,transcribed from the #ahdd ,john       
,churchill edition by ,david ,price1    
email  ccx#jgdpglaf4org                 
,,vestiges                              
,,of                             ,,the  
,,natural ,,history                     
,,of                                    
,,creation4                             
99 99 99 99 99                          
,,london3                      ,,john   
,,churchill1 ,,princes ,,street1 ,,soho4
                                   ,m   
,,dccc ,,xliv4          ,,contents4     
,,page  ,the ,bodies of ,space--,their  
arrangements and formation              
#a  ,constituent materials of the ,earth
 and of the other ,bodies          #bg  
of ,space  ,the ,earth formed--,era of  
the ,primary ,rocks                     
#dd  ,commencement of ,organic          
,life--,sea ,plants1 ,corals1 etc4      
#ed  ,era of the ,old ,red              
,sandstone--,fishes abundant4           
#ff  ,secondary ,rocks4  ,era of the    
,carboniferous ,formation4--,land       

#gf  formed--,commencement of ,land     
,plants  ,era of the ,new ,red          
,sandstone--,terrestrial ,zoology       
commences          #id  with            
,reptiles--,first traces of ,birds  ,era
 of the ,oolite--,commencement of       
,mammalia                         #aje  
,era of the ,cretaceous ,formation      
#aaf  ,era of the ,tertiary             
,formation--,mammalia abundant          
#abe  ,era of the ,superficial          
,formations--,commencement of present   
#acd  ,species  ,general ,considerations
 respecting the ,origin of the          
#ade  ,animated ,tribes  ,particular    
,considerations respecting the ,origin  
of the             #afe  ,animated      
,tribes  ,hypothesis of the ,development
 of the ,vegetable and ,animal          
#aia  ,kingdoms  ,macleay ,system of    
,animated ,nature--,this ,system        
considered in        #bcf  connexion    
with the ,progress of ,organic          
,creation1 and as  indicating the       
natural status of ,man  ,early ,history 

of ,mankind                             
#bgg  ,mental ,constitution of ,animals 
#cbd  ,purpose and ,general ,condition  
of the ,animated ,creation              
#cfa  ,note ,conclusory                 
#chg          ,,the ,,bodies ,,of       
,,space1  ,,their ,,arrangements ,,and  
,,formation4      ,,it is familiar      
knowledge that the earth which we       
inhabit is a globe of  somewhat less    
than #hjjj miles in diameter1 being one 
of a series of  eleven which revolve at 
different distances around the sun1 and 
some of  which have satellites in like  
manner revolving around them4  ,the sun1
  planets1 and satellites1 with the less
 intelligible orbs termed comets1  are  
comprehensively called the solar system1
 and if we take as the  uttermost bounds
 of this system the orbit of ,uranus    
7though the comets  actually have a     
wider range71 we shall find that it     
occupies a portion of  space not less   
than three thousand six hundred millions
 of miles in  extent4  ,the mind fails  

to form an exact notion of a portion of 
space so  immense2 but some faint idea  
of it may be obtained from the fact1    
that1  if the swiftest race-horse ever  
known had begun to traverse it1 at full 
speed1 at the time of the birth of      
,moses1 he would only as yet have       
accomplished half his journey4    ,it   
has long been concluded amongst         
astronomers1 that the stars1 though     
they only appear to our eyes as         
brilliant points1 are all to be         
considered as suns1 representing so many
 solar systems1 each bearing a  general 
resemblance to our own4  ,the stars have
 a brilliancy and apparent  magnitude   
which we may safely presume to be in    
proportion to their actual  size and the
 distance at which they are placed from 
us4  ,attempts have  been made to       
ascertain the distance of some of the   
stars by calculations  founded on       
parallax1 it being previously understood
 that1 if a parallax  of so much as one 
second1 or the #cfjjth of a degree1     

could be ascertained  in any one        
instance1 the distance might be assumed 
in that instance as  not less than      
#ai1bjj millions of miles6  ,in the case
 of the most  brilliant star1 ,sirius1  
even this minute parallax could not be  
found2  from which of course it was to  
be inferred that the distance of that   
star  is something beyond the vast      
distance which has been stated4  ,in    
some  others1 on which the experiment   
has been tried1 no sensible parallax    
could be detected2 from which the same  
inference was to be made in their  case4
  ,but a sensible parallax of about one 
second has been ascertained  in the case
 of the double star1  1 of the          
constellation of the ,centaur1  #c and  
one of the third of that amount for the 
double star1 #fa ,cygni2  which gave    
reason to presume that the distance of  
the former might be  about twenty       
thousand millions of miles1 and the     
latter of much greater  amount4  ,if we 
suppose that similar intervals exist    

between all the  stars1 we shall readily
 see that the space occupied by even the
  comparatively small number visible to 
the naked eye1 must be vast beyond  all 
powers of conception4    ,the number    
visible to the eye is about three       
thousand2 but when a  telescope of small
 power is directed to the heavens1 a    
great number more  come into view1 and  
the number is ever increased in         
proportion to the  increased power of   
the instrument4  ,in one place1 where   
they are more  thickly sown than        
elsewhere1 ,sir ,william ,herschel      
reckoned that fifty  thousand passed    
over a field of view two degrees in     
breadth in a single  hour4  ,it was     
first surmised by the ancient           
philosopher1 ,democritus1 that  the     
faintly white zone which spans the sky  
under the name of the ,milky  ,way1     
might be only a dense collection of     
stars too remote to be  distinguished4  
,this conjecture has been verified by   
the instruments of  modern astronomers1 

and some speculations of a most         
remarkable kind have  been formed in    
connexion with it4  ,by the joint       
labours of the two  ,herschels1 the sky 
has been 8gauged0 in all directions by  
the telescope1  so as to ascertain the  
conditions of different parts with      
respect to the  frequency of the stars4 
,the result has been a conviction that1 
as the  planets are parts of solar      
systems1 so are solar systems parts of  
what  may be called astral systems--that
 is1 systems composed of a multitude of 
stars1 bearing a certain relation to    
each other4  ,the astral system to      
which we belong1 is conceived to be of  
an oblong1 flattish form1 with a  space 
wholly or comparatively vacant in the   
centre1 while the extremity  in one     
direction parts into two4  ,the stars   
are most thickly sown in the  outer     
parts of this vast ring1 and these      
constitute the ,milky ,way4  ,our  sun  
is believed to be placed in the southern
 portion of the ring1 near  its inner   

edge1 so that we are presented with many
 more stars1 and see  the ,milky ,way   
much more clearly1 in that direction1   
than towards the  north1 in which line  
our eye has to traverse the vacant      
central space4  ,nor is this all4  ,sir 
,william ,herschel1 so early as #aghc1  
detected a  motion in our solar system  
with respect to the stars1 and announced
 that  it was tending towards the star 1
 in the constellation ,hercules4  ,this 
has been generally verified by recent   
and more exact calculations1 #e  which  
fix on a point in ,hercules1 near the   
star #adc of the #agth hour1  according 
to ,piozzi's catalogue1 as that towards 
which our sun is  proceeding4  ,it is1  
therefore1 receding from the inner edge 
of the ring4  ,motions of this kind1    
through such vast regions of space1 must
 be long in  producing any change       
sensible to the inhabitants of our      
planet1 and it is  not easy to grasp    
their general character2 but grounds    
have nevertheless  been found for       

supposing that not only our sun1 but the
 other suns of the  system pursue a wavy
 course round the ring from west to     
east1 crossing  and recrossing the      
middle of the annular circle4  8,some   
stars will depart  more1 others less1   
from either side of the circumference of
 equilibrium1  according to the places  
in which they are situated1 and         
according to the  direction and the     
velocity with which they are put in     
motion4  ,our sun is  probably one of   
those which depart furthest from it1 and
 descend furthest  into the empty space 
within the ring40 #f  ,according to this
 view1 a  time may come when we shall be
 much more in the thick of the stars of 
our  astral system than we are now1 and 
have of course much more brilliant      
nocturnal skies2 but it may be countless
 ages before the eyes which are  to see 
this added resplendence shall exist4    
,the evidence of the existence of other 
astral systems besides our own is  much 
more decided than might be expected1    

when we consider that the  nearest of   
them must needs be placed at a mighty   
interval beyond our own4  ,the elder    
,herschel1 directing his wonderful tube 
towards the sides of  our system1 where 
stars are planted most rarely1 and      
raising the powers  of the instrument to
 the required pitch1 was enabled with   
awe-struck mind  to see suspended in the
 vast empyrean astral systems1 or1 as he
 called  them1 firmaments1 resembling   
our own4  ,like light cloudlets to a    
certain  power of the telescope1 they   
resolved themselves1 under a greater    
power1  into stars1 though these        
generally seemed no larger than the     
finest  particles of diamond dust4  ,the
 general forms of these systems are     
various2 but one at least has been      
detected as bearing a striking          
resemblance to the supposed form of our 
own4  ,the distances are also  various1 
as proved by the different degrees of   
telescopic power necessary  to bring    
them into view4  ,the farthest observed 

by the astronomer were  estimated by him
 as thirty-five thousand times more     
remote than ,sirius1  supposing its     
distance to be about twenty thousand    
millions of miles4  ,it  would thus     
appear1 that not only does gravitation  
keep our earth in its  place in the     
solar system1 and the solar system in   
its place in our  astral system1 but it 
also may be presumed to have the        
mightier duty of  preserving a local    
arrangement between that astral system  
and an  immensity of others1 through    
which the imagination is left to wander 
on  and on without limit or stay1 save  
that which is given by its inability  to
 grasp the unbounded4    ,the two       
,herschels have in succession made some 
other most remarkable  observations on  
the regions of space4  ,they have found 
within the limits  of our astral system1
 and generally in its outer fields1 a   
great number  of objects which1 from    
their foggy appearance1 are called      
nebul2 some  of vast extent and         

irregular figure1 as that in the sword  
of ,orion1 which  is visible to the     
naked eye2 others of shape more defined2
 others1 again1  in which small bright  
nuclei appear here and there over the   
surface4  ,between this last form and   
another class of objects1 which appear  
as  clusters of nuclei with nebulous    
matter around each nucleus1 there is but
  a step in what appears a chain of     
related things4  ,then1 again1 our      
astral space shews what are called      
nebulous stars1--namely1 luminous       
spherical objects1 bright in the centre 
and dull towards the extremities4       
,these appear to be only an advanced    
condition of the class of objects  above
 described4  ,finally1 nebulous stars   
exist in every stage of  concentration1 
down to that state in which we see only 
a common star with  a slight bur around 
it4  ,it may be presumed that all these 
are but  stages in a progress1 just as  
if1 seeing a child1 a boy1 a youth1 a   
middle-aged1 and an old man together1 we

 might presume that the whole  were only
 variations of one being4  ,are we to   
suppose that we have got a  glimpse of  
the process through which a sun goes    
between its original  condition1 as a   
mass of diffused nebulous matter1 and   
its full-formed  state as a compact     
body8  ,we shall see how far such an    
idea is supported  by other things known
 with regard to the occupants of space1 
and the laws  of matter4    ,a          
superficial view of the astronomy of the
 solar system gives us only the  idea of
 a vast luminous body 7the sun7 in the  
centre1 and a few smaller1  though      
various sized bodies1 revolving at      
different distances around it2  some of 
these1 again1 having smaller planets    
7satellites7 revolving  around them4    
,there are1 however1 some general       
features of the solar  system1 which1   
when a profounder attention makes us    
acquainted with them1  strike the mind  
very forcibly4    ,it is1 in the first  
place1 remarkable1 that the planets all 

move nearly  in one plane1 corresponding
 with the centre of the sun's body4     
,next1  it is not less remarkable that  
the motion of the sun on its axis1 those
  of the planets around the sun1 and the
 satellites around their primaries1  #i 
and the motions of all on their axes1   
are in one direction--namely1  from west
 to east4  ,had all these matters been  
left to accident1 the  chances against  
the uniformity which we find would have 
been1 though  calculable1 inconceivably 
great4  ,laplace states them at four    
millions of  millions to one4  ,it is   
thus powerfully impressed on us1 that   
the  uniformity of the motions1 as well 
as their general adjustment to one      
plane1 must have been a consequence of  
some cause acting throughout the  whole 
system4    ,some of the other relations 
of the bodies are not less remarkable4  
,the  primary planets shew a progressive
 increase of bulk and diminution of     
density1 from the one nearest to the sun
 to that which is most distant4  ,with  

respect to density alone1 we find1      
taking water as a measure and  counting 
it as one1 that ,saturn is #ac_/cb1 or  
less than half2 ,jupiter1 #a  #a_/bd2   
,mars1 #c #b_/g2 ,earth1 #d #a_/b2      
,venus1 #e #aa_/ae2 ,mercury #i #i_/aj1 
or about  the weight of lead4  ,then the
 distances are curiously relative4  ,it 
has  been found that if we place the    
following line of numbers1--            
#j #c #f #ab #bd #dh #if #aib1    and   
add #d to each1 we shall have a series  
denoting the respective  distances of   
the planets from the sun4  ,it will     
stand thus--    #d           #g         
#aj          #af          #bh      #eb  
#ajj         #aif  ,merc4       ,venus4 
,earth4      ,mars4                     
,jupiter4    ,saturn4     ,uranus4      
,it will be observed that the first row 
of figures goes on from the second  on  
the left hand in a succession of        
duplications1 or multiplications by  #b4
  ,surely there is here a most          
surprising proof of the unity which ,i  

