DIOSCORIDES. 23 



the whole, he established, on solid grounds, the 

 learning of his own and previous ages. 



This active-minded man, who lived in luxury 

 and had great responsibilities, is an example to 

 many of the same class who do not care to enjoy 

 the study of the beautiful nature around them. He 

 lost his life whilst endeavouring to sustain the 

 courage of his friends, during the great eruption of 

 Vesuvius, when the cities of Pompeii and Hercu- 

 laneum were destroyed. He was on shore at the 

 time, and probably was suffocated by noxious 

 fumes. 



The name of Dioscorides has been mentioned as 

 that of an author known to Plinius ; he was born 

 in Cilicia, at Anazarbus, and flourished during the 

 reign of the Emperor Nero. Nothing is known 

 about his early life, but it appears that he was a 

 soldier, and possibly connected Vv^th the surgical 

 and medical art in the army. Certain it is that he 

 travelled over many countries — Greece, Italy, Gaul, 

 and Asia Minor — gathering plants and study- 

 ing, not so much their structures and mutual 

 resemblances and differences, as their medical or 

 healing powers. He obtained plants from travellers 

 in India, and learned the merits of herbs and drugs 

 from many nations. He wrote on the substances 

 used in medicine in a Materia Medica, and named 

 and briefly described between five and six hun- 

 dred medicinal plants. Unfortunately Dioscorides 

 wrote in a careless manner, and there is much 

 nonsense mixed up with truth in his writings. 



