322 THE PRAISE OF GARDENS 



to the house of Aulus Vettius, even the parterre (on a domestic 

 scale) is not wanting. * Pompeii,' writes Taine, 'is an ancient 

 Saint-Germain or Fontainebleau ; one sees the abyss separating the 

 two worlds.' 1 



In the Garden of Vettius the marble basins, statues, etc., are 

 all set up in their original places, from which some have never 

 moved, and the beds are laid out on the old lines, following the 

 indications in the wall paintings : for instance, the cones of basket 

 work overgrown with creepers and ivy to be seen at various points 

 in the garden are copied from one of the frescoes. Charles 

 Estienne's ' De re Hortensi Libellus ' throws no light upon these 

 dome-shaped cages. The marble heads in the centre of the 

 picture on ivy-carved stelae are those of Dionysius with Ariadne, 

 and Silenus with a Bacchante, back to back. The fountains on 

 either side of the foreground are bronze boys holding geese, with 

 water flowing from the beaks, and the fresco behind the columns 

 represents makers of the garlands, the art to which Athenaeus 

 devotes so many pages. 



Another feature of Roman gardens copied in mediaeval days 

 was the mount, called Xopos by Plutarch, no doubt raised to 

 command a view of the surrounding country. 2 



During the dark ages the early Christian fathers and the 



1 'Voyage en Italic.' 



2 A few authorities and references (other than these in the text) to ancient 

 Greek and Roman gardens : 



Dr Falconer's ' Historical View of the Gardens of Antiquity,' 1785. 



C. A. Bottiger's ' Racemazionen zur Garten Kunst der Alien.' 



Felibien, Plans et Descriptions des maisons de Campagne de Pline le Consul, 

 1699. 



Trinkhusii Dissertatio de Hortis et Villis Ciceronis. 



C. Stephanus, ' De re Hortensi Libellus,' 1536. 



Daines Barrington, ' Archseologia,' 1782. 



Elian's 'Various History.' 



R. Rapinus, Hortorum Lib. IV., with Appendix, 'De Universa Culturce 

 Hortensis Disciplina, 'Utrecht, 1672, a most valuable dissertation : also the 

 Paris Edition of 1780,' with a History of Gardens by Gabriel Brotier. 



Scamozzi, ' Discorsi sopra 1'Antichita di Roma,' 1582. 



Stengel's Hortorum, Florum et Arborum Historia, 1650. 



