JOURNEY FROM MERGE TO CYRENE.
Departure from Merge — Deep Marks of Chariot-wheels on the
Stony Road indicative of an ancient Track — Valley of Bogràta
— Ancient Wells observed there — Valley of Hareebe — Beauty
and Luxuriance of the Country continue — Roses of the Cyrenaica
mentioned by Athenæus as celebrated for the excellence of their
Perfume — Oil (or Ointment) of Roses made at Cyrene in the time of
Berenice (probably the Daughter of Magas) — Difficulty and Danger
of some Parts of the Road — Apprehensions of our Arab Conductors
— They appear to have been groundless — Arrive at Margàd —
Bad State of the Road continues — Quarrel between Abou-Bukra and
one of our Servants — Consequences of the Quarrel — Departure of
Abou-Bukra — Continue our Route alone and succeed in finding the
right Track — Return of Abou-Bukra and his people — Satisfactory
Termination of the Disturbance — Oppressive Sirocco Wind —
Nature of the Country on approaching Cyrene — First Appearance
of a Plant resembling the Daucus, or Wild Carrot — Resemblance of
this Plant to the Silphium, as expressed on ancient Coins — Points
in which it differs from it — Remarks on the Silphium as mentioned
by ancient Writers — Testimony of Herodotus, Arrian, Theophrastus,
Pliny, Athenæus — Bill of Fare of the Kings of Persia, stated by
Polyænus to have been discovered in the royal Palace by Alexander
the Great — Silphium mentioned in this among other articles of
Food — Description of the Plant by Theophrastus and Pliny —
Celebrity and Scarcity of the Silphium and of the Extract from it —
Extraordinary Cause of the first Appearance of the Silphium in the
Cyrenaica, as mentioned by Pliny on the authority of Greek Writers
— Effects produced by the Plant on the Sheep and Cattle who were
allowed to eat it — Similar Effects produced by the Plant observed
by the Expedition on Camels — Extraordinary Medicinal Qualities
imputed to the Silphium by Pliny — The use of it recommended by
the Roman Naturalist as a sovereign remedy for almost everything
but the Tooth-ache — Fatal Consequences recorded by Pliny, of
applying it in the Case last mentioned — Silphium offered by the
People of Cyrene to their first King Battus, as the most valuable
Production of their Country — State in which the Plant observed
by the Expedition most resembles the Silphium on the Coins of Cyrene
— Partition of the Road from Merge to Cyrene — Extensive Traces
of Building observed along the ancient, or lower Road — Approach
to Cyrene indicated by innumerable Sarcophagi and Tombs — Position
of these along the sides of the Roads, as observable at Pompeii and
other ancient Towns — Frequent Traces of Chariot-wheels still
observable along the Roads, deeply indented in the rocky Soil of
the Place — The earlier Tombs distinguished by their simplicity
and good taste — The later by a more ornamented and less perfect
style — Busts and Statues scattered everywhere about among the
Tombs — Difference of Style and Character observable in these
— Remains of an Aqueduct — Fountain of Cyrene.
On the morning of the 29th, we left the plain of Merge and proceeded
on our journey to Cyrene. The road, after crossing the plain,
leads over a rugged hill in which it has been cut; and we soon
found from the deep and continued marks of chariot-wheels that
we were following an ancient track. From the hill we descended
into a beautiful valley named Bogràta where we found some ancient
wells situated upon a rising ground in the centre of it, at which
we watered our horses. From hence we proceeded through a hilly
country, well clothed with trees of various kinds, and pitched our
tents for the night at Hareebe, a delightful valley, studded with
olive-trees, and possessing two wells of good water. The next day
we passed through other remarkably fine vallies, which we found for
the most part cultivated, and through copses and thickets of pine,
cedar, laurel, laurestinus, carob, cypress, myrtle, box, arbutus,
and various other trees and shrubs, which were flourishing in the
greatest luxuriance. Among these the convolvulus and honeysuckle
twined themselves; and red and white roses, marigolds, and other
flowers, with a great variety of beautiful ferns, were everywhere
scattered over the hills and vallies[1]. The forms of the landscape
were at the same time remarkably picturesque; and here and there
a ruin of some ancient fortress, towering above the wood on the
summit of a hill, contributed to give character to the scene.
Our attention was occasionally called away (in climbing up,
or descending the steep and rocky sides of some of the hills over
which we passed) by the difficulty and danger of the roads; and our
horses were continually slipping on the hard glassy surface which
they presented; notwithstanding we had used the precaution of taking
off one of their shoes and the others were frequently dropping off
of themselves, owing to the wearing away of the nails. As we passed
some of the woods our guides begged we would keep together lest
we should be fired at by some ill-disposed persons from among the
bushes; but we soon found this caution to be perfectly unnecessary,
and continued to stray away in all directions without experiencing
the least molestation.
