_Shakspeare, Tennyson, &c._ (Vol. v., p. 492.).--The editorial note has
supplied the Latin parallel, but not "the origin and reason of the idea."
This Koenig's note to Persius (I. 40.) will do:
"_Nascentur violæ_; Hoc inde videtur natum esse quod veteres tumulos
mortuorum sparsis floribus et corollis solebant ornate; pertinebat hoc
ad religionem manium, qui, ut putabatur, libationibus annuis, coronis,
floribus, cet. delectabantur."
This is the first step. Further:
"Beatissima mortui conditio, cui _vel natura ipsa inferias agat_,
floribus in tumulo sponte nascentibus, videtur indicari."
Lastly:
"Videtur quoque privata nonnullorum opinio fuisse, _cinerem in flores
mutari, idque contingere non nisi probis ac pulchris_ (_Anthol. Lat._);
ex fabulis heroum in flores post mortem mutatorum fortasse nata."
This last, and deepest thought, is that seized on by Shakspeare and
Tennyson. Koenig gives many parallels.