an ancient instrument of capital punishment. The cross was the
punishment inflicted by the Romans, on servants who had perpetrated
crimes, on robbers, assassins, and rebels; among which last Jesus was
reckoned, on the ground of his making himself King or Messiah, Luke
xxiii, 1–5, 13–15. The words in which the sentence was given were, “Thou
shalt go to the cross.” The person who was subjected to this punishment
was then deprived of all his clothes excepting something around the
loins. In this state of nudity he was beaten, sometimes with rods, but
more generally with whips. Such was the severity of this flagellation,
that numbers died under it. Jesus was crowned with thorns, and made the
subject of mockery; but insults of this kind were not among the ordinary
attendants of crucifixion. They were owing, in this case, merely to the
petulant spirit of the Roman soldiers, Matt. xxvii, 29; Mark xv, 17;
John xix, 2, 5. The criminal, having been beaten, was subjected to the
farther suffering of being obliged to carry the cross himself to the
place of punishment, which was commonly a hill, near the public way, and
out of the city. The place of crucifixion at Jerusalem was a hill to the
north-west of the city. The cross, ϛαυρὸς, _a post_, otherwise called
the unpropitious or infamous tree, consisted of a piece of wood erected
perpendicularly, and intersected by another at right angles near the
top, so as to resemble the letter T. The crime for which the person
suffered was inscribed on the transverse piece near the top of the
perpendicular one.
There is no mention made in ancient writers of any thing on which the
feet of the person crucified rested. Near the middle, however, of the
perpendicular beam, there projected a piece of wood, on which he sat,
and which answered as a support to the body, since the weight of the
body might otherwise have torn away the hands from the nails driven
through them. The cross, which was erected at the place of punishment,
being there firmly fixed in the ground, rarely exceeded ten feet in
height. The victim, perfectly naked, was elevated to the small
projection in the middle: the hands were then bound by a rope round the
transverse beam, and nailed through the palm.
The assertion that the persons who suffered crucifixion were not in some
instances fastened to the cross by nails through the hands and feet, but
were merely bound to it by ropes, cannot be proved by the testimony of
any ancient writer whatever. That the feet, as well as the hands, were
fastened to the cross by means of nails, is expressly asserted in the
play of Plautus, entitled “Mostellaria,” compared with Tertullian
against the Jews, and against Marcion. In regard to the nailing of the
feet, it may be farthermore observed, that Gregory Nazianzen has
asserted, that one nail only was driven through both of them; but
Cyprian, (_de passione_,) who had been a personal witness to
crucifixions, and is, consequently, in this case, the better authority,
states, on the contrary, that two nails or spikes were driven, one
through each foot. The crucified person remained suspended in this way
till he died, and the corpse had become putrid. While he exhibited any
signs of life, he was watched by a guard; but they left him when it
appeared that he was dead. The corpse was not buried, except by express
permission, which was sometimes granted by the emperor on his birth day,
but only to a very few. An exception, however, to this general practice
was made by the Romans in favour of the Jews, on account of Deut. xxi,
22, 23; and in Judea, accordingly, crucified persons were buried on the
same day. When, therefore, there was not a prospect that they would die
on the day of the crucifixion, the executioners hastened the extinction
of life, by kindling a fire under the cross, so as to suffocate them
with the smoke, or by letting loose wild beasts upon them, or by
breaking their bones upon the cross with a mallet, as upon an anvil. The
Jews, in the times of which we are speaking, namely, while they were
under the jurisdiction of the Romans, were in the habit of giving the
criminal, before the commencement of his sufferings, a medicated drink
of wine and myrrh, Prov. xxxi, 6. The object of this was to produce
intoxication, and thereby render the pains of the crucifixion less
sensible to the sufferer. This beverage was refused by the Saviour for
the obvious reason, that he chose to die with the faculties of his mind
undisturbed and unclouded, Matt. xxvii, 34; Mark xv, 23. It should be
remarked, that this sort of drink, which was probably offered out of
kindness, was different from the vinegar which was subsequently offered
to the Saviour by the Roman soldiers. The latter was a mixture of
vinegar and water, denominated _posca_, and was a common drink for the
soldiers in the Roman army, Luke xxiii, 36; John xix, 29.
