Publius Nigidius Figulus, who flourished about sixty-four years before the birth of Christ, wrote a work on animals, in which insects are sometimes mentioned.
M. T. Varro, contemporary with Cicero, in his work, " De re Rustics," is the first Roman author who mentioned Roman insects, and Cicero, himself, has not unfrequently noticed insects in his " De Na tura Deorum. ' P. 0. Naso, born in the first year of our era, is quoted as an Entomologist.
L. J. M. Columella lived under the Emperor Claw. dins, and, in his work, " De re Rustics," takes no tice of various insects.
Pliny, the most celebrated of all the Roman natu ralists, in the eleventh book of his Historia Naturalis treats of Insects. His observations on this subject are chiefly copied from Aristotle, and he has made use of the observations of various other writers, whose works he quotes ; and has sometimes described spe cies with tolerable exactness. Insects, indeed, seem to have occupied a considerable portion of his atten tion, and to have been a favourite study. " In his," says he, ." tam parvis tamque fete aullisratio ! quanta vis I quam inextracabilis perfectly!" day, the culture of silk-worms was an object of peculiar attention : He says that garments of silk were very much admired by the fair part of the community, as they showed their form to great advantage. Pliny has frequently described the economy of animals with very great accuracy, but he has often admitted, on the authority of others, the most absurd and impro. bable fables.
Claudius Elianus, a Roman who flourished under Adrian in 120, wrote twenty-seven books on ani mals, entitled Me Criasr, and has appropriated seve ral chapters to Insects, describing the generation of wasps, &c. often accompanied with fiction.
From the time of Elian until the overthrow of the Roman Empire, the study seems not to have been totally disregarded; but we are ignorant what progress was made during that period; between which and the middle ages, we find the names of Titus, )Etius, Alexander, Oribasius, Trallian, Paulus kgineta, Lucius Apuleius, Athanieus, Op pianus, Marcus Aurelius Olympius, St. Ambrosius,
Epiphanus Cyprius, Decius Magnus Ausonius, Erni lius Marcus, Merboldus, and Cassiodorus Isodorus, whose works contain general remarks on Insects, more or less mixed up with fiction.
Between the ninth and twelfth century, some of the Arabian botanists distinguished themselves as Entomologists. The principal were Rhazes, Avi cenna, Avenzoar, and Averrhoes. From this period until the fifteenth century, a few obscure writers, scarcely worthy of notice, appeared; viz. Myrepsus, Platerus, and Lianus.
About the twelfth century, Hildegardis de Pin gua wrote four books, entitled " Physics St. Hilde " published in 1533 and 1544 in folio.
In the thirteenth century flourished Albertus Mag.. nus, who wrote a work, entitled " De Naturis Ani malium," part of which treats of Insects, in an ob.. score and barbarous manner. His works, in twenty one volumes folio, were published at Lyons in 1657.
In the same century lived the celebrated Vincen tius Bellouacensis, a French philosopher, who like wise cultivated the study of Insects.
Some time in the fourteenth century, an obscure work, entitled " Jorath De Animalibus," was written, and in the same era also, another work, "De Nature Rerum," both of which mention insects.
About the middle of the fifteenth century, Theo dorus Gaza translated the works of Aristotle on ani mals into Latin. Towards the end of the same cen tury, Hermolreus wrote " Castigationes Caii Plinii." Roma:, 1492 et 1493, Basil, 1589; of which there were also several other editions. Jonannes Cuba, au thor of a work entitled " Hortus Sanitatis," &c.
gent, 1536, is supposed to ',have lived in the same era.
Agricola, in 1549, published a systematic arrange ment of Insects in his work " De Animalibus Sub terraneis," in which he reduces all insects to three principal classes, viz. 1. Those that walk. 2. Those that fly. 3. Those that swim ; and describes a num ber of species.
In the beginning of the sixteenth century, Gregori us wrote his excellent work in German, on Birds and Fishes, of which there is a Latin edition. Insects are mentioned in this work.