and the lips of Judas and the hands of those who crucified Christ, as Thomas Waldensis teaches, volume 3, title [19?], chapter 120. For the Lord chose the cross and lovingly embraced it, as a harmless thing serving redemption; but the lips of Judas and the hands of the impious Christ did not choose nor love, but cursed as impious and wicked things. And we ought to love and honour only those things which the Lord loved and honoured.
But the Wycliffites could answer that the lips of Judas and the cross are equal. For as the lips of Judas were the instrument of Judas's crime, and otherwise in themselves were not capable of guilt, so too the cross was the instrument of the crime of the Jews; and as the Lord chose the cross, not as the instrument of crime but as the instrument of the passion, so too he chose the lips of Judas and the hands of those who killed him, not as instruments of crime but as instruments of the passion. Hence Augustine, on Psalm 34, says that Judas was chosen by Christ, and that through him he accomplished our redemption.
I answer, then, that the difference consists in two things. First, because the lips of Judas and the hands of those who killed Christ were not only instruments of the passion but also parts of those impious men, and so could not be honoured as instruments of the passion, because at the same time the impious men themselves would seem to be honoured. But the cross, the thorns, the pillar and the like are not parts of those men, but are things existing by themselves and harmless by their nature, and so on.
Second, because in the passion of the Lord we can consider the action and the suffering, of which the former was most wicked, the latter most holy. Now the lips of Judas and the hands of the impious were the near and immediate instruments of the wicked action itself, and the remote and mediate instruments of the saving suffering. On the contrary the cross and the nails and the like were the near and immediate instruments of the holy suffering, and the remote and mediate instruments of the wicked action, as is plain. And so the lips of Judas share more in the action than in the suffering, and the cross on the contrary more in the suffering than in the action. For this reason the cross is simply venerable, the lips of Judas simply to be detested.
To the last, about magic and superstition, I say that the sign of the cross is so far from magic that rather by this sign all magic is undone; as St. Athanasius says most rightly in the book On the Incarnation of the Lord and his Saving Coming: “By the sign of the cross,” he says, “all magic is held in check, sorceries are made of no effect.” And below: “Let him come who wishes to make trial of these sayings, and in the very tricks of the demons and the frauds of oracles and the wonders of magic, let him use the sign of the cross, which they deride, and call on the name of Christ; and he will see how for fear of it the demons flee, the oracles fall silent, magic and sorceries lie prostrate.” So he. Jacob Sprenger too writes, in the Hammer of Witches, part 2, question 1, chapter 2, that sorcerers and witches, when they are initiated into the rites of the demon, openly promise the devil, sitting in judgement, and before witnesses, that they will trample on the cross of the Lord; because, namely, where the cross is honoured, no magic arts have effect.
It is to be known, then, that it is superstitious and forbidden to use characters and figures to produce any effects, as the magicians do, for this reason: that those effects cannot be natural, because characters and figures do not work naturally; nor do those effects come from God, since no such promise of God is found, nor is God invoked by them; but all those things are done by the demon, and the characters serve only as a sign of the pact between the devil and the magicians. But the sign of the cross works wonders, not from any natural power which it has as a certain figure, nor as a sign of a pact with the demon, but as a sign instituted by God.
And that this may be understood more clearly, note that there are three wonderful effects of the cross. First, it frightens and puts to flight demons. Second, it drives away diseases and all evils. Third, it sanctifies the things on which it is impressed. And the first effect it has from three causes: from the demon's grasping of it, from the devotion of the man, and from the institution of God. For the demon, when he sees the cross, at once remembers that by the cross of Christ he was conquered, despoiled, bound and bowed down. Hence he fears and flees the cross, as a dog flees the stone and the stick with which it was struck.
Then, the cross has power from the work of the one working, in the way that prayer has power. For the sign of the cross is a certain invocation of the merits of Christ crucified, expressed by a sign; for we speak with the heart, the voice and gestures. And so to set the sign of the cross against the devil is to set against him the merit of Christ's passion, that is, to call on God through Christ's merits against the devil. Hence the effect then comes more from the faith and trust and inward devotion than from the character of the cross itself; as when we pray with the voice and obtain, the effect is given rather to the inward faith and trust than to the sound of the voice. And of these two ways there is no doubt.
Yet I think that the sign of the cross avails against the devil also in the third way, that is, by the institution of God and from the work done. For we see that Jews and pagans, without any faith in Christ, intending only to do what Christians do, have put demons to flight with the sign of the cross, as is plain from Nazianzen, oration 1 against Julian, Epiphanius, heresy 30, and Gregory, book 3 of the Dialogues, chapter 7; from which it appears that the demon is put to flight not by the devotion or faith of the one working, but by the very sign of the cross.
