Theophrastus biography birthday, trivia greek botanist who2. Theophrastos of eresos, who studied in platos philosophers school, is most famous for his groundbreaking work on plants. Thanos institute of general botany, university of athens, athens 15784, greece key words. He became the favorite pupil of aristotle, who named theophrastus his successor, and bequeathed to him his. Theophrastus presided over the peripatetic school for thirtysix years, during which time the school flourished greatly.
In the enquiry into plants theophrastus classifies and describes varietiescovering trees. Aristotle and theophrastus on plantanimal interactions costas a. For sorabji, the proanimal side of the ancient debate, the side arguing that the gap between human and animal psychology is not so large, is best represented by various aristotelians especially theophrastus, aristotles successor as leader of the. Theophrastus, the successor of aristotle in the peripatetic. Whether a book is in the public domain may vary country to country.
Theophrastus recognized the need to justify the assumption that natural science involves principles, causes, and elements. Theophrastus biography birthday, trivia greek botanist. Aristotle, theophrastus, zoology, botany, plantanimal interactions, biology. Theophrastus and the beginnings of modern botany in the. Theophrastus was a philosopher of greek antiquity whose writings on the classification of plants started the science of botany. Thus, he is often referred to as the father of botany. Theophrastus s enquiry into plants or historia plantarum greek. Get your kindle here, or download a free kindle reading app. Theophrastuss enquiry into plants or historia plantarum greek. A submission from united kingdom says the name theophrastus means one who speaks for god. The wool of bolbos ho eriophoros described by theophrastus in his historia plantarum or enquiry into plants is the primary xylem of the bulb scales of scilla hyacinthoides liliaceae. Enquiry into plants and minor works on odours and weather signs, london, w. The first translation into english, with an introduction and parallel greek and english texts, was made by sir arthur hort 18641935. From the greek theo god and the verb phrazo i declare, utter, pronounce the astus ending is a latinized version of the masculine singular adjectival form of the verb and is of greek origin search for more names by meaning.
Theophrastus was a greek philosopher of the peripatetic school, and immediate successor of aristotle in leadership of the lyceum. Theophrastus, greek peripatetic philosopher and pupil of aristotle. After his death, the athenians honoured him with a public funeral. Enquiry into plants and minor works on odours and weather signs, with an english translation by sir arthur hort, bart by theophrastus. In them he classifies 500 plants, develops a scientific terminology for describing biological structures, distinguishes between the internal organs and external. Theophrastus two main botanical treatises, enquiry into plants and plant explanations, have stood the test of time better than aristotles zoological works. After platos death, he attached himself to aristotle. It was published simultaneously by william heinemann in london and g. Public domain books are our gateways to the past, representing a wealth of history, culture. This fortunate youth, upon completion of his training, would depart for the luxuries of life in the court of some noble or king.
Theophrastus spent, just like his teacher, the decisive years of his life in athens, where he gathered a lot of pupils and was in charge of the first existing botanical garden. Of theophrastus s many works, his ninevolume enquiry into plants is considered the most important. Theophrastus article about theophrastus by the free. Yet for a man who lived when plants were useful in cultivation or poison and otherwise of no interest, it was a remarkable achievement. The ancient naturalist also noted how much plants were influenced by their environment, being unable to walk away like animals, and how they affected each other. He was a native of eresus in lesbos, and studied philosophy at athens, first under plato and afterwards under aristotle. Enquiry into plants, and minor works on odours and weather signs by theophrastus. Enquiry into plants, and minor works on odours and weather signs. Page from historia plantarum, botanical treatise by theophrastus. Hour 12 texts e, f, g, h selections from theophrastus about the aetiologies of plants, and more duration.
Compared to the hundreds of thousands of plant species known today, thats a tiny sample. His skill and knowledge of alchemy and science were legendary. Linked bibliography for the sep article theophrastus by. Nevertheless, his physics is in large measure an attempt to trace observed phenomena back to principles of order and determination. His original name was tyrtamus, but he later became known by the nickname theophrastus, given to him, it is said, by aristotle to indicate the grace of his conversation after receiving his first introduction to philosophy in lesbos from one leucippus or alcippus, he.
Theophrastus of eresos was a native of eresos in lesbos and his given name was tyrtamus. In the former theophrastus classifies and describes. Theophrastus theeuhfrastuhs, originally named tyrtamus, was born in eresus, a small citystate on the greek island of lesbos, near the coast of asia minor. Theophrastus simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Enquiry into plants, volume i, books 15 loeb classical library no. This is a systematically arranged treatise that discusses the description and classification of plants and contains many personal observations. Their important accomplishments on plantanimal interactions include herbivory and poisonous plants, plant pests and use of manure, insectrepellence and gall formation, fig caprification and apiculture, seed dispersal and seed infestation. Theophrastus academic dictionaries and encyclopedias. He came to athens at a young age and studied in platos school. A second series of six books, the etiology of plants, covers plant physiology.
