364 LINNJEUS. 



t 



personal acrility and energy ; but as he advanced in 

 years he became rather full, although with little di- 

 minution of his corporeal, and still less of his men- 

 tal activity. In walking he stooped a little, having 

 contracted that habit from his constant searcli for 

 plants and other objects. He was moderate in his 

 diet, regulated his mode of living by strict method, 

 and by temperance preserved his energies, that he 

 might devote them to the cultivation of his favour- 

 ite sciences. His hours of sleep were in summer 

 from ten to five, in winter from nine to six. 



Punctual and orderly in all his arrangements, he 

 underwent labours which to most men would have 

 been impracticable. Yet the period of study he al- 

 ways limited by the natural flow of his spirits, and 

 whenever he became fatigued, or felt indisposed for 

 labour, he laid aside his task. Some persons have ac- 

 counted for the immense extent of his works by sim- 

 ply allowing him industry and perseverance; but they 

 who think so are not aware, that these qualities are 

 generally inseparable from genius of the highest order. 



In the evenings he frequently indulged in social in- 

 tercourse with his friends, when he gave free vent to 

 his lively humour; never for a moment enveloping 

 himself in that reserve with which men of little minds 

 conceal their real want of dignity. Whether deliver- 

 ing a solemn oration at the university, or familiarly 

 conversing with the learned, or dancing in a barn with 

 his pupils, he was respected and esteemed alike. 



It is perhaps strange that, although of jthis joyous 

 temperament, he had not a musical ear, having been 

 in this respect like a man whose character was in 

 almost every point very different, but not less truly 

 estimable, — that great master of moral wisdom, Dr 



