BON 



659 



BON 



Bonnet. serrations on worms and aphides. In consequence of 

 this paper, he was elected a member of the Royal 

 Society. 



The fatigue which accompanied these incessant la- 

 bours, produced a severe effect upon his health, and 

 for some time he was compelled to relinquish entire- 

 ly his favourite pursuits. By this relaxation from 

 study, his eye-sight was considerably improved, and 

 his general health so greatly re-established, that, in 

 1746, he renewed his studies by a course of experi- 

 ments on moss and other vegetable substances. These 

 experiments were succeeded by his inquiries respect- 

 ing the ascent of sap in vegetables, and the action of 

 the upper and under leaves of plants ; the result of 

 which were given to the world, in 1754; under the 

 titIe~of Recfierches sur I'usagc des Feiti/les dans les 

 Plantes, which was" improved by a supplement, in 

 1779, and afterwards published in the second volume 

 of his works. He published also another treatise on a 

 similar subject, entitled Sur la Feconddtion des Plantes, 

 which is given in the fifth volume of his works: 



From this fertile path of experiment and observa- 

 tion which Bonnet had so long pursued, he was al- 

 lured, by the study of Malebranche and Leibnitz, into 

 the toilsome but more seducing track of metaphysi- 

 cal speculation. The results of these new inquiries 

 were given to the world in An Essay on Psychology, 

 published at London, anonymously, in 1755; and in 

 an Analytical Essay on ilie Faculties of the Soul, 

 which was printed in quarto at Copenhagen, at the 

 expence of the King of Denmark. Both these works 

 were well received ; though the latter exposed him 

 to the charge of materialism. 



Unable in some measure, both from his studious 

 habits and the defect of his hearing, to participate in 

 the bustle and ' amusements of active life, he sought 

 in domestic happiness for those comforts which na- 

 ture had denied him. In 1756, he married one of 

 the family of De La Rive, the aunt of the celebrated 

 Saussure. This lady contributed greatly to the hap- 

 piness of Bonnet, whom she had the misfortune to 

 survive. 



In the year 1762, Bonnet published at Amster- 

 dam, in 2 vols Svo, a work entitled, Contemplations 

 sur tcs Corps Organists. From some misapprehension 

 of the principles which this work inculcated, M. des 

 Malesherbes prohibited it from being sold in Fiance; 

 but the interdict was removed, in consequence of a re- 

 monstrance from the author. His next production, 

 entitled, The Contemplation of Nature, appeared in 

 1764, in 2 vols Svo. This popular and entertaining 

 work, adorned with all the charms of simple elo- 

 quence and enlightened piety, was translated into 

 most of the languages of Europe. In 1769, he pub- 

 lished at Geneva, in 2 vols 8vo, his Palingenesie P/ii- 

 losophirjue ; a work which treats on the past and fu- 

 ture state of living beings. To this work he annex- 

 ed an " Enquiry into the Evidence of the Christian 

 Revelation, and the Doctrines of Christianity," which 

 was published separately at Geneva in 1770, along 

 with a Dissertation on the Existence of God. The 

 German translator of this work dedicated it to a 

 learned Jew, whom he summoned either to refute it, 

 or acknowledge his conviction, Bonnet hearing of 



this improper challenge, assured the Jew that he 

 was not a party to such a defiance. 



The study of natural history having again invited 

 his attention, he published in Rozier's Journal a me- 

 thod of preserving insects and fish in cabinets; and 

 in 1774, a paper on the loves of plants, in conse- 

 quence of his having observed a kind of opening in 

 the pistil of a lily. The other subjects with which 

 he was at this time occupied were, the reproduction 

 of the heads of snails, the water salamander, the pipa 

 or Surinam toad, the manners of bees, the blue co- 

 lour acquired by exposing mushrooms to the air, and 

 other branches of natural history. 



The reputation of Bonnet was now fully establish- 

 ed, and he had the honour of corresponding with 

 many of the most distinguished naturalists of Eu- 

 rope. In 1746, he had been chosen a member of the 

 Academy of Bologna, and introduced to the ac- 

 quaintance of the celebrated Zanotti ; and he was, in 

 1783, elected one of the foreign associates of the 

 Academy of Sciences at Paris. From 1752 to 1768, 

 Bonnet continued a member of the great council of 

 the republic. A love of retirement, however, indu- 

 ced him to withdraw from this active situation, and 

 spend the remainder of his life among the simple plea- 

 sures of the country, and in the select society of his 

 friends. His time was chiefly spent in the revisal of 

 his works, which appeared in French at Neufchatel, 

 in 9 vols. 4to, and 18 vols. 8vo. Exhausted with 

 these labours, his health began visibly to decline in 

 1788, when a dropsy in the chest assailed his consti- 

 tution. In 1793 it had reached an alarming height, 

 and, after numerous and severe sufferings, he expired 

 on the 20th of May 1793, at the age of 73. A 

 public funeral was decreed to him by his fellow citi- 

 zens ; and his nephew, the celebrated Saussure, pro- 

 nounced upon him a funeral eulogy. 



The talents of Bonnet, though not of the first or- 

 der, were such as to entitle him to a high rank among 

 the naturalists of the 18th century. His discoveries 

 were useful, but not brilliant ; and, if his writings 

 are not distinguished by that depth of thought and 

 acutcness of penetration which indicate a powerful 

 mind, they are marked by an originality of concep- 

 tion, a clearness of illustration, and a simplicity of 

 eloquence, which entitle them to no ordinary praise. 

 The excellence of his private character, the wisdom 

 and moderation of his public measures, and his ra- 

 tional piety and regard for the Christian religion, 

 are qualities which posterity will long admire. See 

 Memoire pour servir a I'Hisloirc de la vie et des 

 ouvrages de M. Charles Bonnet. Berne, 1794. (h) 



BONNETIA, a genus of plants of the class Po- 

 lyandria, and order Monogynia, See Botany. (j) 



BONON1A. See Bologna. 



BONONIAN Stone, a stone found near Bologna, 

 which, when properly prepared, has the property of 

 emitting light in the dark. See Keysler's Travels, 

 vol. iii. p. 301. Homberg, Mem. Acad. Par. torn. ii. 

 p. 12, 133. Nollet, Mem. Acad. Par. 1743, Hist. 

 105. Comment. Bonon. vol. i. p. 184. Phil. Trans. 

 N 21, N 134 ; and Hooke's Philosophical Collee. 

 lions. See also Phosphorus, where this subject will 

 be fully discussed, (w) 



Bonnet 



H 



Bononian. 



