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| Pliny’s monokeros. |
(Part 7h of the series: Crucifixion the Bodily Support)
Justin Martyr on the Acuta Crux (Part 7)
Recap:
In the first part previous I’ve shown how Justin Martyr
brings up the figure of the σταυρός (staurós) or τρόπαιον (trópaion)
and how it related to a flurry of cross and ‘T’ shaped objects, one of which
definitely had an attachment that could be relate to the σκόλοψ (skólops)
or acuta crux that was attached to the front of the execution
pole. In the second part I showed Justin telling Antoninus Pius how the Jews
sat Jesus in proper position on what he, Justin, called a βήματος (bêmatos), that is, a judgment seat,
although it’s impossible to tell if that seat was also the sedilis
excessu of the execution pole that turned it into a Priapus stake. In
the third part I noted the peculiarity of Justin's comparison of a person who
is undergoing the suspension of the σταυρός and the roasting of
the Passover Lamb: because the Lamb was suspended by its front paws from a
horizontal wooden beam, and impaled on a wooden spit from the hindquarters
right up to the mouth, as if the acuta crux Jesus was
subjected to was a regular impaling stake! In the fourth I showed how early
Christians took a verse of overthrowing Jeremiah’s tree and the fruit thereof
into a prophecy about how wood was caused to go onto the body of Jesus, or into
his body, or both. And in the fifth I showed how Justin’s accusation to the
Jewish Trypho that the Jewish religious authorities extirpated the words “from
the wood” out of the 96th Psalm works in favor of the Cross of Jesus
Christ having had a short (maybe it wasn’t short) impaling spike meant for the
crucified to sit on. And in the sixth part I showed that spike was exactly what
Justin was talking about when he spoke of the Monokeros horn fixed in the
middle frame.
Horns of the Unicorn - Breakdown
Now
here I will show the breakdown of the comparison with Joseph’s Horns of a μονοκέρως
(monokérôs), a.k.a. Rhinoceros or Unicorn, mentioned in Deuteronomy 33:13-17 and
the extremities or “limbs” of the typical Roman execution pole, called a σταυρός
(staurós) or crux, ca. the mid Second Century CE.
 |
The Indian Rhinoceros.
Rhinoceros unicornis. Credit: Krish Dulal, Wikipedia.
|
Again,
Pliny makes mention of a monoceros or
unicorn in his treatise on the
terrestrial animals of India (NH 8.18.31). The description he gives does not
come close to the unicorn of Medieval myth, but comes closer to the Indian
rhinoceros (rhinoceros unicornis),
although apparently through a 4,000 mile long game of Chinese Whispers
(Telephone). So, then, Justin Martyr appears to be dealing with a rhinoceros
here.
Now
I will breakdown the length of the passage to see if the main frame Justin
talks about is a crux-immissa (Latin
cross type) or sort of, or whether it was the crux-commissa (utility pole) type, and see how the Latin
translations treat Justin’s Greek for the phrase “on which are suspended.”
Here
we go. First, here is the passage in toto:
Now,
no one could say or prove that the horns of an unicorn represent any other fact
or figure than the type which portrays the cross. For the one beam is placed
upright, from which the highest extremity is raised up into a horn, when the
other beam is fitted on to it, and the ends appear on both sides as horns
joined on to the one horn. And the part which is fixed in the centre, on which
are suspended those who are crucified, also stands out like a horn; and it also
looks like a horn conjoined and fixed with the other horns.
Justin
Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho 91 (Donaldson-Roberts
transl.) 1
And
now the breakdown: the Greek and Latin texts can be found at the Documenta
Catholica Omnia website. 2 All
the English translations below are mine.
First Sentence:
Greek:
Mονοκέρωτος
γάρ κέρατα οὐδενός ἄλλου πράγματος ἤ σχήματος ἔχοι ἄν τις εἰπεῖν καί ἀποδεῖξαι,
εἰ μή τοῦ τύπου ὅς τόν σταυρόν δείκνυσιν.
Monokérôtos gár
kérata oudenos állou prágmatos ê sxêmatos échoi án tis eipein kaí apodeixai, ei
mê tou túpou ós tón staurón deiknusín.
“For
the horns of a monokeros can provide
none other undertaking or appearance that anyone could say or reveal, if not of
the form that the σταυρός (staurós)
points out.
