Among the sacred rites of the Druids there were none more celebrated
than that they used of the misletoe of the oak. They believed this tree
was chosen by God himself. The misletoe was what they found but seldom:
whenever, therefore, they met with it, they fetched it with great
ceremony, and did it on the sixth day of the moon, with which day they
began both their months and their years. They gave a name to this shrub,
denoting that it had the virtue of curing all diseases. They sacrificed
victims to it, believing that, by its virtue, the barren were made
fruitful. They looked upon it likewise as a preservative against all
poisons. Thus do several nations of the world place their religion in
the observation of trifles.
The Druids were also extremely superstitious in relation to the herb
_selago_, which they reckoned a preservative against sore eyes, and
almost all misfortunes. Another herb called samotis, which they imagined
had a virtue to prevent diseases among cattle, they were very
ceremonious about gathering. The person was obliged to be clad in white,
and was not suffered to handle it; and the ceremony was preceded by a
sacrifice of bread and wine.
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