10 PRIMITIVE ENTOMOLOGISTS. 



Aristotle, Pliny, and Virgil wrote of them largely, though, 

 indeed, somewhat erroneously ; the former, with other similar 

 fables, asserting not only that flies were meat-engendered (a 

 notion still ignorantly entertained), but that they also inherited 

 a disposition, fierce or harmless, according to that of their 

 flesh-fathers, when in life. Quite as absurdly, though more 

 poetically, Virgil says or sings of Bees that 



" From herbs and fragrant flowers 

 They call their young." 



With these and similarly confused notions about the origin 

 of Insects and other created beings, their beauties and wonders 

 had, certainly, much less claim upon the notice of the ancients 

 than on ours, who have acknowledged them for the work 

 of one Divine Hand, and regarded them as visible tokens of 

 that Divine Mind of which they are thus permitted to afford 

 us a partial revelation ; but since with incentives comparatively 

 slight, the study of nature in general, and of Insects in 

 particular, was yet deemed by enlightened heathens worthy of 

 infinite attention, is it not strange that the classic robe which 

 has so often lent a dignity to a host of insignificancies, should 

 not at least have defended poor Entomology from , neglect or 

 ridicule ? Yet so it has not been. 



On the revival of general learning, there appeared in Europe 

 a few works in which Insects were noticed among other objects 

 of natural history ; but it was not, we believe, till the reign' 

 of Charles the First that they obtained in England the honour 

 of a whole Latin book to themselves, and were introduced to 

 the learned public in Mouffet's Theatrum Insectorum. 



An English translation 1 followed, and a curious old book 

 it is, giving a complete view of all that was then known 

 on the subject of Insects, with much information since 

 confirmed, and with it an infinitely larger portion of gravely 

 and quaintly affirmed nonsense, perhaps not the least amusing 



1 Theatre of Insects, Mazerne. 



