In the territory about the suburbs of Tusculum, upon a hill known by the name of Corne, there is a grove which has been consecrated to Diana by the people of Latium from time immemorial; it is formed of beeches, the foliage of which has all the appearance of being trimmed by art. Passienus Crispus, the orator, who in our time was twice consul, and afterwards became still more famous as having Nero for his step-son, on marrying his mother Agrippina, was passionately attached to a fine tree that grew in this grove, and would often kiss and embrace it: not only would he lie down, too, beneath it, but he would also moisten its roots with wine.[1] In the vicinity of this grove there is a holm-oak, likewise of very considerable celebrity, the trunk of which is no less[2] than thirty-four feet in circumference; giving birth to ten other trees of remarkable size, it forms of itself a whole forest.