am  claiming for the solar system4  ,it 
was remarked when this curious  relation
 was first detected1 that there was a   
want of a planet  corresponding to #bh2 
the difficulty was afterwards considered
 as in a  great measure overcome1 by the
 discovery of four small planets        
revolving  at nearly one mean distance  
from the sun1 between ,mars and         
,jupiter4  ,the  distances bear an      
equally interesting mathematical        
relation to the times  of the           
revolutions round the sun4  ,it has been
 found that1 with respect  to any two   
planets1 the squares of the times of    
revolution are to each  other in the    
same proportion as the cubes of their   
mean distances1--a most  surprising     
result1 for the discovery of which the  
world was indebted to  the illustrious  
,kepler4  ,sir ,john ,herschel truly    
observes--8,when we  contemplate the    
constituents of the planetary system    
from the point of  view which this      
relation affords us1 it is no longer    

mere analogy which  strikes us1 no      
longer a general resemblance among them1
 as individuals  independent of each    
other1 and circulating about the sun1   
each according  to its own peculiar     
nature1 and connected with it by its own
 peculiar  tie4  ,the resemblance is now
 perceived to be a true family likeness2
  they are bound up in one              
chain--interwoven in one web of mutual  
relation  and harmonious agreement1     
subjected to one pervading influence    
which  extends from the centre to the   
farthest limits of that great system1 of
  which all of them1 the ,earth         
included1 must henceforth be regarded as
  members40 #ab    ,connecting what has 
been observed of the series of nebulous 
stars with  this wonderful relationship 
seen to exist among the constituents of 
our  system1 and further taking         
advantage of the light afforded by the  
ascertained laws of matter1 modern      
astronomers have suggested the          
following hypothesis of the formation of

 that system4    ,of nebulous matter in 
its original state we know too little to
 enable us  to suggest how nuclei should
 be established in it4  ,but1 supposing 
that1  from a peculiarity in its        
constitution1 nuclei are formed1 we know
 very  well how1 by virtue of the law of
 gravitation1 the process of an         
aggregation of the neighbouring matter  
to those nuclei should proceed1  until  
masses more or less solid should become 
detached from the rest4  ,it  is a      
well-known law in physics that1 when    
fluid matter collects towards  or meets 
in a centre1 it establishes a rotatory  
motion4  ,see minor  results of this law
 in the whirlwind and the               
whirlpool--nay1 on so humble  a scale as
 the water sinking through the aperture 
of a funnel4  ,it thus  becomes certain 
that when we arrive at the stage of a   
nebulous star1 we  have a rotation on an
 axis commenced4    ,now1 mechanical    
philosophy informs us that1 the instant 
a mass begins to  rotate1 there is      

generated a tendency to fling off its   
outer portions--in  other words1 the law
 of centrifugal force begins to operate4
  ,there are1  then1 two forces acting  
in opposition to each other1 the one    
attracting  to1 the other throwing from1
 the centre4  ,while these remain       
exactly  counterpoised1 the mass        
necessarily continues entire2 but the   
least  excess of the centrifugal over   
the attractive force would be attended  
with the effect of separating the mass  
and its outer parts4  ,these outer      
parts would1 then1 be left as a ring    
round the central body1 which ring      
would continue to revolve with the      
velocity possessed by the central mass  
at the moment of separation1 but not    
necessarily participating in any        
changes afterwards undergone by that    
body4  ,this is a process which might   
be repeated as soon as a new excess     
arose in the centrifugal over the       
attractive forces working in the parent 
mass4  ,it might1 indeed1 continue  to  

be repeated1 until the mass attained the
 ultimate limits of the  condensation   
which its constitution imposed upon it4 
,from what cause  might arise the       
periodical occurrence of an excess of   
the centrifugal  force8  ,if we suppose 
the agglomeration of a nebulous mass to 
be a  process attended by refrigeration 
or cooling1 which many facts render     
likely1 we can easily understand why the
 outer parts1 hardening under  this     
process1 might1 by virtue of the greater
 solidity thence acquired1  begin to    
present some resistance to the          
attractive force4  ,as the              
solidification proceeded1 this          
resistance would become greater1 though 
there would still be a tendency to      
adhere4  ,meanwhile1 the condensation   
of the central mass would be going on1  
tending to produce a separation  from   
what may now be termed the solidifying  
crust4  ,during the  contention between 
the attractions of these two bodies1 or 
parts of one  body1 there would probably

 be a ring of attenuation between the   
mass and  its crust4  ,at length1 when  
the central mass had reached a certain  
stage  in its advance towards           
solidification1 a separation would take 
place1 and  the crust would become a    
detached ring4  ,it is clear1 of course1
 that  some law presiding over the      
refrigeration of heated gaseous bodies  
would  determine the stages at which    
rings were thus formed and detached4    
,we do  not know any such law1 but what 
we have seen assures us it is one       
observing and reducible to mathematical 
formul4    ,if these rings consisted of 
matter nearly uniform throughout1 they  
would  probably continue each in its    
original form2 but there are many       
chances  against their being uniform in 
constitution4  ,the unavoidable effects 
of  irregularity in their constitution  
would be to cause them to gather        
towards centres of superior solidity1 by
 which the annular form would1 of       
course1 be destroyed4  ,the ring would1 

in short1 break into several  masses1   
the largest of which would be likely to 
attract the lesser into  itself4  ,the  
whole mass would then necessarily settle
 into a spherical  form by virtue of the
 law of gravitation2 in short1 would    
then become a  planet revolving round   
the sun4  ,its rotatory motion would1 of
 course1  continue1 and satellites might
 then be thrown off in turn from its    
body  in exactly the same way as the    
primary planets had been thrown off from
  the sun4  ,the rule1 if ,i can be     
allowed so to call it1 receives a       
striking support from what appear to be 
its exceptions4  ,while there are  many 
chances against the matter of the rings 
being sufficiently equable  to remain in
 the annular form till they were        
consolidated1 it might  nevertheless be 
otherwise in some instances2 that is to 
say1 the  equableness might1 in those   
instances1 be sufficiently great4  ,such
 was  probably the case with the two    
rings around the body of ,saturn1 which 

remain a living picture of the          
arrangement1 if not the condition1 in   
which all the planetary masses at one   
time stood4  ,it may also be  admitted  
that1 when a ring broke up1 it was      
possible that the fragments  might      
spherify separately4  ,such seems to be 
the actual history of the  ring between 
,jupiter and ,mars1 in whose place we   
now find four planets  much beneath the 
smallest of the rest in size1 and moving
 nearly at the  same distance from the  
sun1 though in orbits so elliptical1 and
 of such  different planes1 that they   
keep apart4    ,it has been seen that   
there are mathematical proportions in   
the relative  distances and revolutions 
of the planets of our system4  ,it has  
also been  suggested that the periods in
 the condensation of the nebulous mass1 
at  which rings were disengaged1 must   
have depended on some particular crises 
in the condition of that mass1 in       
connexion with the laws of centrifugal  
force and attraction4  ,m4 ,compte1 of  

,paris1 has made some approach to the   
verification of the hypothesis1 by      
calculating what ought to have been  the
 rotation of the solar mass at the      
successive times when its surface       
extended to the various planetary       
orbits4  ,he ascertained that that      
rotation corresponded in every case with
 the actual sidereal revolution  of the 
planets1 and that the rotation of the   
primary planets in like  manner         
corresponded with the orbitual periods  
of the secondaries4  ,the  process by   
which he arrived at this conclusion is  
not to be readily  comprehended by the  
unlearned2 but those who are otherwise1 
allow that it  is a powerful support to 
the present hypothesis of the formation 
of the  globes of space4 #ag    ,the    
nebular hypothesis1 as it has been      
called1 obtains a remarkable  support in
 what would at first seem to militate   
against it--the existence  in our       
firmament of several thousands of solar 
systems1 in which there  are more than  

one sun4  ,these are called double and  
triple stars4  ,some  double stars1 upon
 which careful observations have been   
made1 are found  to have a regular      
revolutionary motion round each other in
 ellipses4  ,this kind of solar system  
has also been observed in what appears  
to be  its rudimental state1 for there  
are examples of nebulous stars          
containing  two and three nuclei in near
 association4  ,at a certain point in   
the  confluence of the matter of these  
nebulous stars1 they would all become   
involved in a common revolutionary      
motion1 linked inextricably with each   
other1 though it might be at sufficient 
distances to allow of each  distinct    
centre having afterwards its attendant  
planets4  ,we have seen  that the law   
which causes rotation in the single     
solar masses1 is exactly  the same which
 produces the familiar phenomenon of a  
small whirlpool or  dimple in the       
surface of a stream4  ,such dimples are 
not always single4  ,upon the face of a 

river where there are various contending
 currents1 it  may often be observed    
that two or more dimples are formed near
 each other  with more or less          
regularity4  ,these fantastic eddies1   
which the musing  poet will sometimes   
watch abstractedly for an hour1 little  
thinking of  the law which produces and 
connects them1 are an illustration of   
the  wonders of binary and ternary solar
 systems4    ,the nebular hypothesis is1
 indeed1 supported by so many           
ascertained  features of the celestial  
scenery1 and by so many calculations of 
exact  science1 that it is impossible   
for a candid mind to refrain from giving
  it a cordial reception1 if not to     
repose full reliance upon it1 even      
without seeking for it support of any   
other kind4  ,some other support ,i     
trust yet to bring to it2 but in the    
meantime1 assuming its truth1 let us    
see what idea it gives of the           
constitution of what we term the        
universe1  of the development of its    

various parts1 and of its original      
condition4    ,reverting to a former    
illustration--if we could suppose a     
number of  persons of various ages      
presented to the inspection of an       
intelligent  being newly introduced into
 the world1 we cannot doubt that he     
would soon  become convinced that men   
had once been boys1 that boys had once  
been  infants1 and1 finally1 that all   
had been brought into the world in      
exactly the same circumstances4         
,precisely thus1 seeing in our astral   
system many thousands of worlds in all  
stages of formation1 from the most      
rudimental to that immediately preceding
 the present condition of those  we deem
 perfect1 it is unavoidable to conclude 
that all the perfect have  gone through 
the various stages which we see in the  
rudimental4  ,this  leads us at once to 
the conclusion that the whole of our    
firmament was at  one time a diffused   
mass of nebulous matter1 extending      
through the space  which it still       

occupies4  ,so also1 of course1 must    
have been the other  astral systems4    
,indeed1 we must presume the whole to   
have been  originally in one connected  
mass1 the astral systems being only the 
first  division into parts1 and solar   
systems the second4    ,the first idea  
which all this impresses upon us is1    
that the formation of  bodies in space  
is still and at present in progress4    
,we live at a time  when many have been 
formed1 and many are still forming4     
,our own solar  system is to be regarded
 as completed1 supposing its perfection 
to  consist in the formation of a series
 of planets1 for there are  mathematical
 reasons for concluding that ,mercury is
 the nearest planet to  the sun1 which  
can1 according to the laws of the       
system1 exist4  ,but  there are other   
solar systems within our astral system1 
which are as yet  in a less advanced    
state1 and even some quantities of      
nebulous matter  which have scarcely    
begun to advance towards the stellar    

form4  ,on the  other hand1 there are   
vast numbers of stars which have all the
 appearance  of being fully formed      
systems1 if we are to judge from the    
complete and  definite appearance which 
they present to our vision through the  
telescope4  ,we have no means of judging
 of the seniority of systems2 but  it is
 reasonable to suppose that1 among the  
many1 some are older than  ours4  ,there
 is1 indeed1 one piece of evidence for  
the probability of the  comparative     
youth of our system1 altogether apart   
from human traditions  and the          
geognostic appearances of the surface of
 our planet4  ,this  consists in a thin 
nebulous matter1 which is diffused      
around the sun to  nearly the orbit of  
,mercury1 of a very oblately spheroidal 
shape4  ,this  matter1 which sometimes  
appears to our naked eyes1 at sunset1 in
 the form  of a cone projecting upwards 
in the line of the sun's path1 and which
  bears the name of the ,zodiacal       
,light1 has been thought a residuum or  

last  remnant of the concentrating      
matter of our system1 and thus may be   
supposed to indicate the comparative    
recentness of the principal events  of  
our cosmogony4  ,supposing the surmise  
and inference to be correct1 and  they  
may be held as so far supported by more 
familiar evidence1 we might  with the   
more confidence speak of our system as  
not amongst the elder  born of ,heaven1 
but one whose various phenomena1        
physical and moral1 as  yet lay         
undeveloped1 while myriads of others    
were fully fashioned and in  complete   
arrangement4  ,thus1 in the sublime     
chronology to which we are  directing   
our inquiries1 we first find ourselves  
called upon to consider  the globe which
 we inhabit as a child of the sun1 elder
 than ,venus and  her younger brother   
,mercury1 but posterior in date of birth
 to ,mars1  ,jupiter1 ,saturn1 and      
,uranus2 next to regard our whole system
 as probably  of recent formation in    
comparison with many of the stars of our

