"To nobler sights Michael from Adam's eyes the filme removed Which that false fruit which promised clearer sight Had bred; then purged with Euphrasie and Rue The visual nerve, for he had much to see:" _Paradise Lost_, book xi.; and which was more fully stated in the old lines of the Schola Salerni-- "Nobilis est Ruta quia lumina reddit acuta; Auxilio rutæ, vir lippe, videbis acute; Cruda comesta recens oculos Caligine purgat; Ruta facit castum, dat lumen, et ingerit astum; Cocta facit Ruta et de pollicibus loca tuta." After reading this high moral and physical character of the herb, it is rather startling to find that "It is believed that if stolen from a neighbour's garden it would prosper better." It was, however, an old belief-- "They sayen eke stolen sede is butt the bette." _Palladius on Husbandrie_ (c. 1420) iv, 269. "It is a common received opinion that Rue will grow the better if it bee filtched out of another man's garden."--HOLLAND'S _Pliny_, xix. 7. As other medicines were introduced the Rue declined in favour, so that Parkinson spoke of it with qualified praise--"Without doubt it is a most wholesom herb, although bitter and strong. Some do rip up a bead-rowl of the virtues of Rue, . . . but beware of the too-frequent or overmuch use therof." And Dr. Daubeny says of it, "It is a powerful stimulant and narcotic, but not much used in modern practise." As a garden plant, the Rue forms a pretty shrub for a rock-work, if somewhat attended to, so as to prevent its becoming straggling and untidy. The delicate green and peculiar shape of the leaves give it a distinctive character, which forms a good contrast to other plants. FOOTNOTES: [260:1] "Rewe on my child, that of thyn gentilnesse Rewest on every sinful in destresse." CHAUCER, _The Man of Lawes Tale_. [261:1] "Ranke-smelling Rue."--SPENSER, _Muiopotmos_. RUSH. (1) _Rosalind._ He taught me how to know a man in love; in which cage of Rushes I am sure you are not prisoner. _As You Like It_, act iii, sc. 2 (388). (2) _Phœbe._ Lean but on a Rush, The cicatrice and capable impressure Thy palm some moment keeps. _Ibid._, act iii, sc. 5 (22). (3) _Clown._ As fit as Tib's Rush for Tom's forefinger. _All's Well that Ends Well_, act ii, sc. 2 (24). (4) _Romeo._ Let wantons light of heart Tickle the senseless Rushes with their heels. _Romeo and Juliet_, act i, sc. 4 (35). (5) _Dromio of Syracuse._ Some devils ask but the parings of one's nail, A Rush, a hair, a drop of blood, a pin, A Nut, a Cherry-stone.