Chapter XIV: Section II: Account of Aristotle's History of Animals (4)

In the year just named, he published an account of the observations which he had made in his travels on the Continent, to which was appended a catalogue of plants observed in foreign countries, and also, about the same time, his Collection of Unusual or Local English Words, adding to it a catalogue of English birds and fishes, and an account of the way of smelting and refining metals and minerals. Mr Oldenburgh, the secretary of the Royal Society, having solicited him by numerous letters to communicate any discoveries which he might have made, he sent several papers, some of which were printed in the Philosophical Transactions, as well as a discourse concerning seeds and the specific differences of plants, which was read to the members.

In 1674 and the following year, he was busily engaged in the task of preparing for the press Mr Willughby's observations on birds. These notices had been committed to paper without any method, and left in a very imperfect state, so that the trouble of revising and digesting was of no light kind. Without at all detracting from the merits of the author, whose labours, according to Dr Derham, were such, "that he allowed himself little or no time for those recreations and diversions which men of his estate and degree are apt to spend too much of their time in, but prosecuted his design with as great application, as if he had been to get his bread thereby," it may fairly be presumed, and indeed has been generally admitted, that the greater part of his works belong in fact to Mr Ray, who, however, claimed no merit in the performance. The book was published in 1676, in Latin, with engravings, which, in the titlepage, are designated as _icones elegantissimi et vivarum avium simillimi_, although few who inspect them will be disposed to concur in the opinion now stated. It was afterwards translated into English by his affectionate editor, and put forth with large additions in the year 1678. Derham apologizes for the inferior execution of the plates, which were done at the charge of the author's widow. "Considering," says the Doctor, "how well the engravers were paid for their labour, it is great pity they had not had some able person in London to have supervised them, that they might have given better likenesses to the birds than what most of them have. But this is what Mr Ray could only complain of, but not help, by reason of his being in Warwickshire, at a distance from London, where every thing was transacted by letters,--a method which could never afford sufficient directions in a matter of that nature." The descriptions, however, are in general excellent, regard being had to the state of science at the time when they were written. Some of them, indeed, are very imperfect, and there is, besides, a deficiency of method, which becomes more striking when they are compared with those of Temminck or Selby, or any other of our best modern ornithologists.

In this important work birds are divided into _Terrestrial_ and _Aquatic_. The former are disposed in the following order:--

In the first place, land-birds are either furnished with hooked-bill and claws, or have these organs nearly straight.

Those with hooked-bill are carnivorous and predatory or frugivorous. The former are either diurnal, that is, hunt by day, or nocturnal, seeking their food by night.

The diurnal carnivorous birds are either large, as the _eagles_ and _vultures_, or small. Of the former there are two kinds, the _generous_, as the peregrine falcon, lanner, goshawk, &c.; and the _ignoble_, as the _buzzard_, kite, &c. The smaller predatory birds are the _shrikes_, and birds of paradise.

The nocturnal birds of prey are the _owls_.

The _frugivorous_ birds with hooked-bill are the _macaws_, _parrots_, and _parrakeets_.

Those having the bill and claws nearly straight, are divided into large, middle-sized, and small. The large are the _ostrich_, _emeu_, and _dodo_; the middle-sized are the _crows_ and _woodpeckers_, _peacock_, _pigeons_, &c.; the small are such birds as the _swallow_ and _lark_, which have the bill slender, and the _sparrow_, _greenfinch_, &c., in which it is thick.

The _aquatic_ birds are of two kinds; some frequent watery places, without being capable of swimming, while others betake themselves to the water.

Of the former some are large, as the crane; others of smaller size. The latter either live on fish, as the _heron_, _spoonbill_, _stork_, _ibis_, &c., or search for insects in the mud, as the _oyster-catcher_, _plover_, _sandpiper_, &c.

Of the swimming water-birds some have the toes separated, as the _coot_ and _water-hen_; while in others they are united by membranes. The web-footed birds are either long-legged, as the _flamingo_ and _avocet_, or furnished with short legs. Of the latter some have three toes, as the _penguin_, _auk_, &c.; others have four. The four-toed aquatic birds either have all the toes webbed, as the _pelican_, _gannet_, _cormorant_, &c., or have the hind toe loose. Of the latter some have a narrow bill, which is hooked at the tip in the _merganser_ and _albatross_, or acute and straight in the _divers_ and _gulls_. Others have the bill broad, as _geese_ and _ducks_.

Of the figures which accompany the descriptions there certainly are not ten that bear a tolerably accurate resemblance to their originals; but, in criticizing ornithological plates, we are apt to forget that it was not until Audubon displayed his drawings that artists began to see how well nature might be imitated.

Mr Willughby's sons having been withdrawn from Mr Ray's inspection, in 1675, he left Middleton Hall where he had resided, and removed with his wife to Sutton Cofield, about four miles distant, where he continued till Michaelmas 1677, when he went to Falborne Hall in Essex, near his native place. In the course of his residence there his mother died, to whom he was affectionately attached, and of whom he says that she stuck constantly to her profession, and never "left the church in these times of giddiness and distraction." Immediately after this event he repaired to Black Notley, where he resolved to remain during the "short pittance of time he had yet to live in this world."

