INTRODUCTION. KY 
the sixth. The seal of the famous Luther, which is 
well known to have been a Rose, may have been sym- 
bolical of the same things as the golden presents of the 
Popes. Roses were employed by the Roman emperors 
as a means of conferring honours upon their most fa- 
mous generals, whom they allowed to add a Rose to 
the ornaments of their shields; a custom which conti- 
nued long after the Roman empire had ceased to exist, 
and the vestiges of which may yet be traced in the ar- 
morial bearings of many of the ancient noble families 
of Europe. 
As objects of cultivation they have always been 
eagerly sought after; and for the purpose of increasing 
their beauty, every means of causing the flowers to 
become double has been put in practice. Hence, in 
process of time, has sprung the multitude of indivi- 
duals now in every garden, whose beauty is only 
equalled by the extreme difficulty of tracing them to 
their original stock. But it is a mistake to suppose 
that double Roses are of somewhat modern origin ; 
since they are particularly mentioned by Herodotus, 
Athenzeus, and Theophrastus; and more especially by 
Pliny, who enumerates several sorts, among which is a 
centifolia. It is remarkable that the latter should not 
mention the Rose of Peestum, nor any growing in that 
neighbourhood. This omission makes it impossible 
even to guess at what was meant by the “ biferi Rosaria 
Presti.” The only Rose Mr. Woods found about Pes- 
tum was R, sempervirens. 
The name Rose is derived by De Theis from the 
Celtic rhodd or rhudd, signifying red, whence, he 
thinks, have originated the synonimous names rhos in 
Armorican, fod in Greek, and rosha in Sclavonian. 
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