It may however be asked, what kind of a plant was the _scolymus_? That it was different from the _cinara_ is undoubtedly certain; for Dioscorides[613] expressly distinguishes them; nor was it the eatable _carduus_, for Pliny compares it with the _carduus_, and says that it was characterized from the latter by having roots fit to be eaten. Stapel is of opinion that the _scolymus_ is our artichoke; but this seems to me improbable, for the leaves and roots of the latter are not sweet, but harsh and bitter, and the calyx is prickly, which was not the case in the _scolymus_ of Theophrastus. Besides, I find nothing in the whole description of the _scolymus_ or in the accounts given us by the ancients of the _cinara_ and _carduus_, that can be applied to our artichoke alone, and not to any other plant. It may be here replied, that it would be very difficult to ascertain plants from the names of the ancients, were such strong proofs required, because they had not the art of separating the different genera correctly, and of assigning to each certain characterizing marks. This I allow; and for that reason it is impossible to elucidate properly the Greek and Latin names of plants; but, in my opinion, it is better to confess this impossibility, than to deceive oneself with distant probabilities. Let the genus be ascertained when one cannot ascertain the species; let the order to which the plant belongs be determined when one cannot determine the genus; or, at least, let the class be assigned when there is sufficient authority to do so. The _cinara_, _carduus_ and _scolymus_ were therefore species of the thistle, of which the roots and young shoots, and also the bottom of the calyx of the last, were eaten. Were I appointed or condemned to form a new Latin dictionary, I should explain the article _Scolymus_ in the following manner:--Planta composita, capitata. Caulis longus, obsitus foliis spinosis. Radix carnosa, lactescens, nigra, dulcis, edulis. Calyx squamis inermibus, disco carnoso, ante efflorescentiam eduli. Semina papposa. Turiones edules. This description, short as it is, contains every thing that the ancients have said in order to characterize that plant. It can, indeed, be understood only by those who are acquainted with the terms of botany; but what follows will require no explanation or defining of botanical names.