174 plint's natubal history. [Book XIII. 
the root ; the pith of them towards the top, which is usually- 
called the brain of the tree, is sweet to the taste, and the 
tree will live even after it has been extracted, which is the case 
with no other kind. The name of this tree is ^^chamaereps 
it has a broader and softer leaf than the others, which is ex- 
tremely useful for various kinds of wickerwork these trees are 
very numerous in Crete, and even more so in Sicily. The 
wood of the palm-tree, when ignited, burns both brightly and 
slowly .^^ In some of those that bear fruit, the seed of the fruit 
is shorter than in others, while in some, again, it is longer ; in 
some it is softer than in others, and in some harder ; in some 
it is osseous and crescent-shaped ; polished with a tooth, super- 
stition employs the stone as an antidote against charms and fas- 
cination. This stone is enclosed in several coats, more or less 
in number ; sometimes they are of a thick texture, and some- 
times very thin. 
Hence it is that we find nine and forty different kinds of 
palm-trees, if any one will be at the trouble of enumerating all 
their various barbarous names, and the different wines that are 
extracted from them. The most famous of all, are those 
which, for the sake of distinction, have received the name of 
royal" palms, because they were preserved solely by the 
kings of Persia ; these used to grow nowhere but at Babylon, 
and there only in the garden of Bagous,^* that being the 
Persian for an eunuch, several of whom have even reigned 
over that country ! This garden was always carefully retained 
within the precincts of the royal court. 
In the southern parts of the world, the dates known as 
29 Cerebrum. 
30 The Chamaereps humilis of the modern botanists. It is found, among 
other countries, in Spain, Morocco, and Arabia. 
31 VitiHa. 
32 a Vivaces." Perhaps it may mean that the wood retains the fire for a 
long time, when it burns. 
Fee suggests that Pliny may possibly have confounded the fruit of 
other palms with the date. 
3* This seems to have been a general name, as Pliny says, meaning an 
eunuch ; but it is evident that it was also used as a proper name, as in the 
case of the eunuch who slew Artaxerxes, Ochus, b.c. 338, by poison, 
and of another eunuch who belonged to Darius, but afterwards fell into 
the hands of Alexander, of whom he became an especial favourite. The 
name is sometimes written "Eagoiis," and sometimes " Bagoas.'.' 
^ Dominantis in aula. 
