The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1902-03-15
Legends of the Lily.
From the Philadelphia Ledger.

Legends of the Lily.
From the Philadelphia Ledger
Eastertide brings redolence of lilies.
Everywhere their alabaster cencers wave,
exhalant of perfume, which, indeed, bears
to the throne of God the thoughts Of man.
Would our great Christian festival be as
solemn, as rich in uplifting influence, as
truly interpreted, if there were no lilies?
To many a kneeling worshipper before holy
affairs they have been as angelic messengers
These beautiful flowers have been asso-
ciated with religious impulses from the
time, 1000 years ago, when the Egyptian
lotus, known also as the rose lily of the
Nile, was held in high sanction by Egyp
tan priests, to the days when Julia Ward
Howe wrote by inspiration, ''ln the beauty
of the lilies Christ was born across the sea.
The lilies Of the field which the Saviour
used in illustration of His teaching were
not, however, of the spotless hue from
which we derive our impressions of purity
and innocence. Their color was red, and
they grew profusely upon the plain of Gen
nesaret, as indicated in the sixth of Mat
thew, yielding upon distillation most fra
grant juice 1t is believed that Old Testa-
ment illusions to lilies included in that
family the iris as well as the lotus. In
modern times the flowers which impress
the generality of travellers as being the
lilies of the field alluded to by our Lord
would be termed by Western peoples
anemones, and these strew the turf in lavish
profusion.
1t is not difficult to sympathize with the
devout imaginations which early in the
Christian era associated the lily with the
personality of the Virgin Mary. One of
the traditions first originated narrates how
the first lily sprang from drop of milk,
which fell to the ground while the infant
Jesus was receiving nourishment. White
flowers of many varieties were held sacred
to the Virgin in loving hearts, but of all
these two are most prominently connected
with her, the lily and the rose. At very
early date roses, both red and white, were
regarded as emblematic of the mother of
Christ, s'and were specially so recognized
by St. Dominic, we read in Ibid, s'when
he instituted the devotion of the rosary
with direct reference to her.
ITALIAN ART.
The brushes of medieval artists de-
picted the Madonna with lily in her hand,
and the painters of Italy portrayed her
with vase of lilies at iler side, three ex-
quisite flowers supported on green stems.
The large white lily with which we are
familiar was here represented, ''the pure
white petals signifying her spotless body,
and the golden anthers within typifying
her SOUL sparkling with divine light. In
like manner other white blossoms were
considered typical of her purity and holt
ness, and consecrated to her festivals, and
it was whispered that lilies of the valley
were formed in the beginning from her
tears.
At later period in the history of art
the lily, as especially appropriate to the
Annunciation, was introduced into paint
ings depicting that wonderful event Thus
we may look upon the angel Gabriel bear
ing cluster of lilies In fact, as has been
well observed in Folkard's ''Plant LIE,
gends, sthe life of Christ may be said to
fling its shadow over the whole vegetable
world. From that epoch the trees and
flowers which had been associated with
heather rites and deities began to be con
nected with holier names, and not infre-
quently with the events of the Crucifxion
itself
But there are other associations with
this most beautiful Of all flowers, dating
much further back than the earthly life OF
the lowly Nazarene, but full of beautiful
imagery, as those which linked it with the
| Virgin.
THE BUDDHIST PRAYER.
The lotus, the sacred lily of the East, is
the symbol of Buddha, who is said to have
first appeared to his disciples, or those who
were to become such, seated upon an opened
blossom. He is not the only Eastern deity
who is written of as having loved to re-
pose on the rich petals of the flower, for
the Chinese represent their god PIAZZA as
reclining thus. SO through the centuries
devout Buddhists have worshipped the
lotus; and the prayer, if we may SO term
what is merely an ejaculation, which the
Thibetaus print upon slips Of paper and
fasten to revolving cylinders in order that
by a convenient mechanical process the at
tention of Buddha may be incessantly be-
spoken. consists only of the words, som
mani padme hum T. or ''Oh, the jewel in
Cor of } the lotus
Sir Edwin Arnold, in his poem ''The
Light of Asia, includes these lines
sAh, Lover Brother ! Guide Lamp of the law
take my refuge in Thy name and Thee
take my refuge in Thy Law of Good
take my refuge in Thy Order Omi
The dew is on the lotus. Rise, Great Sun,
And lift my leaf and mix me with the wave.
som mani padme hum the sunrise comes,
The dewdrop slips into the shining sea-
In Buddhistic China the lotus is promi-
nent, of course, in art, poetry and folklore.
Hindu legends tell us that from the heart
of a lotus blossom Brahma emerged. Sir
William Jones's translation of Hindu
poem reads thus
"a form cerulean futtered DER the deep;
Brightest of beings, greatest of the great,
Who not as mortals steep
Their eyes in dewy sleep
But heavenly pensive on the lotus lay
That blossomed at his touch and shed golden ray
Hail, primal blossom Hail, empyreal gem
Kennel or Pedma. or whate'er high name
Delight thee say. What four formed goddess came
With graceful stole and beamy diadem.
Forth from thy verdant stem ="
The name ssPedma" is Sanscrit for lotus.
FAvoRITE FLOWER OF CECILIA.
The graceful mythology of the Greeks
assigned the lily to place among Juno s
flowers, and wove the fancy, which nc
doubt survived in the tradition of the Vir-
gin, that the first lily sprung from DROP
: of Juno milk. The Greeks have always
highly favored the flower, and now use it