2. Crucifixion was not only the most ignominious, it was likewise the
most cruel, mode of punishment: so very much so, that Cicero is
justified in saying, in respect to crucifixion, “_Ab oculis, auribusque
et omni cogitatione hominum, removendum esse_.” [That it ought neither
to be seen, heard of, nor even thought of by men.] The sufferings
endured by a person on whom this punishment is inflicted are narrated by
George Gottlieb Richter, a German physician, in a “Dissertation on the
Saviour’s Crucifixion.” The position of the body is unnatural, the arms
being extended back, and almost immovable. In case of the least motion,
an extremely painful sensation is experienced in the hands and feet,
which are pierced with nails, and in the back, which is lacerated with
stripes. The nails, being driven through the parts of the hands and feet
which abound in nerves and tendons, create the most exquisite anguish.
The exposure of so many wounds to the open air brings on an
inflammation, which every moment increases the poignancy of the
suffering. In those parts of the body which are distended or pressed,
more blood flows through the arteries than can be carried back in the
veins. The consequence is, that a greater quantity of blood finds its
way from the _aorta_ into the head and stomach, than would be carried
there by a natural and undisturbed circulation. The blood vessels of the
head become pressed and swollen, which of course causes pain, and a
redness of the face. The circumstance of the blood being impelled in
more than ordinary quantities into the stomach is an unfavourable one
also, because it is that part of the system which not only admits of the
blood being stationary, but is peculiarly exposed to mortification. The
aorta, not being at liberty to empty, in the free and undisturbed way as
formerly, the blood which it receives from the left ventricle of the
heart, is unable to receive its usual quantity. The blood of the lungs,
therefore, is unable to find a free circulation. This general
obstruction extends its effects likewise to the right ventricle, and the
consequence is, an internal excitement, and exertion, and anxiety, which
are more intolerable than the anguish of death itself. All the large
vessels about the heart, and all the veins and arteries in that part of
the system, on account of the accumulation and pressure of blood, are
the source of inexpressible misery. The degree of anguish is gradual in
its increase; and the person crucified is able to live under it commonly
till the third, and sometimes till the seventh, day. Pilate, therefore,
being surprised at the speedy termination of the Saviour’s life,
inquired in respect to the truth of it of the centurion himself, who
commanded the soldiers, Mark xv, 44. In order to bring their life to a
more speedy termination, so that they might be buried on the same day,
the bones of the two thieves were broken with mallets, John xix, 31–37;
and in order to ascertain this point in respect to Jesus, namely,
whether he was really dead, or whether he had merely fallen into a
swoon, a soldier thrust his lance into his side; but no signs of life
appeared, John xix, 31–37.
3. Our Saviour says, that whosoever will be his disciple must take up
his cross and follow him, Matt. xvi, 24: by which is meant, that his
disciples must be willing to suffer for him, in any way in which God, in
the course of his providence, may call them to suffer; even to endure
martyrdom, if called to it. The cross is also often put for the whole of
Christ’s sufferings, Eph. ii, 16; Heb. xii, 2; and the doctrine of his
perfect atonement, Gal. vi, 14.
CROWN is a term properly taken for a cap of state worn on the heads of
sovereign princes, as a mark of regal dignity. In Scripture there is
frequent mention made of crowns; and the use of them seems to have been
very common among the Hebrews. The high priest wore a crown, which was
girt about his mitre, or the lower part of his bonnet, and was tied
about his head. On the forepart was a plate of gold, with these words
engraven on it: “Holiness to the Lord,” Exod. xxviii, 36; xxix, 6.
New-married persons of both sexes wore crowns upon their wedding day,
Cant., iii, 11; and, alluding to this custom, it is said that when God
entered into covenant with the Jewish nation, he put a beautiful crown
upon their head, Ezekiel xvi, 12. The first crowns were no more than a
bandelet drawn round the head, and tied behind, as we see it still
represented on medals, &c. Afterward, they consisted of two bandelets;
by degrees they took branches of trees of divers kinds, &c; at length
they added flowers; and Claudius Saturninus says there was not any plant
of which crowns had not been made.
