MEMOIR OF CUVIER. 19 



bent of his genius. Linnaeus seized on the distin- 

 guishing characters of beings, with the most remark- 

 able tact ; Buffon, at one glance, embraced the most 

 distant affinities. Linnaeus, exact and precise, cre- 

 ated a language on purpose to express his ideas 

 clearly, and at the same time concisely ; Buffon, 

 abundant and fertile in expression, used his own 

 v/ords to develope the extent of his conceptions. 

 No one ever exceeded Linnaeus in impressing every 

 one with the beauties of detail, with which the Crea- 

 tor has profusely enriched every thing to which he 

 has given life ; none better than Buffon ever painted 

 the majesty of Creation, and the imposing grandeur 

 of the laws to which she is subjected. The former, 

 frightened at the chaos or careless state in which bis 

 predecessors had left the history of Nature, contrived 

 by simple methods, and short and clear definitions, 

 to establish order in this immense labyrinth, and ren- 

 der a knowledge of individual beings easy of attain- 

 ment ; the latter, disgusted at the dryness of ante- 

 cedent writers, who, for the most part, were con- 

 tented with giving exact descriptions, knew how to 

 interest us for these objects, by the magic of his har- 

 monious and poetical language. Sometimes the 

 student, fatigued by the perusal of Linnaeus, reposed 

 himself with Buffon; but always, when deliciously 

 excited by his enchanting descriptions, he returned 

 to Linnaeus, in order to class this beautiful imagery, 

 feeling that, without such aid, he might only preserve 

 a confused recollection of its subject ; and doubtless 



