Lab
Library
Journal
Shop
Sign in
to keep
1
271
The Folk-lore of Plants
·
T. F. Thiselton-Dyer
22
"How
far
the
religious
systems
of
the
great
nations
of
antiquity
were
affected
by
the
record
of
the
creation
and
fall
preserved
in
the
opening
chapters
of
Genesis,
it
is
not,
perhaps,
possible
to
determine.
There
are
certain
points
of
resemblance
which
are
at
least
remarkable,
but
which
we
may
assign,
if
we
please,
either
to
independent
tradition,
or
to
a
natural
development
of
the
earliest
or
primeval
period.
The
trees
of
life
and
of
knowledge
are
at
once
suggested
by
the
mysterious
sacred
tree
which
appears
in
the
most
ancient
sculptures
and
paintings
of
Egypt
and
Assyria,
and
in
those
of
the
remoter
East.
In
the
symbolism
of
these
nations
the
sacred
tree
sometimes
figures
as
a
type
of
the
universe,
and
represents
the
whole
system
of
created
things,
but
more
frequently
as
a
tree
of
life,
by
whose
fruit
the
votaries
of
the
gods
(and
in
some
cases
the
gods
themselves)
are
nourished
with
divine
strength,
and
are
prepared
for
the
joys
of
immortality.
The
most
ancient
types
of
this
mystical
tree
of
life
are
the
date
palm,
the
fig,
and
the
pine
or
cedar."
By
way
of
illustration,
it
may
be
noted
that
the
ancient
Egyptians
had
their
legend
of
the
"Tree
of
Life".
It
is
mentioned
in
their
sacred
books
that
Osiris
ordered
the
names
of
souls
to
be
written
on
this
tree
of
life,
the
fruit
of
which
made
those
who
ate
it
become
as
gods.[15]
Among
the
most
ancient
traditions
of
the
Hindoos
is
that
of
the
tree
of
life--called
Soma
in
Sanskrit--the
juice
of
which
imparted
immortality;
this
marvellous
tree
being
guarded
by
spirits.
Coming
down
to
later
times,
Virgil
speaks
of
a
sacred
tree
in
a
manner
which
Grimm[16]
considers
highly
suggestive
of
the
Yggdrasil:
Marker
Marker
Fine marker
White-out
Fine white-out
Circle
Paint
Unmarker
Hand
Scalpel
Dice
Sieve
Purify
Undo
Redo
Start over