There was always a difference, either in matter or form, between the
crowns of kings and great men, and those of private persons. The crown
of a king was generally a white fillet bound about his forehead, the
extremities whereof being tied behind the head, fell back on the neck.
Sometimes they were made of gold tissue, adorned with jewels. That of
the Jewish high priest, which is the most ancient of which we have any
description, was a fillet of gold placed upon his forehead, and tied
with a ribbon of a hyacinth colour, or azure blue. The crown, mitre, and
diadem, royal fillet and tiara, are frequently confounded. Crowns were
bestowed on kings and princes, as the principal marks of their dignity.
David took the crown of the king of the Ammonites from off his head: the
crown weighed a talent of gold, and was moreover enriched with jewels, 2
Sam. xii, 30; 1 Chron. xx, 2. The Amalekite who valued himself on
killing Saul, brought this prince’s crown unto David, 2 Sam. i, 10. The
crown was placed upon the head of young King Josiah, when he was
presented to the people, in order to be acknowledged by them, 2 Chron.
xxiii, 11. Baruch says that the idols of the Babylonians wore golden
crowns, Baruch vi, 9. Queens, too, wore diadems among the Persians. King
Ahasuerus honoured Vashti with this mark of power; and, after her
divorce, the same favour was granted to Esther, chap. ii, 17. The
elders, in Rev. iv, 10, are said to “cast their crowns before the
throne.” The allusion is here to the tributary kings dependent upon the
Roman emperors. Herod took off his diadem in the presence of Augustus,
till ordered to replace it. Tiridates did homage to Nero by laying the
ensigns of royalty at the foot of his statue.
Pilate’s guard platted a crown of thorns, and placed it on the head of
Jesus Christ, Matt. xxvii, 29, with an intention to insult him, under
the character of the king of the Jews. See _Thorn_. In a figurative
sense, a crown signifies honour, splendour, or dignity, Lam. v, 16;
Phil. iv, 1; and is also used for reward, because conquerors, in the
Grecian games, were crowned, 1 Corinthians ix, 25.
punishment inflicted by the Romans, on servants who had perpetrated
crimes, on robbers, assassins, and rebels; among which last Jesus was
reckoned, on the ground of his making himself King or Messiah, Luke
xxiii, 1–5, 13–15. The words in which the sentence was given were, “Thou
shalt go to the cross.” The person who was subjected to this punishment
was then deprived of all his clothes excepting something around the
loins. In this state of nudity he was beaten, sometimes with rods, but
more generally with whips. Such was the severity of this flagellation,
that numbers died under it. Jesus was crowned with thorns, and made the
subject of mockery; but insults of this kind were not among the ordinary
attendants of crucifixion. They were owing, in this case, merely to the
petulant spirit of the Roman soldiers, Matt. xxvii, 29; Mark xv, 17;
John xix, 2, 5. The criminal, having been beaten, was subjected to the
farther suffering of being obliged to carry the cross himself to the
place of punishment, which was commonly a hill, near the public way, and
out of the city. The place of crucifixion at Jerusalem was a hill to the
north-west of the city. The cross, ϛαυρὸς, _a post_, otherwise called
the unpropitious or infamous tree, consisted of a piece of wood erected
perpendicularly, and intersected by another at right angles near the
top, so as to resemble the letter T. The crime for which the person
suffered was inscribed on the transverse piece near the top of the
perpendicular one.
There is no mention made in ancient writers of any thing on which the
feet of the person crucified rested. Near the middle, however, of the
perpendicular beam, there projected a piece of wood, on which he sat,
and which answered as a support to the body, since the weight of the
body might otherwise have torn away the hands from the nails driven
through them. The cross, which was erected at the place of punishment,
being there firmly fixed in the ground, rarely exceeded ten feet in
height. The victim, perfectly naked, was elevated to the small
projection in the middle: the hands were then bound by a rope round the
transverse beam, and nailed through the palm.