On the second night we pitched the tents at Margàd where we found
a supply of water in an ancient cistern belonging to a fort on the
hill close to it. Here were also several Arab tents, with flocks
of sheep feeding about them. The Arabs received us very civilly,
always offering milk and lèban, although our guides would have made
us believe that they were greatly averse to our passing through
their country. On quitting Margàd, we pursued our route through
a country very similar to that of the preceding day; but along
a much worse road, which obliged us to lead our horses nearly
one half of the way. We had not gone far before a quarrel took
place between Abou-Bukra and one of our servants, and the former,
pretending to be seriously affronted, took the opportunity (never
neglected by an Arab) of letting us know how necessary he was to
us and declared he would stay no longer. He accordingly rode off,
and all his people followed him, leaving the camels without any
drivers, in expectation no doubt that we should immediately ride
after them and entreat them to resume their occupations.
In this, however, we were determined not to gratify them, and took
no other notice of their departure than by telling our servants
to drive the camels on themselves, which they managed to do very
well. The worst part of the story was our ignorance of the road,
and we were greatly at a loss, among the many narrow pathways
that led through the thickets, to determine on which we ought to
take. Unluckily our chaous knew no more of this road than ourselves;
but we took the direction which we imagined to be the right one,
and contrived to get on with tolerable success.
Abou-Bukra had before been often trying to persuade us that the
Arabs of the place were much averse to our passing through their
territory, and expatiating on the value of his protection and
influence; he probably imagined that we should be greatly alarmed
at the idea of being left to ourselves in a hostile country; and
he knew, at the same time, that we could not possibly be acquainted
with a single step of the road. His disappointment must, therefore,
have been very great, when he found that no one rode after him, or
took any measures towards effecting a reconciliation. In the mean
time we continued to get on very well, and were convinced that if
we did so we should soon be rejoined by the deserters; accordingly,
before the day was concluded the whole party returned, and of their
own accord entered upon their several duties as before, just as
if nothing had happened. This was precisely what we had expected,
and we made no comments either upon their arrival or departure as
if we had been indifferent to both. Abou-Bukra was now all civility,
and his people drove the camels much better than ever they had done
before! Towards the close of the day we arrived at some Arab tents,
and pitched our own close to them for the night, in a valley for
which we could obtain no name; but which, whatever might have been
its title, was certainly a very delightful one. During the last
two days a hot sirocco wind had been blowing, which rendered the
travelling extremely oppressive, especially during the heat of
the day; on the afternoon of the third day, however, it suddenly
changed to the north-west and brought a smart shower of rain,
which cooled the air a good deal, and was the first which we had
had for some time.
The country from Margád to Grenna, the present Arab name for
Cyrene, is of the same hilly nature as that already described; but on
approaching Cyrene it becomes more clear of wood, the vallies produce
fine crops of barley, and the hills excellent pasturage for cattle.
It may here be proper to mention that, on the day after our departure
from Merge, we observed a plant about three feet in height very
much resembling the hemlock, or, more properly speaking perhaps,
the Daucas or wild carrot. We were told that it was usually fatal to
the camels who ate of it, and that its juice if applied to the flesh,
would fester any part where there was the slightest excoriation. This
plant had much more resemblance to the silphium of ancient times
(as it is expressed on the coins of Cyrene) than any which we had
hitherto seen; although its stem is much more slender than that which
is there represented, and the blossoms (for it has several) more
open. In some parts of the route from Merge to Cyrene we lost sight
of this plant altogether; while at others we found it in considerable
quantities, growing chiefly wherever there was pasturage. Immediately
about Cyrene we observed it in great abundance; and soon ceased,
from its frequent occurrence, to pay any particular attention to it.
It is extremely probable that the plant here mentioned is the
laserpitium or silphium in such repute among the ancients; and it
may not here be amiss to collect a few of the remarks which have
been made at various periods respecting it.
