FLORAL SYMBOLS. 
221 
form the delta of that river. It is a stately and 
majestic plant, of the Nymphrn tribe, and rises about 
two feet above the water, having a calyx like a large 
tulip, and diffusing an odour like that of the lily. The 
physical peculiarities in the growth of this plant rendered 
it an appropriate symbol in a worship of the most 
degrading and immoral character. 
The plant grows in the water, and the blossoms are 
produced amongst its broad ovate leaves. In the centre 
of the flower is formed the seed-vessel, which is pro¬ 
duced in the form of a bell or inverted cone, and punc¬ 
tuated on the top with little cavities or cells, in which the 
seeds grow. The seeds, when ripe, are prevented from 
escaping, in consequence of the orifices of the cells being 
too small, and so they germinate in the places where 
they ripen, and shoot forth into new plants, until 
they acquire such a degree of magnitude, as to burst the 
matrices open and release themselves; after which, like 
other aquatic plants, they take root where the current 
chances to deposit them. This apparently self-produc¬ 
tive plant became the representative of the reproductive 
agencies of nature, and was worshipped as a symbol of 
the All-Creative-Power—the spirit which “ moved upon 
the face of the waters,” and which gave life and organi¬ 
zation to matter. We find the same symbol occurring 
in every part of the Northern hemisphere where sym¬ 
bolic religion has prevailed. The sacred images of 
the Tartars, Japanese, and Indians are almost all repre¬ 
sented as resting upon the lotos leaves. The Chinese 
divinity, Puzza, is seated on a lotos, and the Japanese 
god is represented sitting on a water-lily. The flatterers 
