THE 



THE 



lobes, attaohed to the fides of each fcgment of the dilk, 

 underneath. Pi/?. Germcn fuperior, ovate ; ftyle cyhn- 

 drical, the length of tiie ftamens, ereft ; ftigma in five ob- 

 tufe lobes. Pfrii:. Berry globofe, coated, of one cell. 

 Seeds feveral, roundifh, fomcvvhat compreflcd. 



Eff. Ch. Corolla bell-fliaped, in five obtufe fpreading 

 fegments, with a nciSlary of five incumbent glands. Berry 

 coated, of one cell, with feveral ieeds. 



I. Th. americaim. Large-fruited Theophraila. Linn. 

 Sp. PI. 212. WiUd. n. I. Swartz Obf. 59. (Erefia 

 foliis aquifolii longiflimis ; Plum. Ic. 119. t. 126.) — Leaves 

 obtufe. Clullers terminal, ereft. — Native of barren dry 

 buihy fliady places in Hifpaniola. Stvartz. Stem (lirubby, 

 one or two feet high, ereft, fimple, leafy in its upi)er half, 

 round, thorny, clothed with rufty down. Leaves oppofitc 

 or whorlcd, on very fhort ftalks, ereft, oblong-lanceolate, 

 obtufe, tapering at the bafe, very rigid, ferrated ; their ler- 

 ratures alternately inflexed and reflexed, each tipped with a 

 fmall, prominent, rigid, black-pointed fpine. Footjlalks thick, 

 rufous, clofely preffed to the Item. ■Clujlers {hort, terminal, 

 from the midft of the terminal leaves, many-flowered, par- 

 tial Jloiver-Jfalks numerous, fhort, curved, fingle-flowcred. 

 Fruit two inches in diameter, yellow, brittle, often for the 

 mofl part hollow or empty, its receptacle juicy at the bottom. 

 Seeds black, hard, attached by their bafe. Swartz. We 

 prefume the chifters, from Plumier's figure, to be ereft, and 

 l\\i feeds numerous. 



2. Th. longifoUa. Small-fruited Theophrafla. Jacq. 

 Coll. V. 4. 136. Hort. Schoenbr. v. 1. 62. t. 116. 

 Willd. n. 2. — Leaves acute. Clufters lateral, drooping. — 

 Native of the Caraccas. It flowered in the ftove at Schoen- 

 brun from Augufl till November. Thejlem is faid to be 

 twenty feet high, but always unbranched. Leaves imper- 

 feftly whorled, near two feet long, reclining, with fpinous 

 ferratures, fmooth, of a dark fhining green, with nume- 

 rous tranfverfe veins from the mid-rib. Clujlers numerous, 

 fcattercd between the whorls of leaves, ftalked, drooping, 

 a fpan long, of numerous little orange-coloured or fcarlet 

 Jlowers. Fruit in its native country about an inch in dia- 

 meter, with about four feeds ; but in the garden it did not 

 attain more than half that fize, and pcrfefted only one. If 

 there be no miftake in Dr. Swartz's defcription of the firft 

 fpecies, there is a prodigious difference between the flature 

 of the two. Yet we have a fufpicion, that they may pof- 

 fibly not be more than varieties of each other. As to the 

 generic chai'after, Plumier's reprefentation of the parts of 

 the Jloiver is too impcrfeft for us to fuppofe him more right 

 than the faithful Jacquin. Swartz's defcription may eafily 

 be reconciled with the Hortus Schoenbrunenjis. 



THEOPHRASTICS, a name given to the followers 

 of Paracelfus, from liis name Theophraftus. 



THEOPHRASTUS, in Biography, a diftinguifhed 

 Greek philofopher, the favourite pupil of Ariflotle, and 

 nominated by him as his fucceffor in the fchool of the Ly- 

 ceum, was born at Erefium, a maritime town of Lcfbos, 

 in the fecond year of the I02d Olympiad, B.C. 371. His 

 firfl rudiments of education were received under Alcippus 

 in his own country, and being fent by his father to Athens, 

 he became firft a difciple of Plato and afterwards of Arif- 

 totle. Such were his natural talents, that, under fuch tui- 

 tion, he made great progrefs both in philofophy and elo- 

 quence : fo that l;is original name, Tyrtamus, was changed, 

 either by his mafter or his followers, into Theophraftus. 

