ASH. 81 



his arrows either by gas or steam, or some 

 celestial invention that has not yet been com- 

 municated to us mortals. 



Tradition has handed down to us an alle- 

 gory, which we relate, not only to show that 

 the ash was esteemed a sacred tree, but be- 

 cause we recognize in this fable of the 

 heathens, a disfigured, but very striking ana- 

 logy to the tree of knowledge of good and 

 evil, which proves that the heathens of the 

 earliest days formed the same idea of an 

 Omnipotent Being, and of good and evil, 

 as is expressed by the Hebrew writers. This 

 figurative fable, which is from the Edda, 

 states, that the court of the Gods is held 

 beneath a miraculous ash, whose branches 

 cover the surface of the world, and whose 

 summit touches the heavens ; whilst its roots 

 descend to the regions of Pluto. An eagle 

 constantly reposes on the tree to observe 

 every thing, whilst a squirrel ascends and de- 

 scends incessantly to make report. Serpents 

 are twined around the trunk ; beneath one of 

 its roots runs a limpid fountain, where wisdom 

 is concealed : it communicates with a neigh- 

 bouring stream, in which is found the know- 

 ledge of things to come. 



This ingenious idea signifies that wisdom 

 knows how to profit for the future by 



VOL. I. G 



