Dr. Smitu’s Introductory Difcourfe. 7 
writings of the ancients: began firft to be cultivated. Botany was 
more efpecially attended to very early, as medicine, which, however 
it might have been degraded in the ages of barbarifm, could never 
have been totally neglected, ftood in immediate need of its affift- 
ance. ‘The works of the ancients, and particularly thofe of 
Diofcorides, were then ftudied with the moft pertinacious affiduity ; 
remedies which this writer had recommended were deemed infal- 
lible, and virtues which he had attributed to any plant, indifpu- 
table. The chief difficulty in almoft every cafe was to find out the 
plant he meant; and this difficulty becoming at length fo great as 
to be abíolutely infurmountable, his commentators were loft in 
mazes of their own conjectures. lt.was happy for the credit of 
Diofcorides that this was the cafe, and that the world were fo oc- 
cupied by this kind of criticifm, as feldom to have examined the 
truth of his affertions. 
Of thefe commentators fome few had great original merit in 
giving figures of the plants of which they treated, and thofe figures 
are many of them executed with fuch perfection as to excite our 
aftonifhment; they have rarely been excelled at any following 
period. The firft of thefe is Brunfelfius, whofe figures, although 
only wooden outlines, often exprefs the plant intended better than 
many fine modern engravings, and were evidently drawn by a firft- 
rate painter. Matthiolus, the moft celebrated of all the com- 
mentators on Diofcorides, has likewife given excellent figures of all 
the natural fubftances mentioned in his book; thofe of the two 
Venetian editions of this work are ftill the admiration of botanifts, 
and make thofe editions much fought after by colle&ors. 
The large figures of Fuchfius are no lefs celebrated, nor with 
lefs reafon; although only outlines, they reprefent the plants ex- 
tremely well. . 
The example of thefe authors was foon followed by others, who 
4 | publifhed 
