MINT. 



(Spear-mint.) 



LABIATE, 



variety of mint, rather than the peppermint, seems to 

 have been cultivated and used in Palestine. Pliny 

 S p ea k s O f the various dishes in which the mint appeared 

 to give a particularly greeable flavor. It grows readily 

 everywhere, and is therefore of little value, especially 

 in Judea. Hence the force of our Saviour s words: &quot;Woe 

 unto you, hypocrites ! for ye pay tithe of mint, and anise, and 

 cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law.&quot; 

 St. Luke adds rue, and speaks of other herbs. The sentiment 

 is the same; for the plants named were of the simplest and 

 cheapest sort. The Jews tithed the simplest, meanest herbs, 

 which exhibited their exceeding carefulness of form and their 

 corresponding want of reality. The fact that it is mentioned 

 in Scripture only twice, and each time in allusion to the same 

 custom, shows that its importance must have been very slight 

 indeed. Some have supposed that it was one of the bitter 

 herbs with which the Jews ate the passover. The variety is 

 represented in Plate II. 



117 