According to Herodotus the silphium originally extended from the
island of Platea to the beginning of the Greater Syrtis[2], a space
including the whole of the mountainous district of the Cyrenaica;
and Scylax, after mentioning the islands Aedonia and Platæa,
informs us that, beyond these (in passing from east to west) are
the regions which produce the silphium. We may also infer from a
passage in Arrian[3], that the silphium extended itself over the
whole of the fertile part of the Cyrenaica to the confines of the
desert which bounds it; since he tells us that the fertility of this
country continued as far as the limits of the silphium itself, and
that beyond these boundaries all was desert and sandy. Theophrastus
also observes that the silphium was found in the Cyrenaica, and
that the greater portion of it was produced from the country of the
Hesperides in the parts about the Greater Syrtis[4]. It appears to
have sprung up in the grass, or pasture lands, as the plant we have
mentioned above also does, and the sheep are reported to have been
so fond of it that whenever they smelt it they would run to the
place, and after eating the flower, would scratch up the root and
devour it with the same avidity[5]. On this account (says Arrian,
who has recorded the fact just mentioned) some of the Cyreneans
drive their sheep away from the parts in which the silphium is
produced; and others surround their land with hedges, through which
the sheep are not able to pass when they chance to approach near the
plants[6]. Silphium appears to have been found in many parts of Asia,
as well as in some parts of Europe; but that of Cyrene was much the
most esteemed and constituted a material part of the commerce of
that country, as we find from various authorities[7]. In the time of
Pliny silphium (or laserpitium) had become so scarce in the market,
that a single stalk of it was presented to the Emperor Nero as a
present (no doubt) of extraordinary value; and Strabo tells us that
the barbarous tribes who frequented the country about the Cyrenaica
had nearly exterminated the plant altogether (in an irruption which
they made on some hostile occasion) by pulling it designedly up
by the roots; from which we may infer that the destruction of the
silphium was considered as a material injury to Cyrene[8]. We have
already mentioned in our account of the Syrtis (on the authority
of the same writer) that the silphium and the liquor which was
extracted from it formed material articles of a contraband trade
at Charax, where they were exchanged with the Carthaginians for
wine[9]. And we have ventured, on the same occasion, to differ
in opinion with Dr. Della Cella as to the propriety of adopting
the change in Strabo’s text proposed by that gentleman (p. 79);
as it sufficiently appears, from various authorities, that both the
plant and the extract were articles of commerce, and not the extract
only, as the Doctor has stated. This is evident from the remarks of
ancient writers on the subject[10]; and it is also certain that the
liquor (or οπος του σιλφιου, in Latin termed Laser) was obtained from
the stem as well as from the root, as Theophrastus, and Pliny
(on his authority) have testified[11].
It is evident also from both these authors that the stem of the
silphium was in request as an article of food, and was eaten in
several ways[12]. This appears equally in Athenæus; and we find both
the extract, and the plant, very decidedly mentioned in the bill of
fare of the Persian monarchs, as given by Polyænus (Stratagemata,
Lib. iv.) and which was discovered by Alexander the Great, engraved
on a brazen column in the royal palace. Here we see two pounds,
and upwards, of the extract, or juice of the silphium, termed by
Pliny Laser; and a talent weight (about sixty-five pounds) of the
plant itself in the list[13]. What the extract of the silphium
was like we will not pretend to say; but the stem and the root
appear to have been eaten much in the same way that we eat celery,
(which indeed it very much resembles,) either stewed or boiled[14].
The silphium is described by Theophrastus as a plant with a large
and thick root; and the stem, he tells us, resembled that of the
ferula, and was of about the same thickness. The leaf which, he says,
was termed maspetum (μασπετον), resembled that of parsley:
the seed was broad and foliaceous: the stem annual, like that of the
ferula[15]. Pliny’s account is copied from that of Theophrastus;
but he has given us at the same time whatever information he could
collect of the silphium and its properties in the age in which he
himself lived. He informs us that—the celebrated plant Laserpitium,
which the Greeks call silphium, was found in the Cyrenaica; and
that the juice, or liquor, extracted from it was termed Laser;
a drug so famous for its medicinal qualities that it was sold by
the denarius[16], seven of which, or eight drams, were equal to
the English avoirdupois ounce, which was the same with the Roman.
For many years past (he continues) no silphium has been found
in the Cyrenaica; the owners of the land having thought it more
profitable to turn their sheep and cattle into the pasture lands
(where the silphium, as we have before mentioned, is produced)
than to preserve the plant as formerly. One only stem of it (it is
Pliny who speaks) has been found in my recollection, which was sent
to the Emperor Nero. And of late no other laser has been brought to
us than that which grows extensively in Persia, Media, and Armenia,
and which is very inferior to that of the Cyrenaica, being at the
same time adulterated with gum, sagapeum, and pounded beans. We
learn from the same author that in the consulships of C. Valerius,
and M. Herennius, thirty lbs. of laserpitium was brought into Rome,
which seems to have been considered as a very fortunate occurrence;
and that Cæsar, when dictator, at the commencement of the civil war,
took from the public treasury, with the gold and silver which he
carried away from it, an hundred and eleven pounds of the silphium
(or laserpitium[17]); which proves how valuable the plant was at
Rome, as, indeed, might be reasonably inferred from the circumstance
of its being found in the treasury at all.
