M. Fee's Life ofLmnaus, 91 



to some mutual criticisms : but a kind of quarrel unexpectedly 

 happened between them, in some respects well founded, as Hal- 

 ler was so indiscreet as to publish a few old letters of Linnaeus, 

 containing some private details of his life, and especially of his 

 marriage. 



It must be said, in justice to Linnaeus, that during his life he 

 completely abstained from answering the critiques, often very 

 caustic, on himself and his writings, either because he despised 

 them, or conceived that he had a more extensive and brilliant 

 object in view; he allowed Siegesbeck, Browall, &c. to pour 

 out the vial of their wrath upon him, and enjoyed in peace the 

 admiration of the age in which he lived. The only petite malice 

 which has been noticed is against Browall, who in his youth 

 was, as to poverty, on a level with himself: he dedicated to him 

 a genus which only contained one species, BrowalUa demissa. 

 Having succeeded to the Bishoprick of Abs, Browall behaved 

 with great hauteur, and Linnaeus named a second species which 

 he had found, BrowaUia exaltata. The bishop, becoming ex- 

 asperated, wrote some severe pamphlets against Linnaeus; he 

 presented him with a third species, not very closely connected 

 with the genus, and called it BrowalUa alienata, 



M. Fee has been at some trouble to vindicate Linnaeus from 

 a paltry act of which he has been accused towards Buffon. 

 The genus which bears the name of that distinguished natura- 

 list, is written in Linnaeus with a single Jy Bu/bnia, which was 

 done, it is said, with the intention of calling it the plante des 

 crapauds. Ventenat, desirous of exculpating Linnaeus, sayf5 

 that he gave it this name because the plant grows in moist 

 places, though, on the contrary, it exists on the most barren 

 rocks. The fact is, that it was not Linnaeus who made this 

 fatal orthographical error. The genus had received this name 

 from Sauvages, in his System of Leaves, and with a dedication 

 so highly honourable to Buffon, that it is obvious it was purely 

 a mistake. Linnaeus admitted it without further examination, 

 and was indignant that he could be supposed to condescend to 

 such an aspersion. 



The error of the public arose from .the circumstance, that 

 many of the names established by Linnaeus bore allusions tO'the 

 persons to whom the genera were dedicated. Thus he named 



