In continuing the enumeration of Cuvier's works, we must not omit to mention one of his earliest productions, the Leçons de l'Anatomie comparée, two volumes of which appeared in 1800,which, together with the last three published in 1805, were for a long time the sole directories of students aiming at a comprehensive acquaintance with comparative anatomy. They were compiled from his lectures delivered at that period, as professor at the Garden of Plants. In 1798, also, he wrote for the use of the central school of Paris, his Tableau Elementaire de l'Histoire Naturelle des Animaux,-the work which established his fame throughout Europe. It was not to be expected, that such extensive erudition, united to a style so popular, should be excused from aiding in the preparation of those celebrated dictionaries of science, for which France has been more remarkable than any other nation. Accordingly, we find Cuvier foremost among the contributors to the Dictionary of the Natural Sciences,-a work, commenced in 1816, and completed in 1830, in sixty volumes. He also assisted in the no less celebrated undertaking of the Dictionary of the Medical Sciences.

Without, however, enumerating all his scientific works, we may mention, in bringing this catalogue to a close, as one of his most delightful productions, a small duodecimo volume, on the distribution of the prizes founded by M. de Montyon for virtuous actions. The reader of the Memoirs of Oberlin, needs not to be informed of the character of Louisa Scheppler, or that in consequence of her having devised the system of infant schools, and of her other benevolent actions, she received in 1825, from the French Academy, the sum of five thousand francs,-the highest prize of the above foundation. From this little bijou of feeling and morality, entitled, "Discours sur la Distribution des Prix du Vertu," we feel inclined to make some quotations, but must refer our readers to Mrs. Lee's work. (p. 86 and on.)

The last public instructions of Cuvier, or the course of lectures commenced before the college of France, in 1830, upon the history and progress of the natural sciences in all ages, unfortunately for mankind, were left unedited; and our only account of them is derived from the published memoranda of some of his auditors. Such was the popularity of the course, that Mrs. Lee says, "in the coldest weather, the audience assembled an hour before the time, and some were contented to remain on the stair-case, provided they could catch some of his melodious words; and the enthusiasm with which he was received, while it endangered his personal convenience, called forth that benevolent smile, which was calculated rather to encourage than repress these marks of admiration."

The fundamental principle of the lectures was, "that society haVOL. VI.

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ving been developed by the discovery of the natural properties of bodies, each of these discoveries has a corresponding degree of civi lization; and therefore the history of this civilization, and conse quently of all humanity, is intimately connected with the history of natural sciences." In the first lecture, he divided the progress of science into three epochs; viz. the religious epoch, emanating from the Egyptians and Hebrews, the philosophical, commencing in Greece, and the epoch of the division of labor, or the scientific epoch, properly so called. He dated the commencement of the third period as late as the close of the sixteenth century, when each branch of science began to be cultivated by men who devoted their whole attention to these pursuits. He there. fore only admits the sciences to have been regularly cultivated for the space of about three centuries.

In commencing with the character of the first epoch, he was led to speak of the antiquity of human society. Here he strenuously maintained, that geology corroborates history and tradition in fixing its age :

Thus, while the traditions of all nations have preserved the remem brance of a great catastrophe, the deluge, which changed the earth's surface, and destroyed nearly the whole of the human species, geology apprises us, that of the various revolutions which have agitated our globe, the last evidently corresponds to the period which is assigned to the deluge.

