Indian Spikenard {Xardostachys jataviansi).
rianew, v/h\ch has been named Nardostachys jntamnnsi by De Candolle, and formerly Pattiniti jaftimrnm by Mr. Dow, from jilants sent home by Dr. Wallich fr(»m Gos- samtham, a mountain of Nepal ( Fenny Cychtp. art. " Spikenard ;" Koyle, Illiist. Ilinuil. Bot<iny, p. 242 ). Hence there can be no doubt that the jalaiiumsi of the Hindus is the Sunbul Hindi of the Arabs, which they compare to the tail of an ermine. This would almost be sufficient to identify the drug: the appearance to which it refers may be seen even in the accompany- ing wood-cnt. This is produced in consequence of the woody fibres of the leaf and its footstalk not being de- compose<l in the cold and comparatively dry climate where they are produced, but remain and form a protec- tion to the plant from the severity of the cold. There can be as little doubt that the Arabs refer to the de- scriptions of Dioscorides, and both they and the Chris- tian physicians who assisted them in making transla- tions had ample opportiniities, from their profession and their local situation, of becoming well ac<piainted with things as well as words. There is as little reason to doubt that the vapcoi; of Dioscorides is that of the oth- er (Jreek authors, and this will carry us into ancient times. As many Indian products found their way into Kgypt and Palestine, and are mentioned in Scripture — indeed, in the very (lassage wiih nard we have cala- mus, ciiniamon, and aloes {(ifudim^ — there is no reason why spikenard from the Himalayas could not as easily have been procured. The only difficulty appears to arise from the term t'dpooc having occasionally been used in a general sense, and therefore there is some- times confusion between the nard and the sweet cane, another Indian ))ro(luct. Some ditference of opinion exists respecting the fragrance of the jiitinniinxi. It may be sufficient to state that it continues to i)e highly esteemed in Kast.ern countries in the jiresent d.ay, where fragrant essences are still procured from it, as the Un- r/ucntum niirdimim was of old. — Kitto. Dioscorides re- fers especially to its having many shaggy (TroXi'Kii^ioiic) spikes growing from one root. It is very interesting to note that Dioscorides gives the same locality for the plant as is mentimied by Royle: «7ro tivih; Tzorai.iov TTHpnppinvToi; Tov opoiKj, rayyov KaXon^th'ov irtip' ip fpi'trai. Though he is here speaking of lowland specimens, he also mentions plants obtained from the mountains (see the monographs iJe Xurdo J'isliai by
SPILMAN
933
SPINDLE
Otto [Lips. 1G73], Eckhard [Yiteb. IfiSI ], Hcrmansson [Upsal. 1734], and Sommel [Lund. ITTGJ). See Olnt-
MENT.
Spilman, Benjamin F., a Presbyterian minister, was born in Garrard County, Ky.. Aiii;. 17, 179G. He firadiiated at Jetl'erson College, Fa., in W22, studied theolot^y privately, was licensed by Chillicothe Presby- tery in 1823, and ordained and installed by Mulilen- burgh Presbytery as pastor of Sharon Church, 111., in 1824. Here he labored until 182(), when he became an itinerant missionary in Middle and Southern Illinois, and organized the Church at Shawneetown, where he built a neat house of worship in 1X42. Having labored for seventeen years as a missionary, the people of Shawnee- town prevailed upon him to settle, and he became their pastor in April, 1842. In 1844 he accepted the pastorate of Chester Church, which he retained until 1851, when his old congregation at Shawneetown called him back, and he remained with them till his death, May 3, 1859. Mr. Spilman was a hard-working missionary, and for over thirty years he labored faithfully, never idle and seldom sick. See Wilson, Presb. Hist. A Imanac, 1860, p. 78. (J. L. S.)
Spin (niU. vi]^ixi). The notices of spinning in the Bible are contined to Exod. xxxv, 25, 26 ; Matt, vi, 28 ; and Prov. xxxi, 19. The latter passage implies (ac- cording to the A. V.) the use of the same instruments which have been in vogue for hand-spinning down to the present day, viz. the distaff and spindle. The dis- taff, however, appears to have been dispensed with, and the term (Ti??) so rendered means the spindle (q. v.) itself, while that rendered •' spindle" (IIC'^S) represents the ^chirl {cej-ticillus, Pliny, xxxvii, 11) of the spindle, a button or circular rim which was affixed to it, and gave steadiness to its circular motion. The " whirl" of the Syrian women was made of amber in the time of Pliny {loc. cil.). The spindle was held perpendicularly in the one hand, while the other was employed in draw- ing out the thread. The process is exhibited in the Egyptian paintings (Wilkinson, .4 ncJe?«< E;/yi)t. \\,^b).
Spinning was the business of women, l)oth among the Jews (Exod. loc cit. ) and for the most part among the Egyptians ( Wilkinson, ibid. ii, 84 ). — Smith. Similar customs have prevailed in most modern na- tions; hence the word "spinster" for an unmarried fe- male. See Weave.
.ieiit E^'jptians h^i ii
Spina, Ai.PUONSO de, a Christian apologist, lived in Spain in the 15th century. He was of .Jewish ex- traction, but was converted and received into the Order of Franciscan monks, after which he l)ecame rector of the high -school at Salamanca, and ultimately bishop of Orense, in Galicia. He wrote an ajiologetical work entitled Fortalitium Fhlei contra Jitdceos, Saracenos A liosque Christiance Fidei Inimicos, which was published in 1484, and repeatedly afterwards, and which was fa- mous in its time. It consists of four books, each of which includes several rotisideiyitionpn. Book i proves from the fulfilment of prophecy that .Jesus is the true Messiah. Book ii deals with heretics and the punish- ments they incur. Book iii is devoted to the Jews and to the refutation of their arguments in opposition to Christianity. Book iv is directed against the JFoham- medans, and contains a detailed criticism of their relig- ious system, followed by a not uninteresting description