  firmament4  ,we must1 however1 be on  
our guard against supposing the earth   
as a recent globe in our ordinary       
conceptions of time4  ,from evidence    
afterwards to be adduced1 it will be    
seen that it cannot be presumed to  be  
less than many hundreds of centuries    
old4  ,how much older ,uranus may  be no
 one can tell1 much less how more aged  
may be many of the stars of  our        
firmament1 or the stars of other        
firmaments than ours4    ,another and   
more important consideration arises from
 the hypothesis2  namely1 as to the     
means by which the grand process is     
conducted4  ,the  nebulous matter       
collects around nuclei by virtue of the 
law of  attraction4  ,the agglomeration 
brings into operation another physical  
law1 by force of which the separate     
masses of matter are either made to     
rotate singly1 or1 in addition to that  
single motion1 are set into a  coupled  
revolution in ellipses4  ,next          
centrifugal force comes into play1      

flinging off portions of the rotating   
masses1 which become spheres by  virtue 
of the same law of attraction1 and are  
held in orbits of  revolution round the 
central body by means of a composition  
between the  centrifugal and gravitating
 forces4  ,all1 we see1 is done by      
certain laws  of matter1 so that it     
becomes a question of extreme interest1 
what are  such laws8  ,all that can yet 
be said1 in answer1 is1 that we see     
certain  natural events proceeding in an
 invariable order under certain         
conditions1 and thence infer the        
existence of some fundamental           
arrangement which1 for the bringing     
about of these events1 has a force  and 
certainty of action similar to1 but more
 precise and unerring than  those       
arrangements which human society makes  
for its own benefit1 and  calls laws4   
,it is remarkable of physical laws1 that
 we see them  operating on every kind of
 scale as to magnitude1 with the same   
regularity and perseverance4  ,the tear 

that falls from childhood's cheek  is   
globular1 through the efficacy of that  
same law of mutual attraction  of       
particles which made the sun and planets
 round4  ,the rapidity of  ,mercury is  
quicker than that of ,saturn1 for the   
same reason that1 when we  wheel a ball 
round by a string and make the string   
wind up round our  fingers1 the ball    
always flies quicker and quicker as the 
string is  shortened4  ,two eddies in a 
stream1 as has been stated1 fall into a 
mutual revolution at the distance of a  
couple of inches1 through the same      
cause which makes a pair of suns link in
 mutual revolution at the  distance of  
millions of miles4  ,there is1 we might 
say1 a sublime  simplicity in this      
indifference of the grand regulations to
 the vastness  or minuteness of the     
field of their operation4  ,their being 
uniform1 too1  throughout space1 as far 
as we can scan it1 and their being so   
unfailing  in their tendency to operate1
 so that only the proper conditions are 

presented1 afford to our minds matter   
for the gravest consideration4  ,nor    
should it escape our careful notice that
 the regulations on which all the  laws 
of matter operate1 are established on a 
rigidly accurate  mathematical basis4   
,proportions of numbers and geometrical 
figures rest  at the bottom of the      
whole4  ,all these considerations1 when 
the mind is  thoroughly prepared for    
them1 tend to raise our ideas with      
respect to the  character of physical   
laws1 even though we do not go a single 
step  further in the investigation4     
,but it is impossible for an intelligent
  mind to stop there4  ,we advance from 
law to the cause of law1 and ask1  ,what
 is that8  ,whence have come all these  
beautiful regulations8  ,here  science  
leaves us1 but only to conclude1 from   
other grounds1 that there  is a ,first  
,cause to which all others are secondary
 and ministrative1 a  primitive almighty
 will1 of which these laws are merely   
the mandates4  ,that great ,being1 who  

shall say where is his dwelling-place1  
or what his  history6  ,man pauses      
breathless at the contemplation of a    
subject so much  above his finite       
faculties1 and only can wonder and      
adore6          ,,constituent           
,,materials ,,of ,,the ,,earth  ,,and   
,,of ,,the ,,other ,,bodies ,,of        
,,space4      ,,the nebular hypothesis  
almost necessarily supposes matter to   
have  originally formed one mass4  ,we  
have seen that the same physical laws   
preside over the whole4  ,are we also to
 presume that the constitution of  the  
whole was uniform8--that is to say1 that
 the whole consisted of  similar        
elements4  ,it seems difficult to avoid 
coming to this conclusion1  at least    
under the qualification that1 possibly1 
various bodies1 under  peculiar         
circumstances attending their formation1
 may contain elements  which are        
wanting1 and lack some which are present
 in others1 or that  some may entirely  
consist of elements in which others are 

entirely  deficient4    ,what are       
elements8  ,this is a term applied by   
the chemist to a certain  limited number
 of substances1 7fifty-four or          
fifty-five are ascertained17  which1 in 
their combinations1 form all the matters
 of every kind present  in and about our
 globe4  ,they are called elements1 or  
simple substances1  because it has      
hitherto been found impossible to reduce
 them into others1  wherefore they are  
presumed to be the primary bases of all 
matters4  ,it  has1 indeed1 been        
surmised that these so-called elements  
are only  modifications of a primordial 
form of matter1 brought about under     
certain  conditions2 but if this should 
prove to be the case1 it would little   
affect the view which we are taking of  
cosmical arrangements4  ,analogy  would 
lead us to conclude that the            
combinations of the primordial matter1  
forming our so-called elements1 are as  
universal or as liable to take  place   
everywhere as are the laws of           

gravitation and centrifugal force4  ,we 
must therefore presume that the gases1  
the metals1 the earths1 and  other      
simple substances1 7besides whatever    
more of which we have no  acquaintance17
 exist or are liable to come into       
existence under proper  conditions1 as  
well in the astral system1 which is     
thirty-five thousand  times more distant
 than ,sirius1 as within the bounds of  
our own solar  system or our own globe4 
,matter1 whether it consist of about    
fifty-five ingredients1 or only one1  is
 liable to infinite varieties of        
condition under different               
circumstances1 or1 to speak more        
philosophically1 under different laws4  
,as a familiar illustration1 water1 when
 subjected to a temperature under  #cb  
,fahrenheit1 becomes ice2 raise the     
temperature to #bab1 and it  becomes    
steam1 occupying a vast deal more space 
than it formerly did4  ,the gases1 when 
subjected to pressure1 become liquids2  
for example1  carbonic acid gas1 when   

subjected to a weight equal to a column 
of water  #abcj feet high1 at a         
temperature of #cb1 takes this form3 the
 other gases  require various amounts of
 pressure for this transformation1 but  
all  appear to be liable to it when the 
pressure proper in each case is         
administered4  ,heat is a power greatly 
concerned in regulating the volume  and 
other conditions of matter4  ,a chemist 
can reckon with considerable  precision 
what additional amount of heat would be 
required to vaporise  all the water of  
our globe2 how much more to disengage   
the oxygen which  is diffused in nearly 
a proportion of one-half throughout its 
solids2  and1 finally1 how much more    
would be required to cause the whole to 
become vaporiform1 which we may consider
 as equivalent to its being  restored to
 its original nebulous state4  ,he can  
calculate with equal  certainty what    
would be the effect of a considerable   
diminution of the  earth's              
temperature--what changes would take    

place in each of its  component         
substances1 and how much the whole would
 shrink in bulk4    ,the earth and all  
its various substances have at present a
 certain volume  in consequence of the  
temperature which actually exists4      
,when1 then1 we  find that its matter   
and that of the associate planets was at
 one time  diffused throughout the whole
 space1 now circumscribed by the orbit  
of  ,uranus1 we cannot doubt1 after what
 we know of the power of heat1 that  the
 nebulous form of matter was attended by
 the condition of a very high           
temperature4  ,the nebulous matter of   
space1 previously to the formation  of  
stellar and planetary bodies1 must have 
been a universal ,fire ,mist1 an  idea  
which we can scarcely comprehend1 though
 the reasons for arriving at  it seem   
irresistible4  ,the formation of systems
 out of this matter  implies a change of
 some kind with regard to the condition 
of the heat4  ,had this power continued 
to act with its full original repulsive 

energy1  the process of agglomeration by
 attraction could not have gone on4  ,we
 do  not know enough of the laws of heat
 to enable us to surmise how the        
necessary change in this respect was    
brought about1 but we can trace some  of
 the steps and consequences of the      
process4  ,uranus would be formed at    
the time when the heat of our system's  
matter was at the greatest1 ,saturn  at 
the next1 and so on4  ,now this tallies 
perfectly with the exceeding            
diffuseness of the matter of those elder
 planets1 ,saturn being not more  dense 
or heavy than the substance cork4  ,it  
may be that a sufficiency of  heat still
 remains in those planets to make up for
 their distance from  the sun1 and the  
consequent smallness of the heat which  
they derive from  his rays4  ,and it may
 equally be1 since ,mercury is twice the
 density of  the earth1 that its matter 
exists under a degree of cold for which 
that  planet's large enjoyment of the   
sun's rays is no more than a            

compensation4  ,thus there may be upon  
the whole a nearly equal experience  of 
heat amongst all these children of the  
sun4  ,where1 meanwhile1 is the  heat   
once diffused through the system over   
and above what remains in the  planets8 
,may we not rationally presume it to    
have gone to constitute  that luminous  
envelope of the sun1 in which his       
warmth-giving power is  now held to     
reside8  ,it could not be destroyed--it 
cannot be supposed to  have gone off    
into space--it must have simply been    
reserved to constitute1  at the last1 a 
means of sustaining the many operations 
of which the  planets were destined to  
be the theatre4    ,the tendency of the 
whole of the preceding considerations is
 to bring the  conviction that our globe
 is a specimen of all the               
similarly-placed  bodies of space1 as   
respects its constituent matter and the 
physical and  chemical laws governing   
it1 with only this qualification1 that  
there are  possibly shades of variation 

with respect to the component materials1
  and undoubtedly with respect to the   
conditions under which the laws         
operate1 and consequently the effects   
which they produce4  ,thus1 there  may  
be substances here which are not in some
 other bodies1 and substances  here     
solid may be elsewhere liquid or        
vaporiform4  ,we are the more  entitled 
to draw such conclusions1 seeing that   
there is nothing at all  singular or    
special in the astronomical situation of
 the earth4  ,it takes  its place third 
in a series of planets1 which series is 
only one of  numberless other systems   
forming one group4  ,it is              
strikingly--if ,i may  use such an      
expression--a member of a democracy4    
,hence1 we cannot suppose  that there is
 any peculiarity about it which does not
 probably attach to  multitudes of other
 bodies--in fact1 to all that are       
analogous to it in  respect of cosmical 
arrangements4    ,it therefore becomes a
 point of great interest--what are the  

materials of  this specimen8  ,what is  
the constitutional character of this    
object1  which may be said to be a      
sample1 presented to our immediate      
observation1  of those crowds of worlds 
which seem to us as the particles of the
 desert  sand-cloud in number1 and to   
whose profusion there are no conceivable
  local limits8    ,the solids1 liquids1
 and aeriform fluids of our globe are   
all1 as has  been stated1 reducible into
 fifty-five substances hitherto called  
elementary4  ,six are gases2 oxygen1    
hydrogen1 and nitrogen being the  chief4
  ,forty-two are metals1 of which eleven
 are remarkable as  composing1 in       
combination with oxygen1 certain earths1
 as magnesia1 lime1  alumin4  ,the      
remaining six1 including carbon1        
silicon1 sulphur1 have not  any general 
appellation4    ,the gas oxygen is      
considered as by far the most abundant  
substance in our  globe4  ,it           
constitutes a fifth part of our         
atmosphere1 a third part of  water1 and 

a large proportion of every kind of rock
 in the crust of the  earth4  ,hydrogen1
 which forms two-thirds of water1 and   
enters into some  mineral substances1 is
 perhaps next4  ,nitrogen1 of which the 
atmosphere  is four-fifths composed1    
must be considered as an abundant       
substance4  ,the metal silicium1 which  
unites with oxygen in nearly equal parts
 to  form silica1 the basis of nearly a 
half of the rocks in the earth's  crust1
 is1 of course1 an important ingredient4
  ,aluminium1 the metallic  basis of    
alumin1 a large material in many rocks1 
is another abundant  elementary         
substance4  ,so1 also1 is carbon a small
 ingredient in the  atmosphere1 but the 
chief constituent of animal and         
vegetable substances1  and of all       
fossils which ever were in the latter   
condition1 amongst which  coal takes a  
conspicuous place4  ,the                
familiarly-known metals1 as iron1  tin1 
lead1 silver1 gold1 are elements of     
comparatively small magnitude in  that  

exterior part of the earth's body which 
we are able to investigate4    ,it is   
remarkable of the simple substances that
 they are generally in some  compound   
form4  ,thus1 oxygen and nitrogen1      
though in union they form the  aerial   
envelope of the globe1 are never found  
separate in nature4  ,carbon  is pure   
only in the diamond4  ,and the metallic 
bases of the earths1  though the chemist
 can disengage them1 may well be        
supposed unlikely to  remain long       
uncombined1 seeing that contact with    
moisture makes them  burn4  ,combination
 and re-combination are principles      
largely pervading  nature4  ,there are  
few rocks1 for example1 that are not    
composed of at  least two varieties of  
matter1 each of which is again a        
compound of  elementary substances4     
,what is still more wonderful with      
respect to this  principle of           
combination1 all the elementary         
substances observe certain  mathematical
 proportions in their unions4  ,one     

