<h»v 
OF INSECTS IN GENERAt. 
ranged ; a new edition in Latin was afterwards given I>y 
Dr. Lifter, in which many errors were corrected, and a 
new arrangement made out by that able naturalift, who 
has himfelf written a valuable treatife upon the intricate 
genus of Spiders. 
Some of thefe authors, by the extent of their labours, 
and othsrs by the boldnefs of their genius, had convin- 
ced mankind that the ancients were far from attaining 
that perfect knowledge of nature which they had hither- 
to imagined. They were now fo far emboldened by the 
progrefs they had already made, that they trufted 
to their own judgment and obfcrvation in examining the 
works of nature ; and many productions far more judi- 
cious, accurate, and philofophical, were offered to the 
public, than had ever hitherto appeared. Among the 
firft of thefe may be ranked that of our celebrated coun- 
tryman Mr. Ray, who had, for the greater part of his 
life, affiduoufly examined the economy of infects. His 
Methodus Tnfeclorum was not publiihed till after his death 
in 1710, and may be regarded as the mod accurate and 
concife performance on the fubject of entymology. In 
the meanwhile, there appeared a numerous lift of au. 
thors who treated this clafs of the animal kingdom ; Sll- 
lin defcribed the infects of England , while Sir Harts' 
Sloan, Petivert, Catefby, and Frifch, have detailed the 
hiftory of vail numbers of exotic animals of this tribe. 
In this Gate of the fcience, about the year 1754, ap- 
peared M. de Reaumur, by far the moll laborious and in- 
defatigable entymologiil in Europe. Almoft in every 
part of France this naturalift had correfponderits ftationed 
to tranfmit him by poll defcriptions and fpecimens of 
every curious and rare infect that might occur : And in 
cider 
