CHAP. 1. (1.)—TASTE OF THE ANCIENTS FOR AGRICULTURE.
WE now pass on to the Natural History of the various grains,
of the garden plants and flowers, and indeed of all the other
productions, with the exception of the trees and shrubs, which
the Earth, in her bounteousness, affords us—a boundless field
for contemplation, if even we regard the herbs alone, when we
take into consideration the varieties of them, their numbers,
the flowers they produce, their odours, their colours, their
juices, and the numerous properties they possess—all of which
have been engendered by her with a view to either the preservation or the gratification of the human race.
On entering, however, upon this branch of my subject, it is
my wish in the first place to plead the cause of the Earth, and
to act as the advocate of her who is the common parent of all,
although in the earlier
1 part of this work I have already had
occasion to speak in her defence. For my subject matter, as I
proceed in the fulfillment of my task, will now lead me to consider her in the light of being the producer of various noxious
substances as well; in consequence of which it is that we are
in the habit of charging her with our crimes, and imputing to
her a guilt that is our own. She has produced poisons, it is
true; but who is it but man that has found them out? For
the birds of the air and the beasts of the field, it is sufficient to
be on their guard against them, and to keep at a distance from
them. The elephant, we find, and the gurus, know how to
sharpen
2 and renovate their teeth against the trunks of trees,
and the rhinoceros against rocks; wild boars, again, point
their tusks like so many poniards by the aid of both rocks and
trees; and all animals, in fact, are aware how to prepare themselves for the infliction of injury upon others; but still, which
is there among them all, with the exception of man, that dips
his weapons in poison? As for ourselves, we envenom the
point of the arrow,
3 and we contrive to add to the destructive
powers of iron itself; by the aid of poisons we taint the waters
of the stream, and we infect the various elements of Nature;
indeed, the very air even, which is the main support of life,
we turn into a medium for the destruction of life.
And it is not that we are to suppose that animals are ignorant of these means of defence, for we have already had occasion to point out
4 the preparations which they make against the
attacks of the serpent, and the methods they devise for effecting
a cure when wounded by it; and yet, among them all, there
is not one that fights by the aid of the poison that belongs to
another, with the sole exception of man. Let us then candidly
confess our guilt, we who are not contented even with the
poisons as Nature has produced them; for by far the greater
portion of them, in fact, are artificially prepared by the human
hand!
And then besides, is it not the fact, that there are many
men, the very existence of whom is a baneful poison, as it
were? Like that of the serpent, they dart their livid tongue,
and the venom of their disposition corrodes every object upon
which it concentrates itself. Ever vilifying and maligning,
like the ill-omened birds of the night, they disturb the repose
of that darkness which is so peculiarly their own, and break
in upon the quiet of the night even, by their moans and wailings, the only sounds they are ever heard to emit. Like
animals of inauspicious presage, they only cross our path to
prevent us from employing our energies or becoming useful to
our fellow-men; and the only enjoyment that is sought by
their abominable aspirations is centred in their universal hatred
of mankind.
Still, however, even in this respect Nature has asserted her
majestic sway; for how much more numerous
5 are the good
and estimable characters which she has produced! just in the
same proportion that we find her giving birth to productions
which are at once both salutary and nutritious to man. It is in
our high esteem for men such as these, and the commendations
they bestow, that we shall be content to leave the others, like
so many brakes and brambles, to the devouring flames of their
own bad passions, and to persist in promoting the welfare of
the human race; and this, with all the more energy and perseverance, from the circumstance that it has been our object
throughout, rather to produce a work of lasting utility than to
ensure ourselves a widely-spread renown. We have only to
speak, it is true, of the fields and of rustic operations; but
still, it is upon these that the enjoyment of life so materially
depends, and that the ancients conferred the very highest rank
in their honors and commendations.