Dedicatory Letter

...referring to it, the Spaniards write that its fruits (which have the flavor of butter) so powerfully incite those who devour them to lust original: "in Venerem"; literally 'toward Venus' that their efficacy is almost a miracle: its name is Agnocast This likely refers to early Spanish descriptions of the Avocado (aguacate), which was often described as having a buttery texture and aphrodisiac qualities, though the name here is confused with the Agnus-castus or Chasteberry.. Pliny writes that when the herb Achemenide Achaemenis; a legendary magical plant said to cause terror in enemies is cast into the ranks of the enemy, the army trembles and turns its back. Furthermore, it was the custom of Persian kings to give Laticen Latace; a legendary plant said to ensure abundance for travelers to their ambassadors so that wherever they went, they might abound in a plenty of all things.

A plant producing lambs. Among the Tartars, they say a plant is found whose fruit resembles a lamb in every respect. It is covered by a very thin skin, which the inhabitants use for head coverings; they say the internal pulp resembles the flesh of a crayfish original: "Cammari", and from a wound a juice flows exactly like blood; it is also of an admirable sweetness. Its root, protruding from the earth, rises as high as the navel. The magnitude of the miracle is increased by the fact that as long as it is surrounded by herbs, it lives like a lamb in a lush pasture; but when those are pulled out, it gradually wastes away. And what increases the wonder even more is that it is sought out and devoured by wolves This refers to the "Vegetable Lamb of Tartary," a famous medieval myth of a plant-animal hybrid.. Is it not also marvelous, what is told of the Egyptian Lotus? The Egyptians say that both its flowers and its stalk are submerged under the waters in the evening until midnight, and go so deep into the depths that they cannot be found even by a hand reached down; then they gradually turn and rise, and at sunrise they emerge from the water, open their flowers, and thrust out their heads so that they are clearly high above the water.

Moreover, neither forests, nor rocks, nor caves, nor the harsher face of nature lack medicines, for that Sacred Mother of all things referring to Mother Nature disposes remedies for mankind everywhere. There are almost innumerable plants and trees in the forests from which we seek health from diseases. There are others most useful among rocks and in caves; indeed, even in the sea itself healthy plants grow, just as in lakes, rivers, springs, and marshes, from which medicine has its aids; so much so, that there is absolutely no place that is destitute of these gifts. For no one will find anything created by nature that cannot be put to medical use.

Poisons can sometimes be antidotes to poisons. Indeed, poisons themselves not only destroy each other, but cure a great many diseases. The malignant quality of aconite For Aconite Monkshood, although (as we have said before) it is so extremely deadly that contact with only the female genitals brings death shortly after, yet when drunk by those struck by a Scorpion, it frees them with almost instantaneous help. It is indeed a wonder: although both these poisons are fatal on their own, they die together within the man so that the man survives. Likewise, it is most conveniently added to eye medicines for the sake of relieving pain. Furthermore, Hemlock original: "Cicuta", a most deadly plant, when applied as an ointment, extinguishes shingles original: "sacros ignes"; 'sacred fires,' a term for various inflammatory skin conditions and creeping ulcers, soothes inflammations of the eyes, and indeed has several other uses in medicine. Oleander original: "Nerium" kills donkeys, mules, and horses that devour it; but drunk in wine, it heals those bitten by serpents. Opium poppy juice original: "Meconium" leads those who take it into an eternal sleep; but on the other hand, it soothes all painful diseases. Blister beetles original: "Cantharides", if swallowed, draw a man toward death; and yet those bitten by a rabid dog are cured by them. The Viper, almost the most pernicious of reptiles, not only extinguishes its own poison when eaten or applied as an ointment, but also destroys and overcomes other poisons. Why say more? There is nothing that could not be achieved by the power of herbs, if the strengths of most were not unknown.

Although these things may seem to some to lack credibility, they nevertheless fill one with wonder and force us to confess that much truth remains hidden. For this reason, those who laugh at such miracles of plants are ill-regarded among the learned, since the outcomes of events entirely support their reputation. It is not appropriate to immediately withdraw belief from histories just because the underlying cause, which we cannot grasp, escapes us. Indeed, there are almost innumerable things visible to men whose reason cannot be understood. Many things lie hidden in the innermost sanctuaries of nature, which neither any reason nor human intellect can comprehend. For nature wished men to admire these things rather than to be understood by anyone. Therefore, those who are more scrupulously occupied in investigating the reasons for every single thing remove the miracles of nature from everything. For where the reasoning of the cause fails us, from here flows the beginning of doubting, which is the beginning of philosophizing. Therefore, he who has no faith in the prodigious miracles of nature attempts to abolish philosophy in a certain way.