4 ,C H A P T E It 1 , 
articles. There is room to believe, thaf 
the antient Gymnofophijis of the Eaft, pur- 
fued the ftudj of plants, with a fuecefs 
equal to that of the Greeks ; and the ma- 
dern nations of the Eaft, the Japonefe, the 
Chinefe, and the Brachmans of India, incon- 
teftibly excel the enlightened nations of 
Greece and Rome^ in their knowledge of 
Botany : witnefs the Garden of Mala- 
bar,'' which comprehends near eight hun- 
dred plants ; all which are defcribed, and 
the virtues recorded, with an accuracy and 
precilion, unexampled in the antient au- 
thors of Greece and Rome, But to approach 
nearer home : the Druids of Gaul, and of 
Britain, cultivated the knowledge of herbs^ 
with no inconfiderable diligence. Whether 
thefe antient Magi oi the Weft, who were 
both priefts and phyficians, fprung from 
thofe of the Eaft, and thus derived their 
knowledge from a common fource, a point 
which has hitherto divided the learned, or, 
whether their fcience was the refult of their 
own inveftigation, I muft leave to the cri- 
tical antiquary to determine. 
X 
