The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-04-21
LEGEND OF THE TREE OF LIFE.
Ii Grew the story of the Cross and
Many Curious Tales Clustered
Around 1t.
From the Springfield Republican.

Many Curious Tales Clustered
Around II.
From the Springfield Republican.
In the following interesting narrative of
the direct descent and growth of the legend
of the cross nothing is said of the curious
existence Of this symbol in religious exist
| ing long before that of Christ began But
what is told is simply of interest in that
| particular line of descent, and it is espe.
clally worth while to review the legend
airy descent OF the cross on which Christ
was crucifed. From the beginning of
| time the important events of nations ana
| peoples have been transmitted to posteritv
| by slghhcant symbols, recalling the in
| herlted traditions and glories of conmunt-
ues win their schools of religion morals
| phiosophies and poltics-the epochs OF
human progress. The Roman eagle. the
Moslem crescent, the dragon and many
another have decreased in the prevailinp
power OF the cross and to every Christian
| OF Whatsoeer estate, it's mute language
| Appeals 10 every faculty of minds and soul
| let Wtth arrogance born of our Oft
| Wanted enlightenment we ignore the les
sons OF the past, as they have descended
IN tnelr various stages of development.
anu instead thereof cry aloud in self-com-
| piacehcy against the superstitious credul-
| ny OF the middle ages. Let us rather ever
remember how much greater was their
| simple Ialth than ours, and 1t were well
| tuat every one amongst us should learn
the story of the legend of the cross.
1e"lsh tradition tells US that when Adam
uleu; aged $50 years, the three-score ana
| ten lacking of the allotted thousand ,,aara
| were given up in favor of his descendant
David. But Adam none the less cl,,ner -
me, ana sent his son Seth to the Gates
OF bden, 10 beg for the oil of mercy nm
'iie archahgel could only grant him three
seeos from the Tree of Life. These saaJs
were placed under. Adams tongue when
.' 10y Iulnlled its prophecy of dust
| 10 aust, and from his grave in tbe 49,
OF Hebron the seeds each became a ,,,t't -
ueS-a CEDAR a cypress and a pine
the rudder or the ark the rod with
WHicn NOSES struck the rock, the noIa IN
which was hung the brazen sernapt o,,s
taroh rod that budded, We're fasbioned
rom these trees. When Moses assembled
~ issah ne planted the rods in Noah
70 De carried long afterward nv Kina
David TO Jerusalem. where in o,stn.s
| lhey TOOK root anew eutwined tbennsal,,ss
| 'osether' and grew so nightly that their
wan OF protection was overshadowed ana
the great King, sitting under its shade
composed MS psalms. and hung his preci-
Gus jewels midst its branches
| Then in Solomou's day the tree was ont
| down TO make precious beam thirty c,h
It's in length for the temple. but nowbare
coutd II be used, for, mysteriously. II be
came either too long or too short an6 n
was thrown aside, and finally II formed
part OF foot bridge over the brook Ke
| droa.
When the Queen of Sheba visited Solo
mon she recognized the sacred beam. and
| rather than tread ON 1t waded through
the water. King Solomon, now fully
aroused to its importance, gave Il an
| honoTed place in the temple, and covered
it with beaten work of gold and silver.
When the temple was despoiled Ahijah.
son of Rehoboam stripped It of its gold
and silver and buried It, When the pool
| of Bethesda was dug over the same spot
the sacred wood impaired its healing pow
er to the waters Then with fitting climax
the miraculous wood floated after Christ's
| condemnation TO death, and the wood of
the cross was cat from it,
In Golgotha-the place of a skull-Christ.
the second Adam, died and rose again from
the same spot in which the first Adam was
buried and by his obedience redeemed
mankind from the disobedience of the fail
So, verify, from the tree of life in the gar
den has sprung the cross for the healing
| of the nations, and thus was fulfilled the
prophecy of the archangel to Seth--that in
$500 years Adam, his father, should re-
| ceiVe the oil of mercy and be healed from
his sickness
This legend has had many versions, but
the central idea pervades all-from the
tree of life in Paradise sprung the wood of
the cross. SO universal was this belief
in the middle ages that many of the Latin
hymns of the church refer to It, most not
ably the Pange Lingua written as early as
the sixth century by Venantius Fortuna
tus:
Plying did the Great Redeemer Adams
fall and ruin see,
Sentenced them to death by tasting fruit
of the forbidden tree,
And He marked that wood the weapon of
redeemiug love to be-
Thus the scheme of our redemption was
of old in order laid;
Thus the willy arts were bafiied of the
foe who man betrayed,
And the armor of Redemption from
Deaths armory was made.
Faithful Cross! of all earth's produce only
rich aud noble tree;
No such flower or leaf or fruitage we in
all the world can see;
Sweet to us thy wood and nails. for sweet
est weight is hung on thee.
Bend thy branches. lofty Tree. and yield
ing let thine arms extend.
Let the rigor of thy nature, softened, ten
derby unbend,
Since the King OF Kings on thine arms
they thus suspend.
After the crucihxion "a temple TO Venus
ana statue to Jupiter were erected over
the spot where Christ suffered. and so all
traces of the buried cross were lost But
when the British Helena, mother Of the
Emperor Constantine. In 800 A. d.. IN a
vision received her message TO seek out
the cross, she at once proceeded to Jeru-
salem and succeeded IN finding a. The
story Tvzs TIA; = 5rS. si@Tsce s,I5sas. was
bribed 10 disclose the place where he aud
others had buried the three crosses. The
true one was discovered hy laying on a a
dead body, which Immediately came 10
llfe. ana thereby the identity OF Chrlst's