Chapter XXV: Section X: Correspondence of Linnaeus

Linnaeus's first Letter, addressed to Rudbeck in 1731--His
last, to Dr Cusson in 1777--Correspondence with Haller--With
Dillenius, Ellis, and other English Naturalists.

The correspondence of Linnaeus was so extensive, that he declared to a friend that ten hands like his were insufficient to return answers to all the letters which were sent to him. Some time before his death, he drew up a list of 150 persons with whom he had maintained a communication of his ideas in writing. Among the earliest of his epistles was one directed to his benefactor, Olaus Rudbeck, professor in the University of Upsal, and is dated the 29th July 1731. The last is addressed to Peter Cusson, M.D. of Montpellier, and was written in 1777.

The first of his correspondents of whom we shall make mention is the celebrated Albert Haller, who was born in October 1708, and died on the 12th December 1777, aged 69. He was eminently distinguished for his knowledge of the physical sciences, as well as by his poetical talents, and his general acquaintance with literature. In fact, he aimed at universal dominion; and the renown of Rousseau, Voltaire, Linnaeus, and Buffon, excited his envy of some and his contempt of others of these celebrated men. After the death of his father, who was an advocate and citizen of Berne, he chose the medical profession; and in 1723, went to Tubingen, where he studied comparative anatomy under Duvernoi. In 1725, he removed to Leyden, then the first medical school in Europe. After taking his degree at the former seminary, he visited England, whence he went to Paris, and dissected under Le Dran. He then proceeded to Basil, to study mathematics under Bernouilli. There he imbibed also a taste for botany,--a science in which he subsequently made great progress. In 1729, he returned to Berne, and commenced his professional career as a lecturer on anatomy. In 1736, he was appointed by George II. to the professorship of surgery and botany in the University of Gottingen. Here he resided seventeen years, in the course of which he distinguished himself by his numerous and important discoveries. But, in 1753, having taken a journey to Berne, where his countrymen received him with the honour due to his talents, he settled there, and, having been elected a magistrate, entered with zeal on the duties of a citizen. The correspondence of Linnaeus with this eminent naturalist and physician commenced when the latter was at Gottingen, and originated in a report that he was hostile to the proposed system of the young Swede, who thus supplicates his forbearance:--

"_From Mr Cliffort's Museum, April 3, 1737._

"... 1. I must declare, that I am anxious to avoid, if
possible, all anger or controversy with you; my wish is
rather to act in conjunction with you. I should detest being
your adversary, and, as far as possible, I will avoid it.
May there be peace in our days!

"2. I have always, from the time I first heard your name,
held you in the highest estimation; nor am I conscious of
ever having shown a contrary disposition. Why then should
you provoke me to a dispute? Let me know if I have
unwillingly offended, and I will omit nothing to satisfy
you. I ask but for peace.

"3. If my harmless sexual system be the only cause of
offence, I cannot but protest against so much injustice. I
have never spoken of that as a natural method; on the
contrary, in my Systema, p. 8, sect. 12, I have said, 'No
natural botanical system has yet been constructed, though
one or two may be more so than others; nor do I contend that
this system is by any means natural. Probably I may, on a
future occasion, propose some fragments of such an one, &c.
Meanwhile, till that is discovered, artificial systems are
indispensable.' And in the preface to my Genera Plantarum,
sect. 9,--'I do not deny that a natural method is
preferable, not only to my system, but to all that have been
invented.... But, in the mean time, artificial
classification must serve as a succedaneum.' Therefore, if
you establish a natural method, I shall admit it.

"4. If you detect any mistakes of mine, I rely on your
superior knowledge to excuse them; for who has ever avoided
errors in the wide-extended field of Nature? Who is
furnished with a sufficient stock of observations? I shall
be thankful for your friendly corrections. I have done what
I could of myself; but a lofty tree does not attain its full
stature by the first storm that bursts forth.

"5. I have been acquainted with most botanists of
distinction, who have all given me their encouragement; nor
has any one of them thwarted my insatiable desire of natural
knowledge. Will you be more severe than any body else? You
appear, by your dissertation, too noble to triumph over the
ignorance of others.

"6. You may, with great advantage, and without injury to me,
display your profound learning and intimate knowledge of the
works of Nature, so as to acquire the thanks of all the
learned world. Do but turn over the writings of botanists in
general, and you will see, by their earlier performances,
how they are puffed up at first with their own consequence,
and scarcely able to keep from assaulting others; of which I
myself have perhaps been guilty, which I deeply regret,
having now learned better. But when these same people have
passed a few years in the field of battle, they become so
mild, candid, modest, and civil to every body, that not a
word of offence escapes them. This chiefly leads me to doubt
the truth of the report in question; for I know your
reputation has already been long established.

"7. It seems wonderful to me that I should have excited so
much of your displeasure; for I cannot but think there is no
work of any author more in unison with my ideas than this
essay of yours.

"8. I, and perhaps I alone, have acquired what I know
entirely by the rules you have laid down, of studying
without a master. I am still but a learner; and you must
pardon me if I am not yet become learned. If knowledge is to
be acquired by your mode, the hope of it, at least, still
serves to illuminate my path.

"9. I doubt, indeed, whether you, or any other lecturer, can
enter into controversy with propriety. Professors and
teachers should, above all things, acquire the confidence
and respect of their hearers. If they appear in the light of
students, how much of human imperfection must appear, and
what a depreciation of their dignity! What man was ever so
learned and wise, who, in correcting others, did not now and
then show he wanted correction himself? Something always
sticks to him. We have lately seen an instance of this in a
most distinguished professor, the ornament of his
university, who, having long indulged himself in attacks
upon schoolmasters, has at last got so severe a castigation
from one of this tribe, that it is doubtful whether he can
ever recover his ground at all, and certain that he cannot
recover it entirely. A very wise physician has declared,
that he would rather give up physic, and the practice of it
altogether, than enter into public controversy.

"10. Look over the whole body of controversial writers, and
point out one of them who has received any thanks for what
he has done in this way. Matthiolus would have been the
greatest man of his day if he had not meddled with such
matters. Who is gratified by 'the mad Cornarus,' or 'the
flayed fox,' (titles bestowed on each other by Fuchsius and
Cornarus)? What good have Ray and Rivinus done with their
quarrels? Dillenius still laments that he took up arms
against Rivinus; nor has the victory he gained added any
thing to his fame. Did not Threlkeld give him much more just
cause of offence? But he was now grown wiser, and would not
take up the gauntlet. Vaillant, at one time a most
excellent observer, attempted to cut his way with authority
through the armies of Tournefort; has he not met with his
deserts? and would he not have risen much higher had he left
him unmolested?

