LINNZUS AND NATURAL HISTORY 1Ig 
Spain, of all the world, in fact, as was just said, employ the 
same Latin names in classifying organic forms. 
He also inspired many students with a love for natural 
history and gave an impulse to the advance of that science 
which was long felt. We can not gainsay that a higher class 
of service has been rendered by those of philosophic mind 
devoted to the pursuit of comparative anatomy, but the step 
of Linnzus was a necessary one, and aided greatly in the 
progress of natural history. Without this step the discoveries 
and observations of others would not have been so readily 
understood, and had it not been for his organizing force all 
natural science would have been held back for want of a 
common language. A close scrutiny of the practice among 
naturalists in the time of Linnzeus shows that he did not 
actually invent the binomial nomenclature, but by adopting 
the suggestions of others he elaborated the system of classifi- 
cation and brought the new language into common use. 
Personal History.—Leaving for the present the system of 
Linneus, we shall give attention to the personal history of 
the man. The great Swedish naturalist was born in Rashult 
in17o7. His father was the pastor of the village, and intended 
his eldest son, Carl, for the same high calling. The original 
family name was Ignomarsen, but it had been changed to Lin- 
delius, from a tall linden-tree growing in that part of the coun- 
try. In 1761 a patent of nobility was granted by the crown 
to Linnzeus, and thereafter he was styled Carl von Linné. 
His father’s resources were very limited, but he man- 
aged to send his son to school, though it must be confessed 
that young Linneus showed little liking for the ordinary 
branches of instruction. His time was spent in collecting 
natural-history specimens, and his mind was engaged in 
thinking about them. The reports of his low scholarship 
and the statement of one of his teachers that he showed no 
aptitude for learning were so disappointing to his father that, 
