‘ 
1800. | 
all thofe enlightened virtuous fouls who 
have had the felicity to be united to 
thine ! 
Lazarus SPALLANZANI was born at 
Scandiano, in the department of Croftolo 
(in the Cifalpine Republic), the roth of 
January 17293 he was fon of Jean Ni- 
cholas Spallanzani, an efteemed jurif- 
conlult ; and of Lucia Zugliani; he com- 
menced his ftudies in his own country, 
and, at the age of fifteen years went to 
Reggio de Modena in order to continue 
them. The Jefuits, who inftructed him in 
the belles-lettres, and the Dominicans, 
who heard of his progrefs, were defi- 
rous of attaching him to them; but his 
p2ffion for extending his knowledge led 
him to Bologna, where his relation Lau- 
ra Bafli, that woman juftly celebrated 
for her genius, her eloquence, and her 
fkill in natural philofophy and the mathe- 
matics, was one cf the moft illuftrious pro- 
feffors of the Inftitute and of Italy. Un- 
der the direction of this enlightened guide, 
he learnt to prefer the ftudy of nature to 
that of her commentators, and to judge 
of the value of the commentary by its re- 
femblance to the original: he inftantly 
availed himfelf of the wildom of that lady’s 
counfels, and was not long before he ex- 
perienced the happy effects of it. 
agreeable it is to fee him in 17665 pain- 
ting his gratitude for his inftructor, to 
whom he dedicated a Latin differtation at 
that time, in which he mentions the ap- 
plaufes that Laura Bafh received at Mo- 
dena, when fhe entered the auditory of her 
pupil, then become profeffor. ‘The talte 
of SPALLANzaNI for philofophy was. not 
exclufive: healready thought, likeall great 
men, that the ftudy of antiquity and the 
belles lettres was indifpenfible to give to 
ideas that clearnefs, to expreffions that 
accuracy, and to reafonings that connexion, 
without which the fineft thoughts become 
barren. He ftudied his own language with 
care; and perfected himfelfin the Latin 
tongue, but above all he attached himéfelf 
to the Greek and the French. Homer, 
Bemofthenes, St. Bafil, were his favourite 
authors, I have as often heard him recite 
paflaces from Homer and Virgil, as from 
Ariofto and Taffo. SPALLANZAN1 ap- 
plied himfelf to jurifprudence at the in- 
ftance of a father whom he tenderly loved : 
he was upon the point of receiving the de- 
gree of do&ter of civil law, when Antho- 
ny Vallifneri, profeffor of natural hif- 
tory at Padua, perfuaded him to re- 
hounce this vocation, by promifing to ob- 
tain the confent of his father, who was 
fenfibly touched by his fon’s devotion to 
his wil], and who thereby left him at li- 
Life and Labours of Spallanzani. 
How | 
263 
berty to follow his own inclinations. 
From that moinent he gave himfelf up 
with more ardour than ever to the ftud 
of mathematics, continuing that alfo of 
the living and dead languages. » 
SPALLANZANY was prefently known all 
over Italy, and his own country was the 
firft to do homage to his talents. ‘The 
univerfity of Reggio, in 1754, chofe him 
to be profeffor in logic, metaphyfics, and 
Greek. He taught there for ten years ; 
and during that period confecrated all the 
time he could foare from his leffons to the 
obfervation of nature. Now.and then an 
accidental difcovery would increafe his 
paffion for natural hiftory, which always 
augmented by new fuccefles. His o'sfer- 
vations upon the animalcule of infufions 
fixed the attention of Haller and of Bonnets 
the latter of whom affifted him in his glo- 
rious career, and thenceforth diftinguifhed 
him as one of the learned interpreters of 
nature. : 
In 1760 SPALLANZANI was called to 
the univerfity of Modena; and although 
his intereft would have made him accept 
the advantageous offers of the univerfity 
of Coimbra, of Parma, and of Cefena; yet 
his patriotifm and his attachment to his 
family confined his fervices to" his own 
country. The fame confiderations. enga- 
ged him to refufe the propofitions made. 
him by the academy of Peterfburg fome 
years after. He remained at Modena till 
the year 1768, and he faw raifed by his 
care a generation of men conftituting at 
this time the glory of Italy. Among them 
may be counted Venturi, profeilor of natu- 
ral philofophy at Modena; Belloni, bifhop 
of Carpi; Lucche/int, ambaflador of the late 
king of Pruffia ; and the poet Azgelo Maz- 
zo of Parma. | 
During his refidence at Modena, Spav- 
LANZANI publifhed, in 1765, Saggta ai 
Offervazioni  Microfcopiche coucernente 
al Softema di Needbame Buffon. - He 
therein eftablifhes the azimality of what 
had been called, but not generally affented 
to as, microfcopic animalculz, by the moft 
ingenious, and at the fame time folid, ex- 
periments ; he fent this work to Bonnet, 
who formed his opinion of the author ac- 
cordingly, and who lived to fee the accoms 
plifthment of the prophecy he drew from it. 
From that moment, the moft intimate ac- 
quaintance was formed between them, and 
it lafted during their lives, of which it 
conftituted the chief happinefs. In the 
fame year SPALLANZANI publifhed a dif- 
fertation truly original: De Lapidibus ab 
Agua refilientious; in that work he proves, 
by fatistactory,experiments, contrary to the 
commonly received opinion, that theducks 
and 