The first appearance of the silphium in the Cyrenaica is said by
Pliny (on the authority of Greek writers) to have been occasioned by
a sudden and heavy fall of rain, resembling _pitch_, which completely
drenched the ground in the neighbourhood of the Hesperian Gardens
and of the eastern confines of the Greater Syrtis. This miraculous
shower is said to have occurred seven years before the building of
the city of Cyrene; which was erected (says Pliny) in the year of
Rome 143. He adds, also, on the authority of Theophrastus, (the
author to whom he chiefly alludes in quoting Greek authorities
above,) that the silphium extended itself over a space of four
thousand stadia, and that its nature was wild and unadapted to
cultivation, retiring towards the desert whenever it was too much
attended to. We have already observed that great care was taken by
the ancients to preserve the silphium from the sheep and cattle, the
former of which were remarkably fond of it: when allowed to be eaten,
it first acted medicinally upon the animals, and afterwards fattened
them exceedingly; giving at the same time an excellent flavour to
the flesh. Whenever they were ill, it either speedily restored them,
or else destroyed them altogether; but the first of these effects
was most usual. It is probable, however, that it only agreed with
those animals which were accustomed to it; at least the plant now
observable in the Cyrenaica, which answers to the description of
the silphium, is very frequently productive of fatal effects to
the animals (particularly the camels) who eat of it, not being
accustomed to the soil. One of the reasons advanced by the son of
Shekh Hadood, Abou-Buckra, for putting a high price upon his camels
at Merge (on the occasion already before the reader) was that they
were going into the country where the silphium was found, which,
he said, was very dangerous for them to eat; and the camels which
were sent to us from Bengazi, when we were about to leave Grenna,
were kept muzzled during the whole time of their stay in those
parts where the plant was known to be produced.
With regard to the effects of the silphium upon bipeds, (we mean
those of the human race,) a few extracts from Pliny will fully
suffice to convince us that it does not yield in omnipotence even
to the famed balm of Gilead; or to that well known specific, and
sovereign remedy for all complaints, distinguished by the humble
title of Eau de Cologne. Certes, (observes this author, in concluding
the remarks which we have quoted below upon the wonderful efficacy
of his specific,) “if I should take in hand to particularize of
the vertues that laser hath, being mingled with other matter in
confections, I should never make an end;” and the reader will
probably be somewhat of his opinion, before he has waded through
half the wondrous qualities attributed to the omnipotent silphium. We
give them in the good old English version of Holland[18].
We may add that the silphium was offered by the people of Cyrene to
their first king, Battus, whom they deified, as the most valuable
production of their country; and we have already observed that a
representation of the plant is found on the reverse of their coins.
The resemblance of this representation to the plant which we found
in the Cyrenaica is most conspicuous when the plant is young; and
before the flower has quite opened, or the stem has attained its
greatest height[19].
A little to the north-west of Margàd the road branches off in two
directions towards Cyrene. The lower road, or that which is to the
northward of the other, is the proper and ancient road; and traces
of building are every where discernible in passing along this route,
as we were able to ascertain in our return from Cyrene, which will
hereafter be described. The southern road, however, is that which
Abou-Bukra selected in escorting us from Merge to Grenna; and we
afterwards learnt that he had done so in consequence of the feud
which he had upon his hands, (already alluded to above,) which
rendered it unsafe for him to travel along the road most usually
frequented. We had passed the remains of some strongly built forts
in our route from Margàd to Cyrene, and after ascending the high
ground to the northward of Wady Bo̅o̅kasaishe̅e̅ta we came
in sight of the numerous, we might almost say innumerable, tombs
which encumber the outskirts of the town. It is well known that
the burial-places of the ancients were usually without the walls
of their cities; and we find the tombs of Cyrene, (like those of
Pompeii and other places,) ranged along the sides of the roads by
which the town is approached, and occupying, at the same time,
the greater part of the space intervening between one road and
another[20]. When we reflect that the inhabitants of this celebrated
city have laid their mortal remains on the soil which surrounded
it for more than twenty-four centuries, we shall not be surprised
at the multitude of tombs which are everywhere scattered over its
neighbourhood. They are all of stone, either constructed on the
surface, or excavated in the rocky soil of the district; and as
most of them have been defaced, or laid in ruins, (for there is
not one of them which has not been opened,) the wreck of material
with which the soil is encumbered may be more easily imagined than
described. The road, when we had descended into the plain of Cyrene,
continued to wind through the tombs and sarcophagi, and along the
edges of the quarries in which the subterranean tombs have been
excavated, for more than a mile and a half; we observed that it was
occasionally cut through the rocky soil, and that marks of chariot
wheels were still very evident in many parts of its stony surface.
