Natural Hiftory of the Ancients. 191 



Tandy foil in Egypt and Paleftine, juft as our own 

 Chriftmas-rofe is really the black hellebore. 



The Romans by no means attached to their 

 gardens the fenfe of a leifurely retreat, full of 

 beautiful flowers and made, as we do. The Latin 

 word for a garden, hortus (which is but a foftened 

 form of xo/oroe), mews that they regarded it 

 mainly as a place for growing food ; in fhort, 

 their garden was orchard, kitchen-garden, and, to 

 a very fmall extent, flower-garden in one. 1 This 

 economical view of a garden was a natural out- 

 growth of the practical Roman mind, although it 

 is feen, albeit in a minor degree, in the Greek 

 character as well. Roman gardeners, however, 

 rejoiced in beds of violets and rofes as much as we 

 do. Rofes were even forced in greenhoufes, fo 

 that lovers of flowers might have them during 

 winter.* 



" Dat feftinatas, Caefar, tibi bruma coronas ; 



Quondam veris erat mine tuaiafta rofa eft." 3 



" Once, Caefar, fpring was wont thy flow'r to greet ; 

 Now winter's rofes hurry thee to meet." 



Befides miniftering to the pleafures of a garden, 

 rofes were largely ufed at Rome for garlands, to 



1 Cnf. Cicero, " Cato Major," caps. xv., T xvi., where with 

 many expreffions which fpeak of the delight in funfhine and 

 made of the country, the key-note is ftruck by the words, "Jam 

 hortum ipfi agricolas fuccidiam alteram appellant." 



2 Compare Cicero, " Cum rofam viderat, turn incipere ver 

 arbitrabatur " (" Verr.," ii. 5, 10) ; and the philofopher Seneca's 

 indignant queftion, "Non vivunt contra naturam qui hieme 

 concupifcunt rofam?" (Ep. cxxii. 8.) 



3 Mart., xiii. 127. See Becker's " Callus," p. 289, ed. 1844. 



