The floral symbolism of the great masters - The Knowledge Den

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FLORAL SYMBOLISM
perance; the elder, zeal; and the thyme, ac-
tivity. Of these, however, with the exception
of the violet. Christian art has taken little note.
There are certain flowers which appear
repeatedly in pictures which represent the
garden of Heaven; they grow in the 'Enclosed
Garden ' of the Madonna, and surround the
Infant Christ when He is laid upon the ground
to receive adoration. They are the rose and
the lily, and also the violet, the pink and the
strawberry, the last with fruit and flowers to-
gether. The symbolists are unanimous in as-
cribing humility to the violet ; the pink or carna-
tion, which is usually introduced when there
are no roses, is, like the rose, the flower of divine
love; the strawberry with fruit and flower re-
presents the good works of the righteous, or the
fruits of the spirit.
To these are sometimes added the clover and
the columbine. According to the legend, Saint
Patrick was the first to use the trefoil as an
illustration of the Trinity in Unity, and the
shamrock or clover is the emblem of the Holy
Trinity. The little doves which make up the
flower of the columbine wonderfully resemble