THE 



EDINBURGH NEW 



PHILOSOPHICAL JOURNAL. 



I37L 

 BwgraphicalMemoir of Peter Simon Pallas, Counsellor of ^jy^ 

 State to^^Imperial Majesty of all the Russias,^ By Baron^A^^^ 

 CuviER, Knight, Professor, &c. 



W HEN a man has devoted his whole life to science, when, 

 being occupied solely in observing and writing, he has only in- 

 termitted his researches during the time necessary for their pub- 

 lication, — it might be expected that his career would not be 

 marked by any remarkable incident, and that the analysis of his 

 works would, in a manner, present the history of his life. But 

 if, labouring only for those engaged in the same pursuits, he 

 disdained to render his writings attractive to others ; if, with 

 the view of presenting the greatest number of facts in the short- 

 est space, he uniformly stated them in the simplest manner, and 

 left to others the easy merit of deducing their results; this very 

 analysis becomes a matter of extreme difficulty, and to give any 

 distinct conception of his works, it would be necessary to tran- 

 scribe them. 



Such was Pallas. Separated in his youth from his family 

 and country, a third of his life was passed in the deserts, and 

 the rest in his cabinet ; and in both situations he made a prodi- 

 gious number of observations, and produced a multitude of me- 

 moirs and volumes. The whole of his writings, though desti- 

 tute of embellishment, are full of novelties and truths ; they 

 have placed the name of their author in the first rank among 

 naturalists, who are continually turning them over, and quoting 



JANUARY — MARCH 1828. P 



