Page:Curious myths of the Middle Ages (1876).djvu/389

 Aquila and Symmachus, written, the one under Adrian, the other under Marcus Aurelius, were without it, and that it was only in the version of Theodotion, made under Septimius Severus, that the Τ was inserted. Nevertheless S. Jerome adopted it in his translation.

On the other hand Tertullian saw the cross in this passage. The Thau was the old Hebrew character, which the Samaritan resembled, and which was shaped like a cross. S. Jerome probably did not adopt his rendering without foundation, for he was well skilled in Hebrew, and he refers again and again to this passage of Ezekiel. The Epistle of S. Barnabas seems to allude to it ; so do S. Cyprian, S. Augustine, Origen, and S. Isidore. Bishop Lowth was disposed to accept the Thau, so was Dr. Münter, the Protestant bishop of Zeeland. But, indeed, there need be little doubt as to the passage. The