具体描述
Loeb Classical Library 70
In the Enquiry into Plants, Theophrastus classifies and describes varieties—covering trees, plants of particular regions, shrubs, herbaceous plants, and cereals; in the last of the nine books he focuses on plant juices and medicinal properties of herbs. The Loeb Classical Library edition is in two volumes; the second contains two additional treatises: On Odours and Weather Signs.
作者简介
Theophrastus of Eresus in Lesbos, born about 370 BCE, is the author of the most important botanical works that have survived from classical antiquity. He was in turn student, collaborator, and successor of Aristotle. Like his predecessor he was interested in all aspects of human knowledge and experience, especially natural science. His writings on plants form a counterpart to Aristotle’s zoological works.
目录信息
Introduction
Book I
Of The Parts Of Plants And Their Composition
Of Classification
Introductory: How plants are to be classified; difficulty of defining what are the essential ’ parts’ of a plant, especially if plants are assumed to correspond to animals
The essential parts of plants, and the materials of which they are made
Definitions of the various classes into which plants may be divided
Exact classification impracticable: other possible bases of classification
Differences as to appearance and habitat
Characteristic differences in the parts of plants, whether general, special, or seen in qualities and properties
Differences as to qualities and properties
Further special differences
Differences in root
Of trees (principally) and their characteristic special differences: as to knots
As to habit
As to shedding of leaves
Differences in leaves
Composition of the various parts of a plant
Differences in seeds
Differences in taste
Differences in flowers
Differences in fruits
General differences (affecting the whole plant)
Book II
Of Propagation, Especially of Trees
Of the ways in which trees and plants originate. Instances of degeneration from seed
Effects of situation, climate, tendance
Of spontaneous changes in the character of trees, and of certain marvels
Of spontaneous and other changes in other plants
Of methods of propagation, with notes on cultivation
Of the propagation of the date-palm; of palms in general
Further notes on the propagation of trees
Of the cultivation of trees
Of remedies for the shedding of the fruit: caprification
Book III
Of Wild Tubes
Of the ways in which wild trees originate
Of the differences between wild and cultivated trees
Of mountain trees: of the differences found in wild trees
Of the times of budding and fruiting of wild, as compared with cultivated, trees
Of the seasons of budding
Of the comparative rate of growth in trees, and of the length of their roots
Of the effects of cutting down the whole or part of a tree
Of other things borne by trees besides their leaves flowers and fruit
Of ’male’ and ’female’ in trees : the oak as an example of this and other differences
Of the differences in firs
Of beech, yew, hop-hornbeam, lime
Of maple and ash
Of cornelian cherry, cornel, ’cedars,’ medlar, thorns, sorb
Of bird-cherry, elder, willow •
Of elm, poplars, alder, [semyda, bladder-senna]
Of filbert, terebinth, box, krataigos
Of certain other oaks, arbutus, andrachne, wig-tree
Of cork-oak, kolatea, koloitia, and of certain other trees peculiar to particular localities
Of the differences in various shrubs—buckthorn, withy, Christ’s thorn, bramble, sumach, ivy, smilax, [spindle-tree]
Book IV
Of The Trees And Plants Special To Particular Districts And Positions
Of the importance of position and climate
Of the trees special to Egypt, and of the carob
Of the trees and shrubs special to Libya
Of the trees and herbs special to Asia
Of the plants special to northern regions
Of the aquatic plants of the Mediterranean
Of the aquatic plants of the ’outer sea’ (i.e. Atlantic, Persian Gulf, etc.)
