26 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN. 
Of the ‘‘hyssop that springeth out of the wall,” it is 
thought to have been a short-lived, insignificant herb, most 
probably a species of moss which grew upon the damp 
places of the wall, and was least likely to attract the 
notice of a casual observer, or enlist the attention of those 
who had not made a special study of the vegetable kingdom. 
By selecting the extremes of that kingdom, as fitting 
representatives of the discriminating and all-embracing 
knowledge of Solomon, with its multifarious and widely 
scattered members, the sacred historian has given us to 
understand, that as in other fields his remarkable wisdom 
had been displayed, so in this special branch of science 
were his investigations alike conspicuous. 
That the wisdom of Solomon was widely extended, em- 
bracing every species of knowledge, having been, as we 
are taught, specially endowed by the All-Wise, is apparent 
from the context, «‘ And God gave Solomon wisdom and 
understanding exceeding much, and largeness of heart.”’ 
Wisdom has been defined ‘‘ knowledge rightly used,’’ and 
again ‘* the pursuit of the best ends by the best means.’ 
The context asserts that ‘* he spake three thousand prov- 
erbs, and his songs were one thousand and five.’? In such 
of the proverbs as are extant we have examples embracing 
all the relations of life; eminently practical, as rules for 
the guidance of the statesman, the legislator, the teacher 
of morals and religion, or the private citizen in his do- 
mestic duties. 
The age of Solomon was the golden age of the Kingdom 
of Israel. Under the warlike rule of his father David, that 
kingdom had rapidly gained the ascendancy over the neigh- 
boring powers. Their isolated position no longer held 
them aloof from intercourse with others, nor did it inter- 
fere with the liberal cultivation of the arts and sciences. 
The forty years of the peaceful reign of Solomon, espe- 
cially during its early period, were devoted to the more gen- 
eral elevation of the people in the social scale; and to a 
more liberal education among all classes, the refining in- 
