שישן, 1 Kings vii, 19, 22, 26; 2 Chron. iv, 5; Cant. ii, 2, 16;
iv, 5; v, 13; vi, 2, 3; vii, 2; Hosea xiv, 5; κρίνον, Matt. vi, 28; Luke
xii, 27; a well known sweet and beautiful flower, which furnished
Solomon with a variety of charming images in his Song, and with graceful
ornaments in the fabric and furniture of the temple. The title of some
of the Psalms upon Shushan,” or Shoshanim,” Psalms xlv; lx; lxix; lxxx,
probably means no more than that the music of these sacred compositions
was to be regulated by that of some odes, which were known by those
names or appellations. By the lily of the valley,” Cant. ii, 2, we are
not to understand the humble flower, generally so called with us, the
_lilium convallium_, but the noble flower which ornaments our gardens,
and which in Palestine grows wild in the fields, and especially in the
valleys. Pliny reckons the lily the next plant in excellency to the
rose; and the gay Anacreon compares Venus to this flower. In the east,
as with us, it is the emblem of purity and moral excellence. So the
Persian poet, Sadi, compares an amiable youth to the white lily in a bed
of narcissuses,” because he surpassed all the young shepherds in
goodness. As, in Cant. v, 13, the lips are compared to the lily, Bishop
Patrick supposes the lily here instanced to be the same which, on
account of its deep red colour, is particularly called by Pliny _rubens
lilium_, and which, he tells us, was much esteemed in Syria. Such may
have been the lily mentioned in Matt. vi, 28–30; for the royal robes
were purple: Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil
not, neither do they spin: and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all
his glory was not arrayed like one of these:” so in Luke xii, 27. The
scarcity of fuel in the east obliges the inhabitants to use, by turns,
every kind of combustible matter. The withered stalks of herbs and
flowers, the tendrils of the vine, the small branches of rosemary, and
other plants, are all used in heating their ovens and bagnios. We can
easily recognize this practice in that remark of our Lord, If God so
clothe the grass of the field, which to-day is, and to-morrow is cast
into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?”
Matt. vi, 30. The grass of the field, in this passage, evidently
includes the lilies of which he had just been speaking, and, by
consequence, herbs in general; and in this extensive sense the word
χόρτος is not unfrequently taken. Those beautiful productions of nature,
so richly arrayed, and so exquisitely perfumed, that the splendour even
of Solomon is not to be compared to theirs, shall soon wither and decay,
and be used as fuel. God has so adorned these flowers and plants of the
field, which retain their beauty and vigour but for a few days, and are
then applied to some of the meanest purposes of life: will he not much
more take care of his servants who are so precious in his sight, and
designed for such important services in the world? This passage is one
of those of which Sir Thomas Browne says, The variously interspersed
expressions from plants and flowers elegantly advantage the significancy
of the text.”
Mr. Salt, in his Voyage to Abyssinia,” says, “At a few miles from Adowa,
we discovered a new and beautiful species of _amaryllis_, which bore
from ten to twelve spikes of bloom on each stem, as large as those of
the _belladonna_, springing from one common receptacle. The general
colour of the corolla was white, and every petal was marked with a
single streak of bright purple down the middle. The flower was sweet
scented, and its smell, though much more powerful, resembled that of the
lily of the valley. This superb plant excited the admiration of the
whole party; and it brought immediately to my recollection the beautiful
comparison used on a particular occasion by our Saviour: ‘I say unto
you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.’”