"11. I dread all controversies, as, whether conqueror or
conquered, I can never escape disgrace. Who ever fought
without some wound, or some injurious consequence? Time is
too precious, and can be far better employed by me as well
as by you. I am too young to take up arms, which, if once
taken, cannot be laid aside till the war is concluded, which
may last our lives. And, after all, the serious contentions
of our time may, fifty years hence, seem to our successors
no better than a puppet-show. I should be less ashamed to
receive admonition from you than you must be to take it from
me.

"Behold, then, your enemy, submissively seeking your
friendship; which, if you grant him, you will be more
certain of securing a friend than of stirring up an
adversary. I know you to be of a more generous nature than
to level your attacks at one who has not offended, unless
any enemies of mine have raised doubts in your mind against
me. If, after all, I cannot obtain that peace which, by
every argument and supplication, I seek of you, I hope you
will at least be so generous as to send me whatever you may
print on the subject, and I will take care to convey my
answers to you.

"If the news I have heard be without foundation, I earnestly
beg of you to forgive me for the trouble I now give you."

Linnaeus is here exhibited under the influence of fear, with much flattery and humiliation soliciting the forbearance of a powerful rival; but the report which had reached him was false, and Haller hastened to dispel from the mind of the young botanist the apprehensions under which he laboured. The correspondence thus commenced continued with great regularity, the letters of Linnaeus manifesting entire confidence in Haller; who, however, from a feeling of envy, or, as he alleges, in his own defence, thought proper to publish what had obviously been intended to remain private. The publication of these epistles, as we have seen, was productive of great distress to their author; and more especially of the following one, which gives an account of his earlier years. The Swiss professor concludes one of his notes in the following generous terms:--"Farewell, my dear Linnaeus! may you enjoy your health and your botanical pursuits, with every advantage for the prosecution of your labours! My studies and engagements, of a different kind, draw me unavoidably aside; but my inclination always leads me to the charms of Flora. To botany I wish to devote my leisure and my old age; and my fortune to the collecting of drawings, plants, and books. May you, from whom Flora expects more than from any other mortal, make the most of your advantages, and one day or other return to a more genial climate! If at any time my native country should invite me, or I can ever, as I hope, return to it, I have fixed upon you, if the situation be worth your having, to inherit my garden and my honours, such as they are. I have spoken on this subject to those in whose hands all these concerns are placed. As soon as I hear from you, I will tell you all the news I can, for I shall be happy to resume our agreeable correspondence."

The following is Linnaeus's answer:--

"Stockholm, Sept. 12th, finished the 15th, 1739.

"Your letter, of which the value to me is beyond estimation,
though dated Nov. 14, 1738, did not reach me till the 12th
of August of the present year, when I received it from the
minister of the German church at this place. Of the cause of
its delay I am ignorant.

"A thousand times have I invoked the honoured shade of
Hermann! How well did he deserve the compliment of having
all the fountains in the royal gardens play on his arrival,
if we consider his liberal conduct towards Tournefort!
Hermann had previously offered to resign the botanical
professorship (at Leyden) in his favour, intending himself
to seek some other situation during Tournefort's life. But
what shall I say of you, who have conceived so strong an
affection for a stranger, as to invite him to accept your
professorial appointment, your honours, and your garden! A
man could scarcely do this for his brother, or a father for
an only son. I can only say, in one word, I have had a
numerous acquaintance among my fellow-creatures, and many
have been kindly attached to me; but no one has ever made me
so bountiful an offer as yourself. I would express my
thanks, if possible, but cannot find words for the purpose.
Your memory shall be engraved on my heart whilst I live, and
shall be cherished by those who come after me.

"I cannot give an answer; but as you have placed yourself in
the light of a father, and me of a son, I will lay before
you a sort of history of my life, down to the present time.

"In the year 1730, I taught botany in the garden at Upsal.
Our common friend, Dr Rosen, returned thither the same year.
I, then a student of medicine, was Professor Rudbeck's
deputy in botany, as Rosen was in anatomy; he being likewise
the adjunctus or coadjutor in medicine. In 1732, I went to
Lapland, and returned; after which, I read lectures on
botany and metallurgy for a whole year. I then quitted
Upsal, and, as Providence ordained, went into Dalecarlia.
Having accomplished my journey, I returned to Fahlun, the
principal town of that province. Here I lectured on
mineralogy, and followed the practice of physic. I stayed a
month at Fahlun, where I was received with universal
kindness. A physician named Moraeus resided there, who was
esteemed rich by the common people. Indeed he was one of the
richest persons in that very poor country. With regard to
learning, he might undoubtedly claim the first rank among
the medical men of Sweden. I have heard him say, a thousand
times, that there was no line of life less eligible than the
practice of physic. Nevertheless, he was much attached to
me. I found myself frequently a welcome visiter under his
roof. He had a handsome daughter, besides a younger one, the
former of whom was courted, but in vain, by a gentleman of
rank and title. I was struck when I first saw her, and felt
my heart assailed by new sensations and anxieties. I loved
her, and she at length, won by my attentions, listened to my
proposals, and returned my passion. I became an accepted
lover. I addressed myself to her father, avowing, not
without much confusion, my total want of fortune. He was
favourable on some accounts, but had many objections. He
approved of me, but not of my circumstances; and desired
that things might remain as they were for three years, after
which he would tell me his determination. Having arranged my
affairs, and made the necessary preparations for a journey,
I quitted my native country with thirty-six gold ducats in
my pocket. I immediately took my medical degree (at
Harderwyk in Holland), but was not in circumstances to
return home with much comfort. I remained, as you know, in
Holland. In the mean time, my most intimate friend B----
regularly forwarded the letters of my mistress by the post.
She continued faithful. In the course of last year, 1738,
which I passed at Dr Van Royen's with the approbation of the
young lady, though it was the fourth year of my absence, and
her father had required but three, B---- thought he had
himself made considerable progress in her favour. By my
recommendation he was made a professor; and he took upon him
to persuade my betrothed that I should never return to my
own country. He courted her assiduously, and was very near
obtaining her, had it not been for another friend, who laid
open his treachery. He has since paid dearly for his
conduct, by innumerable misfortunes.

