pPant 'bore, Tsege?^/, aaeL Tsijrio/*, 369 



Hellebore formerly f(rew in j^reat abundance on the Island of 

 Anticyra, in the Gulf of Corinth: hence Naviga ad Anticyyam 



was a common proverb applied to hypochondriacal persons. 



Pausanias tells us that when the Cirrha^ans besieged Athens, Solon 

 recommended that Hellebore should be thrown in the river Plistus: 

 this was done, and the Cirrhaeans, from drinking the water, were so 

 powerfully attacked with dysentery, that they were forced to abandon 



the siege. The Hellebore has long been considered a plant of 



evil omen, growing in dark and lonely places. Thus Campbell 

 says of it : — 



" By the witches' tower, 

 Where Hellebore and Hemlock seem to weave 

 Round its dark vaults a melancholy bower 

 For spirits of the dead at night's enchanted hour." 



The plant, with certain accompanying exorcisms, was reputed to 

 be eflficacious in cases of deafness caused by witchcraft. In 

 Tuscany, the peasantry divine the harvest from the appearance of 

 the Hellebore-plant. If it has four tufts, it will be good ; if three, 



mediocre ; if two, bad. Astrologers say that Hellebore is a herb 



of Saturn. 



HELMET-FLOWER.— The Scutellayia, or Skull-cap flower, 

 is generally known by the name of the Helmet-flower, the blossoms 

 being shaped similar to those of the Snap-Dragon. It is used in 

 curing the tertian ague. 



HEMLOCK. — The common Hemlock (Conhun mactilatum) is 

 described b}' Dioscorides as a very evil, dangerous, hurtful, and 

 poisonous herb, " insomuch that whosoever taketh of it into his 

 body dieth remediless, except the party drank some wine before 

 the venom hath taken the heart." It is the Coneion of the ancients: 

 that deadly poison distilled from the juices of the Hemlock, that 

 was drunk by Socrates, Theramenes, and Phocion — the fatal drug 

 given to him whom the Areopagus had condemned to death — the 

 unfailing potion gulped down by ancient philosophers, who were 

 weary of their lives, and dreaded the infirmities of old age. Re- 

 solved on their fate, these men crowned themselves with garlands, 

 and with a smile upon their lips tossed off the fatal Coneion — dying re- 



specfted by their countrymen for their fortitude and heroism. The 



Hemlock is one of the deadly poisons that kills by its cold quality. 

 Hence Pliny tells us that serpents fly from its leaves, because they 

 also chill to the death : on this account probably it has been called 



Herha bcncdid^a, or Herb Bennett. The Eleusinian priests, who 



were required to remain chaste all their lives, were wont to rub 



themselves with Hemlock. In Russia, the Hemlock under the 



name o( BcJi, is looked upon as a Satanic herb ; and in Germany, 

 it is regarded as a funereal plant, and as a representative of the 

 vegetation of the infernal regions. In England, it was a favourite 

 plant of the witches, gathered by them for use in their potions and 

 hell-broths : it is still considered a plant of ill-omen, growing 



2 B 



