The Palace and Park by Phillips, Forbes, Latham, Owen, Scharf, and Shenton

[Born at Montbard, in France, 1707. Died in Paris, 1788. Aged 81.] This great naturalist commenced his scientific career at the age of 25, and his study at Montbard was called by Prince Henry of Prussia “the cradle of Natural History.” Shortly afterwards appointed Intendant to the _Jardin des Plantes_ at Paris, where he projected his theory of the classification of animals, and assisted by Daubenton and Lacépède, wrote the great work which has immortalized his name. He was more or less dissimilar to Linnæus in the spirit and in the detail of his undertaking. Buffon’s object is to write a natural history of each animal; that of Linnæus to express its peculiar and distinctive character in the fewest possible words. Linnæus gives classical names to the objects he describes. Buffon names his animals in French. Buffon’s style is luminous and elevated, and at times approaches the character of blank verse. He is one of the founders of ethnological science, and as a writer on ethnology gave great prominence to the history of man as an Animal. He was sensual, vain, and in religious matters hypocritical. [The original bust, which is in the Louvre, is inscribed--“By Pajou, sculpteur du Roy, professeur de son Académie de peinture et de sculpture, 1773.” Pajou died in 1809.] 245A. GEORGES LOUIS LE CLERC, COMTE DE BUFFON. _Naturalist._ [By J. Debay.]