[Sidenote: Fleur-de-lys.] The FLEUR-DE-LYS is considered the conventional form of the lily, and was in the Middle Ages adopted as the emblem of the Blessed Virgin. Some see in the Mother of our Lord a type of the Church _on earth_--see St. Matt. xii. 49, 50--which gives her emblem a much enlarged significance. [Sidenote: Passion-flower.] The PASSION-FLOWER presents in itself a crowd of emblems, suggestive of the most solemn thoughts, on which we can hardly dwell with sufficient reverence. The _Passiflora cærulea_ (common blue Passion-flower) is thus described:--It was discovered in the Brazils, and its wonders were soon proclaimed to Christendom as representing the Passion of our Lord, whence its present appellation. Its leaves are said exactly to resemble the spear that pierced our Saviour's side, while the five points remind us of the five wounds which He endured; the tendrils, the cords that bound, or the whips that scourged, Him; the ten petals, the Apostles, Judas having betrayed, and Peter denied, Him; the pillar in the centre was the cross or tree; the stamens, the hammers; the styles, the nails; the inner circle about the central pillar, the crown of thorns; the radiance, the glory; the white tint, the emblem of purity; and the blue, the type of heaven. On one of the species, the _Passiflora alata_, red spots are seen on the cross or tree. The flower keeps open three days, and then disappears, denoting the resurrection. As a whole, the passion-flower is an emblem of faith. [Sidenote: Pomegranate.] The POMEGRANATE, bursting open, and the seeds visible, was considered (in early art) as an emblem of the future--of hope in immortality. [Sidenote: Phœnix.] The PHŒNIX is an ancient symbol of immortality. [Sidenote: Palm.] The PALM is the well-known symbol of victory after suffering, and of heavenly bliss. Mrs. Jameson remarks that it was the ancient classical symbol of victory and triumph, and was early assumed by the Christians as the universal symbol of martyrdom. [Sidenote: Olive Branch.] The OLIVE BRANCH and the palm were very early emblems of immortality. [Sidenote: Crown.] The CROWN is a Scriptural emblem of the Church. "Thou shalt also be a crown of glory in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God". (Isa. lxii. 3. See also Zech. ix. 16.) This symbol, placed above the initial letter of a Holy Name, gives it a beautiful and marked significance.[19] It may be appropriately blended with the cross; also with the palm and the lily. [19] A crown having the points surmounted by stars, is called in heraldry the "crown celestial." The emblems of the four Evangelists are these:--St. Matthew, a winged man (_not_ an angel); St. Mark, a winged lion; St. Luke, a winged ox, or calf; St. John, an eagle. These symbols are taken from the vision of Ezekiel, and from that of St. John in the Revelation.[20]