LIFE AND WRITINGS OF M. DE MARTIUS. 45 



Perhaps I may be told that a man's worth is not to be judged by 

 the duration of his name, or Erostratus would be a very great man. 

 True : we must rather consider why the man's name has lived so long. 

 Now, the description of an unknown plant implies a. new fact; and no 

 botanist has better earned the credit of such discoveries than M. de 

 Martius, who travelled far and often braved pestilential regions to pro- 

 cure his plants, and who afterwards studied, classified, and figured 

 them. It is not generally that one person is able both to collect and to 

 describe : and if I am reminded that the subject of my present essay 

 had many fellow-workers, this circumstance does not detract from his 

 merit; for his own performances were considerable, while his know- 

 ledge enabled him to select the best helpers. Seldom does this happy 

 harmony occur ; and the want of it has rendered many a scientific un- 

 dertaking futile. Of all the botanists who explored Brazil, few had 

 M. de Martius' skill and good fortune in this very respect. For in- 

 stance, M. de St. Hilaire, who had money, family connections, friends 

 and pupils, and who travelled and collected much : every one knows 

 how small is the amount of his achievements towards the furtherance 

 of Natural History. The fact is that it does not suffice to incur labour 

 and expense, nor even to set the example, in order to stimulate others 

 to work ; but one must have a knowledge of character, and some geni- 

 ality of disposition, and, above all, a hearty interest in science, which 

 swallows up all selfish considerations. And with these moral qualities 

 and expansive views, M. de Martius is eminently endowed. ■ 



Expansive ideas and an instinctive looking beyond minutiae, except 

 as they indicate great facts,— such is his character, which places him 

 among the botanical reformers and the resuscitators of science in our 

 day. He early appreciated the Natural Method, though his masters 

 all" held by the Linnsean System ; and the sight of new plants im- 

 pressed on his clear mind the value of Jussieu's ideas, which, again, 

 were first suggested by Magnol and Adanson. He was the first pro- 

 moter in Germany of this method, which is founded on natural affini- 

 ties ; while he held by Linmeus's comprehensive views. He is endowed 

 with many qualities which indicate scientific merit, among which f 

 would instance that of discriminating and constituting genera, which 

 marks a sound appreciation of Nature, and which is his in common 

 with Tournefort, Linnaeus, A. L. de Jussieu, De Candollc, and It. 

 Brown, all of whom have established genera, whose value is a and 



