222 
HISTORY OP BOTANY. 
plants, of parasites , of culinary herbs, and of flowering plants j he 
remarked upon the uses of each plant, the place where it grew, and 
whether it was woody or herbaceous. He had no idea of genera 
or species; his names were merely local, and his descriptions gen¬ 
erally indefinite. His views upon the physiology of plants , were 
superior to his descriptions of them; he remarked upon their differ¬ 
ent external organs; distinguished the seed lobes (Cotyledons) from 
the leaves; gave just ideas upon their functions, and upon the offi¬ 
ces of the root. He explained their anatomy as well as possible 
without the assistance of the microscope, which (as the science of 
optics was then unknown) had not been invented. Theophrastus 
seemed too much inclined to compare the structure of vegetables to 
that of animals ; imagining that he found in plants, bones, veins, and 
arteries. A shrub which grows in the Antilles is named Theophras- 
ta, in honour of this ancient botanist. 
Dioscorides, a physician of Greek extraction, about the com¬ 
mencement of the Christian era, travelled over Greece, Asia Minor, 
and Italy, in order to observe the plants of those countries; his 
works were written in Greek; he divided plants into four classes, 
viz.: 1st, aromatic , 2d, vinous , 3d, medicinal , and 4th, alimentary y 
or nutritious. The labours of this botanist were of little value in 
after times, on account of want of method in his descriptions. He 
gave the names and properties of 600 plants; but having no idea 
of species or genera, his work was but a chaos of facts, which were 
so imperfectly expressed, as to render it impossible to apply them 
to use. 
The elder Pliny, who lived in the reign of Nero, treated of the his¬ 
tory of plants, but he neglected nature, and derived his science 
from the works of his predecessors. False systems of philosophy 
seemed to fetter the noblest minds, and prevent their pursuing those 
methods of investigation which would have led to a true knowledge 
of nature. The genius of Pliny was vast and active; he conse¬ 
crated to scientific researches and literary works, the leisure which 
public duties left him. His “ History of the World,” which was a 
compilation of all the knowledge of the ancients, upon the subject 
of natural history, the only one of his writings which has escaped 
the ravages of time and barbarians, is but a small portion of his 
labours. He is considered faulty in recording both truth and error, 
often transmitting them without observation or criticism, and some¬ 
times favouring absurd traditions ; but his work is justly admired 
for the greatness of its plan, which embraced the whole of nature, 
for the elegance of its style, and for the wonderful art with which the 
highest considerations of practical philosophy are associated with 
natural history. In the year 79 after Christ, Pliny fell a sacrifice 
to his desire of knowledge, in an eruption of Mount Vesuvius; 
wishing to contemplate as near as possible so sublime a spectacle, 
he perished, suffocated by the sulphureous exhalations. 
Galen, in the second century, wrote upon the medicinal qualities of 
plants, but gave no descriptions. The love of the sciences seemed, 
in the prosperous days of Rome, to be extinguished ; “ Mistress of 
the world,” corrupted by victories, and by tyrants, she had aban¬ 
doned herself to luxury. The false philosophy of the vanquished 
Greeks reigned in the schools of victorious Rome, chasing away 
every trace of true knowledge. Religious fanaticism had also its 
Dioscorides—Pliny—Galen—Condition of science in the most prosperous days of 
Rome. 
