The PREFACE. ir 



the intention of this treatife ia.is to 

 he as cmcife as pcfjiiky and entirely 

 praBical ; the immediate caufes within^ 

 whieh occqjion the djorder, with the 

 moft plaujihle theories relative thereto^ 

 are in ^enral omitted as premrioia 

 and deJu/ive ; for njoe apprehend they 

 tend rather to co found, than improve 

 the judgment y and obfcure an art that 

 Jh'ould chiefly be founded on penetrating 

 obfervation, and faithful defcription. 

 Indeed, the incertitude thas has always 

 appeared in thrfe fort of conjeBures^ 

 hath now fully convinced the ingenuous 

 of their inn I ill ty^ and that one Syden- 

 ham^ one faithful recorder of facfs^ 

 has merited more ^ by\ohferving andjol-- 

 lowing nature, painting to the life what 

 his eyes faw, and fingers felt^ than all 

 the hypothetical writers united : as a 

 proof of this, we need only re coll eB the 

 numberlejs, ridiculous, and inconfiftenf 

 theories^ that have fprung up fuccejjively^ 

 and which all had th:ir patrons fo^ a 

 time, hut dwindled into dfrepute and 

 oblivion, in proportion to the advances 

 of more plahjible conje5lures : and this 

 probably will be tie fate of all lubjequent 



mes^ 



