iiS FLORA OF THE 



ways of expressing the sacred tree. In many cases they 

 seem to have rather suggested the idea of the thing, as 

 children might do, rather than tried to give an accurate 

 dehneation of it. 



It is curious to note that a cylinder in the British 

 Museum has a date tree with a seated figure on each 

 side. One of the figures has a serpent behind the chair. 

 Those who hold that this cylinder has some connection 

 with the legend of Adam and Eve ^ unconsciously declare 

 that the date tree was a sacred tree from the beginning 

 of the world ! And more curious still would the fact 

 be that Adam, by being horned, would seem to declare 

 his relationship to the lower animals — an adumbration 

 perhaps of the Darwinian theory ! Anyhow, the declara- 

 tion that horns played an important part in the mythical 

 thoughts of those ancient people seems beyond dispute. 

 They are seen everywhere — on the heads of their 

 mythical personages, on the helmets of their genii and 

 Kings, on their sacred trees, in their decorative art. 



There are several other points in Mr. Goodyear's 

 ' Grammar,' to which exception might be taken. It is 

 curious to note how biassed he seems to be in favour 

 of the lotus-origin of everything. For instance, in 

 pi. 25, fig. 2, he gives a "lotus palmette and bicd." 

 The bud is a miniature reproduction of that shown in 



^ M. J. Menant (Pierres gravees) rejects this interpretation of the so-called 

 Adam and Eve cylinder. 



