HI. THE LEAF. 



only that others may come up in its place, and the tree 

 be always green. 



2. Now, you know, the fruit of the tree is either for the 

 continuance of its race, or for the good, or harm, of other 

 creatures. In no case is it a good to the tree itself. It is 

 not indeed, properly, a part of the tree at all, any more 

 than the egg is part of the bird, or the young of any crea- 

 ture part of the creature itself. But in the leaf is the 

 strength of the tree itself. Nay, rightly speaking, the 

 leaves are the tree itself. Its trunk sustains ; its fruit 

 burdens and exhausts ; but in the leaf it breathes and 

 lives. And thus also, in the eastern symbolism, the fruit 

 is the labour of men for others ; but the leaf is their own 

 life. " lie shall bring forth fruit, in his time ; and his 

 own joy and strength shall be continual." 



3. Notice next the word c folium.' In Greek, <j>v\\ov, 

 < phyllon.' 



" The thing that is born," or " put forth." " When the 

 branch is tender, and putteth forth her leaves, ye know 

 that summer is nigh." The botanists say, " The leaf is an 

 expansion of the bark of the stem." More accurately, the 

 bark is a contraction of the tissue of the leaf. For every 

 leaf is born out of the earth, and breathes out of the air ; 

 and there are many leaves that have no stems, but only 

 roots. It is < the springing thing ' ; this thin film of life ; 

 rising, with its edge out of the ground infinitely feeble, 

 infinitely fair. With Folium, in Latin, is rightly associ- 

 ated the word Flos ; for the flower is only a group of 



