Sweet marjoram, with her like, _sweet basil_, rare for smell.
_Drayton._
The BASIL is a plant rendered poetical by the genius which has handled
it. Boccaccio and Keats have made the name of the _sweet basil_ sound
pleasantly in the ears of many people who know nothing of botany. A
species of this plant (known in Europe under the botanical name of
_Ocymum villosum_, and in India as the _Toolsee_) is held sacred by the
Hindus. Toolsee was a disciple of Vishnu. Desiring to be his wife she
excited the jealousy of Lukshmee by whom she was transformed into the
herb named after her.[078]