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Purgantium aliarumque eo facientium, tum et Radicum, Convolvulorum ac deleteriarum herbarum historiæ libri IIII. Remberto Dodonæo mechliniensi medico auctore.

Farmaceutica - Erbari

This is an interesting survey of numerous species for each of which Dodoens provides an entry that includes a description, common names, properties and so forth. The illustrations, which accompany all of the botanical monographs, are quite true to form and, for their quality and adherence to reality, are truly superior to other depictions of the times. The text is divided into four books: the first and the second treat purgative herbs, the third convolvuli and the fourth "harmful and noxious" herbs. The text is followed by a substantial appendix (Appendix variarum et quidem rarissimarum nonnullarum stirpium...) by Dodoens himself. It is almost a book unto itself given that many other plants are described beyond those already dealt with in the four books of the text itself. The binding is interesting with its stamped figures in relief. On the cover there is a towering figure that holds the shaft of a wheel while walking on the sea in the presence of a passing a caravel: under the figure we see written, also in relief, PASSIS AMBIGV FORTU VOLV ER, with a clear allusion to the identity of the figure. In a large strip superimposed on the central figure the trigraph LSV is stamped and, underneath, on a base of sorts appears the date of 1575. On the back cover there is another figure with a scale in her left hand and a very large sword in her right. She seems to be walking in a meadow teeming with plants. Here there is no trigraph, only 5 ornaments of floral-botanical motifs, which are repeated below in place of the date. Underneath this figure (Justice?) appears the writing SVVM CUIC_VAE IUSTE TRIBVO. A cornice that runs completely around the two covers contains floral motifs and followed by scenes of intermingled classical figures. The spine also has motifs in relief.

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