94 M. Fee's Life of LinnceiLS, 



writings of Linnaeus ; in short, he has allowed those who were 

 engaged in certain departments to consult this herbarium, and 

 heightened the obligation by the courtesy and kindness with 

 which he conferred it. I cannot remember without emotion the 

 hours which I spent with him, busied in surveying this precious 

 depot, or mention this fact without rendering homage to his 

 memory. On the death of Smith, the Linnean Society of Lon- 

 don, of which he was President, and whose foundation is dated 

 from the acquisition of the herbarium of Linnaeus, obtained the 

 collections of Linnaeus, increased by those of Smith ; which 

 herbariums being deposited in a place dedicated to science, are 

 thus preserved for the future researches of botanists. 



Having thus extracted both from the work of Mr Fee and 

 our own recollections the most important facts in the life of Lin- 

 naeus, this might perhaps be the place for appreciating his la- 

 bours ; but it would be too extensive an undertaking, and is 

 worthy of a specific work. Let us confine ourselves to the re- 

 mark, that the eminent and indisputable service which he has 

 rendered to natural history, was the creation of a language pe- 

 culiar to it, as well in terminology as in nomenclature. Be- 

 fore his appearance, the former had no precise meaning, and 

 €very person in describing animals, and vegetables especially, 

 -either employed vague terms or a circumlocution which render- 

 ■ed their writings tedious, obscure, and difficult of comparison. 

 Linnaeus fixed the meaning of the terms, and introduced many, 

 especially in botany, which were clear and elegant; he employed 

 this new language with remarkable skill and address, and thus 

 entirely changed the form of every descriptive work. We must 

 certainly admit, that in proportion to the progress made in the 

 detailed knowledge of natural objects, it has become necessary 

 to modify the meaning of some terms and to add others; but 

 this has been done according to the principles of Linnaeus, so 

 that it is not without good reason, that, even at present, there is 

 a disposition to attribute to him all the fortunate additions which 

 have been made to the Linnean language, which has rendered 

 natural history, so clear, so concise, and so popular. 



The nomenclature of animals, and especially that of plants, 

 was in a greater state of disorder and anarchy and embar- 

 rassment than even terminology. Each name consisted of a 



