34 
The history of BOTANY. 
of Clafles : opinion led fome, and a dcfire of novelty induced others, in 
their choice of different portions of the Plant. Tho’ many bad fyfttms 
were thus formed, there alfo appeared feveral which had merit ; and r.ot 
the word but gave a great deal of new light into the flruilure of that part 
on which it was eftabliflaed. 
The old diftindtions were no more regarded : the virtues of the Plants, 
the feafons of their flowering, their place of growth, or the initial letters of 
their names, were no longer made the objedbs of arrangement. The early 
divifion into Trees, Shrubs, and Plants, indeed, long held its place : and 
llubborn Nature fo far triumphed over the diflindtions of arbitrary fciencc : 
at length Linnaeus rofe to abolifli that. 
To trace the period, and the hidory of this new form of the Botanic 
Study, is to do more honour to this C.®salpinus : we fee him rife alone 
from the full crowd of thofe who thought it was enough to number and 
deferibe the Plants; and tho’ the improvement he propofed was evident to 
all the world, yet for fo long a fpace of time none followed him. He ap- 
peared fingle ; and tho’ refpedted, was unimitated. There was danger his 
difeoveries would perifli with his name. But tho’ vve muft give the in- 
vention of fydem to a flranger, our countrymen revived it after this negledt. 
One hundred and three years after CynsALriNus, Morison, a Briton, 
entered earneflly, and not unhappily, into the fame path. Ray followed, 
whom an accidental fervice to a friend, led into the lull road of fcience ; 
our bifhop Wilkins, then bufied in his real Character, defired of 
Ray an arrangement of the Vegetable World, fuited to the purpofe of 
that work. This firfl direded the mind of that great man, ferioully and 
attentively to the clafling and arranging of Plants ; a fludy to which he 
afterwards devoted himlelf in a manner entirely; to the great benefit of the 
Botanic World. He formed a method which, tho’ full of imperfedions, 
yet comes nearer nature than, perhaps, any other. Knautius followed 
Ray, and Herman him : Riverius was cotemporary with Knautius ; 
thefe both wrote in the year 1690. And after four years more followed 
Tournefort, the greatclf of them all. 
Thus clofed upon the fcience the feventeenth century ; in the laft feven- 
tcen years of which, the long negieded inflitution of C/esalpinus was 
fo well revived, that there appeared no lefs than fix diflind Syflems of 
Plants; and each of very confiderable merit. The authors of the four 
firft held the Fruits and Seeds, according to the original pradice of their 
great mafter, to be the propereff, at lead: the mod effential, parts on which 
to found a Sydem. Riverius druck out the delign of fixing the Cha- 
7 raders 
