Lib. 2, 
Of the Hiftorie of Plants, 
6°l 
The Defcription. 
I 'T' Hrift is alfo a kind of Giliofloure.by Dodon&m reckoned among grades, w hich brings 
forth Icaucs in great tufts, thick thrtift together,fmaller,flenderer,& fliorter than grade: 
among which rife vp fmall tender ftalkesofafpanne high, naked and without leaues j on the tops 
wherupon ftand little floures in a fpokie tuft,ofa white colour tending to purple. The root is lon°- 
and threddie. 
The other kinde of Thrift, found vpon the mountainesneerevnto the Leuant or Mediterranean 
fea,differeth not from theprecedent in leaues, ftalkes, or floures, but yet is altogether greater, and 
.the leaues are broader. 
The Place. 
2 The firft is found in themoft fait marfhes inEngland,asalfoin Gardens, for the bordering vp 
qfbeds and bankes,for tha-which it ferueth very fitly. The other is a ftranger in thefe Northcrne 
Regions. 
*| The Time. 
They floure from May, till Sommer be far (pent. 
The Names '. 
Thrift is called in \.aus\eGramenPolyamhemum, of the multiaideofthefloures : of fome, Gra- 
menmanmim-. of Lobel^Carpophfilus Mariftu* ; InEnglifh, Thrift, Sea-gra'ffe,and our Ladies Cu- 
fhion. 
y The Temperature and Vertues. 
Their vfe in Phy ficke as yet is not knowne, neither doth any feeke into the Nature thereof, blit 
efteeme them onely for their beautie and pleafurc. 
Chap. i88j Of the Saxifrage of the zAntients, and of 
that great one of Mattbiolm y with that of 
‘Pena and Lobel. 
J Hr His name Saxifiaga or Saxifrage , hath of late been impofed vpon fiindry plants farre 
J[ different in their fhapes, places ofgrovving,& temperature, but all agreeing in this one 
facultie of expelling or driuing the ftohe out of the Kidneies, though not all by one 
meane or manner of operation . But becaufe almoft all of them are deferibed in their fit places by 
our Authour,I will not infift vpon them : yet I thinke it not amiffe a little to enquire, whether any 
Saxifiaga were knowne to the Antients , and if knovvne,toVhat kinde it may probably be referred. 
Ofthc Antients, Diofiorides, Paulas tAirineta, and Apuleius,fec me to mention one Saxifiaga, but Plt- 
njjih.12. cap.n. by the way, fhevves that fome called Adtanthum by thenameof Saxifiagum: but 
this is nothing to the former ; wherefore I will not infift vpon it, but returne to examine that the 
other three haue written thereof. Diofi.lib. 4 . betweene the Chapters of Tribulm and Limonium y 
to wit.in the feuenteenth place hath deliuered the Hiftorie of this plant, both in the Greeke Edi- 
tion of Aldus Manutius ,as alfo in that of Marccllus Virgilutspjttt the whole Chapter in the Paris E- 
dition,t549,is reieded and put amongft the Notha. The beginning thereof (againft which they 
chiefelv except) is thus: a: (g) Sarxiphaaon y alij vero Sarxi- 
fiangengli] vero Empetrongomanifiarxifidnga.lhe firft exception of' c Marcellus Vtrgilius againft this 
Chapter is peregrins Grxcis g aliens vox Saxifiaga ty'fefc.Thc fecond is ^filgpd multofiliciorcs in com- 
ponendis adeertiorem ret alicuiits fignificationem vocibus Graci 1 cjuam Latwi^&c.Thc third is ,Solaminto- 
to hoc opere primaix aprmcipio propofitam audiri Romanam voeem , tarnefue mopes in appellanda hac herba 
fuijfe Gr*ces,-vt nip Romans voce earn indicaffent , nulla phi fitter a efiet. Thefe are the arguments which 
he vfes againft this Chapter j yet reiedfs it not, but by this means hath occaiioned others without 
fhewing any reafon, to doe it : Now I will let downe what my opinion is concerning this mat- 
ter, and fo leaue it to the judgement of the Learned. I grant Marccllus ± chat Saxifiaga is a ftrange and 
no Greeke word ; but the name in the title, and firft in the Chapter both in his owne Edition and 
all the Greeke Editions that I haue yet feene is which none, no not he himfelfecan de- 
nie to haue a Greeke originally a of eating the fleflr : yet becaufe there is no fitch fa- 
cultie as this denomination imports attributed thereto by the Authour, therefore hee will nor al- 
low' it to be fo. But you muft note tl many names are impofed by thevulgar,and the reafon of 
the name not alwais explained by thofe - a haue written of them, as in this fame Author may be 
feene 
