THE HERBALISTS 21 



into all sorts of strange speculations, such for instance 

 as to the precise localisation of the plant soul, which he 

 finally decides must be just at the junction of the stem 

 and the root. 



It is really marvellous what an influence Aristotle 

 and his philosophical conceptions exerted on the minds 

 of these early explorers of nature, and indeed of thinkers 

 in every branch of science and learning. A recent 

 writer tells us that " Aristotle was almost as sacred as the 

 Bible. At Oxford the University statutes enacted that 

 (according to Giordano Bruno) Bachelors and Masters 

 who did not follow Aristotle faithfully were liable to a 

 fine of five shillings for every point of divergence and for 

 every fault committed against the logic of the Organon ! " 

 Bruno lived in the latter half of the sixteenth century 

 and was thus a contemporary of Caesalpino, so it is small 

 wonder that Aristotelian ideas and methods should have 

 made themselves evident in his works. 



But the long night was passing and the dawn of a new 

 day was at hand. 