"At last I came back, but still destitute of a maintenance.
The young lady was partial to me, and not to him. I settled
at Stockholm, the laughing-stock of every body on account of
my botany. No one cared how many sleepless nights and
toilsome hours I had passed, as all, with one voice,
declared that Siegesbeck had annihilated me. There was
nobody who would put even a servant under my care. I was
obliged to live as I could, in virtuous poverty. By very
slow degrees I began to acquire some practice. But now my
adverse fate took a sudden turn, and after so long a
succession of cloudy prospects the sun broke out upon me. I
emerged from my obscurity, obtained access to the great, and
every unfavourable presage vanished. No invalid could now
recover without my assistance. I began to get money, and was
busy in attendance on the sick, from four in the morning
till late in the evening; nor were my nights uninterrupted
by the calls of my patients. Aha! said I, Esculapius is the
giver of all good things; Flora bestows nothing upon me but
Siegesbecks! I took my leave of Flora; condemned my
too-numerous observations a thousand times over to eternal
oblivion; and swore never to give any answer to Siegesbeck.

"Soon afterwards, I was appointed first physician to the
navy. The magistracy immediately conferred upon me the
regius professorship, that I might teach botany in the seat
of government at Stockholm, with the addition of an annual
stipend. Then my fondness for plants revived. I was also
enabled to present myself to the bride to whom I had been
for five years engaged, and was honourably received as her
husband. My father-in-law, rather fond of his money, proved
not very liberal to me; but I can do without it, and those
who come after me will enjoy it.

"Just now, both the medical professorships are likely to
become vacant. Professors Rudbeck and Roberg, both advanced
in age, are about offering their resignation. If this takes
place, probably Mr Rosen may succeed Roberg, and I may
obtain Rudbeck's appointment. But if I do not, I am content
to live and die at Stockholm; nor shall I oppose the
pretensions of any competitor. If, therefore, I should not
obtain the botanical professorship at Upsal, and you, at the
end of three months, should invite me, I would come, if I
may bring my little wife with me. Otherwise, if there be any
chance of my ever seeing you at Hamburg, for that reason
alone I would go thither, though I live here at a great
distance. My regard for you makes me wish to know you
personally, to see and talk to you, before I die. Farewell!
may you long continue to be the load-star of our science!"

Linnaeus and Haller, notwithstanding the frequent disputes that took place between them, continued upon the whole on friendly terms, and wrote to each other occasionally, until 1749. The last letter from the Swiss naturalist is dated Berne, April 10, 1766. The correspondence, which is full of interest, more especially with respect to botany, is given by Sir J. E. Smith, from whose "Selection" the above translations have been copied.

"It is to be lamented," says he, "that Haller published so many confidential letters, unjustly reflecting, here and there, on Linnaeus; and that he betrays, in his prefaces and notes, so much petulance towards this old and distinguished friend. He pretends, indeed, to have excluded from all the letters he published every thing personal or confidential. But there are few more disgraceful chronicles of ill humour than this collection of letters of various persons to Haller. He leaves chasms, truly, in many places, which, like Madame Dacier's asterisks, is 'hanging out lights;' for they serve to aggravate the force of what remains. Above all, he is censurable for printing letters from this very son of his, after his death, reflecting severely on persons who had, as the young man says, shown him the greatest favour at Paris; and abusing the Academy of Sciences, which had just elected him into its body as a corresponding member."

Linnaeus, in one of his letters to Haller, says, "There is nobody in England who understands or thinks about genera except Dillenius." We may therefore mention, as next in order among his correspondents, this celebrated professor of botany. Born at Darmstadt in 1685, and educated as a physician at Giessen, he was brought to England by Sherard in 1721; and, when the latter, who had been English consul at Smyrna, founded his botanical professorship at Oxford, he appointed him to it.

Dillenius was a plain blunt man, and used great freedom of speech in writing to Linnaeus. Thus, in one of his letters, he says,--"I feel as much displeased with your Critica Botanica as I am pleased with your Lapland Flora, especially as you have, without my deserving such a compliment or knowing of your intention, dedicated the book to me. You must have known my dislike to all ceremonies and compliments. I hope that you have burthened but few copies with this dedication,--perhaps only the copy which you have sent me. If there be more, I beg of you to strip them of this vain parade, or I shall take it much amiss. At least I cannot offer you my thanks for what you have done, though I gratefully acknowledge the favour of the copies you have sent me of the Critica as well as the Flora. We all know the nomenclature of botany to be an Augean stable, which C. Hoffmann, and even Gesner, were not able to cleanse. The task requires much reading, and extensive as well as various erudition; nor is it to be given up to hasty or careless hands. You rush upon it, and overturn every thing. I do not object to Greek words, especially in compound names; but I think the names of the ancients ought not rashly and promiscuously to be transferred to our new genera, or those of the New World. The day may possibly come when the plants of Theophrastus and Dioscorides may be ascertained; and, till this happens, we had better leave their names as we find them. That desirable end might even now be attained, if any one would visit the countries of these old botanists, and make a sufficient stay there; for the inhabitants of those regions are very retentive of names and customs, and know plants at this moment by their ancient appellations, very little altered, as any person who reads Belonius may perceive. I remember your being told, by the late Mr G. Gherard, that the modern Greeks give the name of amanita ([Greek: amanita]) to the eatable field-mushroom; and yet, in Critica Botanica, p. 50, you suppose that word to be French. Who will ever believe the _Thya_ of Theophrastus to be our arbor vitae? Why do you give the name of cactus to the tuna? Do you believe the tuna, or melocactus (pardon the word), and the arbor vitae, were known to Theophrastus? An attentive reader of the description he gives of his sida, will probably agree with me that it belongs to our nymphaea, and indeed to the white-flowered kind. You, without any reason, give that name to the malvinda; and so in various other instances concerning ancient names; in which I do not, like Burmann, blame you for introducing new names, but for the bad application of old ones. If there were, in these cases, any resemblance between your plants and those of the ancients, you might be excused; but there is not. Why do you, p. 68, derive the word medica from the virtues of the plant, when Pliny, book xviii. chap. 16, declares it to have been brought from Media, &c.?

"I fear I have angered you by saying, as you observe in your last, so much against your system of arrangement. Nevertheless, I could say a great deal more, and should be able to prove to you that you separate and tear asunder several genera nearly related to each other. But this is not my aim, as I value your friendship too much."

