LINNiEAN SYSTEM. 



xxi 



or public teacher, which the fear of creating enemies ought 

 in no case to make him shrink from performing; yet neither 

 is he called upon to court hostility by censuring with aspe- 

 rity or rancour, and far less ought he to raise objections for 

 the paltry purpose of displaying his skill in logic. Such I wish 

 particularly to avoid, while I make the pointing out the right 

 path to the student, and warning him against bye-paths, my 

 leading object. If I err in this, I shall be most grateful to who- 

 ever may show me where I have gone wrong ; but having no 

 rival system of my own to propose or to support, I trust I may 

 lay fair claim to impartiality. Authority, I claim none ; but, on 

 the contrary, most earnestly entreat my readers to weigh every 

 fact, and rigidly scrutinize every inference ; and if found wanting 

 in truth and accuracy, at once, without any compromise, to reject 

 them. I court no train of submissive disciples, for I should 

 esteem it no honour to drag others unresistingly after me in the 

 chains of a system ; and would feel much more gratified to have 

 my statements scrutinized and corrected, if found erroneous. 



SYSTEM OF LINN/EUS AND LATHAM. 



All who have any knowledge of natural history, must be fami- 

 liar with the name of Linnaeus, or, as he is sometimes affectedly 

 called, Linne, though few seem to be acquainted with his real 

 merits. The circulation which his works have obtained, and the 

 sway which his systems still hold, incontestably prove him to 

 have been one of those rare master spirits destined to fascinate 

 and dazzle those of inferior mould, so far as to make them resign 

 themselves unconditionally to his guidance. The characteristics 

 of his genius became apparent from his very boyhood, in his ac- 

 quiring an extraordinary knowledge of plants, in spite of every 

 obstacle ; his travelling from Upsal to Lapland amidst numerous pri- 

 vations, and the publication, at his return, of a Flora of the country, 

 accurate and distinct even to a miracle. It is worthy of remark, 

 that the venerable Boerhaave had penetration enough to foresee 

 his celebrity long before he attained much distinction. Indefa- 

 tigable perseverance, one of the most characteristic marks of 



