^^ Cuvier as a Naturalist. 



ed a great number of drawings, partly executed by his own 

 hand, and which he called his great Comparative Anatomy, was 

 the circumstance that dictated his choice. A decided predilec- 

 tion, produced, no doubt, by his first studies of marine animals, 

 attracted him strongly to ichthyology, so that, among the in- 

 structions he gave to travellers, he never forgot to draw their 

 attention to fishes. 



We ought to mention on this occasion, that the ascendency 

 of his genius had given him such an authority, that in every 

 country, as was said of Linnaeus, nature was interrogated in his 

 name. Every young naturalist looked upon his recommenda- 

 tions as orders emanating from Science herself, and calling upon 

 him to procure the objects of his desire, that they might be con- 

 secrated to him, as the singular productions of foreign countries 

 were anciently presented to the divinities. In this way the ex- 

 peditions undertaken by order of Government, as well as those 

 of a more private nature, seemed to have been projected express- 

 ly for him. Unanimously acknowledged as the legislator of 

 science, either the objects themselves, or faithful representations 

 of them, were submitted to his examination. Owing to this, 

 the collections in the museum in general are prodigiously aug- 

 mented, and the collection of fishes in particular, has been 

 doubled through his means. 



Besides these larger works, M. Cuvier has published nume- 

 rous memoirs upon particular points of anatomy, — upon the head 

 of vertebral animals, — the eggs of mammiferae, and on those of 

 some of the mollusca. He has given a description of some new 

 species, and has furnished many articles to the Dictlcmnaire des 

 Sciences Naturelles, and especially its prospectus, in which there 

 is a rapid exposition of his method of philosophizing, in relation 

 to natural history.* 



• The following eloges by Cuvier are published in this} Journal. 

 Edinburgh Philosophical Journal. 

 Wemer, vol. iv. p. 1. 



Edinburgh New Philosophical Journal. 

 Sir Joseph Banks, p. I ; Bonnet and Saussure, p. 213, vol. ii. Adanson, p. 1 ; 

 Priestley, p. 209, vol. iii. Herschel, p. 1 ; Pallas, p. 213, vol. iv. Dau- 

 benton, p. 1 ; Cavendish, p. 209, vol v. Beauvois, p. 1 ; Haxiy, p. 205, 

 vol. vi. Pinel, p. 205 ; Boac, p. 274, vol. vii. Halle, p. 1 ; Corvisart, 

 p. 9 ; Rumford, p. 209, vol. viii. Claude L. Richard, p. 201, vol. ix. 

 Duhamel, p. 1, voL x. Davy, p. 1 ; Vauquelin, p. 209, vol. xv. 



