Ofant "bore, Isec^e^f, and 'bijric/', 421 



because it is unsullied by the muddy waters in which it often 

 grows : with the flowers of the Mother-wort it is borne aloft in 



vases before the body in funeral processions. The Chinese make 



the Lotus typical of female beauty: their god Puzza is always 



represented as seated upon the leaves of the plant. The Lotus 



is stated to be held sacred by the Egyptians because it conceals 

 the secret of the gods; from the throne of Osiris, Isis, and Nephthys, 

 it rises in the midst of the waters, bearing on the margin of its 

 blossom the four genii. It is the " Bride of the Nile," covering the 

 surface of the mighty river, as it rises, with its fragrant white 

 blossom. Like the Indians, the ancient Egyptians represented the 

 creation of the world under the form of a Nymphaeathat floated on the 

 surface of the waters. The Lotus was consecrated by the Egyptians 

 to the Sun, and the dawn of day was figured by them as a youth 

 seated upon a flower of the Nymphsea. The god Osiris (the Egyptian 

 Phcebus) is represented as having his head decorated with the sacred 

 Lotus. Oblations of flowers were common among the offerings of the 

 Egyptians to their gods. A papyrus in the British Museum (lent 

 by the Prince of Wales) represents the altar of the god Re or Ra 

 piled up with Lotus-blossoms and other offerings. Upon approach- 

 ing a place of worship, the ancient Egyptian always held the 

 flower of the Lotus or Agrostis in his hand. A single flower was 

 sometimes deemed a suitable oblation, or a bouquet of the Lotus 



or Papyrus, carefully arranged in a prescribed form, was off^ered. 



The Lotus typified Upper Egypt ; the Papyrus, Lower Egypt. In 

 the British Museum are several Egyptian statues with sceptres of 

 the Lotus; and a mummy with crossed arms, holding in each hand 

 a Lotus-flower. In the mummies of females the Lotus is found, 

 placed there probably to typify regeneration or purification. A 

 bust of Isis emerging from a Lotus-flower has often been mistaken 



for Clytie changing into a Sunflower. The Egyptians cultivated 



three species of Nymphaeaceae — the Nyviphcca ceyulea, or blue-flowered 

 Lotus ; the Nympha-a Lotus, a white-flowered variety, which still 

 grows profusely in Lower Egypt, and which is the flower repre- 

 sented in the mosaic pavement at Praeneste; and, lastly, the Nelum- 

 bium speciosum, or Sacred Bean — the " Rose Lily " of Herodotus — 

 the true Lotus of the Egyptians, whose blossoms are of a brilliant 

 red colour, and hang over broad peltated leaves : its fruit is formed 

 of many valves, each containing a Nut about the size of a Filbert^ 

 with a taste more delicate than that of the Almond. It has been 

 thought that the use of the seeds in making bread, and the mode 

 of sowing them, by enclosing each seed in a ball of clay, and throw- 

 ing it into the water, may be alluded to in the text, " Cast thy bread 

 upon the waters, for thou shalt find it after many days." The 

 Nclumbo maintains its sacred character in Africa, India, China, 

 Japan, Persia, and Asiatic Russia; it has, however, disappeared 



from Egypt. The Arabians call the Lotus, Nuphar; and the 



Syrians regard it as a symbol of the cradle of Moses, and typify, 



