130 FLORAL SYMBOLISM 



which are the symbols of sin and things evil. 

 There is the poisonous hemlock, the ivy which 

 kills the tree that it embraces, thorns denoting 

 the lesser sins, and the brambles which are the 

 emblems of the greater ones. According to 

 Raban Maur the bramble is also an emblem of 

 the riches which destroy the soul. 



In several modern pictures of ' The Good 

 Shepherd ' Christ is depicted as rescuing a lamb 

 caught by its wool in the briars of the wilderness. 

 The lamb, of course, is the emblem of an erring 

 soul, and the briars represent those sins which 

 hold it back from answering the Shepherd's 

 call. 



In connection with the saints, the Crown 

 of Thorns is not used symbohcally, except when 

 placed upon the head of Saint Catharine of 

 Siena," to indicate her austerities. According 

 to the legend, Christ in a vision offered her a 

 crown of roses or a crown of thorns and she chose 

 the thorns. When it is carried by Saint Louis 

 of France it is to recall the fact that it was he 

 who brought to France, as her most precious 

 relic, the Holy Crown itself. 



^ Sassoferrato, Church of S. Sabina, Rome. 



