The first thing, then, that we notice in this symbol of the acacia, is, that it had been always consecrated from among the other trees of the forest by the sacred purposes to which it was devoted.  By the Jew the tree from whose wood the sanctuary of the tabernacle and the holy ark had been constructed would ever be viewed as more sacred than ordinary trees.  The early Masons, therefore, very naturally appropriated this hallowed plant to the equally sacred purpose of a symbol which was to teach an important divine truth in all ages to come.

Having thus briefly disposed of the natural history of this plant, we may now proceed to examine it in its symbolic relations.

First.  The acacia, in the mythic system of Freemasonry, is preeminently the symbol of the IMMORTALITY OF THE SOUL—­that important doctrine which it is the great design of the institution to teach.  As the evanescent nature of the flower which “cometh forth and is cut down” reminds us of the transitory nature of human life, so the perpetual renovation of the evergreen plant, which uninterruptedly presents the appearance of youth and vigor, is aptly compared to that spiritual life in which the soul, freed from the corruptible companionship of the body, shall enjoy an eternal spring and an immortal youth.  Hence, in the impressive funeral service of our order, it is said, “This evergreen is an emblem of our faith in the immortality of the soul.  By this we are reminded that we have an immortal part within us, which shall survive the grave, and which shall never, never, never die.”  And again, in the closing sentences of the monitorial lecture of the Third Degree, the same sentiment is repeated, and we are told that by “the ever green and ever living sprig” the Mason is strengthened “with confidence and composure to look forward to a blessed immortality.”  Such an interpretation of the symbol is an easy and a natural one; it suggests itself at once to the least reflective mind, and consequently, in some one form or another, is to be found existing in all ages and nations.  It was an ancient custom, which is not, even now, altogether disused, for mourners to carry in their hands at funerals a sprig of some evergreen, generally the cedar or the cypress, and to deposit it in the grave of the deceased.  According to Dalcho,[183] the Hebrews always planted a sprig of the acacia at the head of the grave of a departed friend.  Potter tells us that the ancient Greeks “had a custom of bedecking tombs with herbs and flowers.” [184] All sorts of purple and white flowers were acceptable to the dead, but principally the amaranth and the myrtle.  The very name of the former of these plants, which signifies “never fading,” would seem to indicate the true symbolic meaning of the usage, although archaeologists have generally supposed it to be simply an exhibition of love on the part of the survivors.  Ragon says, that the ancients substituted the acacia for all other plants because they believed it to be incorruptible, and not liable to injury from the attacks of any kind of insect or other animal—­thus symbolizing the incorruptible nature of the soul.