even tolerate playful satire, however disguised by wit; his earnest desire was to make all happy around him, even by a sacrifice of his own convenience; and his resignation was great, under calamities which bereaved him of the dearest objects of his affection; all these things appear to establish his character as a Christian.” The character of Cuvier was hardly equal to this panegyric, for he held his own boldly enough, and faced his enemies with no feeble humility; moreover, the details of his everyday life prove that he was sufficiently exacting, and that everything had to give way to his will. Nevertheless, it is true that that will was to advance knowledge in the right direction, and that it was stimulated by an earnest desire for truth. Men like Cuvier are very apt to be misunderstood by their most intimate friends. When studying the collections of animals, and when comparing the forms of ancient and modern life, Cuvier mentally recognized a divine wisdom and the work of the God he worshipped. That was his worship, and he probably cared all the less for the oratory of the pulpit, which he was expected to listen to. He was not a constant attendant at his church, and this seems even to have afflicted his daughter when on her death-bed, according to some reports. But in all probability she knew her father’s worth and real religion, better than outside friends and detractors, and prayed that he might receive that support which alone could enable him to bear the heaviest of sorrows with resignation. Judging the man by his fruit and life, it must be admitted that Cuvier was one of the greatest students and teachers of nature that have lived, his work, being true, lasts; moreover, there is no doubt that he had but few failings, and a great amount of wisdom and virtue. Certainly he was a staunch friend to religious education, and if one could have known his heart, it is very possible that his apparent ambition and desire of social greatness and position may have been influenced by the knowledge that influence and dignity would further his work both as an anatomist and zoologist, and as a responsible promoter of education. The lives of these heroes have been mainly taken from the life of John Ray in the Ray Society’s publications, and from an excellent little book, by an anonymous author, called “Cuvier and Zoology,” and from the “Mémoires de L’Académie des Sciences.” [Illustration] [Illustration] CHAPTER IX. HEROES OF GEOLOGY. The rise of the science which treats of the ancient history of the earth—Students of the present changes, which are the examples by which the past may be comprehended—The Greeks—The life of Pythagoras; a notice of the geology of Aristoteles—Strabo’s life—The nature of fossils and the life of Steno.