Latin-1:
Unicornis
enim cornua nemo dicere aut demonstrare possit in alia re aut figura invenir,
nisi in ea quae crucem exhibet.
“Namely
the horns of a unicorn, no-one can say or rather demonstrate to be found in
another thing or form, except in that which exhibits the crux.”
Latin-2:
Per Monoceratis
cornua nemo dicere, aut ostendere potest rem aliam, seu figuram referri, nisi eam
quae cruces speciem adumbrat.
“By
the horns of a monokeros no-one is
able to say, or reveal any other thing, or a form to be referred, except that
which represents a species of the crux.”
Latin-3:
(Not present)
My comment: The
Greek and the Latin translations agree with each other. And the unicorn is not
the horse of Medieval myth and preteen girl fantasy, but the monokeros plinii: possibly, the Indian
rhinoceros.
Second Sentence.
Greek:
ὄρθιον
γάρ τό ἔν ἐστι ξύλον προσαρμοσθῇ, καί ἑκατέρωθεν ὡς κέρατα τῷ ἐνί κέρατι παρεζευγμένα
τά ἄκρα φαίνηται.
órthion gár tó én
esti xúlon prosarmosthê, kai ekatérôthen ôs kérata tô ení kérati parezeugména tá
árka faínêtai.
“For
the timber is into an upright [station], indeed from/of [that] is the topmost
portion erected into a ‘horn’, whenever the other timber is attached, and having
been yoked beside onto that ‘horn’ those points on either side would appear as
‘horns’.”
Latin-1:
Rectum enim unum
lignum est, a quo summa pars in cornu attollitur, cum adaptum fuerit aliud
lignum, et utrinque extrema, veluti cornua uni adjunct cornu apparuerint.
“Namely
one timber is upright, from which the top part is lifted up into a ‘horn’, when
another timber is installed and at both ends the extremities will have appeared
just as a set of ‘horns’ joined to a ‘horn’.”
Latin-2:
Hujus enim
lignum unum urrectarium est, cujus pars summa tanquam cornu eminet: cum alterum
lignum aptatum est, hujus extremitates instar cornuum alteri cornu junctorum
proeminentes utrinque videntur.
“Namely
of this one timber is erected, of which the top part rises up just as a horn:
when the second timber is put on, of this the endpoints projecting out on both
sides are seen [as] the equal of ‘horns’ connected to the other ‘horn’.”
Latin-3:
Second Sentence:
Crux igitur
nihil aliud est nisi lignum erectum. Cujus ligni, cum aliun lignum
transversarium adaptur, summa pars habet cornu foram: partier utraque
transversarii ligni pars prominens cornu speciem gerit;
Therefore
the crux is none other except an
erected timber. Of which timber, when another transverse timber is attached,
the highest part holds a figure for a ‘horn’: and together each of the two
transverse parts of the timber jutting out bears a semblance to a horn.
My comments: We
have a tacit admission from the Roman Catholic Church that the σταυρός (staurós) / crux is none other than an upright pole, and that the transverse may not
always have been attached, even though it was in the usual case in the mid
Second Century CE. 3 The
transverse appears to have been placed, yoked against the upright pole: προσαρμοσθῇ
(prosarmosthê) “attached,”
contrast with adaptatum, “having been fitted, adjusted, adapted;” aptatum, “having been fitted, adapted,
applied, put on;” and adaptatur, “is fitted,
adjusted, adapted.” The second attachment verb, παρεζευγμένα (parezeugména) “having been yoked beside, set beside.” Compare with adjuncta, “having been added, joined, bound to” and junctorum, “connected, adjoining, contiguous; having been joined,
united, brought together, connected, yokeed.” It appears the transverse is attached as
a ship’s yardarm rather than inlaid as seen in renaissance art and in films that show the crux immissa cross, consisting of two transverse
beams or planks inlaid (infixum,
caelaverunt) to each other. And the extremities of the transverse are not
perfectly shaped as true horns but each bears a figurative resemblance to a
horn.
