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1733, began a private course of lectures on this subject. 

 The novelty of his information, the vivacity of his style, 

 and the grace of his delivery soon gained him celebrity 

 in this line also. Linnaeus had a general elegance of 

 manners in common with most Swedes; but beyond 

 this, as was said of our Dr. Johnson, l few persons quitted 

 his company without perceiving themselves wiser and 

 better than they were before'; while, as a lecturer, 

 he had the faculty of expressing what he meant to 

 convey in clear incisive words, in sentences vigorous 

 and full, from his complete mastery of the subject. 

 One relished hearing him as one enjoys seeing a master 

 workman use his tools. 



He was above his age in the same sense that the 

 flower is above the plant, that the sunflower crowns the 

 stem. In him the natural arrogance of youth was not 

 the arrogance of a fool swollen with conceit and vapour, 

 but the arrogance of Aristotle's i man of lofty soul, 1 

 who, being of great merit, knows that he is so and 

 chooses to be so regarded.' 2 He had passions ' passions 

 in general lofty and generous, but still passions/ Though 

 entirely free from malice, he was impulsive and vehe- 

 ment in temper, and when roused to indignation could 

 be very fierce. 



Few persons have all kinds of merit belonging to 

 their character ; ' a fallible being will fail somewhere : as 



1 Froude. 



2 ' It is the heroic arrogance of some old Scandinavian conqueror ; 

 it is his nature and the untamable impulse that has given him power 

 to crush the dragons.' M. FULLEB, speaking of Carlyle. 



