LINNJ^US. 



Artedi's Ichlhfalogia. Tiotrhaave made another attempt to 

 iadiice him lo vifn forr.e exotic rc(;ions, otFering him ;i me- 

 dical appointment at Surinam, which it is happy he did not 

 accept. His friend and great fiivo' rue Bartfch, who was 

 fenl in his ftead, fell a facrilice to the climate, and to the 

 neglect on d ill ulage he received from the governor, as Lin- 

 naeus has feelingly related in his Flora Siucica, under the 

 genus Barlfia. 



Jjinnxus remained at Leyden tillthe fpring of 1738, when 

 he had an interefting interview with the great Boerhaave, 

 then on his dea'h hcd. " I have lived out my time," faid 

 the venerable invalid. " I h^ve done what I could, may 

 God prelerve thee, from whom the world expects much 

 more. Farewell" Whether the climate of Holland co- 

 operated with dejecflion of fpirits in our young Swede, in 

 confequence of news he received refpetting a rival in the 

 afFeftions of his miilrefs, and in the elleem of his intended 

 father-in-law, or whether his literary labours were too unre- 

 mit'ing, his departure vvas prevented by a very formidable 

 intermittent fever. The ikill of Van Swieten, and the re- 

 newed attentions of the amiable Clifford, who received liim 

 again under his roof with the mod liberal and indulgent 

 kindnefs, after fome weeks reilored him fo far, that he was 

 able, though Hill weak, to fet out on his journey. On 

 reaching the more elevated country of Brabant, he felt in 

 one day quite renovated, his whole frame being, as he ex- 

 prclFes it, " freed from fome great burthen." He carried 

 a very handfome introduftory letter from V'an Royen to 

 Anthony de Jnfiieu, the phy'iciaii, who made him acquainted 

 with his brother, the famous Bernard de Juffieu. (See 

 Jussi.EA..) He infpecled the botanir garden, the herbariums 

 of Tournefort, Vaillar.t, the JuHieus. &c. ; vifited the 

 neighbourhood of Fontainebleau, which he has celebrated 

 for itf Orchiikx, formed an acquaintance with Reaumur and 

 other diltingnifhed naturaliils, and was admitted a corre- 

 fponding member of the yf endemic: dcs Si'icr.ies. 



How he co:iverfed with Reaumur and others, who knew 

 no language but their own, and for the fame reafon, how he 

 contracted fo clufe a friendfliip with Mr. Colhnfon at Lon- 

 don, it is not eafy to conceive. He confefles a peculiar in- 

 aptitude, and, we think, a blarr.eable indifference, tor the 

 learning of languages, declaring in his diary that in all his 

 travels he learnt " neither Eiiglilh, French, German, Lap- 

 landiih, nor even Du'ch, though he Hayed in Holland three 

 whole years. Ncverth.'lefs, he found his way every where, 

 ■well and happily." By the journal of his Lapland tour, 

 ■ and other manulcripts, it appears that Latin was lufhclently 

 familiar to him ; and if fallidious critics, who are not com- 

 jjetent to follow his ideas, may fometimcs cenfure the ftyle 

 of part of his writings, they have chielly taken that liberty 

 with the ^mienitales y/caJemica; not remarking the great va- 

 riety of Itylc in the tUays whiclicompofe thole volumes, and 

 which are chiefly wntcen by the pupils whofe inaugural dif- 

 fertations they were. The matter indeed was molUy communi- 

 cated by the ProfefTor, whofe office it was to defend e.ich 

 thefis, in conjunftion with the candidate, againlt all op- 

 pofers. Thus thcfe elTa^'S are always quoted as the works 

 of Linnaeus, though their language is rarely his own ; and 

 is indeed fo various, that it could not be fuppofed all to 

 come from one aulhor. 



After leaving Paris, Linnxus took his paffage at Rouen 

 for Sweden, and landed at HeKingborg, from whence he 

 proceeded to Fahlun, vifiting his father for a few days in his 

 way. His reception from the lady of his choice was favour- 

 able, and they were formally betrothed to each other. Be- 

 fore they could marry, it was necelTary that fome profpcft 

 »[ au advantageous eilablifhment fliould be difcovcrcd. 



