Lamarck, the Founder of Evolution Part 4

But man cannot live by scientific researches and philosophic meditations alone. The history of Lamarck's life is painful from beginning to end.

With his large family and slender salary he was never free from carking cares and want. On the 30 fructidor, an II. of the Republic, the National Convention voted the sum of 300,000 livres, with which an indemnity was to be paid to citizens eminent in literature and art.

Lamarck had sacrificed much time and doubtless some money in the preparation and publication of his works, and he felt that he had a just claim to be placed on the list of those who had been useful to the Republic, and at the same time could give proof of their good citizens.h.i.+p, and of their right to receive such indemnity or appropriation.

Accordingly, in 1795 he sent in a letter, which possesses much autobiographical interest, to the Committee of Public Instruction, in which he says:

"During the twenty-six years that he has lived in Paris the citizen Lamarck has unceasingly devoted himself to the study of natural history, and particularly botany. He has done it successfully, for it is fifteen years since he published under the t.i.tle of _Flore Francaise_ the history and description of the plants of France, with the mention of their properties and of their usefulness in the arts; a work printed at the expense of the government, well received by the public, and which now is much sought after and very rare." He then describes his second great botanical undertaking, the _Encyclopaedia and Ill.u.s.tration of Genera_, with nine hundred plates.

He states that for ten years past he has kept busy "a great number of Parisian artists, three printing presses for different works, besides delivering a course of lectures."

The pet.i.tion was granted. At about this period a pension of twelve hundred francs from the Academy of Sciences, and which had increased to three thousand francs, had ceased eighteen months previously to be paid to him. But at the time (an II.) Lamarck was "charge de sept enfans,"

and this appropriation was a most welcome addition to his small salary.

The next year (an III.) he again applied for a similar allowance from the funds providing an indemnity for men of letters and artists "whose talents are useful to the Republic." Again referring to the _Flore Francaise_, and his desire to prepare a second edition of it, and his other works and travels in the interest of botanical science, he says:

"If I had been less overburdened by needs of all kinds for some years, and especially since the suppression of my pension from the aforesaid Academy of Sciences, I should prepare the second edition of this useful work; and this would be, without doubt, indeed, the opportunity of making a new present to my country.

"Since my return to France I have worked on the completion of my great botanical enterprises, and indeed for about ten years past my works have obliged me to keep in constant activity a great number of artists, such as draughtsmen, engravers, and printers. But these important works that I have begun, and have in a well-advanced state, have been in spite of all my efforts suspended and practically abandoned for the last ten years. The loss of my pension from the Academy of Sciences and the enormous increase in the price of articles of subsistence have placed me, with my numerous family, in a state of distress which leaves me neither the time nor the freedom from care to cultivate science in a fruitful way."

Lamarck's collection of sh.e.l.ls, the acc.u.mulation of nearly thirty years,[38] was purchased by the government at the price of five thousand livres. This sum was used by him to balance the price of a national estate for which he had contracted by virtue of the law of 28 ventose de l'an IV.[39] This little estate, which was the old domain of Beauregard, was a modest farm-house or country-house at Hericourt-Saint-Samson, in the Department of Seine-et-Oise, not far to the northward of Beauvais, and about fifty miles from Paris. It is probable that as a proprietor of a landed property he pa.s.sed the summer season, or a part of it, on this estate.

This request was, we may believe, made from no unworthy or mercenary motive, but because he thought that such an indemnity was his due. Some years after (in 1809) the chair of zoology, newly formed by the Faculte des Sciences in Paris, was offered to him. Desirable as the salary would have been in his straitened circ.u.mstances, he modestly refused the offer, because he felt unable at that time of life (he was, however, but sixty-five years of age) to make the studies required worthily to occupy the position.