He now finished his Methodus Plantarum Nova, which was published in 1682; and laboured at his Historia Plantarum Generalis, of which the first volume appeared in 1686, the second in the following year, and the third in 1704. In compiling this great work, he received much valuable assistance from his friends, but more especially from Sir Hans Sloane and Dr Tancred Robinson. With respect to the former of these publications, it may be stated, that it was founded upon the labours of his predecessors, such as Caesalpinus and Jungius, as well as on the writings of Morison, whose method he principally followed. He divided plants into woody and herbaceous. The woody kinds he again divided into trees and shrubs, distinguishing the trees by their possessing buds; which he showed to be, in fact, new plants annually springing from the old ones. The families were better defined, the classes characterized with more precision, and various terms introduced which were of great advantage as tending to render the language of botany more appropriate. The General History of Plants is his most celebrated work on the vegetable kingdom. In it he describes with considerable exactness and perspicuity all the species which his predecessors had made known, adding those that had been discovered in his own time. All botanists who have spoken of this work agree in considering it as one of immense labour, although, as the greater part was avowedly borrowed from other writers, it has not the advantage of ranking among those that have resulted from original observation.

About the same time he revised and arranged Mr Willughby's papers relative to fishes, which, being put in order for the press, and communicated by Dr Robinson to the Royal Society, were published at the charge of that learned body; the engravings having been executed at the expense of several of the members. This important treatise appeared in 1686.

Besides all the species of Belon, Rondelet, Gesner, Aldrovandi, Olina, and Margrave, says an eminent ichthyological writer, there are in these works a great number which Willughby and Ray had observed in Germany and Italy. The fishes of the Mediterranean in particular are described with great accuracy, and it is often easier to trace them in their volumes than in Linnaeus. To these two works are appended numerous figures, most of which are only copies, although there are some very good original ones among them. Even such of them as are borrowed from Belon and Rondelet acquire an interest from the descriptions which accompany them, and which are much superior to those of the French writers.[I]

Dr Robinson appears, by his notices contained in the "Philosophical Letters between the late learned Mr Ray and several of his ingenious Correspondents," to have been of considerable use to our author in transmitting information on every subject that seemed interesting to the latter, and especially in procuring objects for description. In one of his communications from Geneva is a passage respecting the celebrated Malpighi, which exhibits the character of that great anatomist in a favourable light:--"I had several conferences with S. Malpighi at Bononia, who expressed a great respect for you, and is not a little proud of the character you give him in your Method. Plantar. Nov., which book I had presented him withal a day before. Just as I left Bononia I had a lamentable spectacle of Malpighi's house all in flames, occasioned by the negligence of his old wife. All his pictures, furniture, books, and manuscripts, were burnt. I saw him in the very heat of the calamity, and methought I never beheld so much Christian patience and philosophy in any man before; for he comforted his wife, and condol'd nothing but the loss of his papers, which are more lamented than the Alexandrian Library, or Bartholine's Bibliothece at Copenhagen."

Of the epistolary correspondence of this gentleman, and of Sir Hans Sloane, it may be interesting to some of our readers to peruse a specimen:--

DR ROBINSON TO MR RAY.

"London, August 1, --84.

"SIR,--I have sent you two _Macreuses_, male and female, and
hope they will come safe to Black Notley. My ingenious and
worthy friend Mr Charlton (now at London) procur'd them for
me at Paris, who hath them both design'd to the life in
proper colours by the most accurate hand in France. If you
saw the pictures I believe they would give you a better
insight than these skins, which are a little broke and
chang'd; yet nevertheless your most discerning faculties
may discover that in the dark which few can distinguish at
noon-day. This Parisian bird (very famous of late) may be no
unwelcome subject, it being in Lent, and upon maigre days,
the greatest dainty of convents. I have been told by several
of the most learned priests beyond sea, that the macreuse
was as much a fish as the barnacle (and indeed I am of the
same opinion), that the blood was the same in every quality
with that of fishes; as also the fat, which (as they falsely
affirm) will not fix, dry, or grow hard, but always remains
in an oily consistence. Upon these and other reasons the
Sorbonists have ranked the macreuse in the class of fishes.
For the rest I refer you to my paper from Paris, and
impatiently wait for your judgment, for which I have a
particular esteem."

The bird referred to in this letter, and concerning which Mr Ray had not previously been able to satisfy himself, is the scoter or black-duck (_Anas nigra_ of Linnaeus, Latham, and Temminck). "Why they of the Church of Rome should allow this bird to be eaten in Lent, and upon other fasting days, more than others of this kind," we see no reason, any more than Mr Ray did. Perhaps the story of the barnacle's originating from a shell of the same name, may have been invented for a similar purpose. On this head we have the following testimony from Hector Boece:--"All trees that are cast into the seas, by process of time, appear first worm-eaten, and in the small holes and bores thereof grow small worms; first, they show their head and feet, and last of all they show their plumes and wings; finally, when they are coming to the just measure and quantity of geese, they fly in the air as other fowls do, as was notably proven in the year of God 1480, in sight of many people, beside the Castle of Pitsligo." The evidence of Gerard, the herbalist, on this subject is an excellent specimen of leasing:--"What our eyes have seen," saith the venerable man, "and our hands have touched, we shall declare. There is a small island in Lancashire, called the Pile of Soulders, wherein are found broken pieces of old and bruised ships, some whereof have been cast thither by shipwrecks; also the trunks and bodies, with the branches, of old and rotten trees, cast up there likewise, whereon is found a certain spume or froth, that in time breedeth into certain shells, in shape like those of the muscle, but sharper-pointed, and of a whitish colour, and the end whereof is fastened unto the inside of the shell, even as the fish of oysters and muscles are, and the other end is made fast unto the belly of a rude mass or lump, which, in time, cometh into the shape and form of a bird. When it is perfectly formed, the shell gapeth open, and then the first thing that appeareth is the aforesaid lace or string; next cometh the legs of the bird hanging out; and, as the bird groweth greater, it openeth the shell by degrees, till at length it has all come forth and hangeth only by the bill. In short space after it cometh to full maturity, and falleth into the sea, where it gathereth feathers, and groweth to a fowl, bigger than a mallard, and lesser than a goose, having black legs and bill or beak, and feathers black and white, spotted in such manner as our magpie, called in some places pie-annes, which the people of Lancashire call by no other name than tree-goose; which place aforesaid, and all those places adjoining, do so much abound therewith, that one of the best is bought for three-pence. For the truth hereof, if any doubt, may it please them to repair to me, and I will satisfy them by the testimonies of good witnesses."

