And they followed ancestors (1) which, in the climate of the glacial epoch (2), probably flourished better than they do now (3). Compared with the long past of this humble plant (4), all the history of civilized men is but an episode (5). 邃古之前,坤枢未转,英伦乃属冰天雪海之区,此物能寒,法当较今。此区区一小草耳,若迹其始祖,远及洪荒,则三古年代以还方之,犹瀼渴之水,比诸大江,不啻小支而已!