Wherefore St. Augustine, in the book of Eighty-three Questions, question 79, says that it has been commanded by God to the demons to yield to the cross, as to the sceptre of the highest king, as peoples yield to soldiers when the emperor's standard is brought out by them: “Nor is it wonderful,” he says, “that these signs avail when they are used by good Christians, since even when they are used by outsiders, who have not given their name at all to this warfare, they avail because of the honour of the most excellent emperor. And when powers of this kind do not yield to these signs, God himself forbids it in hidden ways, when he judges it just and useful. For in no way do any spirits dare to despise these signs; they tremble at them wherever they have seen them.”
You will say: Then there will be more sacraments than seven. I answer that the sign of the cross is not a sacrament properly so called; both because it does not confer justifying grace, and also because it does not have an infallible effect, as Augustine says and experience also testifies.
As to diseases and other evils, which cannot perceive the power of signs, we say that they are put to flight by the cross as by a sign of faith and trust, or rather as by an invocation expressed by a sign. For Christ promised the faithful that he would give them whatever they asked with faith, and by name in Mark, the last chapter, he had said of diseases: “They shall take up serpents; and if they shall drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them: they shall lay their hands upon the sick, and they shall recover.” The faithful, then, against diseases and other evils implore God's help through the merit of Christ, and do it with the heart, the mouth and gestures. And because then the effect is not produced from the work done, in the manner of the sacraments, but from the work of the one working, therefore it does not follow infallibly.
As to blessings, almost the same is to be said. For when we bless men, houses, fields and the like, by that sign we commend to God through Christ's merits the things which we bless; and likewise when we bless water, oil, branches, candles and so on, we commend those things to God, and pray him that he may will them to be wholesome to us, and help us through them as through instruments. Lastly, what we ask explicitly with prayers we ask implicitly through the sign of the cross. [The top of page 513 is merged across columns in the scan; what follows is rendered from what reads.] And although the sign of the cross cannot give a thing some physical quality, it gives a certain holiness which consists in a relation, such as is that of the cross, the nails, the garments and the other things which touched Christ or the saints; and such as is that of those who touch the relics of the saints. For the Fathers constantly teach that those who touch relics are in some way sanctified: Basil on Psalm 115, Gregory of Nyssa in the Life of St. Theodore, John Chrysostom in the sermon on Saints Juventinus and Maximus, and others. And if the contact of relics sanctifies, why not also the signs of the standard of the warfare? Surely Augustine asserts it, book 2 On the Merits and Remission of Sins, chapter 26: “The catechumens,” he says, “in my judgement, are sanctified in their own way by the sign of Christ and the prayer of the one laying on hands; and what they receive, though it is not the body of Christ, is yet holy.”
And these things on relics and images are enough for the purpose of our work.
Show the Latin (Vives edition, OCR)
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Dc Hiijnn rriii-i^
Ucslat si;,'nnm orucis, (pmd iu fronlc, vcl Iti iHr-
rc piiigiliir. vcl siipcr (pi:iscuin([uc rcs (li^'ilo c.x-
priuiiitir. Oiiod si^'nuiu siicrum cssc cl vciK.-rahilc.
1'riiuo ostcndi putcst cx ligiiris Testamcnli vclc-
ris.>;iin siiuguis agni in |iosiihiis (lomorii:n.d(Mpin
Mxodi I2.uiliil aliuil sigmli(';ib::l.ni^i sigiium criiciH
iii Ironlihus Clirisli;moruin. Aiigiislino tcslc in lih.
de c;ilcchiz;iii(lis rudihus c;ip. H). Ilcm iliii I Ttiu,
qtiod Kz(H'liiclis cap. !). Juhclur dcscrihi in rron-
libus gcuieiiliiim, apcrtissinn; signuni crucis,quoil
iti fronlc polissimuin piiigimus, indioahal, IcsIr
Cy|H'i;ino in lib. ;idversus Demcirianum, ct Hic-
roiiyiiK) in oommonliiriu Ezeobielis. llis addc il-
lud Apocalyp. 14. Ilabcnles iiomcn ojus. clno-
incii Palri^ cjus in fronlibiis suis: idesl, sigmim
crucis. Itcni illud Apooalyp. 7. iMolile nocere ter-
rae et mari, neque arboribus, quondusquc si-
qnemus servos Dci nostri in fronlibus corum.
Hoc cnim signum, csse signum crucis, doccnt ()e-
cumenius: bedn, Ansclmus ct Uupertus in liunc
locum. J;icob quoque cum canoellatis manibus be-'
nedixit filiis .losepli. Gen. 48. significavil. forc ali-
qujudo tempus, quo benediclioncs signo crucislic-
rent.
Secundo, probalur ex lcslimonils veterum. qui
primisquingcnlis annis Iloruerunt. Dionysius c. 4.
j. et 6. cccJesiast, hierarch. dicit. in omnibus sa-
cramcntis adbiberi signum crucis. Juslinus quaesl.
