INTRODUCTION. 3} 



soul, as drugs mitigate the grosser and more 

 perceptible sufferings of the body. 



" The spleen is seldom felt where Flora reigns, 

 The lowering eye, the petulance, the frown, 

 And sullen sadness, that o'ershade, distort, 

 And mar the face of beauty, when no cause 

 For such immeasurable woe appears: 

 These Flora banishes, and gives the fair 

 Sweet smiles and bloom less transient than her own." 



COWPER. 



We shall notice the allegorical allusions 

 which the eastern nations are accustomed to 

 make by means of flowers, and the fables of 

 the ancient poets and mythologists respecting 

 plants. Thus, pleasing ideas may be con- 

 nected with pleasing objects, and agreeable 

 images convey lively but moral sentiments to 

 the mind, adding to the charms of the country 

 without recourse to romance and useless fic- 

 tion. These accustom the mind to such 

 violent sensations, that at last it is obliged 

 to resort to an excess of feeling, either of 

 mirth or grief, to prevent that dreaded 

 fashionable lethargy of spirit ennui. Such 

 a habit in the end injures health and con- 

 sequently shortens life, as much as a calm 

 but cheerful state of mind assists in the pro- 

 longation and enjoyment of both : - 



" Come, then, ye blissful scenes, ye soft retreats, 

 Where life flows pure, the heart more calmly beats." 



DELILLE. 

 B 2 



