MEMOIR OF M. ISIDORE 6E0FFR0Y SAINT IIILAIRE. 



BY M. DE QUATREFAGES. > 



'From the Bullftinof ^he Imperial Society of Acclimatatiou. — Translated for the Smithsonian 



Institution. ] 



Isidore GcoB'roj Saint Ililaire was bom tlac IGth December, 1805 ; and on 

 tbe lOtli November, 1861, be sank under an iUness wbose insidious progress 

 bad set at naugbt all tbe efforts of scientific skill and devoted affection, before 

 be bad completed bis fifty-sixtb year. Wbat tbis sbort life bad been bas 

 already been related by tbosc wbose eloquence was beigbtencd by grief and 

 friendsbip, and I bave myself said a few words on tbis subject. Wbat tbe man 

 was bas tlius been declared, but tbe appreciation of tbe tavant required a little 

 more development. It is for tbis reason tbat I return to tbe tbeme. I wisb to 

 sketcb, at least, tbe principal features of tbat scientific existence wbicb was cut 

 sbort at tbe moment of bearing its finest fruits. 



A cbild of tbe museum, Isidore Grcoffroy took, as we may say, bis first steps in 

 tbat collection founded by bis illustrious fatber, in tbose galleries wbicb bad 

 grown, as if by magic, under tbe united efforts of tbe Brogniarts, tbe Cuviers, 

 tbe GcofFroys, tbe Jussieus, tbe Lamarcks. Tbis daily spectacle would bave 

 inspired even an ordinary mind: judge, tben, of its effect on an intelligence of 

 early tbougbtfulness. To tbis influence add tbat of family traditions* — tbe 

 example and inspiration of a fatber like Etienn<e Geoffrey, tbe lessons of a 

 motber, wbose firm and affectionate beart tbe most bitter trials bave never 

 sbaken, and wbose elevated judgment bas always been recognized by some of 

 tbe greatest minds of our timet — and it will be seen tbat few men bave entered 

 on tbeir intellectual career under more favorable auspices. 



Isidore Geoffrey profited by tbese gifts of Heaven. He was but nineteen, 

 wben, in 1824, be made bis debut as a zoologist, by tbe publication of a memoir 

 on a new species of American bat, {Nyctinomiis Braziliensis.) He afterwards 

 returned at different times to tbis group, wbicb bad first been diseutanglcd by 

 Etienne Geoffrey, and wbicb for tbat very reason attracted bis special attention; 

 but in 1826, at tbe age of 21, be laid aside for a time tbese descriptive labors, to 

 turn to a subject mucb less restricted, and wbicb at once revealed tbe secret of 

 studies of deep and long continued interest. He publisbed in tbe Dictlonnaire 

 Classique cVHistoire Natiirellc, and soon afterwards in tbe form of a volume. 

 General Considerations on tlic Class of Mammifers. Let us dwell a moment on 

 tbis early Avork, tbe first in wbicb Isidore Geoffrey presented a grand general 

 view of facts and ideas. We sball find in it almost all tbe germs wbicb were 

 to obtain a ricb development in bis subsequent works. 



* One of the branches of the Gcoffroy family gave, in the 18th century, three members to 

 the Academy of Sciences. 



t Madame Geofifroy Saint Hilaire, (Paulino Anois) belongs to a family of the magistracy, 

 ■which still adheres to its old traditions. Her father, M. Brieve de Mondetour, was successively 

 Receiver-general des Economats under Louis XVI, Muirc of the 2d arrondisscment of Paris, 

 and deputy of the corps legislatif, under the Empire. In all these situations, he knew how to 

 merit the esteem of the sovereigns and the respect of the public. In 1804, Mademoisello 

 Briere de Mondetour married Etienne Geoft'roy, who was already celebrated. She survives 

 her husband, the twin daughters, and the son, who were the fruit of this union. 



