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 flowers assigned to Juno
may be mentioned the lily, crocus, and asphodel.

Passing on to other countries, we find among the plants most conspicuous
for their sacred character the well-known lotus of the East (_Nelunibium
speciosum_), around which so many traditions and mythological legends
have clustered. According to a Hindu legend, from its blossom Brahma
came forth:--

"A form Cerulean fluttered o'er 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 blossom'd at his touch, and shed a golden ray.
Hail, primal blossom! hail, empyreal gem,
Kemel, or Pedma, [1] or whate'er high name
Delight thee, say. What four-formed godhead came,
With graceful stole and beamy diadem,
Forth from thy verdant stem." [2]

Buddha, too, whose symbol is the lotus, is