Now the whole substance of this wondrous narrative is simply this:--There is a species of goose called barnacle, and there is a species of cirripedous animal or shell-fish bearing the same name. The latter animal is furnished with certain filamentary organs which may be imagined to bear a semblance to feathers; and hence the conclusion that it must be a bird in the progress of development, which is finally converted into a goose. A refutation of the inference here made does not require the acuteness of an Aristotle. Gerard saw the shells, no doubt, but the rest he dreamt; and the good people beside the Castle of Pitsligo may have seen a flock of geese, but what else they saw nobody cares. But let us now hear Sir Hans.

SIR HANS SLOANE TO MR RAY.

"London, March 9, 169-8/9.

"SIR,--This day a large tyger was baited by three bear-dogs,
one after another. The first dog he kill'd; the second was a
match for him, and sometimes he had the better, sometimes
the dog; but the battle was at last drawn, and neither car'd
for engaging any farther. The third dog had likewise
sometimes the better, and sometimes the worse of it; and it
came also to a drawn battle. But the wisest dog of all was a
fourth, that neither by fair means nor foul could be brought
to go within reach of the tyger, who was chain'd in the
middle of a large cock-pit. The owner got about L300 for
this show, the best seats being a guinea, and the worst five
shillings. The tyger used his paws very much to cuff his
adversaries with, and sometimes would exert his claws, but
not often; using his jaws most, and aiming at under or upper
sides of the neck, where wounds are dangerous. He had a fowl
given him alive, which, by means of his feet and mouth, he
very artfully first pluck'd, and then eat, the feathers,
such as got into his mouth, being troublesome. The
remainders of his drink, in which he has lapp'd, is said by
his keeper to kill dogs and other animals that drink after
him, being, by his fome, made poisonous and ropy. I hope you
will pardon this tedious narration, because I am apt to
think 'tis very rare that such a battle happens, or such a
fine tyger is seen here."

Ray had many other correspondents besides those of whom mention has been made. Their communications, however, seem neither very interesting in themselves, nor so closely connected with our narrative as to render it necessary to introduce any extracts. But, as we have given some samples of his friends' letters, it may be thought right to present one of his own.

MR RAY TO DR ROBINSON.

"Black Notley, Dec. 15, --98.

"SIR,--The essay you propound concerning the ancient and
modern learning were not difficult to make; but I think you
are better qualified for such an undertaking than I, and
therefore shall refer it to you. In summe the ancients excel
the moderns in nothing but acuteness of wit and elegancy of
language in all their writings, in their poetry and oratory.
As for painting and sculpture, and musick and architecture,
some of the moderns I think do equal, if not excel, the best
of them, not in the theory only, but also in the practice of
those arts: Neither do we give place to them in politicks or
morality; but in natural history and experimental philosophy
we far transcend them. In the purely mathematical sciences,
abstracted from matter, as geometry and arithmetick, we may
vie with them, as also in history; but in astronomy,
geography, and chronology, we excel them much. No wonder
they should outstrip us in those arts which are conversant
in polishing and adorning their language, because they
bestowed all their time and pains in cultivating of them,
and had but one, and that their native tongue, to mind. But
those arts are by wise men censured, as far inferior to the
study of things, words being but the pictures of things; and
to be wholly occupied about them, is to fall in love with a
picture, and neglect the life; and oratory, which is the
best of these arts, is but a kind of voluptuary one, like
cookery, which sophisticates meats, and cheats the palate,
spoiling wholsome viands, and helping unwholsome."

Before resuming our narrative it may be proper to state some particulars respecting the celebrated founder of the British Museum, to whom there has been more than one occasion of alluding in the preceding pages. Sir Hans Sloane was born at Killileagh in Ireland on the 16th April 1660. His father was a Scotchman, who headed a colony which, in the reign of James I., was planted in the northern part of the sister isle. Having at an early age evinced a decided taste for natural history, he chose the profession of medicine, and after studying four years in London, where he became acquainted with Boyle and Ray, went to Paris, and afterwards to Montpellier, in which latter place he took his degree. At the age of twenty-four he settled in London, and became a Member of the Royal Society. In April 1687, he was made a Fellow of the College of Physicians, and in November following embarked for Jamaica as physician to the Duke of Albemarle, who was appointed governor of the island; but that nobleman having died soon after his arrival, Dr Sloane returned to England after an absence of only fifteen months. In 1693, he was made secretary to the Royal Society, and in the ensuing year named physician to Christ's Hospital; in 1701, he obtained a medical diploma from Oxford, and, in 1708, was elected an Associate of the Academy of Sciences at Paris. In 1716, he was created a baronet by George I., an honour which no medical man had previously obtained, and afterwards was raised to the rank of physician-general to the army. On the accession of George II. he was made physician in ordinary to his Majesty; and on the death of Sir Isaac Newton, in 1727, succeeded that illustrious philosopher in the chair of the Royal Society, which he occupied till 1740, when his advanced age induced him to resign it. He died at Chelsea on the 11th January 1752.

