THE ROSE. 221 



interprets to mean the flower, pre-eminently, of 

 flowers, or holy of holies, resembling thus, he says, 

 his own the Roman Church. This golden rose 

 is afterwards given by the Pope to some potentate 

 whom he wishes to favour or propitiate. 



I will not enter into the mysteries of the Rosi- 

 crucian philosophy, or even into the symbolical 

 meanings of the rosy cross, the origin of which is 

 involved in so much doubt ; but will pass on to the 

 singular fact that one of the female deities of those 

 truest lovers of flowers, the ancient Mexicans, was 

 called Sochiquetzal, that is, the lifting up of roses. 

 This is the goddess in whom the Spaniards con- 

 sidered that they found the representative parallel 

 of the Virgin Mary. Amongst the same people, 

 the " mother of all living" was said to have com- 

 mitted the first sin by eating roses.* 



It is not astonishing that so beautiful a flower 

 should, in all ages, have been the favourite of the 

 poet, and the subject of so many graceful allusions 

 and glowing metaphors; there appears to be no 

 beautiful thing upon the earth which has not, at 

 some time been likened to the rose. It has been 

 called by Sappho : 



" Sweetest child of weeping morning, 

 Gem, the breast of earth adorning, 

 Eye of flowerets, glow of lawns, 

 Bud of beauty, nursed by dawns." 



Anacreon alludes to the quality by which, 



* " When at length, in pale decline 

 Its florid beauties fade and die ; 



* See " Antiquities of Mexico" quoted by Soane. 



