and plants mentioned in the Scriptures, 
on which he had been for some time 
engaged. Celsius treated his inmate 
with the tenderness and indulgence of 
a parent ; and of all the benefactors of 
Linnaeus, there was not one on whose 
kindness he dwelt with such fond and 
grateful affection. Indeed, kindness so 
well timed, succeeding to so much neg¬ 
lect and misery, must have been to the 
heart of Linnaeus like the oil and wine 
of the good Samaritan. 
It is difficult to ascertain how long 
he remained with Celsius ; but proba¬ 
bly until a more eligible offer was made 
him, arising out of the following cir¬ 
cumstances. In the summer of 1730, 
Linnaeus composed a little treatise on 
the subject of his favourite study, which, 
though only in manuscript, attracted 
considerable attention in the universi¬ 
ty. Olaus Rudbeck, then professor of 
botany, heard of this treatise; and hav- 
