Lives of Eminent Zoologists, from Aristotle to Linnæus: with Introductory remarks on the Study of Natural History — Aristotle — John Shaqi
Lives of Eminent Zoologists, from Aristotle to Linnæus: with Introductory remarks on the Study of Natural History
Aristotle · en
The first of his pupils that embraced the opportunity presented by the
Swedish East India Company, was a young man named TERNSTROEM, who in
1745 embarked for China. He died, however, at Pulicandor, before
reaching the place of which he had intended to describe the productions,
and thereby to secure for himself a scientific immortality.
In the summer of 1749, FREDERICK HASSELQUIST, another of his students,
was induced by his representations to undertake a voyage to Smyrna, for
the purpose of examining the natural treasures of Palestine. Private
contributions were made to defray the expense of his journey, and a free
passage was given in an East Indiaman. Next year he continued his course
to Egypt, where he remained nine months, surveying the pyramids and
other remarkable objects, and collecting all the information that he
could obtain respecting minerals, plants, and animals. He communicated
the result of his labours to his friends at home, and was admitted a
member of the Royal Society of Upsal, and of the Stockholm Academy of
Sciences. In March 1751, he left Cairo, and taking the route of Jaffa,
travelled with a caravan of pilgrims to Jerusalem, where he remained
some time. He then visited the river Jordan, Mount Tabor, Jericho,
Bethlehem, Tyre, and Sidon, and embarked for Smyrna, where he arrived
with a great variety of specimens illustrative of natural history, as
also with a valuable selection of Arabic manuscripts, coins, and
mummies. He was preparing to return to his native country, to enjoy the
fruit of his toils, when he was seized with a violent affection of the
lungs, the predisposition to which existed before he left Sweden, and
of which the symptoms had been aggravated by the fatigues and privations
he endured in crossing the sandy deserts. The disease quickly assumed an
alarming character, and he finally sunk under it on the 9th February
1752, in the thirtieth year of his age.