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been destroyed. The Athenians punished with great severity those
who damaged their venerated Olive, which to them appears to
have been emblematic of peace. It indicated liberty, hope, chastity
pity, and supplication; and special directions for the mode of
planting the sacred tree had place among the institutes of Solon
Phny asserts that the identical Olive-tree, called up by Minerva’
was standing in his time. The Olive is frequently mentioned in
the Bible, both in a literal and figurative manner. The dove sent
forth by Noah from the Ark, brought back an Olive-leaf (probably
from Assyria, a country famous for Olive-trees), which the bird
probably seletfied because the leaves would continue green beneath
the water. As an emblem of peace, a garland of Olive was given
to Judith when she restored peace to the Israelities by the death
of Holofernes. The tree is still with the Jew the emblem of peace
and plenty, with an added significance of holiness ; and the association
of It with the last days of Christ has made it also sacred
to sorrow. As an emblem of peace and reconciliation, the Olive
IS figured on the tombs of the early martyrs. As the attribute of
peace it is borne by the angel Gabriel, and St. Agnes, and St.
Pantaleon. B y Romanists the Olive is deemed a fitting emblem
of the Virgin Mary, as the mother of Christ, who brought peace
on earth, and who was the Prince of Peace. In regard to the
Olive-trees of the Garden of Gethsemane, eight of which are still
stated to exist. Dean Stanley says: “ In spite of all the doubts that
can be raised against their antiquity, or the genuineness of their
site, the eight aged Olive-trees, if only by their manifest difference
from all others on the mountain, have always struck even the
most indifferent observers. They are now, indeed, less strikin© in
the modern garden enclosure, built round them by the Franciscans
than when they stood free and unprotected on the rough hillside ’
but they will remain so long as their already protracted life is
spared, the most venerable of their race on the surface of the
earth. Their gnarled trunks and scanty foliage will always be
regarded as the most affecting of the sacred memorials in or
abciut Jerusalem.” According to the Jewish legend of Abimelech,
the trees, once upon a time, desiring a king, addressed
themselves first of all to the Ohve, who refused the honours of
royalty. The trees next in turn invited the Fig, the Vine and
other trees to become their monarch, but they all declined’ At
last the crown was offered to the Oak, who accepted it’____
Grecian inythologists relate that the club of Hercules, which’ was
made of Olive-wood, took root, and became a tree. In the
Olympic games, instituted by Hercules, the victor was rewarded
with a crown of Olive. The club of Polyphemus was the green
trunk of an Olive-tree. The caps of the priests of Tupiter
were surmounted with a twig of Olive. The Olympian Jove is
recounts
that Xerxes, before his Grecian expedition, dreamed that he was
p F a n t hote, h e g e f / , anel Tsij ric/. 475
crowned with an Olive wreath, the sprays of which turned towards
the sun ; but that a moment afterwards, this crown had disappeared.
The Athenians went to consult the Delphic oracle, holding in
their hands branches of Olive, and asking for a favourable response
in the name and through the favour of the Olive-trees ; and
Tigranes, when before Xerxes, reproached Mardonius with having
carried on a war against a people who, in their Olympian games,
were content with a crown of Olives as the reward of victory, and
who fought not for plunder and riches, but for love of country and
glory. There stood in the Forum of Megara a wild Olive, on
which it became the custom to hang the arms of local heroes. In
course of time the bark of the Olive grew over these arms, and they
were forgotten. An oracle, however, had declared that when the
tree had brought forth arms, its destruction would take place.
When the tree was cut down, the arms and helmets alluded to
were discovered ; and it was seen that the oracle had been fulfilled.
The Provençaux, at harvest time, sing a curious song, called
the Reapers’ Grace, the first part of which narrates how Adam
and E v e were put into the Garden of Eden ; Adam is forbidden to
eat of the fruit of life ; he eats thereof, and the day of his death is
foretold him. He will be buried under a Palm, Cypress, and Olive,
and out of the wood of the Olive the cross was made. According
to a German tradition, from the tomb of Adam, the father of
the huiuan race, sprang an Olive : from this Olive was plucked the
branch that the dove from the ark carried to Noah, the regenerator
of the human race ; and -from the same Olive was made the
cross of the Redeemer—the spiritual redeemer of the human race.
A tradition very general relates that the cross was formed of
the Olive, Palm, Cedar, and Cypress, representing the four quarters
of the globe. In Central Europe, the Olive is everywhere
regarded as the emblem of peace. It is planted in the midst of
fields to ensure a good harvest and to protect the crops from hail :
and in Venetia a branch is placed on the chimney-piece during
thunder-storms as a preservative from lightning—a prayer being
offered up at the same time to St. Barbara and St. Simon. In
some parts of Italy, young girls employ an Olive-branch as a means
of divination. Having moistened a spray of Olive with their lips,
they throw it in the fire ; if the leaf jumps three times or darts out
o f the fire, they will find a husband ; but if it burns without
moving, it is a sure sign of celibacy. In Rome and Tuscany, the
superstitious peasants imagine that no witch or sorcerer will enter
a house where an Olive-branch that has been blessed is kept, and
in order to ascertain whether they are suffering from the dire effects
of an E v il Eye, they drop some Olive-oil in water, and from the
appearance satisfy themselves on the point. To dream of Olivetrees
or Olives is considered a good omen, denoting happiness,
prosperity, and success, and a speedy marriage to the lover; but
to dream of plucking Olives is unpropitious, announcing trouble
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