Theophrastus – The Father of Botany
Darani Vasudevan
Theophrastus (The Father of Botany)
Darani Vasudevan
Preface, Theophrastus was an Ancient Greek Philosopher who is credited and celebrated as “The Father of Botany” for his contributions in Plant study. This book is a short Biography of the legend along with his works. This book is mainly for children who wish to know about him and his contributions to the world. I hope you will enjoy reading it….
-V. Darani M.Sc., M.Phil., SET
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>>>>>>>>>>>>>><<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< Theophrastus was a Greek Philosopher who began the study of plants. He was born in Eresos in 371 BC that is during the Ancient Philosophy
era.
Notes
from
Diogenes
Laertius‟ “Lives of Eminent Philosophers” says Melantas as the father of Theophrastus but the other sources mention that he was the son of Messapus and Argiope. His birth name was „Tyrtanus‟ and he got the nickname „Theophrastus‟ from Aristotle who was also a great Greek Philosopher. Aristotle gave the nickname
to
indicate
the
grace
of
Theophrastus‟ conversation because of God like
manner
of
his
speech.
The
word
„Theophrastus‟ generally means “from the
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divine
character
of
his
eloquence.â&#x20AC;?
He
received Instruction in Philosophy in Lesbos and came to Athens at a very young age where he studied at Platoâ&#x20AC;&#x;s school. After the death of Plato, he got attached to Aristotle who was 13 years older than Theophrastus. So Aristotle was like a teacher to him. Aristotle took Theophrastus for his works and writings. They both were good friends. Both Aristotle and Theophrastus began their research on Aristotle
Natural science in Lesbos. studied
animals
whereas
Theophrastus studied Plants. Theophrastus greatest
and
thinkers
Aristotle and
were
philosophers
two of
Ancient Greece. They set out to bring order
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to nature by examining the living organisms in the
environment.
They
turned
away
completely from Plato‟s idealism and looked at the real admiring world that was infront of their eyes. They strictly believed that the study of nature was equally important like that
of
other
major
subjects
like
metaphysice, politics and mathematics. They believed that “nothing was too small or insignificant. There is something awesome in all living things.” Aristotle said that “inherent in each of them, there is something natural and beautiful.” Many
historians
mention
focussed entirely on whereas
that
Aristotle
the study of animals
Theophrastus
concentrated
on
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plants. But this is not quite true. They both have written about plants and animals but these books didn‟t survive and vanished with time. History handled us with Aristotle‟s “Historia Animalium (Enquiries into Animals)” and
Theophrastus‟
“Historia
Plantarum
(Enquiries into Plants)” which regarded them as The Father of zoology and The Father of Botany respectively. Theophrastus
Accompanied
Aristotle
to
Macedonia when Aristotle was appointed as tutor to Alexander, the Great. They moved to Athens at around 335 BC where Aristotle began his teaching in Lyeum. After the death of Alexander, Aristotle left Athens owing to his
anti-
Macedonian
feeling
whereas
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Theophrastus
stayed
behind.
Aristotle
appointed him as the leader of the Lyceum. Theophrastus
became
the
head
of
the
Peripatetic school and presided over the school for 35 years. Under Theophrastus, the enrolment of students or pupils rose to its highest point and had at one point more than 2000 students. In his will Aristotle made Theophrastus as the guardian of his children and also left his library and the originals of his work for Theophrastus to continue. Theophrastus was received as friend by three kings namely Philip, Cassander and Ptolemy I Soter. Poet Menander was one of his pupils. He was highly respected by the people of Athens when
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Agonides
attempted
to
impeach
Theophrastus on grounds of impiety, the later was quickly cleared of charges. He was forced into exile for a short time, along with other philosophers when a law was passed stating that “no one could preside over a school without approval by a resolution of the council and people of Athens.” The Athenians quickly overturned this law and allowed the return of Theophrastus. Theophrastus showed interest in ethics, grammar, history, logic, meta physics, natural history, physics and botany. He also studied Grammar
and
language.
He
continued
Aristotle‟s work on logic. He continued to build up the basic principles of Aristotle.
