Page:The Natural History of Pliny.djvu/39

 Book I.] DEDICATION. 5 ture of tilings, and life as it actually exists, are described in them ; and often the lowest department of it ; so that, in very many cases, I am obliged to nse rude and foreign, or even barbarous terms, and these often require to be intro- duced by a kind of preface. And, besides tliis, my road is not a beaten track, nor one which the mind is much disposed to travel over. There is no one among us who has ever at- tempted it, nor is there any one individual among the Grreeks who has treated of all the topics. Most of ns seek for no- thing but amusement in our studies, while others are fond of subjects that are of excessive subtilty, and completely in- volved in obscurity. My object is to treat of all those things which the Greeks include in the Encyclopaedia which, how- ever, are either not generally knowTi or are rendered dubious from our ingenious conceits. And there are other matters which many wTiters have given so much in detail that we quite loathe them. It is, indeed, no easy task to give novelty to what is old, and authority to what is new ; brightness to what is become tarnished, and light to what is obsciu-e ; to render what is slighted acceptable, and what is doubtful worthy of our confidence ; to give to all a natural manner, and to each its peculiar nature. It is sufficiently honour- able and glorious to have been willing even to make the at- tempt, although it should prove "unsuccessful. And, indeed, I am of opinion, that the studies of those are more especially worthy of our regard, who, after having overcome aU diffi- culties, prefer the useful office of assisting others to the mere gratification of giving pleasure ; and this is what I have already done in some of my former works. I confess it sur- prises me, that T. Livius, so celebrated an author as he is, in one of the books of his history of the city from its origin, should begin with this remark, " I have now obtained a suf- ficient reputation, so that I might put an end to my work, did not my restless mind require to be supported by employ- ment^." Certainly he ought to have composed this work, not for his own glory, but for that of the Eoman name, and ^ "... id est, artiuin et doctrinanim omnium circulus ; " Alexandre in Lera. i. 14. 2 These words are not found in any of the books of Livy now extant ; we may conclude that they were introduced into the latter part of his work.