PREMONITION OF THE NEW EDITOR.

But not he alone. For we have preserved, almost word for word, the observations gathered by Ruhkopf’s labor—which Pincianus, Opsopoeus, Muretus, Juretus, Gronovius, and others had scattered here and there—and woven them into a continuous commentary, with only a very few things changed slightly (if indeed, upon re-examining the archetypes, nothing occurred which the Lipsian editor had not justly committed to print); furthermore, Fromondus was of great assistance, as he took up the pen set down by a sick Lipsius, and he performed his duties not unlearnedly, whether you look to grammatical and philological exegesis or to physical and philosophical [exegesis]; in our judgment, Ruhkopf had omitted several things less well, which we have decided should be referred to and arranged in their proper places.

Soon, the Köhler edition of the Nat. Quaest. came to light. This was first published indeed without a commentary¹, but two years later it was illustrated with very extensive and rich notes², so that it provided a most abundant store of material, with which nothing more refined or more lucid can be imagined for reviewing, unfolding, and evaluating both the opinions of the ancients and the reasonings of the moderns. If only the brilliance of the Latin language commended the author as much as [his] knowledge of nature, antiquity, and scientific history!