15 



oration. The subject he treated on that occasion was, 

 curiously enough, not one chosen from his own depart- 

 ment of learning; it was entitled "De Serie Philosopho- 

 rum a Condit. Mund." In explanation of that, at first 

 sight, strange circumstance, it may be noted that it 

 w r as quite in accord with the usage of that day for 

 some such topic to be dealt with on those occasions; 

 nor was, indeed, the study of philosophy itself so alien 

 to the bent of Artedi's 1 mind as might be supposed 

 from the general tenor of the works by which he made 

 himself famous. On the whole, it would seem from 

 the scanty data preserved to us that Artedi, without 

 distinguishing himself in any special way among his 

 fellow-students, contributed his part to such undergrad- 

 uate social life, and took his fair share of such ad- 

 ministrative work in his Nation, as may have existed 

 or occurred at that day. 



As his university course lengthened out and he 

 found himself advancing in years, anxieties as to the 

 future began to occupy his attention. It is easy for us 

 to imagine the gradually increasing discontentment he 

 must have felt at having spent so long at a seat of 

 learning so poorly equipped as was the Upsala of his 

 time in the special branch of knowledge to which he 

 had devoted himself, and the consequent desire that 

 took possession of him to find some means of extending 

 his horizon by going abroad, in order to pursue his 

 studies in more stimulating surroundings. He had, in- 

 deed, for some time been in the receipt of a scholar- 

 ship, which had assisted him to defray the cost of his 

 maintenance at Upsala, but he now bethought himself 

 of endeavouring to obtain such aid as would enable 

 him to travel and study at first hand those collections 

 and materials belonging to his science which were so 

 essential to his progress. From the register of the 

 scholarship funds distributed by the University we can 

 see that his teachers had early rewarded him to the 



1 From the work cited we find that it was while Curator that 

 A. adopted this simplified spelling of his family name. 



