詞源與文集 第 17 章

ON RURAL MATTERS. I. ON THE AUTHORS OF RURAL MATTERS. Among the Greeks, Hesiod of Boeotia first contributed the skill of writing on rural matters to human studies; then Democritus. Mago the Carthaginian too wrote on the pursuit of agriculture in twenty-eight volumes. But among the Romans, Cato first laid the foundations concerning agriculture; which Marcus Terentius afterwards polished; presently Virgil exalted it with the praise of his songs. Nor did Cornelius Celsus and Julius Atticus, Aemilianus, and Columella, that distinguished orator, have any lesser zeal afterwards; Columella embraced the whole body of that same discipline. They say that a certain private man, by name Homogyrus, first yoked oxen to the plough and was struck by lightning;

but some say that Osiris is the inventor of this art; some say Triptolemus. And here there is a question how Ceres first taught in Greece to turn the earth with iron, but with iron of any sort, not specifically with a ploughshare or a plough. The method of manuring the fields a certain man by name Stercutus first introduced in Italy, whose altar was dedicated by Picus at Rome: he discovered many instruments of agriculture, and first strengthened the fields. Some have thought this same to be Saturn, in order to make greater nobility for him by this name, so that it might sound splendidly and procure the dignity of the title. II. ON THE CULTIVATION OF FIELDS. Cultivation (cultura) is that by which grains or wines are sought with great labour, so called from tilling (incolendo).

For the riches of the ancients lay in these two things: to pasture well and to plough well. The cultivation of the field is: ash, ploughing, letting-lie-fallow, burning of stubble, manuring, harrowing, weeding. Ash (cinis) is the burning by which the field sweats out its useless moisture. Ploughing (aratio) is so called because from bronze (aere) they formerly practised the tillage of the earth, before the use of iron had been discovered. But ploughing is twofold: spring and autumn. Intermission is that by which, on alternate years, the field lying empty recovers its strength. Manuring (stercoratio) is the scattering of dung. But dung (stercus) is so called either because it is strewn (sternitur) upon the fields, or because what is filthy and overflows in the city ought to be wiped away (extergi) [or, which is truer, from Sterces who is also called Sterculus]. The same is fimus, which is cast over the fields.

And it is called fimus [because it becomes a mouse (fiat mus)], that is, the dung which by the common people is called laetamen (that which gladdens), because by its nourishment it makes the sprouts glad (laeta) and renders the fields fat and fruitful. Harrowing (occatio) is when the countrymen, when the sowing has been done and the oxen let go, break up the large clods and shatter them with mattocks: and it is called occatio as it were 'obcaecatio' (a blinding over), because it covers the seeds. To harrow (occare), then, is to cover the seeds, the vines, or the trees with earth. Weeding (runcatio) is to pluck the weeds from the earth; for 'rus' is earth. The furrow (sulcus) is named from the sun (sole) because, being cut open, it takes in the sun. Vervactum is so called as if 'vere actum,' that is, ploughed in spring (verno). Proscissio is the first ploughing, when the field is still hard. Sowing (satio) is so called as if 'the action of the seed' (seminis actio), as if 'the action of things sown' (satorum actio).

But to sow (serere) is so called because this is to be done under a clear sky (sereno caelo), not through showers. Hence too is that Virgilian saying (Georgics 1.299): 'Plough naked, sow naked.' The harvest (messis) is so called from reaping (metendo), that is, from cutting off. But the standing crop (seges) is [so called] from the seed which we cast (iacimus), or from cutting (sectione). III. ON GRAINS. Ceres first began to use crops in Greece and to have standing corn, with seeds transferred from elsewhere. Of her Ovid makes mention, saying (Metamorphoses 5.341): 'Ceres first moved the clod with the curved plough, first gave crops and gentle nourishment to the lands.' Frumenta (grains) are properly those which have ears (aristae), but fruges are the rest. But grains (frumenta) or fruges are so called from 'enjoying' (fruendo), that is, from eating; for the topmost part of the gullet is called frumen.

Primitiae (first-fruits) are properly those which are plucked first from the crops. Wheat (triticum) is named either from threshing (tritura), because when most pure it is stored in the barn, or because its grain is ground and rubbed (teritur). Far is so called because in the beginning it used to be broken (frangeretur); for among the ancients the use of mills did not yet exist, but they broke the grain thrown into a mortar; and this was a kind of grinding. Adoreum is a kind of wheat, which by the common people is also called semen (seed). It was once called ador from eating (edendo), because men first used it, or because in sacrifice bread of that very kind was offered at the altars. Whence too they are called adorea sacrifices. Siligo is a kind of wheat named from being 'selected' (selecto); for in bread its quality is outstanding. Three-month wheat (trimestre) is so named because, sown, it is gathered after three months;

for where, on account of water or some other cause, the ripe sowing has been omitted, a safeguard is sought from this. Alica is a Greek name. Alicastrum is similar to alica, outstanding in weight and goodness. Barley (hordeum) is so called because before the other kinds of grain it first becomes dry (aridum), or because its ear has rows (ordines). Of these there are three kinds. The first is called hexastichum because its ear has six rows; which some call canterinum, since it feeds animals better than wheat, and men more healthfully than bad wheat. The second is distichon, because it has two rows; this many call Galatic. The third is trimestre (three-month), because, when necessity compels, it is sown in spring and quickly gathered. Scandula is named from division (divisione);

for it is twofold and is split (scanditur), that is, divided. Centenum (rye) is so named because in most places the casting of its seed is reborn a hundredfold in the increase of the crop. Hence too millet (milium) is named from the multitude (multitudine) of its fruit. Panicium is so called because in many regions men are sustained by it in place of bread, as it were 'panivicium.' Pistum is from 'pastum' (food). Sesame (sisamum) is a Greek name. Farrago is named from far: for it is a barley-like herb still green, its grains not yet swelling to maturity. We call an ear (spica) of ripe crops by misuse; for properly the spica is when, through the husk of the stalk, that is, its outermost swelling, the awns, still thin, project in the manner of a little spike. The awn (arista) is so called because it first dries up (arescat).

The stalk (culmus) is the very reed of the ear which grows from the roots: and it is called culmus as it were calamus (reed). The husk (folliculum) is the sheath of the grain in which the kernel is kept within. This, being furnished with a rampart over the ear, holds out a defence, lest the ear be stripped of its own fruits by the bites of the smaller birds, or be trodden down by feet. The stalk-leaves (stipulae) are the leaves or sheaths by which the stalk is encircled and supported, lest it be bent by the weight of the crop, which encircle the stalk: and stipula is so called as if 'usta' (burned), and as if 'ustipula.' Stipula (stubble) is named from 'burned' (usto); for when the harvest has been gathered, it is burned for the cultivation of the field. Likewise stubble is so called either because part of it is burned, or part is sometimes cut off in place of chaff. Chaff (palea) is said by some to be so called because it is winnowed with a shovel (pala) so that the grains may be cleansed.

But the Gentiles named chaff (palea) from a certain Pales, the discoveress of crops, whom they will have to be Ceres. Of whom Virgil (Georgics 3.1): 'Thee too, great Pales, and thee, O one to be remembered, will we sing.' Likewise others say chaff (palea) is named from fodder (pabulo), because it alone was first offered in the pasturing of animals. Its nature is on the contrary so cold that it does not allow buried snow to melt, yet so warm that it compels apples to ripen. IV. ON PULSES. Legumes (legumina) are so called from 'gathering' (legendo), as it were 'chosen'; for the ancients gathered whatever was better; or because they are gathered by hand and do not require cutting. There are very many kinds of legumes, of which the bean, the lentil, the pea, the kidney-bean, the chickpea, and the lupine seem more agreeable for the use of men.