volume of them unites with  one1 two1   
three1 or more volumes of another1 any  
extra quantity being  sure to be left   
over1 if such there should be4  ,it is  
hence supposed that  matter is composed 
of infinitely minute particles or atoms1
 each of which  belonging to any one    
substance1 can only 7through the        
operation of some  as yet hidden law7   
associate with a certain number of the  
atoms of any  other4  ,there are also   
strange predilections amongst substances
 for each  other's company4  ,one will  
remain combined in solution with        
another1 till  a third is added1 when it
 will abandon the former and attach     
itself to  the latter4  ,a fourth being 
added1 the third will perhaps leave the 
first1 and join the new comer4    ,such 
is an outline of the information which  
chemistry gives us regarding  the       
constituent materials of our globe4     
,how infinitely is the knowledge        
increased in interest1 when we consider 
the probability of such being the       

materials of the whole of the bodies of 
space1 and the laws under which  these  
everywhere combine1 subject only to     
local and accidental  variations6    ,in
 considering the cosmogenic arrangements
 of our globe1 our attention is  called 
in a special degree to the moon4    ,in 
the nebular hypothesis1 satellites are  
considered as masses thrown off  from   
their primaries1 exactly as the         
primaries had previously been from  the 
sun4  ,the orbit of any satellite is    
also to be regarded as marking  the     
bounds of the mass of the primary at the
 time when that satellite was  thrown   
off2 its speed likewise denotes the     
rapidity of the rotatory  motion of the 
primary at that particular juncture4    
,for example1 the  outermost of the four
 satellites of ,jupiter revolves round  
his body at  the distance of #a1ahj1ehb 
miles1 shewing that the planet was once 
#c1fge1eja miles in circumference1      
instead of being1 as now1 only #hi1agj  
miles in diameter4  ,this large mass    

took rather more than sixteen days  six 
hours and a half 7the present           
revolutionary period of the outermost   
satellite7 to rotate on its axis4  ,the 
innermost satellite must have been      
formed when the planet was reduced to a 
circumference of #cji1jge miles1  and   
rotated in about forty-two hours and a  
half4    ,from similar inferences1 we   
find that the mass of the earth1 at a   
certain  point of time after it was     
thrown off from the sun1 was no less    
than  #dhb1jjj miles in diameter1 being 
sixty times what it has since shrunk to4
  ,at that time1 the mass must have     
taken rather more than twenty-nine and a
  half days to rotate1 7being the       
revolutionary period of the moon17      
instead of as now1 rather less than     
twenty-four hours4    ,the time         
intervening between the formation of the
 moon and the earth's  diminution to its
 present size1 was probably one of those
 vast sums in  which astronomy deals so 
largely1 but which the mind altogether  

fails to  grasp4    ,the observations   
made upon the surface of the moon by    
telescopes1 tend  strongly to support   
the hypothesis as to all the bodies of  
space being  composed of similar        
matters1 subject to certain variations4 
,it does not  appear that our satellite 
is provided with that gaseous envelope  
which1  on earth1 performs so many      
important functions4  ,neither is there 
any  appearance of water upon the       
surface2 yet that surface is1 like that 
of  our globe1 marked by inequalities   
and the appearance of volcanic          
operations4  ,these inequalities and    
volcanic operations are upon a scale    
far greater than any which now exist    
upon the earth's surface4  ,although1   
from the greater force of gravitation   
upon its exterior1 the mountains1  other
 circumstances being equal1 might have  
been expected to be much  smaller than  
ours1 they are1 in many instances1 equal
 in height to nearly  the highest of our
 ,andes4  ,they are generally of extreme

 steepness1 and  sharp of outline1 a    
peculiarity which might be looked for in
 a planet  deficient in water and       
atmosphere1 seeing that these are the   
agents which  wear down ruggedness on   
the surface of our earth4  ,the volcanic
  operations are on a stupendous scale4 
,they are the cause of the bright  spots
 of the moon1 while the want of them is 
what distinguishes the  duller portions1
 usually but erroneously called seas4   
,in some parts1  bright volcanic matter1
 besides covering one large patch1      
radiates out in  long streams1 which    
appear studded with subordinate foci of 
the same  kind of energy4  ,other       
objects of a most remarkable character  
are ring  mountains1 mounts like those  
of the craters of earthly volcanoes1    
surrounded immediately by vast and      
profound circular pits1 hollowed under  
the general surface1 these again being  
surrounded by a circular wall of        
mountain1 rising far above the central  
one1 and in the inside of which  are    

terraces about the same height as the   
inner eminence4  ,the well-known  bright
 spot in the south-east quarter1 called 
by astronomers ,tycho1 and  which can be
 readily distinguished by the naked eye1
 is one of these  ring-mountains4       
,there is one of #bjj miles in diameter1
 with a pit #bb1jjj  feet deep2 that is1
 twice the height of tna4  ,it is       
remarkable1 that the  maps given by     
,humboldt of a volcanic district in     
,south ,america1 and one  illustrative  
of the formerly volcanic district of    
,auvergne1 in ,france1  present features
 strikingly like many parts of the      
moon's surface1 as  seen through a good 
glass4    ,these characteristics of the 
moon forbid the idea that it can be at  
present a theatre of life like the      
earth1 and almost seem to declare that  
it never can become so4  ,but we must   
not rashly draw any such  conclusions4  
,the moon may be only in an earlier     
stage of the progress  through which the
 earth has already gone4  ,the elements 

which seem  wanting may be only in      
combinations different in those which   
exist here1  and may yet be developed as
 we here find them4  ,seas may yet fill 
the  profound hollows of the surface2 an
 atmosphere may spread over the whole4  
,should these events take place1        
meteorological phenomena1 and all the   
phenomena of organic life1 will         
commence1 and the moon1 like the earth1 
will become a green and inhabited world4
    ,it is unavoidably held as a strong 
proof in favour of any hypothesis1  when
 all the relative phenomena are in      
harmony with it4  ,this is  eminently   
the case with the nebulous hypothesis1  
for here the associated  facts cannot be
 explained on any other supposition4    
,we have seen reason  to conclude that  
the primary condition of matter was that
 of a diffused  mass1 in which the      
component molecules were probably kept  
apart through  the efficacy of heat2    
that portions of this agglomerated into 
suns1 which  threw off planets2 that    

these planets were at first very much   
diffused1  but gradually contracted by  
cooling to their present dimensions4    
,now1 as  to our own globe1 there is a  
remarkable proof of its having been in a
  fluid state at the time when it was   
finally solidifying1 in the fact of  its
 being bulged at the equator1 the very  
form which a soft revolving  body takes1
 and must inevitably take1 under the    
influence of centrifugal  force4  ,this 
bulging makes the equatorial exceed the 
polar diameter as  #bcj to #bbi1 which  
has been demonstrated to be precisely   
the departure  from a correct sphere    
which might be predicated from a        
knowledge of the  amount of the mass and
 the rate of rotation4  ,there is an    
almost equally  distinct memorial of the
 original high temperature of the       
materials1 in  the store of heat which  
still exists in the interior4  ,the     
immediate  surface of the earth1 be it  
observed1 exhibits only the temperature 
which  might be expected to be imparted 

to such materials1 by the heat of the   
sun4  ,there is a point1 very short way 
down1 but varying in different  climes1 
where all effect from the sun's rays    
ceases4  ,then1 however1  commences a   
temperature from an entirely different  
cause1 one which  evidently has its     
source in the interior of the earth1 and
 which  regularly increases as we       
descend to greater and greater depths1  
the rate  of increment being about one  
degree ,fahrenheit for every sixty feet2
 and  of this high temperature there are
 other evidences1 in the phenomena of   
volcanoes and thermal springs1 as well  
as in what is ascertained with  regard  
to the density of the entire mass of the
 earth4  ,this1 it will be  remembered1 
is four and a half times the weight of  
water2 but the actual  weight of the    
principal solid substances composing the
 outer crust is as  two and a half times
 the weight of water2 and this1 we know1
 if the globe  were solid and cold1     
should increase vastly towards the      

centre1 water  acquiring the density of 
quicksilver at #cfb miles below the     
surface1 and  other things in           
proportion1 and these densities becoming
 much greater at  greater depths2 so    
that the entire mass of a cool globe    
should be of a  gravity infinitely      
exceeding four and a half times the     
weight of water4  ,the only alternative 
supposition is1 that the central        
materials are  greatly expanded or      
diffused by some means2 and by what     
means could they  be so expanded but by 
heat8  ,indeed1 the existence of this   
central heat1  a residuum of that which 
kept all matter in a vaporiform chaos at
 first1  is amongst the most solid      
discoveries of modern science1 #db and  
the  support which it gives to          
,herschel's explanation of the formation
 of  worlds is most important4  ,we     
shall hereafter see what appear to be   
traces of an operation of this heat upon
 the surface of the earth in very       
remote times2 an effect1 however1 which 

has long passed entirely away4  ,the    
central heat has1 for ages1 reached a   
fixed point1 at which it will  probably 
remain for ever1 as the non-conducting  
quality of the cool crust  absolutely   
prevents it from suffering any          
diminution4          ,,the ,,earth      
,,formed--,,era ,,of ,,the  ,,primary   
,,rocks4      ,,although the earth has  
not been actually penetrated to a       
greater depth  than three thousand feet1
 the nature of its substance can1 in    
many  instances1 be inferred for the    
depth of many miles by other means of   
observation4  ,we see a mountain        
composed of a particular substance1 with
  strata1 or beds of other rock1 lying  
against its sloped sides2 we1 of        
course1 infer that the substance of the 
mountain dips away under the  strata    
which we see lying against it4  ,suppose
 that we walk away from the  mountain   
across the turned up edges of the       
stratified rocks1 and that for  many    
miles we continue to pass over other    

stratified rocks1 all disposed  in the  
same way1 till by and bye we come to a  
place where we begin to  cross the      
opposite edges of the same beds2 after  
which we pass over these  rocks all in  
reverse order till we come to another   
extensive mountain  composed of similar 
material to the first1 and shelving away
 under the  strata in the same way4  ,we
 should then infer that the stratified  
rocks  occupied a basin formed by the   
rock of these two mountains1 and by     
calculating the thickness right through 
these strata1 could be able to  say to  
what depth the rock of the mountain     
extended below4  ,by such  means1 the   
kind of rock existing many miles below  
the surface can often  be inferred with 
considerable confidence4    ,the        
interior of the globe has now been      
inspected in this way in many  places1  
and a tolerably distinct notion of its  
general arrangements has  consequently  
been arrived at4  ,it appears that the  
basis rock of the  earth1 as it may be  

called1 is of hard texture1 and         
crystalline in its  constitution4  ,of  
this rock1 granite may be said to be the
 type1 though  it runs into many        
varieties4  ,over this1 except in the   
comparatively few  places where it      
projects above the general level in     
mountains1 other  rocks are disposed in 
sheets or strata1 with the appearance of
 having  been deposited originally from 
water2 but these last rocks have nowhere
  been allowed to rest in their original
 arrangement4  ,uneasy movements  from  
below have broken them up in great      
inclined masses1 while in many  cases   
there has been projected through the    
rents rocky matter more or  less        
resembling the great inferior           
crystalline mass4  ,this rocky matter   
must have been in a state of fusion from
 heat at the time of its  projection1   
for it is often found to have run into  
and filled up lateral  chinks in these  
rents4  ,there are even instances where 
it has been rent  again1 and a newer    

melted matter of the same character sent
 through the  opening4  ,finally1 in the
 crust as thus arranged there are1 in   
many  places1 chinks containing veins of
 metal4  ,thus1 there is first a great  
inferior mass1 composed of crystalline  
rock1 and probably resting  immediately 
on the fused and expanded matter of the 
interior3 next1  layers or strata of    
aqueous origin2 next1 irregular masses  
of melted  inferior rock that have been 
sent up volcanically and confusedly at  
various times amongst the aqueous rocks1
 breaking up these into masses1  and    
tossing them out of their original      
levels4  ,this is an outline of the     
arrangements of the crust of the earth1 
as far as we can observe it4  ,it  is1  
at first sight1 a most confused scene2  
but after some careful  observation1 we 
readily detect in it a regularity and   
order from which  much instruction in   
the history of our globe is to be       
derived4    ,the deposition of the      
aqueous rocks1 and the projection of the

 volcanic1  have unquestionably taken   
place since the settlement of the earth 
in its  present form4  ,they are indeed 
of an order of events which we see going
  on1 under the agency of more or less  
intelligible causes1 even down to  the  
present day4  ,we may therefore consider
 them generally as  comparatively recent
 transactions4  ,abstracting them from  
the  investigations before us1 we arrive
 at the idea of the earth in its first  
condition as a globe of its present     
size--namely1 as a mass1 externally at  
least1 consisting of the crystalline    
kind of rock1 with the waters of the    
present seas and the present atmosphere 
around it1 though these were  probably  
in considerably different conditions1   
both as to temperature and  their       
constituent materials1 from what they   
now are4  ,we are thus to  presume that 
that crystalline texture of rock which  
we see exemplified in  granite is the   
condition into which the great bulk of  
the solids of our  earth were           

