THE ACANTHUS. 



Acanthus as an ornament of the bower of our first parents in 

 the garden of Eden, for he says : — 



" The roof 

 Of thickest covert was inwoven shade, 

 Laurel and myrtle, and what higher grew, 

 Of firm and fragrant leaf; on either side 

 Acanthus, and each odorous bushy shrub, 

 Fenced up the verdant wall." 



The motto of Callimachus, if he ever adopted one, must 

 have been with reference to his art, " Excelsior," for he never 

 satisfied his own ideal by the work he produced, but was ever 

 aspiring after something of greater elegance and beauty than 

 that which he had achieved. 



The Acanthus delights in a hot climate, and to grow on 

 the banks of large rivers. From a French writer we learn 

 that it is found on the shores of the Nile ; " le Nil du vert 

 Acanthe admire le feuillage ; " yet it thrives well with us. 

 Pliny says that it is wonderfully well suited for a border 

 plant and an ornament of our lawns. Chasers and carvers 

 among the ancients, whose taste is very remarkable, decorated 

 furniture, vases, and the most valuable dresses, with designs 

 suggested by the foliage of the Acanthus. The poet Virgil 

 speaks of the robe of the fair but frail Helen as being 

 bordered with a garland of Acanthus wrought in relief; and 

 when he wishes to praise works of art of much value, it is 

 the Acanthus with which they arc decorated, 



" Alcimcdon duo pocula fecit, 

 I'^t niolli circuni est ansas amplcxus Acantho ;" 



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