These approaches to the town, for there are several of them,
as will be seen by the plan, have the appearance of ruined and
deserted streets; the tombs ranged on each side of them supplying
the places of houses. The solemnity, we can scarcely say the gloom,
of this effect is, however, enlivened by the variety of style which
characterises the architecture, as well as by the difference in
the plans and sizes of the tombs, and in the degrees of labour and
finish bestowed upon them. The earlier tombs may be distinguished
by their simplicity and good taste, the later by a more ornamented
and a more vitiated style. A similar difference of style may be
observed in the busts and statues, which are scattered about among
the tombs; some of which have the Greek and some the Roman cast of
countenance and costume, portrayed in the several manners peculiar
to each nation, according to the age of the performance.
We were at first induced to stop at every object of importance which
presented itself in our passage through these regions of the dead;
but we soon found that such delays, however agreeable, would make it
night before we reached the city itself if we continued to indulge
in them as our inclination prompted; and we bade our conductor (the
chaous from Bengazi) lead on to that part of it which he himself
considered to be most worthy of particular attention. The taste
of the African displayed itself on this occasion precisely in the
manner which we had expected it would do; and after passing for
some little distance along the edge of a ravine where we perceived
the remains of an aqueduct, he descended by a gentle slope into a
level spot of ground, overspread with remains of building, till we
found ourselves at the foot of a perpendicular cliff and heard the
grateful sound of running water. Nothing further was necessary to
rouse the drooping energies of our horses, fatigued with the day’s
journey, and parched with thirst from the heat of the weather; they
sprang forward instinctively, without the stimulus of whip or spur,
and plunging up to their knees in the cool clear stream drank deep
of the fountain of Cyrene.
We are by no means indifferent to the beauties of antiquity,—nay
we often imagine ourselves to be among their most ardent admirers;
but we confess, to our shame, that, on this occasion, we followed
the example of the poor beasts who carried us, and, springing from
our saddles, took a copious draught of the fountain before we turned
to pay our homage to the shrine from which it flowed[21].
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 1: The flowers of the Cyrenaica are stated by Athenæus to
have been famous for the odours which they emitted; and we learn from
the same author that a most excellent oil, or ointment of roses,
was made at Cyrene in the time of Berenice (the great Berenice,
as the author here terms her, who was probably the daughter of
Magas). Both Arsinoë and Berenice are said by Athenæus to have
been great patronesses of fragrant oils and ointments at Alexandria;
and we may believe with probability, that the Rigges and Gatties
of Cyrene were equally encouraged by the royal protection. The
roses which we saw had however no smell, (probably from want of
attention,) although the woodbine and other plants were remarkably
fragrant. Athenæus’s words are: ηκμασε δε και τα εν Αλεξανδρεια,
δια πλουτον, και δια την Αρσινοης και Βερενικης σπουδην,
εγινετο δε και εν Κυρηνη ροδινον χρηστοτατον, καθ᾽ ον χρονον
εζη Βερενικη ἡ μεγαλη.—(Deipnosoph. Lib. xv. c. 12.)]
[Footnote 2: Και το σιλφιον αρχεται απο τουτου (the harbours of Menelaus
and Aziris), παρηκει δε απο Πλατεης νησου μεχρι του στοματος της
Συρτεος το Σιλφιον.—(Melp. ρξθʹ).
Mr. Beloe is of opinion that Herodotus intended in this passage to
point out the limits of a place or province called Silphium, so named
originally without any reference to the plant; and in his remarks
on another passage in the same book—εισι δε και γαλαι εν τω σιλφιω
γινομεναι . . . (ρϟβʹ.) he observes—“I cannot help thinking that the
herb was named from the place and not the place from the herb.” But the
space here included by Herodotus comprehends the whole of the Cyrenaica,
and there is no mention on other occasions of this term as substituted
either for Pentapolis or Cyrenaica, with which it would, however, be
synonymous if the reading proposed were adopted. We will not venture
to dispute a point of this nature with a writer of Mr. Beloe’s talents
and judgment; but there does not (on the whole) appear to be, in our
estimation, any reason why το Σιλφιον, in the first passage quoted,
should not be translated Silphium, (the plant;) or why the words τω
σιλφιω in the one last mentioned should not be supposed to mean
exclusively the place, or region, in which silphium is produced[a].]
[Footnote a: For a great many curious and valuable remarks on the
silphium, in which the origin of the term is also alluded to, see the
comments on Theophrastus by Johan. Bodæus at the end of the account
of the plant.—(Theoph. περι Φυτων, Fol. Amst. 1644.)]
