38 



LAMARCK, HIS LIFE AND WORK 



of creation still almost unknown — remained to be 

 treated in such a course. A desire to comply with 

 the wishes of his colleagues, members of the admin- 

 istration, and without doubt, also, the consciousness 

 of his powers as an investigator, determined M. 

 de Lamarck: this task, so great, and which would 

 tend to lead him into numberless researches; this 

 friendless, unthankful task he accepted — courageous 

 resolution, which has resulted in giving us immense 

 undertakings and great and important works, among 

 which posterity will distinguish and honor forever the 

 work which, entirely finished and collected into seven 

 volumes, is known under the name of Animaux sans 

 Vertebres." 



Before his appointment to this chair Lamarck had 

 devoted considerable attention to the study of conch- 

 ology, and already possessed a rather large collection 

 of shells. His last botanical paper appeared in 1800, 

 but practically his botanical studies were over by 



1793- 



During the early years of the Revolution, namely, 

 from 1789 to and including 1791, Lamarck pubhshed 

 nothing. Whether this was naturally due to the 

 social convulsions and turmoil which raged around the 

 Jardin des Plantes, or to other causes, is not known. 

 In 1792, however, Lamarck and his friends and col- 

 leagues, Bruguifere, Olivier, and the Abb6 Hauy, 

 founded the Journal d'Histoire Naturelle, which 

 contains nineteen botanical articles, two on shells, 

 besides one on physics, by Lamarck. These, with 

 many articles by other men of science, illustrated by 

 plates, indicate that during the years of social unrest 

 and upheaval in Paris, and though France was also 



