Regency Culture and Society: Botanical Meanings

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BOTANICAL EMBLEMS LUPIN eniblem of Slavery The stalk Its blossoms are composed of five leaves of this plant is round and strait it is sur in the form of a rose and are white and rounded by leaves formed like outspread odoriferous hands the upper parts of which are smooth This shrub was consecrated to Venus and verdant but beneath are rough and because after her victory over Juno and of a whitish hue The flowers grow in Pallas she covered herself with the foliage branches are most commonly of a white of the myrtle to conceal her nudity from a or a jouquil colour and have the form of a licentious troop of satyrs It is also taken chalice with the cup dentilated in a figurative style for the symbol of The name of this plant is derived from love the word lupus or wolf because it is Madame Marguerite of France Duchess thought to be destructive to the earth of Berry whom Ronsard has celebrated in where it is cultivated A flour is extracted bis verses had for her device a branch from the seed of the lupin on which the l of myrtle surrounded by two serpents with ancients used to feed their slaves and even this mottoto this day in Spain and Italy it is used to fatten bullocks and is the symbol of Prudence the safeguard against love slavery Pliny says that this plant on the It is said of fortunate lovers that they days when the weather is cloudy serves as are crowned with myrtles and St Evrea timepiece to the peasantry It is used to mont writing to an amorous hero thus signify the seventh hour of the day expresses himself you have converted MYRTLE emblem of Love The branches your laurels into myrtles _ Myrtles of this little tree are supple and flexible says another writer have less charms for its leaves are rather long and always green heroes than laurels But Voiture declares sesembling those of the pomegranate tree ll that crowns of myrtle cost not so mucling

 

and are more delightful than those of lau cord Mildness Clemency to Joy and the rel Graces This tree was also consecrated to Narcissus emblem of Self Love The Latona because it was under the olive stalks of this plant are terminated by a tree that this Goddess in the island of Delarge flower composed of one siugle white los brought forth Diana and Apollo lenf surrounded by six leaves of a pale The Orange T RRE emblem of Genius brass colonr attached so tightly to the The branches of this tree are thin and blossom that it appears but one mass supple and their bark of a whitish hue The beautiful youth Narcissus in love its leaves are thick large and pointed at with his own image disdained the ad the ends it bears a white blossom of the yances of the nymph Echo and suffered is most exquisite odour himself to pine away as he regarded his This delightful tree increases in beauty own form and conntenance in a crystal as it grows older and is covered at the fountain He was metamorphosed into the same time with blossoms and fruit its flower that bears his name leaves always remaia green Its flowers This flower was consecrated to the Eu which exhale the choicest perfume are menides whose foreheads were bound with made use of in medicine and a fine flait Those who sacrificed to them were voured water is distilled from them which also crowned with it and they offered gar often adds a delicious flavour to confectionlands composed of Narcissus to the infer ary Its fruit is delightful to the taste and nal deities either because this flower bad is at once a luxury and a cool and refreshbecome sacred to them since the death of ing remedy in fevers coughs & c & c In Narcissus or on the account of its growing a word it may be compared to the rose near the mansions of the dead for it is one that chef d auvre of Flora among the flowof the sepulchral plants ery tribes and their queen as to odour and THE OLIVE TREE emblem of Peace beauty This is a very flourishing tree in those The orange tree by its inestimable qualicouutries to which it is indigenous but ties is the emblem of genius it has been seldom grows to any great height its celebrated by the first poets of every age trunk is knotty and its bark which is and De Paruy and Dorat have done ample smooth is of an ash colour its wood is justice to its merits by the energy and elesolid and of a yellowish colour its leaves gance with which they have treated the narrow and oblong subject We read in the heathen mythology that The virgin white of the orange flower Neptune and Minerva each wished to buds have caused them to be adopted by have the privilege of giving a name to the the youthful bride wheu led to the hymecity that Cecrops had built this honour neal altar and this bouquet in France is was to be given by Jupiter to whichever styled Chapeau de la Mariće The orange should point out that which was most use tree has been compared to the passion of ful Neptune struck his trident against love the fruit of which is golden and its the earth and out came a beautiful war taste delicious but the rind is bitter like horse Miuerva with one stroke of her the difficulties often thrown in the way of lance caused an olive tree to flourish and lovers which gained for her the victory as the Hippolitus D Est Cardinal of Ferrari symbol of peace took for bis device two verdant branches At Rome every new married couple in loaded with Hesperian fruit with this former times were crowned with garlands motto Badly guarded when a dragon is of olive leaves the symbol of peace and always on the watch In comparing himunion At the Olympic Games a crown of self to Hercules this prelate meant to say olive was decreed to the conqueror The that in spite of the labour and difficulties dove of Noah is represented bearing an which he had to surmount in order to olive branch in her beak A branch of remain true to his King he should one day olive was one of the attributes given to Ju ll obtain his reward piter to Minerva Mercury Peace ConNo 122 Vol XIX х

This article appeared in the April 1819 issue of La Belle Assemblée.

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