MEMOIR OF LINKSBS. 
61 
The character of this great Naturalist is easily 
defined from the nature of his habits and pursuits. 
He was fond of renown, and loved applause ; but 
what man was ever insensible to panegyric, or could 
hear with indifference the voice of univers.nl admi- 
ration at his own genius. Study was his ruling 
passion ; and he had but one desire, — that of 
enlightening mankind. He was one of those whose 
penetrating mind soared above the attainments of 
his contemporaries, and saw farther than the limited 
horizon of the age in which he lived. 
There are some men whose appearance is the 
date of a new era, whose talents overcome the 
poverty of their birth, and every impediment that 
obstructs their path. If they seek glory in arms, 
in letters, or in science, they find it ; because 
Nature has endowed them with a sagacity of com- 
prehension and a determination of will which car- 
ries them through all obstacles, and crowns their 
efforts with success. Such a man was Linnaeus : 
he was bom a Naturalist, just as New'ton was 
bom an astronomer, Milton a poet, or Napoleon 
a soldier. 
Although the soil of Sweden is not rich either in 
plants or insects, and many of its feathered tribes 
are but temporary visitants, leaving it at stated 
periods in quest of milder climes, nevertheless it was 
amidst this physical barrenness that the taste of 
Linnaeus for his favourite pursuit broke out almost 
from his earliest infancy, and found the means not 
