LINN^US 333 



At the close of the first half of the eighteenth century 

 the prospects of biology were unusually bright. The 

 anatomy of accessible animals, and especially of insects, 

 had been diligently pursued. Minute anatomy had 

 been explored by Malpighi, Leeuwenhoek and others. 

 Swammerdam, Reaumur, De Geer, Trembley and Lyonet 

 had shown how life-histories can be profitably studied. 

 Ray had laboured at the classification of plants and 

 animals. In two cases indeed a promising start had not 

 been followed up ; Malpighi and Grew's work on the 

 anatomy of plants and Malpighi's work on the develop- 

 ing chick failed to incite other students to pursue the 

 study with the necessary concentration. The impulse 

 which Linnaeus gave to systematic natural history in 

 the middle of the seventeenth century had no doubt its 

 special value. But more than this was wanted ; nothing 

 less than the harmonious development of every side of 

 biology could really suffice, but biologists were too few 

 and too ill-instructed for so great a task. They made 

 system not so much the natural complement of other 

 biological studies as a substitute for them. To collectors, 

 gardeners, travelling naturalists and pharmacists a ready 

 method of naming plants seemed to be the thing of 

 chief interest, and they demanded (the Linnean corre- 

 spondence furnishes instances) that the method should 

 be made as easy as possible. Linnaeus was convinced 

 that a truly natural system of plants, very different 

 from his own temporary expedient, was both essential 

 and attainable ; he had also a strong conviction that 

 natural history must make itself the servant of man- 

 kind for important practical purposes. But he was not 

 uniformly true to his convictions ; in his elementary 

 books, which were very widely read, he used language 

 which was taken to mean that system and system alone 



