the diabolical imitations of the Israelitish exodus; * and Lord Kingsborough, with strange bias, furnishes us the unusual anomaly of the union of great learning with over credulity.† The number of crosses of various forms aud materials which met their eyes in all parts of the newly-discovered land furnished them with repeated surprises. In the court of the temple of Cozumel, off the coast of Yucatan, Cortez discovered a cross which he describes as about ten palms high, and made of stone and lime. Mr. Stephens, however, in his "Incidents of Travel in Yucatan,"§ in commenting on the socalled "Cozumel cross" preserved at Merida, and which is claimed to be the identical one alluded to by Cortez, expresses some doubts as to whether the cross was ever really an object of worship among the natives. To the able refutation of this statement, found in Mr. Prescott's Appendix, there may be added many conclusive proofs that Mr. Stephens's opinion was illy founded. Even at the present day a cross may be seen sculptured in bas-relief on the wall of one of the buildings of the Palenque, while the figure of a child is held up before it in adoration. Every temple, chapel, pyramidal summit, and subterranean sanctuary was adorned with it, while the vestments of the priests, who performed sacrificial duties in the presence of their gods, were figured all over with it. Sepulchers and tombs were graven with the wondrous symbol, while its form in many instances served as the plan for subterranean temples. In Ojaaca, in Central America, we find a marvelous illustration of this style of cruciform structure in the great temple at Mitzla, "the city of the moon," hewn in the living rock by the stupendous labor of no mean artisans. Still, if the form of the cross existed only in the plan of architectural structures, it would not be worth while to attach much importance to its presence. No wonder that the Christian knight, full of *Herrera: Hist. General, dec. iii, lib. iii, cap. x. Madrid, 1730. "Mex. Antiq," tom. vi, pp. 282-410. For the references on this subject consult the Spanish writers cited in note at the beginning of the article. § New York, 1843, vol. ii, chap. xx. See Prescott: "Hist. Conquest of Mex." Appendix, part i. Also Herrera: Hist. General, dec. ii, lib. iii, cap. i. Also Gomera: Chronica de la Nuevo Espana, cap. xv, ap. Barcia, tom. ii. enthusiasm over his rich conquest, and with a vision incapable of seeing any thing in its true light, (because of the enchanting tales of Marco Polo, which he had imbibed,) should be ready to see in the wonderful Quelzalcoatl of the Mexicans the white man, with a long beard, who came from the East and disappeared again, the visit of St. Thomas, or some other saintly personage, whose religion was symbolized in the cross of Christ. The whole narrative of their adventures and impressions, as given by the Spanish historians, seems surrounded with the enchantment of an Arabian tale. In Mexico the cross, in the majority of instances, was the symbol of the goddess of rain, and annual ceremonies were conducted in her honor; it, as her characteristic emblem, occupied a prominent place. In both North and South America the cross was dedicated to her. In the spring time, when the Mexican wished to conciliate Centeotl, the goddess of corn, the daughter of heaven, with blind and barbarous superstition he nailed a young man or maiden to the cross, and after awhile dispatched the miserable victim with an arrow from his bow. The Muyscas, of the northern part of South America, naturally of a milder disposition, instead of resorting to such barbarous measures, were in the habit of stretching two ropes at right angles across the surface of a quiet lake or placid pool in a stream, and at the point of intersection of these gigantic arms, the oblation of precious gems, and food, and oils, were cast into the tranquil water. † Every-where in those portions of the New World which were occupied by the civilized races which inhabited it before the Red Indians, the fruitful power of nature in earth and air, and especially rain, was worshiped through the sign of the cross. Brinton, while stating that the arms of the cross, pointing to the cardinal quarters, represent the "rain bringers," ventures pretty far when he adds that the tombs of the Mexicans were built cruciform, as symbolic of the resurrection and future life, because the buried body would rise by the power of the four spirits of the world, as the buried seed takes on a new existence when watered with the *For a good account of Quelzalcoatl, see Prescott's "Mexico," vol. i, Book i, chap. iii. See especially "Edinburgh Review," p. 233; Müller's Geschichte der Amerikanischen Urreligionen, pp. 371-499. Squier's "Serpent Symbol in America," (1869,) p. 98; and Brinton's "Myths of the New World," pp. 95-97. vernal showers. If such was their illustration of the resurrection, we would not be surprised if some enthusiast should go a step farther than the Spanish conquerors, and conclude that St. Paul, as well as St. Thomas, had preached the Gospel in the New World. A superstitious reverence was attached to the cross among the various peoples of North and South America, such as could only be rivaled by the bigoted invaders of their lands and homes. As an illustration of the belief in the miraculous power of the symbol, it was common to lay wooden and miniature stone crosses on new-born babes, in order to drive away evil spirits.