•^ The Scented (garden ^ 



frankincense — regarded as of divine nature. ' It came 

 from Southern Arabia and the neighbouring parts of 

 Africa, and from remotest antiquity was held to be a 

 panacea for all ills. So highly was it esteemed that the 

 trade in aromatic spices and herbs was guarded by the pro- 

 ducers with the utmost secrecy, and the secrecy of the 

 trade was augmented by the exclusiveness of the religious 

 ideas and rites attached to it. Control of the Arabian in- 

 cense trade was one of the leading features in the foreign 

 policy of all the great empires of the ancient world, such 

 as Babylon, Assyria and Egypt.' The writer points out 

 further the interesting fact that it was probably due first 

 to the jealousies surrounding the incense trade, to its 

 sanctity and prestige, that Arabia remained, and has 

 remained until now, almost terra incognita to the rest of 

 the world. 



Remembering the close connection between Egypt and 

 the Holy Land, and that Solomon's chief wife was 

 Pharaoh's daughter, it is more than probable that the 

 gardens Solomon made for his pleasure closely resembled 

 those for which Egypt had been famed for centuries, for- 

 mal gardens with stately avenues, groves of pomegranates 

 and scented shrubs, vine pergolas and water-gardens. 

 From the Bible we know that Solomon's gardens were 

 scented gardens, and the ' Song of Songs which is 

 Solomon's,' the lyric of the scented garden, is full of the 

 honeyed sweetness and aromatic fragrance of flowers and 

 shrubs. It is noteworthy that Solomon, like Bacon, 

 comments on the exquisite scent of newly opened vine 

 blossoms, one of the most delicious of all scents. 1 



' Awake O north wind and come thou south ; blow upon 



1 Cant. ii. 13. 

 4 



