Not only do we want to cultivate beauty, we want to put it into words. Proof that beauty is above evil is that no normal person wants to cultivate evil and put it into words.
Three hundred years ago, people cultivated floral beauty. Reverend Samuel Gilbert cultivated Primula auricula, a species of primrose that grows wild in the mountains of central Europe. Here are his words:
Their gold, their purples, scarlets, crimson dyes,
Their dark and lighter-haired diversities,
With all their pretty shades and ornaments,
Their parit-coloured coats and pleasing scents. . . .
In double ruffs, with gold and silver laced,
On purple crimson, and so neatly placed.
(Quoted from The Florist’s Vade-mecum, by Samuel Gilbert. London: J. Taylor, G. Coniers, and T. Ballard, 1702.)
For images of Primula auricula, click here. For a bit about Samuel Gilbert, click here.
Three hundred years ago, people cultivated floral beauty. Reverend Samuel Gilbert cultivated Primula auricula, a species of primrose that grows wild in the mountains of central Europe. Here are his words:
Their gold, their purples, scarlets, crimson dyes,
Their dark and lighter-haired diversities,
With all their pretty shades and ornaments,
Their parit-coloured coats and pleasing scents. . . .
In double ruffs, with gold and silver laced,
On purple crimson, and so neatly placed.
(Quoted from The Florist’s Vade-mecum, by Samuel Gilbert. London: J. Taylor, G. Coniers, and T. Ballard, 1702.)
For images of Primula auricula, click here. For a bit about Samuel Gilbert, click here.
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