Chapter XXXI: Book XVII (6)

[511] Virgil, Georg. B. ii. l. 139, mentions Panchaia, in Arabia, as being more especially the country of frankincense. That region corresponds with the modern Yemen. It is, however, a well-ascertained fact, that it grows in India as well, and it is supposed that the greater part of it used by the ancients was in reality imported from that country. The Indian incense is the product of a tree belonging to the terebinth class, named by Roxburgh, who first discovered it, Boswellia thurifera. It is more especially found in the mountainous parts of India. On the other hand, it has been asserted that the Arabian incense was the product of a coniferous tree, either the Juniperus Lycia, the Juniperus Phœnicea, or the Juniperus thurifera of Linnæus. But, as Fée justly remarks, it would appear more reasonable to look among the terebinths of Arabia for the incense tree, if one of that class produces it in India, and more especially because the coniferous trees produce only resins, while the terebinths produce gum resins, to which class of vegetable products frankincense evidently belonged. In commerce, the gum resin, Olibanum, the produce of the Boswellia serrata, and imported from the Levant, bears the name of frankincense.

[512] See B. vi. c. 32. Their name is still preserved in the modern Hadramaut, to the east of Aden.

[513] See B. vi. cc. 31 and 32. He was the son of Agrippa and Julia, the daughter of Augustus, by whom he was adopted.

[514] This seems the most probable among these various surmises and conjectures.

[515] These words are said by some to be derived from the Greek, καρφὸς, “a hollow stalk,” on account of its lightness, and δᾳδίον, “a torch,” on account of its resinous and inflammable qualities. It is, however, much more probable that they were derived from the Arabic, and not from the Celto-Scythic, as Poinsinet conjectures.

[516] Fée is probably right in his conjecture, that it was so called solely in consequence of its superior strength.

[517] Meaning “drop” incense.

[518] “Undivided” incense.

[519] From their being the size of an ὄροβος, or “chick-pea.”

[520] There is some doubt as to the correctness of this reading. The “manna” here mentioned is quite a different substance to the manna of modern commerce, obtained from the Fraxinus ornus of naturalists.

[521] He was a kinsman of Olympias, the mother of Alexander, and a man of very austere habits. Plutarch says, that on this occasion Alexander sent to Leonidas 600 talents’ weight of incense and myrrh.

[522] See B. vi. c. 32.

[523] Probably the same as the deity, Assabinus, mentioned by Pliny in c. 42 of the present Book. Theophrastus mentions him as identical with the sun, others, again, with Jupiter. Theophrastus says that the god received not a tenth part, but a third.

[524] As to this place and the Gebanitæ, see B. vi. c. 32.

[525] There must surely be some mistake in these numbers.

[526] The Mediterranean.

[527] In c. 19 of the present Book.

[528] It is supposed to be the product of an amyris, but is not now esteemed as a perfume; but is used in medicine as a tonic. Forskhal has attributed to the Amyris kataf, or kafal, the production of myrrh. According to Ehrenberg, a very similar tree, though constituting a different species, the Balsamodendrum myrrha, also produces this substance. It is imported into Europe from both Abyssinia and Arabia. It was much used by the ancients, to flavour their wines.

[529] See B. vi. c. 32.

[530] Theophrastus says the terebinth.

[531] From the Greek στάζω, “to drop.” Fée observes, that the moderns know nothing positive as to the mode of extracting myrrh from the tree. See the account given by Ovid, Met. B. x. l. 500 _et seq._ of the transformation of Myrrha into this tree,—“The warm drops fall from the tree. The tears, even, have their own honour; and the myrrh that distils from the bark bears the name of its mistress, and in no age will remain unknown.”

[532] Fée remarks, that at the present day we are acquainted only with one kind of myrrh; the fragments which bear an impression like those of nails being not a distinct kind, but a simple variety in appearance only. He thinks, also, that Pliny may very possibly be describing several distinct resinous products, under the one name of myrrh. An account of these various districts will be found in B. vi. c. 32.

[533] Hardouin suggests that it may be so called from the island of Dia, mentioned by Strabo, B. xvi.

[534] “Collatitia.” The reading, however, is very doubtful.

[535] What this was is now unknown. Fée suggests that it may have been bdellium, which is found in considerable quantities in the myrrh that is imported at the present day.

[536] This is most probably the meaning of Pliny’s expression—“Ergo transit in mastichen;” though Hardouin reads it as meaning that myrrh sometimes degenerates to mastich: and Fée, understanding the passage in the same sense, remarks that the statement is purely fabulous. Mastich, he says, is the produce of the Pistacia lentiscus of Linnæus, which abounds in Greece and the other parts of southern Europe. The greater part of the mastich of commerce comes from the island of Chio. It is impossible to conjecture to what plant Pliny here alludes, with the head of a thistle.

[537] This kind, Fée says, is quite unknown to the moderns.

[538] This substance is still gathered from the Cistus creticus of Linnæus, which is supposed to be the same as the plant leda, mentioned by Pliny. It is also most probably the same as the Cisthon, mentioned by Pliny in B. xxiv. c. 48. It is very commonly found in Spain. The substance is gathered from off the leaves, not by the aid of goats, but with whips furnished with several thongs, with which the shrubs are beaten. There are two sorts of ladanum known in commerce; the one friable, and mixed with earthy substances, and known as “ladanum in tortis;” the other black, and soft to the fingers, the only adventitious substances in which are a little sand and a few hairs.

[539] See B. vi. c. 32.

[540] For some further account of this substance, see B. xxix. c. 10. Filthy as it was, the œsypum, or sweat and grease of sheep, was used by the Roman ladies as one of their most choice cosmetics. Ovid, in his “Art of Love,” more than once inveighs against the use of it.

[541] From the Greek ἔναιμον, “styptic,” or “blood-stopping.” It is at the present day called gum “de lecce” in Italy. Fée says that it is not often procured from the olive-trees of France, though it is found very commonly on those of Naples and Calabria. It has no active powers, he says, as a medicine.

