dorus Siculas, and Strabo, have given of these ever famous places, with that which he made himself. In this manner he fhewed the connection of ancient literature with natural hiftory, as Citizen Millin has done in his Mi neralogy of Homer. We find in the Voyages of Spallanzani a new volcanology; he therein teaches the way to measure the intenfity of the fire of volcanoes, to glance at the causes, to touch almoft, in the analyfis which he makes of the lava, that particular gas which refembling a powerful lever, tears from the bowels of the earth, and raises up to the top of Etna, thofe torrents of ftone in fufion which it difgorges; to furvey the nature of thofe pumiceftones, which he has fince explained in his artificial pumice ftones. But bere let me flop. I wish to fpeak of the fires of Barigazzo and of various other places, fome of which burnt ftill unknown, but of which the caufe is afcertained by the carbonic hydrogene gas which enflames it. Let us not forget to mention, that he knew how to render thefe fires useful in the making of lime. He was greatly furprized when I informed him, fome years after the publication of his work, that Kampfer in his Amenitates exotice, defcribed the fame fires, that he had feen at Beku in Perfia, and that they employed them in the fame manner. Spallanzani concludes this charming work, with fome interesting inquiries into the nature of fwallows, their mild difpofitions, rapid flight, fuggefting that an advantage might be drawn from them in the way of aerial poft: their migrations determined by the temperature of the air, and the birth of infects it occafions: in fhort, he difcuffes the famous problem of their remaining benumbed during winter; and proves, that artificial cold, much greater than that ever naturally felt in our climates, does not render thefe birds lethargic. He next speaks of a fpecies of owl, hitherto very ill de-" fcribed; and laftly, of eels and their generation, which is a problem ftil in fome measure to be folved; but he carries it on by his inquiries to that ftep which alone remains to be made for obtaining a complete folution; or to get over it eafily by a small number of obfervations in thofe times and places pointed out, but which the academical occupations of Spallanzani forced him to give up to others. Spallanzani followed the progrefs of the French chemiftry with much fatisfaction, nor was he long before he adopted it; it was calculated for a juft conception like his, delighting to give an account of every phenomenon he observed. The folidity of principles in this new doctrine, the precifion in its way of proceeding, the elegance of its interpretation, the generality of its confequences, prefently replaced in his mind the hefitations and the obfcurities of the ancient chemistry; and his heart anticipated with pleasure the triumphs that it was about to obtain. I cannot but call to mind that, when Gottling had published his Experiments upon the Combustion of Phosphorus in Azote, I wrote the refults of them to Spallanzani, and my doubts upon their truth; he was at firft furprized; but, as his favourite ideas had been attacked, he was defirous of putting to the proof, the temper of the darts, aimed at them; he therefore publifhed in the 5th year of the Republic, his Chemico efame degli efperimente del Signore Gottling, profeffore a lena, where he refuted the conclufions of this chemift, by wholly over-turning the facts which had given rife to them. In 1791, Spallanzani published a letter addreffed to profeffor Fortis, upon the Pennet Hydrofcope; he there relates the experiments which he had directed to be made for afcer. taining the degree of confidence which might be allowed to the fingu lar talents of this man; but he inge nuously confeffes, that he is not decided upon the reality of the pheno menon. Spallanzani has often difcovered that which might have been deemed impoffible. In the 2d year of the Republic he made a difcovery of this mature, which he published in his Lettere fopra il fofpetto d'un nuovo fenfo nei Pipistrelli; we therein learn that the bats, if blinded, act in every respect with the fame precifion as those which have their eyes; that they in the fame manner avoid the moft trifling obftacles, and that they know where to fix themfelves on ceafing their flight. These extraordinary experiments were confirmed by feveral natural philofophers, and gave occafion to fufpect a new fenfe in thefe birds, because Spallanzani thought he had evinced by the way of exclufion, that the other fenfes could not fupply the deficiency of that fight which he had deprived them of; but I know that the anatomical details of profeffor Jurine, upon the organ of hearing in this fingular bird, made him incline afterwards towards the idea, that the fenfe of hearing might in this cafe fupply that of fight, as in all thofe