The natural history of the Bible ; or, A description of all the quadrupeds, birds, fishes, reptiles, and insects, trees, plants, flowers, gums, and precious stones, mentioned in the sacred scriptures: Collected from the best authorities, and alphabetically arranged / by Thaddeus Mason Harris.

Thaddeus Mason Harris

Date:: 1824

Credit: The natural history of the Bible ; or, A description of all the quadrupeds, birds, fishes, reptiles, and insects, trees, plants, flowers, gums, and precious stones, mentioned in the sacred scriptures: Collected from the best authorities, and alphabetically arranged / by Thaddeus Mason Harris. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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$\ — ANISE. An annual umbelliferous plant, the seeds of which . have an aromatic smell, a pleasant warm taste, and a carminative quality. But by Avydoy, Matthew, xxiii, 23. the DILL is meant. Our translators seem to have been first misled by a resemblance of the sound. No other versions have fallen into the mistake. The Greek of anise is avicov; but of dill, avybov. ANT. mb» NEMALA. In the Turkish and Arabic, EMG Occ. Prov. vi. 6. xxx. 25. A little insect, famous from all antiquity for its social habits, its economy, unwearied industry, and prudent foresight, It has offered a pattern of commendable frugality to the profuse, and of unceasing diligence to the slothful. Solomon calls the ants ‘ exceeding wise, for though a race not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer.” He therefore sends the sluggard to these little creatures, to learn wisdom, foresight, care, and diligence. ** Go to the Ant; learn of its ways, be wise: _ At early heaps its stores, lest want surprise. Skill’d in the various year, the prescient sage Beholds the summer chill’d in winter's rage. Survey its arts; in each partition’d cell Economy and plenty deign to dwell?*. The Septuagint and Arabic versions add a duc en to learn of the labours of the Bee the lessons, the effects, the rewards, and the sweets of industry. This is not in the Hebrew text; but, perhaps, being written in the margin of some copy of the Sep- tuagint as a parallel instance, was, by some unskilful copier, put into the text of the Greek version, whence the Arabic has taken it. ‘This must have been very early, for Clemens of Alexandria makes mention of it®. — That the Ant hoarded up grains of corn against winter for its sustenance, was very generally believed by the ancients?é , though modern naturalists seem to question the fact? . Thus Horace says, [11 ——————— ——-Sicut Parvula (nam exemplo est) magni Formica laboris Ore trahit quodcunque potest, atque addit acervo Quem struit, haud ignara ac non incauta futuri ;. Qu:e simul inversum contristat aquarius annum, Non usquam prorepit, et illis utitur ante Quiesitis sapiens. — Sar. I. Y. i. v. 33. * For thus the little Ant (to human lore No mean example) forms her frugal store, Gather' d, with mighty toil on every side, Nor ignorant, nor careless to provide h 34 Devens’ Paraphrase. | . 35 Stromat. |. i. p. 286. 3$ Plin, ]. x. c. 72, and l. xi. c. 30. Alian, l. ii. c. 25.1. vi. c. 43. Ovid, Metam. |. viii. v. 694. Virgil. Georg. i. v. 184. ZEn. iv. v. 402,$