In another letter, dated May 16, 1737, he writes as follows:--"I must say a word concerning stamens and styles, as being unfit to found a system of arrangement upon; not only because they vary as much as flowers and seed-vessels, but because they are hardly to be discerned, except by yourself, and such lynx-eyed people;[K] and in my judgment, every scheme of classification offers violence to nature. Notwithstanding all this, I applaud and congratulate you, in the highest degree, for having brought your premature birth to such perfection. You have accomplished great things, and, that you may go on and prosper still more, let me exhort you to examine more and more species. I do not doubt that you yourself will one day overthrow your own system. You see, my dearest Linnaeus, how plainly I speak my sentiments, depending on your candour to receive them favourably."

One of the most respectable of his English correspondents was Peter Collinson, with whom he became acquainted when he visited London in 1736. He belonged to the Society of Friends, possessed a most amiable disposition, evinced the strictest probity and the purest benevolence, was blessed with a genuine and ardent love of nature, enjoyed a long life of active virtue, and died in the glorious hope of a happiness unappreciable. The gentle though rather romantic character of the quaker shines forth in all his letters, but in none more than in the last he wrote, which is as follows:--

"Ridgeway-house, on Mill-hill, ten miles north of London,--
March 16, 1767.

"I am here retired to a delightful little villa, to
contemplate and admire, with my dear Linnaeus, the
unalterable laws of vegetation. How ravishing to see the
swelling buds disclose the tender leaves! By the public
newspapers we were told that with you in Sweden the winter
was very severe, the Sound being frozen over. I have no
conception of the power of that cold which could fetter the
rolling ocean in icy chains. The cold was what we call
severe, but not so sharp as in the year 1740. It lasted
about a month, to the 21st of January, and then the thaw
began and continued. February the 1st and 2d were soft,
warm, sunny days, as in April, and so continued, mild and
warm, with southerly winds, all the month. This brought on
the spring flowers. Feb. 8th, the _Helleborus niger_ made a
fine show; the _Galanthus_ and winter aconite by the 15th
covered the garden with beauty, among some crocuses and
violets, and _Primula veris_, &c. How delightful to see the
order of nature! Oh, how obedient the vegetable tribes are
to their great Lawgiver! He has given this race of flowers a
constitution and fibres to resist the cold. They bloom in
frost and snow, like the good men of Sweden. These flowers
have some time made their exit; and now, March 7th, a
tenderer tribe succeeds. Such, my dear friend, is the order
of nature. Now the garden is covered with more than twenty
different species of crocuses, produced from sowing seeds,
and the _Iris Persica_, _Cyclamen vernale_, and polyanthos.
The 16th March, plenty of _Hyacinthus caeruleus_ and _albus_
in the open borders, with anemones; and now my favourites,
the great tribe of narcissuses, show all over the garden and
fields. We have two species wild in the woods that now begin
to flower. Next, the _Tulipa praecox_ is near flowering; and
so Flora decks the garden with endless variety, ever
charming.

"The progress of our spring, to the middle of March, I
persuade myself will be acceptable to my dear baron. Now I
come to thank him for his most acceptable letter of the 8th
of October last. I am extremely obliged for your kind
intentions to send me the work of works, your Systema
Naturae. I hope it will please God to bless my eyes with the
sight of it. I feel the distress you must be under with the
fire. I am glad, next to your own and family's safety, that
you saved your papers and books. By this time I hope all is
settled and in order; so pray now, at your leisure, employ
some expert pupil to search into the origin of the
nectarine; who are the first authors that mention how and
when it was first introduced into the European gardens. It
is strange and marvellous, that a peach should naturally
produce or bear nectarines, a fruit so different, as well in
its exterior coat as flavour, from a peach; and yet this
nectarine will produce a nectarine from the stone, and not a
peach. This remarkable instance is from a tree of a
nectarine raised from a stone in my own garden, which last
autumn had several dozen of fruit on it, finely ripened. For
more particulars I refer to my last letter. Pray tell me who
Perses was, what countryman, and who is the author that
relates his introducing peaches into the European gardens?

"That bats as well as flies lie as dead all winter is true;
but they do not change elements, and go and live all that
time under water. Swallows cannot do it without a provision
and contrivance for that end, which it becomes your great
abilities to find out; for it is not sufficient to assert,
but to demonstrate the internal apparatus God Almighty has
wonderfully contrived for a flying animal, bred on the land
and in the air, to go voluntarily under water, and live
there for so many months. Besides, we are not informed which
species lives under water, as there are four species. You,
my dear friend, have raised my admiration, and that of all
my curious acquaintance; for we never heard before that
mushrooms were of an animal nature, and that their eggs are
hatched in water. We must suspend gratifying our curiosity
until this phenomenon is more particularly explained to us
here. Dr Solander is also a stranger to it. Very probably
some account has been published in the Swedish tongue; if
that is sent to Solander, then we shall be made acquainted
with the discovery.

"I herewith send you a print of the _Andrachne_, which
flowered, for the first time I presume in Europe, in Dr
Fothergill's garden in May last year. It was raised from
seed from Aleppo, sent to him by Dr Russell in the year
1756. Yon see its manner of flowering is very different from
the arbutus. I have a large tree raised from the same seed,
that stands abroad in the garden, but never blossomed. It is
now beginning to shed its bark, as Belon or Belonius well
describes; which is a peculiar difference from the
_Arbutus_, and nearly agrees with the _Platanus_.

"I am, my dear friend, with my sincere wishes for your
health and preservation, your affectionate friend,

"P. COLLINSON,

"Now entered into my 73d year, in perfect health and
strength in body and mind. God Almighty be praised and
adored for the multitude of his mercies!--March 16th, 1767."

A great part of the correspondence which Collinson had with Linnaeus bore a reference to the alleged hibernation of swallows, which the latter, following the authority of certain writers, supposed to retire on the approach of winter to the bottom of lakes and rivers, among reeds and other aquatic plants, where they remain in a torpid state till the beginning of summer. This preposterous idea the Englishman labours to convince his friend ought either to be given up, or established by accurate observation; but, if the great botanist was not too proud to renounce an error, he at least manifested no desire to satisfy his correspondent, nor does it appear that he ever afterwards alluded to the subject in any of his letters.