The Greek bean took its name from eating, as if 'faga'; for in Greek 'phagein' means 'to eat.' For men first used this legume as food. Of it there are two kinds, one common, the other Egyptian. The bean is called 'fresa' because men 'fredant' it, that is, they break it, and crush it small by grinding. The lentil is so named because it is moist and pliant ('lenta'), or because it clings to the ground ('humi'). Now 'faselus' (the kidney-bean) and 'cicer' (the chickpea) are Greek names. But 'faselus'... The lupine too is a Greek name, of which Virgil says: 'and the sad lupines,' because they sadden the face of the one tasting them with their bitterness; whence, on account of their bitterness, neither worm nor any animal eats them. Medick, vetch, and bitter-vetch are the best of fodder plants.

Medick ('Medica') is so called because it was brought over from the Medes into Greece at the time when Xerxes, king of the Persians, invaded it. It is sown once and lasts ten years, so that it can be cut four or six times a year. The vetch ('vicia') is so named because it scarcely ('vix') attains a threefold yield, whereas other legumes have a fertile increase; whence also Virgil says: 'as the slender crop of the vetch.' The pea ('pisum'), because with it some small amount of gold used to be weighed; for 'pis' means gold. 'Ervum' (bitter-vetch) draws its name from the Greek, for they call it 'orobos'; and although it is harmful to certain cattle, yet it makes bulls fat. V. ON VINES. Noah first established the planting of the vine, while the age was still rude. Among the Greeks, however, Liber is said to be called the inventor of the vine;

whence also the pagans wished him to be a god after his death. The vine ('vitis') is so called because it has the power ('vim') of taking root quickly. Others think that vines are so named because they interweave themselves with one another by tendrils ('vittis') and, by creeping, bind themselves to neighbouring trees. For their nature is flexible, and they grip whatever they seize as if with certain arms. The wild vine ('labrusca') grows on the borders of fields; whence it is called 'labrusca,' from the lips ('labra') and edges of the land. The tree-trunk ('codex') is so called as if 'caudex.' For thus the ancients used also to say 'clodus' for 'claudus' (lame).

The vine-shoot ('sarmentum') is named from planting ('serere'), as if 'serimentum.' The 'malleolus' is a new branch grown from the last year's shoot, so named from its resemblance to the thing, because in that part where it is cut off it projects from the old shoot on either side and presents the appearance of a hammer ('malleus'). 'Spadones' are sprigs lacking fruit, so named from that very appellation, because they are unfit for fruit and afflicted with barrenness. The countryfolk call the very tip of a sprig the 'arrow' ('sagitta'), either because it has drawn farther from the mother-plant and, as it were, leapt forth, or because by the slenderness of its point it presents the appearance of a weapon. The topmost parts of vines and shrubs are called 'flagella' (whips), because they are stirred by the wind's blast. The 'palmes' (vine-branch) is the soft substance of the vine which, sent out through the young arms, bears fruit;

for this reason the countryfolk call this part of the vine the 'palmes.' For 'palmes' is a diminutive noun, which is called a 'derived' name ('paragogum'), because it is derived from 'palma' (palm). For 'palma' has the primary noun, which is called the principal, because it produces from itself a derivative. The 'pampinus' (vine-leaf) is the foliage by whose aid the vine is defended from cold or heat and fortified against every injury. It is therefore in places cut through, so that it may both admit the sun to ripen the fruit and cast shade. And it is called 'pampinus' because it hangs down from the vine-branch ('palmes'). The tendrils ('capreoli') are so called because they seize ('capiant') the trees.

For they are the curls or little hooks by which the vines are wont to entwine themselves and hang from trees, so that, relying on this support, the vine-branches may scorn the winds and whirlwinds, and sustain their fruits without the peril of falling, and defend themselves by their rambling height. The 'corymbi' are the rings which bind and grasp whatever is nearest, lest the vine-branches, loosened too far, be scattered by the blasts of the winds. Grapes ('uvae') are so called because within they are full of moisture ('humor'), of juice and richness. For 'humidum' is what has moisture on the outside; 'uvidum' what has it within. The berry ('acina'). The cluster ('botrus'). The 'racemus' (sprig) is a part of the 'botryo' (bunch); and 'botryo' is Greek. Certain grapes are called 'suburban' because their fruit is sold for food, like an apple, in the cities;

for both their appearance and the pleasantness of their flavour commend them. Among these are the early-ripening, the hard-berried, the purple, the date-grapes, the Rhodian, the Libyan, the 'ceraunian,' the 'stephanite,' the 'tripedanean,' the 'unciarian,' the Cydonian. But durable throughout the whole winter are the 'venuculae' and the Numisian. They are called 'praecoquae' (early-ripe) because they ripen quickly and are cooked by the sun before all others. These the Greeks call 'lageos,' because they run swiftly to ripeness like a hare. The purple are named from colour; the 'unciarian' from size; the date-grapes from length; the 'stephanite' from roundness. The Rhodian and Libyan are named from regions; the 'ceraunian' because they redden like fire. Now the kinds of grapes which serve for wine are very many. Among these is the one called 'aminea,' as if 'without minium' ('sine mineo'), that is, without redness;

for it yields white wine. And although it be of one name, it does not yield one kind: there are two twin 'amineae,' so called because they put forth double grapes; the 'woolly aminea,' because it grows woolly with down more than all the rest. The 'rubelliana' is so called because its substance reddens ('rubet'). The 'faecinia' has grapes of small berries and hard skin; in nobility it follows the 'aminea,' in fruitfulness it surpasses it. It is accordingly called 'faecinia' because it brings forth more lees ('faeces') than the others. The 'apianae' make a sweet wine; unless you gather them quickly, they are infested by rains and winds and especially by bees ('apes'); from whose plundering they are named 'apianae.' The 'balanitae' took their name from their size; for in Greek acorns are called 'balanoi.'

The 'biturica' got its name from a region; it most stoutly withstands whirlwinds and rains and heat, nor does it fail in lean soil. Of like merit is the 'basilica.' The 'argitis' is a little Greek vine, of white kind, fertile, putting forth a vast and short stock and a broad leaf; whose fruit, unless you gather it at the first season, either falls to the ground or rots with moisture. The 'inerticula' is black, which the Greeks call 'amarakion,' of good and light wine; from which too it drew its name, because it is held to be 'sluggish' ('iners') in assailing the sinews, although in taste it is not dull. The 'mareoticae' are named from Mareotis, a region of Egypt, whence they first came; for they are both white and black.

The 'helvolae,' which some call 'various' ('variae'), being neither purple nor black, are so named from a tawny ('helvus') colour, though of a whitish must. For 'helvum' is a colour black-and-white. For 'helvum' is neither white nor black. The third rank of vines is that which is commended by fruitfulness alone, plentiful in abundance and flowing with much wine. The 'viticionia' has large grapes rather than many; and it takes this name from the fact that it flows with much wine. The 'syriaca,' either because it was brought from Syria or because it is black. There are, moreover, many kinds of vines which nevertheless, by change of place, lose both their quality and their name. To vines, among other things, these operations are especially suited: trenching around ('oblaqueatio'), pruning ('putatio'), layering ('propaginatio'), digging ('fossio').

