A Short History of Nearly Everything-第77章

按键盘上方向键 ← 或 → 可快速上下翻页，按键盘上的 Enter 键可回到本书目录页，按键盘上方向键 ↑ 可回到本页顶部！
————未阅读完？加入书签已便下次继续阅读！


　theendeavour　voyage。”　he　regarded　the　cabinets　thoughtfully；　as　if　for　the　first　time　in　a　longwhile。　“i　don’t　know　howwe　ended　up　with　them　in　bryology；”　he　added。

this　was　an　amazing　disclosure。　joseph　banks　was　england’s　greatest　botanist；　and　theendeavour　voyage—that　is　the　one　on　which　captain　cook　charted　the　1769　transit　of　venusand　claimed　australia　for　the　crown；　among　rather　a　lot　else—was　the　greatest　botanicalexpedition　in　history。　banks　paid　￡10；000；　about　1　million　in　today’s　money；　to　bringhimself　and　a　party　of　nine　others—a　naturalist；　a　secretary；　three　artists；　and　four　servants—on　the　three…year　adventure　around　the　world。　goodness　knows　what　the　bluff　captain　cookmade　of　such　a　velvety　and　pampered　assemblage；　but　he　seems　to　have　liked　banks　wellenough　and　could　not　but　admire　his　talents　in　botany—a　feeling　shared　by　posterity。

never　before　or　since　has　a　botanical　party　enjoyed　greater　triumphs。　partly　it　was　becausethe　voyage　took　in　so　many　new　or　little…known　places—tierra　del　fuego；　tahiti；　newzealand；　australia；　new　guinea—but　mostly　it　was　because　banks　was　such　an　astute　andinventive　collector。　even　when　unable　to　go　ashore　at　rio　de　janeiro　because　of　a　quarantine；he　sifted　through　a　bale　of　fodder　sent　for　the　ship’s　livestock　and　made　new　discoveries。

nothing；　it　seems；　escaped　his　notice。　altogether　he　brought　back　thirty　thousand　plantspecimens；　including　fourteen　hundred　not　seen　before—enough　to　increase　by　about　aquarter　the　number　of　known　plants　in　the　world。

but　banks’s　grand　cache　was　only　part　of　the　total　haul　in　what　was　an　almost　absurdlyacquisitive　age。　plant　collecting　in　the　eighteenth　century　became　a　kind　of　internationalmania。　glory　and　wealth　alike　awaited　those　who　could　find　new　species；　and　botanists　andadventurers　went　to　the　most　incredible　lengths　to　satisfy　the　world’s　craving　for　horticulturalnovelty。　thomas　nuttall；　the　man　who　named　the　wisteria　after　caspar　wistar；　came　toamerica　as　an　uneducated　printer　but　discovered　a　passion　for　plants　and　walked　halfwayacross　the　country　and　back　again；　collecting　hundreds　of　growing　things　never　seen　before。

john　fraser；　for　whom　is　named　the　fraser　fir；　spent　years　in　the　wilderness　collecting　onbehalf　of　catherine　the　great　and　emerged　at　length　to　find　that　russia　had　a　new　czar　whothought　he　was　mad　and　refused　to　honor　his　contract。　fraser　took　everything　to　chelsea；where　he　opened　a　nursery　and　made　a　handsome　living　selling　rhododendrons；　azaleas；magnolias；　virginia　creepers；　asters；　and　other　colonial　exotica　to　a　delighted　english　gentry。

huge　sums　could　be　made　with　the　right　finds。　john　lyon；　an　amateur　botanist；　spent　twohard　and　dangerous　years　collecting　specimens；　but　cleared　almost　200；000　in　today’smoney　for　his　efforts。　many；　however；　just　did　it　for　the　love　of　botany。　nuttall　gave　most　ofwhat　he　found　to　the　liverpool　botanic　gardens。　eventually　he　became　director　of　harvard’sbotanic　garden　and　author　of　the　encyclopedicgenera　of　north　american　plants　（which　henot　only　wrote　but　also　largely　typeset）。

and　that　was　just　plants。　there　was　also　all　the　fauna　of　the　new　worlds—kangaroos；　kiwis；raccoons；　bobcats；　mosquitoes；　and　other　curious　forms　beyond　imagining。　the　volume　of　lifeon　earth　was　seemingly　infinite；　as　jonathan　swift　noted　in　some　famous　lines：

so；　naturalists　observe；　a　fleahath　smaller　fleas　that　on　him　prey；and　these　have　smaller　still　to　bite　’em；and　so　proceed　ad　infinitum。

all　this　new　information　needed　to　be　filed；　ordered；　and　pared　with　what　was　known。

the　world　was　desperate　for　a　workable　system　of　classification。　fortunately　there　was　a　manin　sweden　who　stood　ready　to　provide　it。

his　name　was　carl　linné　（later　changed；　with　permission；　to　the　more　aristocraticvonlinné）；　but　he　is　remembered　now　by　the　latinized　form　carolus　linnaeus。　he　was　born　in1707　in　the　village　of　r？shult　in　southern　sweden；　the　son　of　a　poor　but　ambitious　lutherancurate；　and　was　such　a　sluggish　student　that　his　exasperated　father　apprenticed　him　（or；　bysome　accounts；　nearly　apprenticed　him）　to　a　cobbler。　appalled　at　the　prospect　of　spending　alifetime　banging　tacks　into　leather；　young　linné　begged　for　another　chance；　which　wasgranted；　and　he　never　thereafter　wavered　from　academic　distinction。　he　studied　medicine　insweden　and　holland；　though　his　passion　became　the　natural　world。　in　the　early　1730s；　still　inhis　twenties；　he　began　to　produce　catalogues　of　the　world’s　plant　and　animal　species；　using　asystem　of　his　own　devising；　and　gradually　his　fame　grew。

