192 



FLORA OF THE 



in the hands of other kings, the trident in the hand 

 of Neptune, the triple wavy horns in the hand of 

 Jupiter, and so on, all synonyvioiis forms of the same 

 thing. 



It is no wonder that Moses, after going up to the 

 mountain and conversing with the Deity, is said to 

 have come back with horns on his head — they were 

 of the greatest mystic importance. 



Fig. 94 shows a date tree with a 

 handle. I do not think it leaves us in 

 much doubt what the parentage of 

 the ' ankh ' or ' key of life ' (fig. 93, m) 

 has been, A tree is a rather cum- 

 \?ai?die7 from pL 27! brous thing to put into the hand of a 



fig. 7, Lajard's 



'Cuite de Mithra.' small Cylinder figure, and so it even- 

 tually got evolved degradatio)iaUy into 

 this simple emblem — the ' key of life,' which is frequently 

 delineated on cylinders. 



I think we may put down in a general way this 

 degradation to the necessities of the engraver's art, 

 viz. small space, hardness of the material, rudeness 

 of tools, and not improbably often the incapacity of 

 beginners, for there are degrees of elaboration and 

 finish in these relics. 



There is some suspicion that the cross itself may 

 have been a symbol much more ancient than the 

 T-shaped scaffold on which Christ is said to have 



