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H E L L E B O R E .—The Christmas Rose {Helleborus niger)
has also been called Black Hellebore, from the colour of its
roots, and Melampodium, in honour of Melampus, a learned
physician who flourished at Pylos, in Peloponnesus, 1530 years
before the birth of Christ. Melampus travelled into Egypt, then
the seat of science, in order to study the healing art, and there he
became acquainted with the cathartic qualities of the Hellebore,
by noticing the effedf it had upon some goats which had fed upon
the herb. He afterwards cured with Hellebore the mental derangement
of the daughters of Proetus, King of Argos—ancient writers
affirm by causing the princesses to bathe in a cold fountain after
taking the d ru g ; but according to Pliny, by prescribing the milk
of goats which had eaten this vegetable. From this circumstance.
Hellebore became celebrated as a medicine, and was speedily
regarded with superstitious reverence by the ignorant populace.
Thus, Black Hellebore was used to purify houses, and to hallow
dwellings, and the ancients entertained the belief that by strewing
or perfuming their apartments with this plant, they drove away evil
spirits. This ceremony was performed with great devotion, and
accompanied with the singing of solemn hymns. In similar manner,
they blessed their cattle.with Hellebore, to keep them free from
the spells of the wicked; for these purposes it was dug up with
certain attendant mystic rites; the devotee first drawing a circle
round the plant with a sword, and then, turning to the east,
offering a prayer to Apollo and oEsculapius, for leave to dig up the
root. The flight of the eagle was anxiously watched during the
performance of these rites, for if the bird approached the spot, it
was considered so ominous as to predi(5l the certain death of the
persons who took up the plant, in the course of the year. In
digging up the roots of certain species of Hellebore, it was thought
necessary to eat Garlic previously, to counteracil the poisonous
effluvia of the plant. Yet the root was eventually dried and
pounded to dust, in which state it was taken in the manner of snuff.
R. Turner, writing in 1663, says that at that time Hellebore
was thought to cure such as seemed to be possessed with the Devil,
and therefore was by some called Fuga Demonum. The ancient
Gauls are said to have invariably rubbed the points of their arrows
with Hellebore, believing that it rendered all the game killed with
them more tender. Hellebore in ancient times was considered a
certain antidote against madness. In his ‘ Anatomy of Melancholy,’
Burton introduces the Hellebore among the emblematical
figures of his frontispiece, with the following lines:—
“ Borage and Hellebore fill two scenes,
Sovereign plants to purge the veins
G f melancholy, and cheer the heart
Of those black fumes which make it smart;
To clear the brain of misty fogs,
Which dull our senses, and soul clogs;
The best medicine that e’er God made
For this malady, if well assaid.”
Hellebore formerly grew in great abundance on the Island of
Anticyra, in the Gulf of Corinth: hence Naviga ad Anticyram
was a common proverb applied to hypochondriacal persons.-----
Pausanias tells us that when the Cirrhaeans besieged Athens, Solon
recommended that Hellebore should be thrown in the river Plistus:
this was done, and the Cirrhaeans, from drinking the water, were so
powerfully attacked with dysentery, that they were forced to abandon
the siege. The Hellebore has long been considered a plant of
evil omen, growing in dark and lonely places. Thus Campbell
says of i t :—
“ By the witches’ tower,
Where Hellebore and Hemlock seem to weave
Round its dark vaults a melancholy bower
For spirits of the dead at night’s enchanted hour.”
The plant, with certain accompanying exorcisms, was reputed to
be efficacious in cases of deafness caused by witchcraft. In
Tuscany, the peasantry divine the harvest from the appearance of
the Hellebore-plant. I f it has four tufts, it will be good; if three,
mediocre ; if two, bad. Astrologers say that Hellebore is a herb
of Saturn.
H E L M E T - F L O W E R .—The Scutellaria,or Skull-cap flower,
is generally known by the name of the Helmet-flower, the blossoms
being shaped similar to those of the Snap-Dragon. It is used in
curing the tertian ague.
H EM L O C K .—The common Hemlock (Conium maculatum) is
described by Dioscorides as a very evil, dangerous, hurtful, and
poisonous herb, “ insomuch that whosoever taketh of it into his
body dieth remediless, except the party drank some wine before
the venom hath taken the heart.” It is the Coneion of the ancients:
that deadly poison distilled from the juices of the Hemlock, that
was drunk by Socrates, Theramenes, and Phocion—the fatal drug
given to him whom the Areopagus had condemned to death—the
unfailing potion gulped down by ancient philosophers, who were
weary of their lives, and dreaded the infirmities of old age. Resolved
on their fate, these men crowned themselves with garlands,
and with a smile upon their lips tossed off the fatal Coneion—dying respeéled
by their countrymen for their fortitude and heroism. The
Hemlock is one of the deadly poisons that kills by its cold quality.
Hence Pliny tells us that serpents fly from its leaves, because they
also chill to the death : on this account probably it has been called
Herba benedida, or Herb Bennett. The Eleusinian priests, who
were required to remain chaste all their lives, were wont to rub
themselves with Hemlock. In Russia, the Hemlock under the
name of Beh, is looked upon as a Satanic herb ; and in Germany,
it is regarded as a funereal plant, and as a representative of the
vegetation of the infernal regions. In England, it was a favourite
plant of the witches, gathered by them for use in their potions and
hell-broths : it is still considered a plant of ill-omen, growing
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