The problem which puzzled the learned, centuries ago,
as to which was first created, the egg or the hen, has never
yet been unravelled. Theologians would probably say, the
hen, certainly ; but Darwin would be in favour of the egg,
as being of the nature of that protoplasm from which all
life originates. The ancients were certainly of Darwin's
opinion, and looked upon the earth itself as developed
from an egg by the power of various divinities, hence the
egg became a sacred symbol in many countries, was hung
up in Egyptian temples, and represented in paintings and
sculptures as encircled in the folds of the good Agatho-
dsemon, the serpent worshipped in so many lands, and
which was doubtless connected with that other famous egg
of antiquity, the serpent's egg of the Druids.
If we visit the British Museum we shall see eggs and
egg-stands of various shapes and sizes, which have been
i io OUR VIANDS
found in tombs in Egypt, Greece, and Etruria ; among the
Etruscan relics are several ostrich eggs beautifully painted.
These sepulchral eggs were, doubtless, symbolical of a
future life, but were also probably designed as food for
the dead, for it was well-nigh a universal practice to provide
food for the departed spirit, a practice still in use among
savages.
The eggs which are given at Easter time are supposed
to symbolise the Resurrection, but it is certain that the
custom originated in pre-Christian times. Eggs wrapped
in various-coloured ribbons, and boiled — thus receiving the
dye from the ribbon used — were formerly sent as Easter
gifts. These are still sometimes seen in little shops, but
the Easter eggs now sent as presents by those who can
afford them do not owe their origin to any feathered fowl,
but are artificially made of various substances, and filled
with gifts of differing value, from chocolate creams to
diamond rings or costly shawls. It is both curious and
interesting to note that in almost all countries this custom
of giving and receiving brightly coloured eggs at a spring
festival, has prevailed from time immemorial ; hence,
probably, we see in the painted ostrich eggs from Etruscan
tombs, which are at least two thousand years old, the
spring gift of friends to the beloved dead. A writer in the
Standard some years ago, in a very interesting article traced
this custom to China ; he says : — ' Gustave Schlegel,
during his official residence in China as representative of
the Netherlands, in his interesting and erudite researches
through a mass of Chinese literature discovered that the
"painted eggs," as they are called in China, were used
in the great Spring Festival of Tsing-ming, and are noticed
EGGS in
Our viands
1893Page 52
Presented as published in 1893. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
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The problem which puzzled the learned, centuries ago,
as to which was first created, the egg or the hen, has never
yet been unravelled. Theologians would probably say, the
hen, certainly ; but Darwin would be in favour of the egg,
as being of the nature of that protoplasm from which all
life originates. The ancients were certainly of Darwin's
opinion, and looked upon the earth itself as developed
from an egg by the power of various divinities, hence the
egg became a sacred symbol in many countries, was hung
up in Egyptian temples, and represented in paintings and
sculptures as encircled in the folds of the good Agatho-
dsemon, the serpent worshipped in so many lands, and
which was doubtless connected with that other famous egg
of antiquity, the serpent's egg of the Druids.
If we visit the British Museum we shall see eggs and
egg-stands of various shapes and sizes, which have been
i io OUR VIANDS
found in tombs in Egypt, Greece, and Etruria ; among the
Etruscan relics are several ostrich eggs beautifully painted.
These sepulchral eggs were, doubtless, symbolical of a
future life, but were also probably designed as food for
the dead, for it was well-nigh a universal practice to provide
food for the departed spirit, a practice still in use among
savages.
The eggs which are given at Easter time are supposed
to symbolise the Resurrection, but it is certain that the
custom originated in pre-Christian times. Eggs wrapped
in various-coloured ribbons, and boiled — thus receiving the
dye from the ribbon used — were formerly sent as Easter
gifts. These are still sometimes seen in little shops, but
the Easter eggs now sent as presents by those who can
afford them do not owe their origin to any feathered fowl,
but are artificially made of various substances, and filled
with gifts of differing value, from chocolate creams to
diamond rings or costly shawls. It is both curious and
interesting to note that in almost all countries this custom
of giving and receiving brightly coloured eggs at a spring
festival, has prevailed from time immemorial ; hence,
probably, we see in the painted ostrich eggs from Etruscan
tombs, which are at least two thousand years old, the
spring gift of friends to the beloved dead. A writer in the
Standard some years ago, in a very interesting article traced
this custom to China ; he says : — ' Gustave Schlegel,
during his official residence in China as representative of
the Netherlands, in his interesting and erudite researches
through a mass of Chinese literature discovered that the
"painted eggs," as they are called in China, were used
in the great Spring Festival of Tsing-ming, and are noticed
EGGS in