“CROSS, n. An ancient religious symbol erroneously supposed to owe its significance to the most solemn event in the history of Christianity, but really antedating it by thousands of years. By many it has been believed to be identical with the _crux ansata_ of the ancient phallic worship, but it has been traced even beyond all that we know of that, to the rites of primitive peoples. We have to-day the White Cross as a symbol of chastity, and the Red Cross as a badge of benevolent neutrality in war. Having in mind the former, the reverend Father Gassalasca Jape smites the lyre to the effect following:"Be good, be good!" the sisterhood Cry out in holy chorus, And, to dissuade from sin, parade Their various charms before us.But why, O why, has ne'er an eye Seen her of winsome manner And youthful grace and pretty face Flaunting the White Cross banner?Now where's the need of speech and screed To better our behaving? A simpler plan for saving man(But, first, is he worth saving?)Is, dears, when he declines to flee From bad thoughts that beset him, Ignores the Law as 't were a straw, And wants to sin --don't let him.”
Ambrose Bierce
“Architecture has recorded the great ideas of the human race. Not only every religious symbol, but every human thought has its page in that vast book.”
Victor Hugo
“When a symbol unmoors itself from what it symbolizes, it loses meaning. It becomes ineffective”
Arundhati Roy
“This building is not just important to Catholics. It's a symbol of religious freedom for everyone.”
Mark Potter
“We searched through the books on the history of Lutz. The railroad is the most unifying symbol of the history of Lutz and the spirit of Lutz today.”
Helen Swisshelm
“A law on religious symbols in the school environment could stigmatize a whole community.”
Dalil Boubakeur
“All art is at once surface and symbol. Those who go beneath the surface do so at their peril.”
Oscar Wilde
