122 The Life and Writings of 



RAFINESQUE S LITERARY STYLE. 



The reader of Rafinesque will find few attempts at 

 rhetorical effect. His style is singularly loose and unsci 

 entific. His thought is not always sequential; his facts 

 are not always clearly presented. There are frequent 

 lapses from grammatical laws, seen particularly in the 

 relation of singular verbs and plural subjects, or the 

 contrary. When he essayed formal description in natu 

 ral history Latin, the ablative absolute and the nomi 

 native independent are hopelessly confused. And yet, 

 notwithstanding these defects in style, there is a certain 

 directness and vigor which are refreshing. Especially 

 is this true of those parts of his writings which may be 

 regarded as controversial. His printed works abound in 

 contractions, but most often of the two words genus and 

 species; he commonly wrote &quot;G.&quot; for the one, and &quot;Sp.&quot; 

 for the other. Rarely did he spell his numerals, but 

 usually employed the Arabic symbols. These facts give 

 to his pages a peculiar appearance, and may be regarded 

 as distinctive. 



To enable the reader to form some fair opinion of Raf- 

 inesque s best literary style the following extracts, from 

 the &quot;New Flora of North America,&quot; Part I, Introduction, 



