On the Affinities of the Falconidce. 309 



whether they ought to be retained in the group under con- 

 sideration, or be placed under the next adjoining. Such is 

 the case with all the works of Nature, presenting to the eye 

 of the observer one harmonious whole, leading the mind 

 gradually from the contemplation of Nature to Natur@ ! s 

 God. 



That the ancients were aware of these subdivisions, we 

 learn from the writings of Aristotle, who, in his elaborate 

 work, divides the Hawks into three groups, viz. aeroi, lepa- 

 \£G, and i\tivoi, and these again into minor groups. Thus 

 under the lepa^ec are included all the Falconidae belonging 

 to the families Hawks, Falcons, and Buzzards, properly so 

 called.* In fact, upon this arrangement all the great im- 

 provements which have within these few years been pro- 

 posed, are founded. Nor is it alone in ornithology that the 

 ancients excelled ; for we find that in regard to many qua- 

 drupeds they had much more accurate information than 

 either Buffon or Linnaeus. Thus what Aristotle has writ- 

 ten in regard to the organization, history, and manners of 

 the Elephant is much superior and more accurate than the 

 account given by Buffon. Neither Buffon nor Linnaeus 

 were acquainted with more than one species of Elephant, 

 though both the Asiatic and African species seem to have 

 been not only well known to the ancient naturalists, but 

 also to the statuarists, for we find them both not only well 

 described, but also accurately represented on monuments, 

 models, &c.f Moreover there are many animals described 

 well by the ancients, which till lately were considered fa- 

 bulous. Thus, for example, we may mention the prickly 

 mouse, stated by Aristotle and iElian as occurring in Egypt 

 and Lybia, which animal was actually found to exist there 

 by the French Scientific Mission which accompanied Bona- 



* Vigors on the Falconidae, Zool. Journ. 



f Marcel de Serres, Edin. New Phil. Journ. vol. xvn. p. 274. 



