r]£aumur. 143 



old, but still persisted in his simplicity of life and 

 desire for study. He was so superior in intellect 

 to the class to which he belonged, that he lived free 

 from jealousy and intrigue. Probably few men 

 have led a happier life than Reaumur, and cer- 

 tainly his useful works will last as long as mankind. 

 At the age of seventy-four he met with an acci- 

 dent whilst riding, and died October i8th, 1757. 

 He had no personal vanity, and, being influenced 

 by the true scientific spirit, sought truth and not 

 personal distinction and reward. 



Linnaeus, whose life has been given under the 

 title of a hero in botanical science, was almost as 

 great a zoologist as botanist and mineralogist. His 

 classification of animals produced as great a change 

 in the direction and possibility of studying zoology, 

 as that of plants did in the case of botany. It led 

 the way, through an artificial system, by which 

 animals could be readily known, to a natural system 

 which united animals not only by their common 

 general shape, but also by the nature, position, and 

 use of their internal organs. His system of naming 

 animals was equal to that of plants, and the 

 reasonable generic and the applicable specific 

 names, going together, stamped the animal with a 

 kind of individuality. Classification, description, 

 and proper naming were the important parts of 

 Linnaeus's zoology. 