The other individuals with whom he carried on an epistolary intercourse in England were, Dr Solander, his pupil; Mr Ellis, the first who proved the animal nature of corals and corallines; Mr George Edwards, librarian of the Royal College of Physicians, who produced a work on birds; Mr Pennant, the celebrated author of the British Zoology and other treatises; Mr Catesby, who wrote the Natural History of Carolina; Dr Mitchell, and a few more. Of these Mr Ellis appears to have been his most assiduous correspondent.

MR ELLIS TO LINNAEUS.

"London, December 5, 1766.

"SIR,--I am obliged to you for sending me Dr Garden's
account of the _Siren_. I am sorry I could not get the rest
of the things he sent you, before the ship sailed, when I
sent you the specimens of plants. I have only got the
insects, which are of little value, and the skin of a
_Siren_. The things in spirits are not yet brought on shore;
but I hope to get them; and as soon as I have an
opportunity, will send them to you. Peter Collinson spent
the evening with me, and shewed me a letter you wrote to
him about funguses being alive in the seeds, and swimming
about like fish. You mention something of it to me in your
last letter. If you have examined the seeds of them
yourself, and found them to be little animals, I should
believe it. Pray, what time of the year, and what kinds? I
suppose they must be taken while growing, and in a vigorous
state. I intend to try; I think my glass will discover them,
if they have animal life in them. The seeds of the
_Equisetum palustre_ appear to be alive by their twisting
motion, when viewed through the microscope; but that is not
animal life.

"I have just finished a collection of the _Corallinae_. I
think there are thirty-six species; but I believe some of
them will prove varieties. I have most of the copperplates
that represent them finished. They are the most difficult to
examine of all the zoophytes; their pores are so small, and
their manner of growing so singular....

"Pray let me know how your Tea-tree grows. It is very odd
that, notwithstanding we have had fifteen ships from China
this year, we have not had one Tea-tree brought home alive.
I have sent a boy to China, whose dependence is on me, to
try to bring over several sorts of seeds in wax. I expect
him home next summer.

"The English are much obliged to you for your good wishes.
We every day see a superiority in the Swedes over the other
European nations. All your people that appear among us are
polite, well-bred, and learned; without the vanity of the
French, the heaviness of the Dutch, or the impudence of the
Germans. This last nation has intruded on us swarms of their
miserable, half-starved people, from the connexion that our
royal family have had with them."

The first voyage of Captain Cook, in which he was accompanied by Sir Joseph Banks and Dr Solander, interested Linnaeus in a high degree, as he expected from it great accessions to science. On being apprized by Ellis of the return of the expedition in 1771, he thus writes in reply:--

"I received, about an hour ago, my ever valued friend, yours of the 16th of July, nor did I ever receive a more welcome letter, as it conveys the agreeable news of my dear Solander's safe return. Thanks and glory to God, who has protected him through the dangers of such a voyage! If I were not bound fast here by sixty-four years of age, and a worn-out body, I would this very day set out for London, to see this great hero of botany. Moses was not permitted to enter Palestine, but only to view it from a distance; so I conceive an idea in my mind of the acquisitions and treasures of those who have visited every part of the globe."

The following letter, principally on the same subject, is selected as one of the best specimens of Linnaeus's epistolary style:--

LINNAEUS TO MR ELLIS.

"Upsal, October 22, 1771.

"MY DEAR FRIEND,--I have just read in some foreign
newspapers, that our friend Solander intends to revisit
those new countries, discovered by Mr Banks and himself, in
the ensuing spring. This report has affected me so much, as
almost entirely to deprive me of sleep. How vain are the
hopes of man! Whilst the whole botanical world, like
myself, has been looking for the most transcendent benefits
to our science, from the unrivalled exertions of your
countrymen, all their matchless and truly astonishing
collection, such as has never been seen before, nor may ever
be seen again, is to be put aside untouched, to be thrust
into some corner, to become perhaps the prey of insects and
of destruction.

"I have every day been figuring to myself the occupations of
my pupil Solander, now putting his collection in order,
having first arranged and numbered his plants in parcels,
according to the places where they were gathered, and then
written upon each specimen its native country and
appropriate number. I then fancied him throwing the whole
into classes; putting aside, and naming, such as were
already known; ranging others under known genera, with
specific differences; and distinguishing by new names and
definitions such as formed new genera, with their species.
Thus, thought I, the world will be delighted and benefited
by all these discoveries; and the foundations of true
science will be strengthened, so as to endure through all
generations.

"I am under great apprehension, that if this collection
should remain untouched till Solander's return, it might
share the same lot as Forskal's Arabian specimens at
Copenhagen. Thus shall I be only more and more confirmed in
my opinion, that the Fates are ever adverse to the greatest
undertakings of mankind.

"Solander promised long ago, while detained off the coast of
Brazil, in the early part of his voyage, that he would visit
me after his return; of which I have been in expectation.
If he had brought some of his specimens with him, I could at
once have told him what were new; and we might have turned
over books together, and he might have been informed or
satisfied upon many subjects, which after my death will not
be so easily explained.

"I have no answer from him to the letter I enclosed to you,
which I cannot but wonder at. You yourself know how much I
have esteemed him, and how strongly I recommended him to
you.

"By all that is great and good, I entreat you, who know so
well the value of science, to do all that in you lies for
the publication of these new acquisitions, that the learned
world may not be deprived of them. They will afford a fresh
proof, that the English nation promote science more than the
French, or any other people whatsoever. At the same time,
let me earnestly beg of you to publish, as soon as possible,
your own work, explaining those elegant plates of rare
zoophytes, &c. which you last sent me. I can no longer
restrain my impatience. Allow me to remind you, that
'nothing is so uncertain, nothing so deceitful, as human
life; nothing so frail, or surrounded with so many diseases
and dangers, as man.'

"Again the plants of Solander and Banks recur to my
imagination. When I turn over Feuillee's figures, I meet
with more extraordinary things among them than anywhere
else. I cannot but presume, therefore, as Peru and Chili are
so rich, that in the South Sea Islands as great an abundance
of rarities have remained in concealment, from the beginning
of the world, to reward the labours of our illustrious
voyagers. I see these things now but afar off. If our
travellers should take another trip, I shall have seen them
as Moses saw Canaan.

"When I ponder upon the insects they have brought, I am
overwhelmed at the reported number of new species. Are there
many new genera? Amongst all the insects sent from the Cape,
I have met with no new genus; which is remarkable. And yet,
except four European ones, they are all new species.

