166 LANGUAGE AND 
Oh ! not beneath the enfeebling, withering glow 
Of such dull luxury did those myrtles grow, 
With which she wreathed her sword when she would 
dare 
Immortal deeds; but in the bracing air 
Of toil, of temperance, and of that high, pare, 
Ethereal virtue, which alone can breathe 
Life, health, and lustre into freedom’s wreath.” 
Herrick, who was as apt as Milton himself at a 
classic allusion, thus offers to propitiate Venus: 
“Goddess, I do love a girl, 
Ruby lipped and toothed with pearl. 
If so be I may but prove 
Lucky in this maid I love, 
I will promise there shall be 
Myrtles offered up to thee.” 
Not only are its blossoms beautiful, but, even 
when flowerless, the deep, lustrous green of its 
foliage gains the admiration of all beholders, 
and reminds one of what Professor Wilson re¬ 
marked: ‘‘They are shrubs, whose leaves of 
light have no need of flowers.” 