Third Sentence:
Greek:
καί
τό ἐν τῷ μέσῳ πηγνύμενον ὡς κέρας καί αὐτό ἐξέχον ἐστιν,
ἐφ᾽ ᾧ
ἐποχοῦνται οἱ σταυρούμενοι. καί βλέπεται ὡς κέρας καί αὐτό σύν τοῖς ἄλλοις κέρασι συνεσχηματισμένον καί πεπηγμένον.
kaí tó en méso pêgnúmenon ôs kéras kaí
autó exéchon estin, ef’ w epoxountai oi stauroúmenoi. kaí
blépetai
ôs kéras
kaí autó sún tois állois kérasi sunêschematisménon
kaí pepêgménon.
“And that which is fixed in the middle, and itself is projecting
out just as a horn, on which are carried / ‘ride’ who are crucified /
impaled. And it even looks like a horn,
having been skillfully shaped and conjoined with those other horns.”
Latin-1:
Et illud quod in
medio figitur, ut ei insideant qui crucifiguntur, ipsum etiam veluti quoddam
cornu eminet, et cornu speciem exhibit cum aliis cornibus conformatum et fixum.
“And
that one which is fixed in the middle, so that on the same item may sit those
who are crucified / impaled, likewise itself reaches upward just as a certain
horn, and presents a likeness to a horn, when it is skillfully shaped and fixed
with the other horns.”
Latin-2:
Illud vero quod
in medio defixum est, et ipsum tanquam cornu eminet, quo innixi sustinentur,
qui crucifiguntur, et apparet veluti cornu illud quoque cum aliis cornibus
conformatum atque compactum.
“Indeed that one which is fixed in at the middle, and itself
reaches upward, by which having supported themselves by grasping are held
upright those who are crucified / impaled, and it appears just as the
well-known horn also having been skillfully shaped and assembled together with
the other horns.”
Latin-3:
Aliud etiam
cornu in illo lingo cernitur, quod in media cruce fixum est, ut insideant qui
cruci affiguntur. Itaque crux composite est ex cornibus unicornis.
Yet
another horn is discerned on that wood, which in the middle of the crux is fixed, so that those who are
fastened on to the crux may occupy it
as a perch. And so the crux is
assembled out of the ‘horns’ of a unicorn!
My comments: “And that which is fixed in the middle” (καί τό ἐν τῷ
μέσῳ πηγνύμενον (kaí tó en méso pêgnúmenon)) is in agreement across all
three Latin translations: Et illud quod
in medio figitur “And that which is fixed in the middle,” illud vero quod in medio defixum est
“indeed that which is infixed at the middle,” and quod in media cruce fixum est: “that which is fixed in the middle
of the crux.”
The Greek “And
the same is standing out / projecting as a horn” (ὡς κέρας
καί αὐτό ἐξέχον ἐστιν (ôs kéras kaí autó exéchon
estin)) is also in agreement between the Greek and the Latins: ipsum etiam veluti quoddam cornu eminet
“likewise itself reaches upward just as a certain horn,” et ipsum tanquam cornu eminet “and itself
reaches upward,” and “Aliud etiam
cornu in illo lingo cernitur “And so another horn is discerned on that
wood.”
The Latin-1
mentions that the horn in the middle is just like a certain horn (tanquam quoddam cornu): a cornu unicornis: either that of the monokeros plinii or rhinoceros unicornis.
The Right Reverend John Pearson appears to have had this support
figured out in 1659 -- the Seventeenth Century! For he wrote:
The form then of the cross on which our Saviour suffered was not a
simple but a compounded figure, according to the custom of the Romans, by whose
Procurator* he was condemned to die. In which there was not only a straight and
erected piece of wood fixed in the earth, but also a transverse beam fastened
unto that towards the top thereof; and beside these two cutting each other
transversely at right angles (so that the erected part extended itself above
the transverse), there was also another piece of wood infixed into, and
standing out from, that which was erected and straight up. 4
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Vivat Crux Graffito, Pompeii, 79 CE.
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And the Greek
for “on which are carried / ‘ride’ those who are
crucified / impaled” (ἐφ᾽ ᾧ ἐποχοῦνται οἱ
σταυρούμενοι (ef’ w epoxountai oi
stauroúmenoi) )
is reflected in the Latin-1 ut ei
insideant qui crucifiguntur “so that on the same item may sit those who are
crucified,” the Latin-2 quo innixi
sustinentur, qui crucifiguntur, “by which having
supported themselves by grasping are held upright those who are crucified” and
the Latin-3 ut insideant qui cruci
affiguntur “so that those those who are fastened on to the crux may occupy it as a perch.”
