4 HISTORY OF BOTANY. 



8. The human mind, having been so far directed to 

 discriminate the vegetable profusions of the earth, it was 

 to be expected, (since the intellectual powers were 

 given man, with the undoubted view, that they should 

 be employed in exploring the wonders of the creation) 

 that he would have more especially devoted his thoughts, 

 to institute further enquiries and observations on this 

 branch of nature. 



Such would appear to be the consequent argument of oar present 



knowledge of the hnman mind ; but history says nothing which can 



lead us to suppose, that any thing like scientific investigations were 



made in the subsequent days to the period last mentioned. The first 



authentic account, which can be said to reflect any idea of the 



ultitation of the ttudy of plants, is afforded by the Scriptures, 



here it mentions Solomon, as speaking of trees, from the cedar 



ee that is in Lebanon, even to the hyssop that springeth out of the 



all. (A. C. 1004.) Of the character and object of Solomon's work, 



hether systematic or not, is a matter of conjecture ; but from the 



tort account which has been given, it was represented as a sort 



f natural history of all plants then known. 



9. Admitting Solomon's work t& have been only a 

 natural history of vegetables, and the gloom in which 

 the subject was wrapt from his days for near four cen- 

 turies, we may, with great propriety, regard the dawn 

 of phytological enquiry, as originating with the specu- 

 lations of the Greeks. A. C. 604. 



Although the study of botany was held in high estimation for a 

 length of time in Chaldea, it was only made subservient to medicine; 

 and the knowledge of plants among the Chaldeans, was treasured 

 up (for their curative powers) as H rich legacy to behanded down 

 from father to son ; and in this manner, the infant science was che- 

 rished till it passed into Egypt. In Egypt, howeyer, it remained 

 almost stationary; bat Thales, the most ancient of the Greek 

 philosophers, and the first that travelled from Greece into Egypt, 



