INTRODUCTION 
Vll 
very long, but many of the details of persons, places 
and things, comprehensible to the Swedish reader, 
would need explanation to those of any other national¬ 
ity. Consequently even when I have closely followed 
the original, I have compressed the translation, giving 
the sense, I hope, with accuracy, but omitting those 
portions which could not be verified by anyone in this 
country, or which seemed superfluous, such as certain 
details, quotations from minutes, letters, etc. Again, 
the original has numerous and copious notes, which 
I have incorporated in the text so far as they 
are essential to the meaning. Further, the author was 
very careful to give references to many inaccessible 
sources; I have avoided copying these by adhering to 
the form of the author’s volumes, so that any seeker 
for references will not find it difficult to note them in 
the original. Most of the illustrations have been 
omitted, though portraits of Linne, views of his 
houses, etc., could not well be passed over. Professor 
Fries’s method of using the birth-name “ Linnaeus ” 
during the early half of his life, adopting the Swedish 
form “ Linne ” from the time of his settling as pro¬ 
fessor in Uppsala, has been followed. In a letter to 
P. Wargentin, dated ioth February, 1764, Linne 
says, “ Linnaeus or Linne are the same to me; one is 
Latin, the other Swedish.” 
I have added a glossary of Swedish titles, a short 
history of Sweden during the lifetime of Linne, a 
select bibliography and an index. I am confident 
that in consequence of the fullness and accuracy of 
Professor Fries’s work, this volume will give a better 
idea of the life and aims of the Father of Modern 
Biology than any previous publication in the English 
language. 
In conclusion I must express my hearty thanks to 
Professor Robert Fries, the author’s son, not only for 
his kind and prompt response to my suggested adapta¬ 
tion of his father’s admirable biography of Linne, but 
for constant help and advice during the progress of 
