279 
WISDOM. 
WHITE MULBERRY. 
O sacred solitude ! divine retreat! 
Choice of the prudent! envy of the great! 
By thy pure stream, or in the waving shade, 
We court fair wisdom, that celestial maid ! 
YOUNG. 
The ancients named the white mulberry 
the tree of wisdom, because of its tardiness 
in putting forth its leaves. We say, “ foolish 
almond, wise mulberry,” because the almond 
is the first to flower. A branch of almond, 
joined with a branch of white mulberry, ex¬ 
presses that wisdom should temper activity. 
“ This species of mulberry is commonly 
cultivated in France and other countries for 
its leaves, to feed silk-worms; and in many 
parts of the continent, when the leaves are 
wanted for the worms, they are stript off the 
young shoots, which are left naked on the 
tree; in other places the shoots are cut off, 
which is not so injurious to the tree, while the 
points of the shoots as well as the leaves are 
eaten by the worms.” 
