256 FLORAL SYMBOLISM 



paints it with the rose, the iris, the columbine and 

 other attributes of the Virgin; Hans Holbein ^ 

 the Younger sets his Saint Ursula against a 

 fig-tree; and it is the only growing thing in- 

 troduced in his best-known work, the beautiful 

 Madonna of the Biirgomeister Meyer." 



These fig-trees, unlike the barren fig-tree of 

 Scripture, always bear fruit and appear to be 

 the symbols of a holy life rich with the fruits of 

 the Spirit. 



1 Kunsthalle, Karlsruhe. ' Royal Gallery, Dresden. 



