Pliny: Natural History, Vol. IV

50 XXIX. Resembling these substances both in name and in the shrub is cardamomum, with oblong seeds. It is gathered in the same way in Arabia. There are four of its kinds: the most green and oily, with sharp angles, stubborn to crumble—this is most highly praised—the next is whitish red, the third is shorter and blacker, but the worse kind is mottled, easily pulverized, and of little scent, which in the true kind should be near that of costus. This also grows among the Medes. The price of the best is 3 denarii a pound.

51 XXX. Next in affinity would have been cinnamomum, if it were not convenient first to indicate the riches of Arabia and the causes that gave it the title of Happy and Blessed. The principal products therefore are incense and myrrh; the latter it shares with the Trogodytes, but no country besides Arabia produces incense, and not even the whole of Arabia. 52 In about the middle are the Astramitae, a district of the Sabaeans, with the capital of the kingdom, Sabota, on a high mountain, from which their incense-bearing region, called Sariba, is eight days' journey distant—the Greeks say this signifies a secret mystery. 53 It faces the rising of the summer sun, everywhere inaccessible by rocks and on the right side by inaccessible crags of the sea. This soil alone is said to be milky from red. The length of the forests is 20 schoeni, the width half that.

1 "in vero?" Mayhoff: "vero" or "verus".

a See § 48 note.
b Really it grew further east, but it was imported through Media and Arabia.
c Frankincense is obtained from species of Boswellia, myrrh from Balsamodendron myrrha.

Cardamom.

XXIX. Resembling these substances both in name and in the shrub that produces it is cardamomum, a the seeds of which are oblong in shape. It is gathered in Arabia, in the same manner as amomum. It has four varieties: one very green and oily, with sharp corners and awkward to crumble—this is the kind most highly spoken of—the next sort a whitish red, the third shorter and of a colour nearer black, while an inferior kind is mottled and easily friable, and has little scent—in the true kind the scent ought to be near to that of costus. Cardamomum also grows in the country of the Medes. b The price of the best sort is 3 denarii a pound.

Frank-incense.

XXX. Next in affinity to cardamomum would have come cinnamomum, were it not convenient first to catalogue the riches of Arabia and the reasons that have given it the names of Happy and Blessed. The chief products of Arabia then are frankincense and myrrh c; the latter it shares also with the Cave-dwellers' Country, but no country beside Arabia produces frankincense, and not even the whole of Arabia. About the middle of that country are the Astranitae, a district of the Sabaei, the capital of their realm being Sabota, situated on a lofty mountain; and eight days' journey from Sabota is a frankincense-producing district belonging to the Sabaei called Sariba—according to the Greeks the name means 'secret mystery.' The region faces north-east, and is surrounded by impenetrable rocks, and on the right hand side bordered by a seacoast with inaccessible cliffs. The soil is reported to be of a milky white colour with a tinge of red. The forests measure 20 schoeni in length and half that distance in breadth—