Plinlcs Naturall Hiftorie. 



A to light 5 dicy no fooncr find the freili aire^and another kind of nourffhment differing from that^ 

 whereby they lived, but doe embrace and receive the comfort of thenewSunne moH greedily^ 

 as if they were new born and revived : infuch fort^as that in Moefiaj notwiihftandingit be a moft 

 cold regionjye fhall have the figs of thefe trees to ripenjwhen others begin to blofTomc : and by 

 this meanes become early and haftie figs in another yeare. = . . . 



Now for as much as we arc fallen to mention the figs in Affricke, which werc iti To great re- 

 queft in the time of Cato^ am put in mind to fpcake fomewhat of that notable opportunitie and 

 occafionjwhlch by the meanes of that fruit he tooke for to root out the C arthaginians, and rafe 

 their very citic. For as he was a man who hated deadly that citie, & was otherwile carefnll to pro- 

 vide for the quiet and fecuri tie of his poftericie^he gave not over at every fitting of the Senate, to 



B importune the Senators of RomCjand to crie out in their eares^That they would refol ve and take 

 order to deftroy Carthage. And in very truth ^one day above the rettjhe brought with him into 

 the Senate houfe an earlyorhaftic fig which came out of that countrey: and fhewing it before 

 all the lords of the Senate,! would demaund of you(quoth he)how long agoe it is (as you think) 

 fincc this figge was gathered from the tree ? And when none of them could denie but that it was 

 ftefh and new gotten. Lo(quoth he)my maifters alljthis I doe you to weetjt is not yet full three 



, daiespaftjfincc this figge was gathered at Carthage: fee how nearetothewalsof ourcittiewee 

 have a mortall enemie. Vpon which remonftrance of his^prefenily they concluded to begin the 

 third and laft Punicke warrejwherein Carthage was utterly fubverted and overthrowne. Howbe- 

 it Cato furvived not the rafin^ and faccage of Carthage/or he died the yeare immediatly follow- 



C ing this refblution. But what iliall we fay of this man ? whether was more admirable in this ad:_, 

 his provident care and promptncile of fpirit , or the occafion prefented by the fuddaine objesSt 

 of the fig? was the prefent refolution and forward expedition of the Senate, or the vehemenc 

 earnefineife of Caio jmoic effe(5tuall to this enterprife ? Certes/omewhat there is above alljand 

 nothing in mine opinion more wonderfull,that fo greata fignorie and ftate asCarthagejwhich 

 had contended for the Empire of the world for the fpace of ahundred and twentie yearsj& that, 

 with the great conquerors die Romanes- fhouldthus be ruined and brought to nought,by occa- 

 fion of one fig. A deffeigne^that neitherthe fields loft atTrebia and Thraf}unenusj northe dii^ 

 grace received at the battell of Canna, wherein fo many brave Romanes loft their lives and left 

 their dead bodies on the ground to be enierred, could never effed : nay not the difdain that they 



D tooke to fee the Carthagmians encamped and fortified wichin three miles of Rome, nc yet the 

 bravadoes of ^nmbdll in perfbn riding before the gate Collina,cven to dare them, could ever 

 bring to pafte.See how Cato by the meanes of one poore fig, prevailed to bring and prefent the 

 forces oi Rome to the very wals of Carthage. 



There is a fig tree called Navia, honoured with great reverencCjin the common Forum and 

 pubiicke place of juftice at Rome, even where the lolemneaflemblies are held for eledionsof 

 magiftrates neare to the Curia, under the old fnops called Veteres : as if the gods had cbnfecra- 

 tedit for that purpofe : nearc(I iay)it is to the Tribunall named PurealjLibonis3& planted there 

 by AcHiPs Niivm the Augur,where the facred rcliques of his miracksto witjthe Rafour and the 

 VVhetftonejWcrefolemnely enterred : as if it came of the owne accord from the faid Curia into 



E the Comitium^and had not been let by Tifivhis J\\is tree if it begin at any time to wither, there 

 is another replanted by thePriefts^who that way are very carefull & ceremonious. But a' greater 

 refpeil: there is had of another in remembrance of the fiift fig- tree namedRuminalis(as it were) 

 the nource of i?^w/^,the two young princesfondlings, and founders alio of thecirie 



of Rome ; for that under it was found a fhee Woife giving to thole little babes the teat(which in 

 Latine they called Rumen:)and foramemoriall hereof there is a monument of Braffe crcdcd 

 neare unto it5reprefenting that ftraunge and wonderfull ftorie.Thcre grew alio a third fig-tree be- 

 fore the temple of jrj/^«r»^,which in the yeare 260 after the foundation of the citie of Rome, was 

 takenaway :atwhattimeasachappellwasbuiltthereby theVeftiill nuns, andanexpiatorie fa- 

 crificeofFered,for that it overthrew the image of There is a tree of the fame kind yet 



X- livingjwhichcametogrowof itfelfe,nomanknowethhow,inthemiddeftof the Forum Roma- 

 num,and in that very place where «vas the deepechinke and gaping of the ground,that menaced 

 the mine of theRomaneEmpirejwhichfatall and portentiousgulfe,the renowned knight Cur* 

 urn filled up with thebeft things that were to be found in the citie, to wit,his Vertue &Pietie in- 

 comparable,teftified by a moft brave and glorious death. In the very fame place likewife there is 