The Greek ἐποχοῦνται
is in the famous / infamous medium voice and not only does it mean “are carried
by” but also means “ride,” 6 and when it refers to a female animal in
congress with a male animal, it means “couple with,” i.e., “ride” in an
entirely different sense. Compare with the Latin insideant (here used in the active with a dative noun or pronoun:
indirect object) “sit on, be situate on, stand upon, occupy as a perch,” and
the Latin innixi (used with an
ablative noun: instrumental agent) “support themselves by grasping, leaning on.”
So we have clear
support in the Latin that the horn on which the crucified were carried was
actually one on which they were situated, sat, perched, leaned and grasped: in
other words, ‘rode’ -- coupled with. And with “the dance of the cross” it wasn’t
just a simple impalement or mini-impalement, it was more like… fucking. The French
and the Germans are right: the Pompeiian epithet “In crvce figarvs” (figaris) does
mean va te faire crucifier and lass dich ans kreuz schlagen, “Go fuck yourself
with a crux!” How rude. ;^)
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IN CRVCE FIGARVS
Pozzuoli Graffito. This poor bugger was literally riding a thorn!
|
And the
participle σταυρούμενοι is in the famous / infamous
medium as well, so not only does it mean “being crucified / impaled /
pile-driven,” it also means “crucifying / impaling / pile-driving themselves.” This
despite the Latin documents using the passive crucifiguntur “are crucified / impaled” and cruci affiguntur “affixed to a crux
(nailed to or impaled on it or both)” And note that not only does the medium
voice have famous / infamous connotations, the verb σταυρόω (staurów) itself has a famous / infamous meaning
as well. So when this verb is conjugated in the middle voice, it can acquire a
double infamy… or more precisely, an infamy squared.
And the last “And it even looks like a horn, having been skillfully
shaped and conjoined with those other horns,” the Greek (καί βλέπεται ὡς κέρας καί αὐτό σύν τοῖς ἄλλοις κέρασι συνεσχηματισμένον
καί πεπηγμένον (kaí blépetai ôs kéras kaí autó sún tois
állois kérasi sunêschematisménon kaí pepêgménon)) has as its Latin counterparts: et cornu speciem exhibit cum aliis cornibus
conformatum et fixum “and presents a likeness to a horn, when it is
skillfully shaped and fixed with the other horns;” et apparet veluti cornu illud quoque cum aliis cornibus conformatum
atque compactum. “and it appears just as the
well-known horn also having been skillfully shaped and assembled together with
the other horns;” and Itaque crux
composite est ex cornibus unicornis “And so the crux is assembled out of the ‘horns’ of a unicorn!”
The Greek and
the first two Latins are in agreement that the ‘horn’ fixed in the middle actually
looked like a horn. For the Greek συνεσχηματισμένον (sunêschematisménon) the first two Latins
use conformatum, “skillfully / symmetrically
shaped,” meaning the Greek, too, would mean “completely formed, fashioned,
shaped in accordance with.”
This
is confirmed with the participle πεπηγμένον, which covers
the sense of having been assembled and conjoined, as well as fixed, and which is
buttressed to cover those meanings by the Latins: fixum “fastened, attached, erected, set up;” compactum “joined together, frame, make by joining;” and composite est “is fitted together,
joined, connected.”
And
again, in the Latin-2 we have mention again of the well-known horn (cornu illud) and one has to ask, what
kind? The monerceratis cornua “horns
of a monokeros,” which is Pliny’s Monokeros, a mythical creature probably in
my opinion derived from garbled or confused reports of what people actually saw
in India --- the description of the Indian rhinoceros through a 4,000 mile game
of Chinese Whispers, known in America as the game of Telephone.
