XVI 



THE FLOWERS OF THE DIVINITY 



The only growing thing which is used to repre- 

 sent the Trinity in Unity is the trefoil or sham- 

 rock. Saint Patrick is said to have plucked 

 from the ground a leaf of shamrock and by it 

 illustrated to the heathen Irish the mystery of 

 the Triune Godhead. Architectural details, and 

 more especially windows, based upon the trefoil's 

 form, are common in Gothic churches. In 

 pictorial art it is rather unusual as an emblem, 

 but Michael Angelo, who so rarely used sym- 

 bolical detail, paints the triple-leaved plant 

 and no other leaf or flower in the foreground 

 of his Holy Family.' 



But though the trefoil is the only direct 

 floral emblem of the Trinity, distinct reference 

 to it is often found in the triple grouping of the 

 flowers which are the attributes of the Saviour. 

 For instance, the three carnations of divine love 



1 Uffizi. 



191 



