INTRODUCTION. Xlll 



was a native of Cilicia; had probably 

 studied at Alexandria, and his military 

 office would carry him to the other coun- 

 tries whose nomenclature he embodies, 

 namely Dacia, Italy, Spain, Gaul, and 

 Africa. 



It was from this repertory that a vo- 

 cabulary of plant-names was formed which 

 became central for the educated world; 

 and to him therefore we attribute the 

 foundation of a universal nomenclature. 

 With him Botany first becomes extra- 

 national, surmounts local barriers, and 

 furnishes material for a world-wide science. 

 The collections of Dioscorides have a solid 

 relation with our modern Botany. But 

 there was to be a long interval of vague- 

 ness, uncertainty, and confusion before his 

 materials and their subsequent accretions 

 were at length reduced into the compact 

 phalanx of systematic arrangement. 



Besides Theophrastus and Dioscorides 

 there are three other ancient names which 

 frequently occur in herbal literature. They 

 are Pliny, who has already been mentioned, 

 Galen, and Apuleius. 



