ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, IX. iv. 8-10 



of a further more important piece of ignorance ; for 

 they believed that the frankincense and the myrrh 

 were produced by the same tree. Wherefore the 

 account derived from those who sailed from the city 

 of Heroes is more to be believed ; 1 in fact the 

 frankincense-tree which grows above Sardes in a 

 certain sacred precinct has 2 a leaf like that of bay, if 

 we may judge at all by this ; and the frankincense 

 derived both from its stem and its branches is like 

 in appearance and in smell, when it is burnt as 

 incense, to other frankincense. This is the only 

 tree which can never be cultivated. 3 



Some say that the frankincense-tree is more 

 abundant 4 in Arabia, but finer in the adjacent islands 5 

 over which the Arabians bear rule ; 6 for there it is 

 said that they mould the gum on the trees to any 

 shape that they please. And perhaps this is not 

 incredible, since it is possible to make any kind of 

 incision that they like. Some of the lumps 7 of gum 

 are very large, so that one is large enough in bulk to 

 fill the hand and in weight is more than a third of a 

 pound. All frankincense is gathered in the rough 

 and is like bark in appearance. Myrrh s is either 

 ' fluid ' 9 (myrrh-oil) or ' solid ' (agglutinated). That 

 of better quality is tested by its taste, and of this 

 they select that which is of uniform colour. 10 Now 

 of frankincense and myrrh these are about all the 

 facts that have come to our notice at present. 



5 Plin. 12. 60. 



6 fTrdpxova-LV conj. Coraes ; tvuirdpxovo-i P 2 Ald. 



7 r<av x^^pco^ conj. Sch.: T<$ x^vSp^ P 2 Ald. 



8 i.e. here the commodity so called. 



9 c/. Odor. 29. 



10 &/j.6xpo>v conj. Sch. ; &/j.6xpw UM ; o^xpovv Aid. ; r^v erepav 



241 

 VOL. II. K 



