474 pFant Isore, "begc^/, anil "bijric/. 



been destroyed. The Athenians punished with great severity those 

 who damaged their venerated Olive, which to them appears to 

 have been emblematic of peace. It indicated liberty, hope, chastity, 

 pity, and supplication; and special directions for the mode of 

 planting the sacred tree had place among the institutes of Solon, 

 Pliny asserts that the identical Olive-tree, called up by Minerva, 



was standing in his time. The Olive is frequently mentioned in 



the Bible, both in a literal and figurative manner. The dove sent 

 forth by Noah from the Ark, brought back an Olive-leaf (probably 

 from Assyria, a country famous for Olive-trees), which the bird 

 probably seledted because the leaves would continue green beneath 

 the water. As an emblem of peace, a garland of Olive was given 

 to Judith when she restored peace to the Israelities by the death 

 of Holofernes. The tree is still with the Jew the emblem of peace 

 and plenty, with an added significance of holiness ; and the asso- 

 ciation of it with the last days of Christ has made it also sacred 



to sorrow. As an emblem of peace and reconciliation, the Olive 



is figured on the tombs of the early martyrs. As the attribute of 

 peace, it is borne by the angel Gabriel, and St. Agnes, and St. 

 Pantaleon. By Romanists the Olive is deemed a fitting emblem 

 of the Virgin Mary, as the mother of Christ, who brought peace 



on earth, and who was the Prince of Peace. In regard to the 



Olive-trees of the Garden of Gethsemane, eight of which are still 

 stated to exist, Dean Stanley says: " In spite of all the doubts that 

 can be raised against their antiquity, or the genuineness of their 

 site, the eight aged Olive-trees, if only by their manifest difference 

 from all others on the mountain, have always struck even the 

 most indifferent observers. They are now, indeed, less striking in 

 the modern garden enclosure, built round them by the Franciscans, 

 than when they stood free and unprotected on the rough hillside; 

 but they will remain so long as their already protradted life is 

 spared, the most venerable of their race on the surface of the 

 earth. Their gnarled trunks and scanty foliage will always be 

 regarded as the most affedting of the sacred memorials in or 



about Jerusalem." According to the Jewish legend of Abi- 



melech, the trees, once upon a time, desiring a king, addressed 

 themselves first of all to the Olive, who refused the honours of 

 royalty. The trees next in turn invited the Fig, the Vine, and 

 other trees to become their monarch, but they all declined. At 



last the crown was offered to the Oak, who accepted it. 



Grecian mythologists relate that the club of Hercules, which was 

 made of Olive-wood, took root, and became a tree. In the 

 Olympic games, instituted by Hercules, the victor was rewarded 

 with a crown of Olive. The club of Polyphemus was the green 



trunk of an Olive-tree. The caps of the priests of Jupiter 



were surmounted with a twig of Olive. The Olympian Jove is 

 represented as wearing a wreath of Olives. Herodotus recounts 

 that Xerxes, before his Grecian expedition, dreamed that he was 



