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in hoc signo vinces
[ in hohk sig-noh wing-keys; English in hok sig-noh vin-seez ]
- in this sign shalt thou conquer: motto used by Constantine the Great, from his vision, before battle, of a cross bearing these words.
Example Sentences
Maria Maggiore, on the left is a Cross on a pedestal formed by a cannon reversed, and inscribed "In hoc signo vinces,"—a memorial of the absolution given by Clement VIII. in 1595 to Henry IV. of France on his being received into the Roman Catholic Church.
Hung in conspicuous places on columns beside the chancel are banners of Alsace and Lorraine, covered with crape, the former with a cross in the centre, encircled with the words first written in the sky before the adoring eyes of Constantine: In hoc signo vinces; while for Lorraine stands only the single name of Metz, invested with such sad associations, with the inscription, Sacr� cœur de Jesus, Sauvez la France!
While the sun was setting, it is reported that Constantine saw in the heavens a cross bearing the bright inscription: In hoc signo vinces, i. e.,
Then will the banner of the Cross display with glory its device, the augury of victory, In Hoc Signo Vinces; for then it will have conquered evil, conquered the gates of hell, conquered false philosophy and national indigence and spurious civilization; et portæ inferi non prevalebunt.
This is a translation of the famous Latin motto in hoc signo vinces.
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