118. respondet genlilibus quaerentibus. cur Cliri-
stiani ad orienlem orarenl: et dicit, caussam csse,
quia Deo danda sunt raeliora: Sicut etiam. inquit,
dexlera potius, quam sinislra signum crucis ex-
primimus. cum alicui benedicimus. Ilyppolilus
quidara scriptor vetustissiraus. et apostolis fami-
liaris , cujus librum citat Palladius in bistor.
Lausiaca, cap. 148. scribil, virginem quandara si-
gno crucis raunitam ex proslibulo illaesam eva-
sisse.
Tertullianus ila loquilur Iib.de corona mililis:.4(J
omnem progrcssum.atque promotum. ad omncm
aditum et exitum, ad vestitum , ad calceatuni
ad lavacra, ad viensas, ad lumina.ad cubicula,
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\)E IMAGlMliUS SANCTOIllftl
adsedilia, quandocumque nos conversatio ex-
ercel , froiUeni crucis siynaculo lerimus. Itlein
liabel lib. 2. ad uxorem , el in principio Scor-
j)iaci.
Cypriaiius lib. 4. cpist. G. in flne: Munialur
frons, ut sionum Dei incolume servctur. El libro
(Jo unitale Ecclesiae, ultra niediuin, dicil: Ozinm
lepra in fronlc percussum. oiTenso Don)ino,in qua
parlecorporissignanlur,quiDonununipromcrenlur.
Et libro de lapsis. iii principio: Frons cum signo
Dei pura, diaboti coronam ferre non potuit, co-
ronac se Domini reservavit.
Cornelius papa in epist. ad Fabionum, quae esl
apud Euscbiuui lib. G. liist. cap. 33. dieit:l\ovatia-
num a daemonio arreplum, quod non recepisset in
Irunle signaculum Cbristi.
Origincs in Exodi cap. lo. hom. G.sic ait: Timor
el tremor cddunt svper eos ( daemones "> cum si-
gnum in vobis videvint crucis fldeliter fixum etc.
Gregorium neocaesariensemsaepe usum signo cru-
cis conlra daemonos, leslalur Gregorius nyssenus
in ejus vita. Laclantius lib. 4. cap. 2G. dicil, Cbri-
slum eis omnibus prodcsse, qui signuin crucis in
froiite conscripserinl.
Cyriiius catechesi 4.A^o?i piicZeof, inquit, nos crn-
cis Cliristi.Quod si aliquis id occulet, tu manife-
ste sirjna te cruce in fronte. Et infra: Fac autem
hoc sirjnum. ct manducans, et libcns, et sedens,
et stans, et loquens, et ajiibulans, et in summa
in onmi negotio. Idem repctit calecliesi 13.
Allianasius. lib. de iucarnatione Verbi : Si-
gno crucis omnia magica. , inquil , compescun-
tur clc.
Basilius lib. de Spirilu sancto, cap,37. inlerpri-
raas aposlolicas tradilioncs ponit, signare se signo
crucis.Gregorius nazianzenus oral, l.Julianum, di-
cit, eliam mililes in mcnsa signum criicis adhibe-
ro solitos. Clirisoslomus hom. .^j.in Matlh.cap.l2.
signo crucis omnia sacramcnta pcrfici docet. El
hom. quod Clirislus sit Deus, plurima de gloria
hujus signi, el eloquentissime persequiliir.
Ej)hrera iib. de poenit. cap.3.PiXga??Hfs.inquit,
injinuis, atque in fronlibus noslris. et in orcM
in i 2ctorc, a.ique in membris omnibus vivificum
signum. Armemnr insuperabili liac Christiano-
rum armatura. Ilein lib. de armalura spirituali,
cap. 2. Scuti vice crucis signo teipsum muni; va-
lidiesiiita enim ttrmatura est. B. Anlonius, iit re-
ferl Atli.inasius in vita ejusdom Antonii, contra o-
mnes terrores jubcnt solo crucissignaculo tulos es-
sn mouachos,Palladius in liist.Lausinca,cap.2.scri-
bil: Sanctiim senem quendam cum vidi.sset, in pu-
leo aspi(iem,signo crucis munivissc puteum illum,
ac deindc sinc timore hausisse aquam ct bibisse.
Theodoretus in hislor. religiosa, passini meminil
crucis. ct virtutis ejus.
Ambrosius ser. 43. hortalur.ut omnia opcra a si-
gno crucis incipiamus, Et scrm. 90. rccilanlur ver-
ba sanctae Agnelis diccntis: Posuit signum in fa-
cicm meam, ut nullwn praeter eum amatorem
admiltam. Id enim cst signum crucis,quo uedica-
niur Deo.
