Notable Commentaries on the History of Plants

THE DEDICATORY EPISTLE OF LEONHART FUCHS

attaining a name for himself through his skill in languages and his various victories here and there; rather, so that he might emerge more illustrious and celebrated, he also applied himself strenuously to the care of obtaining an exact knowledge of all simple medicines Known as "simples," these are medicinal plants used in their natural state rather than in complex mixtures., especially those which oppose lethal poisons. How intent his mind was on that matter, and how much praise and glory he followed from it, there is no need to say, because the very medicine which retains his name to this day—called Mithridaticum—and which is still used today by physicians to ward off poisons, declares it sufficiently. Indeed, the herb Scordium Water germander (Teucrium scordium)., which for no other reason was named Mithridatia by the authority of the herbalist Crateuas, also shows well enough how studious he was regarding plants.

Solomon, King of the Hebrews.

To the aforementioned kings, we must now add Solomon, the wisest and wealthiest of all kings who ever lived. To his immense praises, which the sacred history of the Bible bestows upon him, this is added as if the greatest—which seems to surpass all the rest—that he was able to discourse most wisely concerning every individual plant.

Attalus, King of Pergamum.

Furthermore, Attalus, the first king of Pergamum—as that most serious authority Galen A prominent Greek physician and philosopher in the Roman Empire whose theories dominated Western medical science for over 1,300 years. testifies—was most studious of medicines of every kind, so much so that he constructed many and various compositions which still exist and retain the inscription of his name.

Euax, King of the Arabs.

Euax, king of the Arabs, is also said to have burned with such a great zeal for investigating plants that he wrote to Nero concerning the effects of simples.

Juba, King of Mauritania.

Finally, Juba, king of Mauritania, was made more memorable by his study of herbs than by his kingdom. I think there is no one who is ignorant of how much fame the herb Euphorbium A genus of succulent plants; Juba II of Mauritania famously discovered it and named it after his Greek physician, Euphorbus. brought him, which he named after his own physician and celebrated with marvelous praises in a volume privately dedicated to him.

The Roman Caesars supported herbalists at their own expense.

But since in the years immediately following, the Roman kings and Emperors could not devote their labor to investigating plants because of their various and very great public occupations, they at least took care, studiously and diligently—as the same Galen testifies—to support herbalists in various places at the greatest expense. This they did for no other reason than to foster this study of knowing plants, which is no less useful than it is necessary to men, and to preserve it from destruction.

The zeal of poets and philosophers in investigating plants.

But leaving now the kings and many other distinguished heroes—such as Teucer, the brother of Ajax, who gave his name to Teucrium Germander.; Achilles, from whom Millefolia Yarrow, famously used by Achilles to heal his soldiers' wounds. was nicknamed Achilleia; the Centaur Chiron, from whom the Centaurium Centaury. took its name; and Hercules, who is said to have discovered Hyoscyamus Henbane.—we shall briefly touch upon how much effort and study the ancient poets and philosophers, both Greek and Latin, put into searching out plants of every kind. Yet let it suffice to have produced a few of the many, and those the best.

Orpheus.

Pliny Gaius Plinius Secundus, author of the 'Natural History,' the primary source for ancient botanical knowledge. writes that among the Greeks, the most ancient poet Orpheus (for no one before him is mentioned among them, since he flourished before all other poets and philosophers) produced some writings about herbs, even quite curiously; Musaeus.and after him, Musaeus and Hesiod.Hesiod celebrated the herb Polium Hull-wort or mountain germander. with wonderful praises.

Homer.

Furthermore, the poet Homer, most skilled in human affairs, made much of the care of knowing plants, nor did he reject or despise it, as Nepenthe, Moly, Lotos, and the garden of Alcinous Famous botanical references in Homer's 'Odyssey'. sufficiently show.

Virgil.

That Virgil, the prince of Latin poets, was most skilled in plants, the frequent mentions of them in his verses openly testify. For this reason, he not infrequently creates work for the grammatical interpreters who explain him in wretched ways Fuchs is critiquing literary commentators who lack botanical knowledge and thus misinterpret Virgil's plant references..

Ovid.

How studious of herbs Ovid was is known to everyone, except those who have disdained to look closely into his poems.

That philosophers did not neglect or despise herbal medicine is gathered from the fact that it is recorded in literature that Pythagoras.Pythagoras, a man renowned for wisdom, celebrated Bulbs in an entire volume; Chrysippus.just as Chrysippus did for Cabbage original: "Brassica" and Zeno.Zeno for Capers original: "Capparin". Such great philosophers would never have brought themselves to do this if they had not thought most highly of this part of medicine.

Aristotle.

No one is ignorant, moreover, that Aristotle, surely the greatest philosopher, left behind some books concerning plants; from this, anyone may conjecture how much a man of such excellent genius valued the knowledge of herbs.