CHAP, XXIX. RUTA‘CEH. RUA. 485 
Derivation. According to De Theis, incapable of explanation ; but the same in all the most ancient 
languages ; namely, rux in Runic ; rude, rata, ruta, or rutu, in Anglo-Saxon ; rutiza in Sclavonian ; 
ruta in Italian and Latin; ruda in Spanish ; ru¢é in Greek ; said to be from rud, to flow, in 
allusion to some expelling qualities of the plants. 
aw 1. 2. GRAvE‘oLENS L. The heavy-scented, or common, Rue. 
Identification. Lin. Spec., 548. ; Dec. Prod., 1. p. 710. ; Don’s Mill, 1. p. 778. 
Synonymes. R. horténsis Miil. Dict., No.1.; Rue, Fr.; Gartenraute, Ger. 
Engravings. Du Ham. Arb., 2. t. 61.; Woodv. Med. Bot., t. 37.; Pluk. Icon., t. 332; E. of 
* PL, 5886, ; and our fig. 155. 
Spec. Char., §c. Leaves supra-decompound; the lobes 
oblong, the terminal one obovate. Petals entire or 
toothed. (Dec. Prod.,i. p.710.) A beautiful evergreen 
undershrub, native of the south of Europe, in sterile 
places, and cultivated in British gardens from time 
immemorial. It flowers from June to September, and 
ripens seeds. 
_ Geography, History, §c. The rue may be found in a 
wild state in the south of France, in Spain, and in the 
north of Italy. We have gathered it, growing along with 
Psoralea bitumindsa, on the rocks about Nice, and along 
the coast near Genoa. The rue was first recorded by 
Turner in 1562; but, from its reputed medicinal quali- 
ties, and its use in religious ceremonies, it was probably introduced into Eng- 
land by the monks, many centuries before. 
Properties and Uses. “The rue and its allies,” Professor Burnet observes, 
“are bitter stimulating plants, with a strong but rather unpleasant smell, and 
a hot bitter taste. 2. gravéolens is, indeed, so acrid, that the bruised leaves 
will excoriate the lips and nostrils, and inflame the skin, if applied as a cata- 
plasm. Rue was much esteemed in ancient medicine : Hippocrates commends 
it: for many ages it was considered a preventive of contagion, and called the 
herb of grace; and, in later times, Boerhaave observes that the greatest com- 
mendations he can bestow upon it fall short of its merits. ‘ What medicine,’ 
says he, ‘can be more efficacious for promoting perspiration for the cure of 
hysteric passion, and of epilepsies, and for expeiling poison?’ But, notwith- 
standing all these praises, which are truly questionable, rue is now seldom 
employed, except in the form of tea, by village doctresses.” (Burnet’s 
Outlines of Botany, vol. 2. p. 882.) Notwithstanding these observations of 
Professor Burnet, the medicinal properties of the rue have been spoken of 
in terms of respect by Lewis, Woodville, Thomson, and other authors; and 
the following is a summary of their observations. The internal use of the rue 
is unsafe in large quantities; but eaten with bread and butter, as it very com- 
monly is in France and Germany, a considerable dose may be taken without 
injury. In Britain, it is given to children as a vermifuge; and, mixed with 
butter, to poultry, as a remedy for the roup, &c. It is also given to dogs 
as a cure for the distemper, and is considered by the country people generally 
as an excellent “cleanser of the blood.” By distillation with water, an 
essential oil is obtained from it; and by infusion in alcohol, a tincture which 
is warm, pungent, acrid, and penetrating. A conserve, made by beating the 
fresh leaves with fine sugar, is the most commodious form for using the herb in 
substance : the extract is given in doses of from 10 to 15 grains. To labouring 
men, if used with discretion, it might prove a condiment to their food, in 
the same way as garlic does in France, Spain, and Italy, and onions in most 
parts of Europe. 
Poetical and legendary Allusions. Rue, as it is observed in Martyn’s Miller, 
was anciently named herb grace, or the herb of grace ; and it is to this day called 
ave grace in Sussex, in allusion, doubtless, to Ave Maria, gratia plena; and it 
is remarkable that Mary, in Hebrew, means bitter. Warburton says that 
rue had its name, “ herb of grace,” from its having been used in exorcisms, 
Ophelia, in Shakspeare’s Hamlet, says to the Queen, “ There’s rue for you, and 
here’s some for me ; we may call it herb of grace o’ Sundays.”” Herb of grace 
LL 4 
