THE  AMEBIC. 
JOURNAL  OF  PltA^MAGY 
SEPTEMBER,  igrt 
PLANT  TEXTURES— "  CONSIDER  THE' 
By  John  Uri  Lloyd,  Phar.M.,  Cincinnati,  O. 
"  Consider  the  lilies  of  the  field,  how  they  grow ;  they  toil  not,  neither  do 
they  spin ;  and  yet  I  say  unto  you,  that  even  Solomon  in  all  his  glory  was 
not  arrayed  like  one  of  these." — Matthew  6 :  28,  29. 
The  Lily. — In  this  text  the  great  Wisdom  Master  challenged  not 
Solomon  alone,  but  whoever  sat  in  high  places.  And  if  in  his  esti- 
mation the  mighty  ruler,  Solomon,  was  humbled  in  comparison  with 
the  tiny  lily  of  the  field,  one  might  ask,  who  in  worldly  power  can 
presume  to  glorify  himself  ? 
Through  the  passing  centuries  the  artistic  beauty  of  the  modest 
lily  of  the  field  has  ever  brought  confusion  to  the  wearer  of  gorgeous 
raiment.  Clad  though  he  be  in  purple  and  gold,  vainly  does  the 
potentate  compete  with  a  tiny  plant  that  comes  and  goes  in  the  sol- 
itude of  a  grass  bound  meadow. 
While  the  lily  as  a  whole,  in  its  simplicity  of  leaf  and  the  modest 
charm  of  its  drooping,  tiny  white  bells,  bids  even  royalty  be  humble 
in  its  presence,  we  unconsciously  accept  that  the  Master's  eulogy 
applies  to  beauty  of  blossom,  of  form,  color  and  surface,  only. 
Can  our  views  not  be  enlarged?    Is  this  limitation  just? 
Let  us  pass  now  to  another  Wisdom  Book  of  the  past,  taking 
therefrom  the  text, 
"All  things  are  ceaselessly  active;  no  man  can  enumerate  all, 
Nor  can  all  be  seen  by  the  eye."  2 
1  No  claim  is  made  herein  to  originality  of  facts.  Taking  for  our  text  a 
tiny  plant,  our  aim  is  but  to  lead  thought  in  an  informal  way,  step  by  step, 
to  the  immensity  of  the  subject.  But,  for  want  of  space,  a  fraction,  only,  has 
been  introduced  of  the  possible  opportunity  afforded  by  this  plant.  Inas- 
much as  the  subject  appeals  both  to  pharmacy  and  medicine  the  author  re- 
serves the  privilege  of  presenting  the  paper  to  readers  in  both  fields. 
2  The  Book  of  Ecclesiastes,  by  Paul  Haupt.    Johns  Hopkins  Press,  1906. 
