BOOK XVI.
CLASSIFICATORY SCIENCES.
HISTORY
OF
SYSTEMATIC BOTANY AND ZOOLOGY.
. . . . . Vatem aspicies quæ rupe sub altâ
Fata canit, foliisque notas et nomina mandat.
Quæcunque in foliis descripsit carmina virgo
Digerit in numerum atque antro seclusa relinquit
Illa manent immorta locis neque ab ordine cedunt.
Virgil. Æn. iii. 443.
Behold the Sibyl!—Her who weaves a long,
A tangled, full, yet sweetly flowing song.
Wondrous her skill; for leaf on leaf she frames
Unerring symbols and enduring names;
And as her nicely measured line she binds,
For leaf on leaf a fitting place she finds;
Their place once found, no more the leaves depart,
But fixed rest:—such is her magic art.