And so, we have
straight from Justin Martyr’s mouth that the description of the crux or σταυρός (staurós) in use at the time was
shaped like a T or a mast with its yardarm and included a horn-like attachment
that rose up and curved out and crucified the condemned by penetration,
wherein the sufferer was quite literally fucked… and it was his own strong leg and butt muscles that were doing the fucking. And contrary to modern Christian
perceptions of the Crucifiction of Jesus Christ, wherein he is portrayed as
hanging from a tropaeum cross, Justin
Martyr has the poor man literally fucking himself on a Priapus stake! And less than a century later, Origen, in Alexandria across the Mediterranean from Rome,
called crucifixion the mors turpissima
crucis (the most polluted death of the cross) 7. Why? Because it was an ugly parody of male-on-male sex, meant to kill in a manner so cruel, hideous and unspeakably vile, others would be deterred from doing the same crimes the crucified ones committed.
Maybe it helps explains why Christianity has been so homophobic throughout its history.
Next, Irenaeus and his five ends and high points.
Greek
and Latin Word Definitions.
Not
all the definitions of the Greek and Latin words included above will be
presented here. The ones that aren’t, can be looked up at Perseus Greek Word Study Tool, IBG
Greek Verb Chart, Perseus
Latin Word Study Tool, Numen Word Study Tool,
and William Whitaker’s Words.
Greek.
ἐξέχον
(exéchon): participle singular
present active neuter nominative, “standing out, projecting.” Perseus Greek
Word Study Tool, Link.
ἐποχοῦνται
(epoxountai): verb third person
plural indicative middle of ἐποχέομαι (epoxéomai) “be carried, ride,” which appears
to be the first person medium-passive counterpart of the active verb ἐποχεύω (epoxeúô) “of the male animal: spring
upon, cover, (in the medium) couple with.” Perseus Greek Word Study Tool, ἐποχέομαι, ἐποχεύω; BGI Verb Ending Chart, Link. (Note: medium = middle)
παρεζευγμένα (parezeugména): participle plural perfect
passive neuter nominative of παραζεύγνυμι
(parazeúgnumi), “having been joined,
yoked against, coupled.” Perseus Greek Word Study Tool, Link; IBG Greek Word
Chart, Link.
πεπηγμένον (pepêgménon):
participle singular perfect middle-passive neuter nominative, “having been
fixed, compacted, planted, fastened together, fitted together, constructed,
built.” Perseus Greek Word Study Tool, Link.
προσαρμοσθῇ (prosarmosthê): verb third person present
indicative passive of προσαρμόζω (prosarmózô),
“attach closely to.” Perseus Greek Word Study Tool, Link; IBG Greek Verb
Chart, Link.
σταυρούμενοι
(stauroúmenoi): participle plural present
middle-passive masculine nominative, “being fenced with pales, pile-driven,
impaled, crucified [or actively doing the same to themselves!].” IBG Verb
Ending Chart, Link. Perseus Word Study Tool, Link. See also FdVR
post Σταυρόω.
συνεσχηματισμένον
(sunêschematisménon): participle
singular perfect middle-passive neuter nominative, “having been given a certain
form, formed, fashioned, arranged” + “with, along with, altogether, completely.”
From σύν- (sún-) and σχηματίζω (schêmatízô) Perseus Greek Word Study
Tool, Link1, Link2, IBG Verb Ending Chart, Link.
Latin.
adaptatum: participle
singular perfect passive neuter nominative of adapto, “having
been fitted.” Lewis and Short, Link; William
Whittaker’s Words, Link.
adaptatur: verb third
person present indicative passive of adapto, “is
fitted.” Lewis and Short, Link; William
Whitaker’s Words, Link.
adjuncta: participle singular perfect passive feminine nominative of adjungo, “having been added, joined,
bound to.” Perseus Latin Word Study Tool, Link.
aptatum: participle
singular perfect passive neuter nominative, “having been put on.” Perseus Latin
Word Study Tool, Link.
compactum: participle singular perfect passive
neuter nominative, “having been joined together, frame, made by joining.” Perseus
Latin Word Study Tool, Link.
composite: participle singular perfect passive
neuter vocative, “having been brought together, placed together, united, fit
together, joined, connected,” (i.e., assembled). Perseus Latin Word Study Tool, Link.
conformatum: participle singular perfect passive
neuter nominative, “having been formed, fashioned, shaped symmetrically of
skillfully.” Perseus Latin Word Study Tool, Link.
crucifiguntur
(cruci
+ figuntur): noun single masculine dative
+ verb third person plural present indicative passive, “are fixed, fastened,
thrust on, affixed and / or attached to a tree, pole, gallows, frame and / or
stake (i.e.: crucified, impaled).” Perseus Latin Word Study Tool, Link 1, Link 2.