"Pray make use of your interest with Solander, to inform me
to what class and order the nutmeg belongs. I shall not take
advantage of this information without making honourable
mention of my authority.

"When I think of their _Mollusca_, I conceive the new ones
must be very numerous. These animals cannot be investigated
after death, as they contract in dying. Without doubt, as
there were draughtsmen on board, they would not fail to
afford ample materials for drawings.

"Do but consider, my friend, if these treasures are kept
back, what may happen to them. They may be devoured by
vermin of all kinds. The house where they are lodged may be
burnt. Those destined to describe them may die. Even you,
the promoter of every scientific undertaking in your
country, may be taken from us. All sublunary things are
uncertain, nor ought any thing to be trusted to treacherous
futurity. I therefore once more beg, nay I earnestly beseech
you, to urge the publication of these new discoveries. I
confess it to be my most ardent wish to see this done before
I die. To whom can I urge my anxious wishes but to you, who
are so devoted to me and to science?

"Remember me to the immortal Banks and Solander.

"P.S.--I can never sufficiently thank you and Mr Gordon for
the beautiful and precious trees of Magnolia, both the
Gardeniae, both the Kalmiae, and the Rhododendrum; all now in
excellent health. But the Calycanthus, and a tree of a new
genus allied to Hamamelis, I am sorry to say, are no more.
They were very sickly when they came, nor did they put forth
any new roots. Dionaea died, as might be expected, in the
voyage.

"My Lord Baltimore passed a day with me about a year ago, at
my country-house. I read over to him whatever he desired.
After his departure, he sent me a most elegant vase of
silver gilt, certainly worth more than 150 guineas. I never
received so splendid a present before. No Frenchman, nor
perhaps any other person, was ever so bountiful. The English
are, doubtless, the most generous of all men.

"My second Mantissa is at length published. After it was
finished, I received from Surinam what I call Hypericum
Lasianthus, so similar to your Gordonia that at first I
thought them the same. The flower is, in like manner,
internally hairy; the stem is shrubby, and the leaves
similar. But the stamens are in five sets, separated by five
hairy nectaries. On a careful examination, I conclude your
Gordonia Lasianthus to be really a different plant, agreeing
with that of Plukenet, in having winged seeds, as you
rightly describe it. The synonym of Plukenet, therefore,
does not belong to my Lasianthus, which, however like it, is
truly a species of Hypericum; but that synonym must be
referred to your plant."

Mr Ellis was a native of Ireland, but had settled in London, where he died in 1776. In the early part of his life he engaged in merchandise, and subsequently was employed as agent for West Florida and Dominica. His foreign connexions were the means of furnishing him with rich supplies of curious specimens: and hence both botany and zoology were enriched by him with many discoveries, the most remarkable of which, as we have already mentioned, was that of the animal nature of corals and corallines.

It was to this gentleman that Linnaeus recommended his favourite pupil Solander, who came to England in 1759, and who was held in great estimation on account of his politeness and extensive knowledge in natural history. Being engaged by Sir Joseph Banks he accompanied him on his voyage round the world, and on his return was domesticated under his roof as his secretary and librarian. He undertook to describe the objects which had been collected on the voyage; but the dissipation of London society, his other avocations, and the indolence which soon gained upon him, rendered his progress too slow for the expectations of the learned, and in 1782 he was carried off by apoplexy. He seems to have almost forgotten his venerable master, to whom he was under so many obligations, and even his aged mother, several of whose letters to him were found unopened after his death. He was, notwithstanding, a man of considerable merit, and more especially in that he proved the means of establishing the Linnaean doctrines in this country.

Mr Ellis, in return, had the satisfaction of introducing to the correspondence of Linnaeus the celebrated Dr Garden, who had settled at Charleston in South Carolina, where he practised medicine for nearly thirty years. He was a native of Scotland, and received his education at Aberdeen and Edinburgh. During the intervals of leisure which occasionally occurred in the practice of his profession, he directed his attention to the study of botany and zoology. When the differences between Great Britain and her American colonies arose, he took part with the former, and returned to Europe about the end of the war, with his wife and two daughters, leaving, however, a son, who submitted to the new government. He died of pulmonary consumption in 1791, in the sixty-second year of his age.

DR GARDEN TO LINNAEUS.

"Charleston, Nov. 30, 1758.

"SIR,--Three years ago I troubled you with a letter by way
of Holland, of which I sent also a duplicate; but I fear
they have both accidentally miscarried. From that period I
have often thought of soliciting afresh your friendship and
correspondence, but shame has deterred me. I am well aware
that your time must be fully occupied with more valuable
correspondents, and that I am likely to be more troublesome
than useful, having nothing worthy to repay such an
indulgence. I do, however, stand in great need of your
advice and assistance in the prosecution of the most
delightful of studies; and such is my conviction of the
benevolence of your character, that I cannot refrain from
writing you another letter. I earnestly beseech you to take
this in good part, and not to refuse me the favour of your
friendship. Mr Ellis, in a recent letter, encourages me to
believe that my correspondence may not be unwelcome to you,
which, you may well suppose, has greatly delighted me; and
it has induced me to hope you will pardon this intrusion. I
learn from him that you have already written to me; and it
has given me no small concern that your letter has never
come to hand. I flattered myself, as long as I possibly
could, with the prospect of its arrival; but I have now
given up all hopes, and am only sensible of my loss and
mortification.

"Had it not been for the repeated encouragement of Mr Ellis,
I should scarcely ever have ventured to expect that my
friendship and correspondence could engage your attention;
nor can I now attribute your favour and kindness towards me
to any other cause than, probably, to the too partial
representations of this friend. I fear that his usual
indulgence for me, of which I have had repeated instances,
may have prompted him to say more in my recommendation than
my abilities deserve, or than truth can justify.

"Of this I am very certain, that if you do deign to
correspond with me, I can never repay such a favour as it
deserves. Nevertheless, I am ready to receive and to obey
your wishes and directions; and if this country should
afford any thing worthy of your notice, I will, if you
please, make descriptions, or send specimens, with all
possible care. Your commands will indeed prove most welcome
to me. I have only to request that you will inform me of
every thing you want, and of the best methods of preserving
and forwarding specimens. Every opportunity that you may be
so good as to afford me of serving you, I shall esteem an
honour; and if at the same time you favour me with your
advice, and allow me to drink at the fountain of pure
botanical science from your abundant stores, I shall esteem
it the highest honour, as well as gratification, that I can
enjoy.