Hieronjrnus in cpisl. ad Demelriadem: Claudas
cubiculum pectoris, crebro signaculo cnicis mu-
nias frontcm tuam. Ilem ad Eustorhium : Ad o-
mnem incessum numus pingat Domini crucem.
Augustinus Irnct. 118. in Joan. ad finem. Quid
esl. quod omncs noverunl, signum Christi, nisi
crux Christi? Quod signum nisi adhibeatur, sive
frontibus credentium; sive ipsi aquae, qua rege-
nerantur; sive oleo, quo chrismate inunguntur;
sive sacrificio.quo aluntur; nihil eorum rite per-
ficilur. Item lib. 1. Confess. cap. 11. Signabar
iam signo crucis, et condiebar sale Christi.
Dcatus 3Iartinus apud Sulpitium: Ego, inquil. si-
gno crucis, non clipeo protectus, aut galca, ho-
stium cuneos penetrabo securus.
Prudenlius in hymno ante soninum:
Fac cum vocanl fiomno
Casium pctis cubite
Frontem, locvmque cordia
Crucis fifjura siqnel.
Crux peiiel umne cnmen.
Fuqiunt rrucem lenebrae.
Tati dicala sifino
Mcns jlucluare nescit.
Paulinus nalali 8. s. Felicis:
Nos crucis invictae siqnum, ct confessio munit,
ytrmalique Deo menleni, non quaerimus arma
Coriioris, et quamqnam mcmhris vidcnnlur inernies,
Arma tamen qerimus, ([uibus et sub pace screna.
Conlra incorporeos animis decerniimis hostes.
Tcrlio, probatur cx miraculis signo crucis factis.
Tertullianus initio Scorpiaci dicil: Christianos si-
gnando, vel aiJjurando non solum Christinnis, soa\
etinm ethnicis saepe prodessc.Lactantius lib.4.c.27.
dicit praesentc Christinno.qui crucem frontc signa-
veral, diabolorum non ausutn imperatori posccuti
rcsponsa dare.Epiphanius haeresi 30.scribit,quen-
dam Josephum nondiim Christianum signo crucis
daemones expulisse, et deinde Clirisiianorura effe-
ctum eodcm signo incantationes Judeorum deslru-
xisse. Nazianzfiuus orat. 1. in Julian. scribil.ipsum
Julianum, licet ellinicum.eum spectra quaedam vi-
derel,dum necromantici sua mysleria opcrarentur,
signo crucis seipsum muniisse, el mox speclra o-
miiia evanuisse. Nyssenus in vila Gregorii Ihau-
crucis
maturgi
scribit , diaconura cjus,
signo
munitum, cxivisse noctu incolumen ex balneis in-
ler innumcrabilia spectra , ex quibus balneis ne-
ino unquam vivus exierat eorum, qui noclu inlra-
vcrant.
Athanasius in vita Antonii: Hieronymus in vila
Pauli primi eremitae: Theodoretus iib. o. hist.cap.
21. el Gregorius lib. 3. dialog. cap. 7. mulla scri-
buiit miracula, quae ad solum crucis signum Deus
fecit. ac potissimum in daemonum expulsione. Pai-
iadiusin historia Lausiaca, cap. 54. scribit, quem-
diun signo crucis munilum in mediis flammis loii-
go tempore illacsum permansissc. Theodoretus in
vila SJiucli Juliani.ct in vila sancli Marciani,scrihit,
ab ulroquc suo lcmporc signo crucis ingenles dra-
cones occisos. Ilem in vita sancti Aphraatis, ,et
sancti 3Iacedonii,et sancti Pelri.et aIiorum,scribit.
cos signo crucis varios inorbos curassc.Quod idem
I iiiKH si:i:iMiiis
Ml
.Siil|iilliiN III vilii ImmIi itl.iilini, iliri*iii\|iiiii 1 iii vil.i
llil.iiiiiiiis; Aiii;iislimis lili. 22. (I« CiviL Drj, c. M.
siiiiilil"T,scril)iiiil.Ni" i<ir iiliccnMs lili.2.tlc |)ciso»|
Uaiiil. siTiliil. :il> Kii^ciiii) C|iIm-ii|)i) callinllcn nir
ciiiii illiiiiiliiiiloriiiii snln cnicis slyiin. (.hinil si ml
ilcru volliMiiiiS iiiirnciilii cilila pnsl priiiios (piiii^cii
Ins atuiiiN i|li.ic rclcniiiliir :i pinli.ilis ;iiiclnnl)iis ilr
s.llciicilicln.licrii.inlo.riMiiciscn.cl :iliis, iuiii<pi.iiii
lliiiiTinus.
CAIM i .\X,\.
SnlnintHv ohjccUinwn lnu:iclicttiuin.
