ABSTRACT
Among the citations of Theophrastus in ancient secondary sources 1 there are a considerable number of passages, chiefly from Galen, relating to Theophrastus’ views on the sense of taste and a rather lesser number from various authors relating to his views on smell. The references in Galen are to be found in his work On the Constitutions and Powers of Simple Drugs, 2 which is not surprising, given that taste in particular was a good guide to the properties of plants and their medical potential, or at least one of the best guides ancient medicine possessed. Galen points out that taste is more reliable than smell in this connection, though, one might add, more perilous. 3
