THE GRAND TOUR (1768-69) 93 



him the deepest and widest learning. Without ever mixing himself in 

 the intrigues of the Academy, he is loved and respected by all the 

 academicians ; always the same, always affable, always ready to 

 instruct, he expresses his views with the noble assurance that springs 

 from deep study and is far from either the insolence of pride, or the 

 false pretence of an affected modesty. If he had your imagination, 

 my dear uncle, he would be you.' 



Next to Jussieu, de Saussure saw most of Buffon, who was then 

 at the height of his reputation, the most celebrated man of science 

 of his day. Nevertheless, in writing to his correspondents, the 

 young Genevese ventured on very critical appreciations of the 

 author of the Epoques de la Nature. To his mother he writes : 



' It was the greatest pleasure for me to talk to him. He spoke 

 coldly but politely of M. Bonnet, and I must confess in secret that to 

 win his favour I let him see that I do not always agree with my dear 

 uncle. M. de Buffon is tall and stout ; he has a countenance at first 

 sight dull and heavy, but which becomes animated and full of life and 

 expression when he talks. He is polite and suffers contradiction 

 patiently a very rare quality here and he knows how to discuss the 

 most deep and learned matters without using long words. We have 

 had several interesting conversations on general physics. He asked 

 for an abstract of my experiments on the heat of the sun, which I 

 gave him. He is bold in his speculations, but he sustains them with 

 force and genius : his conversation instructs me and gives me en- 

 thusiasm and courage.' 



At a later date de Saussure writes in a different tone : 



' I have often had occasion to speak of M. de Buffon with members 

 of the Academy. They do justice to the beauty of his style, but they 

 think nothing of him as a man of science : they look on him neither 

 as a physicist, nor a geometrician, nor a naturalist. His observations 

 they account very inexact and his systems visionary. Perhaps jealousy 

 enters into their judgment. M. de Buffon has, no doubt, excited it 

 by his brilliancy : but it is certain his character also arouses hostility ; 

 he is severe in his criticisms, despotic in his opinions, and very exacting 

 in his friendships. In youth he had a satirical disposition that made 

 him very formidable.' 



De Saussure, later in life, maintained this unfavourable view 

 of Buffon's claims as a savant, characterising him as ' more of an 

 orator than a naturalist.' 



