38 STUDIES OF NATURE. 



Hurried away myfelf, by the fpirit of the age in 

 which I live, I gave, at the end of the journal of 

 my voyage to the Ifle of France, a fyftem of bo- 

 tany, in which I pretended to explain the expan- 

 fion of plants, as our Naturalifts explain that of 

 madrépores, from the mechanifm of the fniall ani- 

 mals which conftitute them. I quote this Work, 

 though I compofed it merely as an amufement, to 

 prove how eafy it is to fupport a falfe principle by 

 true obfervations ; for having communicated it to 

 y. y. Roujeau, who was, it is well known, a great 

 proficient in Botany, he faid to me; / do not adopt 

 your Jj ft em ; but it would coft me^ at kqft^fix months to 

 refute it ; and even then, I could not flatter myfelf 

 with the certainty of having fucceeded. Had the de- 

 cifion of this candid gentleman been wholly unre- 

 ferved, it could not have jullified my libertinifm. 



Fi6lion embellifhes the hiftory of Man onl}'-, it 

 degrades that of Nature. Nature is herfelf the 

 fource of all that is ingenious, amiable, and beau- 

 tiful. By applying to her the violence of our 

 imaginary laws, or by extending to all her opera- 

 tions, thofe with vi^hich we are acquainted, we con- 

 ceal others, worthy of the higheft admiration, with 

 which we are totally unacquainted. We add, to 

 the cloud with which (he veils her divinity, that of 

 our own errors. They get into credit by time, by 

 profeflTorlhipSj by books, by protedtors, by affo- 



ciations, 



