454 CHRONOLOGICAL ARRANGEMENT 



" September " (Oros., Blair, and Clint.), Caesar after defeating the Germans across the Rhine and 

 entering Britain, returning to the main land. 



The V R V S of Caesar has been already noticed ; but the name claims attention from being clearly 

 French : — to the present day, notwithstanding the disappearance of the animal, the word "ure" is 

 retained in French dictionaries, a record of the extinction of an idea (see Bos urus). 



Lycopus vulgaris of Northern climates. The Gauls are described by Caesar bell. gall. v. 14 as 

 colouring their bodies with V I TR VM to strike terror into their enemies — (see also Marcell. Burdigal. 

 ii. 23) ; and according to Pliny xxii. 2, the British matrons and bride preparing to walk naked in 

 certain religious ceremonies, smear the whole body with " glastum " so as to imitate the colour of 

 Ethiopians : the two names are evidently translations, one from the other : L. vulgaris according to 

 Lyte is called gipsey-wort, because those people "colour themselves black with this herbe " (Prior) ; 

 an account repeated by Withering, and Burnett states that the plant " is known to make a good black 

 dye" (Lindl.). L. vulgaris is described by Matthioli p. 711, and Plukenet aim. pi. 45; is termed 

 " 1. palustris glaber" by Tournefort inst. 191; was observed by Forskal near Marseilles, and is 

 known to grow in Barbary and Portugal and throughout middle Europe as far as Sweden (Desf., 

 Brot., and Wats.). Eastward, was observed by Forskal, and Sibthorp, from the Peloponnesus to 

 Smyrna and Constantinople, troublesome in gardens ; and is known to grow along the Taurian moun- 

 tains and throughout Siberia as far as China (Gmel., Bieb., and Lindl.). Farther East, was observed 

 by Scouler at the Straits of De Fuca, and is known to grow from the Saskatchewan and Arkansas 

 throughout Canada and our Atlantic States as far as Florida (Ell., Nutt, Druram, A. Gray, and 

 Chapm.). According to Lindley, occurs also in the Southern Hemisphere, in Tasmania and 

 Australia. 



"54. B. C." (Cic, and Clint), Second expedition of Caesar into Britain. And "in the winter,'' 

 his war in Gaul against Ambiorix. 



" 53 B. C." (Dio, and Clint.), death of M. L. Crassus, defeated beyond the Euphrates by the 

 Parthians. Taking advantage of the situation, Pharnaces II began to extend his authority beyond 

 the limits assigned by the Romans; — and on the breaking out of civil war, defeated the combined 

 forces of the Romans and Galatians, and obtained possession of Colchis, lesser Armenia, and the 

 whole of Pontus (Sm. b. d.). 



"52 B. C." (Cic, Dio, and Clint.), after the death of P. Clodius, Pompey created sole consul. 



"51, May'' (Porphyr., Clint, iii. p. 400 and Sm. b. d.), in Egypt, accession of Cleopatra, in con- 

 junction with her brother Ptolemy XII. Her hieroglyphic ovals occur on various monuments ; as on 

 the small temple built by her at Erment or Hermonthis. She also founded the temple at Dendera. 



" 50 B C." (Cic, Blair, and Clint.), Caesar ordered by the Senate to disband his army, and 

 refusing unless Pompey should do the same, commencement of civil war. 



Hardly later than this date, the medical sect of Methodici founded by Themison, a pupil of 

 Asclepiades of Bithynia. He is regarded as the first physician who employed leeches — (C. Aurel. 

 morb. chron. i. 1. p. 286). He died " B. C. 43 " (Sm. b. d.). 



Plantago lagopus of the Mediterranean countries. The "minor" of two kinds seemingly 

 included in the " vulgarem herbam plantaginem" celebrated by Themison, growing in meads and 

 having narrower and blacker leaves closely resembling a sheep's tongue, its stem angular inclined 

 towards the ground — (Plin. xxv. 39), or the " arnogl6ss6n mikron " having according to Dioscorides 

 narrower softer smoother and more delicate leaves, its stem angular inclined towards the ground, 

 flowers pale yellowish and seed at the top of the stem, is referred here by Sibthorp, and Fraas : P. 

 lagopus was observed by them, and Chaubard, abounding in dry sunny situations from the Pelopon- 

 nesus throughout the Greek islands. Farther South, the "radschil elarnab " is mentioned by Ebn 

 Baitar ; and P. lagopus was observed by Rauwolf 6 in Syria, by Delile around Cairo in Egypt. 

 Westward, the " arnoglosson " is identified in the Syn. Diosc. with the "plantago minor" of the 

 Romans : P. lagopus is described by Morison iii. pi. 16 ; is termed " p. angustifolia paniculis lagopi " 

 by Tournefort inst. 127, and is known to grow in Spain and Southern France (Pers., and Bory)° 



Juniperus sabina of Europe and Northern Asia. Called in Britain savine from the Sabine dis- 

 trict of Italy (Prior), in France " savinier " or " sabine " (Nugent), in Italy "sabina" (Lenz), in 

 which we recognize the "erva savina " of the Romans identified in Syn. Diosc. with the B PA6YOC 

 of Themison — (Asclepiad., and Gal. comp. med. gen. vii. 12), and of the two kinds described by 

 Dioscorides, the " vrathu etgron " having tamarisk-like leaves : J. sabina was observed by Sibthorp, 

 and Fraas, on the mountains of Greece, Parnassus, the Bithynian Olympus ; is known to grow also 

 throughout Siberia as far as the mountains of Daouria (Gmel., and Pall, pi 56), or according to A. 

 Decandolle throughout two-thirds of the Subarctic circuit of the Globe. Westward from Greece, 

 the "brathys" is mentioned by Scribonius Largus 154, is identified by Pliny xvii. 21 and xxiv. 61 

 with the "herba sabina " cultivated in Italy, mentioned also by Propertius iv. 3. 58, and Columella : 

 the "savina" is enumerated among cultivated plants in the Capitularia of Charlemagne, and J. sabina 



