PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY 



vocant, nascens per frutecta, nullo odore nec crocis 

 intus, candorem tantum referens ac veluti naturae 



24 rudimentum lilia facere condiseentis. alba lilia 

 isdem omnibus modis seruntur quibus rosa, et hoc 

 amplius lacrima sua ut hipposelinum, nihilque est 

 fecundius una radice quinquagenos saepe emittente 

 bulbos. est et rubens Hlium quod Graeci crinon 

 vocant, alii florem eius cynorrhodon. laudatissimum 

 in Antiochia ac Laudicea Syriae, mox in Phaselide. 

 quartum locum optinet in ItaHa nascens. 



25 XII. Sunt et purpurea Hlia, ahquando gemino caule, 

 carnosiore tantum radice maiorisque bulbi, sed 

 imius, narcissum vocant. huius alterum geniLS flore 

 candido, caUce purpureo. diflPerentia a hhis est et 

 haec, quod narcissis in radice folia sunt, probatis- 

 simis in Lyciae montibus. tertio generi cetera 

 eadem, caUx herbaceus. omnes serotini, post arc- 

 turum enim florent ac per aequinoctium autumnum. 



26 XIII. Inventa est et in his ratio inficiendi ^ mon- 

 strifica ^ hominum ingeniis. colligantur ^ namque 



1 inficiendi Sillig: inserendi codd., Detlefsen, Mayhoff. 

 ^ monstrifica [cum serendi) coni. Mayhoff: monstrificis 

 Detlefsen, et (in texiu) Mayhoff cum codd. 



^ coUigantur Schneider, Mayhoff : coUiguntur codd. 



" The raethods, of course, are quite dissimilar. 



* As far as we can see the crinon was really white. 



' Not, of course, our dog-rose. 



^ The Romans had a poor colour-sense. Purpureus is 

 used of many shades of red and brown, being applied to the 

 da^vn, to poppies, to a fig and even to the sea. Virgil, like 

 Pliny, savs that the narcissus is purpureus [Eclogues V. 38). 

 This" makes the identity of the flower doubtful, especially as 

 it is said to bloom late, and our narcissus is a spring flower. 



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