'To trench around' ('oblaqueare') is to open the earth about the trunk and, as it were, to make a basin: this some call 'excodicare.' 'To prune' ('putare') is to cut back the superfluous shoot from the vine, which runs riot with its whips; for 'putare' means 'to cleanse' ('purgare'), that is, to cut away ('amputare'). 'To transplant' ('traducere'), 'to lead across' ('transducere'). 'To layer' ('propaginare') is to lay down a whip of the vine buried in the earth and, as it were, to plant it forth. Hence 'layers' ('propagines'), so named from spreading forth ('propagare') and stretching out. 'To dig' ('fodere') is to make a pit, as if to cherish ('fovere'). VI. ON TREES. The name of trees ('arbores'), or of herbs, is believed to be derived by inflection from 'fields' ('arva'), because they cling with fixed roots to the earth. And both are almost alike to each other, because from the one the other is begotten.

For when you have cast a seed into the ground, first a herb springs up, then, being nourished, it rises into a tree; and within a short time you look up at as a full-grown tree that which you had seen as a herb. The 'arbustum' (young tree) is a young and tender tree, in which grafting can be done; and it is called 'arbustum' as if 'the spear of the tree' ('arboris hasta'). Others wish 'arbustum' to be understood as a place in which there are trees, like a 'salictum' (willow-grove): so too the 'virecta,' where the shoots are young and green. Now a tree ('arbor') is both fruit-bearing and barren, but 'arbos' is only fruit-bearing. In the feminine gender we say 'arbores' (trees); but 'poma' (fruits) in the neuter. The 'frutex' (shrub) is so called as being low, because it covers the ground with foliage; its plural noun is 'frutecta.' A tree is tall. A wood ('silva') is a dense and low grove. 'Silva' is so called as if 'xylva,' because wood is cut there;

for the Greeks call wood 'xylon.' For many Latin names very often adopt a Greek etymology. The 'nemus' (grove) is named from the deities ('numina'), because the pagans there set up idols: for groves ('nemora') are larger trees, shady with foliage. The 'lucus' (sacred grove) is a density of trees withdrawing light from the ground, by the trope of antiphrasis, because it does not shine ('luceat'); or from 'light' ('lux'), because torches or wax candles used to shine there on account of the darkness of the groves. The 'saltus' is a lofty density of trees, called by this name because it leaps up ('exiliat') on high and rises into the heights. The 'aviaria' are secluded groves, so called because birds ('aves') frequent them there. 'Recidiva' of trees are those which sprout again when others have been cut. Others derive 'recidiva' from falling ('cadere'), because they are born after a fall. Others said it from cutting back ('recidere') and sprouting again.

Therefore 'recidivum' is where there is death or fall. 'Grafting' ('insitio') is said when, the trunk being cleft, a sprig of a fruitful tree is inserted into a barren one; or the 'setting of eyes' ('oculorum inpositio'), when, the bark being cut, a bud of another tree's cortex is set in. 'Plantae' (slips) are from trees; but 'plantaria' (seedlings) are those which are born from seeds with their roots and are transplanted from their own soil. 'Cespites' (sods) are shrubs, as if 'cuspides' (points), or as if 'about the feet' ('circa pedes'). Fronds ('frondes') are so called because they bear ('ferant') sprigs or shades; and they are the cause of shade. 'Eyes' ('oculi') are the nodes from which the fronds come forth. The root ('radix') is so called because, fixed as if by certain rays ('radii') in the earth, it plunges into the depths. For the natural philosophers say that the depth of the roots equals the height of the trees.

Others think the root ('radix') is named from a resemblance to rays ('radii'), or because, if it be scraped away ('eradatur'), it does not sprout again. The trunk ('truncus') is the stature of the tree standing upon the root. The ancients used to call the bark ('cortex') 'corux'; and it is called 'cortex' because with a hide ('corium') it covers the wood. The 'liber' (inner bark) is the inner part of the bark, so called from the freed ('liberato') bark, that is, the removed part: for it is something intermediate between the wood and the bark. The branches ('rami') are those which issue from the trunk, as the rest issue from the little branches ('ramusculi'). The sprigs ('surculi') are named from the cutting ('praecisio') of the saw. The 'virgultum' (thicket-shoot) is that which sprouts from the root; the branch ('ramus'), which comes from the very body of the tree; the twig ('virga'), which comes from the branches. Properly, however, 'virgultum' is called that which is born at the root of the tree and is cut off by the farmers as if useless. And hence it is called 'virgultum,' because it is taken away from the twig ('virga').

The twig ('virga') is so called either from force ('vis') or from strength ('virtus'), because it has much force in itself, or from greenness ('viriditas'), or because it is a sign of peace, in that it governs force. Whence the magicians use it to pacify serpents among themselves, and therefore hold them fast bound upon it. This too the philosophers and kings and masters and messengers and legates use. 'Flagella' (whips) are called, as we have said before, the highest parts of trees, from the fact that they endure frequent blasts of the winds. The 'cymae' (shoots) are so called as if 'comae' (locks of hair). Leaves are called 'phylla' in Greek: thence this name has been transferred to us by derivation. Flowers ('flores') are named because they quickly flow down ('defluant') from the trees, as if 'fluores,' because they are quickly loosened. In these is a twofold grace: of colour and of scent. For by the south wind flowers are loosened, by the west wind they are formed.

We call a bud ('germen') a pregnant sprig, from bearing ('gerere'); whence also germination ('germinatio'). Fruit ('fructus') took its name from the 'frumen,' that is, the prominent part of the throat with which we eat; and hence too 'fruges' (produce). Fruits ('fructus'), moreover, are properly said of fields and trees, of which indeed we make use; but in animals the term 'fruit' is used improperly and by transference. 'Poma' (tree-fruits) are so called from 'opimum' (rich), that is, from the plenty of abundance. They are called 'mature' ('matura') because they are fit for chewing ('mandere'); and so too 'immature' ('immatura'), because before they become ripe they are hard for chewing. Wood ('ligna') is so called because, when kindled, it is turned into light ('lumen'). Whence too the 'lychnium' (lamp) is named, because it gives light. The chip ('astula') is named from lifting away ('tollere'), as if 'abstula.' Tinder ('fomes') is a chip which is struck off from trees by cutting, or scorched chips, or hollowed wood;

it has taken its name from mushrooms ('fungi'), because it catches fire in the same way. Of which Virgil says: 'and snatched the flame in the tinder.' A firebrand ('torris') is scorched wood, which the common folk call a 'titio,' drawn out from the hearth, half-burnt and extinguished. 'Quisquiliae' (rubbish) are stubble mingled with sprigs and dry leaves: they are the sweepings of the lands. 'Caries' is the rottenness of wood, so named because it befalls wood that lacks vigour ('virtus'). VII. ON THE PROPER NAMES OF TREES. The palm ('palma') is so called because it is the ornament of the victorious hand ('manus'), or because it has branches spread out in the manner of a man's palm ('palma'). For it is a tree the emblem of victory, with a tall and comely stem, clothed with long-lasting fronds, and preserving its leaves without any succession.

