157 
THE OLIVE. 
OLEA. 
“ And lie stayed yet other seven days: and again he sent forth the dove 
out of the ark. 
“ And the dove came in to him in the evening; and, lo, in her mouth 
was an olive leaf plucked ofT: so Noah knew that the waters were abated 
from off the earth.” 
Such is our first introduction to the olive; which 
seems to be on earth what the bow is in the sky, — the 
harbinger and the token of peace. 
Whether from the event which the sacred text records 
is not certain, but its pacific character has been acknow¬ 
ledged in all times, and among all nations; it is, however, 
more than probable that it owes its celebrity in this 
point of view to traditionary lore, for many ancient cus¬ 
toms and notions among the heathen have so close an 
affinity to transactions related in the Bible, that, how¬ 
ever changed and blended with fable, it is almost beyond 
conjecture that they were originally derived from that 
sacred source. 
In this character, as the symbol of peace, it is noticed 
by innumerable authors, ancient and modern. 
