50 LAMARCK, HIS LIFE AND WORK 
of the sale of this edition, the author would be very 
much pleased, and would doubtless not expect any 
further aid. But it would cost the nation a great 
deal, and I believe that this useful project could be 
carried through with greater economy. 
“ Indeed, if the nation will give me twenty thousand 
francs, in a single payment, I will take the whole re- 
sponsibility, and I agree, if I live, that before the 
expiration of seven years the Systeme de la Nature in 
French, with the complemental addition, the correc- 
tions, and the convenient explanations, shall be at the 
disposition of all those who love or study natural 
history.” 