One of Lamarck's projects, which he was never able to carry out, for it was even then quite beyond the powers of any man single-handed to undertake, was his _Systeme de la Nature_. We will let him describe it in his own words, especially since the account is somewhat autobiographical. It is the second memoir he addressed to the Committee of Public Instruction of the National Convention, dated 4 vendemiaire, l'an III. (1795):

"In my first memoir I have given you an account of the works which I have published and of those which I have undertaken to contribute to the progress of natural history; also of the travels and researches which I have made.

"But for a long time I have had in view a very important work--perhaps better adapted for education in France than those I have already composed or undertaken--a work, in short, which the National Convention should without doubt order, and of which no part could be written so advantageously as in Paris, where are to be found abundant means for carrying it to completion.

"This is a _Systeme de la Nature_, a work a.n.a.logous to the _Systema naturae_ of Linnaeus, but written in French, and presenting the picture complete, concise, and methodical, of all the natural productions observed up to this day. This important work (of Linnaeus), which the young Frenchmen who intend to devote themselves to the study of natural history always require, is the object of speculations by foreign authors, and has already pa.s.sed through thirteen different editions. Moreover, their works, which, to our shame, we have to use, because we have none written expressly for us, are filled (especially the last edition edited by Gmelin) with gross mistakes, omissions of double and triple occurrence, and errors in synonymy, and present many generic characters which are inexact or imperceptible and many series badly divided, or genera too numerous in species, and difficulties insurmountable to students.

"If the Committee of Public Instruction had the time to devote any attention to the importance of my project, to the utility of publis.h.i.+ng such a work, and perhaps to the duty prescribed by the national honor, I would say to it that, after having for a long time reflected and meditated and determined upon the most feasible plan, finally after having seen ama.s.sed and prepared the most essential materials, I offer to put this beautiful project into execution. I have not lost sight of the difficulties of this great enterprise. I am, I believe, as well aware of them, and better, than any one else; but I feel that I can overcome them without descending to a simple and dishonorable compilation of what foreigners have written on the subject. I have some strength left to sacrifice for the common advantage; I have had some experience and practice in writing works of this kind; my herbarium is one of the richest in existence; my numerous collection of sh.e.l.ls is almost the only one in France the specimens of which are determined and named according to the method adopted by modern naturalists--finally, I am in a position to profit by all the aid which is to be found in the National Museum of Natural History. With these means brought together, I can then hope to prepare in a suitable manner this interesting work.

"I had at first thought that the work should be executed by a society of naturalists; but after having given this idea much thought, and having already the example of the new encyclopaedia, I am convinced that in such a case the work would be very defective in arrangement, without unity or plan, without any harmony of principles, and that its composition might be interminable.

"Written with the greatest possible conciseness, this work could not be comprised in less than eight volumes in 8vo, namely: One volume for the quadrupeds and birds; one volume for the reptiles and fishes; two volumes for the insects; one volume for the worms (the molluscs, madrepores, lithophytes, and naked worms); two volumes for the plants; one volume for the minerals: eight volumes in all.

"It is impossible to prepare in France a work of this nature without having special aid from the nation, because the expense of printing (on account of the enormous quant.i.ty of citations and figures which it would contain) would be such that any arrangement with the printer or the manager of the edition could not remunerate the author for writing such an immense work.

"If the nation should wish to print the work at its own expense, and then give to the author the profits of the sale of this edition, the author would be very much pleased, and would doubtless not expect any further aid. But it would cost the nation a great deal, and I believe that this useful project could be carried through with greater economy.

"Indeed, if the nation will give me twenty thousand francs, in a single payment, I will take the whole responsibility, and I agree, if I live, that before the expiration of seven years the _Systeme de la Nature_ in French, with the complemental addition, the corrections, and the convenient explanations, shall be at the disposition of all those who love or study natural history."

FOOTNOTES:

[32] Most men of science of the Revolution, like Monge and others, were advanced republicans, and the Chevalier Lamarck, though of n.o.ble birth, was perhaps not without sympathy with the ideas which led to the establishment of the republic. It is possible that in his walks and intercourse with Rousseau he may have been inspired with the new notions of liberty and equality first promulgated by that philosopher.

