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It is confessedly a native of Asia, but whether of any 
parts of Europe is a matter of conjecture; if not really 
indigenous, however, it has been cultivated there from 
the most remote antiquity. It is mentioned by Homer, 
not only in the lines selected for the motto, but also as 
surmounting a rock near where “ Charybdis holds her 
boisterous reign.” 
“ Full on its crown a fig’s green branches rise, 
And shoot a leafy forest to the skies.” 
And in another passage he says,— 
“ There figs, sky-dyed, a purple hue disclose." 
It was dedicated by the Romans to Saturn as the patron 
of agriculture; they crowned his statue with its fruit; 
they planted it at the entrance to his temple; and also 
bore it in procession next in order to the vine in their 
bacchanalian festivals. The fig was held in the highest 
estimation, in early times, for its nutritious qualities; 
and formed then, as now, a grateful repast to people 
whose primitive taste requires little else than fruits, 
vegetables, bread, and water. Sir W. Temple, a great 
advocate for simple diet, says, “ The ancients seldom used 
either flesh or wine but at their sacrifices and solemn 
feasts;” and he adds, “It is common among Spaniards 
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