To the Reader, 
to be drawne. T beophtaftua as he followed Arijlotle in the Schoo)e,fo alfo in his manner of 
writing, for according as Anjlotle hath deliuered his fhjloria lAmmalium Co hath hc-e fet 
forth this of Plants, not by writing of each ffiecies in particular, but of thei r differences and Tbupb.Mti 
naturej) their parts, ajfethens, generations and life. Which how hard a thing it was, hee tells 
you in his fecond Chapter, and renders you this reafon , Becaufe there i; nothing common to 3 v*. a 
all.Vlants,as the mouth and belly is toother lining creatures, &c. Novvbythis manner of wri- cs,fn"“-'T 
ting you may learnc the generall differences and affections of Plants, butcannot come to 
the particular knowledge of any without much labour : for you mult goe to many places 
to gathervp the defeription of one Plant: neither doth hee (nor is it neceffarie for am ; 
writing in this manner)make mention ofany great number, and of many it may bee but 
once. His workes being in Greekc were tranflated into Latineby Theodore Gaza who did 
them but Grace fide, Co: he omitted feme things,otherwhiies rendred them contrary to the 
mindeof the Author :but abouc all, he tookc to bimfelfe too much libertie in giuin<r of 
names in imitation of the Greeke,or of his owne inuention, when it had beene better by 
much for his Reader toh.iue had them in the Greeke,as when he renders Aftato- 
rium,ittifi-mn Solaris, &ec. The learned Julius Scaliger hath fet forth Ammaducrjionesvaon 
thefe bookes, wherein he hath both much explained the minde of Theophraftus, and fhew- 
ed the errours oC.Gaza. Some fince his timehaue promifed to do fomethingto this Au- 
thors Daniel Hetnfms, and Spigeltus,bm twencie yeares are pad fince, and I haue not yet 
heard ofany thing done in this kinde by either of them.Thus much for Tbeophrajlus . 1 
Let me not paffe ouer Arijlotle in file nee, though his bookes writ of this fubieeft were AriUnta 
but two,and thefe according to the coniefture of lulius Scaliger (who hath made a large ' 
andcurfous examination ol them) haue either petifhcd,or come to vs not as they were o- 
riginally writtenfoy Arijlotle fmt as they haue been by fome later man put into Greekc. 
Amongft other things Scaliger hath thefe concerning thofetwo bookes : Rear i textrma 
7 heofihr ajli-detr all a ftla qusdamfjq, clavos additos,tamet[i neque aureos, nequepurpureos.Chtod 
ft prot mtis autorem tjibt dart vis ad A rah am diligent iam propius accedtt: And afterwards thus : 
(Attribute viri do cl i, alius alij , at qtt idem qtu alt or urn viderem nihil Planudem autorem fa Citn- 
ti malim afentiri^xtant enim illins a/ijs in libris fimilis vejigiafemtlatinietaiis, &C. Thus much 
for Arijlotle , whom as you fee I haue placed after his Scholler, becaufe there is fiich doubt 
of thefe bookes carried abouc in his name, and for that Scaliger as you fee thinks them 
rather taken out oCTheophraJlus,tha.n written by his Matter. 
The next that orderly follower is Pedacius Diofcorides Ana^arbeus, who lined (accor- viifimietj 
ding to Sutdasfm the time of Cleopatra,w hich was fome few yeares before the birth of our 
Sauiour.Now Saidas hath confounded * D iofeondes Anai{arbeus with Diofcorides Phacac , but A/a- 
by fome places in Galen you i may fee they were different men : for our Anazarbean D 10 fcb- 
rides was of the Empericke feet, but the other was a follower of Herophylus and of che Ra- &c ’ s,id - 
tionali fed.Hewtit not only of Plants, but de tot a materia medtca i to which ttudieheewas 
addifted euen from his chiide-hood, which made him trauell much ground, and leade a 
militaric life, the better toaccompliijj his endsiand in this he attained to char perfeaion, 
that few ot none fince his time haue attained to, of the exceliencie of his worke,whiCh is 
as it were the foundation and ground-worke of all that hath been fince deliuered in this ver.mpt.mi, 
nature. Heare what Galen one of the excellenteft of Phy fitions,and one who fpent no final faiuitM.a, 
time in this ftudy,affirmes : But, faith he, the Anazarbean Diofcorides in flue bookes hath />rW " 
written of the neceffarie matter of medicine, notonely making mention of herbes, but 
alfo of trees, fruits, “ liquours and iuices, as alfo of all mineralls,and of che parts of li- xp s,*rs,. 
mng creatures : and in mine opinion he hath with the greaceft perfection performed this 
workc of the matter of Medicine: for although many before him haue written wellvp- 
on this fubieft,yet none haue writ fo well of all. Now Diofcorides followcs not the method 
of Th eop brafi us ,b u t treats of each kinde ofherbe in particular 3 firfl: giuing the narnes 3 then 
the delcripcion 3 and then the place where they vfually grow , and laftly their vertucs. Yet 
of fome, which then were as frequently knowne with them, as Sage, Rofemary, an Afh ot 
Okc tree are with vs,hc hath omitted the defcriptions 3 as not neceffarie, as indeed at that 
time when they were fo vulgarly knowne, they might feeme fo to be : but now wee know 
file Icaft of thefe, and haue nocercaintie,but fome probable conjectures do direct vs to the 
knou ledge of them. He was not curious about his words nor method, but plainelyand 
truly deliuered that whereof he had certaine and experimental! knowledge, concerning 
the deicription and nature of Plants. But the generall method he obferued you may finde 
let rorch by Batddne in his Edition of Matthiolus,[mmcdiit\y after the preface of the firft 
booke, whereto I refer the curious, being too long for me in this place to infill vpon. His 
f % 3 workes 
