A HISTORY OF SCIENCE 



great aptitude in learning botanical names, and re- 

 membering facts about various plants as told him by 

 his father. His eagerness for knowledge did not ex- 

 tend to the ordinary primary studies, however, and, 

 aside from the single exception of the study of physi- 

 ology, he proved himself an indifferent pupil. His 

 backwardness was a sore trial to his father, who was 

 desirous that his son should enter the ministry; but 

 as the young Linnaeus showed no liking for that calling, 

 and as he had acquitted himself well in his study of 

 physiology, his father at last decided to allow him to 

 take up the study of medicine. Here at last was a 

 field more to the liking of the boy, who soon vied 

 with the best of his fellow-students for first honors. 

 Meanwhile he kept steadily at work in his study of 

 natural history, acquiring considerable knowledge of 

 ornithology, entomology, and botany, and adding 

 continually to his collection of botanical specimens. 

 In 1729 his botanical knowledge was brought to the 

 attention of Olaf Rudbeck, professor of botany in the 

 University of Upsala, by a short paper on the sexes of 

 plants which Linnaeus had prepared. Rudbeck was 

 so impressed by some of the ideas expressed in this 

 paper that he appointed the author as his assistant the 

 following year. 



This was the beginning of Linnaeus's career as a 

 botanist. The academic gardens were thus thrown 

 open to him, and he found time at his disposal for pur- 

 suing his studies between lecture hours and in the 

 evenings. It was at this time that he began the prep- 

 aration of his work the Systema natures, the first of his 

 great works, containing a comprehensive sketch of the 



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