DEDICATION

A 3

to noble minds, the remembrance of what is honorable and beautiful, and of all the virtues. For it would be a shameful thing, as a certain wise man says, for one who contemplates beautiful things, handles beautiful things, and dwells in beautiful places, to possess a mind that is not beautiful, or even base. Furthermore, the utility that comes from flowers to the materia medica original: "materiæ medicæ"; the study of the therapeutic properties of natural substances and the pharmaceutical arts is neither small nor barren, but rather fruitful, varied, and manifold in every way. They are beneficial by their scent alone in no small measure; and then, by their other properties, flowers are of the greatest use. Indeed, by their fragrance, they revive and refresh the spirits; they restore collapsed strength; they not infrequently rouse a sluggish mind; and at times, they gently induce a lingering sleep. Among those things which are called odorables original Greek: "ὀσφραντὰ" (osphranta); things perceived by the sense of smell, they easily hold the primary place, being readily available and familiar through the habit of a friendly nature. For other fragrant things which are brought from the Indies, or the farthest East or West, are not so familiar; they are, meanwhile, more expensive, and not immediately or promptly available to everyone. Flowers, however, are supplied by the garden, and occasionally even the fields provide them of their own accord. Truly, by their other properties—namely, of warming, re-