Stockholm was thought a pron-.irnig theatre for a yoiinf 

 man of talents in the medical profefTion, but talents are 

 ufualiy what thofe who cmpli>y a young pliyfician, are of 

 all things leaft able to judge of. If Crirtune or prejudice do 

 not Hand his friend, the fkiU of Hippocrates, Celius or 

 Boerhaave will fcarcely be difccrned. The fcicntific merits 

 of LinniBus were not overlooked, as he was unaiiimoufly 

 cholen a member of the Upfal academy, the only one then 

 in Sweden ; yet the homage he had fo lately received abroad, 

 feems to have made him a little unreafonahle on this head, 

 and he declares that he would certainly have quitted his na- 

 tive country, " had he not been in love." To this all-power- 

 ful deity therefore, amd not to his merits, or to the vvifdom 

 of his countrymen in Jifcerning them, was Sweden, in the 

 firll inilance, indebted for the pofieflion of her Linnarus. 

 From his country however flowed his mofl abundant reward ; 

 for whatever emolument his matrimonial connexion might 

 afford, it certainly brought him little liappinefs or honour. 

 .After paffiiig the winter of 1738 in the capital, he began to 

 make iiis way in fome departments of medical practice, fo 

 that by the following Marcii he had confiderable employ- 

 ment. At this time a plan was fori-ed for eftablilhing a 

 literary fociety at Stockholm, which afterwards rofe to 

 great eminence, and Hill continues to flouriili, having pub- 

 lifhed numerous volumes of TranfaCfions, in the Swedifh 

 language. Triewald, Hopken and Alllroem, (v. hole fa- 

 mily was ennobled by the name of Alftroemer,) were, with 

 Linna;us, the tirlt members : and the infant fociety, being 

 incorporated by royal authority, was augmented with all 

 the molt learned men of the country. Its objects were de- 

 clared to be natural philofophy, natural hiftory in all its 

 branches, chemiftry, inediciuc, anatomy, furgery, mathe- 

 matics, economy, commerce^ arts and manufadtures. So 

 wide a range might have been feared to have cnilangered its 

 fucecfs ; but though, in its progrefs, Jthefe various lludies 

 have, from time to time, predominated by turns, they feem 

 net to have clafhed with each other. Part of its tranfaClion» 

 has been publifhed in Latin at Venice, under the title of 

 ^na/effa Trnujiifp'ma, which is fotne reproach toother coun- 

 tries of Eurt.'pe, where they are fo very little known. 



A molt flattering mark of public approbation was, foon 

 after, conferred on Liunxus, without any folicitatioii. 

 Count TefTin, marlhal of the Diet, which was then fitting, 

 gave him an annual penfion of 200 ducats from the board 

 of mines, on condition of his giving public lectures on 

 botany and mineralogy at Stockholm. 'J'he fame nobleman 

 alfo obtained for him the appointment of pliylician to the 

 navy, and received him into his hcufe. His pracStice now 

 increafed greatly among the nobility, and he found himl'elf 

 in fo prolperous a condition that he would no longer delay 

 his marriage, which took place at Fililun, June 26. 1739. 

 After a month he returned to Stockholm. He was, by lot, 

 the firft prefident of the new academy ; and as that office 

 was to be but of three month.^' duration, after the French 

 plan, herefigned it in September, and on that occafion de- 

 livered an oration in Swedifli, on the wonderful Economy of 

 Infedts, which was printed in theTranfadlions ; and a Latin 

 verfion of it may be found in the j^msnilates jilcadimics, v. 2. 

 His example was followed by all the fucceedirg pretidents. 



The death of profelfor RuJbeck in 1740, gave Linnaeus 

 a hope of fucceeding to the botanical chair at Upfal, one of 

 the grcatcit objedts of his ambition. The prior claims of 

 his torme|: rival, Rofen, on account of his handing m the 

 uiiiverlity, could not however be fet afide. Wallerius alfo 

 rofe up in oppofition to the claims of Linnseus. It hap- 

 pened however that Roberg religned the protefforfhip of 

 phyfic about this time, and by the exertions of count Teffin, 



who 



