The dove is also a symbol of simplicity and purity of heart, and as such it is introduced into pictures of female saints, and especially of the Madonna and Child.
It is also the emblem of the soul; in this sense it is seen issuing from the lips of dying martyrs, and is found in pictures of St. Eulalia of Merida, and St. Scholastica the sister of St. Benedict.
The Lily is another symbol of purity, of very general application. We find it in pictures of the Virgin, and particularly in pictures of the Annunciation. It is placed significantly in the hand of St. Joseph, the husband of the Virgin Mary, his staff, according to the legend, having put forth lilies; it is given, as an emblem merely, to St. Francis, St. Anthony of Padua, St. Dominick, and St. Catherine of Siena, to express the particular purity of their lives.
The Unicorn is another ancient symbol of purity, in allusion to the fable that it could never be captured except by a virgin stainless in mind and life; it has become in consequence the emblem peculiarly of female chastity, but in Christian Art is appropriate only to the Virgin Mary and St. Justina.
The Flaming Heart expresses fervent piety and love: in early pictures it is given to St. Augustine, merely in allusion to a famous passage in his ‘Confessions;’ but in the later schools of Art it has become a general and rather vulgar emblem of spiritual love: in this sense it is given to St. Theresa; St. Maria Maddalena de’ Pazzi, a Florentine nun; and some of the Jesuit saints.
The Book in the hands of the Evangelists and the Apostles is an attribute, and represents the Gospel. In the hand of St. Stephen it is the Old Testament; in the hand of any other saint it may be the Gospel, but it may also be an emblem only, signifying that the saint was famous for his learning or his writings; it has this sense in pictures of St. Catherine, the Doctors of the Church, St. Thomas Aquinas, and St. Bonaventura.
A Church placed in the hands of a saint signifies that he was the founder of some particular church: in this sense St. Henry bears the cathedral of Bamberg; or, that he was the protector and first bishop of the church, as St. Petronius bears the cathedral of Bologna. I must except the single instance of St. Jerome; the church in his hands signifies no particular edifice, but, in a general sense, the Catholic Church, of which he was the great support and one of the primitive fathers; to render the symbol more expressive, rays of light are seen proceeding from the portal.
The Scourge in the hand of a saint, or at his feet, signifies the penances he inflicted upon himself; but in the hand of St. Ambrose, it signifies the penance he inflicted upon others.
The Chalice, or Sacramental Cup, with the Host, signifies Faith; it is given to St. Barbara. The Cup, with the Serpent, is the attribute of St. John.
The Ship.—The Ark of Noah, floating safe amid the Deluge, in which all things else were overwhelmed, was an obvious symbol of the Church of Christ. Subsequently the Ark became a ship. St. Ambrose likens the Church of God to a ship, and the Cross to the mast set in the midst of it. ‘Arbor quædam in nari est crux in ecclesia.’ The Bark of St. Peter tossed in the storm, and by the Redeemer guided safe to land, was also considered as symbolical. These mingled associations combined to give to the emblem of the ship a sacred significance. Every one who has been at Rome will remember the famous mosaic of the ship tossed by the storms, and assailed by demons, called The Navicella, which was executed by Giotto for the old Basilica of St. Peter’s, and is now under the Portico, opposite to the principal door. I believe that in the pictures of St. Nicholas and St. Ursula the ship had originally a sacred and symbolical significance, and that the legends were afterwards invented or modified to explain the emblem, as in so many other instances.