and Nemefianus ;

Decerpunt vitibus ulmos,

"Et portant calathis."

Hence he infers that the Poet did not transfer the word from work baskets, as fome imagine, becaufe agriculture is the most ancient of all arts: whence it feems more probable, that the word was transferred from agriculture to work-baskets. This learned Critick proceeds to give a new fignification to calathus. It means not only a basket, fays "he, but all flowers, which when "they blow, expand into an orb. "The Latin Dictionaries indeed "are entirely filent about it, but "we have a proof from Aufonius "and S. Jerom. The former, in "that epigram, which begins with "Ver erat, et blando, &c. fays

thus;

"the latter, in his epiftle to Pam"machius; Quis parturientem rofam, et papillatum corymbum, antequam in calathum fundatur or "bis, et tota rubentium foliorum pandatur ambitio, immature demeffum, aequis oculis marceffere "videat? This fignification is "drawn from the fimilitude of a "basket in fuch flowers, when

"Pliny, who fpeaking of the lily, "ufes the following words; Foliis "foris ftriatis, et ab anguftiis in la"titudinem paulatim fe laxantibus, "effigie calathi." Hence he concludes, that Virgil's meaning perhaps may be, that the nymphs bring lilies, not in bud, but full blown, and double, dilata in orbem, et of formata in calathos jam plenos prae foliorum multitudine, et exuberantia. We might therefore, according to this criticifm render lilia plenis calathis, criticism-render not lilies in full baskets, but lilies with full cups or bells. This fense would be very good, if we had any reafon to believe, that double lilies were known or efteemed among the Ancients." There is indeed a double white lily, the Lilium album, inodorum, flore pleno H. R. Par. But as Mr Miller obferves," There is "no beauty in it, for the flowers "feldom open, and have no feent, "fo that it fcarcely deferves a place "in a good garden." Therefore unless it could be made appear, that thefe double lilies are frequent in Italy, that they commonly open their flowers there, and afford fome fmell, we ought to adhere to othe common interpretation, Virgil has ufed the word calathis only in three other places. In the fifth Eclogue, it evidently fignifies a fort of cup or drinking veffel

Vina novum fundam calathis Ar"vifia nectar."

exprefs

adding daffodils, and the flower of feet fmelling dill,

Ray affirms, on his own experience, that both the purple and white violets come from the seeds of the fame plant. There is alfo a fort of vio let, with a pale yellow flower, in fhape refembling that fpecies, which we commonly call panfy or heart'seafe. It is the Viola bicolor arvenfis, C, B. It is a common weed amongst the corn; and I have formerly thought it to be the fame that Virgil here calls pallentes violas. But on a more mature confideration of what the ancient writers have delivered, I rather believe the plant here. intended to be the ftock gilliflower or wall flower, which all Botanifts, with one confent allow to be what the Ancients called Leucoium, which is evidently derived from Aeuxóv ov, a white violet. Theophraftus fays the Leucoium is one of the earliest flowers, appearing even in the winter, if the weather is, mild; but if it is cold, fomething later, in the fpring: Τῶν δὲ ἀνθῶν πρῶτον ἐκφαί νεται τὸ Λευκόιον, ὅπου μὲν ὁ αὴρ μαλακώτερος, ευθὺς τοῦ χειμῶνος, ὅπου δὲ σκληρότερος, ὕστερον, ἐνιαχοῦ Tou pos. Pliny, who has tranflated this very paffage, renders Auxoiov viola alba; "Florum prima ver "nunciantium viola alba. Tepi“dioribus vero locis etiam hyeme "emicat." Some, obferving that thefe authors fpeak of the Leucoium or Viola alba, as appearing firft in the fpring, will have it to be the fnow-drop, or Leucoium bulbofum, as it is commonly called. We might

as well take it to be the Primula veris, or primrose, the very name of which declares it to be one of the earliest flowers. But the fnowdrop, cannot be the plant in queftion; becaufe Theophraftus, in another place, reckons it among thofe plants, which have a leafy ftalk; Ἐπικαυλόφυλλα δὲ πικρὶς ἀνθέμιον τὸ φυλλώδες, λωτός, Λευκόϊον. Now the fnow-drop has no leaves upon the ftalk; and therefore cannot be the Leucoium of Theophraftus. Diofcorides thought the Leucoium too well known to need any defcription. This unhappy negligence is fa common among the Ancients, that the plants which they were beft acquainted with are frequently leaft known by the Moderns. He only fays there is a difference in the colour of the flowers, which are either white, or yellow, or blue or purple; Λευκόιον γνώριμον ἐστιν. Ἔστι δὲ αυTns dra popa Ev TY LUDE yag hevκάν ἐστιν, ἢ μήλινον, ἤ κυανοῦν, ἤ πορφυρούν ευρίσκεται. It may be thought frange, that a plant, which derives it's name from whitenefs fhould be faid to have yellow, blue, or purple flowers: but it is the general opinion of the modern Bota nifts, that it was called white, not from the colour of it's flower, but from the hoarinefs of his leaves. Cafpar Bauhinus, not to quote any more of them, fays exprefsly, "Leucoium, id eft, Viola alba, po"tius foliorum quam florum ra

