LOTUS FLOWER. 
160 
LOTUS FLOWER, OR WATER LILY 
Where blameless pleasures dimple quiet’s cheek, 
As water-lilies ripple a slow stream! 
COLERIDGE. 
We present this aquatic plant as the emblem of silence 
since the antiquarians assure us, that they recognize this 
flower on the head of Harpocrates. 
Love glides silently upon us, and the Indians feign that 
Cupid was first seen floating down the Ganges on the 
Nymphcea Nelumbo. 
Down the blue Ganges laughing glide 
Upon a rosy lotus wreath, 
Catching new lustre from the tide, 
That with his image shone beneath. 
T. MOORE. 
The lotus is an object of supreme veneration in all the 
mythological systems of the east, especially in that of the 
Hindoos. 
The sacred name of this plant is Pedma, and it is pre- 
tended that Brahma was born in a lotus, when he created 
the world, wherefore it is regarded as the symbol of creative 
power. 
And thy own pedma, roseate flower of light, 
Emblem and cradle of creative might. 
C. GRANT. 
This plant, (says Mr. Knight,) being productive of itself, 
and vegetating from its own matrice, without being fostered 
