1 66 SHAKESPEARE'S [HYSSOP. 



claw, they which are anointed therewith, it being first of 

 all decocted in the blood of a weasel, do fall into the 

 hatred of all men. And if the nails of any beast be found 

 in his maw after he is slain, it signifieth the death of some 

 of his hunters. The dung or filth of an Hyaena, being 

 mingled with certain other medicines is very excellent to 

 cure and heal the bites and stingings of crocodiles, and 

 other venomous serpents. 



Topsell, "Four-footed Beasts," pp. 339-47. 



Hyssop. 



OTHELLO, i. 3, 325. 



IN summer when Hyssop beareth flowers, ye must gather 

 them, and dry them in a clean place and dark, that it be 

 not smoky, and they have virtue to dissolve, to temper, 

 to consume, to waste and to cleanse the lungs. 



Bartholomew (Berthelet), bk. xvii. 85. 



HYSSOP, stamped with honey, salt and cummin, and so 

 reduced into a plaster, is thought to be a proper remedy 

 for the sting of serpents. Holland's Pliny, bk. xxv. ch. ii. 



IF a man perceive that he hath either inwardly taken 

 for a medicine, or applied outwardly, a radish root which 

 is over strong, he must presently have Hyssop given him ; 

 for this antipathy and natural contrariety there is between 

 these two herbs, that the one correcteth the other. 



Ibid., bk. xx. ch. 4. 



You are, Sir, 



Just like the Indian Hyssop, prais'd of strangers 

 For the sweet scent, but hated of the inhabitants 

 For the injurious quality. 



Robert Davenport, "City Night-cap," Act. i. (1624). 



Incense or Frankincense. 



KING LEAR, v. 3, 21. 



[FRANKINCENSE] is the name of a tree, and of the gum 

 that oozeth and cometh out thereof. It is a tree of Arabia, 

 and is great with many boughs, and with the most lightest 



