II
THE FLOWER SYMBOLISTS
Christian symbolists divided the plant world into three divisions—the good, the bad, and those which, from want of definite characteristics, were not worthy of notice. In their judgment they were guided by several principles.
In the first place, and this was the most important method, they searched the Scriptures for their warrant as to the good or evil tendencies of any plant or flower. Those with whom the Divinity had identified Himself took precedence of all others. Christ had said, ‘I am the True Vine,’ and the vine, since the earliest days of Christianity, has had the place of highest honour in the decoration of Christian churches as the emblem of Christ Himself. When the difficulties were removed which prevented the Early Church from representing Christ under His own form, the emblem was less seen, but it has always remained a sacred plant, and designs based upon its form still frequently decorate the altar and the sacred vessels.
Also those plants introduced as metaphors in the Song of Solomon, ‘the flower of the field,’ ‘the lily of the valleys,’ ‘the lily among thorns,’ ‘the orchard of pomegranates,’ myrrh and camphire, spikenard, saffron and cinnamon, trees of frankincense and ‘the chief spices,’ which refer to the ‘Beloved’ and the ‘Spouse,’ are all considered holy plants, and by the Roman Catholic Church are assigned to the Virgin Mary.
In the beautiful twenty-fourth chapter of Ecclesiasticus, too, Christian symbolists have recognized the Virgin Mary beneath the figure of Wisdom, and hold as sanctified those growing things to which she is likened.
‘I was exalted like a palm tree in Engeddi, and as a rose plant in Jericho, as a fair olive tree in a pleasant field, and grew up as a plane tree by the water.
‘As the turpentine tree I stretched out my branches, and my branches are the branches of honour and grace.
‘As the vine brought I forth pleasant savour, and my flowers are the fruit of honour and riches.’
In the second place, those flowers and plants which are beneficial to man, as the wheat and the olive, were decided to be good, and those that were hurtful to man, as the tare and the thistle, were evil. Here herbalism and magic step very close to symbolism, for healing plants, or those which were useful as a charm against the devil, were good; those which were poisonous, or used for evil purpose, such as raising a spirit, were bad. Thus the nettle, which, when used with due ceremony, dissipates fear, becomes a symbol of courage, and myrrh, which is an antidote to love-philtres and drives away voluptuous thoughts, is held to be a plant of chastity. Of this particular species of symbolism Albertus Magnus,[5] Master of Saint Thomas Aquinas, and Saint Hildegarde,[6] Abbess of Rupertsburg, were the principal exponents.
Also a plant’s habit of growth was taken as an indication of its character. The cedar, with unbending head and grandly-spreading branches, was considered, both by Saint Melitus and Petrus of Capua, to typify pride, while the violet, wearing the colour of mourning, and keeping timidly beneath its leaves, they chose as a symbol of humility.