HERBS USED IN THE PRESENT TIME 37 



Had Papa dug me up before him, 

 So many now would not adore him, 

 But hang it I he's but onely one 

 And if he trips ofT, I'm Sr John. 



Horse-radish was treated here as a seasoning, but 

 radish is counted among vegetables proper. 



Sage (Salvia officinalis). 



Sage is for sustenance 



That should man's life sustaine, 

 For 1 do stil lie languishing 



Continually in paine, 

 And shall doe still until I die, 



Except thou favour sho"w, 

 My paine and all my grievous smart, 



Ful wel you do it linow. 



Handful of Pleasant Delights. 



And then againe he turneth to his playe. 



To spoyle the pleasures of the Paradise, 



The wholesome saulge and lavender still gray. 



Muiofotmos. — Spevser. 



Sage is one of those sympathetic plants that feel the 

 fortunes of their owners ; and Mr Friend says that a 

 Buckinghamshire farmer told him his recent personal 

 experience. " At one time he was doing badly, and the 

 Sage began to wither, but, as soon as the tide turned, 

 the plant began to thrive again." Most of the Con- 

 tinental names of the plant are like the botanical one of 

 Salvia, from "Salvo," to save or heal, and its high reputa- 

 tion in medicine lasted for ages. The Arabians valued 

 it, and the medical school of Salerno summed up its 

 surpassing merits in the line. Cur morietur homo cui Salvia 

 crescit in horto ? (How can a man die who grows sage 

 in his garden.?) Perhaps this originated the English 

 saying : — 



He that would live for aye 

 Must eat Sage in May. 



Parkinson mentions that it is " Much used of many in 

 the month of May fasting," with butter and parsley, and 



