Lotus. 
(E'LOQUENCE.) 
“The lotus-flower, whose leaves I now 
Kiss silently, 
Far more than words can tell thee, how 
I worship thee 1 ” 
Moore. 
O F the various flowers dedicated to religious purposes by 
the nations of antiquity, none occupy a more promi¬ 
nent position than the Lotus , a species of water-lily. Its 
sacred blossom was deemed emblematical of mystery by the 
symbol worshippers of China, India, and Egypt, and, as a 
natural consequence, was frequently used for architectural 
adornment by their priests, who always found it advantageous 
to enshroud the performance of their religious rites under an 
impenetrable veil of symbolism and secrecy. The Egyptians 
moreover consecrated the flower of the lotus to the sun, their 
God of Eloquence, and represented the dawn of day by a 
youth seated upon its blossom. Herodotus and Theophrastus 
bear testimony to the high antiquity of the Egyptian reverence 
for this lily, and M. Savary assures us that, even at the present 
day, the degenerate races dwelling upon the banks of the Nile 
are still animated by the same feelings of worship and venera¬ 
tion towards it. It is also revered at the present time in Hin- 
dostan, Thibet, and Nepaul, where they believe that in its 
sacred bosom Brahma was born. 
The Indian Lotus is famous for its roseate colour, for its 
powerful fragrance, and because it is in its blossom, which is 
somewhat larger than the English water-lily, that the Hin¬ 
doos feign their Cupid Manmadin, whom they picture pinioned 
with flowers, was first seen floating down the sacred Ganges. 