The Greeks call it 'phoenix,' because it lasts long, from the name of that Arabian bird which is reported to live for many years. And though it grows in many places, it does not bring its fruit to ripeness in all; but frequently in Egypt and Syria. Its fruits are called 'dactyli' (dates) from their resemblance to fingers ('digiti'), of which the names too are varied: for some are called 'palmulae,' like the myrobalan; others 'Thebaici,' which are also called 'Nicolai'; others 'nucales,' which the Greeks call 'karyotai.' The laurel ('laurus') is named from the word 'laus' (praise); for with it the heads of victors used to be crowned amid praises. Among the ancients it was called 'laudea'; afterwards, the letter D being removed and R substituted, it was called 'laurus';

as in the case of 'auriculae' (little ears), which were at first called 'audiculae,' and 'medidies,' which is now called 'meridies' (midday). This tree the Greeks call 'daphne,' because it never lays aside its greenness; and for that reason victors are crowned with it rather. This tree alone, too, is popularly believed to be least struck by lightning. The apple ('malum') is so named by the Greeks because its fruit is the roundest of all fruits: whence too these are true apples which are exceedingly round. The 'Matian' apples are named from the place whence they were first brought. For many trees have received their names from the provinces or cities from which they were brought. Virgil shows what is wont to be sought by lovers from an apple. The Cydonian apple ('mala Cydonia', quince) took its name from the town which is on the island of Crete;

concerning which the Greeks are wont to call Cydonia the mother of Cretan cities; from whose fruit the 'cydonitum' (quince paste) is made. From it too a wine is made, by which the cravings of the ailing are beguiled: for in appearance and taste and smell it presents the image of any old wine. The 'malomellum' (honey-apple) is named from sweetness, because its fruit has the taste of honey, or because it is preserved in honey; whence too a certain poet says: 'If quinces steeped in Cecropian honey be set before you, you would say: These honey-apples please.' The Punic apple ('malum Punicum', pomegranate) is so called because its kind was brought over from the Punic region. The same is also 'mulogranatum,' because within the roundness of its rind it contains a multitude of grains. The tree, moreover, the 'malusgranata,' is of the feminine gender; but the fruit is of the neuter gender.

The blossoms of apple-trees are called by the Greeks 'kytinos'; the Latins call them 'caducum' (the falling one). But the blossoms of wild apples the Greeks call 'balaustion'; of which some are found white, some purple, some rosy, like the blossoms of the pomegranate. The physicians deny that our bodies are nourished by the food of the pomegranate, but they think it should be so used that it may seem to medicate rather than to nourish. The Persian apple ('malum Persicum', peach), whose life is granted very brief, is said to be of three kinds: the 'duracenum,' the Armenian, and the Persian. It is called 'duracenum' because its fruit brings a sourness ('acor') to the taste. It is called Armenian because its first kind was brought over from Armenia.

It is called Persian because Perseus first planted that tree in Egypt, from whom the Ptolemies claimed to be descended. This tree in Persia produces a deadly fruit, but among us a pleasant and sweet one. Of these one is called 'praecox' (early), the other 'aestivum' (summer). The 'medica' tree, whose name became famous even in the Mantuan poems, was first carried over from the Medes; whence too it took its name. This the Greeks call 'kedromelon,' the Latins 'citria' (citron), because its fruit and leaves have the scent of cedar. Its fruit is hostile to poisons; and this is what the same poet wished to be understood, when he relates that from it the soul is fostered. This tree is at almost every season full of fruits, which on it are partly ripe, partly unripe, partly still set in blossom;

which is rare in other trees. The 'mella,' which the Greeks call 'lotus,' is commonly called the Syrian bean ('faba Syrica') on account of its form and colour. For it is a large tree, bearing an edible fruit, larger than a pepper, sweet in taste, whence too it is called 'mella' (honey-like). The 'coccymela,' which the Latins on account of its colour call the plum ('prunum'), others call 'nixa' from the multitude of fruit it strains forth. Of which kind the Damascene is better, so called from the town of Damascus, whence it was first brought over. Its fruit alone is proved to remedy the stomach; for the rest are reported to be harmful. This tree alone distils a gluey and compacting gum, which both physicians and scribes use. The 'oleomela' grows in Palmyra, a city of Syria;

from which it is so called because from its trunk there flows an oil ('oleum') of the thickness of honey ('mel'), of a pleasant taste. The 'pomelida,' similar to the service-tree, a middling tree with a whitish blossom; so called because the sweetness of its fruit is mingled with a sharp taste. This tree endures but a short span of life. The 'melopos' tree is named in Africa in the Punic tongue, from which flows a slow-running sap, which from the place is named 'ammoniacus.' The medlar ('mespila') is a thorny tree, with fruit like apples in resemblance but a little shorter; whence too it is named, because its fruits have the shape of a little ball ('pilula'). It seems to have been formerly so called because it was shaped in the likeness of fire; for this kind of fruit begins broad and ends narrow, like fire. The pear-tree ('pirus'), moreover, is a tree; its fruit is the pear ('pira').

Of which there are many kinds, among which the 'Crustumia' are pears partly reddening, named from the town Crustumium. Pears loaded upon beasts of burden, even if few, are said to be exceedingly onerous. The cherry ('cerasus') is named from Cerasus, a city of Pontus. For Lucullus, when he had destroyed the city of Cerasus in Pontus, brought over this kind of fruit thence and named it 'cerasium' from the city. The tree, moreover, is called 'cerasus,' the fruit 'cerasium.' This existed in Italy even before Lucullus, but was hard; whence too it was called 'cornum' (cornel). It is, moreover, a tree fit for spear-shafts: whence Virgil says: 'the cornel good for war.' The fig ('ficus') is named in Latin from fecundity ('fecunditas'); for it is more prolific than the other trees.

For three and four times in each single year it produces fruit, and while one is ripening, another springs up. Hence too the dried figs ('caricae') are named from their abundance ('copia'). The Egyptian fig is reported to be more fruitful; its wood, cast into water, sinks at once, and when it has lain some while in the mud, then it is raised to the surface, by a reversal of nature, whereas soaked it ought to have settled by the weight of the moisture. In former times athletes were fed on figs, before Pythagoras the trainer transferred them to the use of flesh, which is a stronger food. Figs taken rather often in the food of old men are reported to stretch out their wrinkles. They say too that even the fiercest bulls, tied to a fig-tree, suddenly grow tame. The wild fig ('caprificus') is so called because it plucks apart ('carpit') the walls upon which it springs up;

for it bursts through and issues from the hidden places in which it was conceived. Others think the wild fig ('caprificus') is so called because the fig-tree is made fruitful by its remedy. The mulberry ('morus') is so named by the Greeks, which the Latins call 'rubus' (bramble), because its fruit or its sprigs redden ('rubet'). For it is a woodland berry ('mora'), bearing fruit by which in the desert the hunger and want of shepherds is relieved. Its leaves, thrown over a serpent, are said to kill it. The sycamore ('sycomorus'), like the mulberry ('morus'), is a Greek name. And it is called 'sycomorus' because it has leaves like the mulberry. This the Latins call 'celsa' (the lofty) from its height, because it is not low, like the mulberry. The nut-tree ('nux') is so called because its shade or the dripping ('stillicidium') of its leaves harms the neighbouring trees.