agglomerated directly from the nebulous 
or vaporiform state4  ,it is a condition
 eminently of combination1 for such rock
 is invariably  composed of two or more 
of four substances--silica1 mica1       
quartz1 and  hornblende--which associate
 in it in the form of grains or         
crystals1 and  which are themselves each
 composed of a group of the simple or   
elementary  substances4    ,judging from
 the results and from still remaining   
conditions1 we must  suppose that the   
heat retained in the interior of the    
globe was more  intense1 or had greater 
freedom to act1 in some places than in  
others4  ,these became the scenes of    
volcanic operations1 and in time marked 
their  situations by the extrusion of   
traps and basalts from below--namely1   
rocks  composed of the crystalline      
matter fused by intense heat1 and       
developed  on the surface in various    
conditions1 according to the particular 
circumstances under which it was sent   
up2 some1 for example1 being thrown  up 

under water1 and some in the open air1  
which conditions are found to  have made
 considerable difference in its texture 
and appearance4  ,the  great stores of  
subterranean heat also served an        
important purpose in the  formation of  
the aqueous rocks4  ,these rocks might1 
according to ,sir ,john  ,herschel1     
become subject to heat in the following 
manner3--,while the  surface of a       
particular mass of rock forms the bed of
 the sea1 the heat  is kept at a certain
 distance from that surface by the      
contact of the  water2 philosophically  
speaking1 it radiates away the heat into
 the sea1  and 7to resort to common     
language7 is cooled a good way down4    
,but when  new sediment settles at the  
bottom of that sea1 the heat rises up to
 what  was formerly the surface2 and    
when a second quantity of sediment is   
laid  down1 it continues to rise through
 the first of the deposits1 which then  
becomes subjected to those changes which
 heat is calculated to produce4  ,this  

process is precisely the same as that of
 putting additional coats  upon our own 
bodies2 when1 of course1 the internal   
heat rises through  each coat in        
succession1 and the third 7supposing    
there is a fourth above  it7 becomes as 
warm as perhaps the first originally    
was4    ,in speaking of sedimentary     
rocks1 we may be said to be             
anticipating4  ,it  is necessary1 first1
 to shew how such rocks were formed1 or 
how  stratification commenced4          
,geology tells us as plainly as         
possible1 that the original crystalline 
mass was not a perfectly smooth ball1   
with air and water playing round  it4   
,there were vast irregularities in the  
surface1--irregularities  trifling1     
perhaps1 compared with the whole bulk of
 the globe1 but  assuredly vast in      
comparison with any which now exist upon
 it4  ,these  irregularities might be   
occasioned by inequalities in the       
cooling of the  substance1 or by        
accidental and local sluggishness of the

 materials1 or  by local effects of the 
concentrated internal heat4  ,from      
whatever cause  they arose1 there they  
were--enormous granitic mountains1      
interspersed  with seas which sunk to a 
depth equally profound1 and by which1   
perhaps1  the mountains were wholly or  
partially covered4  ,now1 it is a fact  
of  which the very first principles of  
geology assure us1 that the solids of   
the globe cannot for a moment be exposed
 to water1 or to the atmosphere1        
without becoming liable to change4      
,they instantly begin to wear down4     
,this operation1 we may be assured1     
proceeded with as much certainty in  the
 earliest ages of our earth's history1  
as it does now1 but upon a much  more   
magnificent scale4  ,there is the       
clearest evidence that the seas of      
those days were not in some instances   
less than a hundred miles in depth1     
however much more4  ,the sub-aqueous    
mountains must necessarily have been  of
 at least equal magnitude4  ,the system 

of disintegration consequent  upon such 
conditions would be enormous4  ,the     
matters worn off1 being  carried into   
the neighbouring depths1 and there      
deposited1 became the  components of the
 earliest stratified rocks1 the first   
series of which is  the ,gneiss and     
,mica ,slate ,system1 or series1        
examples of which are  exposed to view  
in the ,highlands of ,scotland and in   
the ,west of ,england4  ,the vast       
thickness of these beds1 in some        
instances1 is what attests the          
profoundness of the primeval oceans in  
which they were formed2 the             
,pensylvanian grawacke1 a member of the 
next highest series1 is not less  than a
 hundred miles in direct thickness4  ,we
 have also evidence that the  earliest  
strata were formed in the presence of a 
stronger degree of heat  than what      
operated in subsequent stages of the    
world1 for the lamin of  the gneiss and 
of the mica and chlorite schists are    
contorted in a way  which could only be 

the result of a very high temperature4  
,it appears as  if the seas in which    
these deposits were formed1 had been in 
the troubled  state of a caldron of     
water nearly at boiling heat4  ,such a  
condition  would probably add not a     
little to the disintegrating power of   
the ocean4    ,the earliest stratified  
rocks contain no matters which are not  
to be  found in the primitive granite4  
,they are the same in material1 but only
  changed into new forms and            
combinations2 hence they have been      
called by  ,mr4 ,lyell1 metamorphic     
rocks4  ,but how comes it that some of  
them are  composed almost exclusively of
 one of the materials of granite2 the   
mica  schists1 for example1 of mica--the
 quartz rocks1 of quartz1 c48  ,for this
  there are both chemical and mechanical
 causes4  ,suppose that a river has  a  
certain quantity of material to carry   
down1 it is evident that it will        
soonest drop the larger particles1 and  
carry the lightest farthest on4  ,to    

such a cause is it owing that some of   
the materials of the worn-down  granite 
have settled in one place and some in   
another4 #eb  ,again1 some  of these    
materials must be presumed to have been 
in a state of chemical  solution in the 
primeval seas4  ,it would be1 of course1
 in conformity  with chemical laws1 that
 certain of these materials would be    
precipitated  singly1 or in modified    
combinations1 to the bottom1 so as to   
form rocks  by themselves4    ,the rocks
 hitherto spoken of contain none of     
those petrified remains of  vegetables  
and animals which abound so much in     
subsequently formed rocks1  and tell so 
wondrous a tale of the past history of  
our globe4  ,they  simply contain1 as   
has been said1 mineral materials derived
 from the  primitive mass1 and which    
appear to have been formed into strata  
in seas  of vast depth4  ,the absence   
from these rocks of all traces of       
vegetable  and animal life1 joined to a 
consideration of the excessive          

temperature  which seems to have        
prevailed in their epoch1 has led to the
 inference  that no plants or animals of
 any kind then existed4  ,a few         
geologists  have indeed endeavoured to  
shew that the absence of organic remains
 is no  proof of the globe having been  
then unfruitful or uninhabited1 as the  
heat to which these rocks have been     
subjected at the time of their          
solidification1 might have obliterated  
any remains of either plants or  animals
 which were included in them4  ,but this
 is only an hypothesis of  negation2 and
 it certainly seems very unlikely that a
 degree of heat  sufficient to          
obliterate the remains of plants or     
animals when dead1  would ever allow of 
their coming into or continuing in      
existence4          ,,commencement ,,of 
,,organic ,,life--  ,,sea ,,plants1     
,,corals1 ,,etc4      ,,we can scarcely 
be said to have passed out of these     
rocks1 when we begin  to find new       
conditions in the earth4  ,it is here to

 be observed that the  subsequent rocks 
are formed1 in a great measure1 of      
matters derived from  the substance of  
those which went before1 but contain    
also beds of  limestone1 which is to no 
small extent composed of an ingredient  
which  has not hitherto appeared4       
,limestone is a carbonate of lime1 a    
secondary  compound1 of which one of the
 ingredients1 carbonic acid gas1        
presents  the element carbon1 a perfect 
novelty in our progress4  ,whence this  
substance8  ,the question is the more   
interesting1 from our knowing that      
carbon is the main ingredient in organic
 things4  ,there is reason to  believe  
that its primeval condition was that of 
a gas1 confined in the  interior of the 
earth1 and diffused in the atmosphere4  
,the atmosphere  still contains about a 
two-thousandth part of carbonic acid    
gas1 forming  the grand store from which
 the substance of each year's crop of   
herbage  and grain is derived1 passing  
from herbage and grain into animal      

substance1 and from animals again       
rendered back to the atmosphere in      
their expired breath1 so that its amount
 is never impaired4  ,knowing  this1    
when we hear of carbon beginning to     
appear in the ascending series  of      
rocks1 we are unavoidably led to        
consider it as marking a time of some   
importance in the earth's history1 a new
 era of natural conditions1 one  in     
which organic life has probably played a
 part4    ,it is not easy to suppose    
that1 at this period1 carbon was adopted
  directly in its gaseous form into     
rocks2 for1 if so1 why should it not    
have been taken into earlier ones also8 
,but we know that plants take it  in1   
and transform it into substance2 and we 
also know that there are  classes of    
animals 7marine polypes7 which are      
capable of appropriating  it1 in        
connexion with lime1 7carbonate of      
lime17 from the waters of the  ocean1   
provided it be there in solution2 and   
this substance do these  animals deposit

 in masses 7coral reefs7 equal in extent
 to many strata4  ,it has even been     
suggested1 on strong grounds of         
probability1 that a  class of limestone 
beds are simply these reefs subjected to
 subsequent  heat and pressure4    ,the 
appearance1 then1 of limestone beds in  
the early part of the  stratified       
series1 may be presumed to be connected 
with the fact of the  commencement of   
organic life upon our planet1 and1      
indeed1 a consequent  and a symptom of  
it4    ,it may not be out of place here 
to remark1 that carbon is presumed to   
exist largely in the interior of the    
earth1 from the fact of such            
considerable quantities of it issuing at
 this day1 in the form of  carbonic acid
 gas1 from fissures and springs4  ,the  
primeval and  subsequent history of this
 element is worthy of much attention1   
and we  shall have to revert to it as a 
matter greatly concerning our subject4  
,delabeche estimates the quantity of    
carbonic acid gas locked up in every    

cubic yard of limestone1 at #af1jjj     
cubic feet4  ,the quantity locked up in 
coal1 in which it forms from #fd to #ge 
per cent41 must also be enormous4  ,if  
all this were disengaged in a gaseous   
form1 the constitution of the           
atmosphere would undergo a change1 of   
which the first effect would be the     
extinction of life in all land animals4 
,but a large proportion of it  must have
 at one time been in the atmosphere4    
,the atmosphere would then1  of course1 
be incapable of supporting life in land 
animals4  ,it is  important1 however1 to
 observe that such an atmosphere would  
not be  inconsistent with a luxuriant   
land vegetation2 for experiment has     
proved  that plants will flourish in air
 containing one-twelfth of this gas1 or 
#aff times more than the present charge 
of our atmosphere4  ,the results  which 
we observe are perfectly consistent     
with1 and may be said to  presuppose an 
atmosphere highly charged with this gas1
 from about the  close of the primary   

non-fossiliferous rocks to the          
termination of the  carboniferous       
series1 for there we see vast deposits  
7coal7 containing  carbon as a large    
ingredient1 while at the same time the  
leaves of the  ,stone ,book present no  
record of the contemporaneous existence 
of land  animals4    ,the hypothesis of 
the connexion of the first limestone    
beds with the  commencement of organic  
life upon our planet is supported by the
 fact1  that in these beds we find the  
first remains of the bodies of animated 
creatures4  ,my hypothesis may indeed be
 unsound2 but1 whether or not1 it  is   
clear1 taking organic remains as upon   
the whole a faithful chronicle1  that   
the deposition of these limestone beds  
was coeval with the existence  of the   
earliest1 or all but the earliest1      
living creatures upon earth4    ,and    
what were those creatures8  ,it might   
well be with a kind of awe that  the    
uninstructed inquirer would wait for an 
answer to this question4  ,but  nature  

is simpler than man's wit would make    
her1 and behold1 the  interrogation only
 brings before us the unpretending forms
 of various  zoophytes and polypes1     
together with a few single and          
double-valved  shell-fish 7mollusks71   
all of them creatures of the sea4  ,it  
is rather  surprising to find these     
before any vegetable forms1 considering 
that  vegetables appear to us as forming
 the necessary first link in the chain  
of nutrition2 but it is probable that   
there were sea plants1 and also  some   
simpler forms of animal life1 before    
this period1 although of too  slight a  
substance to leave any fossil trace of  
their existence4    ,the exact point in 
the ascending stratified series at which
 the first  traces of organic life are  
to be found is not clearly determined4  
,dr4  ,m',culloch states that he found  
fossil orthocerata 7a kind of           
shell-fish7  so early as the gneiss     
tract of ,loch ,eribol1 in ,sutherland2 
but ,messrs4  ,sedgwick and ,murchison1 

on a subsequent search1 could not verify
 the  discovery4  ,it has also been     
stated1 that the gneiss and mica tract  
of  ,bohemia contains some seams of     
grawacke1 in which are organic remains2 
but ,british geologists have not as yet 
attached much importance to this        
statement4  ,we have to look a little   
higher in the series for indubitable    
traces of organic life4    ,above the   
gneiss and mica slate system1 or group  
of strata1 is the ,clay  ,slate and     
,grawacke ,slate ,system2 that is to    
say1 it is higher in the  order of      
supraposition1 though very often it     
rests immediately on the  primitive     
granite4  ,the sub-groups of this system
 are in the following  succession       
upwards3--#a1 hornblende slate2 #b1     
chiastolite slate2 #c1 clay  slate2 #d1 
,snowdon rocks1 7grawacke and           
conglomerates27 #e1 ,bala limestone2    
#f1 ,plynlymmon rocks1 7grawacke and    
grawacke slates1 with beds of           
conglomerates47  ,this system is largely

