14- Some Enquiry concerning 



may be found to correspond with the Chestnut, which covers the declivities 

 of the mountains in the south of Europe and in Asia Minor. The cir- 

 cular form and sweet flavour of the fruit is the most obvious coincidence : 

 its locality is not less so; for Theophrastus tells us that, although it has the 

 sweetest fruit, it ranks among the ayplat, or wild trees, because it does 

 not grow in cultivated grounds. " The chestnut," says Bosc (quoted in the 

 Arb. Brit., p. 1997.), "begins where the corn leaves off." The strength and 

 durability of the timber of the Phegos may be thought objectionable, since 

 Mr. Loudon (Arb. Brit., art. Castanea ve"sca) has combated the commonly 

 received notion of its excessive toughness and lasting properties : perhaps 

 the constant practice, upon the Continent, of grafting this tree, may have 

 caused some deterioration in the timber ; while in England, a non-indigenous 

 tree is not a fair subject for a trial of strength against the native oak. It 

 must, however, be admitted, that a chestnut, of from 30 to 50 years' growth, 

 yields a timber fully equal to that of an oak of the same age ; while, in point 

 of size, it is generally superior, for in the first half century of its existence it 

 is the faster-growing tree of the two. The race, however, is not always to 

 the swift, and the oak eventually towers far above its exotic neighbour : of 

 this fact, an example is very observable in a grove on the north-eastern side of 

 the ancient house at Loseley Park, in Surrey, where a venerable cluster of oaks 

 and chestnuts are seen together, indicating, by the regularity of their position, 

 that they were probably all planted at the same time, and, by the magnificence 

 of their dimensions that they are at least coeval with the mansion, and the 

 growth of nearly three centuries. The oaks, still vigorous and erect, have 

 shot up to an imposing height; while the chestnuts, although boles of great 

 magnitude, are in a state of decay, almost approaching to ruin. 



Having shown that in the brief description of the Phegos in Theophrastus, 

 there is nothing at variance with the sweet chestnut, 1 shall proceed to draw 

 some conclusions from other sources, with the view of proving that the Fagus of 

 the early Romans had a similar signification. As the Latin mythology was 

 derived from the Greek, we may expect to find that a tree consecrated to a 

 particular divinity in Greece was dedicated to the same power in Italy. 

 The Phegos was sacred to Jupiter. The earliest tree of the kind on re- 

 cord is one frequently mentioned by Homer, forming a remarkable feature 

 in the topography of Troy. It stood near the Scsean Gate of Ilium, at the 

 side of the road which descended from the city, by the tomb of Ilus, to the 

 fords of the Scamander, and thence led towards the sea. This lofty tree, 

 of singular beauty and sanctity, is almost always solemnised by the poet as the 

 peculiar property of the " iEgis-bearing Jove." In one particular passage of 

 great beauty, of which Pope's translation conveys but an imperfect idea, the 

 wounded Sarpedon is supported by his companions under the shade of the 

 Phegos, and revived by the assistance of Boreas. 



" Beneath a beech, Jove's consecrated shade, * 

 His mournful friends divine Sarpedon laid. 

 Brave Pelagon, his fav'rite chief, was nigh, 

 Who wrench'd the javelin from his sinewy thigh. 

 The fainting soul stood ready wing'd for flight, 

 And o'er his eyeballs swam the shades of night ; 

 But Boreas rising fresh, with gentle breath, 

 Recall'd his spirit from the gates of death." 



In a like manner, at Rome also, the Fagus was dedicated to the " Father of 

 gods and men." The learned Varro, who lived one generation anterior to 

 Virgil, and who, probably, attached a meaning to Fagus in strict accordance 

 with its Greek original, mentions the " Fagutal," so called from the trees which 

 grew there; and Pliny (2V. H., xvi. 15.) informs us that it contained a chapel 



* 'lV' alyioxoio Aibg TTEfwcaWil fajyip. H; £• 693. 



