P R E F A C E. 
XV 
tided in his Cabinets, but federal extraordinary Productions of Nature. Auguftus the 
late King of Poland was alfo a great Encourager of natural Knowledge, and had ga¬ 
thered a large Collection of natural Productions from mof Parts of the World . 
They who draw after Nature, on account of Natural Hiftory, Jhould reprefent things 
jufily and according to Nature-, and not ft rive to exalt or raife her above herfelf-, for 
by Jo doing, inftead of inftruCting, they will lead the World into Errors s nor can the 
Wirks of two Authors on the fame SubjeCl ever agree. The hiftorical Painter , efpeci- 
ally he that would reprefent the Fictions of the Poets, may take greater Liberties, and 
Jludy by all Methods to elevate his SubjeCl by adding the higheft Strokes of Art, in order 
to ple ofe the Eye, and raife in the Mind Ideas equal to the Pliftorian or Poet he would 
reprefent; Tet every one who reads Natural Hiftory, and fees Figures and Defcriptions 
of things in Nature, fuppofes they are, or ought to have been immediately drawn and de¬ 
fer ibedfrom Nature. But no experienced Man, when he beholds an hiftorical Piece, 
fuppojes the Figures there drawn, are like to thofe they are intended to reprefent either 
in Feature or Perfon, any farther than in general the Hiftorian or Poet may have told 
us, that one Man was a graceful Pe'rfon, another a little crooked or deformed, which 
Accidents a Painter has liberty to carry to what Degree of Perfection or Imperfection 
he can conceive, provided .alway he doth not contraditi the Letter of his Hiftorian. But 
in drawing after Nature a moft religious and fcrupulous Stritinefs is to be objerved, and 
by this means only we can demonftrate, that Nature is or is not the fame through all 
Times. If Natural Hiftorians, or they who draw for them, would .carefully obferve 
thefe Rules, fome of them might perh aps produce Figures that would be deemed perfect 
by the knowing Naturalifts of thefe Times, and eftape their Cenfure then might they, 
like the celebrated Statues of the antient Greeks and Romans, pafs down as Models to 
future Ages, as things juftly and truly reprefenting Nature ; but thefe things are rather 
to be wifhedfor than expetied. 
It is time to fay fomething, by way of Apology, for the following Defcriptions of 
Birds I have been collecting for more than Twenty Tears, and have been for a good 
part of the Time employd by many curious Gentlemen in . London to draw fuch rare fo¬ 
reign Birds as they were pojfejs d oft and never negle.ti.ed to take Draughts cf them 
with 
