ELOQE ON BUFFOtf. 59 



seeing, on the banks of the Senegal, the timid Gazelle 

 descend to the brink of the stream where the Tiger lies 

 in ambush. The view of the universe, when we observe 

 it with less indifference than the majority of men, pre- 

 sents no agreeable image which Buffon does not bring 

 before the mind ; no sombre perspective which does not 

 reappear in his work, where we every where perceive, 

 as in Nature herself, order, harmony, fertility ; the re- 

 medy by the side of the evil ; the earth prodigal of 

 every blessing ; but, at the same time, war prevailing, 

 strength triumphant, and innocence sacrificed. 



It is by the harmony of his eloquence, and the sweet- 

 ness he infuses into his expressions, that Buffon de- 

 lights the senses, and fixes the regard of his auditors, 

 even when he is speaking of animals and natural pro- 

 ductions, the least noble in our eyes. But when a vaster 

 field offers itself to the flight of his genius ; if he in- 

 terrupts the enumeration of the species which inhabit 

 the earth, in order to do homage to the principles of 

 being and of life ; or, if he begins to describe the struc- 

 ture of the universe, and the equilibrium of worlds 

 weighing the one against the other ; a superior power 

 then raises us above the sphere of human view 1 It is 

 no longer a mortal we listen to, but Nature herself which 

 opens her sanctuary, and at whose voice we are obliged 

 to bow. Eternal Wisdom ! sole object worthy of the 

 exertions and curiosity of man, how powerful is your 

 attraction over the mind that seeks to know thee ; and 

 how happy the individual, who can devote his life to 

 the contemplation of thee ! 