"Almost every one of your works is already in my hands, and
I trust I have thence greatly improved my knowledge of
botany. Mr Ellis informs me of your being about printing a
new edition of your Systema Naturae and Genera Plantarum,
both which I have ordered to be sent me as soon as they
appear. From the riches and erudition of what you have
already published, your whole mind being devoted to this one
pursuit, I am at no loss to anticipate the still greater
degree of information, elegance, and perfection, of your
future performances. Nothing, indeed, more excites my
wishes, as a certain source of pleasure and improvement,
than to be more deeply conversant with your writings; that I
may not only profit by your genius, but, at the same time,
have the information of the most eminent and approved
writers in botany always ready at hand.

"I am disgusted with the coarse and malicious style in which
some carping and slanderous critics have attacked these
works of yours, the delight and ornament of botanical
science. But such men are objects of pity rather than anger.
Their blind inclination to find fault leads them so far into
the mazes of absurdity, that they censure what ought to
afford them nothing but instruction. Their futile
reasonings, indeed, fall harmless to the ground, like the
dart of Priam from the shield of Pyrrhus. The works they
abuse shine brighter the more strictly they are scrutinized,
and will certainly be read with delight by men in every age
who are best qualified to appreciate their value. Your
censors, when duly weighed themselves, seem to have acquired
what they know by application rather than by any great
powers of mind; and they make but a poor figure, with all
that they can find to say, when they enter into a
controversy with a man whose learning has received its last
polish from genius. Nor are you, my excellent friend,
unsupported in the contest; for you are surrounded by all
who have entered on the same studies at the impulse of
genius, or under the auspices of Minerva, and whose industry
has gradually improved, sharpened, and given the last finish
to the powers of their understanding. These stand ready
armed for the battle in your defence. They will easily put
to flight the herd of plodding labourers; for nature can
certainly do much more without learning, than learning
without nature.

"If your adversaries and detractors had candidly pointed out
the disputable, inconvenient, or faulty parts of your
system, for your better consideration and revision, I have
no doubt that they would now have found in you a friend and
patron, instead of an enemy and conqueror. But they were
excited by an envious malignity, and a depraved appetite for
controversy, to write without judgment or genius, and to
blame without candour or liberality. Not that I pretend to
say, that your system is already brought to the supreme
point of perfection. That would indeed be a foolish
assertion, which your better judgment would at once reject
as mere flattery. But to give due praise to supreme merit
in botanical science, and to recommend, as they deserve,
your most ingenious and most useful writings, is a duty
incumbent on me, as well as on all who are not destitute of
every spark of gratitude, for the immense services which
your labour and ingenuity have rendered to the whole world.
Nor are you, sir, so little able to appreciate your own
merits, as not to be perfectly conscious that the attacks
alluded to originate in envy, rather than the commendations
you receive, in flattery. Compliments out of the question,
we certainly ought to give every one his due.

"But it is time to conclude. I venture to enclose for your
opinion the characters of a very handsome plant, which seems
to me a new genus. I am very anxious that it should bear the
name of my much-valued friend, Mr Ellis; and if, upon mature
examination, you should judge it to be new, I wish you would
correct my description wherever it may be necessary, and
publish it in the new edition of your Genera Plantarum,
under the name of _Ellisia_. This plant grows about the
bases of the Apalachian Mountains, rising annually from its
old roots to the height of about twelve feet, ornamented
with whorls of leaves, at the distance of eighteen inches
from each other.

"It only remains for me, sir, to beg your pardon for this
intrusion. I am well aware how many important labours you
have on your hands, and you probably have many more in
prospect. Grant me only your friendly assistance in my
ardent prosecution of the study of nature; and may you at
the same time go on advancing in reputation and success!
and after you have given your works to the public, may you
long enjoy the honours which your abilities have acquired!

"May God grant you a long life, to investigate the secrets
of nature, as well as to improve the powers of your mind in
their contemplation! and may your valuable exertions benefit
the literary world as long as you live!--Such is my sincere
prayer. Farewell!"

In France, the correspondents of Linnaeus were Messrs Angerville, Barrere, De Bomare, Duchesne, Carrere, Chardon, Cusson, Guan, Guettard, the two Jussieus, Le Monnier, Maynard, F. de Sauvages, and the Abbe de Sauvages.

ANTOINE DE JUSSIEU, PROFESSOR OF BOTANY AT
PARIS, TO LINNAEUS AT HARTECAMP.

"Paris, July 1, 1736.

"SIR,--I received with much pleasure your work on the
_Musa_, which I immediately read through with avidity, and
no less satisfaction; not only because of the singularity of
the plant itself, but for the sake of your remarks. I never
suspected that this plant, which I had seen bearing flowers
and fruit in Spain, could produce any in Holland, as we have
never had an instance of the kind in the royal garden at
Paris, where it has not even flowered. None of the other
works mentioned as having been published by you have ever
reached me, and I shall be greatly obliged by your ordering
them to be sent hither at my expense. I long very much to
see your Hortus Cliffortianus and Flora Lapponica;
especially the latter, as the king has recently sent some
of our academicians towards the most northern parts of
Europe, to whom, in their search after plants in those
countries, your book would be a guide, instructing them what
seeds or dried specimens to send us. If, therefore, you are
likely soon to complete this work, I request the favour of
two copies, which shall be paid for with the above-mentioned
publications. If you know of any thing issuing from our
Parisian press likely to be worthy of your notice, nothing
will give me more pleasure than to procure it for you. Be
pleased, sir, to accept the respects of my brother and
myself."

The writer of the above letter was elder brother to the author of the following, who was also Regius Professor of Botany at Paris, and the reputed inventor of what is called the Natural System of Plants, which was subsequently improved by his nephew, Antoine de Jussieu.

BERNARD DE JUSSIEU TO LINNAEUS.

"Paris, Feb. 15, 1742.

"MY DEAREST FRIEND,--I received your welcome letter, and
have several times been desirous of answering it, but have
as often been hindered by various affairs. Pardon my past
neglect, though I have permitted some opportunities of
testifying my regard for you to pass by. I have been
occupied in various journeys. All last autumn I was
wandering on the seacoast of Normandy. I have met with many
novelties, among which you will be surprised to find some
additions to the animal kingdom. I mean, however, before I
make my discoveries public, to examine into the matter more
fully.

