THE GARDEN OF CYRUS 97 



But if, as some opinion, 1 King Ahasuerus were Arta- 

 xerxes Memnon, that found a life and reign answerable 

 unto his great memory, our magnified Cyrus was his 

 second brother, who gave the occasion of that 

 memorable work, and almost miraculous retreat of 

 Xenophon. A person of high spirit and honour, 

 naturally a king, though fatally prevented by the harm- 

 less chance of post-geniture ; not only a lord of 

 gardens, but a manual planter thereof, disposing his 

 trees, like his armies, in regular ordination. So that 

 while old Laertes hath found a name in Homer for 

 pruning hedges, and clearing away thorns and briars ; 

 while King Attalus lives for his poisonous plantations 

 of aconites, henbane, hellebore, and plants hardly 

 admitted within the walls of Paradise ; while many of 

 the ancients do poorly live in the single names of 

 vegetables ; all stories do look upon Cyrus as the 

 splendid and regular planter. 



According whereto Xenophon - describeth his gallant 

 plantation at Sardis, thus rendered by Strebaeus. 

 " Arbores pari intervallo sitas, rectos ordines, et omnia 

 perpulchre in Quincuncem 3 direct a." Which we shall 

 take for granted as being accordingly rendered by the 



1 Plutarch's Lift of Artaxerxts. 2 In (Economko. 



3 optioi 5e 61 <nx 0i are tne Greek words. 



H 