 After he undertook the Peripatetic fchool in the year B.C. 

 J23, his reputation was fo diftinguifiied, that the number of 

 his fcholars was about 2000. His erudition and engaging 

 manners recommended him to the notice of Caffander and 



Vol. XXXV. 



Ptolemy : by tlie former he was invited to Macedon, and 

 by the latter to Egypt ; and among the Athenians he 

 was fo great a favourite, that, when he was accufed by 

 one of his enemies of teaching impious doftrincs, the ac- 

 cuier could not without difficulty cfcape the punifliment 

 which he endeavoured to bring upon Theophraftus. Theo- 

 phraftus is no lefs highly celebrated for his generofity and 

 public fpirit, than for his induilry, learning, and eloquence. 

 He is faid to have twice favcd his country from the oppref- 

 fion of tyrants ; and he contributed liberally towards de- 

 fraying the expence of public meetings held by philofophcrs 

 for learned and ingenious convcrfation. In the public 

 fchools he appeared, after the manner of Ariftotle, in an 

 elegant drefs, and was very attentive to the graces of elocu- 

 tion : and hence it is faid he obtained the appellation of 

 Theophraftus, the divine fpeaker. Towards the clofe of life, 

 wliich was prolonged to the age of 85 }4ars, he becam* very 

 infirm, and was conveyed to the fchool in a carriage. In 

 contemplating the fhortnefs of life, he cxpreffed great re- 

 gret ; complaining that long life was granted to ftags and 

 crows, to whom it was of little value, but was denied to 

 man, who, if it were of longer duration, might attain the 

 fummit of fcience : whereas now, as foon as he arrives 

 within fight of it, lie is taken away. His laft advice to his 

 difciples was, that fince it ia the lot of man to die as fopn as 

 he begins to live, they fliould take greater pains to enjoy life 

 as it pafTes, than to acquire poflhumous fame. A large 

 body of Athenians attended his funeral. 



The works of Theophraftus comprehended a variety of 

 fubjefts, and were numerous. His doftrinc differed in fpme 

 refpedls from that of his mafter Ariftotle. Pie taught 

 that the predicaments, or categories, were as numerous as the 

 motions and changes to which beings are liable ; and that 

 among motions, or changes, are to be reckoned defires, ap- 

 petites, judgments and thoughts. He maintained, that all 

 things are not produced from contraries ; but fome from con- 

 traries, fomefrom fimilar caufes, and fome from fimple energy ; 

 that motion is not to be diftinguiflied from aflion ; and that 

 there is one divine principle of all things, by which all 

 things fubfift. By this divine principle, it is thought that 

 Theophraftus meant tlie Firft Mover, without whom other 

 things could not be moved, and therefore could not fubfift. 

 Of his moral maxims, the follovi'ing are the raoft worthy of 

 notice. " Refpeft yourfelf, and you will never have reafon 

 to be afliamed before others. Love is the pafTion of an in- 

 dolent mind. Blufliing is the complexion of virtue. Time 

 is the moft precious expenditure." 



Few of his works, of which Diogenes Lacrtius enume- 

 rates more than 200, have reached our time : of thefe, the moll 

 famous is entitled " Charafters," defcribing different moral 

 clalfes of men, fuch as the flatterer, the impudent, the dif- 

 contented, the garrulous, the fuperilitious, &c. ; fo diftin- 



fuiflied and defcribed, as to fhew great knowledge of man- 

 ind. Of his other works on natural hiftory, the prin- 

 cipal are his " Hiftory of Plants," in nine books, which 

 Haller has particularly recommended to tlie notice of bota- 

 nical ftudents ; "On the Caufes of Plants," relating chiefly to 

 the natural and artificial means of bringing them to maturity ; 

 to agriculture and horticulture; to the taftes and odours of 

 vegetables; « On Stones;" " On Winds ;" " On Fire j" 

 " On Honey ;" " On the Signs of Fair Weather, and of 

 Tempefts and Rain ;" " On Animals which change their 

 Colour ;" " On Animals which are born fuddenly ;" " On 

 Fifh which live out of Water." Theophraftus ranks 

 amongft the moft diftinguifhed of the ancients for compre- 

 henfive genius and dihgent enquiry into nature. The lall 

 edition of the whole extant works of Theophrallus is that 

 3Q of 



