From Peter Parley’s Merry Stories, or Fact, Fancy and Fiction, by Peter Parley, Broadway: James Miller; 1869; pp. 341-342.
The rose appears in all ages and countries to be the acknowledged queen of flowers, on account of the united elegance of its form, its glowing color, and its fragrant odors. The admiration of the ancients appears to have been far more animated than our own. Among the Geeks, it occupied a conspicuous place in every chaplet. It was a principal ornament 342 in every festive meeting and at every solemn sacrifice. The Jews seem to have entertained a similar admiration for this flower. The rose of Sharon was esteemed by them as the most lovely of all the diversified species.
In the song of Solomon, ii. 1, it is said, “I am the rose of Sharon and the lily of the valleys.” Isaiah xxxv. 1, it is said, “The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them, and the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose.”