Alberti Magni De Vegetabilibus Libri VII

VI

Nor did this work on vegetables, although printed twice, ever come to the attention of men diligently describing the history of botany, such as Haller, Sprengel, and others. Deceived by those spurious pamphlets, they barely touched upon Albertus with a word, considering him a most lightweight author and an ignoble botanist.

Finally, in our own century, the most subtle investigators of natural histories, such as Schneider, Alexander von Humboldt, and a few others, returned to the true works of Albertus. Among them, our own Ernst Meyer, some thirty years ago, first rediscovered our work, which was not even sufficiently known by its title. Immediately, in the years 1836 and 1837, in the botanical journal called "Linnaea," vol. X, pages 641—741 and vol. XI, pages 545—595, and later more extensively in 1857 in the fourth part of his History of Botany, he explained the most worthy memories of what had been observed as new or clarified as old by Albertus in this genuine work. He did not hesitate to call Albertus the greatest botanist of thirty centuries—equal to the most famous botanists in the keenness of his genius, the skill of his eyes regarding native plants, and standing in line from Aristotle down to Caesalpinus. One will hardly find anyone who can refute this.

At the same time, Meyer perceived that both editions of the work, which we discussed below on page 669, were so negligent and fallacious that he formed the plan for a new edition. In order to prepare it, he arranged for the more recent edition (J) to be transcribed and attempted to correct and emend it using both the older edition (Z) and other books. Soon, however, with better judgment, he had recourse to the manuscript codices, which he obtained himself or had collated through the work of friends. He therefore used four codices found by friends in the libraries of France and Switzerland (A, B, C, V) with great diligence, regarding which you may consult page 663—665 and what Meyer himself said in the aforementioned place.