To The Trader. 
vvorkes that haue come to vs are fiue bookes de materia cMedrca. One de letahlus vwend, 
eoriimq^pracaatitne et curatione : another de Cane rabido,de<fctietis qn/eworjiis itfujvt amwali- 
nmvenenum reltnqucntium Jeqmmur : a third J?e mum curatione. Thcic eight bookes with- 
in thefe two laft centuries oi yearcs haue been tranflated out of Greeke into Latine, and 
commented vponby'diuers, as Hermolaus Barbaras Johannes l<uelUus,MarcellusVtrgtLus,&iC. 
But ofthefeand the reft, as they offer themfelues, l (hall fay fomewhat hereafter. There 
is alfo another worke which goes vnder his name, and may well be his. It is 1/1 
tie de facile parabilibusfiimded into twobookes, tranflated and confirmed with the confent 
of other Greeke Phyfitions, by the great labour of Uhn < jMoibane a lfliyfitionof Auf- 
purge,who lined not to finifh it, but left it to bee perfected and let forth by Connate 
Gef/ier . 
Pliny. The next that takes place is the laborious Cuius plimtis [cntndusyvho iiued in the time 
of Fejjrafurtjmd was fufrocatcd by the fulphureous vapours that came from mount Veflt- 
vius, falling at that time on firc ; he through ouernmeh curiofitie to fee and finde out the 
caufe thereof approching too nigh, and this was Domini, 73. Hereadand writ ex- 
ceeding much,though by the iniurie of time wee haue no more of his than 37. books 
de Ihftona <jMundt. which alio haue rccciued fuch wounds, as haue tried tile belt skill of 
our Cricickes, and yet in my opinion in forne places requite med/cas w onus, From the 
twelfth to the end of the twencie feuenth of thefe bookes hellcats of Plants, more from 
' what he found written in other Authors,than from any certaine knowledge of his ownc, 
in many places following the method and giuing the words of The'sfhrafius , and in other 
places thofe D wfcondis ,thoivfh he neuer make mention of the later of them 1 he alfo 
mentions, and no queftion followed many other Authors, whofe writings haue long fince 
perilhed. Sometimes he is pretty large,and otherwhiles fo briefe, that fcarce any thing 
can thence be gathered. From thefeuenteenthvnto the twentie feuenth be varioufly han- 
dles them, what method you may quickly fee by his Elenchus, contained in bis firfF book, 
but in the twenty feuenth hee handles thofe whereof hee had made no, or not futficient 
mention, after an Alphabetical! order, beginning with tdEthyopisjAgeratum^dloe, &c.lb 
going on to the reft. 
I muftnotpafleouerin filence, neither need I long infill vpon G.den , Paulus v&qineta, 
and ^Aetius fox they haue only alphabetically named Plants and other firnpleMedicines, 
briefely mentioning their temperature and faculties, without deferiptions (forne very few, 
and thofe briefe ones, excepted )and other things pertinent to their biftorie. 
The next that prefent themfelues are two counterfeits , who abufe the World vnder 
feined titles, and their names haue much more antiquitie than the works themfelues: th« 
full goes vnder the title of -Mmilms Maeera famous Poet, of whom Os;:/ makes mention 
in thefe verfes; 
Safe fuxs volucres legit mihi grandiir avo, 
J2jaeq-, nocet Serpens, qua iuuat herba Uacer. 
Pliny alfo makes mention of this iMacer .- hee in his Poems imitated Nicander, but this 
worke that now is carried about vnder his name, is written in a rude, and fomewbatbar- 
barous verfe,far different from the (file of thofe times wherein Macer liued,and no way in 
the fubiedl immitating Nicander. It feemes to haue beene written about 400 ot 500 
yearesagoe. 
The other al fo is of an vnknowne Author, to whom the Punters haue giuen the title 
of Aptdeiua Madaurcnfts, and fome haue been foabfurdly bold of late, as toputitvntothe 
workesof t^ipulciu-s ■, yet the vneurious ftile and method of the whole booke will con- 
uince them of errour, if there were no other argument. Ihauefeene fome foure manu- 
feripts of this Authour, and heard ofa fifth, and all of them leemetobeeof good Anti- 
quitie : the figures of them all for the moll part haue fome refemblance each of other : 
the firft of thefe I faw fome nine yeares agoe with that worthy loner and ftorer of Anti- 
quities, Sir Robert Colton. ■ it was in a faire Saxon hand, and as I remember in the Saxon 
tongue ; bat what title it carried,! at that time was not curious to obferue. I faw alfo 
anotherafter that, which feemed not to be ofany fmall (landing, but carelefly obferued 
not the title. But fince I being informed by my friend Mafler Goodyer fas you may finde 
in the Chapter of Saxifrage of the Antients) that his Manufcript which was very anti- 
ent, acknowledged no fuch Author as Apuleius, I begunne a little to examine fome other 
Manu(cripts,fo I procured a very faire one of my much honored friend S'. Theod.Mayern.- 
in the veriebeginning of th is is writ. In hoc continentur libri quatuor medicine Tpocraiis , Pla- 
tonic Apelienfis vrbnclc diaerfis herbis - } Sexti Papiri placitiex Awmakbits.Zcc. A little after 
Calm. 
f.ului. 
■itiuu- 
mcey. 
