QUINCE. 319 



ness, of love, and of fruitfulness : it was dedicated to 

 Venus, and the temples of Cyprus and Paphos were deco- 

 rated with it. The statues of the gods also who presided 

 at the nuptial bed, were ornamented with this fruit ; and 

 the bride, before she entered into the marriage-bed, used 

 to eat of the quinces. Columella says, quinces not only 

 yield pleasure, but health also : he speaks of three kinds ; 

 the Struthian, the Must Quince, and the Orange or 

 Golden Quince. 



The learned Goropius maintains that quinces were the 

 golden apples of the Hesperides, and not oranges, as some 

 commentators pretend. In support of his argument, he 

 states, that it was a fruit much revered by the ancients, 

 and he assures us that there has been discovered at Rome 

 a statue of Hercules, that held in its hand three quinces ; 

 this, he says, agrees with the fable which states, that 

 Hercules stole the golden apples from the gardens of 

 the Hesperides. 



Pliny speaks of quinces in his 15th book, llth chap, 

 and says, " There are many kinds of this fruit in Italy, 

 some growing wild in the hedge-rows, others so large that 

 they weigh the boughs down to the ground ; some of a 

 green hue, others inclining to gold colour : these were 

 called Chrysomela, which seems to giye authority to the 

 above account of Goropius. The only kind that was eaten 

 raw, he states to have been raised by grafting the large 

 quince upon the stock of a small kind, called Strutkea (the 

 pear-quince). He adds, " All kinds of this fruit are in 

 use now-a-days, within the waiting or presence-chambers 

 of our great personages, where men give attendance to 

 salute them as they come forth every morning." He also 

 states, that they were used to garnish the images which 

 stand about the bed's head and sides. 



The same author, in his 23d book, chap. 6, writes much 

 on the medicinal qualities of this fruit. " Quinces," says 



