Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume V.djvu/705

 DAUB DAUBENTON 701 principle, daturia, is rarely used in medicine by itself. D.fastuosa has a polished, purple stalk, large leaves, and beautiful flowers, of a rich purple outside, pure satiny white within, of an agreeable odor, sometimes also having semi- double blossoms. The odor of 1 D. WrigJitii is also pleasant ; its flowers are large, of a creamy white, delicately tinted with violet as they fade. D. arborea (now Brugmansia) is one of the Datura arborea. greatest ornaments of gardens ; its flowers are trumpet-shaped, nearly a foot in length, com- ing out of the division of the branches, pale yellowish outside and white within, and diffu- sing a delightful fragrance in the open air. They are all raised from seeds or propagated by cut- tings, and even the roots of the herbaceous kinds survive if protected from severe frost. DAUB, Karl, a German theologian, born in Cassel, March 20, 1765, died in Heidelberg, Nov. 22, 1836. He was educated at the gym- nasium of Cassel and the university of Mar- burg, where he remained three y^ars as a tutor. In 1794 he became professor of philosophy at Hanau, and a few months later of theology at Heidelberg, 'retaining the latter post till his death. His writings are of great value from their reflecting in succession the influence upon the- ology exercised by the several schools of phi- losophy which gained ascendancy during his time. His Lehrbuch der KatecJietik (1801) is written in the spirit of Kant's philosophical criticism. His Theologumena (1806) and Hei- delberger Studien (1808) follow the method of Schelling's philosophy of identity. Judas Is- charioth, oder Betrachtungen uber das Bdse im Verhdltnisse zum Guten (1816), is full of mys- ticism. His last work, Die dogmatische The- ologie jetziger Zeit (1833), is written in accord- ance with the dialectics of Hegel. His theolo- gical and philosophical lectures were collected after his death by Marheineke and Dittenberger (7 vols., Berlin, 1838-'43). An analysis of Daub's theology may be found in Strauss, Cha- rakteristiken und Kritiken (Leipsic, 1839). DAUBENTON, Louis Jean Marie, a French nat- uralist, born at Montbar, May 29, 1716, died in Paris, Jan. 1, 1800. Destined for the church, he was sent to Paris to study theology, but ap- plied himself to medicine, and took his degree at Rheims in 1741. He began practice in his native place, but Buffon, then in charge of the jardin des plantes, and whom he had known from childhood, invited Daubenton to assist him in his work on natural history. He was made demonstrator and keeper of the cabinet of nat- ural history in 1745, and contributed the most valuable details to the three volumes of the Histoire naturelle which Buffon issued in 1749. He was engaged upon the work altogether 25 years, modestly taking a secondary place, but by his prudence and accurate observation giv- ing great value to the first 15 volumes of their joint work. He described 182 species of quad- rupeds, of which 58 had never before been dis- sected, and 13 not previously described ; there are also external descriptions of 26 species, of which five were before unknown. This clear arrangement and description, with the multi- tude of new facts of internal structure, was the first considerable attempt in France to place comparative anatomy upon a basis of observa- tion, and gave great fame to the authors ; but Buffon was finally induced to dispense with the help of his associate, and in his 8vo edition he cut out the anatomical details and descrip- tions, to the injury of the work. Daubenton had meanwhile built up the cabinets of natural history, increased the number of specimens a hundred fold, arranged and named them, dis- covered and perfected processes for preserving organic matters, and mounted many birds and quadrupeds. He applied the science of com- parative anatomy to the determination of fos- sils, and in 1762 declared that a bone which had been supposed to be that of the leg of a giant was the radius of a giraffe, a judgment which was confirmed 30 years after by a skele- ton sent to the museum of Paris. He pointed out in 1764 the essential differences between the construction of man and the orang-outang. He made also important discoveries in con- chology, and contributed greatly to the sci- ences of vegetable physiology, mineralogy, and agriculture ; while he did much to promote cultivation of a superior breed of sheep, and the production of wool. At his suggestion a chair of practical medicine in the college de France was changed to one of natural history, and in 1778 he was appointed to fill it. In 1783 he lectured on rural economy in the vete- rinary college of Alfort. He contributed many articles to the Encyclopedie of Diderot and to the Encyclopedie methodique, and was also en- gaged in editing the Journal des Savants. He obtained from the convention the conversion of the cabinets of the jardin des plantes into a special school of natural history, in which he was appointed professor of mineralogy, a posi- tion which he held until his death, keeping up with the progress of science, and at the age of