[542] Hardouin suggests that they may be the pelagiæ, mentioned again in B. xiii. c. 51.

[543] See B. vi. c. 31.

[544] Although the savin shrub, the Juniperus Sabina of Linnæus, bears this name in Greek, it is evident, as Fée says, that Pliny does not allude to it, but to a coniferous tree, as it is that family which produces a resinous wood with a balsamic odour when ignited. Bauhin and others would make the tree meant to be the Thuya occidentalis of Linnæus; but, as Fée observes, that tree is in reality a native originally of Canada, while the Thuya orientalis is a native of Japan. He suggests, however, that the Thuya articulata of Mount Atlas may have possibly been the citrus of Pliny.

[545] See end of B. v.

[546] All these are mentioned in B. vi. c. 31.

[547] It is not known what wood is meant under this name. Aloe, and some other woods, when ignited are slightly narcotic.

[548] See B. v. c. 21.

[549] See B. vi. c. 30.

[550] See c. 55 of the present Book.

[551] Because its perfumes were held in such high esteem, for burning on the piles of the dead. This, of course, was done primarily to avoid the offensive smell.

[552] The bark of the Cinnamomum Zeylanicum of the modern naturalists, the cinnamon-tree of Ceylon.

[553] B. iii.

[554] See B. vi. c. 34.

[555] See B. vi. c. 26.

[556] As Fée observes, this description does not at all resemble that of the cinnamon-tree of Ceylon, as known to us. M. Bonastre is of opinion that the nutmeg-tree was known to the ancients under this name; but, as Fée observes, the nutmeg could never have been taken for a bark, and cinnamon is described as such in the ancient writers. He inclines to think that their cinnamon was really the bark of a species of amyris.

[557] See c. 33 of the present Book, and the Note.

[558] Or “wood of cinnamon.”

[559] “Interrasili.” Gold partly embossed, and partly left plain, was thus called.

[560] The Empress Livia.

[561] There has been considerable doubt what plant it was that produced the cassia of the ancients. Fée, after diligently enquiring into the subject, inclines to think that it was the Laurus cassia of Linnæus, the same tree that produces the cassia of the present day.

[562] There is little doubt that all this is fabulous.

[563] Or, “smelling like balsam.”

[564] “Looking like laurel.”

[565] “Equal to cinnamon.” Fée thinks that it is a variety of the Laurus cassia.

[566] He probably alludes to the Daphne Cnidium of Linnæus, which, as Fée remarks, is altogether different from the Laurus cassia, or genuine cassia.

[567] A gum resin of some unknown species, but not improbably, Fée thinks, the produce of some of the Amyrides. Sprengel thinks that it was produced from the Gardenia gummifera.

[568] Aloe-wood.

[569] According to Poinsinet, these Arabic words derive their origin from the Slavonic; the first signifying a “cordial drug,” or “alexipharmic,” and the other a drug “which divides itself into tablets.” It is impossible to divine what drugs are meant by these names.

[570] Signifying the “unguent acorn,” or “nut.” There is little doubt that the behen or ben nut of the Arabians is meant, of which there are several sorts. It is used by the Hindoos for calico printing and pharmacy, and was formerly employed in Europe in the arts, and for medical purposes. It is no longer used as a perfume. The “oil of ben” used in commerce is extracted from the fruit of the Moringa oleifera of naturalists. It is inodorous; for which reason, Fée is of opinion that the name signifies “the oily nut,” and quotes Dioscorides, who says, B. iv., that an oil is extracted from this balanus, which is used as an ingredient in unguents, in place of other oils. Fée also says that at the present day it is used by perfumers, to fix or arrest the evanescent odours of such flowers as the jasmine and the lily.

[571] This Æthiopian variety is quite unknown, and is, as Fée remarks, most probably of a different species from the genuine myrobalanus.

[572] See B. vi. c. 32.

[573] “Curing thirst.” Dioscorides, B. i. c. 148, says that it was so called from, being full of juice, which quenched thirst like water.

[574] “Palm-nut.” Fée thinks it not improbable that one of the date-palms is meant, if we may judge from the name. He suggests that possibly the Elais or avoira of Guinea, the Elais Guineensis, which is found as far as Upper Egypt, and which produces a fine oil known as palm-oil, is meant, or possibly the Douma Thebaica, a palm-tree frequently met with in Egypt. On fermentation, a vinous drink is extracted from the last, which is capable of producing intoxication.

[575] Fée remarks, that this must not be confounded with the Calamus aromaticus of the moderns, of which Pliny speaks in B. xxv. c. 100, with sufficient accuracy to enable us to identify it with the Acorus calamus of Linnæus. It is not ascertained by naturalists what plant is meant by Pliny in the present instance, though Fée is of opinion that a gramineous plant of the genus Andropogon is meant. M. Guibourt has suggested that the Indian Gentiana chirayta is the plant. From what Pliny says in B. xiii. c. 21, it appears that this calamus grew in Syria, which is also the native country of the Andropogon schœnanthus.

[576] See B. xxiv. c. 14. The gum resin ammoniacum is still imported into Europe from Africa and the East, in the form of drops or cakes. It is a mildly stimulating expectorant, and is said to be the produce of the Dorema ammoniacum. There are still two sorts in commerce: the first in large masses of a yellow, dirty colour, mingled with heterogeneous substances, and of a plastic consistency. This is the phyrama of Pliny, or mixed ammoniac. The other is in tears, of irregular form and a whitish colour, brittle and vitreous when broken. This is the thrauston, or “friable” ammoniac of Pliny. Jackson says, that the plant which produces it is common in Morocco, and is called feskouk, resembling a large stalk of fennel. The ammoniac of Morocco is not, however, imported into this country, being too much impregnated with sand, in consequence of not being gathered till it falls to the ground.

[577] Solinus tells us, that the tree itself is called Metops.

[578] It is clear that, under this name, certain lichens of a hairy or filamentary nature are meant. They adhere, Dioscorides tells us, to the cedar, the white poplar, and the oak. The white ones belong, probably, to the Usnea florida of Linnæus, the red ones to the Usnea barbata, and the black ones to the Alectoria jubata, an almost inodorous lichen.