Sir Hans Sloane was a man of the most respectable character, being distinguished not less for his liberality and patriotic zeal, than by his attainments in science. The most important of his works is the Natural History of Jamaica, of which the first volume appeared in 1707, the second not till 1725. He was a governor of most of the hospitals of the metropolis, to which he left considerable sums. He set on foot the scheme of a dispensary for the poor; gave the Apothecaries' Company a piece of ground for a botanic garden; and on many occasions exerted himself effectually for the public benefit. Such a man is undoubtedly worthy of more honour and admiration than the mere author, who, it may be from the most selfish motives, labours in solitude to enlighten the world and illustrate himself: "The good that men do too often dies with them," and as books are legacies of which the benefit is more extended than that of individual acts of generosity or patriotism, people are ever ready to laud an author, even although they may not clearly see wherein his merit lies; while the truly good, whose lives are a continued scene of beneficence, have but a slight hold on the admiration of posterity. The share which Sir Hans Sloane had in the establishment of the British Museum is the circumstance on which his reputation seems now chiefly to depend. Having made an extensive museum of natural history, medals, books, and manuscripts, he bequeathed it to the public, on condition that L20,000 should be paid to his executors,--a sum far from equal to the value of the collection. In 1753, an act was passed by the legislature for purchasing it and the Harleian manuscripts, as well as for procuring a general repository for their better reception and more convenient use, the Cottonian library included. In this manner commenced the British Museum, which, by the numerous and extensive additions made to it, has become worthy of the greatest empire of modern times; although, in the department of natural history, it is admitted to be still much inferior to the National Museum of France, and, in several branches of zoology, to be surpassed by many collections in Britain.

Mr Ray, who had now betaken himself to a more sedentary and studious mode of life, began to suffer severely in his health. His Catalogue of English Plants having become scarce, he was solicited by some friends to improve it for a third edition, which he accordingly did; but a difference arising between him and the booksellers, to whom the copyright belonged, he forthwith resolved to publish it in another form. In the mean time, however, to satisfy his friends, he printed his Fasciculus Stirpium Britannicarum, as a substitute for the Catalogue. In 1690, appeared the Synopsis Methodica Stirpium Britannicarum, which may be considered as the most important work on British plants that has been hitherto written, with the exception of Sir James Smith's English Botany, and its continuation by Dr Hooker. It was farther augmented by him, and reprinted in 1696, together with a description of the Cryptogamic plants, which had hitherto received little attention.

Having thus published many important works on natural history, he resolved to compose another in which he should unite that science with his proper profession of divinity, and accordingly commenced his Demonstration of the Being and Attributes of the Deity,--a performance on which his popular fame now principally rests. When finished he transmitted it, in March 1690, to his friend Dr Tancred Robinson, who disposed of it agreeably to his directions; so that it made its appearance in the following year. One of his reasons for writing this admirable treatise he expresses in the following words:--"By virtue of my function I suspect myself to be obliged to write something in divinity, having written so much on other subjects; for being not permitted to serve the church with my tongue in preaching, I know not but it may be my duty to serve it with my hand by writing; and I have made choice of this subject, as thinking myself best qualified to treat of it. If what I have now written," he continues, "shall find so favourable acceptance as to encourage me to proceed, God granting life and health, the reader may expect more; if otherwise, I must be content to be laid aside as useless, and satisfy myself in having made this experiment."

The objects of this work, which is entitled The Wisdom of God manifested in the Works of the Creation, were, _1st_, To demonstrate the existence of a Deity; _2dly_, To illustrate some of his principal attributes; _3dly_, "To stir up and increase in us the affections and habits of admiration, humility, and gratitude." Like many excellent theological treatises of former times, it is now less frequently read than it deserves to be. Happily, however, we have volumes of more recent date, which inculcate the same principles, with perhaps more accuracy of detail in all that relates to science. From a passage in it we learn what was his conception of the true character of a naturalist: "Let it not suffice us," says he, "to be book-learned, to read what others have written, and to take upon trust more falsehood than truth. But let us ourselves examine things as we have opportunity, and converse with nature as well as books. Let us endeavour to promote and increase this knowledge, and make new discoveries, not so much distrusting our own parts, or despairing of our own abilities, as to think that our industry can add nothing to the invention of our ancestors, or correct any of their mistakes. Let us not think that the bounds of science are fixed like Hercules' pillars, and inscribed with a _ne plus ultra_. Let us not think we have done when we have learnt what they have delivered to us. The treasures of nature are inexhaustible. Here is employment enough for the vastest parts, the most indefatigable industries, the happiest opportunities, the most prolix and undisturbed vacancies."

