Section 19 How Did Cuvier Become a Naturalist?1
When young (S. 10, N. 2) Cuvier was one day2 strolling3 along the sands near Fiquainville, in Normandy4, he observed a cuttle-fish lying5 stranded on the beach. He was attracted6 by the curious object, took it home to7 dissect, and8 began the study of the mollusca, which ended in his becoming one of the greatest among natural historians.—S. Smiles.
Notes
1 G. D. Cüvier, berühmter französischer Naturforscher (1769-1832), erhob die vergleichende Anatomie zuerst zur Wissenschaft.
2 one day, eines Tages; one morning, eines Morgens; one evening, eines Abends, etc.
3 to stroll along the sands, an der Küste umher´schlendern, ‘near’, here von.
4 die Normandie, always used with the def. art.
[5] ‘lying — beach’, say ‘which the sea had washed (spülen) upon the beach’. (See App. § 17.)
6 to be attracted by something, sich durch etwas an´gezogen fühlen; ‘object’, here ‘creature’.
7 The Supine is used to express purpose, and must be employed whenever the English ‘to’ is used in the meaning of ‘in order to’, or ‘for the purpose of’; clauses of this sort are generally introduced by the conjunction ‘um’; as—
I will take this animal home to dissect. Ich will dies Tier mit nach Hause nehmen, um es zu sezieren.
8 ‘and — historian’, say ‘began (an´fangen) to study the mollusca, and became finally (schließlich) one of the greatest natural historians’. Mollusca, Mollusken or Weichtiere.