114 FLORAL SYMBOLISM 



soul of the deceased that it has departed in the 

 peace of God and of his Church/ 



Tertullian refers, of course, to the dove sent 

 forth by Noah which returned across the waters, 

 and ' Lo ! in her mouth was an oHve leaf plucked 

 off,' sign that the wrath of God was appeased. 

 The dove, bearing the twig of olive, executed 

 in coloured marbles, occurs repeatedly in the 

 decoration of Saint Peter's. Here the dove repre- 

 sents the Church bearing the Gospel message of 

 peace to the world. The same emblem is found 

 in the decoration of St John Lateran, and Pope 

 Innocent X. incorporated it with his coat of arms. 



The olive naturally appears as an attribute 

 in allegorical figures of Peace. One of the 

 earhest and most famous of these figures is in 

 Ambrogio Lorenzetti's great fresco entitled 

 ' Good Government.' ^ The golden-haired Peace, 

 who wears a white robe, is crowned with olive, 

 and carries an olive branch in her hand. She 

 has a beauty of her own, but compared with the 

 more virile figures in the composition. Fortitude, 

 Prudence, Temperance and Justice, she is a 



' Northcote and Brownlow, Roma Sotierana, 

 ^ Palazzo Pubblico, Siena. 