As a specimen of the author's manner and reasoning, we may present a passage in which he refutes the opinion of Descartes, that it were an absurd and childish thing, and a resembling of God to a proud man, to assert, that he had made the world, and all the creatures in it, for his own honour. "It is most reasonable that God Almighty should intend his own glory: For he being infinite in all excellencies and perfections, and independent upon any other being, nothing can be said or thought of him too great, and which he may not justly challenge as his due; nay, he cannot think too highly of himself, his other attributes being adequate to his understanding; so that, though his understanding be infinite, yet he understands no more than his power can effect, because that is infinite also. And, therefore, it is fit and reasonable, that he should own and accept the creatures' acknowledgments and celebrations of those virtues and perfections, which he hath not received of any other, but possesseth eternally and originally of himself. And, indeed (with reverence be it spoken), what else can we imagine the ever-blessed Deity to delight and take complacency in for ever, but his own infinite excellencies and perfections, and the manifestations and effects of them, the works of the creation, and the sacrifices of praise and thanks offered up by such of his creatures as are capable of considering those works, and discerning the traces and footsteps of his power and wisdom appearing in the formation of them; and, moreover, whose bounden duty it is so to do. The reason why man ought not to admire himself, or seek his own glory, is, because he is a dependent creature, and hath nothing but what he hath received; and not only dependent, but imperfect; yea, weak and impotent: And yet I do not take humility in man to consist in disowning or denying any gift or ability that is in him, but in a just valuation of such gifts and endowments, yet rather thinking too meanly than too highly of them; because human nature is so apt to err in running into the other extreme, to flatter itself, and to accept those praises that are not due to it; pride being an elation of spirit upon false grounds, or a desire and acceptance of undue honour. Otherwise, I do not see why a man may not admit, and accept the testimonies of others, concerning any perfection, accomplishment, or skill, that he is really possessed of; yet can he not think of himself to deserve any praise or honour for it, because both the power and the habit are the gift of God: And considering that one virtue is counterbalanced by many vices, and one skill or perfection with much ignorance and infirmity."

This book obtaining general approbation, the impression, which consisted of 500 copies, was quickly sold off. A new edition was therefore published, and several others succeeded. Encouraged by this success, he prepared for the press his Three Physico-theological Discourses, concerning the Chaos, Deluge, and Dissolution of the World, the substance of which had been embodied in some sermons which he preached before the university. This work has also gone through several editions. In the opinion of the illustrious Cuvier, it affords "a system of geology as plausible as any of those which had appeared at this period, or for a long time afterwards;" and if it contain facts and arguments which are not now admitted as accurate or conclusive, this, with our experience of like defects in other theories, should teach us to moderate our zeal in defending any hypothesis elicited from the partial examination of that complex system, which, being the work of infinite power and wisdom, cannot be thoroughly understood by minds constituted like ours.

In one of these works is an estimate of the number of animals and plants known in Ray's time, to which it is of importance that we should advert, as it furnishes an interesting fact in the history of science. According to the author's classification, animate bodies are divided into four orders, "beasts, birds, fishes, and insects." The number of _beasts_, including also _serpents_, that had been accurately described, he estimates at not above 150, adding that, according to his belief, "not many, that are of any considerable bigness, in the known regions of the world, have escaped the cognizance of the curious." At the present day, more than 1000 species have been described. The number of _birds_, he says, "may be near 500; and the number of _fishes_, secluding shell-fish, as many: but, if the _shell-fish_ be taken in, more than six times the number." As to the species remaining undiscovered, he supposes "the whole sum of beasts and birds to exceed by a third part, and fishes by one-half, those known." The number of _insects_, that is, of animals not included in the above classes, he estimates at 2000 in Britain alone, and 20,000 in the whole world. The number of _plants_ described in Bauhin's Pinax was 6000, and our author supposes, that "there are in the world more than triple that number; there being in the vast continent of America as great a variety of species as with us, and yet but few common to Europe, or perhaps Africk and Asia. And if," says he, "on the other side the equator, there be much land still remaining undiscovered, as probably there may, we must suppose the number of plants to be far greater."--"What," he continues, "can we infer from all this? If the number of creatures be so exceeding great, how great, nay immense, must needs be the power and wisdom of Him who formed them all!"

Early in 1692, the Synopsis Methodica Animalium Quadrupedum et Serpentini Generis was finished, and published the year after. Important as were the botanical writings of Ray, his zoological works have had a more decided influence on the advancement of natural history. "Their peculiar character," says Cuvier, "consists in clearer and stricter methods than those of any of his predecessors, and applied with more constancy and precision. The divisions which he has introduced into the classes of quadrupeds and birds have been followed by the English naturalists almost to our own day; and we find very evident traces of his system of birds in Linnaeus, Brisson, Buffon, and all the authors who have treated of that class of animals." In the Synopsis of Four-footed animals and Serpents, he commences with an interesting discussion respecting the nature and faculties of animals. The definition, however, on which he proceeds is scarcely correct, or at least sufficiently distinctive:--"An animal is an animated body, endowed with sense and spontaneous motion, or rather with the faculty of feeling and moving, although it may not change place." In treating of the generation of the lower species, he discusses the subject of spontaneous or equivocal origin, the idea of which he refutes, and endeavours to prove that all animals were created at one time. The division of them into viviparous and oviparous he rejects, alleging, that all are in one sense or other oviparous. The most suitable primary division, he says, is into _blooded_ and _bloodless_, or, as we should say, red-blooded and white-blooded. The former may be divided into those which respire by _lungs_, and those which respire by _gills_. The first of these are again divided into such as have two ventricles to the heart, and such as have only one. Animals with two ventricles are viviparous, as _Quadrupeds_ and _Cetacea_, or oviparous, as _Birds_. Those having a heart furnished with a single ventricle, are the _Oviparous Quadrupeds_, and serpents. Animals that respire by gills are the true _Fishes_, not including whales. The _white_-blooded animals are divided into the larger and the smaller. The former, he says, are suitably divided by Aristotle into three kinds or orders: 1. _Mollusca_; 2. _Crustacea_; 3. _Testacea_. The smaller white-blooded animals are the _Insects_. The following table exhibits a summary of this classification, which is essentially that of Aristotle:--

