to place upon his standard, and assuring him of victory.
This symbol Constantine substituted the next day for the old Roman
eagle upon the standards and shields of his legions.

What the emperor saw, or fancied he saw, for it cannot be doubted that
Constantine believed what he stated, was a symbol already in use among
the Christians, and whose meaning he doubtless already knew. It is
formed of the first two letters of the Greek word for Christ,
_CHRISTOS_ (_Christos_); the X (Chi) being equivalent to our Ch, and
the P (Rho) the same as our R.

[Illustration: Christos monogram]

Sometimes the monogram is contracted and its lines economized, the X
becoming a true cross, and its vertical shaft--the curved part of the
letter being added--becoming P.

[Illustration: Contracted Christos monogram]

This monogram, with the Latin N, standing for the word _noster_ (our),
added to it, means _Christos noster_ (our Christ).

[Illustration: Christos noster monogram]

Another monogram for our Lord's title, Christ, is composed of the first
two and the last capital {73} letters of the Greek word _CHRISTOS_.
The horizontal mark over the top is the sign that some letters have
been omitted.

[Illustration: Lord's title monogram]

The more familiar monogram IHS (_IHS_) is the abbreviated form of the
Greek word for our Saviour's human name, Jesus, _IESOUS_. The first
two and the last letters are those used. Sometimes this is written
"IHC." The two forms are synonymous, the C being simply another form
of the Greek S. Sometimes the letters are intertwined, the I being
lengthened and formed into a cross by a bar at the top.

[Illustration: IHS monogram]

These three letters are often read as signifying the Latin words,
_Jesus hominum Salvator_, that is, "Jesus the Saviour of men"; but
appropriate and beautiful as this reading is, it is not the original
meaning, but an afterthought, and is said to have been first suggested
about the year 1380.

Another monogram contains the initial letters, IX, of our Lord's full
name, Jesus Christ, in Greek. The X (Chi) is combined with the I
(Iota). Sometimes a horizontal bar is placed through the middle {74}
of the figure, thus giving the initials of our Lord's full name, united
with the cross.

[Illustration: Full name monograms]

Another form of monogram for our Lord's full name, Jesus Christ, is
made by taking the first and the last letters of each of the Greek
words. The lines