ross]

When all four arms are of equal length it is a _Greek Cross_, the cross
in most frequent use among Eastern Christians. "The Latin cross
suggests the actual form, while the Greek cross is idealized, the
Greeks being essentially an artistic and poetic race." "The Greek
cross is a symbol of the spread of the Gospel and of its triumphs in
the four quarters of the world. It is the usual form wherever it is
intended to express victory or is used as an ornament."

[Illustration: Greek cross]

Another interesting form of the cross is the _Tau-cross_, so called
because shaped like the Greek letter tau (T). The figure found in the
tau-cross was the symbol of eternal life with the ancient Egyptians.
The early Christians of Egypt adopted it and at first used it instead
of other forms of the cross. It is yet seen in the early Christian
sepulchers of that country. "It has been urged, with {57} at least
great probability, that this symbol of life was the form made by the
children of Israel in blood upon their door-posts when the angel of
death passed through the land of Egypt to smite the first-born, and it
was perhaps the form of the cross on which the brazen serpent in the
wilderness was lifted up."

[Illustration: Tau-cross]

It is known, from these associations, as the cross of the Old Testament
and as the "anticipatory cross"; also as the "cross of St. Anthony,"
the great hermit of Egypt and the father of monasticism.

It is sometimes called the "cross potent" from its shape, "potent"
being an old English word for a crutch. It is then said to signify the
Cross as the sure support of all who trust in it.

Four tau-crosses joined foot to foot form a "Jerusalem cross." Such a
cross was part of the armorial bearing of the first Christian king of
Jerusalem. The four conjoined tau-crosses, forming a Greek cross, are
said to be symbolical of the displacement of the Old Testament by the
New, the Law by the Gospel.

[Illustration: Jerusalem cross]

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Many forms of the cross originated in the wars of the Cross, the
crusaders in their eastward wanderings engrafting many variations upon
the original Greek cross. Many of these heraldic crosses tell some
story of religious feeling. In their varied and fanciful forms the
simple faith and holy purpose out of which they sprang may yet be
traced.

The "cross moline" is so named from resemblance to the moline, or
crossed iron, in the center of the upper millston