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Show Scred Chinese Lily May Be of Egypt;an Family or the 1 t0 ascrll,e the of the -saered lily t0 one " t as the "sacred Chinese Illy" ,avs he lnd,anap,ls NeW8. Thl' F Man lotus, originally, was either of two water lilies that were held Z ered y the Egypt,ans. In -tre this Is the Indian lotus. The sacred bean or lotus of lodla and Asia, and especially 0f India, and Japan has large umbrellalike leaves and pink blossoms surmounting tall stems. Mythological, the white lily was fabled to have sprung from the n"k of Hera. As the plant of Purity, It was contrasted with the rose of Aphrodite, The classification Included also fed and purple lilies, the red lily best known In Syria and Jmlea being be-ing perhaps what Is known as "the red Illy ot Constantinople." The lily of the Old Testament may be conjectured to be a red lily from the slcile In Canticles 5:13, unless the allusion is to the fragrance rather than the color of the Hps, in which case the white lily must be thought of. The "lilies of the field," Matthew 6:28, and the comparison 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 hill-sides of Galilee are dotted In the spring, Is perhaps more likely to have suggested the figure. |