INTRODUCTION 



The Botany of Pliny. 



The identification of plants mentioned in the 

 Natural Hisiory is a diffieult matter. PHny was not 

 a botanist, but derived his information from books. 

 which were often read aloud to him while he took 

 notes, and not studied at leisure. Naturally he 

 made mistakes due to misunderstandings. Pliny's 

 authorities again were sometimes inadequate or 

 confused or even wrong. In addition to the diffi- 

 culties caused by positive error, there is also another 

 one due to the fact that the same name was often 

 given to more than one plant, and the same plant 

 was often called by more than one name. Accord- 

 ingly even a trained botanist hesitates at times to 

 give with any confidence the modern equivalent of 

 an ancient name in some particular context. Some- 

 times, of course, there is no reasonable doubt ; rosa 

 is rose, and cepa onion. Often, however, even when 

 certain that a Latin or Greek name is generally 

 equivalent to an English one, the botanist is not sure 

 that a variety included by Plinv, or Theophrastus, 

 under the former shoukl also be included under the 

 latter. The degree of doubt may vary from a moral 

 certainty to a slight suspicion. Typical difficulties 

 are those facing the translator when he has to render 

 into Enghsh asparagus, hyacinthus and strychnos. To 

 keep the Latin name always would be consistent, 

 but cumbersome and pedantic. It seems better to 

 give the English name when the risk of error is sHght, 

 but to keep the Latin when the risk is great. An 

 index of plants," with probable or possible identi- 

 fications, should give most readers the information 



° This index is in course of preparation, and will appear at 

 the end of Pliny's botany booka. 

 xviii 



