THE VIOLET. 



With the exception of the rose, no 

 other plant is so widely distributed and 

 at the same time so universally admired 

 as the Violet. Not alone is it esteemed 

 because of its beauty and fragrance, but 

 a wealth of romance, of historical asso- 

 ciations and mythical lore have clustered 

 around the purple blossoms, endearing 

 them to the poet and scientist alike. 



The Violet was formally baptized with 

 the ancient Latin name Viola in 1737. 

 Since that time, by some strange over- 

 sight, botanists have allowed the name 

 to remain unchanged. Two hundred 

 and fifty species of the Violet have been 

 described, although a more careful study 

 of the genus has reduced the number 

 to one hundred or more species. Three- 

 fourths of these forms are found in the 

 temperate Northern Hemisphere and the 

 balance in the Southern. Under these 

 diverse conditions of growth the plants 

 assume many seemingly unnatural char- 

 acteristics. Thus, in Brazil a species of 

 Violet is eaten like spinach, while others 

 found in Peru are violent purgatives. 

 Among certain Gaelic tribes the plants 

 are highly esteemed as a cosmetic, and 

 the ancients largely used the flowers to 

 flavor wines. 



Whatever other attributes a plant may 

 possess, it is predestined in large meas- 

 ure to waste its fragrance on the desert 

 air, unless it catches the fancy of the 

 minstrel or tips the bolts that fly from 

 Cupid's bow. In fact, the Violets were 

 originally white, until they were acci- 

 dentally struck by Cupid's dart, which 

 was hurled at Diana, and since then the 

 petals have been ''purple with love's 

 wounds." Hence Shakespeare calls the 

 Violet "Cupid's flower of purple dye." 

 Another reason for the change from 

 white to purple is found in the jealousy 

 of Venus, who, envious of Cupid's ad- 

 miration of the purity of the flowers, 

 changed them all to blue. 



The Greek myth, however, would cer- 

 tainly not be content if it could not more 

 fully account for the origin of the Vio- 

 let, and so it appears from the classic 



legend that lanthea, the most beautiful 

 of Diana's nymphs, while dancing in the 

 woodlands, was pursued by the sun god, 

 and in order to save her favorite the 

 immortal huntress changed her into a 

 Violet. The name Ion was given to the 

 plants by the Greeks after the nymphs of 

 Ionia presented the flowers to Jupiter. 

 The Thunderer evidently saw something 

 more than a mere blossom in the daintv 

 flowers, for it appears that the Violet 

 became a beautiful priestess in Juno's 

 temple, known as lo. In order to pro- 

 tect her from the jealousy of his con- 

 sort, Jupiter was forced to change the 

 young goddess into a heifer, and when- 

 ever she lowers her head to feed, the 

 white violet springs from her perfumed 

 breath as it comes in contact with the 

 soil. 



Among the ancients the Violet was the 

 flower of honor. It was the sacred 

 flower of the Acropolis, and the "Athe- 

 nian crowned with Violets" was a dis- 

 tinction much sought after. Pindar 

 writes of "Violet-crowned Athens," and 

 in the "Cyprea" it is said that Violets 

 were among the perfumes employed by 

 Venus to win from Paris the prize of 

 beauty. 



No less esteemed were the purple blos- 

 soms among the more rugged people of 

 the North, for a Saxon legend tells how 

 Czernebogh, god of the Vandals, lived 

 with his beautiful daughter in a statelv 

 castle. When Christianity swept through 

 Saxony, destroying all evidences of the 

 heathen faiths, the god and his castle 

 were turned into rocks, and the lovely 

 daughter became a Violet, nestling among 

 the crags. Whoever is fortunate enough 

 to discover the hidden flower will restore 

 the maiden and the castle to their original 

 form and may claim this Saxon Flora 

 as his bride. 



In Norse mythology the Violet is 

 called Tyr's flower, and this is the first 

 instance in which the modest plant be- 

 came disassociated from the realm of 

 love and assumed the guise of war. Tyr's 

 violet mantle, however, in later years, 



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