PERSONALITY OF AGASSIZ 



power to realize that the support of scientific 

 research, and the diffusion of knowledge thereby 

 gained, depend largely on them.' In other 

 natural scientists he was prone to discover too 

 much self-satisfaction, and too much personal 

 curiosity, against which he hardly knew how 

 to protect himself. But with the group of 

 younger scientists he himself developed, though 

 now and then one or another grew mutinous, 

 he was, during most of the time, on the best of 

 terms. His own early schooling in the classics 

 gave him a relish for scholars, and he was 

 pleased with the company of historians and 

 lawyers. For military men he did not care, but 

 he liked naval officers and sea-captains. He 

 paid little attention to matters of dress, certainly 

 as regards his own person. He was gratified by 

 the marks of distinction conferred upon him at 

 home and abroad, but took little subsequent 

 thought of the ribbons, badges, and diplomas, 

 keeping them, but not very carefully, and never 

 making a parade of them. • 



Eloquent as a lecturer, he was also brilliant 

 and persuasive in conversation, being, in 

 appearance at least, quite unreserved, and open 



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