366 On the Flower- Gardens of the Ancients. 



mere groves and shaded walks, where the disciples were wont 

 to listen to the lessons of their masters ; — 



"Atque inter sylvas academi quaerere verum." 



We are not to look for ornamental gardening in the early 

 history of the Romans, as the soil of their little horti was cul- 

 tivated merely for the sake of procuring the necessaries of life. 

 Excellence in war and in agriculture were the chief virtues as 

 well as duties of the citizens, and we find bonus agricola and 

 bonus colonus used as synonymous with a good man. Some 

 of the noblest families of Rome derived their names from par- 

 ticular grains, such as the Lentuli, Pisones, Fabii, and many 

 others. The story of Cincinnatus being found by the mes- 

 sengers of the senate at the plough, is well known ; and Cu- 

 rius, after triumphing over the Samnites, the Sabines, and 

 Pyrrhus, spent his old age in the labours of the field. So 

 late as the Punic wars, Regulus, in the midst of his victories 

 in Africa, wrote to the senate, that his steward had left his 

 service and stolen his implements of agriculture, and begged 

 leave of absence from the army, to see about his affairs and 

 prevent his family from starving. The senate took the busi- 

 ness in hand, recovered his tools, and supported his wife and 

 children till his return. 



It was not till they had come much in contact with the 

 Greeks, that the Romans would be anxious about pleasure or 

 elegance in their gardens, for it was thence they derived their 

 taste for all the arts of peace : — 



" Graecia capta ferum victorem cepit : et artes 



" Intulit agresti Latio." 



Even in later Roman authors the allusions to gardening of- 

 ten relate more to the general pleasures and occupations of a 

 country life, than to the special cultivation of flowers. But 

 this is the richest theme in all ages, inasmuch as the subor- 

 dinate display of human art in gardening is eclipsed from the 

 eye of the poet by the beauties of nature even there displayed. 

 The scene of the ' Song of Solomon' is laid in a garden, but the 

 finest allusions which it contains, are to the general appear- 

 ance of nature. For example ; "Arise my love, my fair one, 

 and come away ; For lo, the winter is past, the rain is over 

 and gone: the flowers appear on the earth; the time of the 

 singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard 

 in our land ; the fig tree putteth forth her green figs, and the 

 vines with the tender grapes give a good smell : Arise my love, 

 my fair one, and come away." And again "Come let us go 

 forth into the field, let us get up early to the vineyards, let us 

 see if the vine flourish, whether the tender grape appear, and 



