Living Images of Plants

Should I not, in turn, repay those from whom I have received these benefits? And to touch upon the distinguished members of your order, even as private individuals, our leaders especially deserved this: Lord Jakob Sturm Jakob Sturm von Sturmeck (1489–1553), a prominent statesman and reformer in Strasbourg, noble both for his ancestral lineage and his remarkable eloquence and vast literary learning; Lord Nikolaus Kniebs; and Lord Jakob Meyer—men of the highest esteem. Since the Muses themselves adorn these men, who possess both consular wisdom and distinguished piety, we would be ungrateful if we did not return to them this tribute of our secondary labor; if we were to profit from the works of others, we would even be unjust. Therefore, I pray that you accept this modest gift of mine, such as it is—this "small offering" original Greek: δόσιν τὴν ὀλίγην from my poor store—with joyful favor. Look not only upon the utility or the meager value of the thing given, but rather upon the eager will of the giver. Be mindful of that Emperor Artaxerxes, who, when small gifts of every kind were offered to him by the common people, is said to have remarked: it belongs to a lofty and truly royal mind not to scorn gifts even when brought by men of the lowest fortune, but rather to receive them with a smooth and smiling brow. As for defeating envy—which others attempt to do with long prefaces to their books—I shall be abundantly satisfied if I understand that I have placed my good efforts at the service of your Excellencies. And I shall say with Horace: I do not hunt for the votes of the fickle crowd. Even Homer original: Meöniden, a patronymic for Homer was mocked in his own age, and the theaters rarely applauded Menander A Greek dramatist even when he was crowned with laurel.

Furthermore, concerning the method of our Herbal, hold this as a summary. First, we have aimed at nothing else in this entire work than to extend a helping hand, for the public good of all, to the study of Botany original: Herbaria which was just now collapsing, and to recall to the light that which was nearly extinct. Because we perceived that this could be done in no other way than by doing away with the earlier and ancient Herbals and publishing new ones with lifelike and "needle-painted" original: acupictis, referring to the high detail of the woodcut illustrations images. Next, we have attempted and cared for both: providing solid and firm descriptions drawn from ancient and authentic authors. How successfully or with what grace this was done, let the judgment be your Excellencies'; certainly, it was done with great toil. For how much we had to read, how many authors had to be unrolled, how much had to be explored from the Herbals, and how much had to be extorted from the pharmacists term: Seplasiarii (sellers of ointments and perfumes) and charlatans term: agyrtis (wandering quacks) through their deceits and tricks—the matter itself shows it, and those who will one day undertake a similar labor of ours will more easily perceive it. Therefore, we deem ourselves the more worthy of pardon if, in a matter so serious and so obsolete in all use and knowledge, we have not immediately hit the "very mark itself," as they say. I cease to enumerate into what quicksands, into what Clashing Rocks original: Symplegadas, a reference to Greek mythology we have sometimes fallen, and we have even stumbled into the thickest darkness at times. For every herb will show on its face how much trouble it cost us. Hence, we have even given the name "Rhapsody" to these commentaries: because that style of writing was not only free from envy but even brought greater fruit. For it seemed more well-advised to return to each man what was his own, rather than to ambitiously hawk our own commentaries.

...lest, if the flock of birds should one day come to reclaim their feathers, the little crow, stripped of his stolen colors, should move us to laughter. Although we might perhaps have done as Giorgio Valla An Italian humanist (1447–1500) and after him all the moderns (I exclude no one from that deception)...