470 
quired a Jaborious affifant, who could 
imooth the difficulties, and a faithful 
guide, to indicate the rocks and quick- 
jands in his courfe. Often the incredulous 
fmile, indicative of the doubts of his 
friend, made Buffon correct his too hafty 
judgments ; frequently «a well-timed ob- 
fervation arrefted. him in his precipitate 
career 3 and thus the coolnefs and faga- 
city of the ene, being combined with the 
energy and promptitude of the other, 
contributed to give to the Hiftory of Quad-. 
Bupeis: the joint produétion of both au- 
thors, that degree of precifion, which ren- 
ders it fo {upevior to every other portion of 
the Natura! Hiftory of Buffon.,, 
It was therefore lets from the aval 
afifiance Daubenton afforded, than from 
his fer upulous wapehi that Ge proved fo 
uferul to Buffon ; and gave him fo much 
caufe to congratulate. himielf on the ac- 
quilition of fuch a coadjutor. 
About the year 1742, Buffon drew him 
to.Paris. “At that time, the office. of 
keeper and demonttrator of the cabinet of 
patural biftory wasin a great meafure no- 
minal, and as Noguez, who poflefied that 
title, had been long abfent, his. place was 
occaficnally fupplied by any one prefent. 
By the influence of Buffon, this office 
was revived, and conferred on Daubenton 
in 1745. His falary, which, at firft,; did 
net exceed 500 francs, was, by degrees, 
afterwards augmented to 4000. While 
he was only an affiftant in the Academy of 
Sciences, Buffon, ‘who aéted as its trea- 
farer, conferred upon him feveral favours. 
On his arrival at Paris, he procured him 
a lodging; and, in a word, negiected not 
thing in order to fecure to him that eafe 
and independence, which are fo neceflary 
to every man engaged inthe cultivation 
of letters or icience. 
Daubenton, on, his fide, purfued with 
indefatigable induftry thofe labours 
which were neceflary to - fecond the 
views of his benefaGor, and eftabiifhed 
by this means, the two principal monu- 
meats of his own glory. 
One of thefe is the cabinet of natural 
hiftory in the Botanical Garden. That 
before his time ferved mens as a repo- 
fitory for the products of the different 
pharmaceutical operations, performed dur- 
ing the public lectures, on chemittry, in 
order that they might be diltributed to the 
poor, while fuffering under difeafe. [t 
ccntained nothing appertaining to natural 
hittory, ftriétly. fo calied, except a collec. 
tion of fhells made by Tournefort, which 
had afterwords been. a sate to amufe 
Lewis XV, Guring his infancy, and of 
° Memairs of M, Daubenton< 
had confeecrated to her ; 
aware, that thofe objects, which are re- 
[June 1j 
whofe whims many, of them retained vifible 
traces. 
Such was eo induftry of Daubenton, 
that, within a few years, he changed the * 
face of every thing. He collected fpeci- 
mens of minerals, fruits, woods, fhells, 
from every quarter, and methodically ar- 
ranged them. By applying himfelf to. 
afcertain, or to improve the operations 
neceflary to preferve the different perts of 
organized bodies, he fucceeded in giving 
to the inanimate formsof quadrupeds and 
birds the appEshanGe of veal life; and 
prefented to the naturalift the moft minute 
circumflances of their charaéters, while, 
at the fame time, he no lefs gratified the 
virtuofi, by exhibiting them in their nas. 
turaljforms and colours, 
Formerly the opulent Sead their 
cabinets with a variety of natural produc- 
tions, but they carefully exeluded every 
thing that had the fmalle& tendency, ia 
their opinion, to deform the fymmetry 
and beauty of their appearance: learned _ 
men likewife cclletted fuch objeéts as 
were calculated to aid their refearches or 
{upport their theories; but for the moft 
part, limited in their fortuges, they 
found it even difficult to complete a col- 
jection in any feparete department of this 
{cience: the virtuofi, on the contrary, 
accumulated every thing that could gra- 
tify their tafe ; but, unfortunately, ther 
attention wes ufeally attracted by the 
meft frivolous objects, better fui ted to 
pleafe the eye, than convey inftrnétion to 
the mind; the moft beautiful fhells, the 
moft vari ‘eaated agates, the beit polifhed 
and mof brilliant gems, ufually eompete 
their colleStions, / 
Availing himfelf of the pat ronage of 
Buffon, and of his influence with the go- 
vernment, Daubenton foon formed and 
executed a far more extenfive plan: he 
conceived that all the produétions of na- 
ture fhould find-a place in the temple he 
he was fully 
garded as the moft important, could only 
be thoroughly known ‘by a comparifon of 
then: with others, and that there exifted. 
no one that had not a greater or lets afi- 
nity with the reft of nature. Imprefled 
with this view of the fubiedt, he made the 
inot unremitting efforts to render his col- 
leGtion complete ; whilft, at thefame time, 
he beftowed the greateft attention on the, 
formation of ¢ hofe anatomical preparations 
which for a Sid time diftinguifhed the 
cabinet cf Paris, and which, however - 
difagreeable they. may be to the common 
eye, are not the lets u! feful to thole who 
with 
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