Linnaeus' son Carl Linnaeus the Younger (1741-1783), as quoted by Knut Hagberg (1952), in Carl Linnæus. Cape. p. 200
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Never was my late father an atheist; no, the reverse; he could never endure to hear people talking in this way; ; his collection of Nemesis surely testifies to his conception of God, and so do other of his works, and particularly the preface to the System. He believed, no doubt, that species animalium et plantarum and that genera were the works of time: but that ordines naturales were the works of the Creator; if the latter had not existed the former could not have arisen.

— Linnaeus' son Carl Linnaeus the Younger

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "Never was my late father an atheist; no, the reverse; he could never endure to hear people talking in this way; ; his collection of Nemesis surely testifies to his conception of God, and so do other of his works, and particularly the preface to the System. He believed, no doubt, that species animalium et plantarum and that genera were the works of time: but that ordines naturales were the works of the Creator; if the latter had not existed the former could not have arisen." in the context of "Linnaeus' son Carl Linnaeus the Younger (1741-1783), as quoted by Knut Hagberg (1952), in Carl Linnæus. Cape. p. 200" to mean that wisdom is timeless.

Source: Wikiquote: "Carl Linnaeus" (Quotes about Carl Linnaeus) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
Carl Linnaeus

About Carl Linnaeus

Carl Linnaeus (23 May, 1707– 10 January, 1778) was a Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist, who laid the foundations for the modern biological naming scheme of binomial nomenclature. He is known as the father of modern taxonomy, and is also considered one of the fathers of modern ecology.