340 BOTANICAL GAZETTE [MAY 
pelled to invent a terminology, and to establish rules for describing and 
naming species as well as genera; and even if the system which he estab- 
lished was purely artificial, he indicated by his ‘‘Ordines naturales” that 
LINNAEUS at the age of 67; from a 
painting by Per Krafit. 
a natural system is the supreme end of 
systematic work. 
To his last days he preserved the 
friendly and simple nature that had 
marked him from his youth. Very 
characteritsic of him was his suscepti- 
bility to impressions and his indomi- 
table energy. During the long period 
of active life he always declined to 
enter into discussion with those who 
opposed him; and he was accustomed 
to say: “If I have erred, nothing 
will be gained; but if I am right, 
I shall be so as long as nature exists.” 
He was a very religious man and 
a firm believer in the inevitable 
Nemesis. 
He died January 10, 1778, and 
was buried in the old cathedral of 
Upsala. A beautiful monument was erected on his grave, and the brief 
inscription shows how much he was appreciated by his friends and pupils. 
It is as follows: 
Carolo a Linné 
botanicorum principi. 
Amici et discipuli. 
MDCCXCVIII. 