The assertion that the persons who suffered crucifixion were not in some
instances fastened to the cross by nails through the hands and feet, but
were merely bound to it by ropes, cannot be proved by the testimony of
any ancient writer whatever. That the feet, as well as the hands, were
fastened to the cross by means of nails, is expressly asserted in the
play of Plautus, entitled “Mostellaria,” compared with Tertullian
against the Jews, and against Marcion. In regard to the nailing of the
feet, it may be farthermore observed, that Gregory Nazianzen has
asserted, that one nail only was driven through both of them; but
Cyprian, (_de passione_,) who had been a personal witness to
crucifixions, and is, consequently, in this case, the better authority,
states, on the contrary, that two nails or spikes were driven, one
through each foot. The crucified person remained suspended in this way
till he died, and the corpse had become putrid. While he exhibited any
signs of life, he was watched by a guard; but they left him when it
appeared that he was dead. The corpse was not buried, except by express
permission, which was sometimes granted by the emperor on his birth day,
but only to a very few. An exception, however, to this general practice
was made by the Romans in favour of the Jews, on account of Deut. xxi,
22, 23; and in Judea, accordingly, crucified persons were buried on the
same day. When, therefore, there was not a prospect that they would die
on the day of the crucifixion, the executioners hastened the extinction
of life, by kindling a fire under the cross, so as to suffocate them
with the smoke, or by letting loose wild beasts upon them, or by
breaking their bones upon the cross with a mallet, as upon an anvil. The
Jews, in the times of which we are speaking, namely, while they were
under the jurisdiction of the Romans, were in the habit of giving the
criminal, before the commencement of his sufferings, a medicated drink
of wine and myrrh, Prov. xxxi, 6. The object of this was to produce
intoxication, and thereby render the pains of the crucifixion less
sensible to the sufferer. This beverage was refused by the Saviour for
the obvious reason, that he chose to die with the faculties of his mind
undisturbed and unclouded, Matt. xxvii, 34; Mark xv, 23. It should be
remarked, that this sort of drink, which was probably offered out of
kindness, was different from the vinegar which was subsequently offered
to the Saviour by the Roman soldiers. The latter was a mixture of
vinegar and water, denominated _posca_, and was a common drink for the
soldiers in the Roman army, Luke xxiii, 36; John xix, 29.
2. Crucifixion was not only the most ignominious, it was likewise the
most cruel, mode of punishment: so very much so, that Cicero is
justified in saying, in respect to crucifixion, “_Ab oculis, auribusque
et omni cogitatione hominum, removendum esse_.” [That it ought neither
to be seen, heard of, nor even thought of by men.] The sufferings
endured by a person on whom this punishment is inflicted are narrated by
George Gottlieb Richter, a German physician, in a “Dissertation on the
Saviour’s Crucifixion.” The position of the body is unnatural, the arms
being extended back, and almost immovable. In case of the least motion,
an extremely painful sensation is experienced in the hands and feet,
which are pierced with nails, and in the back, which is lacerated with
stripes. The nails, being driven through the parts of the hands and feet
which abound in nerves and tendons, create the most exquisite anguish.
The exposure of so many wounds to the open air brings on an
inflammation, which every moment increases the poignancy of the
suffering. In those parts of the body which are distended or pressed,
more blood flows through the arteries than can be carried back in the
veins. The consequence is, that a greater quantity of blood finds its
way from the _aorta_ into the head and stomach, than would be carried
there by a natural and undisturbed circulation. The blood vessels of the
head become pressed and swollen, which of course causes pain, and a
redness of the face. The circumstance of the blood being impelled in
more than ordinary quantities into the stomach is an unfavourable one
also, because it is that part of the system which not only admits of the
blood being stationary, but is peculiarly exposed to mortification. The
aorta, not being at liberty to empty, in the free and undisturbed way as
formerly, the blood which it receives from the left ventricle of the
heart, is unable to receive its usual quantity. The blood of the lungs,
therefore, is unable to find a free circulation. This general
obstruction extends its effects likewise to the right ventricle, and the
consequence is, an internal excitement, and exertion, and anxiety, which
are more intolerable than the anguish of death itself. All the large
vessels about the heart, and all the veins and arteries in that part of
the system, on account of the accumulation and pressure of blood, are
the source of inexpressible misery. The degree of anguish is gradual in
its increase; and the person crucified is able to live under it commonly
till the third, and sometimes till the seventh, day. Pilate, therefore,
being surprised at the speedy termination of the Saviour’s life,
inquired in respect to the truth of it of the centurion himself, who
commanded the soldiers, Mark xv, 44. In order to bring their life to a
more speedy termination, so that they might be buried on the same day,
the bones of the two thieves were broken with mallets, John xix, 31–37;
and in order to ascertain this point in respect to Jesus, namely,
whether he was really dead, or whether he had merely fallen into a
swoon, a soldier thrust his lance into his side; but no signs of life
appeared, John xix, 31–37.