His studies and meditations were probably not interrupted by the events of the Terror. Stevens, in his history of the French Revolution, tells us that Paris was never gayer than in the summer of 1793, and that during the Reign of Terror the restaurants, _cafes_, and theatres were always full. There were never more theatres open at the same period than then, though no single great play or opera was produced. Meanwhile the great painter David at this time built up a school of art and made that city a centre for art students. Indeed the Revolution was "a grand time for enthusiastic young men," while people in general lived their ordinary lives. There is little doubt, then, that the savants, except the few who were occupied by their duties as members of the _Convention Nationale_, worked away quietly at their specialties, each in his own study or laboratory or lecture-room.

[33] Bern. Germ. etienne, Comte de Lacepede, born in 1756, died in 1825, was elected professor of the zoology of "quadrupedes ovipares, reptiles, et poissons," January 12, 1795 (Records of the Museum). He was the author of works on amphibia, reptiles, and mammals, forming continuations of Buffon's _Histoire Naturelle_. He also published _Histoire Naturelle des Poissons_ (1798-1803), _Histoire des Cetaces_ (1804), and _Histoire Naturelle de l'Homme_ (1827), _Les Ages de la Nature et Histoire de l'Espece Humaine_, tome 2, 1830.

[34] Perrier, _l. c._, p. 14.

[35] _Fragments Biographiques_, p. 214.

[36] _Fragments Biographiques_, p. 213.

[37] A few years ago, when we formed the plan of writing his life, we wrote to friends in Paris for information as to the exact house in which Lamarck lived, and received the answer that it was unknown; another proof of the neglect and forgetfulness that had followed Lamarck so many years after his death, and which was even manifested before he died.

Afterwards Professor Giard kindly wrote that by reference to the _proces verbaux_ of the a.s.sembly, it had been found by Professor Hamy that he had lived in the house of Buffon.

The house is situated at the corner of Rue de Buffon and Rue Geoffroy St. Hilaire. The courtyard facing Rue Geoffroy St. Hilaire bears the number 2 Rue de Buffon, and is in the angle between the Galerie de Zoologie and the Bibliotheque. The edifice is a large four-storied one.

Lamarck occupied the second _etage_, what we should call the third story; it was first occupied by Buffon. His bedroom, where he died, was on the _premier etage_. It was tenanted by De Quatref.a.ges in his time, and is at present occupied by Professor G. T. Hamy; Professor L.

Vaillant living in the first _etage_, or second story, and Dr. J.

Deniker, the _bibliothecaire_ and learned anthropologist, in the third.

The second _etage_ was, about fifty years ago (1840-50), renovated for the use of Fremy the chemist, so that the exact room occupied by Lamarck as a study cannot be identified.

This ancient house was originally called _La Croix de Fer_, and was built about two centuries before the foundation of the Jardin du Roi. It appears from an inspection of the notes on the t.i.tles and copies of the original deeds, preserved in the Archives, and kindly shown me by Professor G. T. Hamy, the Archivist of the Museum, that this house was erected in 1468, the deed being dated _1xbre_, 1468. The house is referred to as _maison ditte La Croix de Fer_ in deeds of 1684, 1755, and 1768. It was sold by Charles Roger to M. le Compte de Buffon, March 23, 1771. One of the old gardens overlooked by it was called _de Jardin de la Croix_. It was originally the first structure erected on the south side of the Jardin du Roi.

[38] In the "avertiss.e.m.e.nt" to his _Systeme des Animaux sans Vertebres_ (1801), after stating that he had at his disposition the magnificent collection of invertebrate animals of the museum, he refers to his private collection as follows: "Et une autre a.s.sez riche que j'ai formee moi-meme par pres de trente annees de recherches," p. vii. Afterwards he formed another collection of sh.e.l.ls named according to his system, and containing a part of the types described in his _Histoire Naturelle des Animaux sans Vertebres_ and in his minor articles. This collection the government did not acquire, and it is now in the museum at Geneva. The Paris museum, however, possesses a good many of the Lamarckian types, which are on exhibition (Perrier, _l. c._, p. 20).