2

av

tione." The colours mentioned

by Diofcorides are all to be met with in the ftock gilliflower, except blue, whence n xuavov is fuppofed by feveral Criticks to have flipt into the text by fome miftake. Marcellus affirms that blue is omitted in a very old Latin verfion of Diofcorides, which he had feen. This fufpicion is confirmed alfo by Oribalius and Serapio, who do not mention blue, though they copy all the other words of Diofcorides exactly. Hippocrates, in his book wepi yuvaineins, Purios, fpeaks of the black Leucaium, A κάϊον ῥίζαν τού μέλανος ἐν ὄινω διεὶς τὸν αυτὸν τρόπον χρήσθω, which mut be understood of that fort with pur

εν

ple flowers. That fort, which bears what we call the wall-flower, which yellow flowers, can be no other than has a sweet smell, and blows early in the fpring, and therefore agrees with what Theophraftus has faid of the Leucoium. It is indeed a fock gilliflower with yellow flowers, though it hap pens to have obtained a name pecu liar to itfelf. It may be a matter of fome difficulty,, to imagine how the Ancients came to give almoft the fame name to two forts of plants, different as violets and ftock gilli flowers. Perhaps the firft fort taken notice of by them might be that with the purple flowers, which be ing fomething like a violet, and having hoary leaves, might induce them to call it Auxoiov, or white vio let. Or perhaps the fmell alone, which is the most remarkable property commonly obferved in a violet,

fa

Mollia luteola pingit vaccinia caltha.

might be the occafion of their beftowing on it a fimilar name. The giving the fame general name to feveral fpecies of plants, which have a fimilar ftructure of flower and fruit, is an exactnefs known only to the modern Botanifts, and hardly thought of till the latter end of the fixteenth century. Hence it has been very ufual to call plants of a like ftructure by different names, and thofe of different ftructure by the fame name. Numberlefs inftances of this might be mentioned, as Lily of the valley, which hardly bears any other refemblance of a lily than it's whitenefs; and Ground Ivy, which feems to refemble ivy in nothing else, but it's creeping. But we need go no farther than the plant under confideration. The word Gilliflower has been applied to plants moft widely different from each other; the Stock-Gilliflower which comprehends the wall-flower; and the Clove-Gilliflower, which comprehends the feveral forts of carnations and pinks. How thefe fo different plants came to have the fame > name bestowed on them, is not eafy to imagine, unless it was from the fineness of their fmell. The clovegilliflower has the fmell of that fort of fpice, which is called clove, and in Latin Caryophyllum. From Caryophyllum the French derive their Girofle, which means the fame fpice. Hence they call the flower, which has that fmell, Giroflier, which we have corrupted to Gilliflower Chaucer, in his Remaunt of the Role,

4

writes it

50 fee fets off the soft byacinth with yellow marygolds.

plofre, tranfpofing, the ↓ and the r of Giroflier;

Chere was eke weryng many A [pice,

As Clowe Gylofre, and liqumice.

And our old Turner, has Gelover and Gelyfloure. Here we may ob serve the error of thofe, who not knowing the derivation of the word Gilliflower, have affected to call thefe plants July-Flowers. The fpecies of Leucoium having alfo a fine fmell, obtained thereby the name of gilliflowers alfo. For the fame reafon, the French call these last not only Giroflier, but Violier alfo, agreeable to the idea of the Ancients. Thus much I thought neceffary to fay, in juftification of my tranflating pallentes violas Wall-flowers, But I muft ftill beg leave to add a word or two concerning the epithet pallentes. We have feen already, that the Romans called ftock-gilliflowers Violae albae. It is therefore plain that they comprehended both them and common violets under the general name of Viola. It is probable alfo, that when they intended to exprefs any one particular fort, they added fome epithet to, diftinguifh it. Thus our Poet intending here to exprefs the yellow ftoc gilliflower, which we vulgarly dif tinguifh under the name of wallflower, added the epithet pallentes, or yellow. Palenefs is that appearance, of the human countenance, which happens, when the blood

E 4

ceases