[579] Probably the Roccella tinctoria of Linnæus, a lichen most commonly found upon rocks.

[580] The henné, the Lawsonia inermis of the modern naturalists, a shrub found in Egypt, Syria, and Barbary. From this tree the henna is made with which the women of the East stain the skin of their hands and feet.

[581] The jujube-tree. See B. xv. c. 14.

[582] See B. xx. c. 82.

[583] Or privet.

[584] But in B. xxiv. c. 68, he says that this plant grows in the island of Rhodes.

[585] According to Fée, this is the same as the Lignum Rhodianum, or wood of Rhodes, of commerce, sometimes also called, but incorrectly, wood of roses. It is, probably, the same as the Convolvulus scoparius of Linnæus.

[586] Or “red sceptre,” probably so called from the flowers clustering along the whole length of the branches.

[587] A liquid matter extracted from the beaver.

[588] Generally regarded as identical with the Teucrium Marum of Linnæus, a sweet-smelling shrub found in the south of Europe and the East, by us commonly known as “herb mastich,” somewhat similar to marjoram. Fée says that the marum of Egypt is a kind of sage, the Salvia Æthiopis of Linnæus.

[589] Balsam (or balm of Mecca, as it is sometimes called) is the produce of two trees, probably varieties of one another, of the terebinth family, belonging to the genus Amyris. So far from being a native solely of Judæa, Bruce assures us that its original country was that which produces myrrh, in the vicinity of Babelmandel, and that the inhabitants use the wood solely for fuel. In Judæa it appears to have been cultivated solely in gardens; and it was this tree which produced the famous balm of Gilead of Scripture. The balsam trees known to us do not at all correspond with Pliny’s description, as they do not resemble either the vine or myrtle, nor are their leaves at all like those of rue.

[590] “Malleolis.” So called when the new shoot of the tree springing from a branch of the former year, is cut off for the sake of planting, with a bit of the old wood on each side of it, in the form of a mallet.

[591] “Easily cut.” This and the other kinds, the names of which mean “rough barked,” and “good length,” are probably only varieties of the same tree, in different states.

[592] This is said, probably, in allusion to the smell, and not the taste. Fée remarks, that Pliny speaks with a considerable degree of exaggeration, as its odour is very inferior to that of several balsams which contain benzoic acid. The balsam obtained by incision, as mentioned by Pliny, is not brought to Europe, but only that obtained by the process of decoction; which is known as “balm of Mecca,” or of Judæa. It is difficult to believe, according to Fée, that it was adulterated with the substances here mentioned by Pliny; oil of roses having been always a very precious commodity, wax being likely to change its nature entirely, and gums not being of a nature to combine with it. Its asserted effects upon milk he states to be entirely fabulous; the statement is derived from Dioscorides.

[593] The concha, or “shell,” was a Greek and Roman liquid measure, of which there were two sizes. The smaller was half a cyathus, .0412 of an English pint; the larger was about three times the size of the former, and was known also as the oxybaphum.

[594] Or “wood of balsam.” It is still known in European commerce by its ancient name. The fruit is called Carpobalsamum.

[595] See B. xxvi. cc. 53, 54.

[596] These localities are mentioned in B. v.

[597] The Storax officinalis of Linnæus, a tree found in the south of Europe and the Levant. The variety found in France, and known as the Aliboufier, produces no storax, or at least a very small proportion. The storax of commerce appears in three states—grain storax, with which Pliny does not appear to have been acquainted; amygdalite, which is perhaps the sort which he speaks of as adulterated with bitter almonds; and lump storax, of reddish brown colour, which is frequently mixed with wood dust, or worm dust, as mentioned by Pliny, and is but little esteemed. The tree is also called Liquidambar styraciflua.

[598] A shrub of the family of Ombelliferæ, belonging to the genus bubon. It is a native of Asia Minor and Syria.

[599] See B. xix. c. 52, and B. xx. c. 75.

[600] This was a common notion with the Romans. Virgil, Georg. B. iii. l. 415, says:—

“Galbaneoque agitare graves nidore chelydros.”

Though considered to produce a pleasant perfume by the ancients, it is no longer held in estimation for that quality, and is only employed in some slight degree for medical purposes.

[601] The produce of the Pastinaca opopanax of Linnæus, or the Panax Copticum of Bauhin, an umbelliferous plant which abounds in the East, and is not uncommon in the south of France. The gum called Opopanax was formerly used, and its supposed virtues are indicated by its name, which signifies “the juice which is the universal remedy.”

[602] The umbelliferous plant known as the Heracleum spondylium of Linnæus. It is commonly found in France, where it is called Berce-branc-ursine. It received its name from the resemblance of its smell to that of the sphondyle, a fetid kind of wood-beetle.

[603] Some suppose this tree to be the Laurus cassia of Linnæus, or wild cinnamon; others take it for the betel, the Piper betel of Linnæus. Clusius thinks that the name is derived from the Indian Tamalpatra, the name given from time immemorial to the leaf of a tree known by the Arabs as the Cadegi-indi, possibly the same as the Katou-carua of the Malabars.

[604] From the Greek ὀμφάκιον, being made of unripe grapes. As Fée remarks, that made from the olive is correctly described as a kind of oil, but that made from the grape must have been a rob, or pure verjuice. These two liquids must have had totally different qualities, and resembled each other in nothing but the name. That extracted from the olive is mentioned again in B. xxiii. c. 4, in reference to its medicinal properties.

[605] These grapes are described in B. xiv. c. 4 and c. 11.

[606] “Reliquum corpus.” It is not clear what is the meaning of this. The passage is either in a corrupt state, or defective.

[607] A singular metal, one would think, for keeping verjuice in.

