LINNiEUS. 



for this Teafon, however able and ingenious in entomology, 

 cannot be confidered as fortunate or ph\lofophical, in applying 

 his great preceptor's fchemc of arrangement of quadrupeds 

 and birds to infefts. Indeed, thofo who have followed 

 Fabricius in the detail of this lludy, declare, that he has 

 rarely proceeded on his own plan, but, leaving the mouth in 

 moft cafes unexamined, has trullcd to habit and general 

 configuration, which certainly produce natural atTemblagcs 

 enough, and true to the Linnxan rules, but dilforcnt from 

 his own. The arrangement of fifhes, by the relative pofition 

 of their ventral fins, was a no lefs happy and original idea 

 of the Swedilh naturalill ; as pointing out their leading dif- 

 ferences of form and habit, liy a diiliudive character, taken 

 from a peculiar organ of their own. Shells he was long 

 before he would lludy minutely at all, confidering them 

 merely as the houfes of particular animals, the knowledge 

 of vviiofe (Iructure and, economy wa«, in a great nieafiire, 

 inacceflible. At length, however, the uniformity of his 

 plan obliged him to clafs thefe popular obiefts of admira- 

 tion, in fome way or other, and he has fucceeded at leall as 

 well as any of his fellow-labourers ; though we are by no 

 means inclined to jullity fome of his terms, which are bor- 

 rowed from an anatomical analogy, not only falfe in itfelf, 

 but totally exceptionable. This leads us to cor.fider a 

 charge, often brought againft this great man, of pruriency 

 of phrafeology in many parts of his works. The moll atten- 

 tive contemplation of his writings has fatisficd us that in 

 fuch inllances he meant purely to be anatomical and phy- 

 fiological, and if his fondnefs for philofophical analogies 

 fometiraes led him allray, it was not in purfuit of any thing 

 to contaminate his own mind, much lefs that of others. 

 " Some of the defcriptions of Linnsus," fays a noble bo- 

 tanical author, " would make the moft abandoned perfon 

 blulh." His lorddiip ought to have added, " none but the 

 moft abandoned." That the mind of Linnxus was limple 

 and chafte, as his morals were confeffcdly pure, is evinced 

 by his Lapland Tour, written only for his own ufe, but 

 which is now, as we have already mentioned, before the 

 public. This is fuch a pifture of liis heart, as will ever 

 render any juftification of his moral charadter, and any ela- 

 borate difplay of his rehgious principles or feelings, alike 

 fuperfluous. 



His apparent vanity, as difplayed in his diary, pubhihed 

 in Dr. Maton's valuable edition of Dr. Pulteney's Flew of 

 his Writings, is perhaps far lefs juftifiable. All we can fay 

 for him is, that this paper was drawn up for the ufe of hi.s 

 intimate friend Menander, as materials from which his life 

 was to be written, If it be unbecoming, and indeed highly 

 ridiculous in many inftances, for a man to fpeak as he does 

 of himfelf, the julUce and accuracy of his affertions, had 

 they come from any other perfon, could in no cafe be dif- 

 puted. 



As the habits of Linnxus were temperate and regular, 

 he retained his health and vigour in tolerable perfeclion, not- 

 withftanding the immenfe labours of his mind till beyond 

 his Coth year, when his memory began in fome degree to 

 fail Iiim. In 1774, at the age of 67, an attack of apo- 

 plexy greatly impaired liis conltitution. Two years after- 

 wards a fecond attack rendered him paralytic on the right 

 fide, and materially affcfted his faculties. The immediate 

 caul'e of his death, which happened .Tanuary jotli, 1778, in 

 the 71ft year of his age, was an ulceration of the bladder. 

