42 INTKODUCTION. 



history of that island, and pubHshed numerous works on 

 botany and various branches of zoology, the most impor- 

 tant of the latter relating to ichthyology. There is no 

 published evidence that he had at this time much ac- 

 quaintance with the mollusks, although by his own state- 

 ment, his collection of shells amounted at the period of 

 his embarkation from Sicily, to the mcredible number of 

 600,000 specimens ! On reaching the coast of the 

 United States he suffered shipAvreck, by which his col- 

 lections, manuscripts and library, the fruits of the labor 

 of years, were lost, and his property was so much im- 

 paired, that he never recovered from the blow, but sunk 

 into a state of poverty and even of destitution, in which 

 he continued until his death in 1840. 



It is conceded on all hands, that the wi'itings of M. 

 Rafinesque, previous to liis departure from Sicily, indi- 

 cate the possession of considerable talent, and a degree 

 of sagacity which placed him in some respects m advance 

 of his contemporaries. It is stated indeed by one of his 

 partial friends, that he anticipated by ten years, a large 

 proportion of the generic and sub-generic ichthyological 

 distinctions which were subsequently taken up in the 

 Regne Animal.^ But it is at the same time evident, 

 that his judgment was even then unsound, his discrimi- 

 native perceptions of uncertain force, and that his mind 

 was too easily captivated by new and original views, 

 without sufficiently establishing the facts on which they 



' Swainson. Cabinet Cyclopedia. Fishes, Amphibians and Reptiles, 

 Vol. i. pp. 60 — 62. 