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Though he expanded Aristotleâ&#x20AC;&#x;s work and ideas, he is still known for his studies of the natural
world
rather
than
teleological
discussions on a primemover. He followed Aristotleâ&#x20AC;&#x;s lead in philosophy but he was not a mere slavish initiator. He did philosophical investigations of his own. He used Aristotleâ&#x20AC;&#x;s method of questioning and criticizing to explore logic, epistemology, meta physics, medicine, psychology, ethics, religion, political science and several fields of natural science. His general tendency was to strengthen the systemic unity of subjects and to reduce the transcendental
or
platonic
Aristotelianism
as
a whole.
elements
of
He further
developed modal logic to describe logical
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relations of modal notions and various forms of syllogism which is a kind of logical argument in which one proposition is inferred from two others of certain forms. He achieved this by introducing the rule that a conclusion weakest
cannot premise.
be
stronger
He
also
than
its
expanded
Aristotleâ&#x20AC;&#x;s research on natural history by conducting numerous experiments. He also enhanced
and
developed
systems
for
classifying plants and animals which were later accepted by medieval scientists. His explanations about Aristotleâ&#x20AC;&#x;s ideas on the human intellect were studied by scholars of middle age. He regarded space as the mere arrangement and position of bodies. He
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mentioned time as an accident of motion and motion as a necessary consequence of all activities. In ethics, he regarded happiness as depending on external influences as well as on virtue. He tried to lift the veil of superstition to understand the natural world. He was against those who advised to use moon as the guide in practising garden. He simply remarked that “one should not infact be governed by the celestial conditions and revolution rather than by the trees and ships and seeds.” He dismissed other myths as „sheer fable.‟ He conducted the first recorded experiment to show that the Mediterranean sea was formed by the inflowing o Atlantic ocean by
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releasing a message in a bottle. He noted that mineral tourmaline becomes charged on heating in 314 BC which was the first known reference to pyroelectricity. Theophrastus was credited for launching Botany on Earth. He shared Aristotleâ&#x20AC;&#x;s fascination
with
the
natural
world
and
conducted a number of experiments and explanations. he inherited Aristotleâ&#x20AC;&#x;s work in botany and continued to expand them. In Athens, he was the incharge of the first Botanical Garden. For several centuries his works became a great
guideline
understanding
for
teaching
Botany. He also
and
recorded
foreign plant species from foreign countries
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like India, Persia, Bactria, Syria and Libya. He was
the
first
to
design
a
system
of
classification. He parted ways with Aristotle on the issue of the similarities of humans and other animals because of which he is often cited
as
â&#x20AC;&#x153;Vegetarian
Philosopher.â&#x20AC;?
He
detected the process of germination and realized the importance of climate and soil to plants. His two surviving works on Botany Historia Plantarum (enquiry into plants) and On the causes of plants were an important influence on Renaissance science. The book enquiry into plants was originally 10 books of which 9 survive. The work is arranged into a system whereby plants are classified
according
to
their
modes
of
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generation, their locations, their sizes and according to their practical applications like food, juices, herbs etc. The first book deals with plant parts. The second book is about reproduction in plants, times and manner of sowing. The 3rd, 4th and 5th books are about trees, types, location and their practical applications. The 6th book is about shrubs and spiny plants. The 7th book is on herbs. The 8th book is on plants that produce edible seeds and the 9th book is on plants producing useful products like juices, gums, resins etc. â&#x20AC;&#x153;On the causes of plantsâ&#x20AC;? was originally 8 books of which 6 survive. It deals with the growth
of
plants,
influence
on
their
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fecundity, the proper times they should be sown and reaped, methods of soil preparation, manuring, use of tools, smell, taste and properties of plant varieties. This work concerns mainly on the economic uses of plants rather than their medicinal uses. These two great works are in existence today because Pope Nicholas v ordered for their translation in Latin in the middle of the 15th century. The first German versions of these two books were done by K. Sprengel in 1822. He is also honoured as â&#x20AC;&#x153;Flower expert.â&#x20AC;? He classified plants into trees, shrubs, under shrubs
and
herbs.
He
discussed
and
described more than 500 species of plants on
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land
bordering
Mediterranean
the
Atlantic
ocean
and
sea.
