XIV ANECDOTES OF LINNAEUS. 



among the smaller kinds of animals. But he made 

 it a regular science. He limited the various classes 

 by plain distinctive marks, introduced the solid 

 genera, determined the species, and took pains to 

 lessen the great number of variations. I must 

 freely own, that Linnseus himself was very sensible 

 that his system of the animal reign was not built 

 upon so safe a foundation as his botany, and that 

 his generical characters were far more tottering and 

 more undefined. It is, however, the only system 

 which comprises the whole animal reign, which is 

 certainly a great prerogative, if we only consider 

 the circumstances in which Linnaeus found that 

 science. It remained almost entirely uncultivated, 

 consisted only of a few descriptions which were 

 extremely deficient, and of a small number of 

 copperplates, so badly executed as hardly to be dis- 

 cernible. In Ichthyology, he alone profited by the 

 labours of his ill-fated friend Artedi. 



" Linnaeus was likewise the first who separated 

 the worms from the insects, defined both classes by 

 real characters, and introduced genera, sorts, and 

 orders a foundation upon which almost all his 

 successors built after him. He also augmented all 

 the different parts of the animal reign by a very 

 considerable number of new discovered species, by 

 exact and more accurate descriptions, and by a 

 great quantity of the most important discoveries, 

 which chiefly relate to animal ceconomy. 



" Limueus was therefore a great man in all the 



