This page has been validated.
CUVIER
29
It has been stated that "without Linnæus, there might have been a Cuvier; but without a Cuvier, neither Owen nor Darwin could have existed," so extensive was his work.
Cuvier was far in advance of the age in which he lived, an age of constant political change and disturbing influences—especially to the peaceful work of a man of science. In the words of Euripides:—
Happy the man whose lot it is to know
The secrets of the earth. He hastens not
To work his fellows' hurt by unjust deeds
But with rapt admiration contemplates
Immortal Nature's ageless harmony,
And how and when her order came to be,
Such spirits have no place for thoughts of shame.
