''Exoticorum libri decem'' ("Ten books of exotic life forms") is an illustrated zoological and botanical compendium in

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

, published at

Leiden Leiden (; in English and archaic Dutch also Leyden) is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. The municipality of Leiden has a population of 119,713, but the city forms one densely connected agglomeration wi ...

in 1605 by

Charles de l'Écluse Charles de l'Écluse, L'Escluse, or Carolus Clusius (19 February 1526 – 4 April 1609), seigneur de Watènes, was an Artois doctor and pioneering botanist, perhaps the most influential of all 16th-century scientific horticulturists. Life Clu ...

. On the title page the author's name appears in its well-known Latin form Carolus Clusius. The full title is: ''Exoticorum libri decem, quibus animalium, plantarum, aromatum, aliorumque peregrinorum fructuum historiae describuntur'' ("Ten books of exotica: the history and uses of animals, plants, aromatics and other natural products from distant lands"). Clusius was not only an original biologist but also a remarkable linguist. He became well known as a translator and editor of the works of others. ''Exoticorum libri decem'' consists partly of his own discoveries, partly of translated and edited versions of earlier publications, always properly acknowledged, and with many new illustrations. Separately identifiable within this compendium can be found Clusius's Latin translations, with his own notes, from: *

Garcia de Orta Garcia de Orta (or Garcia d'Orta) (1501 – 1568) was a Sephardic Jewish physician, herbalist and naturalist of the Portuguese Renaissance, who worked primarily in the former Portuguese capital of Goa and the Bombay territory (Chaul, Bassein & D ...

, '' Colóquios dos simples e drogas he cousas medicinais da Índia'' (1563) *

Nicolás Monardes Nicolás Bautista Monardes (1493 – 10 October 1588) was a Spanish physician and botanist. Monardes published several books of varying importance. In ''Diálogo llamado pharmacodilosis'' (1536), he examines humanism and suggests studying s ...

, ''

Historia medicinal de las cosas que se traen de nuestras Indias Occidentales ''Historia medicinal de las cosas que se traen de nuestras Indias Occidentales'' ("Medical study of the products imported from our West Indian possessions") is the standard title for a survey by Nicolás Monardes (1493–1588), Spanish physician ...

'' (1565–1574) *

Cristóbal Acosta Cristóvão da Costa or Cristóbal Acosta and Latinized as Christophorus Acosta Africanus (c. 1525 c. 1594) was a Portuguese doctor and natural historian. He is considered a pioneer in the study of plants from the Orient, especially their use i ...

, ''Tractado de las drogas y medicinas de las Indias orientales'' (1578) There is also material by

Prospero Alpini Prospero Alpini (also known as Prosper Alpinus, Prospero Alpinio and Latinized as Prosperus Alpinus) (23 November 15536 February 1617) was a Venetian physician and botanist. He travelled around Egypt and served as the fourth prefect in charge of ...

(Prosper Alpinus) with notes by Clusius. As a separately paginated appendix appears Clusius's Latin translation (first published in 1589) of: *

Pierre Belon Pierre Belon (1517–1564) was a French traveller, naturalist, writer and diplomat. Like many others of the Renaissance period, he studied and wrote on a range of topics including ichthyology, ornithology, botany, comparative anatomy, architectur ...

, ''

Observations Observation is the active acquisition of information from a primary source. In living beings, observation employs the senses. In science, observation can also involve the perception and recording of data via the use of scientific instrument ...

'' (1553)

References

Bibliography

*, p. 160.

External links

''Exoticorum libri decem''
at Strasbourg University Library
''Exoticorum libri decem''
at Google Books Florae (publication) Herbals 1605 books 17th-century Latin books {{botany-book-stub