This the Latins by another name call 'iuglans,' as if 'the acorn of Jove' ('Iovis glans'); for this tree was consecrated to Jove. Its fruit has such power that, when placed among suspected foods of herbs or mushrooms, it strikes out, seizes, and extinguishes whatever is venomous in them. Now 'nuces' (nuts) are generally the name for all fruits covered with a harder hide; such as pine-nuts, hazelnuts, acorns, chestnuts, almonds. Hence too the kernels ('nuclei') are so called, because they are covered with a hard hide. But on the contrary all soft fruits are called 'mala' (apples), yet with the addition of the lands in which they were formerly born: as Persian, Punic, Matian, Cydonian, and the rest. The almond ('amygdala') is a Greek name, which in Latin is called 'nux longa' (the long nut). This others call 'nucicla,' as if a smaller nut. Of which Virgil says:

'When the most abundant nut clothes itself with blossom in the woods.' For before all trees it clothes itself first with blossom, and it forestalls the following orchard-trees in bringing forth fruit. The hazelnuts ('Abellanae') are named from Abellanum, a town of Campania, where they abound. These are called 'Ponticae' by the Greeks, because they abound around the Pontic sea. The chestnut ('castanea') the Latins name from a Greek word. For the Greeks call it 'kastania,' because its twin fruits are stored away in the manner of testicles within a husk ('folliculus'), which when they are cast out are as if castrated. This tree, as soon as it is cut down, is wont to sprout again like a forest. The holm-oak ('ilex') is named from the chosen ('electum'); for men first chose the fruit of this tree for their sustenance. Whence too the poet says:

'The first mortals used to belch acorns from their throats.' For before the use of grain existed, the ancient men lived on the acorn. The cork-tree ('suber') is a tree, from which is extracted a very strong bark, buoyant in water. And it is called 'suber' because swine ('sues') eat its fruit. For they are the nourishment of pigs, not of men; and it is called 'suber' as if 'sub-edies' (the under-food). The beech ('fagus') and the 'esculus' (a kind of oak) are believed to be called acorn-bearing trees because men of old lived on their fruits and took food and had sustenance from them. For 'esculus' is named from 'esca' (food); but 'fagus' drew its name from a Greek word: for 'phagein' in Greek means 'to eat.' The 'xyliglycon,' which the Latins corruptly call 'siliqua' (the carob), received such a name from the Greeks because the fruit of its wood is sweet.

For they call wood 'xylon,' and 'glyky' sweet. From the fruit of this tree a pressed-out sap is called 'acacia' by the Greeks. The 'pistacia' (pistachio) is so called because the rind of its fruit gives off the scent of the genuine spikenard ('nardum pisticum'). The pine ('pinus') is named from the picea (pitch-pine), from the sharpness ('acumen') of its leaves; for the ancients used to call the sharp 'pinnum.' One pine, moreover, the Greeks call 'pitys,' another 'peuke,' which we call 'picea' (pitch-pine), because it sweats out pitch ('pix'). For they also differ in appearance. In the islands of Germany, moreover, the tear of this tree begets amber ('electrum'). For the drop flowing down hardens by cold or warmth into solidity and makes a gem, taking its name too from its quality, that is, 'sucinum,' because it is the sap ('sucus') of the tree. The pine is believed to benefit all things that are sown beneath it, just as the fig harms all.

The fir ('abies') is so called because it goes far beyond ('prae... eat') the other trees and projects on high. Its nature is devoid of earthly moisture, and therefore it is held to be handy and light. Of which Virgil says: 'and destined to behold the perils of the sea'; because from it ships are made. This some call 'Gallic' on account of its whiteness. It is, moreover, without a knot. The cedar ('cedrus'), which the Greeks call 'kedros,' as if 'kaiomenes dryos hygron,' that is, 'the moisture of a burning tree,' whose leaves correspond to the likeness of the cypress. Its wood is of a pleasant scent and long-lasting, nor is it ever destroyed by the moth. Of which Persius says: 'and having spoken things worthy of the cedar'; namely on account of its durable perpetuity: whence too in temples, on account of its long endurance, the panelled ceilings are made of this wood.

The resin of this wood is called 'cedria,' which is so useful in preserving books that things smeared over with it suffer neither the moths nor grow old with time. It grows in Crete, Africa, and Syria. The cypress ('cyparissus') is so called in Greek because its top rises from a rounded shape into a point. Whence too it is called 'konos,' that is, 'lofty roundness.' Hence too its fruit is the cone ('conus'), because its roundness is such as to imitate a cone: whence too they are called 'cone-bearing cypresses' (by Virgil). Its wood has a power almost next to the cedar; it is also fit for the beams of temples, and with its impenetrable solidity it never yields to a burden, but persists with that firmness which it had at the first.

The ancients used to place cypress branches near the funeral pyre, so that they might suppress the smell of the corpses, while they were being burned, by the pleasantness of their own scent. The juniper ('iuniperus') is so called in Greek either because it ends from broad into narrow, like fire, or because it holds fire long once conceived; so much so that if live coals be covered with its ash, they last up to a year; for among the Greeks 'pyr' means fire. One juniper, moreover, is small, another large. Ebony ('ebenus') grows in India and Ethiopia, which when cut hardens into stone. Its wood is black and its bark smooth, like the laurel's; but the Indian is spotted with tiny distinctions of white and tawny; the Ethiopian, however, which is accounted more excellent, is spotted in nothing, but is black, smooth, and horn-like.

There is, moreover, the Mareotic marsh in India, whence ebony comes. Lucan says: 'Mareotic ebony.' Ebony, moreover, is tied to babies' rattles, so that its blackness may not terrify the infant by the sight. The plane ('platanus') is so called from the breadth ('latitudo') of its leaves, or because the tree itself is spreading and ample; for the Greeks call the broad 'platys.' Scripture has expressed both the name and form of this tree, saying: 'I was raised up like a plane-tree in the streets.' It is, moreover, of very tender and soft leaves, similar to the vine's. The oak ('quercus'), or 'quernus,' because upon it the gods of the nations were wont to foretell responses to those who sought them ('quaerentibus'), a tree very aged;

as one reads of the oak of Mamre, under which Abraham dwelt, which is reported to have endured through many ages up to the reign of the emperor Constantius. Its fruit is called the gall ('galla'). Of these one, the wild, is called 'omphakitis,' small in form but firm and knotty in body, which is employed for medicaments and inks; the other, 'balanos,' gentle and light and much perforated, is necessary only for the uses of lamps. The ash ('fraxinus') is said to be so named because it grows rather in rough and mountainous crags ('fraga'). Hence by derivation 'fraxinus,' just as 'montanus' (mountain-dweller) from 'mons' (mountain). Of which Ovid says: 'and the ash useful for spears.' The yew ('taxus') is a poisonous tree, from which too poisons ('toxica') are extracted. From it the Parthians and other nations make bows: whence too the poet (Virgil) says:

'The Ityraean yews are twisted into bows.' He calls the Ityraeans 'Parthian.' The maple ('acer') is uneven in its colours. But 'robur' (hardwood, oak) is generally said of whatever is firmest of every material. The alder ('alnus') is so called because it is nourished ('alatur') by the river ('amnis'); for it grows very close to water, nor does it easily live away from the waves. Hence it is tender and soft, because it is nourished in a moist place. The elm ('ulmus') took its name because it thrives better in oozy and moist ('uliginosus') places; for in mountainous and rough places it is less flourishing. The larch ('larix'), to which this name was given from the fortress Laricinum, from which boards fastened to the roof-tiles repel the flame, nor when burnt do they of themselves make charcoal. The poplar ('populus') is so called because from its heel-shoot a multitude ('multitudo') is born. Of which there is a twofold kind: for one is white, the other black.

