Silva: Or a Discourse of Forest-Trees
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www.e-rara.ch Silva: or a discourse of forest-trees Evelyn, John York, 1801 ETH-Bibliothek Zürich Shelf Mark: Rar 3646 Persistent Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.3931/e-rara-19214 Book the fourth. An historical account of the sacredness and use of standing groves. www.e-rara.ch Die Plattform e-rara.ch macht die in Schweizer Bibliotheken vorhandenen Drucke online verfügbar. Das Spektrum reicht von Büchern über Karten bis zu illustrierten Materialien – von den Anfängen des Buchdrucks bis ins 20. Jahrhundert. e-rara.ch provides online access to rare books available in Swiss libraries. The holdings extend from books and maps to illustrated material – from the beginnings of printing to the 20th century. e-rara.ch met en ligne des reproductions numériques d’imprimés conservés dans les bibliothèques de Suisse. 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An Historical Account of the SACREDNESS and USE of STANDING GROVES. ■ And thus we have finished what we esteemed necefsary for the direc- book iv tion of planting , and the culture of trees and woods in general ; whether for the raising of -new , or preservation of the more antient and venerable shades , crowning the brows of lofty hills, or furnishing and adorning the more fruitful and humble plains , groves , and forests , such as were never prophaned by the inhumanity of edge -tools : Woods , whose original are as unknown as the Arcadians ; like the goodly Cedars of Libanus, Psalm civ . Arbores Dei , according to the Hebrew , for something doubt- lefs which they noted in the genius of -those venerable plants , besides their mere bulk and stature : And , verily, I cannot think to have well acquitted myself of this useful subject , till I shall have in some sort vindi¬ cated the honour of trees and woods , by showing my reader of what estimation they were of old for their divine , as well as civil uses ; or at least refreshed both him and myself with what occurs of historical and instructive amongst the learned concerning them . And first, standing woods and forests were not only the original habitations of men , for de¬ fence and fortrefses , but the first occasion of that speech , polity , and society which made them differ from beasts . This , the Architect Vitruvius * ingeniously describes , where he tells us, that the violent per- * Vilruv, I. ii,” cufsion of one tree against another , forced by an impetuous wind , setting cap. 1. Ss 2 11 320 A DISCOURSE them on fire, the flame did not so much surprise and affright the salvage foresters as the warmth, which (after a little gazing at the unusual accident) they found so comfortable : This (says he) invited them to ap¬ proach it nearer, and, as it spent and consumed, by signs and barbarous tones (which in .procefs of time were formed into significant words) they encouraged one another to supply it with fresh combustibles : By this ac¬ cident the wild people, who before were afraid of one another, and dwelt asunder, began to find the benefit and sweetnefs of society, mutual afsistance, and conversation ; which they afterwards improved, by building houses with those trees, and dwelling nearer together. From these mean and imperfect beginnings they arrived in time to be authors of the most polished arts ; they established laws, peopled nations, planted countries, and laid the foundation of all that order and magnificence which the succeeding ages have enjoyed. No more then let us admire the enormous moles and bridges of Caligula acrofs to Baize; or that of Trajan over the Danube (stupendous work of stone and marble !) to the adverse shores; whilst our timber and our trees making us bridges to the furthest Indies and Antipodes, land us into new worlds. In a word, (and to speak a bold and noble truth ) trees and woods have twice saved the whole world ; first by the Ark, then by the Crofs ; making full amends for the evil fruit of the tree in Paradise, by that which was borne on the tree in Golgotha. But that we may give an account of the sacred and other uses of these venerable retirements, we will now proceed to de¬ scribe what those places were. Though Silva was the more general name, denoting a large tract of wood or trees, the incidua and cdeduce, yet there were several other titles attributed to greater or lefser afsemblies of them ; Demits Silvte was a Summer-house ;. and such was Solomon’s "Owo; S^ a, 1 Reg . vii. 2. When they planted them for pleasure