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Article ON SYMBOLS AND SYMBOLISM. ← Page 6 of 19 →
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On Symbols And Symbolism.
We have , hoAvever , other confirmatory pictorial representations of this favourite symbol , Avhich was taken up by the early Christians as peculiarly typical of the Redeemer as the light to lighten the Gentiles , and consequently no object is more frequently depicted on the sepulchral lamps of the catacombs . Examples will be found in Bartoli Lucerne , tab . 32 , and in Mamachi , iii . pp , 39 , 40 .
The most curious representations of it are found on gems , of which representations are given in Reland , p . 35 , and Ficorinus ( Gem . Liter , part ii . tab . 2 ) , of one of which , more remarkable than the rest , as connecting these luminaries with the most recondite mysteries of a branch of our Order , we make more especial mention , for , independently of the HebreAV r ? w , we
also find there , in perfect Greek characters , the ineffable IAQ . The early Christians , in taking up this symbol , may have done so in a double respect : first , as before mentioned , figuratively , for the Saviour ; also , according to the Gospel of St . John , viii . 12 : "I am the Light of the Avorld ; he that folloAveth me shall not walk in darknessbut shall have the Liht of Life . "
, g And therefore Clemens of Alexandria tells ( Stromata V . c . 6 ) : " Habet aliud quseque aenigma aureum candelabrum , signi Christi : non figura solum sed et eo etiam quod lucem immittit multifariam , multisque modis in eos qui in ipsum credunt . " This golden candlestick has also another meaning , as a symbol of Christ ; not only in its form , but also in respect of showing
a variety of light in A arious ways to those who believe in him . Nor is it , perhaps , without reference to this symbol , that Ennodius , bishop of Pavia ( Ticinensis ) , in the panegyric Avhich he delivered on his predecessor , Epiphanius , in enumerating the numerous names and synonyms of Christ , should include amongst them that of LUCIFER , as will be found below .
It is not , hoAvever , only subjectively that this symbol was received by the Christian Church for its author , but also objectively , for the Church which he founded . That this interpretation was very early received , we learn from Revelations , chap . i . ver . 20 , & c .: " The mystery of the seven stars Avhich thou sawest in my right hand and the seven golden candlesticks . The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches , and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches . Unto the
angel of the church of Ephesus write ; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand , who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks . " In allusion to this , Ave have St , Cyprian , in his arguments against the JeAVS ( Adv . Judjeos , c . 20 ) , exclaiming : "Sterilis septem peperit et quze plurimos habebat filios infirmata est :
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
On Symbols And Symbolism.
We have , hoAvever , other confirmatory pictorial representations of this favourite symbol , Avhich was taken up by the early Christians as peculiarly typical of the Redeemer as the light to lighten the Gentiles , and consequently no object is more frequently depicted on the sepulchral lamps of the catacombs . Examples will be found in Bartoli Lucerne , tab . 32 , and in Mamachi , iii . pp , 39 , 40 .
The most curious representations of it are found on gems , of which representations are given in Reland , p . 35 , and Ficorinus ( Gem . Liter , part ii . tab . 2 ) , of one of which , more remarkable than the rest , as connecting these luminaries with the most recondite mysteries of a branch of our Order , we make more especial mention , for , independently of the HebreAV r ? w , we
also find there , in perfect Greek characters , the ineffable IAQ . The early Christians , in taking up this symbol , may have done so in a double respect : first , as before mentioned , figuratively , for the Saviour ; also , according to the Gospel of St . John , viii . 12 : "I am the Light of the Avorld ; he that folloAveth me shall not walk in darknessbut shall have the Liht of Life . "
, g And therefore Clemens of Alexandria tells ( Stromata V . c . 6 ) : " Habet aliud quseque aenigma aureum candelabrum , signi Christi : non figura solum sed et eo etiam quod lucem immittit multifariam , multisque modis in eos qui in ipsum credunt . " This golden candlestick has also another meaning , as a symbol of Christ ; not only in its form , but also in respect of showing
a variety of light in A arious ways to those who believe in him . Nor is it , perhaps , without reference to this symbol , that Ennodius , bishop of Pavia ( Ticinensis ) , in the panegyric Avhich he delivered on his predecessor , Epiphanius , in enumerating the numerous names and synonyms of Christ , should include amongst them that of LUCIFER , as will be found below .
It is not , hoAvever , only subjectively that this symbol was received by the Christian Church for its author , but also objectively , for the Church which he founded . That this interpretation was very early received , we learn from Revelations , chap . i . ver . 20 , & c .: " The mystery of the seven stars Avhich thou sawest in my right hand and the seven golden candlesticks . The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches , and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches . Unto the
angel of the church of Ephesus write ; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand , who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks . " In allusion to this , Ave have St , Cyprian , in his arguments against the JeAVS ( Adv . Judjeos , c . 20 ) , exclaiming : "Sterilis septem peperit et quze plurimos habebat filios infirmata est :