If you wish to unlock the realms of 

 poetry and romance you must turn to 

 that famous lily of the East, the sacred 

 Lily of the Nile, the lotus. There is 

 hardly a tale in Oriental mythology 

 where it has not a place. Buddha is 

 called " The White Lotus of the Good 

 Law " and is always shown holding a 

 lily in each hand. In Egypt this flower 

 was represented as the throne of Osjris,, 

 the god of day. 



The true Egyptian lotus is either blue 

 or white ; the pink variety was brought 

 to Egypt in Roman times, and does not 

 now grow there wild. It is a native 

 of southeastern Asia, and was culti- 

 vated in Egypt for food. The roots of 

 the blue lotus are also edible, and this 

 fact is said to have been made known 

 by Isis to her worshippers. The buds 

 and flowers of this species are often 

 depicted on monuments as early as 

 three thousand years before Christ. 

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