 developed in the west and north  of    
,england1 and it has been well examined1
 partly because some of the  slate beds 
are extensively quarried for domestic   
purposes4  ,if we  overlook the dubious 
statements respecting ,sutherland and   
,bohemia1 we  have in this 8system0 the 
first appearances of life upon our      
planet4  ,the  animal remains are       
chiefly confined to the slate beds1     
those named from  ,bala1 in ,wales1     
being the most prolific4  ,zoophyta1    
polyparia1  crinoidea1 conchifera1 and  
crustacea1 #fj are the orders of the    
animal kingdom thus found in the        
earliest of earth's sepulchres4  ,the   
orders are distinguished without        
difficulty1 from the general  characters
 of the creatures whose remains are     
found2 but it is only in  this general  
character that they bear a general      
resemblance to any  creatures now       
existing4  ,when we come to consider    
specific characters1 we  see that a     
difference exists--that1 in short1 the  

species and even genera  are no longer  
represented upon earth4  ,more than     
this1 it will be found  that the        
earliest species comparatively soon gave
 place to others1 and  that they are not
 represented even in the next higher    
group of rocks4  ,one important remark  
has been made1 that a comparatively     
small variety of  species is found in   
the older rocks1 although of some       
particular ones the  remains are very   
abundant2 as1 for instance1 of a species
 of asaphus1  which is found between the
 lamin of some of the slate rocks of    
,wales1  and the corresponding rocks of 
,normandy and ,germany in enormous      
quantities4    ,ascending to the next   
group of rocks1 we find the traces of   
life become  more abundant1 the number  
of species extended1 and important      
additions  made in certain vestiges of  
fuci1 or sea-plants1 and of fishes4     
,this  group of rocks has been called by
 ,english geologists1 the ,silurian     
,system1 because largely developed at   

the surface of a district of  western   
,england1 formerly occupied by a people 
whom the ,roman historians  call        
,silures4  ,it is a series of           
sandstones1 limestones1 and beds of     
shale 7hardened mud71 which are classed 
in the following sub-groups1  beginning 
with the undermost3--#a1 ,llandillo     
rocks1 7darkish calcareous  flagstones27
 #b and #c1 two groups called ,caradoc  
rocks2 #d1 ,wenlock shale2  #e1 ,wenlock
 limestone2 #f1 ,lower ,ludlow rocks1   
7shales and limestones27 #g1  ,aymestry 
limestone2 #h1 ,upper ,ludlow rocks1    
7shales and limestone1 chiefly          
micaceous47  ,from the lowest beds      
upwards1 there are polypiaria1 though   
most prevalent in the ,wenlock          
limestone2 conchifera1 a vast number of 
genera1 but all of the order            
brachiopoda1 7including terebratula1    
pentamerus1 spirifer1 orthis1 leptna27  
mollusca1 of several orders and  many   
genera1 7including turritella1          
orthoceras1 nautilus1 bellerophon27     

crustacea1 all of them trilobites1      
7including trinucleus1 asaphus1         
calamene47  ,a little above the         
,llandillo rocks1 there have been       
discovered certain convoluted forms1    
which are now established as  annelids1 
or sea-worms1 a tribe of creatures still
 existing1 7nereidina  and serpulina17  
and which may often be found beneath    
stones on a  sea-beach4  ,one of these1 
figured by ,mr4 ,murchison1 is furnished
 with  feet in vast numbers all along   
its body1 like a centipede4  ,the       
occurrence of annelids is important1 on 
account of their character and  status  
in the animal kingdom4  ,they are       
red-blooded and hermaphrodite1  and form
 a link of connexion between the        
annulosa 7white-blooded worms7  and a   
humble class of the vertebrata4 #fb     
,the ,wenlock limestone is most         
remarkable amongst all the rocks of the 
,silurian system1 for organic  remains4 
,many slabs of it are wholly composed of
 corals1 shells1 and  trilobites1 held  

together by shale4  ,it contains many   
genera of crinoidea  and polypiaria1 and
 it is thought that some beds of it are 
wholly the  production of the latter    
creatures1 or are1 in other words1 coral
 reefs  transformed by heat and pressure
 into rocks4  ,remains of fishes1 of a  
very minute size1 have been detected by 
,mr4 ,philips in the ,aymestry          
limestone1 being apparently the first   
examples of vertebrated animals  which  
breathed upon our planet4  ,in the upper
 ,ludlow rocks1 remains of  six genera  
of fish have been for a longer period   
known2 they belong to  the order of     
cartilaginous fishes1 an order of mean  
organization and  ferocious habits1 of  
which the shark and sturgeon are living 
specimens4  8,some were furnished with  
long palates1 and squat1 firmly-based   
teeth1  well adapted for crushing the   
strong-cased zoophytes and shells of the
  period1 fragments of which occur in   
the fcal remains2 some with teeth  that1
 like the fossil sharks of the later    

formations1 resemble lines of  miniature
 pyramids1 larger and smaller           
alternating2 some with teeth  sharp1    
thin1 and so deeply serrated1 that every
 individual tooth  resembles a row of   
poniards set up against the walls of an 
armory2 and  these last1 says ,agassiz1 
furnished with weapons so murderous1    
must have  been the pirates of the      
period4  ,some had their fins guarded   
with long  spines1 hooked like the beak 
of an eagle2 some with spines of        
straighter  and more slender form1 and  
ribbed and furrowed longitudinally like 
columns2 some were shielded by an armour
 of bony points1 and some thickly       
covered with glistening scales40 #fd    
,the traces of fuci in this system are  
all but sufficient to allow of a        
distinction of genera4  ,in some parts  
of ,north ,america1 extensive though    
thin beds of them have been found4  ,a  
distinguished ,french geologist1 ,m4    
,brogniart1 has shewn that all existing 
marine plants are classifiable  with    

regard to the zones of climate2 some    
being fitted for the torrid  zone1 some 
for the temperate1 some for the frigid4 
,and he establishes  that the fuci of   
these early rocks speak of a torrid     
climate1 although  they may be found in 
what are now temperate regions2 he also 
states that  those of the higher rocks  
betoken1 as we ascend1 a gradually      
diminishing  temperature4    ,we thus   
early begin to find proofs of the       
general uniformity of organic  life over
 the surface of the earth1 at the time  
when each particular  system of rocks   
was formed4  ,species identical with the
 remains in the  ,wenlock limestone     
occur in the corresponding class of     
rocks in the ,eifel1  and partially in  
the ,harz1 ,norway1 ,russia1 and        
,brittany4  ,the situations  of the     
remains in ,russia are fifteen hundred  
miles from the ,wenlock beds2  but at   
the distance of between six and seven   
thousand from those1--namely1  in the   
vale of ,mississippi1 the same species  

are discovered4  ,uniformity  in animal 
life over large geographical areas      
argues uniformity in the  conditions of 
animal life2 and hence arise some       
curious inferences4  ,species1 in the   
same low class of animals1 are now much 
more limited2 for  instance1 the ,red   
,sea gives different polypiaria1        
zoophytes1 and  shell-fish1 from the    
,mediterranean4  ,it is the opinion of  
,m4 ,brogniart1  that the uniformity    
which existed in the primeval times can 
only be  attributed to the temperature  
arising from the internal heat1 which   
had  yet1 as he supposes1 been          
sufficiently great to overpower the     
ordinary  meteorological influences1 and
 spread a tropical clime all over the   
globe4          ,,era ,,of ,,the ,,old  
,,red ,,sandstone--  ,,fishes           
,,abundant4      ,,we advance to a new  
chapter in this marvellous history--the 
era of the  ,old ,red ,sandstone        
,system4  ,this term has been recently  
applied to a  series of strata1 of      

enormous thickness in the whole mass1   
largely  developed in ,herefordshire1   
,shropshire1 ,worcestershire1 and ,south
 ,wales2  also in the counties of ,fife1
 ,forfar1 ,moray1 ,cromarty1 and        
,caithness2 and  in ,russia and ,north  
,america1 if not in many other parts of 
the world4  ,the particular strata      
forming the system are somewhat         
different in  different countries2 but  
there is a general character to the     
extent of  these being a mixture of     
flagstones1 marly rocks1 and sandstones1
 usually  of a laminous structure1 with 
conglomerates4  ,there is also a schist 
shewing the presence of bitumen2 a      
remarkable new ingredient1 since it is  
a vegetable production4  ,in the        
conglomerates1 of great extent and      
thickness1 which form1 in at least one  
district1 the basis or leading  feature 
of the system1 inclosing water-worn     
fragments of quartz and other  rocks1 we
 have evidence of the seas of that      
period having been subjected  to a      

violent and long-continued agitation1   
probably from volcanic causes4  ,the    
upper members of the series bear the    
appearance of having been  deposited in 
comparatively tranquil seas4  ,the      
,english specimens of this  system shew 
a remarkable freedom from those         
disturbances which result in  the       
interjection of trap2 and they are thus 
defective in mineral ores4  ,in some    
parts of ,england the old red sandstone 
system has been stated as  #aj1jjj feet 
in thickness4    ,in this era1 the forms
 of life which existed in the ,silurian 
are  continued3 we have the same orders 
of marine creatures1 zoophyta1          
polypiaria1 conchifera1 crustacea2 but  
to these are added numerous  fishes1    
some of which are of most extraordinary 
and surprising forms4  ,several of the  
strata are crowded with remains of fish1
 shewing that the  seas in which those  
beds were deposited had swarmed with    
that class of  inhabitants4  ,the       
investigation of this system is recent2 

but already  #fh ,m4 ,agassiz has       
ascertained about twenty genera1 and    
thrice the  number of species4  ,and it 
is remarkable that the ,silurian fishes 
are  here only represented in genera2   
the whole of the species of that era    
had already passed away4  ,even         
throughout the sub-groups of the system 
itself1 the species are changed2 and    
these are phenomena observed  throughout
 all the subsequent systems or          
geological eras2 apparently  arguing    
that1 during the deposition of all the  
rocks1 a gradual change of  physical    
conditions was constantly going on4  ,a 
varying temperature1 or  even a varying 
depth of sea1 would at present be       
attended with similar  changes in marine
 life2 and by analogy we are entitled to
 assume that  such variations in the    
ancient seas might be amongst the causes
 of that  constant change of genera and 
species in the inhabitants of those seas
 to  which the organic contents of the  
rocks bear witness4    ,some of the     

fossils of this system1--the            
cephalaspis1 coccosteus1  pterichthys1  
holoptychius--are1 in form and          
structure1 entirely different  from any 
fishes now existing1 only the sturgeon  
family having any trace  of affinity to 
them in any respect4  ,they seem to form
 a sort of  connecting link between the 
crustacea and true fishes4    ,the      
cephalaspis may be considered as making 
the smallest advance from  the          
crustacean character2 it very much      
resembles in form the asaphus of  lower 
formations1 having a longish tail-like  
body inserted within the  cusp of a     
large crescent-shaped head1 somewhat    
like a saddler's  cutting-knife4  ,the  
body is covered with strong plates of   
bone1  enamelled1 and the head was      
protected on the upper side with one    
large  plate1 as with a buckler--hence  
the name1 implying buckler-head4  ,a    
range of small fins conveys the idea of 
its having been as weak in motion  as it
 is strong in structure4  ,the          

coccosteus may be said to mark the  next
 advance to fish creation4  ,the outline
 of its body is of the form of  a short 
thick coffin1 rounded1 covered with     
strong bony plates1 and  terminating in 
a long tail1 which seems to have been   
the sole organ of  motion4  ,it is very 
remarkable1 that1 while the tail        
establishes this  creature among the    
vertebrata and the fishes1 its mouth has
 been opened  vertically1 like those of 
the crustaceans1 but which is contrary  
to the  mode of vertebrata generally4   
,this seems a pretty strong mark of the 
link character of the coccosteus between
 these two great departments of  the    
animal kingdom4  ,the pterichthys has   
also strong bony plates over  its body1 
arranged much like those of a tortoise1 
and has a long tail2  but its most      
remarkable feature1 and that which has  
suggested its name1  is a pair of long  
and narrow wing-like appendages attached
 to the  shoulders1 which the creature  
is supposed to have erected for its     

defence  when attacked by an enemy4     
,the holoptychius is of a flat oval     
form1 furnished with fins1 and  ending  
in a long tail2 the whole body covered  
with strong plates which  overlap each  
other1 and the head forming only a      
slight rounded projection  from the     
general figure4  ,the specimens in the  
lower beds are not above  the size of a 
flounder2 but in the higher strata1 to  
judge by the size of  the scales or     
plates which have been found1 the       
creature attained a  comparatively      
monstrous size4    ,the other fishes of 
the system1--the osteolepis1            
glyptolepis1 dipterus1  c41 are1 in     
general outline1 much like fishes still 
existing1 but their  organization has1  
nevertheless1 some striking             
peculiarities4  ,they have  been        
entirely covered with bony scales or    
plates1 enamelled externally2  their    
spines are tipped with bone1 and1 as one
 striking and unvarying  feature1 the   
tail is only finned on the lower side4  

