PREFACE.

...particularly in Botanical Matters, original: "Re Botanica" I have drawn from that learned heap of Notes on Solinus, which claims the most celebrated Salmasius Claude Saumaise (1588–1653), a French classical scholar famous for his immense erudition. as its author; it is certainly arranged in no particular order, but is blessed with abundance. In this work, Herbs & Aromatics Spices or fragrant plants. are treated with great accuracy, according to the opinions and descriptions of the Ancients, whom I preferred to follow as they were closer in time to our Agricultural Writers. original: "Γεωπόνων" (Geoponon). Needham refers to the ancient authors whose works were compiled into the Geoponica. Gerard Langbaine 1609–1658, an English provost and scholar at Oxford. also long ago informed the learned world, in a Letter to the most Illustrious Archbishop Ussher of Armagh, James Ussher (1581–1656), famous for his biblical chronology. that he had compared our Geoponica with the Bodleian Manuscripts; but Langbaine's collations The line-by-line comparison of different manuscript versions to find the most accurate text. did not come to light for me when I sought them. I thought the Reader should be warned of this, lest I seem to have neglected anything.

Equipped, therefore, with these aids and the advice of Friends to finish the work, I have diligently devoted all my effort. If anything, however, has been more correctly presented, I shall not hesitate to credit all that to my learned Friends and Patrons. Nor do I insolently promise that this Edition will be perfectly corrected, since many things—especially the smallest details—easily escape even the sharpest eyes, or drop out while the work is "sweating" under the printing press. Meanwhile, the hope has arisen in me that, in some way at least, that well-known couplet of Rutilius Namatianus A Gallo-Roman poet of the 5th century AD. can be applied to these Books on Agriculture original: "Γεωπονικῶν" (Geoponikon) edited by me:

The editor's file restored ancient decency,
And while it picks away the flaws, it teaches them to be good.
original: "Reſtituit veterem cenſoria Limą Pudorem, / Dumque Malos carpit, præcipit eſſe Bonos." Needham uses "censorial file" as a metaphor for the sharp tool used to smooth and correct a text.