and shade only, they had their Nemora ; and as we our Parks, for the preservation of game and particu¬ larly venison, so had they their Saltus, and Silva invia, secluded for the most part from the rest. But among authors we meet with nothing more frequent, and indeed more celebrated , than those arboreous amenities and plantations of woods,,which they called Luci j and which, though sometimes restrained to certain peculiar places for devotion (which were never to be felled) yet were they also promiscuously both used, and taken- for all that the wide forest comprehends, or can signify. To dismifs a number of critics,, the name Lucas is derived by Quintilian and others, OF FOREST -TREES. S21 who delight to play with words, (by antiphrasis) d minime Lucendo, be - book iv. cause of its density % -nulli Jienetralilis astro. whence Apuleius used Laco sublucido ;and the Poets ; Sublustri umbra: Others (on the contrary) have taken it for light in the masculine, umbra,, non quia minime, sed quia maxime luceatj by so many lamps suspended in them before the shrine -, or because they kindled fires, by what accident unknown: -seu Coeli fulmine mifso; Sive quod inter se bellum Silvestre gerentes, lib. Hostibus intulerant ignem formidinis ergo. mjcret. -Whether it were By lightning sent from Heaven, or else there The salvage men in mutual wars and fight, Had set the trees on fire, their foes t’affright. aThe learned Mr. Bryant, in his Analysis of Antient Mythology, has something ex¬ tremely curious upon the derivation of the word lucus He says that the Sun y t e Amonians was stiled El-Uc, which the Grecians changed rnto Lucos. He was- lso stiled El-Uc-Or, which was changed to Atwpetj; : and El-Uc-Aon, rendered Lycaon, him that he a.wv As this personage was the same as El-Uc, Auxo; ; it was fabled of waTturned into a wolf. The cause of this absurd notion arofe from hence : every sacred animal in Egypt was distinguished by some title of the Deity. But the Greeks never , Mdered whether the term was to be taken in its primary, or in its secondary accepta- t ° ' hence they referred the history to an animal, when it related to the God from whom the 'an’imal was denominated. A»« t, Lucos, was, as I have shown, the name of the Sun; I wherever this term occurs in composition, there will be commonly found some re- fce 'lfl that Deity, or to his substitute Apollo. We read ,of A« i» A«roMu>.t of. riTa supposed son of Apollo: of lycomedes, another.son; of Lycosvra, the first city which. (iTsun beheld. Tire people of Delphi were of old called lycorians; : and the summit of to the V nialsus Lscorea. Near it was a town of the same name ; : and both were sacred Tod ofLUbt . From Lucos, in this sense, came lux, luceo, lucidus, and Jup.ter Lucetms, of the Latins : . and A^ s, A»xr- » A,*™ . of the Greeks : also and,. though differently expreffed. Hence it was -that many places, sacred Apollo, were stiled Lcuce,.Le.uca,.Avxia, Leucas, Lcucate: Mox et Leucat®nimhosa cacumina montis, E-t formidatus nautis aperitttr Apollo. virg .. Hence also inscriptions DEO LEUCANIiE : which term seems to denote sor.-FO?rsr the Fountain of Day. The name Lycojthron, Avxo^ wv which some would derive from • a Wolf signifiesa person of an enlightened mind. Groves were held very sacred:, hence lucus^ which some would absurdly derive a »wzlucendo, svas so named from,the Deity ; there worshipped. Vil. • 2 A DISCOURSE “BOOK IV Or whether the trees set themselves on fire: Mutua dum inter se rami stirpesque leruntur. When clashing boughs thwarting, each other fret. For such accidents , and even the very heat of the sun alone , has kindled wonderful conflagrations ; or haply (and more probably ) to consume their sacrifices , we will not much insist . The Poets , it seems , speaking of Juno , would give it quite another original , and tune it to their songs in¬ voking Lucina , whilst the main and principal difference consisted not so much in the Name, as the Use and Dedication, which was for silent, awful , and more solemn Religion (Silva , quasi silens locus j) to which purpose they were chiefly nianu consiti, such as we have been treating of, entire , and never violated with the Ax : Fabius calls them Sacros ex Vetustate, venerable for their age ; and certain it is, they had of very great antiquity been consecrated to holy uses , not only by supersti¬ tious persons to the Gentile Deities and Heroes , but to the true God by teamed 66 Pez- the Patriarchs themselves , who , ab initio,as( is presumed, ) did frequently roT Antiq.