THE MYRTLE 
109 
an ear of wheat, which is the chief of all kinds of food in 
this world ; and pressed dates, which are the chief of the 
fruits of the world.” 
The particular attention given to odorous shrubs by 
the ancients, rendered the myrtle an obiect of great re- 
gard among them. They dedicated it to Venus, either 
because it often grows near the sea, whence she is said 
to have arisen, or because the sweet and unfading nature 
of its foliage might seem to render it a suitable tribute to 
the goddess of beauty. The richer climate of Greece 
strengthens the perfumes of plants, and the groves so 
renowned in song were planted so that he who wandered 
among them was greeted by a succession of odoure from 
shrubs so arranged as to diffuse it abundantly ; and when 
the light shower was succeeded by the rainbow, and earth 
sent up in her freshness the richest perfume, then they 
imagined that the influence of the bow upon leaf and 
bower had called forth the fragrance, and sung of its 
wonder-working power upon vegetation. 
On the first of April, the Roman ladies were accus- 
tomed to bathe beneath the myrtle-trees, and crowned 
with its leaves, to proceed thence to the shrine of Venus 
and offer sacrifice. 
Steeped in their wine, the ancients believed tha.t the 
myrtle-bough improved its flavour, and added to its invi- 
gorating property ; it was therefore regarded by them as 
an emblem of festivity. The invalid too hoped for resto- 
ration to health by using the berries as a medicine, and 
the magistrate of Athens wore it about his head as a 
symbol of office. 
The magisterial wreaths were composed by some of 
those artists whose profession it was to form garlands, 
and to construct letters, the flowers of which should be 
symbolical of different ideas. The meaning of these 
wreaths or epistles was as fully understood by the great 
body of the people, as the language of flowers is recog- 
nised in the Eastern harem. The wild olive, or the 
wreath of laurel or parsley, which crowned the brow of 
the successful combatant, appealed to the imagination of 
his countrymen, and was deemed by the Grecian hero as 
a well-understood token of applause. It was with the 
desire of giving to the dead that which they had loved in 
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