of the oak among the Druids is well attested by all
writers who have dealt with this interesting people. In Rome its
branches formed the badge of victory worn by conquering heroes, this
emblem being the highest mark of distinction which could be conferred
upon them.

Forlong assures us that the oak was even more worshipped at the West
than was the sacred Ficus at the East. Like it, the wood of the oak must
be used

"to call down the sacred fire from Heaven and gladden in the yule (Suiel
or Seul) log of Christmas-tide even Christian fires, as well as annually
renew with fire direct from Ba-al, on Beltine day, the sacred flame on
every public and private hearth, and this from the temples of Meroe
on the Nile, to the farthest icy forests and mountains of the
Sklavonian."(15)

15) Faiths of Man in All Lands, vol. i., p. 68.

Among the Druids, the mistletoe was also sacred especially when
entwining the oak. Together they represented the Tree of Life, or the
two generating agencies throughout Nature. Of the species of it which
grows on the oak, Borlaise says that they deified the mistletoe and were
not to look upon it but in the most devout and reverential manner: "When
the end of the year approached, they marched with great solemnity to
gather the mistletoe of the oak in order to present it to Jupiter,
inviting all the world to assist in the ceremony."(16)

16) Borlaise.

According to the Latin writer Pliny, the "Druids have nothing more
sacred than the mistletoe and the tree on which it grows, provided it
be an oak." This plant, which is called All Heal, although sought after
with the greatest religious ardor, is seldom found, but should the
people who go forth at Christmas time in large numbers succeed in
finding it they immediately set about preparing feasts under the tree
upon which it grows; at the same time, in the most solemn manner, two
white bulls are brought forth to be sacrificed. After the feast has been
prepared and the sacrifice made ready, the priest ascends the tree and
with a golden pruning-knife cuts the sacred branches of the mistletoe,
dropping them into a white cloth prepared for the occasion. The bulls
are then sacrificed and a prayer offered that "God would render his own
gift prosperous to those on whom he has bestowed it." They believed that
administered in a potion it would impart fecundity to any barren animal,
and that it was a remedy against all kinds of poison. The bran