LIFE xxi 



the approval of his contemporaries. He attacked the 

 chemistry of Lavoisier and BerthoUet, which further com- 

 pleted the discredit in which his excursions "outside biology- 

 involved him. His only remaining great work is the 

 Philosophie Zoologique, published in 1809, the translation of 

 which is herewith presented to the public, and to which I 

 shall confine the remaining sections of my Introduction. 

 Lamarck died at the end of 1829, at the age of 85. The 

 end of his life was passed in melancholy circumstances. 

 During his last ten years, he became totally blind ; this was 

 due, it was said, to constant strain of eyesight in microscopic 

 work. But he was faithfully attended by his two daughters, 

 to one of whom he dictated the final portion of the Animaux 

 sans vertebres. The scientific world of his time rejected his 

 theories of transformism ; Cuvier, who was firmly convinced 

 of the fixity of species, became the most famous and fashion- 

 able biologist of the time, and Lamarck's influence was 

 completely overshadowed. Arago, in his Histoire de ma 

 Jeunesse, relates the story of his meeting with Napoleon. 

 The Emperor was receiving the Members of the Institute 

 at the Tuileries, and Lamarck attended, carrying with him 

 his latest work, which happened to be the Philosophie 

 Zoologique, to present to Napoleon. Napoleon first spoke to 

 Arago, who had just been elected to the Institute, and then 

 passed to Lamarck. " Napoleon," says Arago, " passed 

 from me to another member of the Institute : a naturalist 

 famous for his brilliant and important discoveries, M. 

 Lamarck. The old man presented Napoleon with a book. 

 ' What is this 1 ' said the Emperor. ' Is it your absurd 

 Me'te'orologie with which you are disgracing your old age ? 

 Write on natural history, and I will receive your works with 

 pleasure. This volume I only accept out of consideration 

 for your grey hair. Here ! ' " and he handed the book to 

 an aide-de-camp. Lamarck, who had been vainly endeavour- 

 ing to explain that it was a work on natural history, was 

 weak enough to burst into tears.^ 



1 Lamarck, par G. Eevault D'AUonnea, Paris. 