,the internal  skeleton1 of which no    
traces have been preserved1 is presumed 
to have  been cartilaginous4  ,they     
therefore unite the character of        
cartilaginous  fishes with a character  
peculiar to themselves1 and in which we 
see  pretty clear vestiges of the       
pre-existent crustaceous form4    ,with 
regard to the link character of these   
animals1 some curious facts  are        
mentioned4  ,it appears that in the     
imperfect condition of the  vertebral   
column1 and the inferior situation of   
the mouth in the  pterichthys1          
coccosteus1 c41 there is an analogy to  
the form of the  dorsal cord and        
position of the mouth in the embryo of  
perfect fishes4  ,the one-sided form of 
the tail in the osteolepis c4 finds a   
similar  analogy in the form of the tail
 in the embryo of the salmon4  ,it is   
not  premature to remark how broadly    
these facts seem to hint at a parity of 
law affecting the progress of general   
creation1 and the progress of an        

individual ftus of one of the more      
perfect animals4    ,it is equally      
ascertained of the types of being       
prevalent in the old red1  as of those  
of the preceding system1 that they are  
uniform in the  corresponding strata of 
distant parts of the earth2 for         
instance1 ,russia  and ,north ,america4 
,in the old red sandstone1 the marine   
plants1 of which faint traces are       
observable in the ,silurians1 continue  
to appear4  ,it would seem as if  less  
change took place in the vegetation than
 in the animals of those  early seas2   
and for this1 as ,mr4 ,miller has       
remarked1 it is easy to  imagine        
reasons4  ,for example1 an infusion of  
lime into the sea would  destroy animal 
life1 but be favourable to vegetation4  
,as yet there were no land animals or   
plants1 and for this the presumable     
reason is1 that no dry land as yet      
existed4  ,we are not left to make this 
inference solely from the absence of    
land animals and plants2 in the         

arrangement of the primary 7stratified7 
rocks1 we have further evidence  of it4 
,that these rocks were formed in a      
generally horizontal position1  we are  
as well assured as that they were formed
 at the bottom of seas4  ,but they are  
always found greatly inclined in        
position1 tilted up against  the slopes 
of the granitic masses which are beneath
 them in geological  order1 though often
 shooting up to a higher point in the   
atmosphere4  ,no  doubt can be          
entertained that these granitic masses1 
forming our  principal mountain ranges1 
have been protruded from below1 or1 at  
least1  thrust much further up1 since   
the deposition of the primary rocks4    
,the  protrusion was what tilted up the 
primary rocks2 and the inference is1 of 
course1 unavoidable1 that these         
mountains have risen chiefly1 at least1 
since the primary rocks were laid down4 
,it is remarkable that1 while the       
primary rocks thus incline towards      
granitic nuclei or axes1 the strata     

higher in the series rest against these 
again1 generally at a less  inclination1
 or none at all1 shewing that these     
strata were laid down  after the        
swelling mountain eminences had1 by     
their protrusion1 tilted up  the primary
 strata4  ,and thus it may be said an   
era of local upthrowing  of the         
primitive and 7perhaps7 central matter  
of our planet1 is  established as       
happening about the close of the primary
 strata1 and  beginning of the next     
ensuing system4  ,it may be called the  
,era of the  ,oldest ,mountains1 or1    
more boldly1 of the formation of the    
detached  portions of dry land over the 
hitherto watery surface of the globe--an
  important part of the designs of      
,providence1 for which the time was now 
apparently come4  ,it may be remarked1  
that volcanic disturbances and          
protrusions of trap took place          
throughout the whole period of the      
deposition of the primary rocks2 but    
they were upon a comparatively  limited 

scale1 and probably all took place under
 water4  ,it was only now  that the     
central granitic masses of the great    
mountain ranges were thrown  up1        
carrying up with them broken edges of   
the primary strata2 a process  which    
seems to have had this difference from  
the other1 that it was the  effect of a 
more tremendous force exerted at a lower
 depth in the earth1  and generally     
acting in lines pervading a considerable
 portion of the  earth's surface4  ,we  
shall by-and-by see that the protrusion 
of some of  the mountain ranges was not 
completed1 or did not stop1 at that     
period4  ,there is no part of geological
 science more clear than that which     
refers  to the ages of mountains4  ,it  
is as certain that the ,grampian        
mountains  of ,scotland are older than  
the ,alps and ,apennines1 as it is that 
civilization had visited ,italy1 and had
 enabled her to subdue the world1  while
 ,scotland was the residence of 8roving 
barbarians40  ,the ,pyrenees1           

,carpathians1 and other ranges of       
continental ,europe1 are all younger    
than  the ,grampians1 or even the       
insignificant ,mendip ,hills of southern
  ,england4  ,stratification tells this 
tale as plainly as ,livy tells the      
history of the ,roman republic4  ,it    
tells us--to use the words of ,professor
  ,philips--that at the time when the   
,grampians sent streams and detritus to 
straits where now the valleys of the    
,forth and ,clyde meet1 the greater     
part of ,europe was a wide ocean4       
,the last three systems--called1 in     
,england1 the ,cumbrian1 ,silurian1 and 
,devonian1 and collectively the palozoic
 rocks1 from their containing the       
remains of the earliest inhabitants of  
the globe--are of vast thickness2  in   
,england1 not much less than #cj1jjj    
feet1 or nearly six miles4  ,in  other  
parts of the world1 as we have seen1 the
 earliest of these systems  alone is of 
much greater depth--arguing an enormous 
profundity in the  ocean in which they  

were formed4          ,,secondary       
,,rocks4  ,,era ,,of ,,the              
,,carboniferous ,,formation4  ,,land    
,,formed4  ,,commencement ,,of ,,land   
,,plants4      ,,we now enter upon a new
 great epoch in the history of our      
globe4  ,there  was now dry land4  ,as a
 consequence of this fact1 there was    
fresh water1  for rain1 instead of      
immediately returning to the sea1 as    
formerly1 was  now gathered in channels 
of the earth1 and became springs1       
rivers1 and  lakes4  ,there was now a   
theatre for the existence of land plants
 and  animals1 and it remains to be     
inquired if these accordingly were      
produced4    ,the ,secondary ,rocks1 in 
which our further researches are to be  
prosecuted1 consist of a great and      
varied series1 resting1 generally       
unconformably1 against flanks of the    
upturned primary rocks1 sometimes       
themselves considerably inclined1 at    
others1 forming extensive basin-like    
beds1 nearly horizontal2 in many places1

 much broken up and shifted by          
disturbances from below4  ,they have all
 been formed out of the materials  of   
the older rocks1 by virtue of the       
wearing power of air and water1  which  
is still every day carrying down vast   
quantities of the elevated  matter of   
the globe into the sea4  ,but the       
separate strata are each much  more     
distinct in the matter of its           
composition than might be expected4     
,some are siliceous or arenaceous       
7sandstones71 composed mainly of fine   
grains from the quartz rocks--the most  
abundant of the primary strata4  ,others
 are argillaceous--clays1 shales1 c41   
chiefly derived1 probably1  from the    
slate beds of the primary series4       
,others are calcareous1  derived from   
the early limestone4  ,as a general     
feature1 they are softer  and less      
crystalline than the primary rocks1 as  
if they had endured less  of both heat  
and pressure than the senior formation4 
,there are beds  7coal7 formed solely of

 vegetable matter1 and some others in   
which the  main ingredient is particles 
of iron1 7the iron black band47  ,the   
secondary rocks are quite as            
communicative with regard to their      
portion  of the earth's history as the  
primitive were4    ,the first1 or       
lowest1 group of the secondary rocks is 
called the  ,carboniferous ,formation1  
from the remarkable feature of its      
numerous  interspersed beds of coal4    
,it commences with the beds of the      
mountain  limestone1 which1 in some     
situations1 as in ,derbyshire and       
,ireland1 are  of great thickness1 being
 alternated with chert 7a siliceous     
sandstone71  sandstones1 shales1 and    
beds of coal1 generally of the harder   
and less  bituminous kind 7anthracite71 
the whole being covered in some places  
by  the millstone grit1 a siliceous     
conglomerate composed of the detritus of
  the primary rocks4  ,the mountain     
limestone1 attaining in ,england to a   
depth of eight hundred yards1 greatly   

exceeds in volume any of the  primary   
limestone beds1 and shews an enormous   
addition of power to the  causes        
formerly suggested as having produced   
this substance4  ,in fact1  remains of  
corals1 crinoidea1 and shells1 are so   
abundant in it1 as to  compose          
three-fourths of the mass in some parts4
  ,above the mountain  limestone        
commence the more conspicuous coal beds1
 alternating with  sandstones1 shales1  
beds of limestone1 and ironstone4  ,coal
 is altogether  composed of the matter  
of a terrestrial vegetation1 transmuted 
by  pressure4  ,some fresh-water shells 
have been found in it1 but few of       
marine origin1 and no remains of those  
zoophytes and crinoidea so  abundant in 
the mountain limestone and other rocks4 
,coal beds exist in  ,europe1 ,asia1 and
 ,america1 and have hitherto been       
esteemed as the most  valuable of       
mineral productions1 from the important 
services which the  substance renders in
 manufactures and in domestic economy4  

,it is to be  remarked1 that there are  
some local variations in the arrangement
 of coal  beds4  ,in ,france1 they rest 
immediately on the granite and other    
primary  rocks1 the intermediate strata 
not having been found at those places4  
,in  ,america1 the kind called          
anthracite occurs among the slate beds1 
and this  species also abounds more in  
the mountain limestone than with us4    
,these  last circumstances only shew    
that different parts of the earth's     
surface  did not all witness the same   
events of a certain fixed series exactly
 at  the same time4  ,there had been an 
exhibition of dry land about the site   
of ,america1 a little earlier than in   
,europe4    ,some features of the       
condition of the earth during the       
deposition of the  carboniferous group1 
are made out with a clearness which must
 satisfy  most minds4  ,first we are    
told of a time when carbonate of lime   
was  formed in vast abundance at the    
bottoms of profound seas1 accompanied by

  an unusually large population of      
corals and encrinites2 while in some    
parts of the earth there were patches of
 dry land1 covered with a  luxuriant    
vegetation4  ,next we have a            
comparatively brief period of  volcanic 
disturbance1 7when the conglomerate was 
formed47  ,then the  causes favourable  
to the so abundant production of        
limestone1 and the  large population of 
marine acrita1 decline1 and we find the 
masses of dry  land increase in number  
and extent1 and begin to bear an amount 
of forest  vegetation1 far exceeding    
that of the most sheltered tropical     
spots of  the present surface4  ,the    
climate1 even in the latitude of        
,baffin's ,bay1  was torrid1 and perhaps
 the atmosphere contained a larger      
charge of  carbonic acid gas 7the       
material of vegetation7 than it now     
does4  ,the  forests or thickets of the 
period1 included no species of plants   
now  known upon earth4  ,they mainly    
consisted of gigantic shrubs1 which are 

either not represented by any existing  
types1 or are akin to kinds which  are  
now only found in small and lowly forms4
  ,that these forests grew  upon a      
,polynesia1 or multitude of small       
islands1 is considered probable1  from  
similar vegetation being now found in   
such situations within the  tropics4    
,with regard to the circumstances under 
which the masses of  vegetable matter   
were transformed into successive coal   
strata1 geologists  are divided4  ,from 
examples seen at the present day1 at the
 mouths of  such rivers as the          
,mississippi1 which traverse extensive  
sylvan regions1  and from other         
circumstances to be adverted to1 it is  
held likely by some  that the vegetable 
matter1 the rubbish of decayed forests1 
was carried by  rivers into estuaries1  
and there accumulated in vast natural   
rafts1 until  it sunk to the bottom1    
where an overlayer of sand or mud would 
prepare it  for becoming a stratum of   
coal4  ,others conceive that the        

vegetation  first went into the         
condition of a peat moss1 that a sink in
 the level  then exposed it to be       
overrun by the sea1 and covered with a  
layer of  sand or mud2 that a subsequent
 uprise made the mud dry land1 and      
fitted  it to bear a new forest1 which  
afterwards1 like its predecessor1 became
 a  bed of peat2 that1 in short1 by     
repetitions of this process1 the        
alternate layers of coal1 sandstone1 and
 shale1 constituting the  carboniferous 
group1 were formed4  ,it is favourable  
to this last view  that marine fossils  
are scarcely found in the body of the   
coal itself1  though abundant in the    
shale layers above and below it2 also   
that in  several places erect stems of  
trees are found with their roots still  
fixed in the shale beds1 and crossing   
the sandstone beds at almost right      
angles1 shewing that these1 at least1   
had not been drifted from their         
original situations4  ,on the other     
hand1 it is not easy to admit such      

repeated risings and sinkings of surface
 as would be required1 on this          
hypothesis1 to form a series of coal    
strata4  ,perhaps we may most safely    
rest at present with the supposition    
that coal has been formed under both    
classes of circumstances1 though in the 
latter only as an exception to  the     
former4    ,upwards of three hundred    
species of plants have been ascertained 
to exist  in the coal formation2 but it 
is not necessary to suppose that the    
whole  contained in that system are now1
 or ever will be distinguished4         
,experiments shew that some great       
classes of plants become decomposed in  
water in a much less space of time than 
others1 and it is remarkable that  those
 which decompose soonest1 are of the    
classes found most rare1 or not  at all1
 in the coal strata4  ,it is            
consequently to be inferred that there  
may have been grasses and mosses at this
 era1 and many species of trees1  the   
remains of which had lost all trace of  

