pPant Isore, TsecjeT^ti/, anel "''Di^rie/. 467 



who before had prostrated themselves before the trees, shunned 

 tliem in superstitious dread and terror. 



The ancient Britons dedicated the Oak to Taranis, their god 

 of thunder; and the CeUs, under the form of an Oak, are by some 

 authorities stated to have worshipped Baal, the god of fire. On 

 the occasion of an auto-da-fe, we are told that fagots of " grey " 

 Oak were always sele(5ted. The festival of Baal was kept at Yule 

 (Christmas) ; and on the anniversary, the Druids are said to have 

 ordained that every fire should be extinguished, and then re-lighted 

 with the sacred fire, which, in their sacerdotal characfter, they always 

 kept burning. In this rite, it is supposed, ma}' be traced the origin 

 of the Yule-log, the kindling of which, at Christmas-time, is still 

 kept up m England, though in this country the log is often of Ash. 

 Among the Germans, Czechs, Serbs, and Italians, however, the 

 Yule-log is always of Oak. 



The Mistletoe which grew on an Oak was regarded by the 

 Druids as the most holy; it was beneath the shade of venerated 

 Oaks that they performed their sacred rites ; and when they offered 

 up human sacrifices, the victims, in grim mockery, were crowned 

 with Oak-leaves. The baskets in which they were immolated were 

 composed of Oaken twigs, and the brands with which the sacrificial 

 fires were kindled were cut from Oak-trees. The priests scat- 

 tered branches of the Oak upon the altars, and after the sacrifice 

 fresh Oak-leaves were cast upon the blood-stained stones. 



Alluding to the human sacrifices which polluted the recesses of 

 the Druidic groves of Oak, and caused them to be regarded 

 with shuddering terror, Tighe says : — 



" Such groves in night terrific wrapt the gods 

 Of Gaul, where fostering nymph dared never tread, 

 Nor sylvan deity; no bird here couched 

 Her wing; no bea->t here slumbered in his lair ; 

 No zephyr woke the silence of the boughs ; 

 Alone at eve the trembling Druid sought 

 The mystic oracle ; alone entranced 

 Amid the sanctuary stood, whose foul 

 Expanse in horrors veiled a dreaded god " 



When an Oak died, the Druids stripped off" its bark, and 

 shaped it reverently into the form of a pillar, a pyramid, or a 

 cross, and still continued to worship it as an emblem of their god. 

 In Anglesea, the ancient Mona, are still dug up great trunks of 

 Oak, relics of the Druids' holy groves. The central Oak was the 

 peculiar obje(ft of veneration. The poet relates how men of old, 



"When through the woods the Northern blast 

 Howled harsh appeased with horrid cries and blood 

 The Scythian Taranis ; or bowed around 

 The central Oak of Mona's dismal shade " 



The Druids it is believed revered the form of the cross. It is 

 stated to have been their custom to seek studiously for a large and 

 handsome Oak-tree, growing up with two principal arms in the 



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