We say, that by means of geological considerations alone, it is possible to determine the date of this great event with some degree of precision. There are certain formations which must have commenced im mediately after the last catastrophe, and which, from that period, have been continued up to the present day with great regularity. Such are the deposits of detritus observed at the mouths of rivers, the masses of rubbish which exist at the foot of mountains, and are formed of the fragments that fall from their summits and sides. These deposits receive a yearly increase, which it is possible to measure. Nothing is therefore more easy, than to calculate the time which it has taken them to acquire their present dimensions. This calculation has been made with reference to the débris of mountains, and in all cases has indicated a period of about four thousand years. The same result has been obtained from the other alluvial deposits. In short, whatever may have been the natural phenomenon that has been interrogated, it has always been found to give evidence in accordance with that of tradition. The traditions themselves exhibit the most astonishing conformity. The Hebrew text of Genesis, places the deluge in the year 2349 before Christ. The Indians make the fourth age of the world, that in which we now live, commence at the year 3012. The Chinese place it about the year 2384. Confucius, in fact, represents the first king Yao as occupied in drawing off the waters of the ocean, which had risen to the tops of the mountains, and in repairing the damage which they had caused.' Edinburgh New Phil. Jour. 1830.

The second lecture gave a sketch of the four great nations established at the remotest period before christianity; remarking of Moses, that, brought up in all the learning of the Egyptians, he labored to abolish their practice of veiling knowledge beneath mysterious characters, and that his cosmogony has been confirmed by every discovery of geology. The six following lectures were devoted to an account of the nations originating from the Egyptians, and the diffusion of their learning by the bards, philosophers, and schools of Greece. From the eighth to the twelfth, he was occupied with the history of Aristotle, the first cultivator of natural history. In the succeeding lecture, he reviewed the period of the Ptolemies, and having at length reached the Augustan age, he gave a glowing picture of those combats of animals, which put every quarter of the earth under contribution, and of those games which assembled the learning of the world. He next traced the progress of science during the establishment of christianity, its cultivation by the Arabs, and its preservation in the world during the dark ages. His second course before the college, began with the art of printing; after which, from the rapidity of discoveries, he was forced to treat of each science by itself, as anatomy, zoology, botany, mineralogy, and chimistry, bringing them each down to the end of the seventeenth century. The discoveries of Galileo and Descartes, from which sprang learned academies, were the subject of the eleventh lecture of this course. To these academies, also, he devoted a lecture.

The third course began with the eighteenth century. To Buf fon he gave two lectures, and one to the philosophy of Kant, Fichte, and Schelling. Here occurred a considerable interruption in these lectures, owing to the health of the lecturer, and the appearance of the cholera in Paris. But on the 8th of May, 1832, be resumed the chair with one of his most eloquent discourses, of which, as it was his last, we may be indulged for introducing a short account by Mrs. Lee:

'He opened the third and concluding part of his course of lectures, by summing up all that had been previously said. He forcibly inveighed against that heresy in natural history, which derives every thing in this vast universe from one isolated and systematic thought, and shackles the future of science with the fallacious progress of the moment: he pointed out what remained for him to say, respecting the earth and its changes, and announced his intention of unfolding his own manner of viewing the present state of creation; a sublime task, which was to lead us, independent of narrow systems, back to that supreme Intelligence, which rules, enlightens, and vivifies; which gives to every creature the especial conditions of its existence, to that Intelligence, in short, which reveals all, and which all reveals, and which contains every thing, and which every thing contains. In the last part of this discourse, there was a calmness, a clearness of perception, an

unaffected and unrestrained manifestation of the contemplative and religious observer, which greatly added to its force, and which involuntarily recalled that book which speaks of the creation of the earth and the human race. The similarity was avoided rather than sought; it was not to be found in the words, but the ideas; and at once flashed across the minds of his auditors, when the great professor declared, that each being contains in itself an infinite variety, an admirable arrangement for the purposes for which it is intended; that each being good, perfect, and capable of life, each according to its order and species, and in its individuality. In the whole of this lecture, there was an omnipresence of the omnipotent and supreme Cause; the examination of the visible world seemed to touch upon the invisible; the search into creation necessarily invoked the presence of the Creator; it seem ed as if the veil were to be torn from before us, and science was about to reveal eternal wisdom. Great, then, was the effect produced by the concluding sentences, which seemed to bear a prophetic sense, and which were the last he ever addressed to his audience. (6 These," said he," will be the objects of our future investigations, if time, health and strength are given to me, to continue and to finish them with you." Those who were versed in human destiny, seemed to feel that his sphere of action was even then placed out of this world, and that he had pronounced his farewell. So near the great and awful tribunal, what other words, what other thoughts, than those contained in this lecture, could have so plainly shown the preparation already made for his jour ney thither?' pp. 173, 174.

