LIGN ALOES. Aquilaria Agallochum; L. In the seventeenth verse of the seventh chapter of the Book of Proverbs, we read of a bed perfumed with "myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon." Again, in the eighth verse of the forty-fifth Psalm, the queen's garments are said to "smell of myrrh, and aloes, and cassia." Also at the fourteenth verse of the fourth chapter of Solomon's Song, aloes are again mentioned among the chief spices of an Eastern garden. The original word thus translated aloes, is ahalim or ahaloth, and denotes a very different tree to that which yields the nauseous drug known to us under that name. It is worthy of remark, however, that not only in our own version, but in many others, the word has been understood and rendered in like manner. It is true that Socotrine aloes, when quite fresh, and immediately on a piece being broken, do emit an agreeable odour, and also when a piece is burnt; but our common aloes, which are generally so offensive to the smell, can never have been used as a perfume. We are led therefore to look for some odoriferous wood as being most probably intended, and there cannot be much doubt that learned men have determined rightly in selecting the Lign Aloe as the tree thus designated Ahalim. This tree is said to grow in Cochin China, India, and M Siam, and is called Aghil, a word which the Hebrews formed into Ahel, the Arabs into Agalajun, and the Greeks into Agallochon; the Portuguese formed from the word Aghil, Aquila (the eagle), whence the English name Aquilaria, and the German name, Adlerholz, that is, eaglewood. A certain missionary, Loureiro, had a branch sent to him from Cochin China, which he describes as growing near the river Lairun, a habitat which seems confirmatory of what has just been said, since in Numbers xxiv. 6, we read of them growing by the water; "as gardens by the river's side, as the trees of Lign Aloes which the LORD hath planted, and as cedar-trees beside the waters." In this text, it may well be observed, the same Hebrew word Ahalim is used as in the other places herein mentioned. Rosenmuller describes the stem of this tree as being of the thickness of a man's thigh. He says, that at the top there grows a bunch of thick and indented leaves, which are broad below, but become gradually narrower towards the point, and are about four feet in length. The blossoms are red, intermixed with yellow, and double like a pink. From this blossom comes the pod, a red and white fruit about the size of a pea. The whole tree presents an appearance that is uncommonly beautiful; and the wood is so odoriferous that it is used for perfume. The Indians regard this tree as sacred, and never cut it down without various religious ceremonies. The people of the East suppose it to have been one of the indigenous trees of Paradise, and hence the Dutch give it the name of the Paradise-tree. Regarding it as such, the name adds a singular beauty to the comparison of Balaam (Numb. xxiv. 5, 6), who thus describes the flourishing and happy condition of the Israelites : "How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob, and thy tabernacles, O Israel! as the valleys. are they spread forth, as gardens by the river's side, as the trees of Lign Aloes (Ahalim), which the LORD hath planted, and as cedar-trees beside the waters." A forest of these trees is said to bear a resemblance to a numerous encampment; whence perhaps the above comparison would seem very appropriate. This resemblance also might suggest the reading Ohalim (tents) instead of Ahalim, and thus account for the rendering of the ancient Greek version ounvaι (tents). We learn from Dioscorides that Agallochum was, in his day, the name of a spotted odoriferous wood, brought from India and Arabia; by which it seems we are not to understand any more than this, that from India it was conveyed to Arabian harbours, as an article of trade, and thence transported into Syria and Palestine. In China and Japan, according to Kampfer, large sums of money are expended in the purchase of this wood for the purpose of perfuming their apartments at entertainments. With the Arabs, it is esteemed a mark of great respect paid to visitors, to sprinkle aromatic water on the beard, and then to perfume the apartment with aloe-wood, the smoke of which, adhering to the moistened hair, imparts to it its peculiar fragrance. When the body of our LORD was taken down from the cross, Nicodemus brought myrrh and aloes, but not, as many commentators have imagined, for the purpose of embalming his body. They were to be used merely to impart a sweet fragrance to the linen in which it was wrapped up, as we find it stated (John xix. 40), "Then took they the body of Jesus, and wound it in linen clothes with the spices, as the manner of the Jews is to bury." And among these spices was the costly wood of the Lign Aloe, which was limited in its use to the wealthy, and in request only at the funerals of the great. Thus "He made His grave with the rich in His death." Costly perfumes and rare incense were ordered under a ceremonial dispensation; but they were only mean types of the incense of a loving heart, purified by the sanctifying influence of the Holy Spirit under the Gospel dispensation. The poorest Christian can now offer up, as well as the richest, the most acceptable incense, even praise and thanksgiving for mercy and redemption through a crucified Saviour. "We come not with a costly store, O Lord, like them of old, But still our love would bring its best, A spirit keenly tried By fierce affliction's fiery test, And seven times purified: The fragrant graces of the mind, The virtues that delight To give their perfume out, will find Acceptance in Thy sight." REV. W. CROSSWELL. THE QUINCE. Tappuach; Heb. Cydonia; Tou. Coignassier; Fr. Der quittenbaum Ger. Kweeboom; Dut. Cotogno; It. Membrillero; Sp. Marmeleiro; Port. Haivah; Pers. Armud; Russ. Pigwa; Pol. ; THE word Tappuach occurs first in the Holy Scriptures in Prov. xxv. 11, where it is rendered "apples." "A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver." It also occurs four times in the Song of Solomon, and once in the book of the prophet Joel (i. 12), in all places being translated apple. Ancient versions refer to the same fruit, and the Arabic name Taffach denotes the apple. Notwithstanding these, however, there appears to be a special reference in Scripture to the sweet-scented quince-apple, for in Solomon's Song, the breath of the beloved is compared to this fruit, which was valued by the ancients mainly on account of its fragrance. This fragrance has a restorative power, which explains the language of the bride, "Refresh me with quinces, for I am sick of love." Abulfadli says, that the smell of the Quince clears the brain, and renews and invigorates the animal spirits; it is also alleged that it even tends to lessen the power of deadly poisons. In Solomon's Song (ii. 3) we read : "As a Quince-tree among the trees of the wood, Under his shadow do I long to sit, And his fruit is sweet to my palate." |