'In such green palaces the first kings reigned;
Slept in their shade, and angels entertained.
With such old counsellors they did advise,
And by frequenting sacred shades grew wise.'
Even Paradise itself, says Evelyn, was but a kind of 'nemorous temple or
sacred grove,' planted by God himself, and given to man _tanquam primo
sacerdoti_; and he goes on to suggest that the groves which the
patriarchs are recorded to have planted in different parts of Palestine
may have been memorials of that first tree-shaded paradise from which
Adam was expelled."
Briefly noticing the antecedent history of plant-worship, it would seem
to have lain at the foundation of the old Celtic creed, although few
records on this point have come down to us.[9] At any rate we have
abundant evidence that this form of belief held a prominent place in the
religion of these people, allusions to which are given by many of the
early classical writers. Thus the very name of Druidism is a proof of
the Celtic addiction to tree-worship, and De Brosses,[10] as a further
evidence that this was so, would derive the word kirk, now softened into
church, from _quercus_, an oak; that species having been peculiarly
sacred. Similarly, in reviewing the old Teutonic beliefs, we come across
the same references to tree-worship, in many respects displaying little
or no distinction from that of the Celts.
Pages:
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46