[608] From the Greek βρύον, “moss.” He speaks again of these grapes of the white poplar in B. xxiv. c. 34; also in c. 51 of the present Book. Hardouin thinks that he is speaking of moss. Fée is of opinion, that the blossoms or buds of the tree are meant, which have a fragrant smell. This is the more probable, as we find Pliny here speaking of the œnanthe, or vine-flower, by which Fée supposes that he means the blossom of the Vitis vinifera of Linnæus, which exhales a delightful perfume.

[609] The bud, probably, of the Juniperus Lycia.

[610] See B. vi. c. 31.

[611] Said to have been a surname given by some nations to the god Bacchus.

[612] It is generally supposed by the commentators, that Pliny makes a mistake here, and that the elate or spathe was not a tree, but the envelope or capsule, containing the flowers and fruit of a tree, which is supposed by some to have been really the Phœnix dactylifera, or date-palm. There can be little doubt that he is mistaken in his mention of the abies or fir-tree here. See B. xxiii. c. 53.

[613] Bauhin thinks that this juice or oil was extracted from the nutmeg, the Myristica moschata of Thunberg, and Bonastre is of the same opinion. But, as Fée observes, the nutmeg is a native of India, and Pliny speaks of the Comacum as coming from Syria. Some authors, he adds, who are of this opinion, think also that the other cinnamomum mentioned by Pliny was no other than the nutmeg, which they take to be the same as the chrysobalanos, or “golden nut,” of Galen.

[614] See end of B. ii.

[615] See end of B. ii.

[616] See end of B. vii.

[617] Fabianus Papirius: see end of B. ii.

[618] See end of B. ii.

[619] See end of B. iii.

[620] The son of a freedman; some further particulars are given of him by Pliny in B. xxxiii. c. 1. By his talents and eloquence, he attained considerable distinction at Rome. He was made a senator by Appius Claudius, and was curule ædile B.C. 303. He published a collection of legal rules, entitled the “Jus Flavianum.”

[621] See end of B. viii.

[622] See end of B. iii.

[623] See end of B. vii.

[624] See end of B. v.

[625] See end of B. ii.

[626] Probably the same as the Niger mentioned by Dioscorides as a writer on Materia Medica. He is also mentioned by Epiphanius and Galen; but Dioscorides charges him with numerous blunders in his accounts of vegetable productions.

[627] A compiler of Roman history, who wrote at the beginning of the second century before Christ. He wrote Annals of Rome from the earliest to his own times: only a few fragments of his work have survived.

[628] See end of B. ii.

[629] C. Sempronius Tuditanus, consul of Rome, B.C. 129. He wrote a book of historical Commentaries. He was maternal grandfather of the orator Hortensius.

[630] See end of B. ii.

[631] See end of B. iii.

[632] See end of B. ii.

[633] A native of Olynthus. His mother, Hero, was a cousin of the philosopher Aristotle, under whose tutelage he was educated. It is generally supposed that he was put to death by order of Alexander the Great, but in what manner is a matter of uncertainty. He wrote a History of Greece, and numerous other learned works. Some MSS. are still extant, professing to be his writings; but they are generally looked upon as spurious.

[634] See end of B. vii.

[635] See end of B. vii.

[636] A native of Lampsacus, and disciple of Diogenes the Cynic. He accompanied Alexander the Great in his Asiatic expedition. He wrote a history of the reigns of Philip and Alexander, and a history of Greece, in twelve books. Only a few fragments of his works are left.

[637] See end of B. vii.

[638] See end of B. vi.

[639] See end of B. ii.

[640] There was a native of Mendæ, in Sicily, of this name, who wrote a history of Dionysius, the tyrant of Syracuse. It was, probably, a different person of this name who wrote a work on the East; if such is the case, Pliny most probably quotes from the work of the latter.

[641] Nothing seems to be known of this writer; but it is suggested that he may have accompanied Nearchus and Onesicritus in the East.

[642] See end of B. vi.

[643] Nothing is known of him; but Hardouin suggests that he may have accompanied Alexander the Great in his Eastern expedition.

[644] See end of B. iv.

[645] An officer at the court of Alexander the Great, who wrote a collection of anecdotes respecting the private life and reign of that emperor, some fragments of which are preserved by Athenæus.

[646] See end of B. iv.

[647] He is supposed to have been the same with the person of that name who wrote a history of Alexander the Great; but nothing further is known of him.

[648] A physician of Neapolis, who is supposed to have lived in the early part of the first century after Christ.

[649] A writer on medicine, of whom all further particulars have perished.

[650] Possibly Ephippus of Olynthus, a Greek historian of the reign of Alexander the Great.

[651] See end of B. viii.

[652] An ancient Greek historian, mentioned also by Strabo; but no further particulars are known of him.

[653] The founder of the dynasty of the Egyptian Ptolemies, which ended in Cleopatra, B.C. 38: he wrote a narrative of the wars of Alexander, which is frequently quoted by the later writers, and served as the groundwork for Arrian’s history.

[654] A native of Pella, who wrote a history of Macedonia down to the wars of Alexander the Great. There was another writer of the same name, a native of Philippi, who also wrote a treatise, either geographical or historical, relative to Macedonia.

[655] A native of Amphipolis, though some make him to have been an Ephesian. The age in which he lived is not exactly known. He attacked the writings of Homer with such uncalled-for asperity, that his name has been proverbial for a snarling, captious critic. He is said to have met with a violent death. His literary productions were numerous, but none of them have come down to us.

[656] See end of B. ii.

[657] See end of B. viii.

[658] See end of B. xi.

[659] See end of B. iii.

[660] See end of B. v.

[661] See end of B. xi.

[662] A physician of Heraclea, near Ephesus. He wrote commentaries on the works of Hippocrates.

[663] Nothing is known of him; but it has been suggested that he may have been the author of a few fragments on veterinary surgery which still exist.

[664] There were many physicians and surgeons of this name, but probably Dionysius of Samos is meant, or else Sallustius Dionysius, quoted by Pliny, B. xxxii. c. 26.

[665] Also called Democedes, a physician of Crotona, who practised at Ægina. He was afterwards physician to Polycrates, the tyrant of Samos, and King Darius, whose foot he cured. His work on medicine has perished.

