PREFACE OF THE AUTHOR. 



LlNN^US, if we consider the extent of his scientific fame, 

 and its influence over the empire of learning and knowledge, 

 holds, doubtless, the first rank among the geniuses Sweden 

 could ever boast of. He belongs to that small number of lumi- 

 ries, who made a fresh epoch in the annals of literary great- 

 ness, raised their merit beyond the limits of their age, and 

 rendered imperishable the splendor of their name. But as 

 universal as the fame of Lin n.^ us is acknowledged to be, as 

 unknown are, upon the whole, the thorny and difficult paths 

 on which he reached the pinnacle of his eminence. Needless 

 would it be to mention to the learned any thing respefting that 

 barrenness and biographical want, which the modern history 

 of literature exhibits, with regard to him. How voluminous 

 are not the writings on the learned of our age, whether great 

 or little, and how small and disproportionate is the measure 

 of every thing modern and essential relative to Linnaeus ! 

 —Yet the life of this great man was superlatively rich in 



merits' 