3. Our Saviour says, that whosoever will be his disciple must take up
his cross and follow him, Matt. xvi, 24: by which is meant, that his
disciples must be willing to suffer for him, in any way in which God, in
the course of his providence, may call them to suffer; even to endure
martyrdom, if called to it. The cross is also often put for the whole of
Christ’s sufferings, Eph. ii, 16; Heb. xii, 2; and the doctrine of his
perfect atonement, Gal. vi, 14.
CROWN is a term properly taken for a cap of state worn on the heads of
sovereign princes, as a mark of regal dignity. In Scripture there is
frequent mention made of crowns; and the use of them seems to have been
very common among the Hebrews. The high priest wore a crown, which was
girt about his mitre, or the lower part of his bonnet, and was tied
about his head. On the forepart was a plate of gold, with these words
engraven on it: “Holiness to the Lord,” Exod. xxviii, 36; xxix, 6.
New-married persons of both sexes wore crowns upon their wedding day,
Cant., iii, 11; and, alluding to this custom, it is said that when God
entered into covenant with the Jewish nation, he put a beautiful crown
upon their head, Ezekiel xvi, 12. The first crowns were no more than a
bandelet drawn round the head, and tied behind, as we see it still
represented on medals, &c. Afterward, they consisted of two bandelets;
by degrees they took branches of trees of divers kinds, &c; at length
they added flowers; and Claudius Saturninus says there was not any plant
of which crowns had not been made.
There was always a difference, either in matter or form, between the
crowns of kings and great men, and those of private persons. The crown
of a king was generally a white fillet bound about his forehead, the
extremities whereof being tied behind the head, fell back on the neck.
Sometimes they were made of gold tissue, adorned with jewels. That of
the Jewish high priest, which is the most ancient of which we have any
description, was a fillet of gold placed upon his forehead, and tied
with a ribbon of a hyacinth colour, or azure blue. The crown, mitre, and
diadem, royal fillet and tiara, are frequently confounded. Crowns were
bestowed on kings and princes, as the principal marks of their dignity.
David took the crown of the king of the Ammonites from off his head: the
crown weighed a talent of gold, and was moreover enriched with jewels, 2
Sam. xii, 30; 1 Chron. xx, 2. The Amalekite who valued himself on
killing Saul, brought this prince’s crown unto David, 2 Sam. i, 10. The
crown was placed upon the head of young King Josiah, when he was
presented to the people, in order to be acknowledged by them, 2 Chron.
xxiii, 11. Baruch says that the idols of the Babylonians wore golden
crowns, Baruch vi, 9. Queens, too, wore diadems among the Persians. King
Ahasuerus honoured Vashti with this mark of power; and, after her
divorce, the same favour was granted to Esther, chap. ii, 17. The
elders, in Rev. iv, 10, are said to “cast their crowns before the
throne.” The allusion is here to the tributary kings dependent upon the
Roman emperors. Herod took off his diadem in the presence of Augustus,
till ordered to replace it. Tiridates did homage to Nero by laying the
ensigns of royalty at the foot of his statue.
Pilate’s guard platted a crown of thorns, and placed it on the head of
Jesus Christ, Matt. xxvii, 29, with an intention to insult him, under
the character of the king of the Jews. See _Thorn_. In a figurative
sense, a crown signifies honour, splendour, or dignity, Lam. v, 16;
Phil. iv, 1; and is also used for reward, because conquerors, in the
Grecian games, were crowned, 1 Corinthians ix, 25.