40 
SHAKESPEARE’S GARDEN 
So, too, in Coriolanus, III. iii. 52, the wounds 
caused by briars are made objects of mirth in con¬ 
tradistinction to graver wounds : 
Scratches with briars, 
Scars to move laughter only. 
When the poet turns to the wild plant growing in 
its native luxuriance, he shows how familiar he is 
with its varied forms. Thus, for instance, 
What subtle hole is this, 
Whose mouth is covered with rude-growing briars. 
Titus Andronicus, II. iii. 198. 
A sentence indicating one of its modes of growth as 
well and as exactly as a botanist could describe it. 
Its summer burst of leaves is set out in All's Well, 
IV. iv. 31, 
The time will bring on summer, 
When briars shall have leaves as well as thorns, 
And be as sweet as sharp. 
While in flower we have {Midsummer-Night's Dream, 
III. i. 106 ), 
Of colour like the red rose on triumphant briar, 
which also serves to portray the luxuriant shoots 
conquering the host by which they have climbed to 
sunshine and liberty. 
In fruit {Timon of Athens, IV. iii. 422) : 
The oaks bear mast, the briars scarlet hips. 
Two species of rose deserve more than a passing 
thought; both are conspicuous for their scent, both 
were common in Elizabethan gardens, although one 
was but a wilding. To take this, the eglantine 
( R . rubiginosa , L.), before the stranger, we have the 
passage from All's Well, IV. iv., we have quoted 
above, and it also occurs in Cymbeline as part of a 