[666] Nothing whatever is known of this writer.

[667] Nothing is known relative to this writer.

[668] Nothing is known of him.

[669] Or Iölaus, a native of Bithynia, who wrote a work on Materia Medica. He was probably a contemporary of Heraclides of Tarentum, in the third century B.C.

[670] A physician of Tarentum, who belonged to the Empiric sect. He wrote several medical works, and is highly commended by Galen. Only a few fragments of his writings remain.

[671] An historical and geographical writer, frequently quoted by Pliny. From the mention made of him in B. xxxvii. c. 2, it would appear that he flourished during the time of Pliny, or very shortly before.

[672] See end of B. ii.

[673] Fée remarks, that most of the unguents and perfumes of which Pliny here speaks would find but little favour at the present day.

[674] This does not appear to be exactly the case, for in the twenty-third Book of the Iliad, l. 186, we find “rose-scented” oil mentioned, indeed, Pliny himself alludes to it a little further on.

[675] “Nidorem.” This term was used in reference to the smell of burnt or roasted animal substances. It is not improbable that he alludes to the stench arising from the burnt sacrifices.

[676] The “Thuya articulata.” See c. 29 of the present Book.

[677] “Scrinium.” See B. vii. c. 30.

[678] The use of perfumes more probably originated in India, than among the Persians.

[679] But of seeds or plants.

[680] The perfumes of Delos themselves had nothing in particular to recommend them; but as it was the centre of the worship of Apollo, it is not improbable that exquisite perfumes formed a large proportion of the offerings brought thither from all parts of the world.

[681] In Egypt. See B. v. c. 11. The unguents of Mendes are again mentioned in the present Chapter.

[682] Or flower-de-luce. This perfume was called Irinum. The Iris Florentina of the botanists, Fée says, has the smell of the violet. For the composition of this perfume, see Dioscorides, B. i. c. 67.

[683] Rhodinum.

[684] See B. v. c. 26.

[685] Crocinum; made from the Crocus sativus of naturalists.

[686] See B. xii. c. 62. It was made from the flowers of the vine, mixed with omphacium.

[687] Amaracinum. The amaracus is supposed to have been the Origanum majoranoides of the moderns. Dioscorides, B. i. c. 59, says that the best was made at Cyzicus.

[688] Melinum. See B. xxiii. c. 54.

[689] Cyprinum. See B. xii. c. 51. The cyprus was the modern Lawsonia inermis.

[690] Made from the oil of bitter almonds. See B. xv. c. 7.

[691] Or “all Athenian.” We find in Athenæus, B. xv. c. 15, the composition of this unguent.

[692] From what is said by Apollonius in the passage of Athenæus last quoted, it has been thought that this was the same as the unguent called nardinum. It is very doubtful, however.

[693] Narcissinum. See B. xxi. c. 75. Dioscorides gives the composition of this unguent, B. i. c. 54.

[694] Among the stymmata, Dioscorides ranges the sweet-rush, the sweet-scented calamus and xylo-balsamum; and among the hedysmata amomum, nard, myrrh, balsam, costus, and marjoram. The latter constituted the _base_ of unguents, the former were only added occasionally.

[695] Cinnabar is never used to colour cosmetics at the present day, from its tendency to excoriate the skin. See B. xxiii. c. 39.

[696] This is still used for colouring cosmetics at the present day. See B. xxii. c. 23.

[697] Fée remarks, that salt can be of no use; but by falling to the bottom without dissolving, would rather tend to spoil the unguent.

[698] See B. xii. c. 60. The name “bryon” seems also to have been extended to the buds of various trees of the Conifera class and of the white poplar. It is probably to the buds of the last tree that Pliny here alludes.

[699] Oil of ben. See B. xii. c. 48.

[700] Or metopium. See Note [690] above.

[701] Made from olives. See B. xii. c. 60.

[702] See B. xii. c. 29.

[703] The modern Andropogon schœnanthus. See B. xii. c. 48.

[704] See B. xii. c. 48.

[705] Carpobalsamum. See. B. xii. c. 54.

[706] See B. xii. c. 56.

[707] Fluid resin of coniferous trees of Europe.

[708] See B. xv. c. 35.

[709] Cupressus semper-virens. He does not say what part of the tree was employed.

[710] See B. xii. c. 36.

[711] See c. 34 of the present Book.

[712] The alkanet and cinnabar were only used for colouring.

[713] “Sampsuchinum.” It is generally supposed that the sampsuchum, and the amaracus were the same, the sweet marjoram, or Origanum marjorana of Linnæus. Fée, however, is of a contrary opinion. See B. xxi. c. 35. In Dioscorides, B. i. c. 59, there is a difference made between sampsuchinum and amaracinum, though but a very slight one.

[714] The bark of the Cassia lignea of the pharmacopœa, the Laurus cassia of botany. See B. xii. c. 43.

[715] See B. xii. c. 26. The Andropogon nardus of Linnæus.

[716] See B. xii. c. 41.

[717] See B. xxiii. c. 54, also B. xv. c. 10. The Malum struthium, or “sparrow quince,” was an oblong variety of the fruit.

[718] Sesamum orientale of Linnæus. See B. xviii. c. 22, and B. xxii. c. 54.

[719] Balm of Gilead. See B. xii. c. 54.

[720] Southernwood. The Artemisia abrotonum of Linnæus.

[721] Or lily unguent, made of the lily of Susa, which had probably a more powerful smell than that of Europe. Dioscorides gives its composition, B. i. c. 63.

[722] The Crocus sativus of Linnæus.

[723] Cyprinum. It has been previously mentioned in this Chapter.

[724] See B. xii. c. 52.

[725] The gum resin of the Pastinaca opopanax of Linnæus. See B. xii. c. 57.

[726] Or unguent of fenugreek, from the Greek τῆλις, meaning that plant, the Trigonella fœnum Græcum of Linnæus. See B. xxiv. c. 120.

[727] See B. ii. c. 26, and B. xxi. c. 68-70.

[728] The Trifolium melilotus of Linnæus. See B. xxi. c. 30.