The white poplar, moreover, is so called because its leaves are white on one side, green on the other. This therefore is two-coloured, having as it were the marks of night and day, which times are constituted by the rising and setting of the sun. It also produces resin around the river Eridanus or, as others record, in the borders of Syria. The linden ('tilia') they say is so called because it is useful ('utilis') for the use of javelins ('tela') by the brightness and lightness of its hurling: for it is a kind of very light material. The willow ('salix') is so called because it leaps ('saliat') quickly, that is, grows swiftly, a pliant tree, handy for tying up vines. Of its seed they say this is the nature, that if anyone drink it in a cup, he is deprived of offspring; and it also renders women barren. The poplar, moreover, and the willow and the linden are of soft material and fit for carving.

The osier ('vimen') is so called because it has much force ('vis') of greenness ('viror'). For its nature is such that even when dried it is washed and grows green again; then, cut off and fixed in the ground, it plunges itself down by its roots. The tamarisk ('myrice'), which the Latins call 'tamaricum,' is named from bitterness ('amaritudo'); for its taste is exceedingly bitter. This tree grows in the wilderness and on rocky ground; from which tree also, by maleficent arts, 'misethra,' that is, hatreds, are said to be stirred up. The myrtle ('myrtus') is named from the sea ('mare'), because it is rather a shore-loving tree. Whence too Virgil says: 'the shores most gladdened by myrtle-groves,' and 'the myrtles that love the shores.' Hence it is that it is called 'myrine' by the Greeks too. The books of the physicians, moreover, write that this tree is fit for very many of women's needs.

The mastic tree (lentiscus) is so called because its shoot is pliant (lentus) and soft; for we call 'pliant' whatever is flexible, whence also the pliant osier and the vines. Virgil says: 'And the pliant vines,' meaning flexible. The fruit of this tree exudes an oil, and its bark a resin which is called mastic; the most abundant and best is produced on the island of Chios. The terebinth is a tree with a Greek name, producing a resin superior to all other resins. Box (buxus) is a Greek name, in part corrupted by the Latins; for among the Greeks it is called PYXOS. It is an evergreen tree, and because of the lightness of its wood well suited for the tips of writing styluses. Whence also Scripture says:

'Write it upon box.' The rhododendron, which in corrupted popular speech is called 'lorandrum,' is so named because it has leaves like the laurel and a flower like the rose; it is a poisonous tree. For it kills animals, yet it heals the injuries caused by serpents. Shepherds have called it 'herbitum' because it is offered to cattle in place of grass (herba) where pasture is lacking. The 'turbiscus' is so called because from a single clump of it many shoots spring up, as it were in a throng (turba). Broom-straw (stipa) is so named because roofs are thatched (stipentur) with it; hence too 'stipula,' stubble, by diminutive. The reed (arundo) is so called because it quickly dries up (arescat). The ancients called this 'canna'; Varro afterward called it 'arundo.' It should indeed be noted that Latin took 'canna' from the Hebrew tongue; for among them a reed is called 'canna.' The hemlock (cicuta), moreover, is what lies between the joints of the reeds; it is so called because it lies hidden (lateat).

In the pools of India are said to grow reeds and canes, from whose roots is pressed out a most delicious juice which they drink; whence Varro too says: 'In India a reed grows upon a tree of no great size; from its roots a pliant moisture is pressed, with whose sweet juice honeys cannot contend.' The elder (sabucus) is a soft and porous tree. The buckthorn (rhamnus) is a kind of bramble, which the common people call 'bear's briar,' exceedingly rough and thorny. The bramble-thicket (sentix) is named from a place lying waste (situ), that is, uncultivated land in which briars (sentices) and thorns grow. Our ancestors called every thorny tree a 'brier' (vepres) because it seizes (prendat) with force (vi). The wild olive (oleaster) is so called because it has leaves like the olive but broader; it is an uncultivated and woodland tree, bitter and unfruitful;

but when a branch of the cultivated olive is grafted into it, the graft changes the force of the root and turns it to its own proper quality. The tear-gum of the wild olive is twofold: for one kind imitates ordinary gum without any sharpness of quality, while the other resembles a drop of ammoniacum gathered by distillation and biting to the taste. The olive is called in Greek ELAION, from which it was carried over into Latin so that it is called 'oliva.' The 'olea' is the tree itself; the fruit is 'oliva'; the juice is oil (oleum). It is moreover a tree renowned as a sign of peace, whose fruit is called by various names. The 'orchades' olives are named by a Greek etymology from their likeness to testicles, which the Greeks call ORCHEIS. The 'radiolae' are so named because they are oblong in the manner of spokes (radii). The 'Paphiae' are named from the island of Paphos, whence they were first brought. The 'Lyciniae' are so called because they give the best light;

for LYCHNOS means 'light.' Whence the wood too took its name, because it is suited for flames and lamps. The 'pausia,' which in corrupted rustic speech is called 'pusia,' is suited for green and sweet oil. And it is called 'pausia' because it is beaten down (paviatur), that is, pounded; whence also 'pavimentum,' pavement. The 'Syria' is so named because it was brought from Syria, or because it is black. The 'Crustumia,' also called 'volemis,' is so named because it fills the palm (vola) with its size, that is, the hollow of the hand; whence too we say 'involare,' to snatch away. Some, however, understand 'volemum' in the Gaulish tongue to mean 'good and great.' The 'colymbades' olives are so named. Oil (oleum), moreover, is named from the olive (olea): for, as we have said, the 'olea' is the tree, from which by derivation comes 'oleum.' But that which is pressed from white olives is called 'Spanish,' called by the Greeks OMPHAKION;

but that which is pressed from tawny and not yet ripe olives is called 'green'; while that from over-ripe olives is called 'common.' Of these, the first in use for life is the Spanish, the second the green, the third the common. The lees of oil (amurca), the watery part, is so called from emerging (emergendo), that is, because it separates itself from the oil and is its dregs. The Greeks call this AMORGE, deriving the word from the Latin tongue. Gum is a Greek name; for they call it KOMMI. Resin the Greeks call RHETINE; for whatever flows is called in Greek REIN. For it is a tear exhaled by the sweat of woods, as of the cherry, the mastic, the balsam, or the other trees or shrubs that are said to sweat;

just as also the fragrant woods of the East, such as the drop of balsam and of the giant fennels or of the amber-trees, whose tear hardens into a gem. First is terebinth resin, superior to all: it is brought from Arabia Petraea and from Judaea and Syria, from Cyprus and Africa, and also from the Cyclades islands. Second is mastic resin, which is called mastix; this is carried from the island of Chios. Third is pine resin, of which one kind is PITYINE, another PEUKINE, one liquid, one dry: and they are brought from Tyrrhenian Colophon. Whence also Colophonian resin took its name. Pitch (pix) is a Greek name, which they call PISSA. Others hold that pitch (pix) is named from the pine (pinus). This kind is called by the Greeks KLONIA: we may call it 'branch-pitch' (ramale). The best of it is shining, smooth, and clean.

