The Sacred Grove
by Arnold Bocklin (Swiss painter, 1827-1901)
THE Druids were a remarkable brotherhood of priests,
teachers, and judges who ruled over the ancient Celts
of Gaul and Britain. Their power was such that the
chiefs bent humbly before them, and yielded to their
decisions not only in matters of religion, but in all
sorts of disagreements. Even in cases of crime, they
were the judges, and from their decision there was no
appeal. Whoever refused to obey them was shut out from
the benefits of the sacrifices until he came to terms
of humility and obedience. They themselves did not go
to war, but their influence was so great in arousing
the people to warfare that enemies hated them even more
bitterly than they did those who met them in battle.
Even the Romans dreaded them, and after the Roman rule
was established in Britain, every possible vestige of
Druid sway was destroyed. It is possible, though by no
means certain, that Stonehenge and other similar ruins
are the remains of ancient Druidical temples.
The Druids taught the immortality of the soul, but in
the form of transmigration. They had a great reverence
for the oak tree, and even more for the mistletoe
growing upon it. It is said that when such a mistletoe
had been discovered, one priest stood on a white cloth
under the tree to receive the plant, while a second cut
it with a golden knife. Both must wear spotless robes
of white.
From a temple concealed by the dark grove of trees in
the background of this picture, white-robed priests
advance with slow and stately steps. In front a
sacrificial fire burns upon an altar before which two
worshipers prostrate themselves in prayer.
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