* Representations of the cross, in connection with sacrifices, are plainly delineated on Mexican basreliefs and manuscripts. A Mr. Fejérvary, in Hungary, possesses a Mexican manuscript, on the last leaf of which is a simple Tau cross, bearing a sacrifice, and before it stands what appears to be a bloody god. The coincidence which makes the cross of the Mexicans an instrument of sacrifice, like the cross of Christ, is strange enough. In America the peculiarity of the use of the Tau cross is that it was exclusively dedicated to the god of rain, or productive force in nature; but the same idea is expressed by its use in the New World as was designed to be symbolized by this sign in the Old. A The worship of the sun once was, no doubt, prevalent in South America, as it was known to be the national religion of the Peruvians. Here, again, the Maltese cross is common, with the same significance as it possessed among the Assyrians. These crosses in most instances are found hewn in the rock, with their arms pointing toward the cardinal quarters. warrior holding a banner decorated with a large Maltese cross, as depicted on a tablet of gypsum discovered by Captain Du Paix, is described by Baradère in his Antiquities. Many others are found scattered over that large district in South America where Sabean worship prevailed. § Thor's hammer is likewise of frequent occurrence, especially in Mexico, where it is found carved on walls and the entrances *Zöckler: Das Kreuz Christi, p. 32. Zöckler, page 33; and Klemm: Culturgeschichte, v, 142. "Edinburgh Review," p. 235. * of temples. In the year 1839 a Dr. Lund discovered, near Bahia, in Brazil, what he supposed to be a runic stone table on which the image of Thor was engraven. On this also was a quite perfect cross of the Thor's-hammer class. Dr. Zöckler, on quoting this fact, falls in with the extravagant theories of a few foreign writers on America, who claim that the Scandina vians spread their civilization all over the New World. We are willing to accept the claims made for the Northmen, so far as there are documents to back them, (and that there are such we do not doubt,) but no further. While the treatment of this subject by Dr. Zöckler is altogether commendable, yet in this particular department we are forced to the conclusion that he is a better theologian than an American antiquarian. Such are the facts in as compressed a form as it is possible for us to present them without wearying the reader unduly on this at best a perplexing subject. The origin of this symbolism, so fraught with deepest interest, as yet is unexplained, and, we fear, is inexplicable. How a simple sign should be made the arbitrary representative of the same idea the world over among people separated by seas and mountains, and strangers to each other in point of language and customs, without any great fact or event associating itself with that sign from which it might derive its meaning, must ever be a marvel before the eyes of the world. All round the globe we find one common attempt at representing the idea of life present and life to come under the simple figure of the cross. We believe we are not putting too strong a construction on the facts when we say that it furnishes an exhibition of the great struggle of the race after God and that which is immortal. This conclusion reached, the most interesting question connected with the subject yet remains unanswered, namely: Was it merely a coincidence which assigned to the cross the same symbolic significance in paganism and in Christianity? That it should embody the living hope of pagans three thousand years before Christ, and of all the world at the present day, after a lapse of nearly five thousand years, is strange enough. Opinion has ranged widely on this subject; some have held that the cross was an object of revelation, while others have * Kingsborough's "Mex. Antiq.," tom. iv. Rafn: Antiquitates Americana. Fol. Hafniæ, 1837. gone to the other extreme of declaring its adoption by so many peoples for the same purpose to be purely accidental. This we must leave as an open question for the decision of the reader. It suffices for the present to reflect upon the fact that the cross is no longer the sign of an uncertain hope entertained by the pagan devotee, but is, and ever will be, the matchless synbol of a hope which enables us to furnish a reason for the faith that is within us. ART. III.-RELATIONS OF THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH TO THE CAUSE OF TEMPERANCE. History of the Methodist Episcopal Church. By NATHAN BANGS, D.D. History of the Methodist Episcopal Church in the United States of America. By ABEL STEVENS, LL.D. Journals of the General Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, 1796 to 1872. History of the Discipline of the Methodist Episcopal Church. By ROBERT EMORY, D.D., (1773 to 1856 inclusive.) THE magnitude of the evil of intemperance is becoming better understood by all classes of society, and its desolating ravages are mourned over by the sober and religious community as never before. Those engaged in the ruinous traffic have grown more bold, and seek to promote their nefarious designs by organization; while the friends of temperance have become heroic and sublime in their labors for the suppression of the evil. The battle is waxing hotter and hotter, and the contestants include all ranks and conditions of mankind. In this hotly-contested battle of right against wrong no branch of the Church of Christ can stand aloof as a disinterested spectator. It is the cause of humanity, and the cause of humanity is the cause of God. The position taken by the Church of Christ upon this question is most important. A false or equivocal position must inevitably retard the good work; a true and unwavering stand will accelerate it and hasten its final success. In the future, when the battle has been fought and won, the position taken by any branch of the Church of Christ will become historic, and will be a matter of congratulation or regret. The ground occupied by the Methodist Episcopal Church is well understood, its fundamental law requiring each individual member |