THE PROGRESS OF SCIENCE. 



93 



The education of Linnaeus was irreg 



ular. as lias been frequently the ease 

 with men of science, and Ins early life 

 was more adventurous than is usual al 

 the presenl day. His interest in the 

 names and qualities of plants is said 

 to have begun at the age of four. His 

 father, who was a clergyman, wished 

 to train him for the church, but when 

 he showed no taste for routine studies, 

 he was almost apprenticed to a shoe- 

 maker. He made his way through 

 Swedish universities with many ad- 

 ventures and spent a number of years 

 in Holland, whence he visited England. 

 He practised medicine for a time at 

 Stockholm, but finally received a pro- 

 fessorship at Upsala which he held for 

 thirty-seven years. He made this north- 

 ern town the center for natural his- 

 tory in Europe, its students increasing 

 from 500 to 1,500 through his influence. 

 Expeditions proceeded thence to all 

 parts of the world, and all discoveries 

 were reported to Linnaeus, resulting in 

 a large series of works by him and his 

 pupils. All honors were then show- 

 ered upon him. He was ennobled under 

 the name Carl von Linne and founded 

 an estate. His son inherited his posi- 

 tion at the university, but not his 

 talents. When he died on January 10, 

 1778, his reputation was world-wide, 

 and his name will always be a land- 

 mark in the history of science. 



PRESIDENT ELIOT. 



The seventieth birthday of President 

 Eliot, perhaps the greatest American 

 now living, was celebrated at Harvard 

 University on March 20. Mr. John 

 Sargent has been invited to paint a 

 portrait which will be placed in the 

 Harvard Union. The following ad- 

 mirably expressed letter with some ten 

 thousand signatures was presented to 



President Eliot : 



March 20, 1904. 



Dear Mr. President: As with undi- 

 minished power you pass the age of 

 seventy, we greet you. 



Thirty-five years ago you were called 

 to be president of Harvard College. 



At tlic age uf thirty-five you became the 

 dead of an institution whose history 

 was long, whose 1 radii ions were firm, 

 and whose leading counselors were of 

 twice your age. With prophetic in- 

 sight you anticipated the movements 

 of thought and life; your face was 

 towards the coming day. In your 

 imagination the college was already the 

 university. 



You have upheld the old studies and 

 uplifted the new. You have given a 

 new definition to a liberal education. 

 The university has become the expres- 

 sion of the highest intellectual forces of 

 the present as well as of the past. 



Y'ou have held from the first that 

 teacher and student alike grow strong 

 through freedom. Working eagerly 

 with you and for you are men whose 

 beliefs, whether in education or in 

 religion, differ widely from your own, 

 yet who know that in speaking out 

 their beliefs they are not more loyal 

 to themselves than to you. By your 

 faith in a young man's use of intel- 

 lectual and spiritual freedom you have 

 given new dignity to the life of the col- 

 lege student. 



The universities and colleges through- 

 out the land, though some are slow to 

 accept your principles and adopt your 

 methods, all feel your power and recog- 

 nize with gratitude your stimulating 

 influence and your leadership. 



Through you the American people 

 have begun to see that a university is 

 not a cloister for the recluse, but an 

 expression of all that is best in the 

 nation's thought and character. From 

 Harvard University men go into every 

 part of our national life. To Harvard 

 University come from the common 

 schools, through paths that have been 

 broadened by your work, the youth who 

 have the capacity and the will to profit 

 by her teaching. Your influence is felt 

 in the councils of the teachers and in 

 the education of the youngest child. 



As a son of New England you have 

 sustained the traditions of her patriots 

 and scholars. By precept and example 

 you have taught that the first duty of 