There are naturally three kinds of tree-generation: for they either grow of their own accord; or they spring up from seeds fallen by chance; or they sprout from roots. For the rest human use has discovered, nature favoring. Almost all fruits in Latin are of the feminine gender, with a few exceptions, such as 'hic oleaster' (the wild olive) and 'hoc siler,' as Virgil says: 'the soft osier (molle siler).' Likewise 'hoc buxum,' although it is also called 'haec buxus.' For some wish to make a superfluous distinction, so that we call it 'haec buxus' of the tree, but 'buxum' of the wood when worked. VIII. ON AROMATIC TREES. Aromatics (aromata) are all the things of fragrant odor that India or Arabia, or other regions, send forth.

They seem to have taken the name 'aromata' either because, placed upon altars (aris), they appear suited to the invocations of the gods, or because they are found to insert and mingle themselves with the air (aer). For what is an odor but air brought into contact? Frankincense (tus) is an immense and branching tree of Arabia, of very smooth bark, with branches of the quality of the maple, pouring forth an aromatic juice in the manner of the almond, white and, when chewed, as if dissolved into powder, and when it is broken, within it is oily and, when set to the fire, easily kindles. Among us it is called 'masculine' because it is round in nature in the manner of testicles. The rest, flat and almost scaly, is less excellent. It is adulterated by mixing in resin or gum, but it is distinguished by its own property.

For frankincense placed on the fire kindles, resin smokes, but gum melts when heated. Frankincense (tus) is so called from pounding (tundendo). It is also called 'libanum' from a mountain of Arabia, where the Sabaeans are. For their mountain is called Libanos, where the incense is gathered. Myrrh is an Arabian tree five cubits tall, like the thorn which they call AKANTHON: its drop is green and bitter; whence too it received the name 'myrrh.' Its drop, flowing spontaneously, is more precious; that drawn out by wounding the bark is judged more worthless. The Arabs feed their fires with its twigs, from whose smoke, quite harmful, unless they come to the odor of storax, they mostly contract incurable diseases. Myrrh, moreover, is called 'Trogodyte' from an island of Arabia, where the better and purer is collected.

Storax is an Arabian tree, like the quince, whose twigs pour forth a tear in hollow drops at the rising of the Dog-star. Its distillation falling to the earth is not clean, but is kept together with the scraping of its own bark. But that which adheres to twigs and reeds is clean and whitish, and afterward becomes tawny because of the sun. And this reed-storax (storax calamites) is oily, resinous, of pleasant odor, moist and emitting as it were a honeyed liquid. Storax is so called because it is a drop of the tree flowing forth and congealed. For the Greeks call a drop 'stiria,' and in Greek it is STYRAX, in Latin 'storax.' Bdellium is a tree of India and Arabia, whose tear from Arabia is better.

For it is clear, whitish, smooth, oily, evenly waxy, and such as is easily softened, neither mixed with wood nor earth, bitter, of good odor. For that from India is dirty and black and in a larger lump. It is adulterated by mixing in gum, which does not so embitter the taste. Mastic is the drop of the mastic tree (lentiscus). This is called 'granomastix' because it is in the manner of grains (grana). The better is produced on the island of Chios, of good odor, of the whiteness of Punic wax. Whence it also beautifies the brightness of the skin. It is sometimes adulterated with resin or frankincense. The pepper tree grows in India, on the side of Mount Caucasus which is turned toward the sun, with leaves like the juniper.

Serpents guard its groves, but the inhabitants of that region, when the fruits are ripe, set them on fire, and the serpents are put to flight by the fire; and thence from the flame black pepper is produced. For the nature of pepper is white, of which indeed the fruit is various. For that which is unripe is called long pepper; that which is uncorrupted by the fire, white pepper; but that which is of wrinkled and rough skin draws both its color and its name from the heat of the fire. If pepper is light, it is old; if heavy, it is fresh. But the fraud of merchants must be avoided; for they are wont to sprinkle very old, moistened pepper with litharge of silver or with lead, so that it may become heavy. Aloe-wood (aloa) grows in India and Arabia, a tree of most sweet and supreme odor.

Indeed its wood is burned upon altars in place of incense; whence too it is believed to have drawn its name. Cinnamon (cinnamomum) is so called because its bark is round and slender in the manner of a reed (canna). It grows in the regions of India and Ethiopia, in a low shrub of only two cubits, of blackish or ashen color, of very thin twigs. For that which extends into thickness is despised; but that which comes forth more slender is choice. When it is broken, it emits a visible breath in the likeness of mist or dust. Amomum is so called because it recalls as it were the odor of cinnamon. It grows in Syria and Armenia, a shrub yielding a clustered seed joined to itself, with a white flower like the violet, with leaves like the bryony, and of good odor as well;

it makes sleep sweet. Cassia grows in Arabia, a rod of sturdy bark, and with purple leaves like the pepper. Its virtue is like that of cinnamon, but inferior in potency; whence in place of cinnamon a double weight of it is mixed into medicines. Aromatic calamus (calamus aromaticus) is so named from its likeness to the ordinary reed (calamus). It grows in India, jointed with many knots, tawny, fragrant with the sweetness of its breath. When it is broken, it splits into many parts, resembling cassia in taste with a slight biting sharpness. The balsam tree was in Judaea only within the bounds of twenty acres.

After the Romans took possession of that same region, it was propagated even over the broadest hills, in stock like the vine, in leaves like the rue, but whiter and always remaining. The tree, moreover, is 'balsamum'; its wood is called 'xylobalsamum,' its fruit or seed 'carpobalsamum,' its juice 'opobalsamum.' Which is therefore signified with an addition, because when the bark of the wood is struck with iron claws, it distills through the cavities a drop of surpassing odor; for a cavity is called in the Greek tongue OPE. They adulterate its drop by mixing in oil of Cyprus or honey. But the pure is proved: if it curdles with milk; if, distilled into water, or mixed, it is easily dissolved; and moreover if woolen garments soiled with it are not stained.

The adulterated indeed neither curdles with milk, and like oil floats on the surface of the water, and stains a garment. But if balsams are pure, they have such power that, if the sun grows hot, they cannot be held in the hand. IX. ON AROMATIC OR COMMON HERBS. There exist the names of certain herbs as well, which resound from some cause of their own, having an explanation of their names. Yet you will not find the etymology of all herbs. For according to places the names too are changed. The 'folium' (malabathrum leaf) is so called because it is gathered floating without any root on the shores of India. The Indians dry it, pierced with a thread, and store it up. It is said, moreover, to be an herb of Paradise, recalling nard in taste. Nard is a spiky herb, whence too it is called by the Greeks NARDOSTACHYS;

of which one kind is called Indian, another Syrian; not because it grows in Syria, but because the mountain on which it is found looks on one side toward India, on the other toward Syria. The Indian is manifold, but the Syrian is better: light, tawny, tufted, small in spike, most fragrant, resembling cyperus. But if it lingers long in the mouth, it dries the tongue. Celtic nard drew its name from the region of Gaul; for it grows more often in the Alps of Liguria and in Syria, a small shrub, its roots gathered into a handful with bindings. Its flower alone is good for its odor; its stalks and rootlets are proved useful for our purposes. Costus is the root of an herb growing in India, Arabia, and Syria; but the Arabian is better.

