CONCLUSIONS. 



The conclusions I have come to from studying the 

 foregoing points connected with Assyrian history are 

 the following : — 



(«) That they had a number of common and very 

 useful trees. Their usefulness, both for economic and re- 

 ligious purposes, was the main factor of their sacredness. 

 The date tree was their great stand-by— their ' tree of 

 life.' The cedar tree was their sacred tree by nobility, 

 for it was traditionally the tree at the gates of the 

 house, or seat of their gods. That the ' arbre de vie ' 

 may also have had its origin from the tree that pro- 

 duced the 'eau-de-vie,' or some other drug, that gave 

 nezv life to those who partook of it. That some of 

 their sacred trees may have been mere emblems of their 

 ' food and drink.' ^ 



[b) That the horns on their sacred trees had an im- 

 portant meaning. They were symbols of power against 

 the 'evil eye' and 'evil spirits;' and that they were 

 originally things seen everywhere, as charms of 'good 

 luck ; ' that eventually, through artistic imaginings and 

 necessities of art, horns, often represented by a simple 

 bident, were symbolized into a ' fleur-de-lys,' a trident, 



' Vide end of sacred trees. 



