Proceedings of the Linnean Society of London - University Library

22 PROCEEDINGS OF THE
has naturally been coucerned with the marine organisms, of which
he gathered such ricli harvests, and more especially with the
Tunicata.
This year the Linnean Medal has been awarded by the Council
to a distinguished Zoologist and Comparative Anatomist, who is
one of ourselves—Dr. Albert Griinther. I must not anticipate
what I shall have to say when the moment of presentation arrives.
I would only remind you that his scientific labours have extended
over half a century, and that some memorial of them is to be
found in the Eoyal Society's Catalogue of Scientific Papers, where
already as many as 240 contributions from his pen are enumerated,
and on the slielves of the Zoological Department of the British
Museum, where stand the great collections that he arranged and
catalogued during many years of strenuous service. If the
Eoyal Society has been impelled to express its recognition of
Dr. Giintber's scientific eminence in the concrete form of a Royal
Medal, there are still more cogent reasons why the Linnean Society
should confer upon him its highest honour.
I fear that I may have been somewhat remiss in the discharge
of my duties at previous Anniversaries, in failing to remind the
Society that the occasion of our meeting on this day is the commemoration
of the birthday of the celebrated Linnaeus. It would
ill become a President of this Society to allow his term of office to
pass by without any mention of the man who, though not indeed
our founder, may be regarded as our patron saint ; and least of all
would such an omission be pardonable in me who am a successor
of Dillenius. Seeing how much has been written about liinuseus,
how fully his life and his work have been discussed from every
point of view and at so many diiferent epochs, it may well be
doubted whether anything worth saying still remains to be said.
But I am inclined to think that perhaps just because he has been
the subject of so much discussion, it is worth while to clarify, from
time to time, our somewhat confused conception of him, and to
reassure ourselves of the grounds upon which we continue to
venerate his memory.
It is a common misfortune of great men to suifer from the
injudicious praise of over-enthusiastic admirers, which often
attributes or exaggerates qualities or attainments without sufficient
reason, whilst overlooking those which are the real source of
greatness. In this respect, I venture to think, few have suffered
more than Linnaeus. Lest I fall into the same error, I propose to
place myself altogether on the other side, taking up, for the
moment, the position of advocatus diaboU, so that my object will
be to prove rather what Linnaeus was not than what he was.
Some of the points in the case can be almost summarily dealt
with. For instance, it may be admitted, with, I believe, perfect
equanimity, that Linnaeus was not a great Anatomist as regards
either animals or plants ; in fact I do not know of any botanical
work of his that is definitely anatomical in character, unless.