152 AMERICAN MIDLAND NATURALIST 
studied and published. The work which in him has been criticised, 
when considered in the light of the knowledge of his times seems 
brilliantly done. Even upon the tumuli of the ancient Mound- 
builders he made important contributions. He made, alone and 
unaided, brilliant progress in deciphering the inscriptions of 
Central American Monuments. His energy and enthusiasm appar- 
ently knew no bounds. His bibliography includes 939 pubiished 
titles, and numerous extant manuscripts, to say nothing of the 
great number of unpublished manuscripts which at his death 
were dispersed and forever lost to Science. 
From a typographical point of view the book is above crit- 
icism. ‘Thirty-three plates, all but one of them facsimiles of the 
titlepages of various papers by Rafinesque, embellish the text. 
But is is in the keen insight into the life of the naturalist 
manifested by Professor Fitzpatrick that the book is made indis- 
pensable to the student of American science. Justice and absolute 
truth seem to have been the motto of the work, as the last few 
paragraphs of the appreciation will indicate: 
“ Being without a university training, Rafinesque lacked the 
precision of the schoolmen, a deficiency which he partly overcame 
through almost boundless energy and enthusiasm. Sympathetic 
guidance from appreciative fellows would have prevented many 
mistakes. Envy, malice, distrust and rivalry prevented aid. 
Individuals fall short of their mission who allow such unworthy 
motives to control them. It seems undoubted that Rafinesque 
would have reached the foremost ranks had he even received 
generous sympathy. As it is, he reached, almost unaided, a position 
where his fame will grow brighter with the passing of time and 
he will be appreciatively recalled when the words of his calum- 
niators shall have been forgotten. Such is the fate of mankind; 
some are famous for their day and generation, others long after. 
This Rafinesque believed and consoled himself with the thought 
that time renders justice to all at last. 
“After a life filled with few triumphs and far too many dis- 
appointments the end found the toiler in moderate circumstances. 
Alone and unfriended he passed beyond the value of life into a 
realm where faith pictures another world of flowers, of sweetly 
singing birds, and of loved ones found again; a naturalist’s dream, 
a desired haven for the tempest-tried soul.” 
[S. W. G.] 
