304 pfaat Tsore, Tsegel^/, anil Tsijric/*, 



Maundrell speaks of a Greek convent, about half an hour's distance 

 from Jerusalem, where they showed him a hole in the ground under 

 the high altar, where the stump of the tree stood. Sir John Maun- 

 devile also says that the spot where the tree grew at Jerusalem was 

 pointed out to him ; the wood, he states, formed a bridge over the 



brook Cedron. Some versions of the legend of the wood of the 



Cross state it was made of Cypress, Cedar, Pine, and Box : one 

 names Cypress for the body. Palm for the hands, Cedar for the 



support of the feet, and Olive for the superscription. Another 



version states that the cross beam was of Cypress ; the upright 

 beam of" immortal Cedar ;" the title of Olive ; and the foot-rest of 

 Palm : hence the line — 



*^ Ligna crucis Palma, Cedrus, Cupressus, Oliva." 



In all countries, and from the earliest times, the Cypress has been 

 deemed the emblem of woe. Gerarde tells us, that it had . the 

 reputation of being deadly, and that its shadow was unfortunate. 

 Horace, Virgil, and Ovid all refer to it as a tree both gloomy and 

 funereal. By the Greeks and Romans alike, the "sad" tree was 

 consecrated to Pluto and Proserpine, as well as to the Fates and 

 the Furies. The Greeks crowned with Cypress their tragic Muse 

 Melpomene, and it became an accompaniment of Venus in the 

 annual processions in which she was supposed to lament over 



Adonis. The ancients planted the Cypress around graves, and 



in the event of a death, placed it either before the house or in the 

 vestibule, so that no one about to perform a sacred rite might enter 

 a place polluted with a dead body. The Cypress was probably 

 selected for this purpose because of the belief that, when once cut 



down, it never springs up again. -But, in connecftion with its 



funereal associations, the Cypress has always been highly esteemed 

 as an undying tree, ever verdant, flourishing [Cupressus sempevvinns) 

 and odorous, and a tree of which the wood, like the Cedar, is 

 incorruptible. Theophrastus attributes great honour to the tree, 

 and points out how the roofs of old temples became famous by 

 reason of its wood, and that the timber of which the rafters were 

 made was deemed everlasting, because it was unhurt by rotting, 

 moth, worm, or corruption. Martial describes the Cypress as 

 deathless. Gerarde identifies it with the Thya of Pliny and Homer: 

 " He showeth that this is burned among the sweet smells which 



Circe was much delighted withall The verse is extant 



in the fifth booke of Odysses, where he mentioneth that Mercurie, 

 by Jupiter's commandment, went to Calypsus' den, and that he 

 did smell the burnt trees, Thya and Cedrus, a great way off." 

 Theocritus and Virgil both allude to the fragrance of the Cypress-, 

 and on account of the balsamic scent of its timber, chips of it 

 were sometimes employed to flavour wine with. The Athenians 

 buried their heroes in coffins of this wood, and the Egyptians made of 

 it those apparently indestructible chests that contain the mummies 



