OPPONENTS OF LINNAEUS. iii 



was Baron Albrecht Haller. Linnaeus had first got acquainted 

 with him by a botanical treatise which Haller published in the year 

 1734, in a periodical work, 2X Nuremberg, entituled : Commercia Lit- 

 teraria*. Fear and anxiety, more than esteem, made him, in 1737, 

 correspond with this young man, who in the preceding year had been 

 appointed professor of the new-founded university of Goettingen, which 

 was the first step to his greatness. 



LiNNiEus had heard of his friend Gronov, at Ley den, a report that 

 Haller intended to write against his new system. He therefore wrote 

 a letter to him from Hartecamp, dated on the 5th of April. The con- 

 tents of this letter charafterize too much his cast of mind for us to 

 omit it here : 



' " 1 have just received intelligence of your intending to declare 

 « hostilities against me. Permit me, therefore, to come to a more cir- 

 cumstantial explanation with you on this subje6t. I could wish to 

 avoid, as much as possible, your displeasure and your attacks. Much 

 rather would I choose to side with you. Nothing would be more 

 « unpleasant to me than to be your adversary. Peace be with us ! 

 *« Ever since your name has been known to me, I always felt the highest 

 « esteem for you. To my knowledge, I never have done aught that 

 « might have given you offence. Why will you then challenge me to 

 « fight? say, v/hat could make me incur your displeasure? I will give 

 " you satisfaftion. — Peace be with us ! 



" Should my innocent sexsual system be the cause of this war, 

 it would be a very unjust one : I have never pretended that the 



• Ad rei Medicae et Scientias Naturalis iuciementa. This work appeared in x j volumes 

 quarto, from 1731 till 1745. 



2 « method 



