324 



The Quince was called Cydonia, after 

 an island in the Mediterranean, now named 

 Candia. It is a fruit that the ancients held 

 in high estimation: they considered it as the 

 emblem of happiness, of love, and of fruit- 

 fulness: 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 orna- 

 mented 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 Quinc 9 and the Orange or Golden 

 Quince. 



The learned Goropins maintains that 

 quinces were the golden apples of the Hespe- 

 rides, and not oranges, as sbme 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 it's hand three quinces ; this, he 

 says, agrees with the fable which states, that 

 Hercules stole the golden apples from the gar- 

 dens of the Hesperides. 



Pliny speaks of quinces in his 1 5th book, 

 llth chap, and says, " there are many kinds 



