CHAPTER SIXTY-THREE 



The reputa- 

 tion of 

 Agassiz 



Early years 

 in Switzer- 

 land 



LOUIS AGASSIZ 



1. PERHAPS the most picturesque figure in the 

 history of biology is that of Louis Agassiz. Equally 

 famous in Europe and America, combining a re- 

 markable intellect with much of the naive simplicity 

 of a child, he appealed to the public in a way which 

 has rarely been approached in the annals of science. 

 While he was professor at Harvard University, his 

 popularity led to a certain amount of natural jealousy. 

 Why is it, people said, that every one talks of Agassiz ? 

 Is his work so tremendously important that everything 

 he does must be immediately reported and discussed, 

 while the profound researches of other men go un- 

 noticed ? It. was not Agassiz's fault. He was one 

 of the greatest of naturalists, but whatever he might 

 have been, people would have been fascinated by his 

 presence, his tremendous enthusiasm. Few have such 

 gifts, but those who have them may do great things 

 for science and education. 



2. Louis Agassiz was born at Metier, in Switzer- 

 land, in 1807. His father was the pastor of the village. 

 Louis, like other Swiss boys, was keenly interested in 

 the life of the meadows and lakes, forests and moun- 

 tains. He early accumulated collections of specimens, 

 and also had many pets. At the age of ten he was sent 

 away to a school at Bienne. Here he remained for 

 four years, and toward the end of that period wrote 

 out a statement of his future plans, - - rather remark- 

 able ones for a fourteen-year-old boy! "I wish," he 



wrote, "to advance in the sciences. 



I should like 



to pass four years at a University in Germany, and 

 finally finish my studies at Paris, where I could stay 



508 



