"That is subtle, with a vengeance!" "Less so than Durand de Mende when he speaks of the snuffers," replied the Abbe; "after that, we will kick away that ladder. "The snuffers for trimming the lamps are, he asserts, 'the divine words off which we cut the letter of the law, and by so doing reveal the Spirit which giveth light.' And he adds, 'the pots in which the snuff is extinguished are the hearts of the faithful who observe the law literally.'" "It is the very madness of Symbolism!" cried Durtal. "At least, it is a too curious excess of it; but if this interpretation of the snuffers is certainly grotesque, if even the theory of the censer seems beaten somewhat thin on the whole, you must admit that it is fascinating and exact so far as it is applied to the chain which lifts the upper part of the vessel in a cloud of fragrance, and thus symbolizes the ascent of Our Lord into Heaven. "That certain exaggerations should creep in through this use of parables was difficult to prevent; but, on the other hand, what marvels of analogy, and what purely mystical notions are revealed through the meanings given by the liturgy to certain objects used in the services. "To the tapers, for instance, when Pierre d'Esquilin explains the purport of the three component parts: the wax, which is the spotless Body of the Saviour born of a Virgin; the wick, which, enclosed in the wax, is His most Holy Soul hidden in the veil of the flesh; and the light, which is emblematic of His Godhead. "Or, again, take the substances used by the Church in certain ceremonies: water, wine, ashes, salt, oil, balsam, incense. Incense, besides representing the divinity of the Son, is likewise the symbol of prayer, '_thus devotio orationis_' as it is described by Raban Maur, Archbishop of Mayence in the ninth century. I happen to remember also, _a propos_ of this resin and the censer in which it is burnt, a verse I read long since in the 'Monastic Distinctions' of the anonymous English writer of the thirteenth century, which sums up their signification more neatly than I can: '_vas notatur, Mens pia; thure preces; igne supernus amor._' The vase is the spirit of piety; the incense, prayer; the fire, divine love. "As to water, wine, ashes, and salt, they are used in compounding a precious ointment used by the bishop when consecrating a church. They are mingled to sign the altar with the cross, and to sprinkle the aisles: the water and wine symbolize the two natures united in Our Lord; the salt is divine wisdom; the ashes are in memory of His Passion. "Balsam, as you know, is emblematical of virtue and good repute, and is combined with oil, signifying peace and wisdom, to compose the sacramental ointment.