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V IJNTRODUCnON TO BOTANY.
to the 27th book upon plants, as well philosophically as
historically, medically, economically, magically, &c. A
great part of his work is nearly the same as Dioscorides,
who, however, is never quoted by name, and therefore,
considering the candour with which Pliny names the writers
from whom his book was extracted, there is reason to
think that Dioscorides and Pliny wrote about the same
time, and both made use of the same author, either Sextius
Niger, or Diodorus, or Julius Bassus, but more probably,
as it would appear from certain passages in Dioscorides,
of Niger. Pliny, however, was a mere compiler, and
Tvhatever knowledge of plants he might have acquired in
his walks in the physic garden of Antonius Castor, it is
certain that none of it appears in his work, which exhibits
only a collection of memorandums badly translated from
the Greek, in which, for want of critical and botanical
knowledge, numerous mistakes are evident. The design
of the work was grand, but far too vast to be accomplished
by any one man, and especially by one immerged in public
business. The order in which he has disposed his subjects
is very confused. The great value of Pliny's work, therefore,
consists in his having preserved to us the remains of
ancient knowledge on the subject, and especially the application
of it to the arts of life in those remote times, so
that he may be considered as the historian of ancient botany
; and to his indefatigable industry we owe the names
of several hundred substances not mentioned by those other
ancient writers whose works have been preserved ; although
it must be confessed, that much of this knowledge is of httle
use, as the substances denoted by those names are un^
known for want of descrijitions.
The next writer that occurs is Apulejus. This author,
who lived in the second century, was born at Madura in
Africa, which was then a kind of university. He afterwards
studied at Carthage and Athens, and for some time applied
himself to the profession of the law in Rome; but marrying
a rich widow, he retired from ilie bar, and wholly gave
himself up to philosophy and the practice of physic. He
is well known as the author of " The Golden Ass" one of
the few works of amusement, or what is called light reading,
that have descended to us from the ancients. But the
work which entitles him to our notice is his book, De
Herbis, sive de Nominibus et Virtutibus Herbarum. In
this work he gives the synonyuis of l.'^O medicinal herbs in
(^reekj Latin, Egyptian, Punic, Celtic, Daciafl, and of