[183] "This custom among the Hebrews arose from this circumstance. Agreeably to their laws, no dead bodies were allowed to be interred within the walls of the city; and as the Cohens, or priests, were prohibited from crossing a grave, it was necessary to place marks thereon, that they might avoid them. For this purpose the acacia was used."--DALCHO, _Oration_, p. 27, note.--I object to the reason assigned by Dalcho; but of the existence of the custom there can be no question, notwithstanding the denial or doubt of Dr. Oliver. Blount (_Travels in the Levant_, p. 197) says, speaking of the Jewish burial customs, "those who bestow a marble stone over any [grave] have a hole a yard long and a foot broad, in which _they plant an evergreen_, which seems to grow from the body, and is carefully watched." Hasselquist (_Travels_, p. 28) confirms his testimony. I borrow the citations from Brown (_Antiquities of the Jews_, vol. ii. p. 356), but have verified the reference to Hasselquist. The work of Blount I have not been enabled to consult. [184] Antiquities of Greece, p. 569. [185] Dr. Crucefix, MS., quoted by Oliver, _Landmarks_, ii. 2. [186] Spirit of Masonry, lect. ix. p. 99. [187] The Temple of Solomon, ch. ix. p. 233. [188] It is probable that the quince derived this symbolism, like the acacia, from its name; for there seems to be some connection between the Greek word ϗυδώνιος, which means _a quince_, and the participle ϗυδίων, which signifies _rejoicing, exulting_. But this must have been an afterthought, for the name is derived from Cydon, in Crete, of which island the quince is a native. [189] Desprez, speaking of the palm as an emblem of victory, says (_Comment. in Horat. Od._ I. i. 5), "Palma verò signum victoriae passim apud omnes statuitur, ex Plutarcho, propterea quod ea est ejus natura ligni, ut urgentibus opprimentibusque minimè cedat. Unde est illud Alciati epigramma,-- 'Nititur in pondus palma, et consurgit in altum: Quoque magis premitur, hoc magè tollit onus.'" It is in the eighth book of his Symposia that Plutarch states this peculiar property of the palm to resist the oppression of any superincumbent weight, and to rise up against it, whence it was adopted as the symbol of victory. Cowley also alludes to it in his _Davideis_. "Well did he know how palms by oppression speed Victorious, and the victor's sacred meed." [190] "Rosemary was anciently supposed to strengthen the memory, and was not only carried at funerals, but worn at weddings."--STEEVENS, _Notes on Hamlet_, a. iv. s. 5.--Douce (_Illustrations of Shakspeare_, i. 345) gives the following old song in reference to this subject:-- "Rosemarie is for remembrance Betweene us daie and night, Wishing that I might always have You present in my sight."