K.\ liis. nuau clicta sunt. racili? crit (iliic.cliorics
liiiiMclicoiiiiii, supr;i notJil:is. soIvimt. A.I priiii;iiu
iy;ilur, (iu;ic siiincl);itur c\ co, ipiod r.ru\ (lolun iii
cl it;no!uini;iin (.linsto allulil, n5S|)nndoinus, si so-
luin criix iillulil Clirislo (ioloriMU cl i;,Mioiiiiiii;im,
mcrilo osso o\(;cr;iU(l;uii:;il(pii iilliilissc cli;iiii l;icli-
liaiu ol ^loriiim, propliM* (li;il)oluiii (lcvicluni.cl ^mv
nus liiiuKmum rodoiiipluiii; ipiao l;icliliii et jjloriii
l;inlii riiil, ut (loloroiu ol i-^Mioiiiiui^im ill:im prior(Mn
()lano alisorhuoril. ut palot.
Ad sccundam , quae sumcl);ilur a simililudinc
oorum,(piorum parenlcs in paliliiilis poriorunl.ipii
iiiipii vidoreiiUir, si (\iusmodi patibula li()nor;iroiil,
dico illa noii essc simili;i;Nam (lui nunc in patibu-
lis suspondunlur c\ sentontia judicis, culp;i sua
suspouduiiliir; aut vcr;i, ;uit ccrlc in jiidicio loj^ili-
mc probal:i.l»raelcrea invili siispcnduiUur.Doniiiiic
cx ipsa morlc niliil lucranlur, nisi pocnam ot inla-
mi;iin. Al Clirisliis non proptor culpiim voram ;inf
probalam crucilixtis ruil. Conslal onim ipsum iudi-
ccm sacpius tcslatum.sc nullam in co caussan) in-
xcnissc.Adhaoo.Chrislus sponlo sua sc tradidit cru-
cilixoribus, ul Patris obedientiani implerct, cum a-
lioqui possct cvaderc, si vellcl, ul noliim cst; qiiia
cuni diceret: Kgo .sM/?)i.omnos cjns inimici cecidc-
runl retrorsum. Pcniquc. Chrislus c\ ipsa morlc
plurinia l)ona rclulit. ul diximus, cl sibi, cl nobis.
Ncquc, id solum in Chrisli mortc videmus, sed ct-
iam in niorlibus aliorum.qui proplcr DiMim ;iu[ pa-
tiiam occiduntur. Aniici enim libentissime inslru-
nienla passionis eorum tamquam nioninienta virlu-
tis conscrvant.
Ad tcrlium argumentum. quod lionorarc crucom
sil quasi laclari de morle Christi, qucmadmodum
inimici ejus Cacicbant.dico nos nihil cum hoslibus
Christi liabere commune; nam cum gaudemus dc
Chrisli passione, non gaudemus de co, dc quo ho-
stes ejus gaudebant, scd de co.de quo ipsc gaude-
bat, idesl, de triumpho ejus, non de ignominia. A-
lioqui enim ctiam novimus Christo patienli essc
compatiendum, et dolores ejus piis lachrymis de-
corandos.
Adquartumargumentumdico:Non sequi,si omnes
cruccs honoramus, oporterc cliara nos honorare
onmia pracsepia, omnes spinas, oranes lanceas, o-
mnes virgas ctc.nam omnes cruces adoramus,quia
omnes snnt iraagines vcrae crucis.in qua Dominus
pepcndit;et praeterea eliam ipsius Christi cruciDxi.
Al pracsepia, spincla, lanceac et sirailia non sunt
iMiii(;iiics Cliri.sli, iiiu: rli.nti pt.iCh(:|)ii. s(iiiinriiiti '
liiiii i;n() cl Miiilliiini, (|iiiic Clirihliiin li (i(((rtiiil. \tl
iiii;i^'iiiiMii iMiiiii iioii siillii il Miiiiliiiidii, hcil rcipii-
iiliir, iil iitiuiii c\priiii.iliir c\ iilm. Oii.irc, rr.ilcr tioti
iliciliiriiii;i^MiriiitriH,lin-| Mniilf-t siiii,(|uia iitiiiH nnii
v^l ;il) ;ilii).liliiiH nuliMii.ipiiii iioti Rdliiiti chI Hiitiilis
p;ilri, scil cii;iiii iib cn proiliil; iilcirco vi-ri; dicllur
ct csl iiiui/n p;ilris. J;iiii (Miicciii (itiiiicH lliiiit ail ux -
primciid.iiii tlliiiu priiti:iiii,c( sw itiii^iiicK cjiib xiitil.
