The Romans employed it much as a seasoning to their dishes (Horace, Ej). i, 12, 21 ; Martial, iii, 47, 8), and it is an ingredient in a number of recipes in Ajiicius re- ferred to by Celsius {Hierobot. ii, 2G3 ; comp. Pliny, IJist. Nat. xix, G ; HiUer, JJierophyi. pt. ii, p. 3G ; Diosc. ii, 4; Athen. iv, 137, 170). The leek (.4 lliian porrum) was in- troduced into England about the year 1562, and thence, ill due time, into America ; and, as is well known, it con- tinues to be esteemed as a seasoning to soups and stews in most civilized countries. — Kitto.
There is, however, another and a very ingenious in- terpretation of chatsir, first proposed by HengstenLerg, and received by Dr. Kitto {Pictorial Bible, Numb, xi, b), which adopts a more literal translation of the original word, for, says Kitto, " among the wonders in the natu- ral history of Egypt, it is mentioned by travellers that the common people there eat with special relish a kind of grass similar to clover." Mayer {Reise nach ^Egyp- tien, p. 22G) says of this plant (whose scientific name is Trigonella Fonnum- gracum, belonging to the natural order Leguminosce) that it is similar to clover, but its leaves more pointed, and that great quantities of it are eaten by the people. Forskal mentions the Trigonella as being grown in the gardens at Cairo ; its native name is Ilalbeh {Flor. yEgyptiaca, p. 81). Somiini {Voyage, i, 379) says, "In this fertile country the Egyptians them- selves eat thQ fmu-grec so largely that it may be prop-
A<h
Trigonella Foenum-grcccum.
erly called the food of man. In the month of Novem- ber they cry ' Green halbeli for sale !' in the streets of the town ; it is tied up in large bunches, which the in- habitants purchase at a low price, and which they eat with incredible greediness without any kind of season- ing." The seeds of this plant, which is also cultivated in Greece, are often used ; the}' are eaten boiled or raw, mixed with honey. Forskal includes it in the materia medica of Egypt {Mctt. ^[ed. Kahir. p. 155). There does not appear, however, sufficient reason for ignoring the old versions, which all seem agreed that the leek is the plant denoted by chatsir, a vegetable from the earliest times a great favorite with the Egyptians, as both a nourishing and savory food. Some have objected that, as the Egyptians held the leek; onion, etc., sacred, they would abstain from eating these vegetables themselves, and woiUd not allow the Israelites to use them (compare Juvenal, Sat. xv, 9). We have, however, the testimony of Herodotus (ii, 125) to show that onions were eaten by the Egj-ptian poor, for he says that on one of the pyra- mids is shown an inscription, which was exjilained to him by an interpreter, showing how much money was spent in jiroviding radishes, onions, and garlic fur the workmen. The priests were not allowed to eat these things, and Plutarch {De Is. et Osir. ii, p. 353) tells us the reasons. The Welshman reverences his leek, and wears one on St. David's day ; he eats the leek neverthe- less, and doubtless the Egyptians were not overscrupu- lous {Script. Herbal, p. 230). — Smith.
LEES
325
LEGALISTS
Lees (only ill the plural D'^"i'?3'J, sliemarim', from l^'IJ, to keep [Jer. xlviii, 11 ; Zcph. i, 12; rendered " wines on tlie lees" in Isa. xxv, G ; " dregs" in Psa. Ixxv, 8]; Sept. rpDyiat ; Vulgate ytfces). The Hebrew term ^■^'ly, sheinei- (the presumed singular form of the above), bears the radical sense of pi-eservaiion, and was applied to " lees" from the custom of allowing the wine to stand on the lees in order that its color and body might be better preserved; hence the expression "wine on the lees," as meaning a generous, fidl- bodied liquor (Isa. xxv, G ; see Henderson, ad loc). The wine in this state remained, of course, undisturbed in its cask, and became thick and sirupy ; hence the proverb " to settle upon one's lees," to express the sloth, indifference, and gross stupidity of the ungodly (Jer. xlviii, 11; Zeph, i, 12). Before the wine was consumed it was necessary to strain off the lees ; such ^vine was then termed " well refined" (Isa. xxv, G). To drink the lees or " dregs" was an ex- pression for the endurance of extreme punishment (Psa. Ixxv, 8). — Smith. An ingenious writer in Kitto's Ci/- chpcedia (s. v. Shemarim) thinks that some kind ofjjfe- serves from grapes are meant in Isa. xxv, G, as the ety- mology of the word suggests ; but this supposition, al- though it clears the passage from some difficulties, is op- jiosetl to the usage of the term in the other places. See Wine.
Leaser, Isaac, a noted Jewish theologian and re- ligious writer, was born at Neukirch, in Westphalia, in 180G. In 1825 he emigrated to America, and became in 1829 rabbi of the prmtipal synagogue of Philadelphia. This position he resigned in 1850, and died in that city in 18G8. Leeser \vas a superior scholar and preacher, and among his people his memory will ever be resjiected and honored. His works, which are completely cited in Alllbone, iJicf. of British aiul American Authors, yo\. ii, s. v., are mainly contributions to Jewish literature — prin- cipaDy Jewish history and theology. In 1843 he as- sumed the editorship of the Jewish Adrocaie (or Occi- dent). Very valuable is his edition of the O.-T. Scrip- tures in the original, based on the labors of I7ni der Hooght, and published by Lippincott and Co. (Philadel. 18G8,8vo).