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RELIGION IN THE PLANT WORLD<br />
shire, England, the good St. Leonhard once<br />
battled with a dragon for three whole days. Before<br />
he was able to slay the monster, the doughty<br />
warrior was wounded with consequent loss <strong>of</strong><br />
blood. God could not bear to see the life fluid<br />
<strong>of</strong> this holy man spilled heedlessly, so transformed<br />
each drop, as it fell, into a Narcissus.<br />
"Consider the Lilies <strong>of</strong> the field, how they<br />
grow; they toil not, neither do they spin; and<br />
yet I say unto you that even Solomon in all his<br />
glory was not arrayed like one <strong>of</strong> these." This<br />
is a great tribute to the Lily and it has been<br />
similarly praised throughout all literature.<br />
About this lovely flower hang myriads <strong>of</strong> sacred<br />
legends and such titles as the "symbol <strong>of</strong> pur-<br />
ity," the "soul <strong>of</strong> beauty" and "the symbol <strong>of</strong><br />
peace." In the lore <strong>of</strong> the Greeks and the<br />
Orientals, this matchless flower was hailed with<br />
the Rose as the "Queen <strong>of</strong> Heaven." The Vener-<br />
able Bede called it the most worthy symbol <strong>of</strong><br />
the Virgin. He said that its pure white petals<br />
represent her undefiled body and the golden<br />
stamens her radiant soul shining with god-like<br />
light. Many old paintings <strong>of</strong> the Virgin show<br />
her with a vase <strong>of</strong> Lilies by her side.<br />
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