68 STUDY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
narrative, while, from being more illustrative than 
descriptive, they exercised little or no influence in 
maturing or improving systematic classification. 
The chief of these we shall, therefore, now enumerate. 
Some of them exhibit the method of Linneus; 
others, that of Fabricius ; and a few merely describe 
the insects that are figured. They may all, how- 
ever, be considered as belonging to this epoch of 
the science, when entomologists had no other divi- 
sions than orders, genera, and species—when fami- 
lies and sub-families had not been detected —and 
when, in short, the augmentation of species was con- 
sidered the most important object of the Naturalist. 
The beautiful coloured plates of European Lepr- 
doptera by Ernst*, though drawn with little taste, 
are very faithful, and constitute a valuable set of 
elucidations of this order: the letterpress is by 
Father Engramelle, an Augustine monk, and is 
merely confined to the subjects figured. About the 
same time, another illustrated work, on the very 
same subject, was commenced, in German, by Esper t, 
a painter of Nuremberg, which continued to be 
published, at intervals, until it reached five volumes, 
when it was discontinued; and even these are now 

* Ernst and Engramelle. Papillons d’Europe, peints 
daprés Nature. Paris, 1779—1793. 8 vols. royal 4to. M. 
Cuvier is incorrect in stating there are only six volumes of 
this work. See Rég. Anim. tome iv. p. 116. The last part of 
vol. viii. is excessively rare. 
+ E. J. C. Esper. Die Schmetterlingen in Abbildungen, 
&c.; or, the Lepidopterous Insects of Europe, figured and 
described from Nature. Erlang, 1777—1794. 5 vols. 4to. 
(The Reg. Animal erroneously states that there are only four. ) 