Al pr.ioscpl;i. I:iiicca(4 ot siiiiili.i, iinii lliitil.inl llln
e\priiiiiMid,i,sud ;id iilins iisus.cl idco iicc iiii:i((iii(.'.s
sunl. <Jiiiiu(lo nulciii piii^Mtur.vcl Hriil|)i(ur pr,ic!i«-
p(! inl ropr;ioscnl.ind:iiii Clinsti ii;ili\il:i(ciii, vcl co-
lumii:i ad ropr.icscnl.iiid:iiii ll.igclbilioiiiMii . qiiiii
lunc |iriicsopo ct ooluiiiii;i suii( iiiiii^iiics.iinri carctit
sua ali(pi:i vcucraliniic.
Si pcl:is iiiido osl, (piod piiifjimiis cl :)d'ir:jiiiiis
cruciMu, (Mi:iiu siuo Chrisln (Miic.ilivo^cl noii pin„'i-
inns, tuM) adoramus pracscpe, vcl coluiiin.iiu sinc,
Chrisln?
Kcspondoo: Proptor Iros caiiss.ns, Priiiio, ipii;i
crux ctiam snla rcfcrt ipsimi Chrislum criKMlivuin:
illn aiilciu lioc non r.iciiint. SciMindn.fpiia cru\ iioii
habot aliiiiu usiim.qu;im rcpr;ioscntandi.pr;iescrliin
|)Osl ediclum Cousliinliiii,(lo non criiciligcndis lio-
minibiis. Al illa alia habcnt alius usus; ct idcoqiti
vidorctuii;iin ooluinn;im dopicliim.non lacilo jiossct
scirc, (piivl illii sii,Mutic;irct. an columnam Christi,
an column;im Triijani, vcl Adriani, vcl llcrciilis ,
vol ;ilioriim. Torlio. qui;i (iit Allianasius fpi;icst.lli.
ad Antiochuin (licit) cuin a(MMis;imur, quod adorc-
mus lignum.possumus slalim oslcndcrc.nos colcro
nguram.non malcriam.sopar:indo duo illii ligna nb
invi(;cm: (piod in coIuinu;i. l;;npoa. spongia ct si-
milibus. nou laiiioii laoilc ruMM possct.
Ad quintum, dc honorandis labiis Judac. ct ina-
nibus eorum. qui Clirislum occidcrunl. tiim pro-
ptor conlactum sacri corporis.lum quia inslrumon-
ta fuere passionis, rcspondco: liilcr cruccm ct la-
bia Jcdac, ac manus crucilixorum Christi m:ignam
cssc din'ercntiam,ut docet Tliomas Waldcnsis.toni.
3. lit. 13. cap. 120. nam cruccm Dominus olegil.
el amanter amplcxus csl, ut rera inno.xianj descr-
vicnlcm rcdcmptioni. At bibia Judae. ct manusim-
pioruin Christus non elegit, ncc araavit, sed exe-
crabatur, ut res impias et sceleratas. !>os aulem il-
lasolumaraarect honorarc deberaus,quae Dominus
amavit et honoravil.
Sed possent respondere Wiclefislae: Paria csse
labia Judae,et crucem. Nam ut labia Judac fuerunt
inslrumcntum sceleris Judae, et alioqui in se non
eranl capacia culpae; ila ct crux fuit inslrumentum
sceleris Judaeorum:etsicul Dominus elegilcruoem.
non ut instruraentum sceleris.sed ut inslruracntum
passionis;ila quoque elegit labia Judae et manus in-
terfeclorura.non ut instrumenla sccleris.sed ut in-
struracnta passionis. Unde Augustinus in psal. 34.
dicit, Judam a Christo eleclum, el per eum Imple-
ret redemptionem nostram.
Respondco igitur: Dlfrerenliam in duobus consi-
sterc. Primo,quia labia Judae.et mnnus intcrfeclo-
ruraChristi,non solura inslruraenta passionis erant,
scd ctiam partes illorum hominum impiorum. ct
ideo non polcranlhonorari, ut iuslrumcnta passio-
S12
DL IM.VGIMDUS SAISCTOIUJM
nis, quia sinnil ipsi impii honiincs lionornri vidc-
rcnUir. Al criix, spinac, coluain;i, el siniilia non
sunl parles illoruni hominum, scd sunl rcs pcr se
exislonlcs, cl nalura sun innoxiae clc.
Sccundo.(iuia in passioncDoniini possumus con-
siderare aclioncm elpassioiicm, quaruni prior sce-
hM'alii.po.-lariur sanclissima fnit. Porro laliia Jndac
ehnanus impiorum fucrunlinslrumi;nla piopinqua
cl immcdiala ipsius aclionis sccleslac:rcmola aulcm
et mcdiata passionis saluloris. E conlrario crux, et
ciavi ct siinilia fucrunl inslrumenla propinqua ct
inimciiiala passionis sanclae cl rcmota ac mediala
aclionis sceleslae, ul palct.el idco labia Judae ma-
gis parlicipant aclioncra, quam passioncm,ct crnx
e contrario magis passioncni quani ac<ioncm. Pro-
plerea crux simplicitcr csl vcncrabilis labia Judac
simplicitcr dclcstanda.