[729] See B. xii. c. 53.

[730] He would imply that it was so called from the Greek μεγὰς, “great;” but it was more generally said that it received its name from its inventor, Megalus.

[731] See B. xii. c. 5.

[732] Fée does not appear to credit this statement. By the use of the word “ventiletur,” “fanned” may be possibly implied.

[733] See B. xii. c. 59.

[734] The Agnus castus of Linnæus. See B. xxiv. c. 38. The leaves are quite inodorous, though the fruit of this plant is slightly aromatic.

[735] “Externa.” The reading is doubtful, and it is difficult to say what is the exact meaning of the word.

[736] Cinnamomino.

[737] Nardinum.

[738] Or leaf unguent, so called from being made of leaves of nard. See B. xii. c. 27.

[739] See B. xii. c. 25.

[740] See B. xii. c. 28.

[741] See B. xii. c. 26, 27, where the list is given.

[742] See B. xii. c. 35.

[743] Susinum. See p. 163.

[744] Summa auctoritas rei.

[745] See B. xii. c. 46.

[746] See B. xii. c. 53.

[747] See B. xii. c. 55.

[748] See B. xii. c. 37.

[749] See B. xii. c. 48.

[750] See B. xii. c. 48.

[751] See B. xii. c. 45.

[752] Fée suggests that this may be the Nymphæa cœrulea of Savigny, a plant that is common in the Nile, and the flowers of which exhale a sweet odour.

[753] The diapasmata were dry, odoriferous powders, similar to those used at the present day in sachets and scent-bags.

[754] “Fæcem unguenti.”

[755] This word is still used in pharmacy to denote the husks or residuary matter left after the extraction of the juice.

[756] See B. xxxvi. c. 12. See also Mark xiv. 7, and John xii. 3. Leaden boxes were also used for a similar purpose.

[757] Odores.

[758] “Heres.” The person was so called who succeeded to the property, whether real or personal, of an intestate.

[759] See B. xvii. c. 3, where he quotes this passage from Cicero at length. It appears to be from De Orat. B. iii. c. 69. Both Cicero and Pliny profess to find a smell that arises from the earth itself, through the agency of the sun. But, as Fée remarks, pure earth is perfectly inodorous. He suggests, however, that this odour attributed by the ancients to the earth, may in reality have proceeded from the fibrous roots of thyme and other plants. If such is not the real solution, it seems impossible to suggest any other.

[760] By giving preference to the more simple odours.

[761] “Crassitudo.”

[762] Or “thick” unguent.

[763] We learn from Athenæus, and a passage in the Aulularia of Plautus, that this was done long before Nero’s time, among the Greeks.

[764] Who succeeded Galba. He was one of Nero’s favourite companions in his debaucheries.

[765] Caligula.

[766] Solium.

[767] After victories, for instance, or when marching orders were given.

[768] This is said in bitter irony.

[769] Sub casside.

[770] Asia Minor more particularly.

[771] Exotica.

[772] The organs of taste and of smell.

[773] We have this fact alluded to in the works of Plautus, Juvenal, Martial, and Ælian. The Greeks were particularly fond of mixing myrrh with their wine. Nard wine is also mentioned by Plautus. Miles Gl. iii. 2, 11.

[774] Or Lucius Plautius Plancus. He was proscribed by the triumvirs, with the sanction of his brother. In consequence of his use of perfumes, the place of his concealment “got wind;” and in order to save his slaves, who were being tortured to death because they would not betray him, he voluntarily surrendered himself.

[775] Attaching to the triumvirate.

[776] Capua, its capital, was the great seat of the unguent and perfume manufacture in Italy.

[777] The Phœnix dactylifera of Linnæus. See also B. xii. c. 62, where he seems also to allude to this tree.

[778] At the present day this is not the fact. The village of La Bordighiera, situate on an eminence of the Apennines, grows great quantities of dates, of good quality. At Hieres, Nice, San Remo, and Genoa, they are also grown.

[779] This, too, is not the fact. The dates of Valencia, Seville, and other provinces of Spain, are sweet, and of excellent quality.

[780] Pliny is wrong again in this statement. The date of Barbary, Tunis, Algiers, and Bildulgerid, the “land of dates,” is superior in every respect to that of the East.

[781] The Æthiopians, as we learn from Theophrastus, B. ii. c. 8.

[782] Or in a wild state.

[783] “Tectorii vicem.” They were probably planted in rows, close to the wall.

[784] This mode of ascending the date-palm is still practised in the East.

[785] See B. xvi. c. 37.

[786] “Umbracula.” The fibres of the leaves were probably platted or woven, and the “umbracula” made in much the same manner as the straw and fibre hats of the present day.

[787] Most of this is borrowed from Theophrastus, Hist. Plant. ii. 9.

[788] Fée remarks, that this account is quite erroneous.

[789] This he copies also from Theophrastus, B. ii. c. 8.

[790] Theophrastus, B. ii. c. 8, mentions this as a kind of date peculiar to Cyprus.

[791] This is said solely in relation to the date of Cyprus.

[792] Or “dwellers in tents;” similar to the modern Bedouins.

[793] Fée remarks, that in these words we find the first germs of the sexual system that has been established by the modern botanists. He thinks that it is clearly shown by this account, that Pliny was acquainted with the fecundation of plants by the agency of the pollen.

[794] In allusion to the pollen, possibly. See the last Note.

[795] “Lanugine.” It is possible that in the use of this word, also, he may allude to the pollen. Under the term “pulvis,” “dust,” he probably alludes in exaggerated terms to the same theory.

[796] The same methods of propagating the palm are still followed in the East, and in the countries near the tropics.

[797] In c. 7 of the present Book. See also B. xvii. c. 3.

[798] Fée mentions one near Elvas in Spain, which shot up into seven distinct trees, as it were, from a single trunk. The Douma Thebaica, he says, of Syria and Egypt, a peculiar kind of palm, is also bifurcated. The fruit of it, he thinks, are very probably the Phænico-balanus of B. xii. c. 47.

