Plinies . Natural! Hiftorie. 



A and tough, tlae wild and the male of the fame kind, have tlieir'wood moreehurlifli than other- 

 wile it is in the reft.Semblablyathofe that beare no fruit^are of a fafter and firmer wood than the 

 fruitfull : unlelle ic bee that the males bee bearers^ and the female barreii, of which fort are the 

 CyprefTe and Cornell trees.Thc wood of GyprcfrejCedarjEbeneXotusjBoXjYewghjiuraperj 

 and the Olive both favage and^entle^ is never worme-eat6n3 ne yet rotteth" for age. As for all 

 other treesjlong it is beforethefe decay jto witithe Larchjthe Oke^the Corke tree^Gheftnuta 

 Walnut tree. The Cedar jCypreflCj and Olive wood/icvei? doth chinke dt cleave of it felfejun- 

 lefle it be by ibme accident. ^'-J'- - ' ' 



It is commonly thought, thatthcBoxCjthe Ebene_,the Cypreflcjand Cedar wood^is everla- 

 fting and will never be done. An evident proofe thereof as touching all thefe forts of timberj by 

 B the judgement and choife of fo many men^ was to bee feenc in that famous temple of Diapja in 

 Ephefus : for all Afia fet to their helping hand and contributed toward that workeswhich in four 

 yeares and not beforejthey brought to an end and finifhed. The beamcs, rafters^and fpars that 

 went to the making of the roufe, were by the generall voice of the whole worldjof Cedar tim- 

 ber. As touching the ftatue or image it felfe of the goddelle Drana^ it is not fo certainely known 

 of what wood it was : allwriters/ave onely c?W/^//4»z^3reportthatit wasof Ebene.Asforhimja 

 man who hadbeen thrice Confull of Rome, and oneof thelaftwho upon their owne fight of 

 the faid thingjwrate thereof javoucheth that it was made of Vine wood y and thatjhowfoever the 

 temple was ruined and rebuilt againe no lefTe than feven times, yet the forefaid image was ne- 

 ver altered nor chaunged. Who faith raoreover^that Canetias chofe that wood for the befl (for 

 C fo he named the workman that cut and carved it.) And I much marvell thereat, confidering that 

 by his faying this image was of greater antiquitic than that of ladie Minerva^ much more than 

 of prince Bo<rrZ-/^. He addeth moreover andfaith,that this ftatue was embauimed withinjby rea- 

 fonof the preeiousoile of Spikenard, which was difhlled into it at many holes: by mcanes of 

 which medicinableliquotjthe wood was noun(hed,and the'j0intsheldclofe and faff together : 

 whereat I cannot chufe but marvell againevery muchjthatconfidering the ftatue wasfo fmalljit 

 fliould have any peece or joint at all.Now as touching the leaves of the dores belonging to this- 

 temple jthcy were by his reportjof Cypreffe wbod : andcontinued ftill frefh and new to the eie^^^ 

 notwithftanding ic is foure hundred yqares well neare fince they were made.Where,by the way, 

 this is to be noted,that thefe dores ftood fourejeares glewed in the clave. And verilVjthis wood 

 D was choien for that purpofe^becaufeamongotherproperties^theCypreiTealone hath this gift, 

 to looke alwaics fining and poli(hed,and never loleth the gloffe and beautie. And for to prove 

 thisjwe need not to goe farre ; Looke but upon the image of ^ Fe]{ivis in the CapitoU, made of *, 

 Cypreffe wood,doth it not endure ftill faireand trim ? and yet was it dedicated andconfecrated 

 in that templcjin the yeare after the foundation of Rome,5 5 1. 



A famous and memorable temple thereisof^/'^7/^atVtica,wherethebeames and mains 

 peeces of timber,made of Numidian Cedars,remain as whole and entire as at the firft day when 

 they were fet up, which was when the citie was firft founded : by which computation, they have 

 continued alreadie 1 1 88 yeares. Moreover,it is faid, that at Saguncum a citie of Spaine,there is 

 a temple of Vima ftili ftanding,a little beneath the citie : and yet OisVm^Bacchm mine Authout 

 E fairhjzoo yeares before the ruine & deftruiftion of Troy,the fame men which brought the image 

 of the faid Dund from the Illand Zacynthus/ounded the temple abovefaid.- For the antiquitic 

 and religion whereof, Amiball made fbme conlcience to demolifh it,and would not once touch 

 it: and therein are to be feene at this day the beames and rafters of luniper/ound and good. But 

 above all other, memorable is the temple of thefaidgoddefleD/^w^in Aulis, w^ich was built 

 many hundred yeares before the Trojane warre : but what kind of timber was emploied about the 

 Carpentrie thereof,is not well knowne.Howbeir,this we may boldly refolve upon, that the more 

 odoriferous any wood isjthe more durablealfo itisjandeverlafting. 



Next to thofe trees above rchearled, the wood of the Mulberric tree is moft commended, 

 which in tra6l of time as it groweth to be oldjwaxcth alfo blacke.Moreover,fbme kinds of wood 

 F astheybemore lafting than other :fo they continue better being emploied in one kind of work, 

 than they doe in another. The Elme timber will well abide the aire and the wind. The wild Oke 

 Robur loveth to ftand within the ground, and the common Oke is good in the water: let it bee 

 ufed above ground to take the aire and the weather, it will eaft, warpe,and cleave,too bad. The 

 Larch wood agreeth paffing well with water workcs,and fo doth the black Alder. As for the Oke 



Robur, 



