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prudence will point out, and offered merely as 
hints which may or may not be well grounded, as 
I cannot but have an imperfect knowledge of some 
parts of the matter. 
First then, as the human mind is limited, and 
your first business is that of the study of physic, 
give me leave to say, that as your thoughts must 
unavoidably be much engrossed by the variety and 
pleasingness of the many objects about you, I would 
not suffer them to get too much possession of my 
mind ; but after I had arranged everything to my 
satisfaction, and taken a complete catalogue, I 
would let the collection remain as it was, after I 
had digested the following considerations: viz. 
whether I should dispose of any part of it at all? 
and if I did, whether it would be right to do it di- 
rectly while the public curiosity was awake, or wait ? 
—If you mean to give lectures, the minerals cannot 
be disposed of, no more than the insects or plants. 
I conclude therefore that you will not dispose of 
these at present, as you cannot tell whether you 
may lecture or not.—Secondly, as to the matter of 
publishing, I am to suppose (without knowing it 
to be a fact) that you have complete manuscripts 
of Syst. Nat., Gen. and Sp. Pl., Fl. Suecic., and the 
eighth volume of men. Acad., for an improved 
edition of each. But first let me ask you, whether 
your hortus siccus is named by this manuscript edi- 
tion :-—If it is not, it certainly must, as many alter- 
ations may have taken place. If it is, it remains 
whether you mean to publish these, or not? At 
present certainly not, as you have not time ; but 
VOL. I. K 