[799] “Spado.” Represented by the Greek εὔνουχος and ἔνορχος.

[800] “Cæduæ.” Though this is the fact as to some palm-trees, the greater part perish after being cut; the vital bud occupying the summit, and the trunk not being susceptible of any increase.

[801] Cerebrum.

[802] The Chamæreps humilis of the modern botanists. It is found, among other countries, in Spain, Morocco, and Arabia.

[803] Vitilia.

[804] “Vivaces.” Perhaps it may mean that the wood retains the fire for a long time, when it burns.

[805] Fée suggests that Pliny may possibly have confounded the fruit of other palms with the date.

[806] This seems to have been a general name, as Pliny says, meaning an eunuch; but it is evident that it was also used as a proper name, as in the case of the eunuch who slew Artaxerxes, Ochus, B.C. 338, by poison, and of another eunuch who belonged to Darius, but afterwards fell into the hands of Alexander, of whom he became an especial favourite. The name is sometimes written “Bagoüs,” and sometimes “Bagoas.”

[807] Dominantis in aula.

[808] From the Greek σύαγρος, “a wild boar,” as Pliny afterwards states; they being so called from their peculiar wild taste.

[809] See B. vi. c. 39.

[810] Said to have been so called from the Greek κάρη, “the head,” and ὑωδία, “stupidity,” owing to the heady nature of the wine extracted from the fruit.

[811] See B. vi. c. 32, and B. xiv. c. 19.

[812] The Jericho of Scripture.

[813] Athenæus, B. xiv. c. 22, tells us that these dates were thus called from Nicolaus of Damascus, a Peripatetic philosopher, who, when visiting Rome with Herod the Great, made Augustus a present of the finest fruit of the palm-tree that could be procured. This fruit retained its name of “Nicolaän,” down to the middle ages.

[814] Pliny would imply that they are so called from the Greek ἀδέλφια, “a sister,” as being of sister quality to the caryotæ; but it is much more probable, as Fée remarks, that they got this name from being attached in pairs to the same pedicle or stalk.

[815] Pliny certainly seems to imply that they are so called from the Greek πατέω, “to tread under foot,” and Hardouin is of that opinion. Fée, however, thinks the name is from the Hebrew or Syriac “patach,” “to expand,” or “open,” or else from the Hebrew “pathah,” the name of the first vowel, from some fancied resemblance in the form.

[816] From the Greek χυδαῖος, “vulgar,” or “common,” it is supposed. The Jews probably called them so, as being common, or offered by the Gentiles to their idols and divinities. Pliny evidently considers that in the name given to them no compliment was intended to the deities of the heathen mythology.

[817] From its extreme driness, and its shrivelled appearance.

[818] From Theophrastus, B. i. c. 16.

[819] Κύκως in the Greek. It is supposed by Sprengel to be the same as the Cycas circinnalis of Linnæus; but, as Fée remarks, that is only found in India.

[820] From the Greek, meaning “sweetmeats,” or “dessert fruit:” he probably means that in Syria and some parts of Phœnicia they were thus called.

[821] This story, which is borrowed from Theophrastus, B. iv. c. 5, is doubted by Fée, who says that in the green state they are so hard and nauseous, that it is next to impossible to eat sufficient to be materially incommoded by them.

[822] The Pistacia vera of Linnæus. It was introduced into Rome in the reign of Tiberius. The kernel is of no use whatever in a medical point of view, and what Pliny says about its curing the bite of serpents is perfectly fabulous.

[823] See B. xv. c. 19. The “carica” was properly the “Carian” fig. “Ficus carica” is, however, the name given to the common fig by the modern botanists.

[824] The parent of our Damascenes, or damsons. See B. xv. c. 13.

[825] Supposed to be the Corda myxa of Linnæus. See B. xv. c. 15.

[826] The Juniperus communis of Linnæus.

[827] The Juniperus Lycia, and the Juniperus Phœnicia, probably, of Linnæus. It has been supposed by some, that it is these trees that produce the frankincense of Africa; but, as Fée observes, the subject is enveloped in considerable obscurity.

[828] The “sharp-leaved” cedar. The Juniperus oxycedrus of Linnæus.

[829] The “Pinus cedrus” of Linnæus. The name “cedrus” was given by the ancients not only to the cedar of Lebanon, but to many others of the Coniferæ as well, and more particularly to several varieties of the juniper.

[830] See B. xxxvi. c. 4.

[831] Pistacia terebinthus of Linnæus.

[832] These varieties, Fée says, are not observed by modern naturalists.

[833] Garidel has remarked, that the trunk of this tree produces coriaceous vesicles, filled with a clear and odoriferous terebinthine, in which pucerons, or aphides, are to be seen floating.

[834] “Rhus.” The Rhus coriaria of Linnæus. Pliny is wrong in distinguishing this tree into sexes, as all the flowers are hermaphroditical, and therefore fruitful.

[835] It is still used by curriers in preparing leather.

[836] See B. xxiv. c. 79. The fruit, which has a pleasant acidity, was used for culinary purposes by the ancients, as it is by the Turks at the present day.

[837] The Ficus sycamorus of Linnæus. It receives its name from being a fig-tree that bears a considerable resemblance to the “morus,” or mulberry-tree.

[838] This is not the case.

[839] This appears to be doubtful, although, as Fée says, the fruit ripens but very slowly.

[840] This, Fée says, is a fallacy.

[841] “Aliam omnem.” This reading seems to be very doubtful.

[842] This wood was very extensively used in Egypt for making the outer cases, or coffins, in which the mummies were enclosed.

[843] This account is borrowed almost entirely from Theophrastus, Hist. Plant. B. iv. c. 2. A variety of the sycamore is probably meant. It is still found in the Isle of Crete.

[844] He seems to mean that the buds do not shoot forth into leaves; the reading, however, varies in the editions, and is extremely doubtful.

[845] Grossus.

[846] The Ceratonia siliqua of Linnæus. It is of the same size as the sycamore, but resembles it in no other respect. It is still common in the localities mentioned by Pliny, and in the south of Spain.

