Though the rose is apparently not mentioned in the Hebrew Hil^le, it is referred to in Ecchis. xxiv, 14, where it is said of Wisdom that she is exalted " as a rose-pilant {uQ ipvTu poCov) in Jericho" (comp. Mishna, Maaser, ii, 5). So also in Ecclus. xxxix, 13, "And bud forth as a rose growing by the brook of the field;" and the high- priest's ornaments are compared in 1, 8 to " the flowers of roses in the spring of the year." But the passage in the book of Wisdom (ii, 8; comp. Pliny, xxi, 6; Athen. XV, 683), "Let us crown ourselves with roses ere they be withered," is especially well suited to the rose. Yet roses have not been found by travellers in the neighbor- hood of Jericho. They cannot be considered exactly as spring flowers, nor do thej' grow specially by the sides of brooks. The rose was as highly esteemed among an- cient as it is among modern nations, if we may judge by the frequent references to it in the poets of antiquity. As we know that it continues to be tlie favorite flower of the Persians, and is much cultivated in Egypt (Has- IX.— I
selquist, Trav. p. 248; Russegger, Reis. I, i, 193), we might expect more fretiuent mention of some of its numerous species and varieties in the Jewish writings. This, however, is not the case, which probably arises from its being less common in a wild state in a compar- atively dry and warm climate like that of Sj-ria. Still it is indigenous in some parts. Monro, as quoted by Kitto in the Physical History of Palestine, " found in the valley of I'aalbec a creeping rose of a bright-vellow color in full bloom about the end of JIay. About the same time, on advancing towards Kama and Joppa from Jerusalem, the hills are found to be to a considerable extent covered with white and pink roses. The gar- dens of Rama itself abound in roses of a powerful fra- grance." Mariti, as stated by Rosenmliller, found the greatest quantity of roses in the hamlet of St. John, in the desert of the same name. "In this place the rose- plants form small forests in the gardens. The greatest part of the roses reared there are brought to Jerusalem, where rose-water is prepared from them, of which the scent is so very exquisite that in every part of Lycia, and also in Cyprus, it is in request above all other rose- waters." Biirckhardt was struck w-ith the number of rose-trees which he found among the ruins of Bozra be- yond the Jordan. That the rose was cultivated in Da- mascus is well known. Indeed, one species is named Rosa Damascena from being supposed to be indigenous there, " In the gardens of the city roses are still much cultivated. Monro says that in size they are inferior to our damask rose and less perfect in form, but that their odor and color are far more rich. The only variety that exists in Damascus is a white rose, which appears to belong to the same species, differing only in color" (Kitto, he. cit. p. cclxxxiv). The attar of roses from Damascus is famous. Dr. Hooker observed the fol- lowing wild roses in Syria : Rosa eglanteria L., R. sem- pervirens L., R. Henkeliana, R. Phcenicia Boiss., R. seria- cea, R. anffitstifolia, and R. Libanotica, Some of these are doubtful species. R. centifolia and Damascena are cultivated everywhere. It is possible, however, that the common rose may not be the plant meant in the above passages of Ecclesiasticus, and that the name rhodon may have been used in a general sense, so as to include some rose-like plants. We have an instance of this, indeed, in the oleander, of which rhododendron, or 7-ose-tree, was one of the ancient names, and rhododaphne another. The former name is now applied to a very different genus of plants; but laui-ier-rose, the Frencli translation of rhododaphne, is still the common name iu France of the plant which used to be called rose hay in England, but which is now commonly called olean- der. Its long and narrow leaves are like some kinds of
Oleauder.
ROSE
130
ROSE
willows, and in their hue and leathery consistence have some resemblance to the bay-tree, while in its rich in- florescence it may most aptly be compared to the rose. The oleander is well known to be common in the south of Europe by the sides of rivers and torrents, also in Asia Minor, Syria, and Egypt. It is seen in similar situations in the north of India, and nothing can be conceived more beautiful than the rivulets at the foot of the mountains, with their banks lined with thickets of oleanders, crowned with large biniches of roseate- colored flowers. ]\Iost travellers in Palestine have been struck with the beauty of this plant. Of the neighbor- hood of Tripoli, Rau wolf says, " There also by the river's side are found Anthilis marina, etc., and oleander with purple flowers, by the inhabitants called defter At the foot of Lebanon, again, he says, '' In the valley further down towards the water, grew also the oleander." It is mentioned as a conspicuous object in similar situations by Robinson and Smith. Kitto says, "Among the plants in flower in April, the oleander flourishes with extraordinary vigor, and in some instances grows to a considerable size by all the waters of Palestine. When the shrub expands its splendid blossoms, the effect is truly beautiful. Lord Lindsay speaks with rapture of the glorious appearance which the groves of blooming oleanders make in this season along the streams and in the lone valleys of Palestine" {he. cit. p. ccxxxvii). "In the month of May," adds Kitto (loc.cit. p. ccxliv), "oleanders, continuing still in bloom, are as much no- ticed in this as in the preceding month by travellers. Madox noticed in this month that fine oleanders in full bloom were growing all along the borders of the Lake of Tiberias, mostly in the water. The same observa- tion was made by Monro. The lake is here richly mar- gined with a wide belt of oleanders, growing in such luxuriance as they are never known to do even in the most genial parts of Europe." Such a plant could hard- 1\' escape reference, and therefore we are inclined to think that it is alluded to in the book of Ecclesiasticus by the name r/ioduii. If this should not be considered suthciently near to rhododaphne and rhododendron, we may state that in Arabic writers on Materia Medica rodyon is given as the Syrian name of the oleander (see Tristram, A'«^ Hist, of Bible, p. 477). See Engedi.