4 A Preliminary Difcourfe concerning Anatomy 
nient Inftruments and tools to work with ; fbme give their 
Pains, others their Purfes ; all their defires and good 
wifhes to 16 noble a defigri. But fince it will be fbme time 
before we can expect lo vaft a Pile to be compleated ; 
great care mull be had, that what is brought in, be pre- 
ferved and fecured either from the Injuries of the wea- 
ther or times, or danger of being fquandered away, and 
that all may be ready at hand when they come to have 
occafionof ufing it in railing this ftately fabrick ; for the 
modelling and contriving of which the skilfulleft Artifts 
muff be confulted. with,. though even the meaneft in fbme 
things mtfy give in their Informations. I fhall therefore 
here propofe a rude Draught or Sciagraphy of a Natural 
Hifiory of Animals', fiich as halfily occurred to me ; not 
what may be done, or the thing requires, but what haply 
may afford fbme Hints to others. 
In compiling therefore a Natural Hijlory of Animals, I 
have alwayes thought that Ambition of fbme of wri tin g 
an Vniverfal, more Pompous than Inftructive ; for the 
Method they have ufually taken hath been to rake in all 
from former Authors, without feparating the weeds, or 
lifting the chaff from the Grain : By this they have far- 
ther propagated many antiquated errors, without adding 
much new Truths to the flock themfelves. But had 
they taken as much pains and travail in fearching the 
Books of Nature as they have in thole of former JYriters, 
and inftead of giving us an account of Animals of for rain 
Countreys ( which they could not obferve ) they had 
made a curious and ff riff Inquiry into thofe of their own, 
their accounts would have been more faithful and web 
come, and they have deferved more for this Particular, 
than their univerfal Hifiory. 
N tmoi *cP 3 itmny of a wKwv nfuov Tronic* 
I could therefore wiflh we had a good Hiftory of the 
Animals of our own Countrey, and not like giddy Tra- 
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