28 THE GLORY OF THE GARDEN 



Aureolus Theophrastus Bombastus, of Hohenheim. 

 He lived from 1493-1541, and was a doctor, but not 

 a favourite with his fellow-men, owing to his almost 

 incredible boastfulness. The word " bombast " was 

 in all probability coined from his name. 



At the same time, although he was something of a 

 quack, his writings are occasionally illumined with 

 real scientific insight, and certainly he infused new 

 life into the chemistry and botany of his day. For 

 an understanding of this doctrine of signatures, it 

 may be enlightening to quote from Paracelsus 

 himself: " I have ofttimes declared, how by the 

 outward shapes and qualities of things, we may 

 know their inward virtues, which God hath put in 

 them for the use of man. So in St. John's Wort 

 we may take notice of the leaves, the porosity of 

 the leaves, the veins — (i) The porosity or holes in 

 the leaves signifies to us that this herb helps inward 

 or outward holes or cuts in the skin. (2) The 

 flowers of St. John's Wort, when they are putrified, 

 they are like blood; which teaches us that this 

 herb is good for wounds, to close them and fill 

 them up." 



An Italian^ of the name of Porta, developed this 

 theory still further, and often, it must be confessed, 

 he soared very much into the realms of fancy. He 

 held that herbs with a yellow sap would cure 

 jaundice, whilst those whose surface was rough to 

 the touch, would heal those diseases that destroy the 

 natural smoothness of the skin. The resemblance 

 of certain plants to certain animals opens up to 

 Porta a vast field of conjecture and romancing. 

 Plants with flowers shaped like butterflies would 

 cure the bites of insects, while those whose roots 



