被遗忘的自然体系传播者(1790—1820)

The Forgotten Advocates of Natural System(1790-1820)

在十八世纪末十九世纪初,西方植物学界所采用的分类体系经历了从林奈人工体系到裕苏自然体系的转变。在美国,率先关注、呼吁采用自然体系的是一群药物学教授兼植物学家们。他们这样做有非常实际的动力,即通过植物间的自然关系来寻找具有相似药性的植物。事实上,这也是当时植物分类学者们构建自然体系的目的之一。这些学者大都相信,完美的自然体系不但能反映植物外部形态之间的相似性,也可反映其内部特性之间的远近关系;不过与此同时,还有一小部分药物学教授认为,可为植物药性提供确定依据的是化学分析而非自然关系。前者对自然体系的追求为进化论的提出打下了基础;后者的化学进路则通向了现代西方药学。

At the end of the eighteenth century and the beginning of the nineteenth century,the classification system adopted by the Western botany community transferred from Linnaeus＇ artificial system to Jussieu＇natural system. In America,a group of Materia Medica professors and naturalists firstly called for and partly adopted the natural system. One of their motives to do so was to look for new plants with medical properties through the natural affinities of plants. In fact,it was also one of the ends of the plant taxonomists working for the natural system. Those scholars believed that,the true natural system can not only reflect the affinities of plants in external forms,but also the affinities in their internal qualities. However,some other Materia Medica professors thought that,chemical analysis was more reliable than the so called＂natural affinity＂in determining the medical properties of plants. The former＇s pursuit of natural system provided basis for the evolution theory; the latter＇s chemistry approach led to the modern western pharmacy.