Page 10 - BV15
P. 10
10
exploits of Mithra runs thus. He was BORN OF A ROCK [dust of the ground-- Adam]
ON THE BANKS OF A RIVER under the shade of a SACRED FIG TREE...When he
had clothed himself with the LEAVES OF THE FIG-TREE, DETACHING THE FRUIT
[TO EAT?] and stripping the tree of its leaves by means of his knife, he undertook to
subjugate the beings ALREADY CREATED in the world." (The Mythology of All
Races, vol.VI. P.287).
Charles Alldritt clarifies this Mithras legend:
Mithras was said to have been born of a rock, and gifts were brought to him by
wise men and shepherds who had witnessed the miracle. But of course we must
again HAVE OUR TREE [of the Knowledge of Good and Evil]; and the new born
babe, to relieve cold and hunger WENT IMMEDIATELY TO A LARGE FIG
TREE AND ATE THE FRUIT AND CLOTHED HIMSELF WITH FIG
LEAVES. -- Tree Worship, page 60.
What about the ancient Egyptians? With one of the oldest civilizations this side of
the flood, we should expect to find evidence of legends built up around the tree in the
Garden of Eden. We are not disappointed! Returning to the work Forest Folklore,
Mythology, and Romance, we find this evidence:
In the great hall of the temple at Heliopolis in Egypt there once stood a VERY
ANCIENT SYCOMORE TREE OR SYCOMORE FIG (Ficus Sycomorus), of
which it is said that THOTH AND THE GODDESS SEFCHET, "the lady of
writing, the ruler of books," wrote the name of the Pharaoh on its leaves, and that
the god Atum, following her example, "wrote the name on the NOBLE TREE
with the writing of his own fingers." -- Page 220.
And who was Thoth? None other than the Egyptian GOD OF WISDOM! Notice
what J.E. Manchip White writes about this Thoth:
Thoth, the Greek Hermes [Cush]...was vizier and scribe of the gods and controller
of the seasons, the moon and the stars. He invented hieroglyphic writing,
mathematics, the keeping of accounts, languages, magic, the legal system and
even the game of draughts. He was married to the heavenly librarian Seshat
[Sefchet], who inscribed on the leaves of the Tree of Heaven [fig] the record of
every man's life. -- Ancient Egypt: Its Culture and History, Dover Publications,
N.Y. 1970. P.24.
Sir J. Gardner Wilkinson underscores the importance of the FIG TREE to the
ancient Egyptians:
Of FIGS and grapes they [the Egyptians] were particularly fond, which is shown
by their CONSTANT introduction, even among the CHOICE OFFERING
PRESENTED TO THE GODS; and figs of the sycamore must have been
HIGHLY ESTEEMED, since they were selected as the HEAVENLY FRUIT,