22 PROCEEDINGS OF THE 



has naturally been coucerned with the marine organisms, of which 

 he gathered such ricli harvests, and more especially with the 

 Tunicata. 



This year the Linnean Medal has been awarded by the Council 

 to a distinguished Zoologist and Comparative Anatomist, who is 

 one of ourselves — Dr. Albert Griinther. I must not anticipate 

 what I shall have to say when the moment of presentation arrives. 

 I would only remind you that his scientific labours have extended 

 over half a century, and that some memorial of them is to be 

 found in the Eoyal Society's Catalogue of Scientific Papers, where 

 already as many as 240 contributions from his pen are enumerated, 

 and on the slielves of the Zoological Department of the British 

 Museum, where stand the great collections that he arranged and 

 catalogued during many years of strenuous service. If the 

 Eoyal Society has been impelled to express its recognition of 

 Dr. Giintber's scientific eminence in the concrete form of a Royal 

 Medal, there are still more cogent reasons why the Linnean Society 

 should confer upon him its highest honour. 



I fear that I may have been somewhat remiss in the discharge 

 of my duties at previous Anniversaries, in failing to remind the 

 Society that the occasion of our meeting on this day is the com- 

 memoration of the birthday of the celebrated Linnaeus. It would 

 ill become a President of this Society to allow his term of office to 

 pass by without any mention of the man who, though not indeed 

 our founder, may be regarded as our patron saint ; and least of all 

 would such an omission be pardonable in me who am a successor 

 of Dillenius. Seeing how much has been written about liinuseus, 

 how fully his life and his work have been discussed from every 

 point of view and at so many diiferent epochs, it may well be 

 doubted whether anything worth saying still remains to be said. 

 But I am inclined to think that perhaps just because he has been 

 the subject of so much discussion, it is worth while to clarify, from 

 time to time, our somewhat confused conception of him, and to 

 reassure ourselves of the grounds upon which we continue to 

 venerate his memory. 



It is a common misfortune of great men to suifer from the 

 injudicious praise of over-enthusiastic admirers, which often 

 attributes or exaggerates qualities or attainments without sufficient 

 reason, whilst overlooking those which are the real source of 

 greatness. In this respect, I venture to think, few have suffered 

 more than Linnaeus. Lest I fall into the same error, I propose to 

 place myself altogether on the other side, taking up, for the 

 moment, the position of advocatus diaboU, so that my object will 

 be to prove rather what Linnaeus was not than what he was. 



Some of the points in the case can be almost summarily dealt 

 with. For instance, it may be admitted, with, I believe, perfect 

 equanimity, that Linnaeus was not a great Anatomist as regards 

 either animals or plants ; in fact I do not know of any botanical 

 work of his that is definitely anatomical in character, unless. 



