104 FLORA OF THE 



head of a date-palm. Nor can we shut our eyes to 

 the fact that their sacred trees are decorated with 

 horns, which admit of no equivocation, when compared 

 with the horns on the heads of their ibex and ram. 

 Moreover, they had in the flower of their composite 

 Hieracitim pannositui} a rosette, which is in no way 

 inferior to the stigma of the lotus. 



We know also that the Assyrians were acquainted 

 with the lovely Madonna lily, 

 represented on a sculpture in the 

 British Museum (basement). The 

 flower of this in outline is shown 



in fig. 41. Possiblv, if Mr. Good- F'G. 41.— Lily flower, base- 

 ment British Museum (see 



year had not been aware that it tf^ ^°''7 ^""^"'T '^'° 



J !?phmxes, pi. 32, rig. 12, 



, ,., . . , , ' Grammar of the Lotus'). 



was meant for a lily, he might 

 look upon it as a lotus. - 



Then in fig. 60, p. no, he gives what he considers 

 an ' Assyrian palmette with a lotus bulb,' which I re- 

 produce in fig. 42, and he adds in note 3, that " the 

 lotus bulb has been mistaken for a pomegranate. 



Here I think it would be well to enter into a little 

 botanical disquisition. Both the palmette and bulb of 



^ See fig. 14. 



^ vSee pi. 32, fig. 12, 'Grammar of the Lotus,' and pi. 33, fig. 12, with 

 Sphinxes standing on lotuses ; but suppose we call the latter Assyrian lilies 

 instead ? I know that the supposed date of a document, or a sculpture, or an 

 ornament, has a good deal to do with its interpretation one way or another ; 

 but, in the study of these ancient histories, we often have to say, with palaeon- 

 tologists, that the 'record is incomplete.' Who would have thought that at 

 Tel-el-Amarna, in Egypt, there was buried a whole Assyrian library ? 



