E. Cobham Brewer 1810–1897. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 1898.
Ambrose (St.),
represented in Christian art in the costume of a bishop. His attributes are (1) a bee-hive, in allusion to the legend that a swarm of bees settled on his mouth when lying in his cradle; (2) a scourge, by which he expelled the Arians from Italy.
1
The penance he inflicted on the Emperor Theodosius has been represented by Rubens, a copy of which, by Vandyck, is in the National Gallery
