MYSTIC PLANTS. 423 



set up a stone — the oak of Ophra under which the 

 angel sat that spoke with Gideon, the oak on which 

 Absolom hung, that under which Saul and his sons 

 were buried — all preceded the period when Isaiah 

 had to rebuke those who carved idols from oak, and 

 when Ezekiel proclaimed the wrath of Jehovah 

 against the idols standing under every thick oak."i 



The cypress, of which idols were carved, was 

 sacred as an evergreen. It received respect in Persia, 

 and amongst the American Indians it is recorded 

 that an aged cypress was held sacred and loaded 

 with offerings. In Greece the cypresses were the 

 daughters of Eteocles, hated by the goddesses they 

 rivalled. 



The myrtle has a sanctity that precedes that of 

 any Christian saint. It was the emblem of Mars, 

 and afterwards became the wreath of Aphrodite, 

 because, after rising from the sea, she was pursued 

 by satyrs and found refuge in a myrtle thicket. It 

 is still sacred in the east. The Jews gather it for 

 their feast of Tabernacles, and the Arabs say it is 

 one of the three things that Adam brought with him 

 out of Paradise. 



The ash, in northern mythology, was the " tree 

 of the universe." In Germany the linden, or lime, 

 was the tree of the resurrection. The fir and the 



' " Mystic Trees and Flowers," p. 592. 



