PREFACE of the TRANSLATORS, vii. 



both ; which new form partakes more of the egg, if 

 that word precedes in the compound, as egg-oblong ; 

 or more of the oblong, if that word precedes, as oblong- 

 egg'd. Hence thefe two words are made to reprefent 

 forms of four kinds very nearly allied ; but to thefe he 

 has added oval, and elliptic, and again compounded 

 thefe with oblong and tgg, and has thus, as it were, 

 conjured up before our eyes the outlines of forms as 

 numerous and as accurate by the magic of a few words, 

 as the pencil alone was thought capable of producing. 

 Our readers will perceive, that to equal all thefe niceties 

 of combination with precifion and concifenefs in our 

 translation was an undertaking that required fome 

 degree of hardinefs ; this was the Gorgon-feature, that 

 had hitherto frozen the defigns, or blafted the progrefs 

 of all, who looked upon this giant NaturaJift, and 

 deterred them from the encounter. 



In the construction of thefe numerous and difficult 

 compound words we have laboured their concifenefs 

 and diftinctnefs, as our author has done, rather than the 

 elegance of their combinations ; and as our language 

 allows of great variety of compound words, and thofe 

 terminating either as fubilantives, adjectives, verbs, 

 or participles both active and paffive, we have found 

 it as well adapted to this purpofe as the latin, and 

 perhaps not much lefs fo than the greek. We had 

 ^reat difficulty however in determining the two follow- 

 .ng circumftances, about which we confulted many of 

 «ur ingenious friends. The firft was, whether the la- 

 in words cor datum, ovatum, lunatum, lanceolatum, 

 Jiatulatum, car inatum, /erratum, hafiatum, peltatum, 

 and the like, expreffivc of the forms of leaves, would 

 better be tranflated by their correfpondent englifh 

 words, hearted, eggd, moond, lanced, Jpatuled, 



keel'd 



