32 ftbe <3ar>en 



hands ; indeed, it was from his garden that Tar- 

 quinius Superbus sent to his son that cruel and 

 sanguinary message of his. In our laws of the 

 Twelve Tables, we find the word "villa," or 

 "farm," nowhere mentioned; it is the word 

 "hortus " that is always used with that signifi- 

 cation, while the term "heredium" we find 

 employed for " garden." 



There are certain religious impressions, too, 

 that have been attached to this species of prop- 

 erty, and we find that it is in the garden and the 

 Forum only that statues of satyrs are conse- 

 crated, as a protection against the evil effects of 

 spells and sorcery ; although in Plautus, we find 

 the gardens spoken of as being under the tute- 

 lage of Venus. At the present day, under the 

 general name of gardens, we have pleasure- 

 grounds situate in the very heart of the city, as 

 well as extensive fields and villas. 



Epicurus, that connoisseur in the enjoyments 

 of a life of ease, was the first to lay out a garden 

 at Athens ; up to his time it had never been 

 thought of, to dwell in the country in the 

 middle of the town. At Rome, on the other 

 hand, the garden constituted of itself the poor 

 man's field, and it was from the garden that the 

 lower classes procured their daily food an ali- 

 ment how guiltlessly obtained ! But still, it is 

 a great deal better, no doubt, to dive into the 