Ad ullimum, dc magia cl supcrslilionc dico Tan-
lumabcsscamagiasignum crucis.ut polius co signo
omnis magia soivatur. ul ail rcctissimc s. Alha-
nasius lib. dc iiu-arnalione Domini.cl salulari ejus
advcnlu: Si(jno crucis, inquit.o/»,/)ia magica com-
2)cscunlur, veneficia inefjlcacin (lunl. Et infra:
Xcnial, qui islorum diclorum cxpcrimo.ntum ca-
jjcre vclil, el, in ipsis praesiigiis daemonum, et
imposluris vaiiciniorum, et in miraculismagiae
utatur signo crucis, ab ij)sis deriso , nomcnque
Cliristi invocct; cl videbit, quomodo cjus rci me-
lu daemones fugiant, valicinio eonquiescont,ma-
giae et vcncliciajaceant. llacc ille. Scribit etiara
Jacobus Sprenger in malleo malcficorum, part.
2. quacst. 1. cap. 2. magos ct magas quando ini-
lianlur sacris daemonis.palam polliceri diabolo pro
Iribunali sedenti, el coram tcslibus , se crucera
Domini cunculcaluros; quia vidclicct, ubi crux ho-
uoratnr. nullac magicae artes eHkaces sunt.
Scicndnm igitur est, idco esse supcrsliliosum et
proliilntura, uli characleribus et figuris ad elTcclus
aliquos produccndos, ut magi faciunt, quia effectus
illi noii possunt esse naturalcs, quia characlercs et
figurae non sunt opcralivao naturaliler. Nec provc-
iiiunl illi circctus a Dco, cum nulla talis Dci pro-
niissio rcpcriatur, necDcus ab illis invocelur, sed
fiunl illa oinnia a dacmone, el characleres solum
dcscrviunl pro signo foedcris inler diabolum et
raagos. At signum crucis operatur mirabilia . non
ex virtutc sua naturali , quam habeat , ut figura
quacdam, ncc ulsignum pacti cum dacmone, sed
ul signum divinitus inslitutum.
Ac, ut clarius id pcrcipiatur, nola, Ires esse ef-
feclus crucis mirabiles. Primo terret et fugat dae-
mones. Sccundo , pcllit raorbos et omnia mala.
Tertio sanctificat ea,quibus imprirailur. Et quidcm
primum cireclum ex Iribus caussis habel; ex ap-
prchcnsionc daeraonis; ex dcvotione horainis , et
ex instiluto Dei.Nam daemon ubi crucem videt,raox
recordatur cruce Christi se victura, spolialura, li-
gatum ct cniirvalum fuisse. Inde cruccra timet et
fugit, quoinodo canis fugil lapidem cl baculumquo
percussus fuit.
• Deinde, vim habet crux cx opere opcrantis eo
jnodo, quo vim habet oratio. Wara signum crucis
est invocalio quaedam mcritorum Chrisli crucifixi
signo expressa. Loquimur enim corde , voce et
nulibus. Itaque opponere conlra diaholum signum
crucis.esl opponcrc merituin passionis Chrisli, id-
est, invocare Doura pcr Cliristi mcrita contra dia-
boluin. Unde effcctus tunc raagis procedit ex fide,
el fiducia, ac dcvotione intoriore , quam ex ipso
charactcrc crucis; sicut quando oramus voce. et
impctramus, cffectus tribuitur pnlius fidci et fidu-
ciac intcrnae, quam sono vocis. Et dc his duobus
modis nullura est dubium.
Existimo tamen, etiam tertio modo , idest, ex
inslitulo Dci, etcxopere operalo valcrc signura
crucis contra diabolura. Nara vidcraus Judaeos et
Paganos sinc ulla fide in Clirislum , solum inten-
denlcs faccre quod Christiani faciunt, fugasse dae-
mones signo crucis, ut patct cx Nazianzeno oratio-
nc 1. in Julianura, Epiphanio liaeres. 30. et Gre-
gorio lib. 3. dialog. cap. 7. cx quo apparet , non
dcvoliune aut fide opcrantis, scd ipso signo crucis
fugatura daemonem.