_Red-blooded Animals._

Respiring by lungs, and having a heart furnished with two
ventricles, viviparous, and aquatic, CETACIA.

Terrestrial, QUADRUPEDS.

Oviparous, BIRDS.

Those having a heart with
a single ventricle, OVIPAROUS QUADRUPEDS AND SERPENTS.

Respiring by gills, FISHES.

_White-blooded Animals._

{ MALACIA or MOLLUSCA.
Of large size, { MALACOSTRACA or CRUSTACEA.
{ OSTRACODERMA or TESTACEA.

Of small size, INSECTS.

Characterizing the different groups by circumstances connected with their organization, he arranges quadrupeds into those which have undivided hoofs, as the _horse_; those having cleft hoofs, of which some are ruminant, others not. Of the former, some have permanent concave horns, as _oxen_, _sheep_, _goats_; others have solid deciduous horns, as _deer_. The cloven-footed animals which do not ruminate are the _hog_ family. The rhinoceros, hippopotamus, tapir, and musk, he classes as anomalous. Of the unguiculate animals, some are ruminant, with two claws only, as the _camel_; others are carnivorous, with more numerous claws, as _cats_, _dogs_, _polecats_. Some again are herbivorous, with two long front teeth, as _hares_; and others are toothless, as the _anteater_. Other animals of this kind are furnished with wings, and have a short muzzle, as the _bats_; while some are without wings, as the sloth. _Tortoises_, _lizards_, and _serpents_, bring up the rear.

After this work had been published, he completed a Synopsis of Birds and Fishes, which was sent to Dr Robinson to be printed; but the booksellers who had the copyright neglected it, so that it did not appear until after the author's death, when it was enlarged and edited by Derham in 1713.

Having finished these synopses, Mr Ray considered his labours at an end,--a consummation which gave him the more joy, because he had for several years suffered severely in his health. But soon after, he was induced to add to an English translation of Rauwolf's Travels "three Catalogues of such trees, shrubs, and herbs, as grow in the Levant." His next publication was the Catologus Stirpium in Exteris Regionibus Observatarum, consisting of species not growing spontaneously, or at least very rarely seen, in Britain. Having taken occasion in this work to criticize the method of Rivinus, this circumstance gave rise to some literary altercation, the result of which was a more careful revisal of his system, and a republication of his Methodus Plantarum Nova. At this period he was so tormented by a continual diarrhoea and painful ulcers in his legs, which kept him sleepless for whole nights, that he could not walk into the fields, much less visit the botanic gardens, where he might have found materials for his work.

His booksellers being unwilling to incur the pecuniary hazard attending this work, it was transmitted by Mr Ray to his friend Dr Hotton, professor of botany at Leyden, who got it printed in 1703. The Dutch publishers inserted in the titlepage that it was printed at London for Smith and Walford, the persons who usually took charge of his books; and although the author objected to this proceeding they disregarded his wishes, alleging, that "it was customary among the printers to say what they thought would be for their interest in such cases." This production was very favourably received on the Continent, and Hotton used it as his text-book.

In a letter to Dr Derham, written in May 1702, he thus describes his condition:--"It is not many years since I applied myself to the observation and search of insects, in order to compose an history of them; but now I am wholly taken off from that study, by the afflictive pains I almost constantly labour under, by reason of ulcers upon my legs, I having not been half a mile out of my house these four years; and though I have made use of many means, and have had the advice of some of the most skilful surgeons and physicians, yet without success, growing yearly worse and worse. Besides, I have been very much haunted with a troublesome diarrhoea, frequently recurring; so that you may well think I can have but little heart to mind natural history: But I am yet so far engaged, that I cannot shake it off. I have now just ready to go under the press a third volume of the History of Plants, being a supplement to the two former volumes, which hath engrossed almost my whole time for two whole years. Besides, I have a little book now printing at Leyden, in Holland, entitled Methodus Plantarum emendata et aucta."

We now approach the termination of the career of this truly great man, who was distinguished not less for his fervent piety than for his extensive knowledge and unwearied application. The last letter which he wrote was to Sir Hans Sloane, and is as follows:--

"DEAR SIR,--The best of friends. These are to take a final
leave of you as to this world. I look upon myself as a dying
man. God requite your kindness expressed any ways towards me
an hundred-fold,--bless you with a confluence of all good
things in this world, and eternal life and happiness
hereafter,--grant us an happy meeting in heaven. I am, Sir,
eternally yours,

JOHN RAY.

"Black Notley, Jan. 7, 1704."

