SCIENTIFIC IMPORTANCE 
365 
divination possible to a mortal. They are also at 
one, that he was the first who (in opposition to the 
artificial system) clearly set forth the natural families, 
staked out the path of progress and made certain of 
its dominance. It was remarkable that Linne at 
once brought the sexual system to its greatest height, 
and also laid the firm foundations for the natural 
system, and strongly showed the unquestionable 
necessity for this, as he himself said, “ The A[lpha] 
and 0[mega] among desirable botanic objects.” 
With clear-sightedness, without fear, but without 
arrogance, he undertook to elucidate all questions which 
previous botanists had put forward, and thus he effected 
a revolution. Botanic language he sorted out from its 
barbaric confusion, giving the requisite precision to 
each botanic concept; for descriptive purposes he 
decided and settled simple and still valid laws, 
established by accurate investigation of the structure of 
flowers and fruits in many thousands of plants, thus 
laying down the only right method for circumscription 
of relationship. In definite opposition to his pre¬ 
decessors, he drew a sharp distinction between what he 
regarded as independent species and mere accidental 
former varieties. To about 8,000 then known plants, 
he gave not only new names, but new descriptions, in 
which he separated the essential from the non-essential, 
and to which he added critical differentiating remarks 
on their names by the old authors, and made reports on 
their native countries, occurrence, properties, applica¬ 
tion, etc. During all these labours, he constantly set 
himself to attain his end by the most natural, and for 
each, the most easy way, by which many of his most 
striking changes in descriptive botany and zoology, 
readily suggest the egg of Columbus. Briefly, in small 
things and great, he showed himself an unsurpassed 
master in bringing order, light and system where 
ignorance and indifference had produced obscurity and 
confusion. In connection with his work in descriptive 
botany, we must remember his activity in obtaining a 
