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LANGUAGE OF FLOWERS. 
and gave him in exchange a Hazel stick, which 
had the power of imparting a love of virtue and 
of reconciling hearts divided by envy and hate. 
Thus equipped, the two sons of Jupiter sought 
the abodes of mortals. Apollo first sang the 
eternal wisdom which created the universe; he 
told how the elements were produced, how love 
unites all the parts of nature in one general 
bond, and, lastly, how men ought to appease by 
prayer the wrath of the gods. At his voice 
animosities were suspended, and revenge was 
banished from every heart. Mercury then 
touched men with the rod which Apollo had 
given to him. He loosed their tongues, and 
taught them to express their thoughts in words. 
He then explained to them that union consti¬ 
tutes strength, and that, without mutually as¬ 
sisting each other, they could not render the 
earth productive. Awakened by his exhorta¬ 
tions, filial piety and love of country sprang 
forth to unite mankind, and he made commerce 
the general bond of the world. His last thought 
was the most sublime, for it was devoted to the 
gods: he taught men to resemble them in uni¬ 
versal love and beneficence. 