There is a passage in The Wisdom of God manifested in the Works of Creation, which exhibits his ideas of a future state, and which it would be instructive to compare with the maniacal effusions of infidela and scoffers: "It is not likely that eternal life shall be a torpid and inactive state, or that it shall consist only in an uninterrupted and endless act of love; the other faculties shall be employed, as well as the will, in actions suitable to, and perfective of, their natures,--especially the understanding, the supreme faculty of the soul, which chiefly differenceth from brute beasts, and makes us capable of virtue and vice, of rewards and punishments, shall be busied and employed in contemplating the works of God, and observing the divine art and wisdom manifested in the structure and composition of them; and reflecting upon their great Architect the praise and glory due to him. Then shall we clearly see, to our great satisfaction and admiration, the ends and uses of these things which here were either too subtle for us to penetrate and discover, or too remote and unaccessible for us to come to any distinct view of, viz. the planets and fixed stars, those illustrious bodies, whose contents and inhabitants, whose stores and furniture, we have here so longing a desire to know, as also their mutual subserviency to each other. Now the mind of man being not capable at once to advert to more than one thing, a particular view and examination of such an innumerable number of vast bodies, and the great multitude of species, both of animate and inanimate beings, which each of them contains, will afford matter enough to exercise and employ our minds, I do not say to all eternity, but to many ages, should we do nothing else.

"Let us, then, consider the works of God, and observe the operations of his hands. Let us take notice of, and admire his infinite wisdom and goodness in the formation of them. No creature in this sublunary world is capable of so doing beside man, and yet we are deficient herein. We content ourselves with the knowledge of the tongues, or a little skill in philology, or history perhaps, and antiquity, and neglect that which to me seems more material, I mean natural history and the works of the creation. I do not discommend or derogate from those other studies; I should betray mine own ignorance and weakness should I do so; I only wish they might not altogether justle out and exclude this. I wish that this might be brought in fashion among us. I wish men would be so equal and civil, as not to disparage, deride, and vilifie those studies which themselves skill not of, or are not conversant in; no knowledge can be more pleasant than this,--none that doth so satisfie and feed the soul; in comparison whereto that of words and phrases seems to me insipid and jejune. That learning (saith a wise and observant prelate) which consists only in the form and pedagogy of arts, or the critical notions upon words and phrases, hath in it this intrinsical imperfection, that it is only so far to be esteemed as it conduceth to the knowledge of things, being in itself but a kind of pedantry, apt to infect a man with such odd humours of pride, and affectation, and curiosity, as will render him unfit for any great employment."

We do not find any particular account of his last years, nor of his family relations and circumstances, further than that he had three daughters, and lived contentedly on very humble means; being constantly occupied, when his health permitted, in studying the works of God, and communicating the results of his observations to the world. We are not aware of a single stain on his character, and are proud to point to him as a naturalist of undoubted and acknowledged powers, who "walked humbly with his God," and furnishes the best practical refutation of the lying assertion advanced by certain philosophers of the "grand nation," that men eminent for piety are either fools or knaves. As he had lived, so he desired to die "in the communion of the Catholick Church of Christ, and a true though unworthy son of the church by law established in this kingdom," of which he considered "the doctrine pure, and the worship decent, and agreeable to the Word of God." After making this declaration, he desired the Rev. Mr Pyke, rector of Black Notley, to read to him the prayers of the church appointed to be used in the visitation of the sick; and, in particular, the absolution. He then received the sacrament, "which, as it is men's duty often to receive in the time of health, so, at the hour of death," he said, "it was a necessary _viaticum_ he thought for the great journey he was now a-going."

He died in his own house, at Black Notley, on the 17th January 1705, having reached the seventy-seventh year of his age, and was buried, according to his own desire, in the church of that parish. The authors of the Biographia Britannica, however, assert that he declined the offer made by the rector, of a place in the chancel, choosing rather to repose with his ancestors in the churchyard. A monument was erected to him at the expense of some of his friends, with an elegant Latin epitaph, descriptive of his character, composed by the Rev. William Coyte, M. A. In 1737, this monument, having fallen into decay, was restored at the charge of Dr Legge, and removed into the church. Forty-five years after, it was repaired by Sir Thomas Gery Cullum and others, who subjoined an additional inscription.

According to his biographer, Dr Derham, he "was a man of excellent natural parts, and had a singular vivacity in his style, whether he wrote in English or Latin. In a word, in his dealings, no man more strictly just; in his conversation, no man more humble, courteous, and affable. Towards God, no man more devout; and towards the poor and distressed, no man more compassionate and charitable, according to his abilities." His merits have been duly appreciated, both by foreigners and his own countrymen; and although, in the last century, they seemed in danger of falling into oblivion, amid the blaze of the numerous discoveries and improvements then made, they are, at the present day, brought more prominently into view, when men have begun to compare systems, and to shake off the influence of party-spirit. An interesting commemoration of him was made in London on the 29th November 1828. A genus of plants was dedicated to his memory by Plumier, under the name of _Jan Raia_, which Linnaeus changed into _Rajania_, and Smith into _Raiana_. _Raia_ would have been more appropriate; but unfortunately it was previously occupied by the skate, and therefore could not be allotted to him of whom Sir James Smith says, that he was "the most accurate in observation,--the most philosophical in contemplation,--and the most faithful in description, amongst all the botanists of his own, or perhaps any other time." Several species of fishes, however, are named after him, in consequence of his having been the first who made mention of them.