And Sir James E. Smith observes, “It is natural to presume the divine
Teacher, according to his usual custom, called the attention of his
hearers to some object at hand; and as the fields of the Levant are
overrun with the _amaryllis lutea_, whose golden lilaceous flowers in
autumn afford one of the most brilliant and gorgeous objects in nature,
the expression of ‘Solomon in all his glory not being arrayed like one
of these,’ is peculiarly appropriate. I consider the feeling with which
this was expressed as the highest honour ever done to the study of
plants; and if my botanical conjecture be right, we learn a
chronological fact respecting the season of the year when the sermon on
the mount was delivered.”
iv, 5; v, 13; vi, 2, 3; vii, 2; Hosea xiv, 5; κρίνον, Matt. vi, 28; Luke
xii, 27; a well known sweet and beautiful flower, which furnished
Solomon with a variety of charming images in his Song, and with graceful
ornaments in the fabric and furniture of the temple. The title of some
of the Psalms upon Shushan,” or Shoshanim,” Psalms xlv; lx; lxix; lxxx,
probably means no more than that the music of these sacred compositions
was to be regulated by that of some odes, which were known by those
names or appellations. By the lily of the valley,” Cant. ii, 2, we are
not to understand the humble flower, generally so called with us, the
_lilium convallium_, but the noble flower which ornaments our gardens,
and which in Palestine grows wild in the fields, and especially in the
valleys. Pliny reckons the lily the next plant in excellency to the
rose; and the gay Anacreon compares Venus to this flower. In the east,
as with us, it is the emblem of purity and moral excellence. So the
Persian poet, Sadi, compares an amiable youth to the white lily in a bed
of narcissuses,” because he surpassed all the young shepherds in
goodness. As, in Cant. v, 13, the lips are compared to the lily, Bishop
Patrick supposes the lily here instanced to be the same which, on
account of its deep red colour, is particularly called by Pliny _rubens
lilium_, and which, he tells us, was much esteemed in Syria. Such may
have been the lily mentioned in Matt. vi, 28–30; for the royal robes
were purple: Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil
not, neither do they spin: and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all
his glory was not arrayed like one of these:” so in Luke xii, 27. The
scarcity of fuel in the east obliges the inhabitants to use, by turns,
every kind of combustible matter. The withered stalks of herbs and
flowers, the tendrils of the vine, the small branches of rosemary, and
other plants, are all used in heating their ovens and bagnios. We can
easily recognize this practice in that remark of our Lord, If God so
clothe the grass of the field, which to-day is, and to-morrow is cast
into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?”
Matt. vi, 30. The grass of the field, in this passage, evidently
includes the lilies of which he had just been speaking, and, by
consequence, herbs in general; and in this extensive sense the word
χόρτος is not unfrequently taken. Those beautiful productions of nature,
so richly arrayed, and so exquisitely perfumed, that the splendour even
of Solomon is not to be compared to theirs, shall soon wither and decay,
and be used as fuel. God has so adorned these flowers and plants of the
field, which retain their beauty and vigour but for a few days, and are
then applied to some of the meanest purposes of life: will he not much
more take care of his servants who are so precious in his sight, and
designed for such important services in the world? This passage is one
of those of which Sir Thomas Browne says, The variously interspersed
expressions from plants and flowers elegantly advantage the significancy
of the text.”
Mr. Salt, in his Voyage to Abyssinia,” says, “At a few miles from Adowa,
we discovered a new and beautiful species of _amaryllis_, which bore
from ten to twelve spikes of bloom on each stem, as large as those of
the _belladonna_, springing from one common receptacle. The general
colour of the corolla was white, and every petal was marked with a
single streak of bright purple down the middle. The flower was sweet
scented, and its smell, though much more powerful, resembled that of the
lily of the valley. This superb plant excited the admiration of the
whole party; and it brought immediately to my recollection the beautiful
comparison used on a particular occasion by our Saviour: ‘I say unto
you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.’”
And Sir James E. Smith observes, “It is natural to presume the divine
Teacher, according to his usual custom, called the attention of his
hearers to some object at hand; and as the fields of the Levant are
overrun with the _amaryllis lutea_, whose golden lilaceous flowers in
autumn afford one of the most brilliant and gorgeous objects in nature,
the expression of ‘Solomon in all his glory not being arrayed like one
of these,’ is peculiarly appropriate. I consider the feeling with which
this was expressed as the highest honour ever done to the study of
plants; and if my botanical conjecture be right, we learn a
chronological fact respecting the season of the year when the sermon on
the mount was delivered.”