[Footnote 3: Αλλ᾽ ἡ Κυρηνη γαρ της Λιβυης εν τοις ερημοτεροις
πεπολισμενη, ποιωδης τε εστι και μαλθακη, και ευυδρος, και αλσεα και
λειμωνες, και καρπων παντοιων και κτηνεων παμφορος, ες τε επι του
σιλφιου τας εκφυσεις· υπερ δε το σιλφιον, τα ανω αυτης ερημα
και ψαμμωδεα.—(Hist. Ind. cap. xliii.)]
[Footnote 4: Τροπον δε πολην επεχει της Λιβυης. πλειω γαρ φησιν η
τετρασχιλια σταδια. τα πλειονα δε γενεσθαι περι την Συρτιν απο
των Ευεσπεριδων.—(Theophrast. περι Φυτων. L. iv. c. iii.)]
[Footnote 5: The effects of eating silphium (according to Pliny)
were manifested in sheep by their falling asleep, and in goats,
by sneezing. Si quando incidit pecus in spem nascentis, hoc
deprehenditur signo: ove, cum comederit, dormienti protinus, capra
sternuenti.—(Lib. xix. c. iii).]
[Footnote 6: Επι τωδε εν Κυρηνη ως μακροτατω απελαυνουσιν τας
ποιμνας των χωριων, ινα και αυτοις το σιλφιον φυεται· οἱ δε
και περιφρασσουσι τον χωρον του μηδ᾽ ει πελασιεν αυτα τα προβατα,
δυνατα γενεσθαι εισω παρελθειν.—οτι πολλου αξιον (he adds)
Κυρηναιοις το σιλφιον. (Exped. Alex. Lib. iii. c. xxix.)]
[Footnote 7: Among others, see Strabo, Lib. xvii. and Pliny,
Lib. xix. and xxii.]
[Footnote 8: It appears, however, that the laser, or extract of the
silphium, was not difficult to be met with in the reign of Severus,
as we learn from Galen (de Temperant. L. iii. c. iii. simpl. Medic.
Fac. L. viii. and de Antidot. L. ii. p. 440. Edit. Basil.) The plant,
at the present day, is common in the high grounds about Cyrene, but we
did not meet with it in the neighbourhood of Berenice and the Hesperian
gardens, where it seems to have been formerly most abundant.]
[Footnote 9: This was probably the φοινικιος οινος (or palm wine) of
Athenæus, much esteemed by the ancients; or the vinum Byblinum another
Carthaginian wine in great repute, and said to be at first taste more
grateful than the Lesbian. Τον δ᾽ απο φοινικης ιρας τον βυβλινον αινω
(says Archestratus as quoted by Athenæus) . . . εαν γαρ εξαιφνης αυτου
γευση, μη προσθεν εσθι θεις, ευωδης μεν σοι δοξει του Λεσβιου ειναι
μαλλον.—Deipnosoph. Lib. i. c. 23. Palm wine was drunk at Susa and
Babylon by the Kings of Persia, as we find from Polyænus,
Stratagem. Lib. iv.]
[Footnote 10: Among others Athenæus (in the words of Eubulus) as quoted
in the Deipnosophista—(Lib. 1.) . . . καυλον εκ Καρχηδονος και σιλφιον.
Here we see the stalk or stem decidedly mentioned with either the root
or the extract of the silphium (more probably the former) as an
article of export from Carthage; and procured (we may infer) by
the Carthaginian traders from Charax, since they had no silphium
in their own country. Again, Antiphanes (the ηδιστος Αντιφανης)
as quoted by Athenæus; ος εν τω φιλοθηβαιω φησιν.—Λιβυς τε καυλος
εξηργασμενος ακτισι θειαις σιλφιου παραστατει.—(Lib. xiv. c. iv).]
[Footnote 11: Succus duobus modis capiebatur, e radice atque
caule.—(Hist. Nat. L. xix).
Οπον δε διττον εχει (says Theophrastus) τον μεν επι του καυλου, τον
δε απο της ριζης. διο καλουσι τον μεν καυλιαν, τον δε ριζιαν—(Lib.
iv. περι Φυτων).]
[Footnote 12: Post folia amissa (says Pliny) caule ipso et homines
vescebantur, decocto, asso, elixoque:—Theophrastus’ words are,—μετα δε
ταυτα καυλον εσθιεσθαι παντα τροπον αγαθον, εφθον, οπτον.—(Lib. iv.)]
[Footnote 13: Οπου σιλφιου δυο μναι . . . σιλφιου ταλαντον σταθμω[a].
If the king supped at Babylon, or at Susa, half the quantity
of wine supplied for the meal was palm wine, the other half,
the juice of the grape. οταν δε η εν Βαβυλωνι, η εν Σουσοις,
τον μεν ημισεα εκ των φοινικων οινον παρεχει, τον δε ημισεα
αμπελινον.—Polyæni Stratagem. Lib. iv. 32.)]
