156 INTELLECTUAL GLOBE. 



mere words and rhetorical ornament (which is better adapted 

 to disquisition and the talk of literary nights than to estab 

 lish philosophy), this great appearance of substance sub 

 sides to nothing. Thus there seems to have been desiderated 

 and collected by some men, in this instance, rather a The 

 saurus for the allusions of eloquence, than a solid and 

 authentic narrative of facts. Besides it seems to no great 

 purpose to recount or know the wonderful varieties of 

 flowers of the iris or the tulip, of shells, or dogs, or hawks. 

 For these are nothing but the sport or wantonness of na 

 ture, and approach nearly the nature of individuals. By 

 which means men acquire exquisite minuteness of know 

 ledge in the objects, but meager and even useless informa 

 tion as respects the purposes, of science. Yet these are the 

 things of which the common natural history makes such 

 an ostentatious display. Now though natural history has, 

 on the one hand, degenerated into foreign, and, on the 

 other, indulged in superfluous inquiries, yet assuredly great 

 and valuable parts of it have either been entirely passed 

 over, or carelessly and lightly handled. And in the whole 

 scope of its investigations and its accumulations, it is not 

 by any means found adapted and qualified to attain the 

 end of which we speak, namely, to found philosophy. This 

 will appear best in its particular branches, and by a com 

 parison of that history, whose descriptions we shall pre 

 sently submit to the eyes of man, with that which now ob 

 tains. 



CHAP. IV. 



The Treatise begins by stating what the History wanted 

 ought to be ; namely, a Natural History, as a foundation 

 for Philosophy. To unfold this more clearly, there is first 

 exhibited a Scheme of the History of Generations. Of this 

 the Parts are set down as Jive : Thejirst, the History of the 

 Heavenly Bodies ; the second, of Meteors ; the third, of Earth 

 and Sea ; the fourth, of the greater Colleges of things, 

 that is of Elements or Masses; the Jifth of the smaller 

 Colleges or Species. The History of primitive Virtues is 

 reserved, till the Exposition of the first Division, namely, 

 of Generations, Preter-generations, and Arts, is completed. 



As we think it concerns our honour not to leave to others 

 the execution of the history which we desire, but to impose 

 it as a task upon ourselves, since in proportion as the sub- 



