4-3 护身符和象征：十字形（在线收听）

Charms and Symbols

The Cross

Although the cross has come to be a symbol of Christianity¹, it was venerated² both as a religious and lucky sign for centuries before the Christian era. It has been found in parts of the world where the message of Christianity never reached. The Aztecs³ in pre Columbian Mexico regarded it as a symbol of the rain god, the most important in their pantheon⁴. In most primitive religions, the cross represents the tree of life. In some ancient cultures, the crosspiece intersecting the upright represented a ladder that helped a worshipper to reach God. In other cultures, the upright pointed the way to heaven and the crosspiece represented earthly influences. The oldest known version of the cross, dating back to prehistory and found all over the world, including among the Native Americans, is the swastika⁵. This cross with its arms folded back took on a sinister⁶ meaning in the 1930s when Adolf Hitler adopted it as the symbol of his Nazi party. It wasn't a choice he made lightly. Hitler was very conscious of the power of lucky charms and it was his intention to crown his ambition with what he considered the luckiest charm of all. Fortunately for the world,it didn't work. But if Hitler didn't succeed in bringing the world under his heel⁷, he managed to turn it away from a symbol that had been considered lucky almost from the time that man began to walk upright.

注释:

1.Christianity [7kristi5Aniti] n. 基督教，基督教教义

2.venerate [5venEreit] vt. 敬重，崇敬

3.Aztec [5Aztek] n. 阿兹特克人（墨西哥印第安人，有高度文化，约自公元1200年起在墨西哥中部建立帝国，1521年为西班牙殖民者征服）

4.pantheon [5pAnWIEn] n. （一个民族所信奉的）众神

5.swastika [5swRstIkE] n. 万字饰（相传为象征太阳、吉祥等的标志），（德国纳粹党的党徽，纳粹德国的国徽，反犹太主义的标志）

6.sinister [5sinistE] a. 邪恶的，阴险的

7.under the heel of 在……统治（或控制下），遭着……践踏

护身符和象征

十字形

   尽管十字形已成为基督教的象征，但早在基督纪元前几世纪中，十字形已被当作宗教和幸运标志而受到尊崇。在世界上基督教义未曾到达的地方都发现过十字形。早在哥伦布发现美洲大陆之前就生活在墨西哥的阿兹特克人，就把十字形看作是雨神的象征，雨神是他们信奉的众神中最重要的神。在大部分原始宗教中，十字形代表生命之树。在一些古代文化中，一横一竖交叉象征帮助敬拜者抵达上帝的梯子。在另外一些文化中，十字形中的竖指向通往天堂的路，横代表世俗的影响。我们所知最古老的十字形形式，这个形式可以追溯到史前时期，而且在世界各处都有，包括美洲土著印第安人。将这一十字形双臂反向后的十字形因在20世纪30年代被阿道夫•希特勒用作他纳粹党的象征符号而带上了邪恶的含义。这个十字形可不是希特勒轻易做出的选择。他非常清楚吉祥符号的力量，他就是想用他认为最吉祥的符号来粉饰他的野心，保佑其实现。全世界幸运的是，他的符号没有起作用。但是希特勒虽然没能践踏全世界，他却使全世界都厌弃了一个自从人类开始直立行走以后就被认为是吉祥的标志。