MEMOIR OF RAY. 
49 
modo a reliquis arboribus differunt quo monocotyle- 
dones a reliquis herbis.” It is with peculiar satis- 
faction that we thus do justice to our great British 
naturalist, and restore to him the honour of which 
he has been in a great measure deprived. We 
readily acknowledge that we are proud of being able 
to call him our countryman, for he was in all re- 
spects as good as he was great. How far we may 
be unduly biassed by natural patriotic feelings, it is 
not in our power to determine ; but while our pre- 
sent convictions continue, we cannot allow a decided 
pre-eminence to Tournefort. Both of them, indis- 
putably, possessed supereminent excellence, and we 
cannot but lament that they were not better friends. 
But irritabile genus is a character which might have 
been extended by the poet much beyond his own 
fraternity 
The first work in which he made a practical ap- 
plication of his system, and long before he had ren- 
dered it so complete as it appears in the above ta- 
ble, was his general Historic i Plantarwn , of which 
the first volume, forming a thick folio, was publish- 
ed in 1686. He undertook this work at the re- 
quest of several of his learned friends, particularly 
two gentlemen of rank named Hatton, to whom the 
first volume is dedicated. The second volume ap- 
peared about a year afterwards, and a supplementary 
one was added in 1704. In this arduous undertaking 
* Rees* Cyclopaedia. 
