John Ray - Ray's Works

Ray's Works

Ray published about 23 works, depending on how one counts them. The biological works were usually in Latin, the rest in English. For ease of reading, the short titles below are in English.

• 1660: Catalogue of Cambridge plants.
• 1668: Tables of plants
• 1668: Catalogue of English plants plus Fasiculus (an appendix)
• 1670: Catalogue of English proverbs.
• 1673: Observations in the Low Countries and Catalogue of plants not native to England.
• 1674: Collection of English words not generally used.
• 1675: Trilingual dictionary, or nomenclator classicus.
• 1676: Willughby's Ornithologia. "In fact, the book was Ray's, based on preliminary notes by Francis Willughby".p52 Chapter 12 "Willughby and Ray laid the foundation of scientific ornithology".
• 1682: New method of plants.
• 1686: History of fishes +frontis & 187 engraved plates. Plates subscribed by Fellows of the Royal Society. Samuel Pepys, the President, subscribed for 79 of the plates.
• 1686–1704: History of plants. 3 vols, vol 1 1686, vol 2 1688, vol 3 1704. The third volume lacked plates, so his assistant James Petiver published Petiver's Catalogue in parts, 1715–1764, with plates. The work on the first two volumes was supported by subscriptions from the President and Fellows of the Royal Society.
• 1690: Synopsis of British plants.
• 1691: The wisdom of God. 2nd ed 1692, 3rd ed 1701, 4th ed 1704 (each enlarged from the previous edition). This was his most popular work. It was in the vein later called natural theology, explaining the adaptation of living creatures as the work of God. It was heavily plagiarised by William Paley in his Natural theology of 1802.p92 p452
• 1692: Miscellaneous discourses concerning the dissolution and changes of the world. This includes some important discussion of fossils. Ray insisted that fossils had once been alive, in opposition to his friends Martin Lister and Edward Llwyd. "These were originally the shells and bones of living fishes and other animals bred in the sea". Raven commented that this was "The fullest and most enlightened treatment by an Englishman" of that time.p426
  • 1713 Three Physico-theological discourses. This is the 3rd edition of Miscellaneous discourses, the last by Ray before his death, and delayed in publication. Its main importance is that Ray recanted his former acceptance of fossils, apparently because he was theologically troubled by the implications of extinction.p37 Robert Hooke, like Nicolas Steno, was in no doubt about the biological origin of fossils. Hooke made the point that some fossils were no longer living, for example Ammonites: this was the source of Ray's concern.p327
• 1693: Synopsis of animals and reptiles.
• 1693: Collection of travels.
• 1694: Collection of European plants.
• 1695: Plants of each county (Camden's Brittania).
• 1696: Brief dissertation.
• 1700: A persuasive to a holy life.
• 1705. Method and history of insects. (Post-mortem and unedited)
• 1713: Synopsis of birds and fishes.