[847] Theophrastus in the number, Hist. Plant. i. 23, and iv. 2. It bears no resemblance to the fig-tree, and the fruit is totally different from the fig. Pliny, too, is wrong in saying that it does not grow in Egypt; the fact being that it is found there in great abundance.

[848] See B. xviii. c. 74.

[849] Fée identifies it with the Egyptian almond, mentioned by Pliny in B. xv. c. 28; the Myrobalanus chebulus of Wesling, the Balanites Ægyptiaca of Delille, and the Xymenia Ægyptiaca of Linnæus. Schreber and Sprengel take it to be the Cordia Sebestana of Linnæus; but that is a tree peculiar to the Antilles. The fruit is in shape like a date, enclosing a large stone with five sides, and covered with a little viscous flesh, of somewhat bitter, though not disagreeable flavour. It is found in the vicinity of Sennaar, and near the Red Sea. The Arabs call it the “date of the Desert.”

[850] See B. xviii. c. 68.

[851] See B. xv. c. 34.

[852] Or ben. See B. xii. cc. 46, 47.

[853] Many have taken this to be the cocoa-nut tree; but, as Fée remarks, that is a tree of India, and this of Egypt. There is little doubt that it is the _doum_ of the Arabs, the Cucifera Thebaica of Delille. The timber of the trunk is much used in Egypt, and of the leaves carpets, bags, and panniers are made. In fact, the description of it and its fruit is almost identical with that here given by Pliny.

[854] The seed or stone of the doum is still used in Egypt for making the beads of chaplets: it admits of a very high polish.

[855] Materies crispioris elegantiæ.

[856] See B. xxiv. c. 67. This is, no doubt, the Acacia Nilotica of Linnæus, which produces the gum Arabic of modern commerce.

[857] This is from Theophrastus, Hist. Plant. B. iv. c. 3. Fée suggests that it may have been a kind of myrobalanus. Sprengel identifies it with the Cordia sebestana of the botanists.

[858] “Fuit.” From the use of this word he seems uncertain as to its existence in his time; the account is copied from Theophrastus, Hist. Plant. B. iv. c. 3. Fée suggests that he may here allude to the Baobab, the Adansonia digitata, which grows in Senegal and Sennaar to an enormous size. Prosper Alpinus speaks of it as existing in Egypt. The Arabs call it El-omarah, and the fruit El-kongles.

[859] The Mimosa polyacanthe, probably. Fée says that the mimosæ, respectively known as casta, pudibunda, viva, and sensitiva, with many of the inga, and other leguminous trees, are irritable in the highest degree. The tree here spoken of he considers to be one of the acacias. The passage in Theophrastus speaks of the leaf as shrinking, and not falling, and then as simply reviving.

[860] The Acacia Nilotica of Linnæus, from which we derive the gum Arabic of commerce; and of which a considerable portion is still derived from Egypt.

[861] These gums are chemically different from gum Arabic, and they are used for different purposes in the arts.

[862] The vine does not produce a gum; but when the sap ascends, a juice is secreted, which sometimes becomes solid on the evaporation of the aqueous particles. This substance contains acetate of potassa, which, by the decomposition of that salt, becomes a carbonate of the same base.

[863] This is not a gum, but a resinous product of a peculiar nature. It is known to the moderns by the name of “olivine.”

[864] The sap of the elm leaves a saline deposit on the bark, principally formed of carbonate of potassa. Fée is at a loss to know whether Pliny here alludes to this or to the manna which is incidentally formed by certain insects on some trees and reeds. But, as he justly says, would Pliny say of the latter that it is “ad nihil utile”—“good for nothing”?

[865] A resinous product, no doubt. The frankincense of Africa has been attributed by some to the Juniperus Lycia and Phœnicia.

[866] The Penæa Sarcocolla of Linnæus. The gum resin of this tree is still brought from Abyssinia, but it is not used in medicine. This account is from Dioscorides, B. iii. c. 99. The name is from the Greek σὰρξ, “flesh,” and κόλλα, “glue.”

[867] See B. xxiv. c. 78.

[868] Three denarii per pound.

[869] It is hardly necessary to state that this is not the fact. This plant is the Cyperus papyrus of Linnæus, the “berd” of the modern Egyptians.

[870] Il. B. vi. l. 168. See B. xxxiii. c. 4, where the tablets which are here called “pugillares,” are styled “codicilli” by Pliny.

[871] His argument is, that paper made from the papyrus could not be known in the time of Homer, as that plant only grew in certain districts which had been rescued from the sea since the time of the poet.

[872] Od. B. iv. l. 355.

[873] See B. ii. c. 87.

[874] There is little doubt that parchment was really known many years before the time of Eumenes II., king of Pontus. It is most probable that this king introduced extensive improvements in the manufacture of parchment, for Herodotus mentions writing on skins as common in his time; and in B. v. c. 58, he states that the Ionians had been accustomed to give the name of skins, διφθέραι, to books.

[875] Brachiali radicis obliquæ crassitudine.

[876] This was a pole represented as being carried by Bacchus and his Bacchanalian train. It was mostly terminated by the fir cone, that tree being dedicated to Bacchus, in consequence of the use of its cones and turpentine in making wine. Sometimes it is surmounted by vine or fig leaves, with grapes or berries arranged in form of a cone.

[877] This is not the fact: it has seed in it, though not very easily perceptible. The description here given is otherwise very correct.

[878] Among the ancients the term papyrus was used as a general appellation for all the different plants of the genus Cyperus, which was used for making mats, boats, baskets, and numerous other articles: but one species only was employed for making paper, the Cyperus papyrus, or Byblos. Fée states that the papyrus is no longer to be found in the Delta, where it formerly abounded.

[879] See B. xii. c. 48.

[880] Sometimes translated _hemp_. A description will be given of it in B. xix. c. 7.

[881] “Intexere.” This would almost appear to mean that they embroidered or interwove the characters. The Persians still write on a stuff made of white silk, gummed and duly prepared for the purpose.