CLASS XXI. ORDER VI1I,] PINUS. 1225 
The simple savin on the altars smok’d, 
A laurel sprig the easy gods invok’d, 
And rich was he, whose votive wreath possess’d 
The lovely violet with sweet wild flowers dress’d.” 
It would be an interesting investigation to trace through the 
history of mankind, especially of the early races of men observing 
that in them there was always a feeling of dependance upon a 
superior being, and that they thought themselves to be deserving of 
punishments from their superiors, and they offered to them their 
oblations to purchase forgiveness from their evils, and these gifts at 
first we find are the simple fruits of the earth; but as men increased 
in wealth, so did the gifts which they presented even to the gods of 
their own creation. It would be out of place here to enter upon the 
question as to the founders of Greece being acquainted with the 
customs of the family and descendants of Abraham, and took with 
them a knowledge of the true God. We know that Cain and Abel 
made their offerings unto the Lord; and that Noah, after he had left 
the ark, “ builded an altar unto the Lord, and took of every clean 
beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the 
altar.” So that a traditional knowledge of these things may have 
been handed down to the descendants of Noah, though they forgot 
the true God, and sacrificed to idols, and offered to them those gifts 
and sweet smelling odours. In the Mosaic account full descriptions 
are given for the preparing the incense of sweet spices, which incense, 
we are told in the fifth of Revelations, is “ the prayers of the saints ;” 
and again in the 8th chapter and 3rd verse it is said, “ Another 
angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there 
was given unto him mueh incense, that he should offer it with the 
prayers of all saints upon the golden altar, which was before the 
throne. And the smoke of the incense which came with the prayers 
of the saints ascended up before God out of the angel’s hand. And 
the angel took the censer, and filled it with the fire of the altar, and 
cast it into the earth; and there were voices, and thunderings, and 
lightning, and an earthquake.” As the Priest of Pagan Rome used 
the fume cf frankincense for the gratification of their dumb gods, we 
are much reminded of these customs, in seeing incense as used by 
modern Romans in some of their ceremonies of the Christian worship. 
The Fir tree was dedicated to Bacchus, as well as the vine, ivy, 
&e., hence it is that we frequently see this Pagan god represented 
with a wand or thyrsus in his hand, having at the top of the stick 
or cone the fruit of the fir tree, and twisted round the stick a branch 
of ivy or vine, and in his hand a vessel of wine or bunch of grapes, 
all emblematic of the trees dedicated to him. It is the custom of the 
Greeks of the present day to flavour some of their wines by putting 
into it the cones of the Fir, and this practice they seem to derive from 
