230 LOUIS AGASSIZ. [CHAP. 



far in his criticism, 1 although his discovery of a fossil 

 Quaternary man is a fact now fully accepted. 



Agassiz was not a good practical geologist, like 

 Cuvier. His active spirit did not allow him to follow 

 patiently the always long, tedious, and often too-fatigu- 

 ing researches of practical geology. He wanted the 

 results which he could promptly obtain in the drawers, 

 on the shelves, and in the glass cases of large collec- 

 tions. There Agassiz had not his equal, being even 

 quicker than Cuvier. 



Both spoke slowly and with that drawling accent 

 peculiar to the Jurassic peoples, and at their first meet- 

 ing they recognized one another as children of the 

 Jura. Agassiz kept the accent almost to his sixtieth 

 year ; as for Cuvier, he kept it until the end of his life, 

 in consequence of his daily intercourse with his country- 

 men from Montbeliard, his brother Frederic, his assist- 

 ant, Laurillard, and his pupil and cousin, the naturalist 

 Duvernoy. 



Cuvier was very grave, while Agassiz, on the con- 

 trary, was always laughing, or, at least, smiling. Cuvier 

 had a special aptitude for all kinds of knowledge, and 

 possessed talents to fill any official position, such as 

 professor, general inspector of public instruction, state 

 councillor, great chancellor of the University, or secre- 



1 Here is the quotation regarding Agassiz : " Parmi les savants de 

 renom Cuvier n'est pas du reste le seul, qui ait prefere" 1'hypocrisie a la 

 ve"rite, 1'exemple le plus connu est celui d'Agassiz, qui pour s'assurer sa 

 position en Massachusetts et y pouvoir etablir un superbe inusee zool^i 

 i Cambridge passa sous les fourches caudines du protestantisme mthodiste 

 le plus absurde." This is a remarkable example of misrepresentation and 

 misunderstanding of the true position of Agassiz in Massachusetts. 



