174 plint's natukal history. [Book XIII. 



the root ; the pith of them towards the top, which is usually- 

 called the brain 29 of the tree, is sweet to the taste, and the 

 tree will live even after it has been extracted, which is the case 

 with no other kind. The name of this tree is "chamaereps ;' ,3 ° 

 it has a broader and softer leaf than the others, which is ex- 

 tremely useful for various kinds of wickerwork ; 31 these trees are 

 very numerous in Crete, and even more so in Sicily. The 

 wood of the palm-tree, when ignited, burns both brightly and 

 slowly. 32 In some of those that bear fruit, 33 the seed of the fruit 

 is shorter than in others, while in some, again, it is longer ; in 

 some it is softer than in others, and in some harder ; in some 

 it is osseous and crescent-shaped ; polished with a tooth, super- 

 stition employs the stone as an antidote against charms and fas- 

 cination. This stone is enclosed in several coats, more or less 

 in number ; sometimes they are of a thick texture, and some- 

 times very thin. 



Hence it is that we find nine and forty different kinds of 

 palm-trees, if any one will be at the trouble of enumerating all 

 their various barbarous names, and the different wines that are 

 extracted from them. The most famous of all, are those 

 which, for the sake of distinction, have received the name of 

 "royal" palms, because they were preserved solely by the 

 kings of Persia ; these used to grow nowhere but at Babylon, 

 and there only in the garden of Bagous, 34 that being the 

 Persian for an eunuch, several of whom have even reigned 

 over that country ! This garden was always carefully retained 

 within 35 the precincts of the royal court. 



In the southern parts of the world, the dates known as 



29 Cerebrum. 



30 The Chamsereps humilis of the modern botanists. It is found, among 

 other countries, in Spain, Morocco, and Arabia. 



31 Vitilia. 



33 " Vivaces." Perhaps it may mean that the wood retains the fire for a 

 long time, when it burns. 



33 Fee suggests that Pliny may possibly have confounded the fruit of 

 okher palms with the date. 



34 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 " Bagous," and sometimes " Bagoas." 



35 Dominantis in aula. 



