246 pPant "bore, "becfe^/, anil "bijpicy, 



not obtain the herb, they draw the form of the plant on the ground 



with its root. It is difficult to understand why so sacred and so 



fragrant a herb as Sweet Basil should have become the symbol of 

 Hatred, unless it be because the ancients sometimes represented 

 Poverty by the figure of a female clothed in rags, and seated by a 

 plant of Basil. The ancient Greeks thought that when Basil was 

 sown, the act should be accompanied by abuse, without which it 

 would not flourish. Pliny also records that it throve best when 

 sown with cursing and railing. This explains the French saying, 



" Semer le Basilic," equivalent to slandering. The plant has a 



decided funereal symbolism. In Persia, where it is called Rayhan, 



" the Basil-tuft, that waves 

 Its fragrant blossom over graves," 



is usually found in cemeteries. In Egypt, the same plant is 

 scattered over the tombs by the women who go twice or oftener 

 a week to pray and weep at the sepulchres of the dead. In Crete, 

 the Basil is considered a symbol of the Evil One, although it is to 

 be found on every window-ledge. It is unfortunate to dream of 

 Basil, for it is supposed to betoken grief and misfortune. It was 

 probably these sinister and funereal associations of the plant that 

 induced Boccaccio to make the unhappy Isabella conceal her 

 murdered lover's head by planting Basil in the pot that contained 

 it ; although it is sumiised that the author of the ' Decameron ' 



obtained the idea from Grecian sources. It is, however, satis- 



facSlory to find that in Italy the Basil is utilised for other than 

 funereal purposes. De Gubernatis tells us that in some districts 

 pieces of Basil are worn by maidens in their bosoms or at their 

 waists, and by married women in their hair : they believe also that 

 the perfume of Basil engenders sympathy, from which comes its 

 familiar name, Bacia-nicola — Kiss me, Nicholas ! Rarely does the 

 young peasant girl pay a visit to her sweetheart without affixing 

 behind her ear a sprig of Basil, which she takes special care not to 

 part with, as that would be a token of scorn. In Turkey, they call 

 Basil, Amorino. In Moldavia, the Basil is regarded as an enchanted 

 flower, whose spells can stop the wandering youth upon his 

 way, and make him love the maiden from whose hand he shall 



accept a sprig. In the East, Basil seeds are employed to 



counteradl the poison of serpents : in India the leaves are used for 

 the same purpose, as well as for the cure of several diseases. 

 Gerarde says that "they of Africke do also affirme that they who 

 are stung of the scorpion, and have eaten of it, shall feele no paine 

 at all." Orisabius likewise asserts that the plant is an antidote to 

 the sting of those insecfts ; but, on the other hand, Hollerius de- 

 clares that it propagates scovpions, and that to his knowledge an 

 acquaintance of his, through only smelling it, had a scorpion bred 



in his brain. Lord Bacon, in his Natural History, states that if 



Basil is exposed too much to the sun, it changes into Wild Thyme, 



