Madhulk  +  556186 Mon, 18 Aug 08 04:32 PM I did a little research of my own into your unauthorized botany experiment. Apparently, in 1871, a strange contagion struck the Morelly Settlement, and 200 people died almost over night. A priest, who witnessed the scene left a diary. His last entries described how the settlers began acting out of character. He claimed a local flower was to blame. "On God's green earth, this flower was the thief in the temple, (the initiator of all sins?) the silent temptress that, with a single sneeze, brought out the basest instincts in men and drove them to violence." Madhulk Joined on Mon, Dec 17 2007 Bulgaria Senior Member 3,177 THE MAN OF STEEL

	YoungCalifornian  +  556453 Tue, 19 Aug 08 09:41 AM "The thief in the temple" seems to merely be a poetic metaphor and not an idiom.  I'm not sure if the temple that is referenced is part of that metaphor or a literal structure (the diary belonged to a priest after all).  Regardless, the usage of "thief" is probably a reflection of the flower figuratively robbing people of their lives.  The ultimate point is simply that the flower is the source of the contagion. YoungCalifornian Joined on Mon, Feb 14 2005 Los Angeles, California Regular Member 586 Idioms, Metaphors

	Madhulk  +  556550 Tue, 19 Aug 08 03:01 PM  Thanks, YoungCalifornian! Madhulk