PREFACE. XV 
Lewis XIV. of France, tho' one of the greatejl Princes of the Age he 
lived in, and engaged in fever al Wars for a confderable Part of his 
Life, yet found time to improve his Mind by the Study of the fine Arts, 
and efiablifhed an Academy for the farther Improvement of Arts and 
new Difcoveries in Nature : He was fuch a Lover of the ProduEiions of 
Nature, that he made Gardens and built inctgnificent Stoves, ^c. for 
the raifing and reception of all Exotick Plants, and built at VerfailJes 
near his Palace, an elegattt and curious Place called the Managery, with 
large Apartments and Conveniencies for the Reception of living Animals 
from all Parts of the W orld, and not only rare PiElures and Sculptures- 
of the greatefi Mafiers were colleEied in his Cabinets, but feveral ex- 
traordinary ProduEiions of Nature. Auguftus the late King ^Poland' 
was alfo a great Encourager of natural Knowledge, and had gather'd a- 
large ColleElion of natural ProduEiions from mofi Parts of the World. 
They who draw after Nature, on account of Natural Hifiory, fioould 
reprefient things jufily and according to Nature, and not firive to exalt 
or raife her above herfelf \ for by Jo doing, inflead of infiruEling, they 
will lead the W mid into Errors ; nor can the Works of two Authors on- 
the fame SubjeEl ever agree. The hifiorical Painter, efpecially he that 
would reprefent the FiElions of the Poets, tnay take greater Liberties, 
and fiudy by all Methods to elevate his SubjeEl by adding the highefi 
Strokes of At~t, in order to pleafe the Eye, and raife in the Mind Ideas 
equal to the Hiflorian or Poet he would reprefent : Tet every one who 
reads Natural Hifiory, and fees Figures and Defer ip t ions of things in 
Nature, fuppofes they are, or ought to have been immediately drawn and' 
defcribed from Nature. But no experienced Man, when he beholds am 
hifiorical P iece, fuppofes the Figures there drawn, are like to thofe they 
are intended to reprefent either in Feature or Perfon, any farther than 
in general the Hifiorian or Poet may have told us, that one Man was a 
graceful Perfon, another a little crooked or deformed, which Accidents a. 
Painter has liberty to carry to what degree of PerfeElion or ImperfeElmv 
he can conceive, provided alway he doth not contradiEl the Letter of his- 
Hifiorian. But in drawing after Nature a mofi religious and feruptdousc 
StriElnefs ts to be obferved, and by this means only we can demon jl rate, 
that Nature is or is tiot the fame through all Times, If NaturaK 
Hfiorians,., 
