CHAPTER XIX.
SACRED PLANTS.
Closely allied with plant-worship is the sacred and superstitious
reverence which, from time immemorial, has been paid by various
communities to certain trees and plants.
In many cases this sanctity originated in the olden heathen
mythology, when "every flower was the emblem of a god; every tree the
abode of a nymph." From their association, too, with certain events,
plants frequently acquired a sacred character, and occasionally their
specific virtues enhanced their veneration. In short, the large number of
sacred plants found in different countries must be attributed to a variety
of causes, illustrations of which are given in the present chapter.
Thus going back to mythological times, it may be noticed that trees
into which persons were metamorphosed became sacred. The laurel was
sacred to Apollo in memory of Daphne, into which tree she was changed
when escaping from his advances:--
"Because thou canst not be
My mistress, I espouse thee for my tree;
Be thou the prize of honour and renown,
The deathless poet and the poet's crown;
Thou shalt the Roman festivals adorn,
And, after poets, be by victors won."
But it is unnecessary to give further instances of such familiar stories,
of which early history is full. At the same time it is noteworthy that
many of these plants which acquired a sanctity from heathen mythology
still retain their sacred character--a fact which has invested them with
various superstitions, in addition to having caused them to be selected
for ceremonial usage and homage in modern times. Thus the pine, with
its mythical origin and heathen associations, is an important tree on the
Continent, being surrounded with a host of legends, most of which, in
one shape or another, are relics of early forms of belief. The sacred
character of the oak still survives in modern folk-lore, and a host of
flowers which grace our fields and hedges have sacred associations from
their connection with the heathen gods of old. Thus the anemone, poppy,
and violet were dedicated to Venus; and to Diana "all flowers growing in
untrodden dells and shady nooks, uncontaminated by the tread of man,
more especially belonged." The narcissus and maidenhair were sacred to
Proserpina, and the willow to Ceres. The pink is Jove's flower, and of the