[Footnote a: Taking the mina at 1 lb. 1 oz., the talent (which was
always sixty minæ) would give sixty-five pounds.]
[Footnote 14: Among a great many other articles, consumed every day
at the dinner and supper of the Persian kings, as enumerated in the
list we have quoted, we find four hundred sheep, one hundred oxen,
thirty horses, three hundred lambs, thirty stags, or gazelles,
four hundred fatted geese, three hundred pigeons, and six hundred
other birds of various kinds! So much solid food was not, however,
cooked without a proportionate seasoning; and we find a talent weight
(say sixty-five lbs.) of garlic among the numerous other condiments
employed on these occasions.
The Macedonians in the suite of Alexander, while they expressed
their astonishment at its profusion, applauded the magnificence of
the royal table, and the good taste of the Persian monarchs. But
the ardent son of Philip (though by no means a friend to abstinence)
was prudent enough to discourage, on this occasion, the commendation
of luxuries so superfluous and expensive, and ordered the column to
be taken down, observing at the same time that so prodigious a meal
was unnecessary; that such excess of indulgence and prodigality
could scarcely fail to produce timidity and effeminacy; and that
they who had dined or supped so enormously must necessarily afford
an easy victory to their opponents.]
[Footnote 15: Το δε σιλφιον εχει ριζαν μεν πολλην και παχειαν, τον δε
καυλον ηλίκον ναρθηξ. σχεδον δε και τω παχει παραπλησιον. τον δε φυλλον,
ὁ καλουσι μασπετον, ομοιον το σελινω. σπερμα δ᾽ εχει πλατυ, φυλλωδης,
οιον τον λεγομενον φυλλον.—(Lib. iv. c. iii.)]
[Footnote 16: Ad pondus argenti denarii pensum.]
[Footnote 17: Most probably the laser or extract, which was the
most valuable; though Pliny’s word is laserpitium.]
[Footnote 18: The leaves of the plant, steeped in white wine,
were, it seems, a most extraordinary specific[a]; and “the
root is singular” (it is Pliny who speaks) “for to cleare
the windpipes, and to take away all the asperitie and roughness
in these parts; and being applied in the form of a liniment it
helpeth imposthumat inflamations proceeding from the ranknesse and
ebullition of blood. A liniment thereof made with wine and oile
is a most familiar and agreeable medecine for the black and blue
marks remaining after stripes; but if the same with some adition
of wax be reduced into a cerot it helpeth the kings evill. As for
the liquor laser (continues our naturalist) issuing from Silphium,
in that manner as I have shewed, it is holden for one of the
most singular gifts that nature hath bestowed upon the world,
and entereth into many excellent confections and compositions. Of
itselfe alone, it reduceth those to their natural health who are
starven and benumbed with extreme cold. Taken in drinke it allaieth
the accidents and grief of the nerves. A great restorative it is with
meat, and quickly setteth them on foot who have lien long and been
brought low by sicknesse: for laser, if it be applied in due time,
is as good as a potentiall cauterie to raise a blister: outwardly
applied no man maketh doubt but it is of singular operation and
worketh many effects. Taken in drinke it doth extinguish the venome
left in the bodie, either by poisoned dart or serpents’ sting:
and if the wounds be annointed with the same dissolved in water
it is the better; but particularly for the pricks of scorpions it
would be applied with oile. Being laid too, with rue or honey, or
by itselfe alone, (so that the place be annointed over it with some
viscous gum to keepe it too, that it run not off,) it is excellent
for the carbuncle and the biting of dogs. Being incorporate with
sal-nitre and well wrought withall beforehand, and so applied,
it taketh away the hard horns and dead corns arising in the feet,
which commonly bee called in latin morticini. Tempered with wine,
and saffron or pepper, if it be but with mice-dung and vinegre,
it is a good incarnative in ulcers; and an excellent drawer to the
outward parts for to fill up the skin and make a bodie fat. A good
fomentation there is made of it and wine for to bath kibed heels;
for which purpose it is boiled in oyle and so applyed.”
