10 EARLY HISTORY OF THE ROSE. 



devoted to the praise of the Rose, that there seems a truly enthu- 

 siastic love for that beautiful flower. Nothing which has been 

 written on this subject, can equal the beauty of this little gem, 

 even clothed, as it is, in the somewhat inflated style of the au- 

 thor. It will be found on another page. 



Since Sappho and Anacreon, many poets, both ancient and 

 modern, have celebrated, in their songs, the charming qualities 

 of the Rose. They have chosen it for an emblem of the most 

 beautiful things for the most pleasing and delightful com- 

 parisons ; and they have united in making it the symbol of inno- 

 cence, of modesty, of grace, and of beauty. Quite a volume 

 might be collected of all the verses and pleasant sentences that 

 have been inspired by the elegant form of the Rose its charm- 

 ing color and delightful fragrance. Some of these we have in- 

 serted in another part of the work. Nothing proves better the 

 preference which has always existed for this beautiful flower, 

 than the thoughts expressed by Sappho. Anacreon and the 

 other poets of antiquity have since imitated her in almost every 

 language, and the lines of these have sacrificed nothing of her 

 elegance and freshness. 



The poets and writers of the East have abundantly celebrated, 

 in their works, the beauties of the Rose. According to the Boun- 

 Dehesch, of Zoroaster, the stem of that flower was free from 

 thorns until the entrance of Ahrimanus (the evil one) into the 

 world ; the universal spirit of evil, according to their doctrine, 

 affecting not only man but also the inferior animals, and even 

 the very trees and plants. The same work states, that every 

 flower is appropriated to a particular angel, and that the hun- 

 dred-leaved Rose (Rosa centifolia) is consocrated to an archangel 

 of the highest order. Basil, one of the early fathers, had un- 

 doubtedly seen these passages in oriental works, when he related 

 that at the creation of the world the Rose had no thorns, and 

 that they were gradually furnished with them as mankind be- 

 came more corrupt. 



The oriental writers also represent the nightingale as sighing 

 for the love of the Rose ; and many beautiful stanzas have arisen 



