# Enquiry into Plants 9.7-2

Theophrastus, Enquiry into Plants, Γ, Chapter 9. Ancient Greek.

Canonical: https://interlinea.aeterna-institute.org/library/greek/theophrastus/enquiry-into-plants/9.7-2

Διαφέρει δὲ καὶ κατὰ τὸ ξύλον οὐ μικρόν· τὸ μὲν γὰρ τῆς ἐλάτης ἰνῶδες καὶ μαλακὸν καὶ κοῦφον, τὸ δὲ τῆς πεύκης δᾳδῶδες καὶ βαρὺ καὶ σαρκωδέστερον. ὄζους δὲ ἔχει πλείους μὲν ἡ πεύκη σκληροτέρους δ᾿ ἡ ἐλάτη, σχεδὸν δὲ πάντων ὡς εἰπεῖν σκληροτέρους, τὸ δὲ ξύλον μαλακώτερον. ὅλως δὲ οἱ ὄζοι πυκνότατοι καὶ στερεώτατοι μόνον οὐ διαφανεῖς ἐλάτης καὶ πεύκης καὶ τῷ χρώματι δᾳδώδεις καὶ μάλιστα διάφοροι τοῦ ξύλου, μᾶλλον δὲ τῆς ἐλάτης. ἔχει δέ, ὥσπερ ἡ πεύκη τὴν αἰγίδα, καὶ ἡ ἐλάτη τὸ λευκὸν λοῦσσον καλούμενον, οἷον ἀντίστροφον τῇ αἰγίδι, πλὴν τὸ μὲν λευκὸν ἡ δ᾿ αἰγὶς εὔχρως διὰ τὸ ἔνδᾳδον. πυκνὸν δὲ καὶ λευκὸν γίνεται καὶ καλὸν ἐκ τῶν πρεσβυτέρων ἤδη δένδρων· ἀλλὰ σπάνιον τὸ χρηστόν, τὸ δὲ τυχὸν δαψιλές, ἐξ οὗ τά τε τῶν ζωγράφων πινάκια ποιοῦσι καὶ τὰ γραμματεῖα τὰ πολλά· τὰ δ᾿ ἐσπουδασμένα ἐκ τοῦ βελτίονος.

---

Theophrastus, Enquiry into Plants, ed. Arthur Hort. Text: The Greek Library, from the Perseus Digital Library and other open sources, CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: apostrophes normalised and the text divided into reading sections by Interlinea.
License: CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Source: https://thegreeklibrary.pages.lisn.upsaclay.fr/works/tlg0093.tlg001.local001/.