For it is white and light, sweet, of pleasant odor; the Indian is of dark color and light, like the giant fennel; but the Syrian is heavy in weight, of boxwood color, of sharp odor; the finest, however, is white, light, dry, burning to the taste. Saffron (crocum) is named from a town of Cilicia which is called Corycium, although it grows elsewhere too, but not in such quantity or of such quality as in Cilicia: whence it received its name from the more important part. For many things have taken their names from the places where something appears more abundantly and better. The best, moreover, is that which is fresh, of good odor, of little whiteness, of extended length, whole and not broken into fragments, of good scent, and which, when plucked, stains the hand and is slightly sharp.

But if it is not of this kind, it is recognized as either old or soaked. It is adulterated, moreover, by mixing in 'crocomagma'; and for the sake of increasing the weight, ground litharge of silver is also added. This is betrayed if it is found dusty and, when boiled, has lost its proper odor. 'Crocomagma' is made from the aromatics of saffron ointment when they have been pressed out, and from the sediment formed into little cakes; and so it is thus named. Asarabacca (asarum) grows on shady mountains, with flowers like cassia; among which is a purple flower near the root, in which is contained a seed like grapes, with many very fine and well-scented roots, and it is like nard in virtue. Valerian (phu) grows in Pontus, with leaves like the wild olive.

Cyperus is so called by the Greeks because it has a burning virtue. It is the root of a triangular rush, with leaves like the leek, with roots black or contiguous in the likeness of olives, most fragrant and most sharp. It grows in marshes and in empty places. There is also handed down another species of cyperus, which grows in India and is called in their tongue 'zinziber' (ginger). Illyrian iris took its name from its likeness to the celestial Iris (rainbow). Whence too it is called by the Latins 'arcumen,' because its flower by the variety of its color imitates that same celestial arc. It is called 'Illyrian' because in Illyricum it is most abundant and most fragrant. Its species has leaves like the gladiolus, an aromatic root, of good odor. The sweet flag (acorum) has leaves like the iris;

with roots of most sharp odor, but pleasant; on account of which it is also aromatic. Meum. Cardamom. Camel's-hay (squinum) is better which grows on the Euphrates than that which grows in Arabia: tawny, many-flowered, purple, slender, of a rosy odor when it is rubbed with the hand, in taste it much burns the tongue and bites. Its flower is called SCHOINOU ANTHOS; for ANTHOS in Greek means 'flower.' Thyme (thymum) is so named because its flower recalls the odor. Of which Virgil says: 'And the fragrant honeys are redolent of thyme.' Epithymum is a Greek name, which in Latin is called 'the flower of thyme'; for a flower in Greek is called THYMON: it is, moreover, a flower like the savory. Sampsuchus, which the Latins call 'amaracus' (marjoram). The use of which name Virgil, referring it even to Venus, says:

'Where soft marjoram enfolds him, breathing upon him with flowers and shade.' This herb, moreover, is suited to ointments: whence too 'amaracus' drew its name from the boy of a certain king, who, having fallen by chance while carrying ointments, created a new and most pleasing odor from the mixture. The hyacinth is an herb having a purple flower. It drew its name, moreover, from a certain noble boy who was found slain among the purple flowers in the woodland glades; and the mischance of a boy's death gave the herb its name. It is, moreover, like the bulb in root and flower, holding back boys from puberty.

The narcissus is an herb which has a name imposed by fable from a certain boy whose limbs were changed into this flower, which both preserves the name of Narcissus in its appellation and retains the ornament of beauty in the whiteness of its leaves. The rose (rosa) is named from the appearance of its flower, because it is red with a ruddy color. The lily is an herb of milky flower, whence too it is named, as it were 'liclia'; and though its whiteness is in its petals, yet the appearance of gold shines within. The violet (viola) received its name from the force (vim) of its odor. Of it there are three kinds: purple, white, and yellow. The acanthus is an Egyptian herb, always leafy, full of thorns, with a flexible shoot; in imitation of which cloth is ornamented by art, which is called 'acanthina'; and it is called 'acanthis.' Ivy (hedera) is so called because in creeping it clings (adhaereat) to trees.

Of which Virgil says: 'The ivy creeping for you among the victorious laurels.' Others say that ivy (hedera) is so called because in ancient times, above an abundance of milk, it was offered by the ancients as food for kids (haedi). Ivy-plants are natural indicators (PHYSIKOS) of cold ground. For it is an antidote to drunkenness, if one who has drunk is crowned with ivy. They relate that hellebore (elleborum) grows in greatest quantity in Greece around a certain river Elleborus, and is thence named by the Greeks. The Romans call this by another name, 'veratrum,' because, when taken, it brings a disturbed mind back to health. There are two kinds: white and black. Acone is a harbor of Bithynia which is so notorious for the production of evil grasses that we name harmful herbs 'aconita' from there.

For poisons (toxica) are so called because they are pressed out from yew trees (arbores taxeae), especially among the Cantabri. Euphorbium is so called because its juice sharpens the sight of the eyes. Its power is so great that, laid upon tough meats, it compels them to be cooked more quickly. It grows in many places, but most abundantly in Mauretania. Laser is an herb growing on Mount Oscobagus, where the river Ganges also rises; whose juice was first called 'lacsir,' since it flows in the manner of milk (lac), then by the derivation of use it was named 'laser.' This is also called by some 'Cyrenaic opium,' since it grows near Cyrene too. Aloe is an herb of most bitter juice. Panaces is an herb of fragrant odor;

with a stalk like the giant fennel, from which flows a juice called 'opopanax,' saffron-colored and oily, of heavy and most bitter odor. Galbanum. Dicte is a mountain of Crete, from which the herb 'dittany' (dictamnum) received its name, on account of which in Virgil the wounded hind ranges the Dictaean glades. For it is of such power that it expels iron from the body and shakes out arrows; whence too wild beasts struck by an arrow, by feeding on it, cast out the arrows sticking in their bodies. Some of the Latins call this 'pennyroyal of Mars,' on account of shaking out the weapons of war. The mandrake (mandragora) is so called because it has sweet-smelling apples, of the size of the Matian apple: whence too the Latins call it 'earth-apple.' The poets call this ANTHROPOMORPHON, because it has a root resembling the form of a man.

Its bark, mixed with wine, is given to drink to those whose body must be cut for the sake of treatment, so that, put to sleep, they may not feel the pain. There are two species of it: the female, with leaves like the lettuce, producing apples in the likeness of plums; but the male has leaves like the beet. The poppy (papaver) is a sleep-bringing herb; of which Virgil says: 'the poppies steeped in Lethean sleep': for it induces slumber in the languid. One kind of it is common, another wild, from which flows the juice which they call 'opion' (opium). The colocynth (colocynthis) is a wild gourd and vehemently bitter, which like the gourd stretches its tendrils along the ground. It is called 'colocynthis,' moreover, because it is of round fruit and of leaves like the common cucumber.

The Greeks call it 'centaurea' (centaury) because it is said to have been discovered by Chiron the Centaur. The same is also called LIMNESIOS, because it grows in moist places. The same is also called 'gall of the earth' (fel terrae) on account of its bitterness. Glycyrrhiza (licorice) is so called in Greek because it has a sweet root; for GLYKY in Greek means 'sweet.' The same is called ADIPSOS, because it quenches the thirst of those who thirst. Dracontea (dragonwort) is so named because its stalk is variegated in the manner of a snake, and imitates the likeness of a dragon, or because the viper fears that herb. Chelidonia (celandine) is so called either because it seems to burst forth at the arrival of the swallows (hirundines), or because, if the eyes are taken away from the young of swallows, their mothers are said to heal them from this herb.