234 OTJB COMMON TETJITS. 



a misfortune occupying a similar place in a list of na- 

 tional calamities to that which the " lifting " of the cow did 

 in the domestic disasters of Auld Robin Gray's beloved ; 

 and that the spot overshadowed by "his own fig-tree" 

 seems to have been, to the dweller in Judea, just what 

 " his own fireside " is now to an Englishman. Probably in- 

 digenous, not only in Asia, but also on both the European 

 and the African shores of the Mediterranean, it was 

 known to most of the nations of antiquity, though the 

 Athenians flattered themselves that it had been first called 

 into existence in their country and for their benefit, 

 affirming that it was originally presented by Ceres to 

 their compatriot Phytalus as a recompense for the hos- 

 pitality with which he had entertained the goddess, and 

 it was accordingly planted in the centre of the public 

 square at Athens, and considered to hallow the spot where 

 it grew. Unwilling that the fruit of so divine a tree should 

 be degraded to the level of barbarian palates, its export- 

 ation was strictly forbidden a piece of protectionism 

 which naturally gave rise to a race of smugglers, who in 

 their turn, equally naturally, called forth a race of excise- 

 men, designated, from the special nature of their occu- 

 pation, sylco phantai, or discoverers of jigs, a name per- 

 petuated in the word sycophant, which in our language 

 meant originally talebearer, and which is still used by 

 the French to denote a cheat or liar, rather than the 

 mere flatterer signified by our modern uses of the term. 

 Nor was this the only way in which the goddess-given 

 plant became a fruitful source of evil, for it was said to 

 have been the fine figs of Athens which tempted Xerxes 

 to undertake the invasion of Greece. In Lacedaemonia it 

 seems that even the luxury-condemning Lycurgus looked 

 tenderly upon this fruit, pardoning its deliciousness per- 

 haps on the ground of its wholesomeness; for we find that 

 the few items he bade each Spartan send monthly to the 

 public dining-hall, as his share of the common consump- 

 tion, included 2|-lbs. of figs. The athlete, too, following 

 the traditionary example of their patron Hercules, made 

 it their staple article of food while " in training," until, 

 in later days, a flesh diet was introduced in its stead. At 