 His remains were depolited in a vault near the weft end of 

 the cathedral of Uplal, where a monument of Swedilh por- 

 phyry was ereded by his pupils. His obfequies were per- 

 torn-ied, in the moil refpeCtful manner, by the whole uni- 

 vcriity, jlie pall being fupported by fi.\teen dodlors of phyfic, 



all of whom had been his pupils. A general mourning toofe 

 place on theoccafion at Upfal. His fovereign, Guftavns III. 

 commanded a medal to be llruck, expreflive of the publlt: 

 lofs, and honoured the Academy of Sciences at Stockholm 

 with his prefence, when the eulogy of this celebrated man 

 was pronounced there by his intimate friend Back. A ftill 

 higher compliment was paid to his memory by the king in 

 a fpeech from the throne, wherein his majefty publicly cele- 

 brated the talents of his decea'ed fubjed, and lamented the 

 lofs which his country had fo recently fu'.lained. Various 

 teftimonics of refped were given to the merits of Linnaeus 

 in the different parts of Europe, even where rival fyltems 

 or interells had heretofore triumphed at his expcnce. The 

 celebrated Condorcet delivered an oration in his praifc to 

 the Parilian Academy of Sciences, which is printed in its 

 memoirs. We cannot wonder that his memory was che- 

 lilhcd in England, where he had long had numerous corr?- 

 fpondents, and where two of his moll dillinguilhed pupil", 

 Solandcr and Dryander, have, in their own talents and cha- 

 rader, conferred fingular honour upon their preceptor. 

 Ten years after his deceafe anew fociety of naturalills, dif- 

 tinguilhed by his name, was founded in London, and has 

 fince been incorporated by royal charter, wnofe publications, 

 in ten quarto volumes of Tranfadions, fufiiciently evince 

 that its members are not idle venerators of the name they 

 bear. This name, in imitation' of them, has been adopted 

 by feveral fimilar inftitutionsin other parts of the world. 



The appellation of Linniean Society was, with the more 

 propriety, chofen by this Britilh inftitution, on account of 

 the muleum of Linnaeus having fallen into the hands of its 

 original projedor, and hitherto only prcfident. This trea- 

 fure, comprehending the library, herbarium, infeds, fliells, 

 and all other natural curiofities, with all the manulcripts 

 and whole correfpondence of the illuftrious Swede, were 

 obtained, by private purchafe from his widow, after the 

 death of his fon in 1783. The authority which fuch an 

 acquifition gave to the labours of the infant lociety, as 

 well as to all botanical and zoological publications, the 

 authors of which have ever been allowed freely to confult 

 it, will readily be perceived. Nothing perhaps could have 

 more contributed to raile up, or to improve, a tallc for 

 natural fcience, in any country. 



I.innreus had by his wife Sarah Elizabeth, who furvivcd 

 to extreme old age, two fons and four daughters. His' 

 eldeft fon Charles fucceeded him in the botanical profeflbr- 

 fliip ; fee the next article. The younger, John, died 

 March 7, 1757, in the third year of his age. The mar- 

 riage of his eldeft daughter, Elizabeth Chriftina, we have 

 already mentioned. This lady is recorded as having difco- 

 vered a luminous property in the flowers of tlie Nalhirtium, 

 Tropdohiin meijus, which are fometimes feen to flafli like 

 fparks of fire m the evening of a warm fummer's day. Of 

 the other daughters we know nothing materially worthy of 

 record. The late Danilli ProfelTor 'Vahl is reported, when a 

 ftudent, to have made an impreftion on the heart of the 

 youngell, which her father did not think proper to coun- 

 tenance, and which is fuppofed to have prevented his Ihewing 

 that favour and encouragerr.ent to the young Dane, which 

 his acutenefs and zeal in botjuiical ftudies certainly deferved. 

 Linnajus's Diary, publiflit^d by Dr. Ma'on, with another 

 in MS. of the early part of his hie. Stoever's Life of 

 Linn-JEUS by Trapp. Aikin's General Biography. Vari. 

 ous works of Linnaeus. S. 



1,innm:l-.s, or 'Von Linnk, Charles, the eldeft, and 



only furviving, fon of the preceding, was born January 20, 



174I, at the 'houle ot hi;> a.aternra griirdii'.ther a: Falilin. 



Hio father was anxioully defirous of his excelling in natural 



2 huiory, 



