LINN/EAN 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 LINNAEUS AND LATHAM. 
All who have any knowledge of natural history, must be fami- 
liar with the name of Linnseus, 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 