where the bats are in the dark. Spallanzani concluded his literary career for the public, by a letter addreffed to the celebrated Giobert; Sopra la piante chiuse ne vafi dentro l'aqua e l'aria, efpofte a l'immediata lume folare e a l'ombra. It is a misfortune for this part of the fcience, that his death has deprived us of the discoveries he was about to make in it. Thefe numerous works, printed and applauded, did not however contain all the feries of Spallanzani's labours. He had been occupied a confiderable time upon the phenomena of refpiration; their refemblances and differences in a great number of species of animals; and he was bufily employed in reducing to order his re fearches upon this fubject, which will aftonish by the multitude of unforefeen and unexpected facts. He has left a precious collection of experiments and new obfervations upon animal reproductions, upon fponges, the nature of which he determines, and upon a thousand interesting phenomena which he knew how to draw out of obfcurity. He had almost finished his Voyage to Conftantinople, and had amaffed confiderable materials for a History of the Sea. This univerfal man faw nothing, heard nothing, uselessly; and his thought, as rapid as his fenfations, and as juft as his perceptions were faithful, penetrated in an inftant every thing which could produce it. What idea fhall we at prefent form of this philofophic naturalift? There are men for whom the unanimous judgment of their cotemporaries becomes that of pofterity; the print of genius engraved upon their thoughts, is a feal of immortality, which ftrikes all eyes, which defies envy, and which will be remarked in every age. If we judge Spallanzani by the number of his works and the variety of their objects, fomething immenfe arifes in the mind. A man who should be merely erudite, might compile volumes upon volumes without hav ing had one original thought; but a naturalift who would paint nature after herself, and difcover her fecrets, walk in the midft of darkness which his genius alone can enlighten, is forced to feek his road, to follow, it by the compafs, to clear it, and thereby force the day-light into it. He ftands alone against a host of obflacles renewing themselves, and confpiring to deceive him; he would be always wandering round about truth, if his mind were not exercised by much study, fupported by the ima gination, and directed by judgment. If we would judge Spallanzani by the objects which have occupied him, that would be the most important, and and at the fame time the most difficult way; the generation of animals and of plants, the circulation of the blood, the digeftion, the respiration; the fpermatic animalculæ, thofe of infufions; mineralogy, volcanoes, combution, the defcription of many unknown animals, fhoals of cruftaceous and teftaceous fishes; the folution of feveral physical and chemical problems, all defiderata till his time. A man may in the courfe of fome years form a hiftory of any particular object without poffefling very diftinguished talents; but to treat on fo many obfcure fubjects in an original manner, to tear off fo many veils, to discover fo many truths, is to announce an extraordinary energy, and the employment of means which are by no means common. Great men produce fuch numerous and fine works, becaufe all their hours are marked by great ideas, and because all their thoughts are emiffions of light which throw a brightness over every part of the objects they contemplate, and because all their thoughts are rays which penetrate them. If we pronounce on Spallanzani by his method; it is uniformly the moft ingenious, the most easy, and the most fcrutinizing; he never leaves any doubt, he cannot be contented under any; and he always fhews as much in the nature, and in the folidity of his explanations. His difco. veries have defied the fagacity of the keenelt obfervers, and the perfpicacity of the most envious. It is in the whole of his labours, that his vaft conceptions are to be understood, they are always the happy expofition of a grand idea, which attaches itfelf to the great principles of natural history; and, as he takes great pains to remark this precife union, one would imagine he poffeffed the plan of the univerfe. In short, if we decide on Spallanzani by his ftyle, which is a charac teriftic trait of genius, when it is pure, clear, polished, and melodious; we know that the countrymen of this naturalift place his works by the fide of thofe which are the best writ ten. But I ought to stop here, it was my wish to make known the merits of this rare man, by recounting that which he has done, and in fumming up the judgment of all those who read him, or who have had an opportunity of knowing him. Such is that of Haller*, Trembley, Bonnet; it has been repeated by the illuftrious profeffors of Pavia, by all the