THE 
EDINBURGH NEW 
PHILOSOPHICAL JOURNAL. 
Biographical Notice of Marie-Henri Ducrotay de Blainville, 
de lV’ Academie des Sciences, Professeur Administrateur 
au Museum a Histoire Naturelie, Professeur a la Faculté 
des Sciences de Paris ; de la Societé Royale de Londres, 
&ec. Yc. By M. FLOURENS. . 
La Bruyére has said, that there is not in the world a more 
difficult task than that of making for oneselfa name. He whe 
spoke thus, supported by the attractions of criticism, dared to 
brave the difficulties he points out, and made for himself a 
very famous one. That individual of our associates, of whom 
I am this day to speak to you, had too much energy to be 
alarmed by a word of La Bruyére’s; and, in his hard labours, 
what animated him was the pleasure of contradiction. He 
has succeeded, by obstinate efforts, in throwing a new light 
on some of the loftiest questions connected with the science 
of beings. He has tasted the success which criticism at all 
times obtains, and that species of warm admiration which 
opposition never fails to awaken, even when genius is the 
object of its attack. 
Born at Arques, on the 17th February 1777, of Pierre 
Ducrotay and Catherine Pauger, M. de Blainville took plea- 
sure in relating that, although his family was not among the 
most illustrious of the province, it yet went back as far as 
the 14th century; that he was the descendant of a Scottish 
_ gentleman, the rival of Sir Walter Scott’s “‘ Quentin,” and 
who, possessed of nothing but his cap and sword, had re- 
VOL. LVII. NO. CXIV.—OOTOBER 1854. oe | 
