1 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 



interest, up to the latest hour of his life, having been the 

 foundation of Fellowships or Scholarships in the University 

 of Edinburgh, to enable deserving students to prolong their 

 studies beyond the usual academical period, it was further 

 resolved to collect funds for the purpose of founding, in that 

 University, a Fellowship or Scholarship in Natural Science, 

 tenable for a limited term of years, and to be called ' The 

 Falconer Fellowship ' or ' Scholarship.' 



A Committee, including the Presidents of the Eoyal, 

 Linnean, Geological, Geographical and Ethnological Socie- 

 ties, was at once formed to promote the objects of the 

 ' Falconer Memorial,' by the exertions of which a sum of 

 nearly 2,000Z. was collected. The marble bust, by Mr. 

 Timothy Butler, has been accepted by the Royal Society, and 

 placed in their rooms ; and by a separate subscription another 

 marble bust has been placed at Calcutta in the Museum of 

 the Asiatic Society of Bengal, to the early reputation of 

 which Falconer so materially contributed. Before long the 

 ' Falconer Fellowship ' will be founded in the University of 

 Edinburgh, and will be the real monument of the genius of 

 the man whose name it bears. 



From what has been said, it is obvious that Falconer did 

 enough during his lifetime to render his name as a palseon- 

 tologist immortal in Science; but the work which he published 

 was only a fraction of what he accomplished. The amount 

 of scientific knowledge that perished with him was very 

 great ; for not only did he die in the prime of life and in the 

 fulness of his power, but he was cautious to a fault; he 

 always feared to commit himself to an opinion until he was 

 sure that he was right; and thus, as too often happens under 

 such circumstances, he constantly deferred publishing his 

 views, and others reaped the credit of observations originally 

 made by him. No scientific man was ever more deeply 

 imbued with the sentiment, so eloquently expressed by 

 Cicero in the following passage, than he. 



' Quid est enim temeritate turpius ? aut quid tarn temerarium tamque 

 indignum sapientis gravitate atque constantia, quam aut falsum sentire, 

 aut, quod non satis explorate perceptum sit et cognitum, sine uUa 

 dubitatione defendere? ' {Cic. de Nat. Deor. lib. i.) 



These volumes, however, will suffice to rescue his name 



