Old S^^tural History Books, 
nothing in Geology as now understood, although it is interesting 
to note in passing that he maintained the earth to be a spherical 
body, while he was acquainted with the occurrence of fossils in 
the rocks, and discussed the changes on the earth’s surface 
necessary to account for them. 
It was Aristotle’s favourite pupil Theophrastus [b.c. 371- 
286], to whom he bequeathed his MSS., who took up the 
subjects of Botany and Mineralogy. Theophrastus described 
some 500 kinds of Plants used in Medicine, which he roughly 
grouped according to size and texture, or use. He theorized on 
the existence of sexes in plants, but made no observations 
himself. Minerals were at that time classified into “ Metals ” 
and “ Stones,” and only his treatise on Stones has survived : it 
is chiefly interesting as showing what characters were made 
use of at that time for the discrimination of Minerals and the 
description of the species, as well as a record of the places of 
their occurrence. 
After many vicissitudes, which included burial in a cata¬ 
comb, the remains of the combined MSS. of Aristotle and 
Theophrastus passed into the hands of Apellicon of Teos 
[ -B.c. 85], who attempted their restoration and had them 
copied. The transcripts were afterwards seized by Sylla and con¬ 
veyed to Rome, where they were subsequently edited and given 
to the world by Andronicus of Rhodes ; but their real publication 
dates from 1495, when they were first printed in the original 
Greek by the celebrated Venetian printer, Aldus Manutius. No. 4 
A Latin translation by T. Gaza of Theophrastus’ De hist or ia 
et causis Plantarum^ had, however, been printed at Treviso 
in 1483. 
GEOLOGY, or more strictly speaking, physical geography, 
first received serious attention at the hands of Strabo 
[b.c. 63 ? - A.D. 24], who originated the theory of the altera¬ 
tions of the level of the land in relation to the sea, in contra¬ 
distinction to the former belief in the changes of the sea-level. 
His Geographicon^ which was written in the early years of the 
Christian Era, was printed, from the Latin translation, at Venice 
in 1472 by Vindelinus de Spira, and appeared in the original 
Greek in 1516 from the press of Aldus Manutius. 
7 
