X PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION. 



every thing? By what name shall we speak of the Velella^ 

 which figures there twice among the Medusfe and once among 

 the Holothuriae ? How are we to bring together the Biphorse ; 

 some of which are called there Dagysse, the greater number 

 SalpED, and several placed among the Holothuriae. 



In order, therefore, completely to attain the object, it was 

 not sufficient to review the species it w^as necessary to re- 

 view their synonymes, or in other words to remodel the sys- 

 tem of animals. 



Such an enterprise, from the prodigious development of 

 the science in late years, could not have been executed com- 

 pletely by any one individual, even supposing him to have no 

 other employment and to live the longest possible term of 

 years ; had I been constrained to depend upon myself alone, 

 I should not have been able to prepare even the simple sketch 

 I now give ; but the resources of my position seemed to me to 

 supply what I wanted both of time and talent. Living in the 

 midst of so many able naturalists drawing from their works 

 as fast as they appeared enjoying the use of their collec- 

 tions as freely as themselves and having formed a very con- 

 siderable one myself especially appropriated to my object ; a 

 great portion of my labour consisted merely in the employ- 

 ment of so many rich materials. It v^^as not possible, for in- 

 stance, that much remained for me to do on shells studied by 

 M. de Lamarck, or on quadrupeds described by M. Geoffroy. 

 The numerous and new affinities observed by M. de Lace- 

 pede were so many traits for my system of fishes. Among so 

 many beautiful birds, collected from all parts of the world, 

 M. Le Vaillant perceived details of organization, which I im- 

 mediately adapted to my plan. My own researches, employed 

 and multiplied by other naturalists, yielded those fruits to me, 

 which, in my hands alone, they would not, all, have produced. 

 Thus, by examining, in the cabinet I have formed, the ana- 

 tomical preparations on which I designed to found my division 

 of reptiles, M. de Blainville and M. Oppel anticipated (and 

 perhaps better than I could have done) results of which as 

 yet I had but a glimpse, &c., &c. 