"I have heard with the most sincere pleasure of your being
appointed professor of botany at Upsal. You may now devote
yourself entirely to the service of Flora, and lay open more
completely the path you have pointed out, so as at length to
bring to perfection a natural method of classification,
which is what all lovers of botany wish and expect. I know
of nothing new here except an essay on the natural history
of Cayenne, and a catalogue of officinal plants. These
little works will be conveyed to you by the surgeon of Count
de Tessin, when he returns home. I shall also add a
fasciculus of medical questions, of the faculty of Paris. I
have not yet received what you last sent me; but I return
you many thanks for your repeated kindness. I beg leave to
offer you, as a testimony of my gratitude, a few exotic
seeds. May God preserve you long in safety! Believe me your
most devoted,

BERNARD DE JUSSIEU."

We have nothing of much interest to offer from this quarter, as Buffon, who was the most popular naturalist of his time, showed himself the rival of the Swede and a despiser of all classifications; although, as Lord Monboddo says, "those who have merely made themselves acquainted with the first rudiments of philosophy, cannot possibly be ignorant, that a distribution into genera and species is the foundation of all human knowledge; and that to be acquainted with an individual, as they term it, or one single thing, is neither art nor science."

From the long list of correspondents which Linnaeus had in Germany and other parts of the Continent, we shall only mention Professor Gesner at Tubingen; Hebenstreit and Ludwig at Leipsic; Hermann and Jacquin at Vienna; Gieseke at Hamburg; Murray at Gottingen; Brunnich, Fabricius, and Muller, in Denmark; Gmelin, Ammann, and G. Muller, in Russia; Allemand, Burmann, Gorter, Cliffort, and Van Royen, in Holland; John Gesner and Scheuchzer, in Switzerland. We do not, however, find it necessary to insert any of the letters of these celebrated individuals; but shall conclude with part of a communication to the younger Linnaeus, from Don Joseph Celestine Mutis, professor of philosophy, mathematics, and natural history, at the University of Santa Fe de Bogota, in New Grenada.

"From the Mines of Ybagua, Sept. 12, 1778.

"This letter, which I have many a time, in the joy of my
heart, had it in contemplation to write to you, my worthy
friend, I find myself now scarcely able to begin, on account
of the grief with which yours just received has overwhelmed
me. As I opened this letter, enclosed in one from a beloved
brother of mine who lives at Cadiz, I did not at once
discover from whom it came, the superscription being in an
unknown hand; but I feared it might bring me an account of
the precious life of my valued friend the Chevalier Von
Linne being either in danger, or perhaps extinct. When I had
read it, I perceived but too certainly the truth of what had
been announced in the public papers, that this great man,
your illustrious father, was no more. To cultivate his
faithful friendship has for many years been my chief
ambition, in spite of the wide distance between your polar
region and the equator. I wanted resolution to open, soon
afterwards, a packet from M. Gahn, whose handwriting I
recognised in the direction, lest I might perhaps find a
letter, the last, and now posthumous, pledge of his
friendship, flattering me with hopes which I had already
abandoned. Allow me, therefore, my dear sir, to recall to
your mind those recollections which, however sad, we ought
not to forget. If it were possible for you to overcome the
feelings of nature, I cannot satisfy the claims of
friendship without lamenting, with you, our common loss.

"Let me inform you, therefore, that, so long ago as the year
1761, when I ventured to introduce myself to this great man
by a trifling communication, as I had not enjoyed any
intercourse with him before my departure from Europe, I was
first favoured, in this my distant abode, with one of those
letters, so highly valued by the most learned men in Europe.
In this, according to his usual custom, your distinguished
father endeavoured, in the most attractive style, to
stimulate my youthful ardour more and more for the study of
nature. From that period I rejoiced to devote myself to his
service, and our correspondence was kept up for eighteen
years, as regularly as the great distance between us, the
negligence of those in whom we confided, and my occasional
extensive journeys would admit. By some unavoidable
accidents, indeed, many of my letters never reached him; and
I have also, too late, discovered that many of his had been
lost. Meanwhile, our communications were confidential and
exclusive, not extended on my part to any other persons,
whether my countrymen or not; for I devoted all my
discoveries and all my labours to his immortal genius alone.
A little while ago, when I still supposed him living (as I
saw the illustrious name of Von Linne among the members of
the Royal Academy of Paris, in a list at the end of the
Connoissance des Tems), I was particularly happy to obtain
the complete fructification of that most elegant tree which
yields the Peruvian balsam, in order that I might satisfy
his curiosity, so often expressed, on the subject of the
genus of this tree, either by describing it among my new
genera, or by transmitting any observations for his use. But
when I had just overcome the difficulties which had so long
deprived me of this acquisition, and was anticipating the
pleasure my excellent friend would receive from the
communication, the world was deprived of him. You have lost
an affectionate parent, and I a most highly-esteemed patron.
I trust that you, my honoured friend, will, with his blood,
inherit his exalted genius, his ardent love of science, his
kind liberality to his friends, and all the other valuable
endowments of his mind. On my part, I shall show my
gratitude to his memory by teaching and extolling the name
of Linnaeus, as the supreme prince of naturalists, even here
under the equator, where the sciences are already
flourishing, and advancing by the most rapid steps; and
where, I am disposed to believe, the muses may, perhaps, in
future ages, fix their seat. If my opinion be of any weight
as a naturalist, I must declare that I can find no name, in
the whole history of this department of knowledge, worthy to
be compared with the illustrious Swede. Of this at least I
am certain, that the merits of Newton in philosophy and
mathematics are equalled in botany, and all the principles
of natural history, by the immortal Von Linne. These great
men stand equal and unrivalled, in my judgment, as the most
faithful interpreters of Nature's works. I trust, sir, you
will not take amiss this testimony of mine in favour of your
distinguished parent; for, as you are closely allied to him
in blood, I feel myself scarcely less intimately attached,
by the particular friendship with which he was so good as to
favour me. His memory will ever be cherished by me, as that
of a beloved preceptor, and I shall value, as long as I
live, every pledge of his regard...."

With this testimony to the transcendent merits of Linnaeus we conclude the present section, regarding it as a fit introduction to that which follows, in which we shall attempt to sketch the character of this extraordinary man.