374 LINN^US. 



The general principles of classification which he 

 introduced; his invention of specific names, his im- 

 provements in nomenclature and terminology, and 

 the w^onderful precision of his descriptions, rendered 

 the study of these sciences as pleasing and easy as 

 it liad previously been irksome and laborious. 



All systems flourish and fade. The mineralogy 

 of Linnaeus has perished ; his zoology, cut down to 

 the root, has sent forth a profusion of luxuriant 

 shoots ; and although his botany maintains as yet 

 a strong claim upon the admiration of the lovers of 

 nature, a fairer plant has sprung up beside it, which 

 promises a richer harvest of golden fruits. But 

 should the period ever arrive when all that belonged 

 to him of mere system and technicology shall be 

 obliterated, he will not the less be remembered as a 

 bright luminary in the dark hemisphere of natural 

 science, which served for a time to throw a useful 

 light around, and led observers to surer paths of 

 observation than had previously been known. 



