attributed to St. Patrick the idea of
demonstrating a trinity in unity, by showing the _shamrock_ to his
hearers; but, says Dr. Inman, "like many other things attributed to the
moderns, the idea belongs to the ancients."[352:7]

The _Trefoil_ adorned the head of _Osiris_, the Egyptian Saviour, and is
to be found among the Pagan symbols or representations of the
_three-in-one_ mystery.[353:1] Fig. No. 32 is a representation of the
_Trefoil_ used by the ancient Hindoos as emblematic of their celestial
Triad--Brahma, Vishnu and Siva--and afterwards adopted by the
Christians.[353:2] The leaf of the _Vila_, or _Bel-tree_, is typical of
Siva's attributes, because _triple_ in form.[353:3]

The _Trefoil_ was a sacred plant among the ancient Druids of Britain. It
was to them an emblem of the mysterious _three in one_.[353:4] It is to
be seen on their _coins_.[353:5]

The _Tripod_ was very generally employed among the ancients as an emblem
of the _Trinity_, and is found composed in an endless variety of ways.
On the coins of Menecratia, in Phrygia, it is represented between two
asterisks, with a serpent wreathed around a battle-axe, inserted into
it, as an accessory symbol, signifying preservation and destruction. In
the ceremonial of worship, the number _three_ was employed with mystic
solemnity.[353:6]

[Illustration: Fig. No. 32]

The three lines, or three human legs, springing from a central disk or
circle, which has been called a _Trinacria_, and supposed to allude to
the island of Sicily, is simply an ancient emblem of the _Trinity_. "It
is of _Asiatic_ origin; its earliest appearance being upon the very
ancient coins of Aspendus in Pamphylia; sometimes alone in the square
incuse, and sometimes upon the body of an eagle or the back of a
lion."[353:7]

We have already seen, in the chapter on the _crucifixion_, that the
earliest emblems of the Christian Saviour were the "Good Shepherd" and
the "Lamb." Among these may also be mentioned the _Fish_. "The only
satisfactory explanation why Jesus should be represented as a _Fish_,"
says Mr. King, in his Gnostics and their Remains,[353:8] "seems to be
the circumstance that in the quaint jargon of the Talmud the Messiah is
often designated 'Dag,' or 'The Fish;'" and Mr. Lundy, in his
"Monumental Christianity," says:

"Next to the sacred monogram (the [Symbol: PX]) the _Fish_
takes its place in importance as a sign of Christ in his
special office of _Saviour_.