Of the olive-tree two varieties are particularly dis- tinguished: the long-leafed, which is cultivated in the south of France and in Italy, and the broad-leafed in Spain, which has also much larger fruit than the former
OLIVE
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OLIVE
kind. On the wild olive-tree, as well as the practice of grafting, see Olive, Wild.
The olive is one of the earliest of the plants specifi- cally mentioned in the Bible, the fig being the first. Thus ill Gen. viii, 11 the dove is described as bringing the olive-branch to Noah. How far this early incident may have suggested the later emblematical meanings of the leaf it is impossible to say ; but now it is as difh- cult for us to disconnect the thought of peace from this scene of primitive patriarchal history as from a multi- tude of allusions in the Greek and Roman poets. Next, we find it the most prominent tree in the earliest alle- gory. When the trees invited it to reign over them, its sagacious answer sets it before us in its characteristic relations to divine worship and domestic life (Judg. ix, 8, 9). The olive, being an evergreen, was adduced as an emblem of prosperity (Psa. lii, 8; cxxviii, 3), and it has continued, from the earliest ages, to be an emblem of peace among all civilized nations. Thus among the Greeks the olive was sacred to I'allas Athene (iMi- nerva), who was honored as the bestower of it; it was also the emblem of chastity. A crown of olive-twigs was the highest distinction of a citizen who had mer- ited well of his country, and the highest prize of the victor in the Olympic games. The different pas- sages of Scripture in which the olive is mentioned are elucidated by Celsius {Ilierobut. ii, 330). So with the later prophets it is the symbol of beauty, luxuriance, and strength ; and hence the symbol of religious privi- leges (Hos. xiv, G ; Jer. xi, 6; comp. Ecclus. 1, 10). The olive is always enumerated among the valued trees of Palestine; which Moses describes (Deut. vi, 11 ; viii, 8) as " a land of oil-olive and honey" (so in xxviii, 40, etc.). Solomon gave to the laborers sent him by Hi- ram, king of Tyre, 20,000 baths of oil (2 Chron. ii, 10). Besides this, immense quantities must have been re- quired for home consumption, as it was extensively used as an article of diet, for burning in lamps, and for the ritual service. The oil of Palestine was highly prized, and large quantities were exported to Egypt, where the tree has been little cultivated (Ritter, KnlL xi, 519; see Hos. xii, 12, and Jerome, ad loc. ; Echa Rahh. Ixxxv, 3). The Phoenicians also received much oil from Pales- tine (Ezek. xxvii, 17; comp. 1 Kings v, 11 ; Ezra iii, 7). The kings of Israel raised a part of their revenue in oil (2 Chron. xxxii, 28). The best olives grew in the re- gion of Tekoa (Mishna, Menacfi. viii, 3). It was not unusual to eat the olives themselves, either raw, soft- ened in salt water (comp. Burckhardt, Travels, i, 85), or preserved (Dioscor.i, 138). On the method of preserving ol- ives, see Colum. xii, 47, See Oil.
Not only the olive-oil, but the branches of the tree were employed at the Feast of Tab- ernacles (Nell, viii, 15). See Oi.iVKT. The wood also was used (1 Kings vi, 23) by Solo- mon for making the cherubim (vers. 31 , 32), and for doors and posts '• for the entering of the oracle," the former of which were carved with cherubim and palm-trees and open flowers. The wood of the olive-tree, which is imported chiefly from Leghorn, is like that of the box, but softer, with darker gray-colored veins. The roots have a very pretty knotted and curly cliaracter; they are much esteemed on the Conti- nent for making embossed boxes, pressed into engraved metallic moulds. Furniture is made of the olive-tree in Italy,
and the closeness of the grain fits it even for painters' palettes. The bark of the tree is bitter and astringent ; and both it and the leaves have febrifuge properties. A gum-resin exudes from old stems, which much resem- bles storax, has an odor like vanilla, and is used in all parts of Italy for perfumery. This was known to the ancients, and is now sometimes called olive-gum. But the fruit, with its oil, is that which renders the tree es- pecially valuable. The green unripe fruit is preserved in a solution of salt, and is well known at "desserts. The fruit when ripe is bruised in mills, and the oil pressed out of the paste. Different qualities are known in commerce, varying partly in the quality of the fruit, partly in the care with which the oil is extracted. See Olive-bekuy. The berries (,Jas. iii, 12 ; Esdr. xvi, 29), which produce the oil, were sometimes gathered by- shaking the tree (Isa. xxiv, 13), sometimes by beating it (Deut, xxiv, 20), Then followed the treading of the fruit (Deut, xxxiii, 24; Mic, vi, 15). Hence the men- tion of ''oil-fats" (Joel ii, 24). See Oil-jiill. Nor must the flower be passed over without notice :
" Si bene floruerlnt olefe, nitidissimiis nnmis" (Ovid, Fast, v, 265).
The wind was dreaded by the cultivator of the olive, for the least rufliing of a breeze is apt to cause the flow- ers to fall :