Show sacred chinese lily may be of egyptian family it Is difficult to ascribe the origin of the sacred illy to one particular country the dictionary defines it as the sacred chinese ily 1 ly says the in irv diana dlana polls news the egyptian lotus originally was either of two wa ter lilies held sacred by the egyptians in horticulture this Is the indian lotus the sacred bean or lotus of asia and especially of india and japan has large leaves and pink blossoms surmounting tall steins stems myth ly the white lily illy was fabled to have sprung from the milk of hera hem As the plant of purity it was con brasted with the rose of aphrodite the classification included also red and purple lilies the red illy best known in syria and judana being per haps what Is known as the red illy of constantinople the illy of the old testament Testa Test mett amert may be conjectured to be a red illy from the simile in canti cles 5 13 unless the allusion Is to the fragrance rather than the color of the lips in which case the white illy must be thought of the lilies of the field matthew 6 28 and the corn com parison of their beauty with royal robes suggests their identification with the red syrian illy of pliny lilies are not a conspicuous feature in the flora of palestine and the red anemone with which all the hillsides of galilee are dotted in the spring Is perhaps ps more I 1 kely to have suggested the figure |