CHAP. XXIX. 



RVTA'CEJE. liV\\\. 



485 



Derivation. According to Dc Thcis, incapable of explanation ; but the same in all the most ancient 

 languages ; namely, rux in Runic ; rude, rata, ritta, or rtitu, in Anglo-Saxon ; rittiza in Stlavonian ; 

 rutu in Italian and Latin ; riida in Spanish ; rute in Greek ; said to be from rud, to flow, in 

 allusion to some expelling qualities of the plants. 



ii 1. R. GRAVE^OLENS L. The heavy-scenteil, or common. Rue. 



Identification. Lin. Spec, 548. ; Dec. Prod., 1. p. 710. ; Don's Mill., 1. p. 778. 

 Si/nonymes. R. horteiisis Mill. Diet., No. 1. ; Rue, Fr. ; Gartenraute, Gcr. 



Engravings. Du Ham. Arb., 2. t. 61.: Woodv. Mod. I3ot., t. 37. ; Pluk. Icon., t. 332; E. of 

 PI, 5886. ; and our^^. 155. 



135 



Sjicc. Char., Sfc. 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. 



Geograp/n/, Historj/, Sfc. The rue may be found in a 

 wild state in the south of France, in Spain, and in the 

 north of Italy. We have gatiiered it, growing along with 

 Psoralea bituminosa, 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 introduceil into Eng- 

 land by the monks, many centiu'ies before. 



Properties and Uses. " The rue and its allies," Professor Burnet observes, 

 " are bitter stimulating plants, with a strong but ratiier unpleasant smell, anil 

 a hot bitter taste. Ii. graveolens is, indeed, so acrid, that the bruised leaves 

 will excoriate the lips and nostrils, and inHanie the skin, if applied as a cata- 

 plasm. Rue was much esteemed in ancient medicine : IIipj)ocrates 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 expelling poison ? ' But, notwith- 

 standing all these praises, which are truly questionable, rue is now seldom 

 employed, exce[)t in the form of tea, by village doctresses." (Burucf's 

 Outlines of Botani/, vol. 2. p. 882.) Notwithstanding these observations of 

 Professor Burnet, the medicinal jjroperties 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 breai.1 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 considereil by the country |)eople generally 

 as an excellent " cleanser of tlie blood." By distillation witli 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 counnodious 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 legendari/ AUusioiis. 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 (iucen, " There's rue for you, and 

 here's some for me; we may call it herb of grace o' Sundays." Herb of grace 



L L 4 



