OF CURIOSITY. . 199 



the world, that man fliould every where be- 

 hold the miraculous work of his hands, and 

 that the earth Ihould afford an endlefs variety, 

 feemingly with intent that the novelty of the 

 objeds fhould excite his curioHty, and hinder 

 him from being difgufted by too much uni- 

 formity, as it has happened to fonie wretches, 

 whofe flatlon in life placed then> above labor, 

 and who wanted curiofity to look into thefe 

 things. Some objedls were made to pleafe the 

 fmell, -the tafte, the fight, the hearing, or other 

 fenfes, fo that nothing can be faid to be with- 

 out its ufe. That branch of knowledge which 

 ferves to difcover the chara6lers of natural 

 things and teaches us to call them by their 

 names, feems perhaps by no means necelTary. 

 But let it be confidered that the firft degree 

 of wifdom is to know things when we fee 

 them, i. e. to know them by their names •, and 

 without this knowledge fcarce any progrefs 

 can be made. To know the letters of the 

 alphabet, to joyn them into fyllables, to un- 

 derftand words is not folid erudition -, yet it 

 is abfolutely neceffary for him, who would 

 become learned. Thus the characters, and 

 names of things muft be thoroughly learned 

 in order to obtain any ufe from natural hillory. 

 O 4 We 