eminet: verb third person singular present indicative active, “standing
out, projecting, reaching upward.” Perseus Latin Word Study Tool, Link.
fixum: participle singular perfect passive neuter nominative, “having
been fixed, fastened, attached, affixed, posted, erected, set up.” Perseus Latin
Word Study Tool, Link.
innixi: c. w/ dat. or
abl., participle plural perfect passive masculine nominative of innitor: “having leaned upon, having
supported oneself by.” The references indicated by the Lewis and Short
indicates that when the passive is used with the ablative, it appears to become
the medium (ex’s.: ipse hasta innixus,
“grasping [and leaning on] his spear” (Livy
4.19.4) (Spillan transl.: “by help of his lance”),
et innixus moderamine navis “And taking
hold uppon the sterne” (Ovid Metamorphoses
15.726) (Golding transl.)). Perseus Word Study Tool, Link.
insideant: verb third
person present subjunctive active of insideo:
“may sit on, settle on, be situate upon, occupy as a perch.” Perseus Latin Word
Study Tool, Link.
junctorum: adjective plural neuter genitive of junctus, “connected, adjoining,
contiguous;” participle plural perfect passive neuter genitive of jungo, “having been joined, united,
brought together, connected, yoked.” Perseus Digital Library Lewis and Short, Link 1 and Link 2; William
Whitaker’s Words, Link.
Text
References and Notes.
1. New
Advent.org, Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho 91, Link.
2. Documenta Catholica Omnia, Justin
Martyr, Dialogus cum Tryphone Judaeo 91, PDF p. 111-112, cols.
692, 693 for the Greek and cols. 691, 694 for the Latin-1, Link; Irenaeus, Contra
Haereses Lib. II., PDF p. 184, col. 794, n. (39) for the Latin-2, Link; and Justin
Martyr, PDF p. 111, col. 692, n. (71) for the Latin-3.
4. Pearson, John, D.D., Chevallier, Temple,
B.D., rev. and corr., An Exposition of
the Creed, Cambridge, England, The University Press (1859), p. 384-5. See
also p. 385, n. 1. (You may see the 1847 ed. at Google Books Preview, Link, pp. 362-5 and p. 364, n. 99)
5.. Zaninotto,
Gino; Savarino, P. and Scannerini, eds.; “The Shroud and Roman Crucifixion: A
Historical Review;” The Turin Shroud,
past, present and future - International Scientific Symposium (Turin, 2-5 March
2000); Cantalupa: Effatà Editrice (2000), pp. 285-324, Puzzuoli Graffito fig. 5. P.
305, Vivat Crux fig. 6 p. 306. On-line image of the Pozzuoli kindly provided by
Antonio Lombatti.
6. William Smith, LLD, William Wayte, G. E. Marindin,
Ed., A Dictionary of Greek and Roman
Antiquities (1890), “CRUX” (Link):
It
was impossible that the whole weight of the body should rest upon the nails;
hence there was a piece of wood projecting from the stipes on which the
sufferer sat, or rather rode (κέρας ἐφ᾽ ᾦ ἐποχοῦνται οἱ σταυρούμενοι, Just.
Mart. Dial. c. Tryph. 91; sedilis excessus, Tertull. adv. Nat. 1.12; cf. Iren. adv. Haer. 1.12). The expression acuta si sedeam cruce, in the famous
lines of Maecenas ap. Sen. Ep. 101,
probably refers to this support, and not, as Lipsius thought, to impalement
(see Archd. Farrar in Dict. of the Bible,
s. v. Cross). when it was wanting,
the body was probably sustained by ropes….
The wording is
unclear, but I suspect that the above authors presumed the sufferer ‘rode’ the
piece the way one rides a horse or a bicycle. Epigraphy indicates otherwise.
7. Origen, Commentary
on Matthew 27:22ff, ap. Hengel, Martin; Bowden, John, transl.; Crucifixion.
Philadelphia, Fortress Press (1977), p. xi: "son
solum homicidam postulantes ad vitam, sed etiam iustum ad mortem et ad mortem
turpissimam cruces 'asking not only life for a murderer but also death for
an innocent man, indeed the utterly vile death of the cross.'"
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