celebrated men of Italy and of Europe, with whom he was in corref pondence. France, Germany, England, all were eager to avail themfelves of his works by means of tranflations. He was admitted into the academies and learned focieties of London, Stockholm, Gottingen, Holland, Lyons, Bologna, Turin, Padua, Mantua, and Geneva. He was a correfpondent of the academy of fciences of Paris and of Montpelier: and received from the great Frederic himfelf the diploma of member of the academy of Berlin, holding even often a direct correfpondence with him. It is two years fince C. Salicetti, commifery of the Directory of the Republic to the army of Italy, offered him a chair of natural hiftory at Paris, which he refufed on account of his advanced age. The laft year, the college of medicine at Madrid received him as one of its body. The flature of Spallanzani was tall rather than fhort; he had a high forehead, lively and dark eyes, a brown complexion, a robust frame, and had never felt during the whole of his life but one fit of a fever, and that he caught in coming out of the mines * Haller dedicated to him the 4th volume of the last edition of his grand Phyfiology," Lazaro Spallanzani, fummo nature in minimis in indagatori, ob ejus in veri fuibus extendendis merita, D. Hallerus." mines of Schemnitz, in very cold weather. In the 3d year of the Re. public, he was attacked with a flight retention of urine, and fome fymptoms of the gout, which however did not in the leaft fufpend his ftudies. Spallanzani customarily worked every day, following a methodical order which he had prescribed himfelf: he then preferred retired fituations: but he loved hunting and fishing, in which sports he was very expert; he played well at ballon and at chefs; his converfation was always filled with energetic expreffions, with original ideas and happy refer ences. mask which covers them in the world. He was adored by his relations, whofe delight he always was; he never quitted them but with regret, and he ever returned to them with eagerness. He had inspired them with fimilar taftes to his own; his brother Nicolas, a doctor of laws, affifted him when he returned to Pavia. His fifter is a distinguished naturalift, fhe is perfectly acquainted with her brother's cabinet of natural hiftory, and knows the properties of each piece it contains, being moreover able to reafon upon them. Her mind is modelled upon that of this great man, whom it was a pleasure to her to study and imitate, Spallanzani carefully directed the education of his nephews, and he has had the pleasure to fee the eldest, an honorary profeflor of medicine at Padua. On the 15th Pluviofe (Feb. 4.) 1799, Spallanzani had fresh attacks of a retention of urine, the fame night was unquiet, and in the morning he loft all powers of reafon, which he A strong and rich memory enabled him to embrace and retain in an inftant, all that was known upon the fubjects which occupied him; an infallible judgment kept out every thing like confufion; his ardour for acquiring the fciences equalled his patience for entering profoundly into them. His extenfive and enterpriz ing view inftantly mastered the matzer he treated, but he was circum-never-recovered but during very short fpect even to timidity in forming his opinion; he was never long in feiz ing the whole of a question, and in the twinkling of an eye diftinguifhed all its parts with their relations, pointing out with equal promptitude that which should neceffarily connect the others; pafionately fond of truth, he was unwearied in his purfuit of it, and fpoke it unceasingly. It feems as if nature inspires thofe who know her, with her character of fimplicity and grandeur, nearly the most ftriking trait of moral perfection. Spallanzani was univerfally ef teemed; his virtues, without any aufterity, were difplayed on all occaSons: he knew how to make facrifices to friendship; and, in particular, rendered himself amiable to his family: it is there, however, that the man is feen in the utmost dishabille, and where his defects put off the intervals. His intimate friends, citizen Tourdes, a French physician, and the celebrated profeffor Scarpa, did every thing which could be expected from genius, experience, and friendship, to fave him; but he died the 17th, after having edified thofe around him by his piety. This lamentable event overwhelmed all his family in forrow, occafioned the tears to flow from all his friends, filled his difciples with a deep affliction, and excited the regret of a nation proud of having given him birth. The 25th, his colleague, the profeffor Gregorio Fontano, made an eloquent motion in the council of juniors at Milan, for erecting a monument to the memory of his departed friend, to be placed by the fide of thofe of Frifi, Beccaria, and Verri, who had given luftre to the Cifalpine Republic. SCHEDULE |