B U F F O N. 



79 



was destroyed during the fury of the revolution. 

 The leaden coffin in which he was deposited, was 

 even opened and carried off, and his very remains 

 wi-rr left unburied. A cititen who loved the scien- 

 ces, and who w;is indignant at this profanation of ge- 

 nius, went to Paris to complain of it, and proposed 

 to the committee of public instruction to place Buf- 

 fon in the Pantheon. This attempt, however, was 

 unavailing ; and the committee were unanimously of 

 opinion, that the place would be profaned by the 

 presence of a man who was connected, like button, 

 with the aristocracy of the country. 



In his external appearance, Buffon was distinguish- 

 ed by a fine commanding figure, and his countenance 

 exhibited the most unequivocal traits of superior in- 

 telligence. When he walked, he carried his head 

 high, scarcely deigning to look at the ground ; and 

 such was the perfection of his general appearance, 

 that the picture of man which he has drawn in his 

 Histoire dc : L,'IIotmc is said to be taken from him- 

 self. A love of magnificence and luxury, and even 

 of show, was one of the predominant passions of our 

 author. Even in the latter part of his life, when old 

 age and disease might have subdued this silly passion, 

 he had his hair dressed twice or thrice a day. Every 

 Sunday he exhibited himself in a rich lace garment, 

 attended by his son and by several peasants. His 

 natural vanity was greatly increased, by the admira- 

 tion which his writings every where inspired. He was 

 in the habit of reciting his works to those who visited 

 him, and of requesting them to read them aloud ; 

 and his favourite parts were, the discourse of the 

 first man, successively animated by the developement 

 of his different sensations, the description of the de- 

 serts of Arabia in the article Chameau and another 

 description in the article Kamichi. His own wri- 

 tings were frequently the subject of his commenda- 

 tion ; and when speaking of men of talents, he would 

 often say, that able men were very rare ; and that 

 he knew only five great geniuses, Newton, Bacon, 

 Leibnitz, Montesquieu, and himself. The loveof glory, 

 however, was the ruling passion of Buffon. It was 

 for this high prize 'that he laboured during 50 years. 

 The attention which he paid to his style, and the re- 

 peated correction and revision which all his works 

 underwent, were less the result of a difficulty which he 

 felt in composing, than of that love-of reputation which 

 never forsook him. He tells us, indeed, of the luxuries 

 of genius, and of the gratification with which mental 

 labour always inspired him. * It is for this grati- 

 fication," said he, " yet more than for glory that I 

 have toiled. Glory comes if it can, and mostly does 

 come. This pleasure is greater rf you consult no 

 books : I have never consulted authors till I had no- 

 thing left to say of my own." This noble passion, 

 which in the preceding expressions he seems in some 

 measure to disavow, appeared more unequivocally at 

 the close of his life, when he was enabled to anticipate 

 the opinion of posterity. He declared that he had no 

 fcar of death, and that the hope of immortal renown 

 was the most powerful deathbed consolation. The 

 vanity of few authors has been so much flattered 

 during their life as that of Buffon. We have already 

 een that Louis XV. shewed him the most particular 

 >M-ks of his favour. The Empress of Russia ho- 



noured him with her orrespoiidence. She ably cri- 

 ticiM-d oome of his opinions, and exerted herself in 

 forwarding his researches in natural history through- 

 out her vast dominions. When Prince Henry of 

 Prussia visited him at Montbard, he wrote these re- 

 markable words : ' A'I j'avoi* betoin (Tun ami, ce 

 teroit lui; H'un pcre entorc lui ; d'ttn intelligence 

 pour m'eclairer, cfi ! tfiiel a litre que lui.'' Helve - 

 tius and Montesquieu were among the particular 

 friends of Buffon. The Abbe Raynal ranked him 

 above Pliny and Aristotle. Even Voltaire paid due 

 homage to his talents; and M. Lebrun, one of the 

 finest pools of France, addressed a poem to him 

 highly complimentary to his genius and talents. Such 

 indeed was the extent of his fame, that during the 

 American war, ihe very pirates transmitted to Buffon 

 the boxes that were addressed to him, while they 

 detained those of the King of Spain. 



The social qualities of Buffon were much inferior 

 to those of his mind. There was nothing remarka- 

 ble in his conversation, though it was on some occa- 

 sions marked by the peculiar features of his genius. 

 It was probably on this account, that he secluded 

 himself from the gay and learned society of Paris, 

 where his genius would have been obscured amid the 

 daz^llng brilliancy of wit and sentiment which were 

 then so conspicuous in the metropolis of France. He 

 often declared hi preference of the writings to the 

 conversation of the learned ; and he seems to have 

 acted under the impression, that information should 

 be expected only in the works of authors, and 

 that the common topics of the day were the on- 

 ly proper subjects of conversation. Hence he was 

 fond of trifling in company, and sometimes indulged 

 in a licentiousness of conversation, which often made 

 the ladies blush and retire. While he was dressing, 

 he listened with avidity to the scandalous chronicle 

 of Montbard ; and the Capuchin Ignatius, who oftei 

 acted as iiis valet, was in the habit of amusing hirm 

 with his jokes. 



There was very little sensibility in the character of 

 Buffon. In speaking of Rousseau, he observed, " Je 

 Vamois assez ; mats lorsqnefai vu ses Confessions, 

 fai cesse de I'estimer. 6'w ante m'a rev^lte." His 

 mind was probably too much occupied with study to 

 enter into the views and feelings of that singular cha- 

 racter. 



In the moral and religious character of Buffon, we 

 have much to condemn, and very little to admire. Whea 

 Genius appears without the Virtues, she is shorn of 

 her loveliest beams. Her dazzling splendor may 

 command our admiration, but she wants the qualities 

 which can alone win our affections. Secluded as Buf- 

 fon was from the temptations of gay life, and devo- 

 ted wholly to the study oftiature, we might have ex- 

 pected some display of the domestic virtues ; but our 

 expectations are sadly disappointed by the history of 

 his private life. His habitual infidelity to his wife 

 was accompanied with most of the vices which ge- 

 nerally spring from that odious crime. Delicacy for- 

 bids us to repeat what some of his biographers has 

 related on this subject, and what we would fondly 

 hope has been given with some exaggeration. 



The whole of Buffon's writings indicate the free 

 sentiments which he entertained respecting religion, 