He
observed
the
different relative positions of petals and ovary. In his work on propagation and germination, he mentioned different ways in which specific plants and trees can grow from seeds, from roots, from torn off pieces, from a branch or twig, or from a small piece of cleft wood. In short he described various vegetative propagation methods of plants. He explained that a plant thrives best in a â&#x20AC;&#x17E;favourable placeâ&#x20AC;&#x; nowadays what an ecologist term as niche. Theophrastus was uniquely
sensitive
to
the
relationships
between plants and their environment. He mentioned that habitat was so important as
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plants are bound to it. They are not free from habitat like animals. He studied soil, moisture, temperature, wind and exposure. He discussed the adaptation of plants to a particular environment and even wrote about „mutation according to place.‟ He had interest on effects the plants had on each other. He noticed that olives, myrtles and pines thrived when grown together but mentioned almond tree as their bad neighbour. He wondered how trees grew tall and more upright when they stood close together. He noticed “jays buried acrons, helping them to germinate and that mistletoe lives by taking the food that belongs to the trees.”
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He devoted his leisure time in learning. He was a multifaceted personality and was a man of extraordinary acuteness. He wrote almost 300 books and treatises and yes certainly he might had been busy all day. Apart from his work on botany he contributed his days for writing books and treatises on analysis of syllogism, sophisms, affirmation and denial; natural philosophy, heaven, meteorological phenomenon, warm and cold; water, fire. Sea, coagulation and melting; various phenomenon of organic and spiritual life, the soul, experience,
sense
perception,
state,
education, royalty, political morals and on laws.
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Plant explanations is a collection of 6 books on the vital functions of plants. The characters is a collection of 30 concise which are humorous sketches of negative types of individuals from everyday Athenian life. “Metaphysics or on First principles” is a treatise
investigating
the
principles
of
nature. “On the senses” is a treatise dealing with theories on the sense and their objects from Paramenides to Democritus and Plato. “On odours” is on the production of different perfumes and their medicinal characteristics and effects.
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“On fire” is on the origin and properties of fire. “On wind” is on the phenomenon of winds and their types of aetiology. “On stones ” is about the origin and various types of stones especially the precious stones. “On weather signs” is a practical guide on meteorological prognoses for the reader, mainly for farmers and sailors. “On
sweat”
is
about
the
sources
and
distinctive qualities of sweat. “On fatigue” is about the seats, symptoms and causes of fatigue.
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“On dizziness” is about the phenomenon and causes of dizziness. “On
Fish”
is
related
to
the
unusual
phenomenon of fish which venture onto dry land and live in air or burrow into ground. Apart
from
these,
he
gave
a
lot
of
contribution to philosophy. Some of them are: On
Affirmation
posterior
and
analytics,
denial,
prior
and
the
analysis
of
on
syllogisms, definition, topics, the reduction of
topics,
preliminaries
to
the
topics,
dialectical arguments, objections, sophisms, on the liar, physics, opinions of the natural philosophers or opinions in natural philosophy, on nature, on the heavens, meteorology, on
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the
soul,
on
vision,
on
experience,
on
emotions, on the voluntary, on virtue, on happiness,
on
marriage,
on
wealth,
on
retribution, on friendship, on pleasure, on drunkenness, politics, political customs, on kingship, on education of a king laws, on the art of rhetoric, rhetorical percepts, on enthymemes,
introductions
on
judicial
speeches, on style, on metres, on delivery, on musicians, harmonics. Other titles are: Description of the world; salt, nire and alum; the astronomical system of Democritus; differences of the voices of similar animals; animals which bite and sting; animals that live on dry land; animals which live in holes; animals which change their color;
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hot and cold; stones; mines; fainting fits; wine and soil; sight; perspiration; paralysis; suffocation; self produces animals; the sea; meteors;
fruits;
history
of
geometry;
Aristotle on animals; history of Astronomy; crates of Mt. Etna. He told his disciples to remember that â&#x20AC;&#x153;life holds out many pleasing deceits to us by the vanity of glory; for that when we are beginning to live, then we are dying. There is, therefore, nothing more profitless than ambition. But may you all be fortunate and either abandon philosophy for its great or else cling to it to diligently for then the credit of it is great; but the vanities of life exceed the advantage of it. â&#x20AC;?
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He died at the age of 85 shortly after retiring from public life. He left his house ad garden to the Lyceum as a permanent seat of instruction in his will. He was given a public funeral. The Athenians accompanied him to the grave, on foot, with the whole population of the city as it is related “honouring the man greatly.” He remarked “We die just when we are beginning to live.”
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