The pomegranate is a native of Asia; and we may trace it from Syria, through Persia, even to the mountains of Northern India. It is common in Northern Africa, and was early cultivated in Egypt: hence the Israelites in the desert complain (), 'It is no place of seed, or of figs, or of vines, or of pomegranates.' Being common in Syria and Persia, it must have early attracted the attention of Eastern nations. In the present day it is highly valued, and travelers describe the pomegranate as being delicious throughout Persia. The late Sir A. Burnes states that the famous pomegranates without seeds are grown in gardens under the snowy hills, near the River Cabul. The bright and dark-green foliage of the pomegranate, and its flowers conspicuous for the crimson color both of the calyx and petals, must have made it an object of desire in gardens; while its large reddish-colored fruit, filled with numerous seeds, each surrounded with juicy pleasant-tasted pulp, would make it still more valuable as a fruit in warm countries. The pulpy grains of this fruit are sometimes eaten by themselves, sometimes sprinkled with sugar; at other times the juice is pressed out and made into wine, or one of the esteemed sherbets of the East. This seems also to have been the custom in ancient times, for it is said in , 'I would cause thee to drink of spiced wine of the juice of my pomegranate.'
The pomegranate was well known to the Greeks. It was employed as a medicine by Hippocrates, and is mentioned by Homer. Various parts of the plant were employed medicinally, as, for instance, the root, or rather its bark, the flowers, and the double flowers; also the rind of the pericarp. Some of the properties which these plants possess, make them useful both as drugs and as medicines. We have hence a combination of useful and ornamental properties, which would make the pomegranate an object sure to command attention: and these, in addition to the showy nature of the flowers, and the roundish form of the fruit, crowned by the protuberant remains of the calyx, would induce its selection as an ornament to be imitated in carved work. Hence we find frequent mention of it as an ornament on the robes of the priests (; ); and also in the temple (;;;;; ). It might, therefore, well be adduced by Moses among the desirable objects of the land of promise (): 'a land of wheat, and barley, and vines, and fig-trees, and pomegranates; a land of oil-olive and honey.'
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John Kitto was an English biblical scholar of Cornish descent.Born in Plymouth, John Kitto was a sickly child, son of a Cornish stonemason. The drunkenness of his father and the poverty of his family meant that much of his childhood was spent in the workhouse. He had no more than three years of erratic and interrupted education. At the age of twelve John Kitto fell on his head from a rooftop, and became totally and permanently deaf. As a young man he suffered further tragedies, disappointments and much loneliness. His height was 4 ft 8 in, and his accident left him with an impaired sense of balance. He found consolation in browsing at bookstalls and reading any books that came his way.
From these hardships he was rescued by friends who became aware of his mental abilities and encouraged him to write topical articles for local newspapers, arranging eventually for him to work as an assistant in a local library. Here he continued to educate himself.
One of his benefactors was the Exeter dentist Anthony Norris Groves, who in 1824 offered him employment as a dental assistant. Living with the Groves family, Kitto was profoundly influenced by the practical Christian faith of his employer. In 1829 he accompanied Groves on his pioneering mission to Baghdad and served as tutor to Groves's two sons. In 1833 Kitto returned to England via Constantinople, accompanied by another member of the Groves mission, Francis William Newman. Shortly afterwards he married, and in due course had several children.
A London publisher asked Kitto to write up his travel journals for a series of articles in the Penny Magazine, a publication read at that time by a million people in Britain, reprinted in America and translated into French, German and Dutch. Other writing projects followed as readers enquired about his experiences in the East amidst people living in circumstances closely resembling those of Bible times.
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