Lachesis Lapponica; Or, A Tour in Lapland, Volume 1Linné, Carl von
History
Lachesis Lapponica; Or, A Tour in Lapland, Volume 1
Linné, Carl von
Lapland -- Description and travel; Natural history -- Lapland
To render the translation fit for the public view, the editor found
himself under the necessity of writing the whole over; but in doing
this, though often obliged to supply the forms of whole sentences, of
which only hints or cyphers exist in the manuscript, he has been careful
to give as literal a translation of the rest as the materials would
allow. This principle ever kept in view, and the difficulty of the
undertaking, which, small as the book is, has taken up much of his time
for seven years past, must apologize for any inelegancies of
composition. Yet in many parts the original displays a natural and
striking eloquence, of which the translation may possibly fall short.
Such passages, when they occurred, repaid the labour and perplexity of
studying for hours to decypher some obscure mark, or some ill-written
Swedish or Latin word, which the original translator had given up in
despair.
The sketches with a pen, that occur plentifully in the manuscript, are
not the least curious part of the whole. They are often necessary to
explain descriptive passages in the work, and about sixty of them have
been selected to illustrate the book. These have been cut in wood, with
such admirable precision, that every stroke of the pen, even the most
casual, is retained, and it is but justice to the artist, Mr. R. T.
Austin, to record his name. Several plants, but rudely sketched in this
manuscript, being more completely represented in the _Flora Lapponica_,
it was thought unnecessary to publish such figures, except a few, for
the sake of curiosity, or of particular illustration.
The notes are entirely supplied by the editor. Every name or remark that
he has added to the text, is scrupulously inserted between crotchets;
nor is there, throughout the whole, any one passage or word of the
original author's so inclosed.
The "Brief Narrative," subjoined to the Journal, having been drawn up by
Linnæus himself, to lay before the Academy of Sciences at Upsal, could
not with propriety be omitted. Part of it throws great light on the body
of the work; and though there are some repetitions, there is little that
can be thought superfluous.
* * * * *
_Norwich_, April, 1811.
JOURNEY TO LAPLAND.
Having been appointed by the Royal Academy of Sciences to travel through
Lapland, for the purpose of investigating the three kingdoms of Nature
in that country, I prepared my wearing apparel and other necessaries for
the journey as follows.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account