Aristotle bequeathed to theophrastus his writings and designated him as his successor at the lyceum. Theophrastus led the school for more than three decades and wrote extensively on philosophy and the. Theophrastus eventually familiarized himself with several hundred species of plants. Earliest writers theophrastus, first of real botanists in point of time, was born about 370 b. Theophrastus and the beginnings of modern botany in the renaissance december 2012 entitled historia plantarum, it is the first great botanical work published by the ancient greek polymath and aristotelian student and successor, theophrastus 371287 b.
Entitled historia plantarum, it is the first great botanical work published by the ancient greek polymath and aristotelian student and successor, theophrastus 371287 b. Enquiry into plants, volume i, books 15 loeb classical 36 copies. Theophrastus was associated with aristotle for more than two decades and succeeded him as head of what came to be known as the peripatetic school. The oldest book in the lenhardt librarys rare book collection has a special name, and we even know its birthday. Theophrastus studied first with plato and then with aristotle. Theophrastus has mentioned his valuable secret of alchemy in his work called, tinctura physica which is a bible of alchemy. Like theophrastus, linnaeus grouped species using common morphological char acters, mainly. Under theophrastus the enrollment of pupils and auditors rose to its. Enquiry into plants, and minor works on odours and. Page from historia plantarum enquiry into plants, botanical treatise by theophrastus ca. His writings on plants form a counterpart to aristotles zoological works. In the enquiry into plants theophrastus classifies and describes varieties covering trees, plants of particular regions, shrubs, herbaceous plants, and cereals. The characters of theophrastus by theophrastus free download.
Theophrastus article about theophrastus by the free dictionary. Oct 21, 2015 thus, he is often referred to as the father of botany. Of theophrastuss many works, his ninevolume enquiry into plants is considered the most important. Enquiry into plants, volume i, books 15 loeb classical library.
Ships from uk in 48 hours or less usually same day. At the end of the renaissance, one alchemist rose above the rest. Theophrastuss enquiry into plants or historia plantarum was, along with his mentor aristotles history of animals, pliny the elders natural history and. Your purchase helps support the african childrens educational trust acet. He is often considered the father of botany for his works on plants. He was the author of a manual of rhetoric, which has not been preserved, and of characters, a collection of 30 short sketches of character types, such as the flatterer and the idle talker. His two surviving botanical works, enquiry into plants historia plantarum and on the causes of plants, were an important influence on renaissance science.
The interests of theophrastus were wide ranging, extending from biology and physics to ethics and metaphysics. The characters of theophrastus by theophrastus free. Much of the information on the greek plants may have come from his own observations, as he is known to have travelled throughout greece, and to have had a botanical garden of his own. Aristotle and theophrastus on plantanimal interactions. A wikipedia article about this author is available theophrastus. Each year theophrastus would accept only one new apprentice. Theophrastus classified plants into trees, shrubs, undershrubs, and herbs. He studied at athens under aristotle, and when aristotle was forced to retire in 323 he became the head of the lyceum, the academy in athens founded by aristotle.
Introduction aristotle 384322 bc and theophrastus 371. Especially, the enquiry into plants historia plantarum is considered as one of the most important books of natural history in antiquity, along with pliny the elders natural. His enquiry into plants and on the causes of plants both of which took up several volumes likely comprised antiquitys greatest contributions to botany. Theophrastus enquiry into plants was first published in a latin translation by theodore gaza, at treviso, 1483. Nevertheless, his physics is in large measure an attempt to trace observed phenomena back to. Dec 27, 2015 hour 12 texts e, f, g, h selections from theophrastus about the aetiologies of plants, and more duration. In the enquiry into plants theophrastus classifies and describes varietiescovering trees, plants of particular regions, shrubs, herbaceous plants, and cereals. Theophrastus detected the process of germination and realized the importance of climate and soil to plants. Theophrastus was critical of physicians who prescribed endless list of medicines without discovering the cause of the disease. So let us fly on a magical carpet into the world of philippus aureolus theophrastus, nicknamed paracelsus which simply means in par with celsus. He also warned against inquiring into the cause of everything. He described and discussed more than 500 species and varieties of plants from lands bordering. There are also surviving works on moral characters, on sense perception, and on stones, as well as fragments on physics and. Putnams sons in new york, as a twovolume book theophrastus enquiry into plants and minor works on odours and weather signs in 1916.
Putnams sons, 1961, 1916, also by arthur hort page images at hathitrust. Exlibrary, so some stamps and wear, but in good overall condition. Theophrastus the flower expert flowers encyclopedia. He confirmed that composition of pure metals produces a scintillating effect around us. Theophrastus became a pupil of aristotle in athens, and later his successor. Besides numerous comparisons and analogies, mostly on general issues, between animals and plants, both aristotle and theophrastus deal with various cases of plantanimal interactions, covering virtually all aspects of the field. It examines all the founding texts of botanical science, such as theophrastus enquiry into plants, dioscorides materia medica, pliny the elders natural history, nicolaus of damascus on plants, and galen on simple remedies, but also includes lesser known texts ranging from the sixth century bce to the seventh century ce, as well as some. It is the earliest example in the librarys collection of an incunabulum plural, incunabula, literally. Theophrastus, friend of aristotle and cofounder with him of the peripatetic school of philosophy, succeeded him as its head 323 b.
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