238 HISTORY OF SCIENCE. 



peared during the seventeenth century in Britain and elsewhere, but 

 we may here pass over their names and labours, in order to devote a 

 little space to the lives and works of two of the most eminent English 

 naturalists of the seventeenth century. 



JOHN RAY (1628 1705) was the son of a common blacksmith, but 

 he received his education at a grammar school at Braintree in Essex. 

 He graduated at Cambridge, and was elected to a fellowship there, 

 afterwards holding lectureships in Greek, mathematics, etc. Among 

 his pupils at the university was FRANCIS WILLUGHBY (1635 16 7 2 )> 

 a young Warwickshire squire, who, though seven years the junior of 

 Ray, became much attached to him, in consequence of the coinci- 

 dence of their tastes and pursuits as regards the study of natural history. 

 This commurn'ty of intellectual interests formed the basis of a warm and 

 lifelong friendship between the two men. Ray took orders in the Church 

 of England, but he found himself unable to comply with the conditions 

 which an Act passed in 1662 imposed on those holding a fellowship : 

 he was deprived of his emolument. He had before this made a tour 

 through certain parts of England and Wales in order to study their 

 natural history, and again in 1662 he travelled, in the company of 

 Mr. Willughby, over the northern counties and Scotland, and over the 

 greater part of the southern part of Britain. Ray appears to have 

 taken under his particular care the botany, while Willughby worked 

 at the zoological branch ; but both also laboured together in all de- 

 partments of natural history. The two friends made several journeys 

 between 1663 and 1667 in pursuit of their science, visiting France, 

 Holland, Germany, Italy, Malta, and various parts of England. Wil- 

 lughby married, and Ray now undertook some journeys alone ; but 

 much of his time was spent at Willughby's seat in Warwickshire. In 

 1671 Ray's friend was carried off by a fever in the thirty-seventh year 

 of his age. He left Ray an annuity of .70 a year, confided to him 

 the education of his two sons, and charged him to complete and pub- 

 lish the works on zoology he left unfinished. Ray continued to reside 

 at Middleton Hall until Mr. Willughby's sons were removed from his 

 care, and he then proceeded to discharge his literary trusts, editing 

 his deceased friend's works on birds and on fishes with the most af- 

 fectionate care, and, it is presumed, with much important additional 

 matter furnished from his own stores. The Ornithology appeared in 

 1676 in Latin, and two years afterwards an English edition was pre- 

 pared by Ray. The Ichthology was published in 1686. It had been 

 left in a very incomplete state, so that the first and second books were 

 entirely written by Ray, and he probably added much to the other 

 two. Ray contributed more largely to the progress of zoology than 

 any person of his time. His classification of animals surpasses in 

 scientific merit that of any previous writer. The following table gives 

 the general plan of Ray's division of animals. 



