HISTORY OF BOTANY. 25 



concerning " simple medicines," or shorter " simples," or 

 as we should say a 'Herhal.'* I quote this Latin title 

 because it is a very common one, and a great number of 

 these physicians wrote ' de Medicamentis Simplicibus ' under 

 its Arabic equivalent. The writing of Herbals continued for 

 some hundreds of years after the decadence of Arab learning, 

 in different countries — in fact into the eighteenth century, all 

 of them marvellously alike.! The writings of the eider Sera- 

 pion and those of the younger have been frequently bound 

 up together, as though they were the work of one author. 



There were several physicians of the twelfth century who 

 among other subjects treated on simples ; the most celebrated 

 of them being Ebn Roschd, or Averroes. He was born 

 about 1120 at Cordova, where he was also brought up. But 

 little is known of his personal history ; he was learned in 

 mathematics, philosoph}^ and medicine, and, as well as his 

 father and grandfather, held important offices of State. At 

 one time he was Kadi of Seville, at another of Morocco, and 

 was universally much respected ; but he suffered the penalty 

 common to court favourites, — he had enemies, and they 



[ one who has skill in simples, or a gatherer of herbs. 



'■' "Simples; Physical herbs, probably so called as being the chief 

 ingredients of which compoimd medicines are made. 



Si77i2:)ler 



Simplist 



Smipling ; gathering of simples or physical herbs in the field." — 

 Bailey's Eng. Diet., 1731. 



f The old form of " Herbals " has now gone out of fashion, to 

 give place to " Floras," which, while they enter minutely into the most 

 trifling differences in various organs of insignificant weeds, take no 

 note whatever of the uses of plants to man in the way of food, medi- 

 cine, or anything else. Of com-se it may be said that Botany is now 

 recognised as a Science, of which there are many divisions, which is 

 no doubt true ; still it is a fact that Economic Botany, which one would 

 think the most important branch, has latterly received but little 

 attention in England, while we have been deluged with "Floras," all 

 excellent but most of them substantially alike. 