[39] _Lettre du Ministre des Finances (de Ramel) au Ministre de l'Interieur_ (13 pr. an V.). See Perrier, _l. c._, p. 20.

CHAPTER V

LAST DAYS AND DEATH

Lamarck's life was saddened and embittered by the loss of four wives, and the pangs of losing three of his children;[40] also by the rigid economy he had to practise and the unending poverty of his whole existence. A very heavy blow to him and to science was the loss, at an advanced age, of his eyesight.

It was, apparently, not a sudden attack of blindness, for we have hints that at times he had to call in Latreille and others to aid him in the study of the insects. The continuous use of the magnifying lens and the microscope, probably, was the cause of enfeebled eyesight, resulting in complete loss of vision. Duval[41] states that he pa.s.sed the last ten years of his life in darkness; that his loss of sight gradually came on until he became completely blind.

In the reports of the meetings of the Board of Professors there is but one reference to his blindness. Previous to this we find that, at his last appearance at these sessions--_i.e._, April 19, 1825--since his condition did not permit him to give his course of lectures, he had asked M. Latreille to fill his place; but such was the latter's health, he proposed that M. Audouin, sub-librarian of the French Inst.i.tute, should lecture in his stead, on the invertebrate animals. This was agreed to.

The next reference, and the only explicit one, is that in the records for May 23, 1826, as follows: "Vu la cecite dont M. de Lamarck est frappe, M. Bosc[42] continuera d'exercer sur les parties confiert a M. Audouin la surveillance attribuee au Professeur."

But, according to Duval, long before this he had been unable to use his eyes. In his _Systeme a.n.a.lytique des Connaissances positives de l'Homme_, published in 1820, he refers to the sudden loss of his eyesight.

Even in advanced life Lamarck seems not to have suffered from ill-health, despite the fact that he apparently during the last thirty years of his life lived in a very secluded way. Whether he went out into the world, to the theatre, or even went away from Paris and the Museum into the country in his later years, is a matter of doubt. It is said that he was fond of novels, his daughters reading to him those of the best French authors. After looking with some care through the records of the sessions of the a.s.sembly of Professors, we are struck with the evidences of his devotion to routine museum work and to his courses of lectures.

At that time the Museum sent out to the _ecoles centrales_ of the different departments of France named collections made up from the duplicates, and in this sort of drudgery Lamarck took an active part. He also took a prominent share in the business of the Museum, in the exchange and in the purchase of specimens and collections in his department, and even in the management of the menagerie. Thus he reported on the dent.i.tion of the young lions (one dying from teething), on the illness and recovery of one of the elephants, on the generations of goats and kids in the park; also on a small-sized bull born of a small cow covered by a Scottish bull, the young animal having, as he states, all the characters of the original.

For one year (1794) he was secretary of the Board of Professors of the Museum.[43] The records of the meetings from 4 vendemiaire, l'an III., until 4 vendemiaire, l'an IV., are each written in his bold, legible handwriting or signed by him. He signed his name _Lamarck_, this period being that of the first republic. Afterwards, in the records, his name is written _De Lamarck_. He was succeeded by e. Geoffroy St. Hilaire, who signed himself plain _Geoffroy_.

In 1802 he acted as treasurer of the a.s.sembly, and again for a period of six years, until and including 1811, when he resigned, the reason given being: "Il s'occupe depuis six ans et que ses travaux et son age lui rendent penibles."

Lamarck was extremely regular in his attendance at these meetings. From 1793 until 1818 he rarely, if ever, missed a meeting. We have only observed in the records of this long period the absence of his name on two or three occasions from the list of those present. During 1818 and the following year it was his blindness which probably prevented his regular attendance. July 15, 1818, he was present, and presented the fifth volume of his _Animaux sans Vertebres_; and August 31, 1819, he was present[44] and laid before the a.s.sembly the sixth volume of the same great work.