68 MEMOIRS OF 



The necessity of stating- the different names given by va- 

 rious authors, and the discrimination required to separate 

 truth from fable in that which he reported of their economy, 

 demanded the exquisite judgment and profound experience 

 which rendered M. Cuvier so capable of the task ; and there 

 was a general eagerness felt, which does credit to naturalists 

 and collectors of all countries, to offer to him every speci- 

 men, every discover}', every observation, even before the 

 person so offering had himself published the particulars. 

 This was the latest work of magnitude undertaken by M. 

 Cuvier ; and it is easy to judge, by solely viewing the rapid 

 growth of this one branch, how every thing advanced under 

 his influence and his personal exertions, and how materials 

 poured upon him from those who were sure of receiving 

 justice from his hands, and many of whom, rendered in- 

 capable by other pursuits or circumstances of publishing 

 their observations on their own account, were delighted to 

 be mentioned in his pages as among the very humble con- 

 tributors to his glory. 



But in this publication, which is accompanied by numer- 

 ous and beautiful engravings, especially those made from 

 the drawings of M. Laurillard, on the anatomy of the perch, 

 we find a new feature. M. Cuvier becomes the historian 

 of that part of the science of which he treats ; and nothing 

 can be more clearly or impartially given than the progress 

 of Ichthyology, from the first certain glimpses to be met 

 with concerning its existence ; and the place, the means, the 

 results, the influence of every labourer in the cause, are set 

 before us with wonderful precision and order. But as this 

 is, with the exception of the Memoirs on Mollusca (published 

 at various times in the Annales du Museum, and now col- 

 lected into one quarto volume), the only work of M. Cuvier 

 devoted to one single branch of natural history, it may be 

 interesting to give an idea how it is conducted. The his- 

 tory abovementioned forms, as it were, an introduction to the 

 whole, and concludes in these words : " As for us, the only 

 wish we can now form, is, that the work which we have 

 undertaken may not be found unworthy, either of the illus- 

 trious writers whose labours we seek to continue, or of the 

 aid and encouragement we have received from so great a 

 number of friends, and from the patrons of natural history. 