“In like manner it serveth to soften hard callosities in
any place whatsoever: and for the foresaid corns of the feet
especially, if they be scraped and scarrified before, it is
of great efficacee. Singular it is against unwholesome waters,
pestilent tracts, and contagious aires; as in times suspected of
infection. Soveraigne it is for the cough, the fall of the uvula,
and an old jaundice or overflowing of the gall; for the dropsie also,
and horsenesse of the throat; for presently it scowreth the pipes,
cleareth the voice againe, and maketh it audible. If it be infused
and dissolved in water and vinegre, and so applyed with a spunge,
it assuageth the gout. Taken in a broth, or thin supping, it is
good for the pleurisie, especially if the patient propose to drinke
wine after it. Being covered all over with wax to the quantitie
of one[b] cich pease it is given very well in case of contractions
and shrinking of sinews, and namely to such as carrie their heads
backward perforce, by occasion of some crick or cramp. For the
squinance it is good to gargarize therewith. Semblably it is
given with leeks and vinegre to those that wheaze in their chest
and be short-winded, and have an old cough sticking long by them:
likewise with vinegre alone to such as have supped off and drunke
quailed milke which is cluttered within their stomacke. Taken in
wine it is singular for the faintings about the heart; as also
for colliquations and such as are falne away and far gone in a
consumption, and for those that be taken with the falling sicknesse:
but in honied water it hath a speciall operation respective to the
palsie, or resolution of the tongue. With sodden honey and laser
together, there is made a liniment very propor to anoint the region
of the hucklebone where the sciatica is seated; and the small of the
backe to allay the paine of the loins. I would not give counselle
(continues our author) as many writers doe prescribe) for to put it
in the concavatie or hole of a decayed tooth, and so to stop up the
place close with wax, for feare of that which might ensue thereupon:
for I have seene the fearfull sequele of that experiment, in a
man, who upon the taking of that medecine, threw himself headlong
from an high loft and broke his necke; such intolerable pains he
sustained of the toothach: and no marvelle; for doe but annoint
the mussle, or nose of a bull therewith it will set him on a fire
and make him horne mad: and being mingled with wine, if serpents
(as they are most greedie of wine) chance to lap or licke thereof,
it will cause them to burst. And therefore I would not advise any
to be annointed with it and honey of Athens incorporat together;
howsoever there bee physicians who set downe such a receit.”
(Nat. Hist. Book xxii. c. xxiii.)]
[Footnote a: Nam folia ad expurgandas vulvas pellendosque
emortuos partus decoquuntur in vino albo odorato, ut bibatur
mensura acetabuli a balineis.—Adde—Laser, e silphio profluens
fæminis datur in vivo. Et lanis mollibus admovetur vulvæ ad menses
ciendos.—(Hist. Nat. Lib. xxii. c. xxiii.)]
[Footnote b: Ciceris magnitudine cera circunlitum.]
[Footnote 19: This plant, from its succulent nature, is very
difficult to preserve; and we are sorry to say that the specimens
which we had collected of it (together with many others of the
Cyrenaic plants) got mouldy for want of more attention than we were
able to bestow upon them. We understand, however, that Captain
Smyth has succeeded in bringing over a specimen of the silphium
in good condition, and that the plant is now growing in Devonshire
and thriving remarkably well.]
[Footnote 20: It was not, however, unfrequent to bury persons of more
than ordinary worth and consideration within the walls; and the most
frequented and conspicuous places were in such cases selected for the
tombs, or monuments, which the gratitude of citizens reared in the
midst of their families. The Lacedæmonians, whose laws and customs
were usually in direct opposition to the other states of Greece,
allowed the dead to be buried indiscriminately within the walls of
their cities, as we are told by Plutarch in his life of Lycurgus.]
[Footnote 21: The fountain of Cyrene was a consecrated stream,
and the face of the rock from which it flows was originally adorned
with a portico like that of a temple.]
[Illustration: Engraved from a Drawing taken on the spot by H. Beechey.
POSITION OF THE AMPHITHEATRE, THE FOUNTAIN OF APOLLO & SOME OTHER
REMAINS WITHOUT THE TOWN OF CYRENE.
_Published March 1827, by John Murray, London._]
[Illustration: Drawn by H. Beechey.
Engraved by E. Pinden.
ENTRANCE TO THE FOUNTAIN OF APOLLO.
_Published March 1827, by John Murray, London._]
[Illustration: Engraved from a Drawing taken on the spot by H. Beechey.
ELEVATION OF THE INTERNAL FAÇADE OF AN EXCAVATED TOMB AT CYRENE.
SHEWING THE COLOURS AS THEY NOW EXIST.
_Published March 1827, by John Murray, London._]
[Illustration: Engraved from a Drawing taken on the spot by
Henry Beechey.
SUITE OF ALLEGORICAL FIGURES.
PAINTED ON THE MOTOSSES OF ONE OF THE EXCAVATED TOMBS AT CYRENE.
_Published June 1827, by John Murray, London._]
[Illustration: Engraved from a Drawing taken on the spot by H. Beechey.
PARTIAL VIEW OF THE TOMBS ON THE HEIGHTS OF CYRENE.
_Published March 1827, by John Murray, London._]