Of the plants of rivers, marshes, and lakes, especially in Egypt
Of the plants peculiar to the lake of Orchomenos (Lake Copaïs), especially its reeds, and of reeds in general
Of rushes
Of the length or shortness of the life of plants, and the causes
Of diseases and injuries done by weather conditions
Of the effects on trees of removing bark, head, heartwood, roots, etc.; of various causes of death
Book V
Of The Timber Of Various Trees And Its Uses
Of the seasons of cutting
Of the wood of silver-fir and fir
Of the effects on timber of climate
Of knots and ’coiling’ in timber
Of differences in the texture of different woods
Of differences in timber as to hardness and heaviness
Of differences in the keeping quality of timber
Which kinds of wood are easy and which hard to work
Of the core and its effects
Which woods can best support weight
Of the woods best suited for the carpenter’s various purposes
Of the woods used in ship-building
Of the woods used in house-building
Of the uses of the wood of particular trees
Of the localities in which the best timber grows
Of the uses of various woods in making fire: charcoal, fuel, fire-sticks
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读后感
用户评价
我必须承认，一开始被这本书的书名吸引，以为会读到某种关于古典学者的传记或文献考据，但实际的阅读体验却完全超出了我的预设。它更像是一系列关于“存在”的碎片化沉思录，只是这些沉思的载体恰好是植物和它们所处的环境。这本书的魅力在于它的“去中心化”，没有任何一个情节或人物占据绝对的主导地位，所有的元素都平等地存在于叙事空间里。这给我的阅读体验带来了一种奇特的解放感——不必担心错过某个关键转折，因为这里的“关键”定义完全不同。在某些篇章中，作者的行文风格变得极为碎片化，句子被拆解得支离破碎，仿佛作者的思绪正在被某种强烈的感官刺激所打断。这种跳跃性需要读者具备很高的主动构建能力，否则很容易在文字的迷雾中迷失方向。它挑战了传统意义上的“连贯性”，更像是将一堆精致的石头随意放置在桌面上，让观看者自行去感受它们之间的暗合与张力。
这本书的叙事节奏把握得如同老旧钟摆，沉稳而不可逆转，让人在阅读过程中，仿佛置身于一片被时间遗忘的古老植物园中。作者对细节的描摹达到了令人发指的程度，每一个章节都像是用最精密的显微镜观察所得，无论是土壤的湿度、阳光穿过叶片的角度，还是昆虫翅膀上细微的花纹，都栩栩如生地呈现在眼前。我尤其欣赏它那种近乎偏执的求真态度，它不是在讲述一个故事，而是在构建一个完整的、可触摸的生态系统。读到某些关于植物生长的段落时，我甚至能闻到泥土散发出的湿润气息和青草被碾碎后的那种特有的酸涩味道。这种沉浸感，在当代文学中已属罕见。然而，也正因为这种对客观世界的过度忠诚，使得角色的内心世界显得有些模糊不清，他们的情感波动似乎总是被那些繁复的自然描述所稀释，让人难以深入共鸣。整体而言，这是一部需要耐心去品味的著作，它更像是一部献给自然界的情书，而不是一部侧重于人类情感纠葛的小说。对于那些渴望从文字中寻找宁静与秩序的读者来说，它无疑是一剂良药，能够暂时抽离现代生活的喧嚣与浮躁。
这本书带给我的是一种久违的、近乎冥想的阅读体验。它的文字密度极高，每一个词语的选择都经过了千锤百炼，没有一个多余的副词或形容词。如果你试图快速浏览，只会错过太多，因为作者往往在最不经意的一句话中埋下了最深刻的见解。这种内敛的力量，迫使我不得不频繁地使用铅笔在页边做标记，不是因为赞同，而是因为需要暂时定住那些稍纵即逝的思绪。这本书的“声音”非常独特，它既像是站在山顶俯瞰的智者，又像是趴在地上观察苔藓的孩童。这种视角上的巨大落差，制造出一种奇特的文学张力。然而，书中关于某些地域性生态的描述，对于一个生活在完全不同地理环境下的读者来说，可能需要不断地查阅外部资料来辅助理解，这在一定程度上打断了阅读的流畅性。总的来说，这是一部需要“投入时间”的作品，它不会主动取悦你，而是要求你为它付出相应的专注力。
从文学技法的角度来看，这本书无疑是令人叹服的，尤其是在对“时间感”的营造上。它成功地模糊了宏大历史与微小瞬间的界限。读到书中描述一棵树木的生命周期时，那种跨越数十载的漫长感被压缩在短短几页之中，而与此同时，一朵花在阳光下短暂的开放与凋零，却被描绘得如同史诗般庄严。这种对时间刻度的灵活操控，是这本书最值得称道之处。它的叙事视角在不同层次间穿梭自如，从分子层面的化学变化，到气候变迁对整体景观的影响，作者始终保持着一种超然的观察者姿态。虽然它充满了科学的精准性，但其最终达成的效果却是极富诗意的，这种科学与诗歌的完美融合，让我想起了一些古代的炼金术手稿，充满了神秘的秩序感。但必须指出，由于主题的专业性和文本的严谨性，它在情绪感染力上显得相对薄弱，如果你期待的是那种能让你热泪盈眶的故事，这本书可能无法满足你。
这本书的哲学内核，用一种近乎冷峻的理性光芒，审视着人类与自然界之间那条若有若无的界限。它没有宏大的主题宣讲，更没有廉价的情感煽动，一切都建立在对事物本质的深刻洞察之上。我读到作者对“分类”这一行为的反复探讨，这不仅仅是生物学上的分类，更是人类试图用有限的认知框架去驯服无限世界的徒劳努力。那种略带讽刺意味的冷静语调贯穿始终，让你不得不停下来思考：我们所掌握的知识，究竟是通往真理的桥梁，还是为我们自己精心编织的舒适牢笼？文本的结构松散而又内在紧密，像是一张由无数独立观察点编织成的网，每一点看似随机，最终却指向同一个中心。语言风格上，它选择了极为克制和精准的词汇，避免了一切花哨的修饰，这使得阅读过程带有一种解剖式的精确感。对于习惯了快节奏叙事的读者，这本书可能会显得有些晦涩难懂，因为它要求你放慢呼吸，像一位博物学家那样，在每一个段落前驻足、沉思。
