106 
THE FLOWERS 'AND PLANTS 
admirable fable of Jotham, tbe Fig-tree is made 
to say, ' Shall I leave my sweetness and my 
good fruit ? ' 
" Both the texts quoted from Samuel relate 
to the economical value of the Fig. In the 
first book of Kings, it is the sign of the pro- 
sperous reign of Solomon, that every man 
dwelt safely under his vine and under his 
Fig-tree ; and in the second boob, Sennache- 
rib, King of Assj'ria, uses the same metaphor 
to seduce the Israelites from their allegiance 
to Hezekiah. 
" The Psalmist, enumerating the miseries 
of Egypt, Avhen Pharaoh would not let the 
children of Israel go, says, ' He smote their 
Fig-trees, and brake the trees of their coasts:' 
the loss of the Figs, which, along with bread, 
are the chief food of the labourers during 
some months of the year, being a national 
calamity of the most cruel kind, though little 
considered in our cold climate, where fruit, 
green or dry, is consumed as a luxurj', not a 
necessary of life 
" Throughout the book of Jeremiah, the 
Fig is used as an emblem of good or evil ; and 
the twenty-fourth chapter is entirely filled 
with the vision of the good and bad Figs. 
" The books of the minor prophets are full 
of allusions to the Fig-tree in the same sense. 
The passage in Habakkuk relating in part to 
the Fig-tree is so fine, that I will conclude the 
notices of the Fig in the Old Testament with it. 
" ' Although the Fig-tree shall not bud, 
neither shall fruit be in the vines ; the labour 
of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield 
no meat ; the flock shall be cut off from the 
fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls ; 
yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in 
the God of my salvation.' 
" The Evangelists record that Christ him- 
self used the Fig-tree in his discourses, as an 
emblem of goodness. 'Do men gather Figs 
of thistles?' he asks, in order to enforce the 
necessity of purity of heart to produce good 
actions. And in St. Luke we find the parable 
of the hitherto barren Fig-tree, which the 
master of the vineyard would have destroyed; 
but the mediator entreated him to spare it, till 
it should have been dressed and pruned, and 
time had been given to show whether it might 
not yet bear fruit. Such is the merciful inter- 
cession of Christ for us ! 
" The destruction of the barren Fig-tree, 
related by St. Matthew, forms a sequel to this. 
The tree, dressed and pruned, put forth green 
leaves, and appeared fair and promising to the 
passer by. But when the hungry wayfarer 
approached, the deceit was laid bare. No 
sweetness, no good fruit was there ; and the 
tree, the emblem of the hypocrite, was blasted 
by the word of the Lord ! 
" This excellent and nutritious fruit grows 
naturally on all the shores and islands of the 
Mediterranean, where it has been cultivated 
from the very earliest times, spreading south- 
wards to Upper Egypt and Nubia, and to 
Arabia and Persia eastward. 
" The Fig-tree requires care and culture in 
order to bring its fruit to perfection, and to 
increase its quantity. The prophet Joel, de- 
scribing the mischievous acts of an invading 
enemy, says, ' He hath barked my Fig-trees ;' 
as if the killing of the Figs was an injury like 
that of burning the corn. 
" The ancient and singular art of cultivating 
the garden Fig is described at some length by 
Pliny, and in our time it has been detailed 
curiously by that eminent botanist Tourne- 
fort. It is on seeing such deviations as the 
Fig-tree presents from the common course of 
nature, that we are most apt to exclaim, 
' Lord ! how wonderful are thy works ! in 
wisdom hast thou made them all!' And yet 
the annual growth of the commonest blade of 
grass, with its curious structure fitted to pre- 
serve its kind, is not less indicative of the 
power, wisdom, and goodness of the Creator, 
than the fructification of the Fig, or the 
blossoming of the aloe; hence, therefore, 
' God never wrought a miracle to convince 
atheism, because his ordinary works con- 
vince it.' 
" Besides the great use of dried Figs as an 
article of common food in the East, they are 
used medicinally. Boiled in milk or barley 
water, they are recommended for coughs and 
pains in the chest. When heated and split, 
they are applied to boils and imposthumes 
with success ; a practice as old as the age 
of Isaiah, who cured King Hezekiah of a 
dangerous boil by laying on it a lump of 
Figs. 
" The whole plant abounds in a milky juice, 
sufiiciently viscous to have been used by 
painters as a vehicle for laying on colour, be- 
fore the use of oil-painting became general. 
" The Fig thrives well in England. It was 
brought hither in the time of Henry VIII., 
who had a French priest for his gardener. 
The fine Fig-trees at Lambeth are said to 
have been planted by Cardinal Pole. Our 
fruit is exceedingly good, but the seed does 
not ripen thoroughly, so that our young trees 
are always raised from layers or cuttings. 
" The Fig-tree loves to grow by a well or 
fountain. The most delicious figs I ever ate 
were from a tree in the Campagna of Rome, 
whose roots had penetrated far into an ancient 
aqueduct : and I can never forget the charm- 
ing shade afforded by a Fig-tree planted by 
some Spanish visiter, close by a rill of pure 
water, on the Island of Juan Fernandez ; 
where many a recollection of Europe, and 
those who dwelt there, arose at the sight of 