Quare sanctus Augustinus lib. 83. quaestionum,
quaest. 79. dicil, indiclum a Dco daemonibus, ut
cedanl cruci, tamquam sceplro surami regis, quo-
modo populi militibus ccdunt, cura ab illis profer-
lur signura iraperaloris: Nec mirum est, inquil ,
quod haec signa valent. cum a bonis Chrislianis
adliibenlur , quando etiam cum usurpantur ab
cxtraneis,qui omnino suum nomen ad istam mi-
litiam non dederunt , jwopter honorem tamen
excellentissimi imperatoris valent. Cum aulem
non cedunt his signis hujusmodi potestates,Deus
ij)se prohibe occultis modis, cum idjustum, at-
que ulilejudicat. Piam nullo modo ulli sjmitiis
audent haec signa contemnere. Contremiscunt
haec ubicumque illa prof^pexerint.
Dices: Ergo erunt pjura sacraraenta, quam se-
ptera. Rcspondeo: Signum crucis non esse sacra-
mcnlum proprie diclum;tam quia non confcrt gra-
liam juslificantem; tum ctiam . quia non habel ef-
fectum infallibilera, ut Augustinus dicit, et expe-
ricnlia etiara tcstalur.
Quantura nd niorbos et cactcra mala , quae non
possunt percipere vim signorum, dicimus ea fu-
gnri pcr crucera tamquam per signum fidei et fidn-
ciae, vel potius tamquam per invocationem, signo
oxpressara.Ghristus enim pioraisit Qdelibus se da-
turura quidquid pcterent cum fide, et nominatim
Marci ult. et dc morbis dixerat: Serpentes tollent,
super aegros manus imponent,et bene habebunt,
el si morliferum quid biberinl , non eis nocebit.
Fideles igitur contra morbos, et reliqua mala im-
plorant Dci auxilium per Christi mcritum, idquc
faciunl corde, ore et nutibus. Et quia tunc cffe-
ctus non producitur cx opere operato, more sacra-
mcnlorura, sed ex opere operantis, ideo non infal-
libiliter scquilur.
Quantum ad benedictiones, idera fcre dicendum
est. Nam cum bencdicimus homines.doraos, agros
et sirailia, illo signo coramendamus Deo per Chri-
sli raerita res illas, quas benedicimus; et similiter
cum benedicimus aquara, oleura, ramos, candelas
etc. commendamus res eas Deo , eumque preca-
mur , ut vclit illns nobis essc salutares , utquo
per eas taraquam pcr instruracnta nos adjuvet.
Dcniquoid, quod oxpli«ito petimus precibus ,
i.iiii:a stxi >i)ijs
313
idiMii iiiiplicilo potiiiMis pi>r sii^iiiiin (iiic.is. yii.uii
<|uiiiii iioii polc.Hl, iiiM' (Irlicl iirKiiri.ipiJii i^liiiin iili>
ipiil Siiiicliliis iirrciliil ri-|iiis niiii si^;ii,iilllll' criicn :
111)11 ipililciil Miiictil Ci ipi.ii- Ml .ilhpi.i ipi.illl.is pliy-
.siiui, simI Kiiiictiliis III icliiliiiiio consisiiniK, (piiilis
csl cnicis, cliivuriiiii, vcsliiini, iiliiiriiiinpic rcriini ,
ipiiiM lcli^ciiiiii ('.liri->liiiii, iiiil siiiicliis: cl ipiiilis
cst ciiniiii, ipii l.iii^iiiil rcliipiiiis s.iiicliiriiin. .Niiiii
Kiiiiclillciiri iiliipio iiiiiilii cos, ipii liii^iiiil rclupii.i^
cDiisliiiilcr ilncciil P.ilrcs; ll.isiliii; iii psiil. II.'».
(irc^Miriws ii^ssciiiis iii mIii s.iiu li Tlicoiliin , Joiiii-
iics clirysoHloiiiiis in scriuono ilf ftiiiicliM Jnvcnlui
ct M<i\iiiio cl iilii. Si iinliMii cnnlnrliiH rclirpiiiiiuin
s.iiicliliciit. ciir niiii 1'liiiin citnliictos vcxilli miliilii-
n.i? (Icilc An^jiislimiH lil<. 2. il"! |»<-cc,iiiirooi iniTi-
tiH cl ruinlssioinr, nip. 211. Id iis««fril: C.iilrr.huun-
niin, iinpiil , nmuiilinn iiiiriulnm innilitm nnum
jirr siiinuin CJinali, ri iiriilinnrin miinu<i i//i/<im(-
linni.H \\ulii nanrlifiiuiri: vliiuitd iiriij)iunl,iiuuiu
ris nnn, sil mriniJ* Chrinli . »nurluin chI lamrn.
Alipic liiicc ilc ri-liipiiis. (*t iin.i/iniliiis pri/ iiistito-
lii iioslri o[>(!ns l>fi;vit.ili; siilliii.iiil.
iiim:k Ti;inii s
I) E I I S R E B IJ S
01'IIMIS SIJ l»i:Ui\ \ II I KllliSALKi^l
AU CCCI.LSIA m TKHIIIS IMnKC.UI^AKTi: COI ITI 11.