Species

76 Species

As mentioned above, Ray had prepared a table of species before the Historia
for Bishop John Wilkins’ magnum opus Essay Toward a Real Character and
Philosophical Language, published by the Royal Society in 1668.^125 He wrote to
Martin Lister (1639–1712) complaining of the limitations of Wilkins’ schemata:

This next week we expect the Bishop of Chester [Wilkins] at Middleton, who

desires our assistance in altering and amending his tables of natural history. To

make exact philosophical tables, you know, is a matter very difcult, not to say

impossible; to make such as are tolerable requires much diligence and experience,

and is work enough for one man’s whole life, and therefore we had need call in all

the assistance we can from our friends, especially being not free to follow nature,

but forced to bow and strain things to serve a design according to the exigency of

the character.^126

Wilkins began his Essay with the logic of division:

K. I. That common Essence wherein things of different natures do agree, is called

, general, common Kind.

That common nature which is communicable to several Individuals, is called

, Sort or special kind, specie, specifìcal. Breed.^127

In his table of his General Scheme, he explicitly describes living kinds:^128

All kinds of things and notions, to which names are to be assigned, may be distributed

into such as are either more

General; namely those Universal notions, whether belonging more properly to

Things; called TRANSCENDENTAL

...

Words; DISCOURSE. IV

Special; denoting either

CREATOR. V

Creature; namely such things as were either created or concreated by God,

not excluding several of those notions, which are framed by the minds of

men, considered either

Collectively; WORLD. VI

Distributively; according to the several kinds of Beings, Whether such as do

belong to

Substance;

Inanimate; ELEMENT. VII

Animate; considered according to their several

Species; whether

Vegetative

lmperfect; as Minerals.

STONE. VIII

METAL. IX

Perfect; as Plant,

(^125) Wilkins 1668; a reprint is available [Wilkins 2002]. An excellent discussion of the social and intel-
lectual debale of the time is in DeLacy 2016.
(^126) April 28, 1670, in Lankester 1848, 55f. On the arachnologist Lister, see Roos 2011.
(^127) Essay, 26.
(^128) Essay, 23. I have recast his bracketed table as an indented list for clarity.