rarely　has　a　man　been　more　fortable　with　his　own　greatness。　he　spent　much　of　hisleisure　time　penning　long　and　flattering　portraits　of　himself；　declaring　that　there　had　never“been　a　greater　botanist　or　zoologist；”　and　that　his　system　of　classification　was　“the　greatestachievement　in　the　realm　of　science。”　modestly　he　suggested　that　his　gravestone　should　bearthe　inscription　princeps　botanicorum；　“prince　of　botanists。”　it　was　never　wise　to　question　hisgenerous　self…assessments。　those　who　did　so　were　apt　to　find　they　had　weeds　named　afterthem。

linnaeus’s　other　striking　quality　was　an　abiding—at　times；　one　might　say；　a　feverish—preoccupation　with　sex。　he　was　particularly　struck　by　the　similarity　between　certain　bivalvesand　the　female　pudenda。　to　the　parts　of　one　species　of　clam　he　gave　the　names　vulva；　labia；pubes；　anus；　and　hymen。　he　grouped　plants　by　the　nature　of　their　reproductive　organs　andendowed　them　with　an　arrestingly　anthropomorphic　amorousness。　his　descriptions　of　flowersand　their　behavior　are　full　of　references　to　“promiscuous　intercourse；”　“barren　concubines；”

and　“the　bridal　bed。”　in　spring；　he　wrote　in　one　oft…quoted　passage：

love　es　even　to　the　plants。　males　and　females　。　。　。　hold　their　nuptials　。　。　。

showing　by　their　sexual　organs　which　are　males；　which　females。　the　flowers’

leaves　serve　as　a　bridal　bed；　which　the　creator　has　so　gloriously　arranged；　adornedwith　such　noble　bed　curtains；　and　perfumed　with　so　many　soft　scents　that　thebridegroom　with　his　bride　might　there　celebrate　their　nuptials　with　so　much　thegreater　solemnity。　when　the　bed　has　thus　been　made　ready；　then　is　the　time　for　thebridegroom　to　embrace　his　beloved　bride　and　surrender　himself　to　her。

he　named　one　genus　of　plants　clitoria。　not　surprisingly；　many　people　thought　him　strange。

but　his　system　of　classification　was　irresistible。　before　linnaeus；　plants　were　given　namesthat　were　expansively　descriptive。　the　mon　ground　cherry　was　called　physalis　amnoramosissime　ramis　angulosis　glabris　foliis　dentoserratis。　linnaeus　lopped　it　back　to　physalisangulata；　which　name　it　still　uses。　the　plant　world　was　equally　disordered　by　inconsistenciesof　naming。　a　botanist　could　not　be　sure　ifrosa　sylvestris　alba　cum　rubore；　folio　glabro　wasthe　same　plant　that　others　called　rosa　sylvestris　inodora　seu　canina。　linnaeus　solved　thepuzzlement　by　calling　it　simply　rosa　canina。　to　make　these　excisions　useful　and　agreeable　toall　required　much　more　than　simply　being　decisive。　it　required　an　instinct—a　genius；　in　fact—for　spotting　the　salient　qualities　of　a　species。

the　linnaean　system　is　so　well　established　that　we　can　hardly　imagine　an　alternative；　butbefore　linnaeus；　systems　of　classification　were　often　highly　whimsical。　animals　might　becategorized　by　whether　they　were　wild　or　domesticated；　terrestrial　or　aquatic；　large　or　small；even　whether　they　were　thought　handsome　and　noble　or　of　no　consequence。　buffon　arrangedhis　animals　by　their　utility　to　man。　anatomical　considerations　barely　came　into　it。　linnaeusmade　it　his　life’s　work　to　rectify　this　deficiency　by　classifying　all　that　was　alive　according　toits　physical　attributes。　taxonomy—which　is　to　say　the　science　of　classification—has　neverlooked　back。

it　all　took　time；　of　course。　the　first　edition　of　his　great　systema　naturae　in　1735　was　justfourteen　pages　long。　but　it　grew　and　grew　until　by　the　twelfth　edition—the　last　that　linnaeuswould　live　to　see—it　extended　to　three　volumes　and　2；300　pages。　in　the　end　he　named　orrecorded　some　13；000　species　of　plant　and　animal。　other　works　were　more　prehensive—john　ray’s　three…volume　historia　generalis　plantarum　in　england；　pleted　a　generationearlier；　covered　no　fewer　than　18；625　species　of　plants　alone—but　what　linnaeus　had　that　noone　else　could　touch　were　consistency；　order；　simplicity；　and　timeliness。　though　his　workdates　from　the　1730s；　it　didn’t　bee　widely　known　in　england　until　the　1760s；　just　in　timeto　make　linnaeus　a　kind　of　father　figure　to　british　naturalists。　nowhere　was　his　systemembraced　with　greater　enthusiasm　（which　is　why；　for　one　thing；　the　linnaean　society　has　itshome　in　london　and　not　stockholm）。

linnaeus　was　not　flawless。　he　made　room　for　mythical　beasts　and　“monstrous　humans”

whose　descriptions　he　gullibly　accepted　from　seamen　and　other　imaginative　travelers。　amongthese　were　a　wild　man；　homo　ferus；　who　walked　on　all　fours　and　had　not　yet　mastered　the　artof　speech；　and　homo　caudatus；　“man　with　a　tail。”　but　then　it　was；　as　we　should　not　forget；　analtogether　more　credulous　age。　even　the　great　joseph　banks　took　a　keen　and　believing　interestin　a　series　of　reported　sightings　of　mermaids　of