In the brief outline of events relative to Cuvier, given at the commencement of these articles, it was mentioned, that he filled several of the most important posts in the government. It may be expected, that something should be said of the manner in which he discharged his political duties.

He has sometimes been accused of a want of leniency to the liberals, in his administrative career, and of being too strongly at tached to existing forms. In reply to which, it is perhaps enough to say, that as Commissaire du Roi, and Counsellor of State, he sought the correction of many abuses. But his judgment, matured in early life by a perfect familiarity with history, and his thorough acquaintance with the volatility of his countrymen, led him to fear anarchy, as the consequence of sudden changes of forms and constitutions. He rather sought amelioration through calm discussion, and the most thorough researches into the reasons of its necessity. He was, therefore, an enemy to all revolutions, but an advocate of constant improvement. In the discharge of his office as President of the Comité de l'Interieur,

The number of affairs which passed through his hands, in this of fice alone, is almost frightful to the imagination: I ought not, perhaps, to say passed through, but that they were examined, deeply considered, and forwarded by him. I should speak much within the limits of the

truth, if I were to state them at ten thousand every year. His art of properly distributing the work among his colleagues; his talent in directing discussion; his unfailing and prodigious memory, supplying antecedent decisions at the desired moment; his profound knowledge of the principles which ought to regulate each affair; the best method of applying these principles at the best opportunity ;-these qualities all rendered his presidency the most remarkable of the present age, and have indelibly impressed it on the recollection of all who had the advantage of laboring with him. To see him at one of these meetings, was, perhaps, to see him in his greatest perfection as a legislator. Rarely eager to give his advice, he even appeared to be thinking of subjects wholly irrelevant to the matter in discussion; but he was often at that very moment writing the judgment or regulation which must necessarily follow the deliberation. His turn to speak only came when all others had stated their reasons, when useless words were expended. Then a new light burst upon the whole; facts assumed their proper position, confused and mingled ideas were arranged in order, the inevitable consequences appeared, and when he ceased to speak, the discussion was terminated.

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His projects were often too much modified before they were executed; for the Jesuits, as a matter of course, were his formidable enemies. Not contented with issuing ordonnances from the department of the interior, he composed a great many memoirs to accompany them, which exposed their motives, and formed so many precious commentaries, as they explained with the greatest perspicuity the reason of every article. He thought it as useful to spread every where the reason of the laws, as to disseminate the laws themselves; thinking that the latter are often attacked and mistaken by the public, for want of a proper comprehension of the motives which caused them to be framed." 132, 128.

pp.

Even the minor schools were the objects of his zealous care. Hear the declaration of M. Reynal, Rector of the Academy of Bourges, on the distribution of prizes in the Protestant school at Arnières, after the death of Cuvier :

'Recollect this name, (Cuvier's) and mention it every day in the prayers that you address to heaven. He has often written to me, "Do Dot, Monsieur le Recteur, lose sight of our school at Arnières les Bourges. I recommend the scholars of it to you as my brothers, as my best friends. Instill into them submission to their parents, respect for the property of others, candor and justice. These are the virtues and duties of all religions. Let benevolence and affection reign between them and the children who inhabit the same village, and who, like them, live by their labors in the fields. God loves and protects them all with equal goodness; with the same hand he blesses the sweat of their brow and their harvests; let them, therefore, behave towards each other like children of the same father."

Always guided by the feeling of the good he could effect, and the evil he might prevent, under every change of ministry, M. Cuvier was to be found, not only defending the institutions which were in danger