XXII 
THE CEDAR. 
Cepar.—Abies Cedrus (Lindley) ; Cedrus Libani (Barrelier). 
—tThe cedar of Lebanon is an evergreen tree, indigenous to 
Mount Lebanon in Syria, and to Mount Atlas in the north 
of Africa. It is the most magnificent and picturesque of the 
Conifers, or cone-bearing tribe. When allowed sufficient 
space, it is more remarkable for the size of its bole and the 
enormous expanse and number of its branches than for its 
height. The elegance and grandeur of its appearance are fre- 
quently extolled in sacred history beyond that of any other 
tree. In the poetical style of the Hebrew prophets, it is used 
to symbolize the spiritual prosperity of the righteous; and 
whatever was beautiful and comely in the human countenance, 
or commanded the admiration and respect of the beholder, 
whatever was fearful even in the execution of the judgments 
of Heaven, or peaceful and prosperous in the fulfilment of its 
prophecies, found a striking similitude in Lebanon and its 
cedars. 
Some suppose, from the soft wood yielded by the cedar 
when grown in this country, that the cypress, or some other 
tree, must have produced the timber of Biblical times; but 
none else indigenous to Syria is found to suit the habit and 
character described by Ezekiel; and its failure, under the un- 
natural circumstances of climate in which it is placed here, is 
not extraordinary, for others of the Conifer, such as the 
Highland Scotch pine, are known to degenerate the more in 
the quality of their timber the oftener they are propagated in 
an unsuitable clime, at a distance from their native country. 
The modern history of Lebanon and its cedars is ample. 
