stletoe with a golden sickle. As it fell it was caught in a white
cloth; the bulls were then sacrificed, and prayer was made that God
would make His gift prosperous to those on whom He had bestowed it. The
mistletoe was called "the universal healer," and a potion made from it
caused barren animals to be fruitful. It was also a remedy against all
poisons.[687] We can hardly believe that such an elaborate ritual merely
led up to the medico-magical use of the mistletoe. Possibly, of course,
the rite was an attenuated survival of something which had once been
more important, but it is more likely that Pliny gives only a few
picturesque details and passes by the _rationale_ of the ritual. He does
not tell us who the "God" of whom he speaks was, perhaps the sun-god or
the god of vegetation. As to the "gift," it was probably in his mind the
mistletoe, but it may quite well have meant the gift of growth in field
and fold. The tree was perhaps cut down and burned; the oxen may have
been incarnations of a god of vegetation, as the tree also may have
been. We need not here repeat the meaning which has been given to the
ritual,[688] but it may be added that if this meaning is correct, the
rite probably took place at the time of the Midsummer festival, a
festival of growth and fertility. Mistletoe is still gathered on
Midsummer eve and used as an antidote to poisons or for the cure of
wounds. Its Druidic name is still preserved in Celtic speech in words
signifying "all-healer," while it is also called _sugh an daraich_, "sap
of the oak," and _Druidh lus_, "Druid's weed."[689]

Pliny describes other Celtic herbs of grace. _Selago_ was culled without
use of iron after a sacrifice of bread and wine--probably to the spirit
of the plant. The person gathering it wore a white robe, and went with
unshod feet after washing them. According to the Druids, _Selago_
preserved one from accident, and its smoke when burned healed maladies
of the eye.[690] _Samolus_ was placed in drinking troughs as a remedy
against disease in cattle. It was culled by a person fasting, with the
left hand; it must be wholly uprooted, and the gatherer must not look
behind him.[691] _Vervain_ was gathered at sunrise after a sacrifice to
the earth as an expiation--perhaps because its surface was about to be
disturbed. When it was rubbed on the body all wishes were gratified; it
dispelled fevers and other maladies; it was an antidote against
serpents; and it conciliated h