334 KINGFISHER. Class II. 



settle with precision some few of the animals 

 of the antients. 



Italy, a country crowded with travellers of 

 all nations, hath not furnished a single writer 

 on classical zoology. The East has been more 

 fortunate : Belon, the first voyager *who made 

 remarks in natural history during his travels, 

 mentions many of the animals of the places he 

 visited, and may be very useful to ascertain 

 those of Aristotle, especially as he has given 

 their anodern Greek names. Our countryman, 

 Dr. Russel, enumerates those of Syria. Dr. 

 Hasselquist has made some additions to the 

 ornithology of Egypt: but all these fall short 

 of the merits of that most learned and inquisi- 

 tive traveller, Dr. Shaw ; who with unparal- 

 leled learning and ingennity, has left behind 

 him the most satisfactory, and the most beauti- 

 ful comments on the animals of the antients, 

 particularly those mentioned in holy writ, 

 or which relate to the JEgyptian mythology: 

 such as do honor to our country, and we flatter 

 ourselves will prove incentives to other travel- 

 lers, to complete what must prove superior to 

 any one genius, be it ever so great : from such 

 we may be supplied with the means of illustrat- 

 ing the works of the antient naturalists ; whilst 

 commentators, after loading whole pages with 



