BIOLOGICAL BEGINNINGS 9 



man and horse. But in plants these powers are mingled, female not being 

 separated from male. Wherefore they generate out of themselves, and do 

 not emit semen, but produce an embryo, what is called the seed. For as 

 the tgg is an embryo, a certain part of it giving rise to the animal and the 

 rest being nutriment, so also from a part of the seed springs the growing 

 plant, and the rest is nutriment for the shoot and the first root. 



It is the nature of those creatures which do not emit semen to remain 

 united a long time until the male element has formed the embryo, as with 

 those insects which copulate. The others remain so only until the male has 

 discharged from the parts of himself, introduced something which will 

 form the embryo in a longer time, as among the sanguinea. For the former 

 remain paired some part of a day, while the semen forms the embryo in 

 several days. And after emitting this they cease their union. 



In all this Nature acts like an intelligent workman. For to the essence 

 of plants belongs no other function or business than the production of 

 seed; since, then, this is brought about by the union of male and female, 

 Nature has mixed these and set them together in plants, so that the sexes 

 are not divided in them. But the function of the animal is not only to 

 generate (which is common to all living things) but they all of them par- 

 ticipate also in a kind of knowledge, some more and some less, and some 

 very little indeed. For they have sense-perception, and this is a kind of 

 knowledge. Now it is by sense-perception that an animal differs from 

 those organisms which have only hfe. But since, if it is a hving animal, it 

 must also live; therefore, when it is necessary for it to accomplish the 

 function of that which has life, it unites and copulates, becoming like a 

 plant, as we have said before. 



EXCERPTS FROM Enquiry into Plants * 



THEOPHRASTUS 



DEFINITIONS OF THE VARIOUS CLASSES INTO WHICH 



PLANTS MAY BE DIVIDED 



Now since our study becomes more illuminating if we distinguish dif- 

 ferent kinds, it is well to follow this plan where it is possible. The first 

 and most important classes, those which comprise all or nearly all plants, 

 are tree, shrub, under-shrub, herb. 



A tree is a thing which springs from the root with a single stem, having 

 knots and several branches, and it cannot easily be uprooted; for instance, 



* Reprinted by permission of the publishers from the Loeb Classical Library, 

 Theophrastus: Enquiry into Plants and Minor Works on Odours and Weather Signs, 

 translated by Sir Arthur Hort, 2 volumes. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University 

 Press, 1916. 



