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Absinthe
Historical Article from The Catholic Encyclopedia
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Catholic Encyclopedia
Historical Context
This article preserves the historical wording and context of the printed encyclopedia. Dates, statistics, terminology, disciplinary descriptions, and civic or ecclesiastical circumstances may reflect the period in which the article was published.
Article Text
(Hebrew la’anah.)
Wormwood, known for its repulsive bitterness (Jeremiah 9:15; 23:15; Deuteronomy 29:18; Lamentations 3:19; Proverbs 5:4). Figuratively it stands for a curse or calamity (Lamentations 3:15), or also for injustice (Amos 5:7; 6:13). In Apocalypse 8:11, the Greek equivalent ho apsinthos is given as a proper name to the star which fell into the waters and made them bitter. The Vulgate renders the Hebrew expression by absinithium, except in Deuteronomy 29:18, where it translates it amaritudo. It seems that the biblical absinthe is identical with the Artemisia monosperma (Delile), or the Artemisia herba-alba (Asso); or, again, the Artemisia juidaica Linné. (See PLANTS IN BIBLE.)
Sources
HAGEN, Lexicon Biblicum (Paris, 1905); VIGOUROUX, in Dict. de la Bible (Paris, 1895); TRISTAM, Natural History of the Bible (London, 1889).
Source Record
- Author
- Maas, Anthony
- Publication
- The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 1. New York: Robert Appleton Company. 1907.
- Nihil Obstat
- Nihil Obstat. March 1, 1907. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., Censor.
- Imprimatur
- Imprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York.