(Vol. v., p. 295.)
Some years ago I remember meeting with the following explanation of the
beautiful legend of St. Christopher, and unfortunately forgot to take a
_Note_ of it. It recurred to my mind on lately reading Mr. Talbot's work
on English etymologies, the writer of which appears to take a similar
view of the allegorical meaning.
Part of the legend is founded on the meaning of the Greek
Χριστοφερων, coupled with a circumstance in the original legend,
which is of German origin, and is an allegorizing of our blessed Lord's
bearing the sins of the world, and _offering_ himself up on the altar of
the cross. In a Latin document of A.D. 1423, the name is abbreviated
into _X'poferus_; in an English one of the same date it is spelt
_Christopfore_; and in French, _Christopfre_. _Christopfer_ signifies
_Christ's sacrifice_: that is, the sacrifice of the cross continually
offered up in the sacrament of the altar, or the mass, the _messopfer_,
so named from the German _opfer_, a sacrifice; Welsh _offeiriad_, a
priest; _offrwm_, a sacrifice; _offeren_, the mass; Irish, _oifrionn_,
or _aifrionn_.
The perfection of our blessed Lord's humanity, His resistance of evil,
and mighty strength displayed in bearing the sins of the universe, are
shadowed out in the great stature and vast strength of the giant
Christopher. According to the legend, when he had succeeded in reaching
the shore, and had set down his burden, he said: "Chylde, thou hast put
me in grete peryll, thou wayest alle most as I had had the world upon
me; I might bere no greater burden;" and the child answered,
"Christopher, marvel thou nothing, for thou hast not only borne all the
world upon thee, but its sins likewise."
Mr. Talbot says, the name Christopher, _Christoffer_, may have been
given to children born on Good Friday, the day of the Great Sacrifice,
as those born on Christmas, Easter, and All Saints were named Pascal,
Noel, Toussaint.