"Mr Ray," says Dr Pulteney, in his Sketches of the Progress of Botany, "had the singular happiness of devoting fifty years of his life to the cultivation of the sciences he loved. Incited by the most ardent genius, which overcame innumerable difficulties and discouragements, his labours were, in the end, crowned with a success before almost unequalled. He totally reformed the studies of botany and zoology; he raised them to the dignity of a science, and placed them in an advantageous point of view; and, by his own investigations, added more real improvement to them in England than any of his predecessors. The extent of his improvements in science procured him the admiration of his contemporaries, and have justly transmitted his name to posterity, among those who have done honour to their age and country."

We have now only to present a catalogue of his more important works:--

1. Historia Plantarum Generalis, species hactenus editas
aliasque insuper multas noviter inventas et descriptas
complectens. Two vols folio. The first was published in
1686; the second, in 1687; and the third, in 1704.

2. Synopsis Methodica Stirpium Britannicarum. The first
edition was published in 1690. The second, considerably
enlarged, appeared in 1696. The third, printed in 1724, was
edited by the celebrated Dillenius. This edition is the one
in general use, and is that referred to by Linnaeus, Hudson,
Smith, and other botanists. The Synopsis was illustrated by
Petiver with a set of seventy-two folio plates, having
twelve figures in each.

3. Synopsis Methodica Animalium Quadrupedum et Serpentini
Generis. 8vo, London, 1693.

4. Synopsis Methodica Avium et Piscium. 8vo, London, 1713. A
posthumous work, edited by Dr Derham.

5. Historia Insectorum. 4to, London. Printed at the expense
of the Royal Society in 1710.

6. The Wisdom of God manifested in the Works of the
Creation, in two parts. London, 1691. There are many
editions.

7. Three Physico-Theological Discourses concerning the
Chaos, Deluge, and Dissolution of the World.

8. Observations, Topographical, Moral, and Physiological,
made in a Journey through Part of the Low Countries, &c.
London, 1673. A second edition in 1738.

To these may be added,

9. Francisci Willughbeii Ornithologiae, Libri tres, with
plates. Folio, London, 1676. There is also an edition in
English, with three discourses, viz. Of the Art of Fowling,
Of the Ordering of Singing Birds, and Of Falconry. London,
1678.

10. Francisci Willughbeii Historia Piscium, Libri quatuor,
with plates. Folio, Oxford, 1686.

When this pious writer died, his papers were intrusted to his friend Dr Derham, who, having arranged and selected such as seemed of most importance, published a part of them in 1718, under the name of Philosophical Letters between the late learned Mr Ray and several of his ingenious Correspondents, natives and foreigners, to which are added those of Francis Willughby, Esq. The same person, as has been already mentioned, also edited the Synopsis of Birds and Fishes, and prepared for publication his posthumous work on Insects. He moreover got ready for the press his Travels in England, Wales, and Scotland, to which he intended to prefix an account of the author; but, although the life was written, the book did not make its appearance until a later period, when, as has been noted above, it came forth under the direction of Mr George Scott, bearing the title of the Select Remains of the learned John Ray.

The principal authorities for his life and writings are, the Select Remains just mentioned; Dr Pulteney's Sketches of the Progress of Botany; the article Ray, in Rees' Cyclopaedia, by Sir James Edward Smith; and that by Cuvier and Du Petit-Thouars, in the Biographie Universelle. In the two latter, his botanical and zoological labours are carefully recorded; and from the former we learn, in conclusion, that "his handwriting was peculiarly fair and elegant;" which has been the case with few of the more distinguished naturalists. His portraits are not numerous, but there is one in oil, taken at an advanced period of his life, remaining in the British Museum; a miniature, in the possession of Dr John Sims, having been engraved in the first volume of the Annals of Botany, published in 1805; and two prints, the one by Elder, the other by Vertue, from a picture by Faithorne, being prefixed to the third edition of the Synopsis, and to the Historia Plantarum. We may add that, in the fifteenth number of the Gallery of Portraits, published under the Superintendence of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, is a beautiful engraving by Meyer of the painting in the British Museum.

In the likeness of Ray the phrenologist will look in vain for indications of those intellectual faculties which are displayed in his writings. The forehead is contracted in all its dimensions; so as to form a direct contrast to that of Cuvier, another naturalist of equal industry and zeal, but perhaps of not more comprehensive mind.

FOOTNOTES:

[I] Biographic Universelle, art. Ray, tome xxxvii. p. 161.

REAUMUR.

_Account of the Life and Writings of Reaumur._

Birth and Education of Reaumur--He settles at Paris, where
he is introduced to the Scientific World by the President
Henault, and becomes a Member of the Academy of
Sciences--His Labours for the Improvement of the Arts--His
Works on Natural History, of which the Memoirs on Insects
are the most important--His Occupations and Mode of Life.

Rene Antoine Ferchault de Reaumur, one of the most ingenious naturalists whom France has produced, was born at Rochelle in 1683. He commenced his studies in his native place, continued them at Poitiers under the Jesuits, and finished his professional course at Bourges; but feeling less inclined to the practice of law than to the investigations of natural science, he resolved to devote himself entirely to the latter. In this respect he was the more justified in following his inclination, that he possessed a fortune sufficient to support him without engaging in any occupation merely to procure the means of subsistence. He began to prepare for his new pursuits by studying mathematics, and when he thought his proficiency such as to qualify him to make a respectable figure among the naturalists and philosophers of the capital, he removed thither in the year 1703.