PREFACE, ix 
and vegetables lefs requifite, while his creative 
pen adds life and motion to every object. 
From hence it may be eafily inferred, that 
an acquaintance with the works of nature is 
equally neceflary to form a genuine and cor- 
rect tafte for any of the above mentioned arts, 
Tafte is no more than a quick fenfibility of 
imagination refined by judgement, and cor- 
rected by experience; but experience is ano- 
ther termfor knowledge *, and to judge of na- 
tural images, we muft acquire the fame know- 
ledge, and by the fame means as the painter, 
the poet, or the {culptor. : 
Thus far natural hiftory in general feems 
connected with the polite arts; but were we 
to defcend into all its particular ufes in com- 
mon life, we fhould exceed the bounds of a 
preface: it will be therefore neceffary to con- 
fine our inquiries to the inveftigation of a 
fingle part of the material world, which few 
are fo ignorant as not to know is divided into 
the animal, vegetable, and foffil kingdoms. 
Vaft would be the extent of the inquiries 
into each of thefe; but tho’ ambition may 
tempt us to pervade the whole field of fcience, 
yet a little experience will open to our views 
the immenfe tracts of natural knowlege, and 
we fhall find it an arduous tafk only to in- 
veftigate a fingle province, fo as to {peak with 
precifion and certainty ; without which there 
can be no real improvementsin natural hiftory. 
* See the effay on the origin of our ideas of the fublime 
and beautiful. 
For 
