PLINY THE ELDER 13 



The elder Pliny perished in the eruption of Vesuvius^ a martyr to scientific PLINY 

 curiosity. Cuvier says of his ''Natural History^ : '■' Pliny's great work is THE 

 at the same time one of the most precious montiments left us by antiquity, and ifT" ■ nj- • 

 a proof of the astonishing learning of a warrior and a statesman, " Sectindus 



Whewell writes: ''His work has, with great propriety, been called the a.d. 23-79). 

 Encyclopedia of A ntiquity. ' 



T N all the twelve tables throughout which containe our ancient 

 * lawes of Rome, there is no mention made so much as once of 

 a Grange or Ferme-house, but evermore a Garden is taken in that 

 signification, and under the name of Hortus (i.e. Garden) is com- 

 prised Hoeredium, that is to say, an Heritage or Domaine ; and 

 hereupon grew by consequence, a certain religious or ridiculous 

 superstition rather, of some, whom we see ceremoniously to 

 sacre and bless their garden and hortyard dores onely, for to 

 preserve them against the witchcraft and sorcerie of spightfull 

 and envious persons. And therefore they use to set up in 

 gardens, ridiculous and foolish images of Satyres, Antiques, 

 and such like, as good keepers and remedies against envie and 

 witchcraft ; howsoever Plautus assigneth the custodie of gardens 

 to the protection of the goddesse Ve?ius. And even in these our 

 daies, under the name of Gardens and Hortyards, there goe many 

 daintie places of pleasure within the very citie ; and under the 

 colour also and title of them men are possessed of faire closes 

 and pleasant fields, yea, and of proper houses with a good circuit 

 of ground lying to them, like pretie fermes and graunges in the 

 countrey : all which, they tearme by the name of Gardens. The 

 invention to have gardens within a citie came up first by Epicurus^ 

 the Doctor and master of all voluptuous idlenes, who devised 

 such gardens of pleasance in Athens : for before his time, the 

 manner was not in my citie, to dwell (as it were) in the countrey, 

 and so to make citie and countrey all one, but all their gardens 

 were in the villages without. Certes at Rome, a good garden 

 and no more was thought a poor man's chievance ; it went (I 

 say) for land and living. The Garden was the poore commoner's 

 shambles, it was all the market-place he had for to provide himselfe 

 of victuals. . . . 

 • Certaine it is, that in old time, there was no market-place at 



