Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume III.djvu/736

726 CANTHARIDES CANTICLES to tbe cathedral, the national British and infant schools, a blue coat and a gray coat school. By the liberality of Alderman Simmonds, a field called the Dane John, containing a high mound, was laid out and converted into a very pleasant garden for public use. The bor- ough is governed by six aldermen, one of whom is mayor, and 18 councillors, and returns two members to the house of commons. < AM HAUinUS (Gr. Kavdapk, a beetle), coleop- terous insects of several species, made use of in medicine. The most preferred is the ean- tharis vesicatoria, procured mostly in fhe southern parts of Europe, but to some extent in all the temperate regions of Europe and western Asia. A species called the C. vittata, or potato fly, is common upon the potato plant of the United States ; it is much used as a sub- stitute for the foreign fly, being by many re- garded as equally efficient, and is even adopted in the pharmacopoeias as officinal. Other spe- cies, too, are known in this country, and are Canthuris yesicatoria. in some parts exceedingly abundant. The po- tato flies appear on the plant in the mornings and evenings of August ; during the day they disappear in the earth. They are collected by shaking them off into a basin of hot water. They are from one half to two thirds of an inch in length, and of a shining golden green color. Cantharides are imported from the coun- tries on the Mediterranean, and from St. Petersburg. The Russian flies, which may be distinguished from others by their superior size and peculiar copper hue, are the most es- teemed. In the larva state the cantharides live in the ground upon the roots of plants. The flies of southern Europe usually swarm upon the trees in May or June, selecting such as the white poplar, privet, ash, elder, &c. The early morning is the proper time for col- lecting them, when they are in a torpid state, and will easily let go their hold. Persons pro- tected with masks and gloves beat the trees, and flies fall upon a linen cloth spread to re- ! ceive them. They are then deprived of life by being exposed to the steam of hot vinegar. This method of destroying them dates back to the times of Dioscorides and Pliny. When dry they are carefully packed. If kept in air-tight vessels, they will retain their properties for many years; but if exposed, they will soon putrefy, particularly if reduced to powder. For this reason they should be kept whole un- til wanted for use. Being then powdered and mixed with ointment or lard, they make a val- uable preparation for blistering plasters. Care is required in its application, as troublesome sores may follow its use. Internally adminis- tered, the medicine acts as a stimulant, prin- cipally upon the urinary and genital organs; its use is attended with danger, as in large doses it acts as a powerful irritating poison. CAJVTICLES, or Song of Solomon (the 'Acfia 'Aa- fidruv of the Septuagint, the Canticvm Canti- corum of the Vulgate), the fourth book of the Hagiographa, and the first of the so-called Megil- loth, called Song of Songs from the beauty of its language and poetry. In a number of dialogues and soliloquies it gives a glowing description of the love and beauty of two lovers betrothed, or bride and bridegroom; of rural scenes among the mountains of Lebanon and Ilermon, among the hills and vineyards of Engedi, and in the environs of Jerusalem. It is ascribed to Solomon, whose palaces, gardens, chariots, horses, guards, find wives are mentioned, en- hancing by the contrast the charms of calm rural life. In regard to its form, its plot, and the order of its parts, as well as to its subject, it has been variously classified'by ancient and modern writers : by Origen, in the preface to his comments, as an epithalamium in the form of a drama, which is also the opinion of Lowth and Michaelis ; by Bossuet as a regular pasto- ral drama of seven acts, giving the scenes of seven days, of which the last is the Sabbath : by others as a collection of songs or idyls. Adam Clarke regards it as a poem sui generic, composed for the entertainment of marriage guests. Its canonicity has also been a matter of controversy ; it seems to have been in ques- tion with the Jews at the time of the Mishnah. Theodore of Mopsuestia, the friend of Chrysos- tom, attacked it most vehemently with argu- ments derived from the erotic character of the book, and was severely condemned for his attacks. Origen, who is said to have written ten books of comments on the Canticles, and his admirer Jerome, are among its most promi- nent defenders, supported by the circumstance that the book is contained in all the Hebrew copies of the Scriptures, in the translations of the Septuagint, of Symmachus the Jew, and of Aquila, and is mentioned in the most ancient catalogues of the church, commencing with that of Melito, bishop of Sardis, who lived in the 2d century. Modern criticism has also questioned the authorship of King Solomon, and several Aramaic words and some supposed to be of Greek origin have been quoted as evi-