CHAPS. 1 & 2. (1.)—THE NATURE OF THE VINE. ITS MODE OF
FRUCTIFICATION.
Those which have been hitherto mentioned, are, nearly all
of them, exotic trees, which it is impossible to rear in any
other than their native soil, and which are not to be naturalized
in strange countries.
1 It is now for us to speak of the more
ordinary kinds, of all of which Italy may be looked upon
as more particularly the parent.
2 Those who are well acquainted with the subject, must only bear in mind that for
the present we content ourselves with merely stating the
different varieties of these trees, and not the mode of cultivating
them, although there is no doubt that the characteristics of a
tree depend very considerably upon its cultivation. At this
fact I cannot sufficiently express my astonishment, that of
some trees all memory has utterly perished, and that the
very names of some, of which we find various authors making
mention, have wholly disappeared.
3 And yet who does not
readily admit that now, when intercommunications have been
opened between all parts of the world, thanks to the majestic
sway of the Roman empire, civilization and the arts of life
have made a rapid progress, owing to the interchange of commodities and the common enjoyment by all of the blessings of
peace, while at the same time a multitude of objects which
formerly lay concealed, are now revealed for our indiscriminate
use?
Still, by Hercules! at the present day there are none to be
found who have any acquaintance with much that has been
handed down to us by the ancient writers; so much more
comprehensive was the diligent research of our forefathers, or
else so much more happily employed was their industry. It
is a thousand years ago since Hesiod,
4 at the very dawn, so to
say, of literature, first gave precepts for the guidance of the
agriculturist, an example which has since been followed by no
small number of writers. Hence have originated considerable
labours for ourselves, seeing that we have not only to enquire
into the discoveries of modern times, but to ascertain as well
what was known to the ancients, and this, too, in the very
midst of that oblivion which the heedlessness of the present
day has so greatly tended to generate. What causes then are
we to assign for this lethargy, other than those Feelings which
we find actuating the public in general throughout all the
world? New manners and usages, no doubt, have now come
into vogue, and the minds of men are occupied with subjects
of a totally different nature; the arts of avarice, in fact, are
the only ones that are now cultivated.
In days gone by, the sway and the destinies of states were
bounded by their own narrow limits, and consequently the
genius of the people was similarly circumscribed as well,
through a sort of niggardliness that was thus displayed by
Fortune: hence it became with them a matter of absolute
necessity to employ the advantages of the understanding:
kings innumerable received the homage of the arts, and in
making a display of the extent of their resources, gave the
highest rank to those arts, entertaining the opinion that it was
through them that they should ensure immortality. Hence it
was that due rewards, and the various works of civilization, were
displayed in such vast abundance in those times. For these
later ages, the enlarged boundaries of the habitable world,
and the vast extent of our empire, have been a positive injury.
Since the Censor has been chosen for the extent of his property,
since the judge has been selected according to the magnitude of
his fortune, since it has become the fashion to consider that
nothing reflects a higher merit upon the magistrate and the
general than a large estate, since the being destitute of heirs
5
has begun to confer upon persons the very highest power and
influence, since legacy-hunting
6 has become the most lucrative
of all professions, and since it has been considered that the
only real pleasures are those of possessing, all the true enjoyments of life have been utterly lost sight of, and all those arts
which have derived the name of liberal, from liberty,
7 that
greatest blessing of life, have come to deserve the contrary
appellation, servility alone being the passport to profit.
This servility each one has his own peculiar way of making
most agreeable, and of putting in practice in reference to
others, the motives and the hopes of all tending to the one
great object, the acquisition of wealth: indeed, we may everywhere behold men even of naturally excellent qualities preferring to foster the vicious inclinations of others rather than
cultivate their own talents. We may therefore conclude, by
Hercules! that pleasure has now begun to live, and that life,
truly so called, has ceased to be.
8 As to ourselves, however,
we shall continue our researches into matters now lost in oblivion, nor shall we be deterred from pursuing our task by the
trivial nature
9 of some of our details, a consideration which
has in no way influenced us in our description of the animal
world. And yet we find that Virgil, that most admirable
poet, has allowed this to influence him, in his omission to enlarge
upon the beauties of the garden; for, happy and graceful poet
as he is, he has only culled what we may call the flower of
his subject: indeed, we find that he has only named
10 in all
some fifteen varieties of the grape, three of the olive, the same
number of the pear, and the citron of Assyria, and has passed
over the rest in silence altogether.
(2). With what then ought we to begin in preference to the
vine, the superiority in which has been so peculiarly con-
ceded to Italy, that in this one blessing we may pronounce her
to have surpassed those of all other nations of the earth, with
the sole exception of those that bear the various perfumes?
and even there, when the vine is in flower, there is not a perfume known which in exquisite sweetness can surpass it.
The vine has been justly reckoned
11 by the ancients among the
trees, on account of its remarkable size. In the city of Populonium, we see a statue of Jupiter formed of the trunk of a
single vine, which has for ages remained proof against all
decay; and at Massilia, there is a patera made of the same
wood. At Metapontum, the temple of Juno has long stood
supported by pillars formed of the like material; and even at
the present day we ascend to the roof of the temple of Diana at
Ephesus, by stairs constructed, it is said, of the trunk of a single
vine, that was brought from Cyprus; the vines of that island
often attaining a most remarkable size. There is not a wood in
existence of a more lasting nature than this; I am strongly
inclined, however, to be of opinion that the material of which
these various articles were constructed was the wild vine.