indeed, his elucidation becomes somewhat thin and fine-drawn.

"If there are four chains, he says, they represent the four cardinal
virtues of the Lord, and the chain by which the cover is lifted from the
vessel answers to the Soul of Christ quitting His Body. If, on the other
hand, there are but three chains, it is because the Person of the
Saviour includes three elements: a human organism, a soul, and the
Godhead of the Word. And Honorius adds: 'the ring through which the
chains run represents the Infinite in which all these things are
included.'"

"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