XXXVlil PRELIMINARY SKETCH OF THE 



But another splendid luminary of natural 

 sciences, cannot be passed over in a sketch like 

 the present. The reader will easily anticipate 

 the name of Buffon, a name which is, in itself, 

 an ample eulogium. This great genius clothed 

 Natural History in a new dress, and decorated 

 it with the attractions of an eloquence un- 

 rivalled in his own, or, perhaps, in any other 

 language. He was the first who extended the 

 sphere of its popularity, by the charms of his 

 style, beyond mere scholars and men of sci- 

 ence ; his naturally expansive mind, and love 

 of sublimity, led him rather to the contempla- 

 tion of generalities than details. He was also 

 occasionally carried by the force of his ima- 

 gination, into hypotheses that rested on no 

 solid foundation. He had, nevertheless, a truly 

 philosophical spirit, could observe facts, and 

 compare results, and possessed the most ex- 

 tensive degree of information. His genius was 

 of a very different character from that of Lin- 

 naeus. To the latter belonged clearness, me- 

 thod, admirable precision, and wonderful acute- 

 ness of observation, and research ; but the 

 genius of Buffon, was adapted to generalize 

 and enlarge our views of things. While the 

 one is perpetually aiming at order, exactness, 

 and the developement of details, the other is 



