Book I.] DEDICATIOIS'. H 



the learned generally, nothing was ever thonght more scan- 

 dalous. Feeling myself, therefore, secure against these vile 

 slanderers \ a name elegantly composed by Cato, to express 

 their slanderous and vile disposition (for what other object 

 have they, but to Avi^angle and breed quarrels ?), I will pro- 

 ceed with my projected work. 



And because the public good requires that you should be 

 spared as much as possible from all trouble, I have subjoined 

 to this epistle the contents of each of the following books^, 

 and have used my best endeavours to prevent your being 

 obliged to read them all through. And this, which was 

 done for your benefit, will also serve the same purpose for 

 others, so that any one may search for what he 'SA'ishes, and 

 may Ivuow where to find it. This has been already done 

 among us by Valerius Soranus, in his work which he enti- 

 tled " On Mysteriesl" 



The 1st book is the Preface of the "Work, dedicated to 



Titus Vespasian Csesar. 

 The 2nd is on the World, the Elements, and the Heavenly 



Bodies'*. 

 The 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th books are on Geography, in 

 which is contained an accoimt of the situation of the 

 different countries, the inhabitants, the seas, towns, 

 harbours, mountains, rivers, and dimensions, and the 

 various tribes, some of which still exist and others have 

 disappeared. 

 The 7th is on Man, and the Inventions of Man. 

 The 8th on the various kinds of Laud Animals. 

 The 9th on Aquatic Animals. 

 The 10th on the various kinds of Birds. 



1 " Yitiligatores." 



2 The table of contents, which occiipic3 no less than 121< pages in 

 Lemaire's edition, I have omitted, in consequence of its length ; the ob- 

 ject wliich the author proposed to effect by the table of contents will be 

 gained more completely by an alphabetical index. 



3 " 'ETTOTTTidojv." For an account of Valerius Soranus see Hardouin's 

 Index Auctorum, in Lemaire, i. 217. 



■* To the end of eacli book of the Natural History is appended, in the 

 origuial, a copious hst of references to the sources from wliich the author 

 derived his information. These are very numci'ous ; in the second book 

 they amomit to 45, in the third to 35, in the Itli to 53, in the fifth to 60, 

 in the sixth to 54, and they are in tho same proportion in the remaining 

 books. 