organic form before their  substance    
sunk into the mass of which coal was    
formed4  ,in speaking1  therefore1 of   
the vegetation of this period1 we must  
bear in mind that it  may have          
comprehended forms of which we have no  
memorial4    ,supposing1 nevertheless1  
that1 in the main1 the ascertained      
vegetation of  the coal system is that  
which grew at the time of its formation1
 it is  interesting to find that the    
terrestrial botany of our globe begins  
with  classes of comparatively simple   
forms and structure4  ,in the ranks of  
the  vegetable kingdom1 the lowest place
 is taken by plants of cellular  tissue1
 and which have no flowers1             
7cryptogamia17 as lichens1 mosses1      
fungi1 ferns1 sea-weeds4  ,above these  
stand plants of vascular tissue1  and   
bearing flowers1 in which again there   
are two great subdivisions2  first1     
plants having one seed-lobe1            
7monocotyledons17 and in which the  new 
matter is added within1 7endogenous17 of

 which the cane and palm  are examples2 
second1 plants having two seed-lobes1   
7dicotyledons17 and  in which the new   
matter is added on the outside under the
 bark1  7exogenous17 of which the pine1 
elm1 oak1 and most of the ,british      
forest-trees are examples2 these        
subdivisions also ranking in the order  
in which they are here stated4  ,now it 
is clear that a predominance of  these  
forms in succession marked the          
successive epochs developed by  fossil  
geology2 the simple abounding first1 and
 the complex afterwards4    ,two-thirds 
of the plants of the carboniferous era  
are of the cellular or  cryptogamic     
kind1 a proportion which would probably 
be much increased if  we knew the whole 
,flora of that era4  ,the ascertained   
dicotyledons1 or  higher-class plants1  
are comparatively few in this formation2
 but it will  be found that they        
constantly increased as the globe grew  
older4    ,the master-form or type of   
the era was the fern1 or breckan1 of    

which  about one hundred and thirty     
species have already been ascertained as
  entering into the composition of coal4
 #hd;a  ,the fern is a plant which      
thrives best in warm1 shaded1 and moist 
situations4  ,in tropical  countries1   
where these conditions abound1 there are
 many more species  than in temperate   
climes1 and some of these are           
arborescent1 or of a  tree-like size and
 luxuriance4 #hd;b  ,the ferns of the   
coal strata have  been of this          
magnitude1 and that without regard to   
the parts of the earth  where they are  
found4  ,in the coal of ,baffin's ,bay1 
of ,newcastle1 and of  the torrid zone  
alike1 are the fossil ferns arborescent1
 shewing clearly  that1 in that era1 the
 present tropical temperature1 or one   
even higher1  existed in very high      
latitudes4    ,in the swamps and ditches
 of ,england there grows a plant called 
the  horse-tail 7equisetum71 having a   
succulent1 erect1 jointed stem1 with    
slender leaves1 and a scaly catkin at   

the top4  ,a second large section of    
the plants of the carboniferous era were
 of this kind 7equisetace71  but1 like  
the fern1 reaching the magnitudes of    
trees4  ,while existing  equiseta rarely
 exceed three feet in height1 and the   
stems are generally  under half an inch 
in diameter1 their kindred1 entombed in 
the coal beds1  seem to have been       
generally fourteen or fifteen feet high1
 with stems  from six inches to a foot  
in thickness4  ,arborescent plants of   
this  family1 like the arborescent      
ferns1 now grow only in tropical        
countries1  and their being found in the
 coal beds in all latitudes is          
consequently  held as an additional     
proof1 that at this era a warm climate  
was extended  much farther to the north 
than at present4  ,it is to be remarked 
that  plants of this kind 7forming two  
genera1 the most abundant of which is   
the calamites7 are only represented on  
the present surface by plants of  the   
same family3 the species which          

flourished at this era gradually  lessen
 in number as we advance upwards in the 
series of rocks1 and  disappear before  
we arrive at the tertiary formation4    
,the club-moss family 7lycopodiace7 are 
other plants of the present  surface1   
usually seen in a lowly and creeping    
form in temperate  latitudes1 but       
presenting species which rise to a      
greater magnitude  within the tropics4  
,many specimens of this family are found
 in the coal  beds2 it is thought they  
have contributed more to the substance  
of the  coal than any other family4     
,but1 like the ferns and equisetace1    
they  rise to a prodigious magnitude4   
,the lepidodendra 7so the fossil genus  
is  called7 have probably been from     
sixty-five to eighty feet in height1    
having at their base a diameter of about
 three feet1 while their leaves         
measured twenty inches in length4  ,in  
the forests of the coal era1 the        
lepidodendra would enjoy the rank of    
firs in our forests1 affording shade  to

 the only less stately ferns and        
calamites4  ,the internal structure of  
the stem1 and the character of the      
seed-vessels1 shew them to have been a  
link between single-lobed and           
double-lobed plants1 a fact worthy of   
note1  as it favours the idea that1 in  
vegetable1 as well as animal creation1 a
  progress has been observed1 in        
conformity with advancing conditions4   
,it  is also curious to find a missing  
link of so much importance in a genus   
of plants which has long ceased to have 
a living place upon earth4    ,the other
 leading plants of the coal era are     
without representatives on  the present 
surface1 and their characters are in    
general less clearly  ascertained4      
,amongst the most remarkable are--the   
sigillaria1 of which  large stems are   
very abundant1 shewing that the interior
 has been soft1  and the exterior fluted
 with separate leaves inserted in       
vertical rows  along the flutings--and  
the stigmaria1 plants apparently        

calculated to  flourish in marshes or   
pools1 having a short1 thick1 fleshy    
stem1 with a  dome-shaped top1 from     
which sprung branches of from twenty to 
thirty feet  long4  ,amongst            
monocotyledons were some palms1         
7flabellaria and  nggerathia17 besides a
 few not distinctly assignable to any   
class4    ,the dicotyledons of the coal 
are comparatively few1 though on the    
present  surface they are the most      
numerous sub-class4  ,besides some of   
doubtful  affinity1 7annularia1         
asterophyllites1 c417 there were a few  
of the  pine family1 which seem to have 
been the highest class of trees of this 
era1 and are only as yet found in       
isolated cases1 and in sandstone beds4  
,the first discovered lay in the        
,craigleith quarry1 near ,edinburgh1 and
  consisted of a stem about two feet    
thick1 and forty-seven feet in length4  
,others have since been found1 both in  
the same situation1 and at  ,newcastle4 
,leaves and fruit being wanting1 an     

ingenious mode of  detecting the nature 
of these trees was hit upon by ,mr4     
,witham of  ,lartington4  ,taking thin  
polished cross slices of the stem1 and  
subjecting them to the microscope1 he   
detected the structure of the wood  to  
be that of a cone-bearing tree1 by the  
presence of certain  8reticulations0    
which distinguish that family1 in       
addition to the usual  radiating and    
concentric lines4  ,that particular tree
 was concluded to be  an araucaria1 a   
species now found in ,norfolk ,island1  
in the ,south ,sea1  and in a few other 
remote situations4  ,the conifer of this
 era form the  dawn of dicotyledenous   
trees1 of which they may be said to be  
the  simplest type1 and to which1 it has
 already been noticed1 the  lepidodendra
 are a link from the monocotyledons4    
,the concentric rings of  the           
,craigleith and other conifer of this   
era have been mentioned4  ,it is        
interesting to find in these a record of
 the changing seasons of those  early   

ages1 when as yet there were no human   
beings to observe time or  tide4  ,they 
are clearly traced2 but it is observed  
that they are more  slightly marked than
 is the case with their family at the   
present day1 as  if the changes of      
temperature had been within a narrower  
range4    ,such was the vegetation of   
the carbonigenous era1 composed of forms
 at  the bottom of the botanical scale1 
flowerless1 fruitless1 but luxuriant    
and abundant beyond what the most       
favoured spots on earth can now shew4   
,the rigidity of the leaves of its      
plants1 and the absence of fleshy       
fruits and farinaceous seeds1 unfitted  
it to afford nutriment to animals2  and1
 monotonous in its forms1 and destitute 
of brilliant colouring1 its  sward      
probably unenlivened by any of the      
smaller flowering herbs1 its  shades    
uncheered by the hum of insects1 or the 
music of birds1 it must  have been but a
 sombre scene to a human visitant4  ,but
 neither man nor  any other animals were

 then in existence to look for such uses
 or such  beauties in this vegetation4  
,it was serving other and equally       
important  ends1 clearing 7probably7 the
 atmosphere of matter noxious to animal 
life1 and storing up mineral masses     
which were in long subsequent ages to   
prove of the greatest service to the    
human race1 even to the extent of       
favouring the progress of its           
civilization4    ,the animal remains of 
this era are not numerous1 in comparison
 with those  which go before1 or those  
which come after4  ,the mountain        
limestone1  indeed1 deposited at the    
commencement of it1 abounds unusually in
  polypiaria and crinoidea2 but when we 
ascend to the coal-beds themselves1  the
 case is altered1 and these marine      
remains altogether disappear4  ,we  have
 then only a limited variety of         
conchifers and shell mollusks1 with     
fragments of a few species of fishes1   
and these are rarely or never found  in 
the coal seams1 but in the shales       

alternating with them4  ,some of the    
fishes are of a sauroid character1 that 
is1 partake of the nature of the        
lizard1 a genus of the reptilia1 a land 
class of animals1 so that we may  be    
said here to have the first approach to 
a kind of animals calculated  to breathe
 the atmosphere4  ,such is the          
,megalichthys ,hibbertii1 found by  ,dr4
 ,hibbert ,ware1 in a limestone bed of  
fresh-water origin1 underneath  the coal
 at ,burdiehouse1 near ,edinburgh4      
,others of the same kind have  been     
found in the coal measures in           
,yorkshire1 and in the low coal shales  
at ,manchester4  ,this is no more than  
might be expected1 as collections of    
fresh water now existed1 and it is      
presumable that they would be peopled4  
,the chief other fishes of the coal era 
are named palothrissum1  paloniscus1    
diperdus4    ,coal strata are nearly    
confined to the group termed the        
carboniferous  formation4  ,thin beds   
are not unknown afterwards1 but they    

occur only as  a rare exception4  ,it is
 therefore thought that the most        
important of the  conditions which      
allowed of so abundant a terrestrial    
vegetation1 had  ceased about the time  
when this formation was closed4  ,the   
high  temperature was not one of the    
conditions which terminated1 for there  
are  evidences of it afterwards2 but    
probably the superabundance of carbonic 
acid gas supposed to have existed during
 this era was expended before its       
close4  ,there can be little doubt that 
the infusion of a large dose of  this   
gas into the atmosphere at the present  
day would be attended by  precisely the 
same circumstances as in the time of the
 carboniferous  formation4  ,land animal
 life would not have a place on earth2  
vegetation  would be enormous2 and coal 
strata would be formed from the vast    
accumulations of woody matter1 which    
would gather in every sea1 near the     
mouths of great rivers4  ,on the        
exhaustion of the superabundance of     

carbonic acid gas1 the coal formation   
would cease1 and the earth might  again 
become a suitable theatre of being for  
land animals4    ,the termination of the
 carboniferous formation is marked by   
symptoms of  volcanic violence1 which   
some geologists have considered to      
denote the  close of one system of      
things and the beginning of another4    
,coal beds  generally lie in basins1 as 
if following the curve of the bottom of 
seas4  ,but there is no such basin which
 is not broken up into pieces1 some of  
which have been tossed up on edge1      
others allowed to sink1 causing the     
ends of strata to be in some instances  
many yards1 and in a few several        
hundred feet1 removed from the          
corresponding ends of neighbouring      
fragments4  ,these are held to be       
results of volcanic movements below1 the
  operation of which is further seen in 
numerous upbursts and intrusions of     
volcanic rock 7trap74  ,that these      
disturbances took place about the close 

of the formation1 and not later1 is     
shewn in the fact of the next higher    
group of strata being comparatively     
undisturbed4  ,other symptoms of this   
time of violence are seen in the beds of
 conglomerate which occur amongst  the  
first strata above the coal4  ,these1 as
 usual1 consist of fragments  of the    
elder rocks1 more or less worn from     
being tumbled about in  agitated water1 
and laid down in a mud paste1 afterwards
 hardened4  ,volcanic disturbances break
 up the rocks2 the pieces are worn in   
seas2  and a deposit of conglomerate is 
the consequence4  ,of porphyry1 there   
are  some such pieces in the            
conglomerate of ,devonshire1 three or   
four tons in  weight4  ,it is to be     
admitted for strict truth that1 in some 
parts of  ,europe1 the carboniferous    
formation is followed by superior       
deposits1  without the appearance of    
such disturbances between their         
respective  periods2 but apparently this
 case belongs to the class of exceptions

  already noticed4 #ic  ,that           
disturbance was general1 is supported by
 the  further and important fact of the 
destruction of many forms of organic    
being previously flourishing1           
particularly of the vegetable kingdom4  
,,era ,,of ,,the ,,new ,,red            
,,sandstone4  ,,terrestrial ,,zoology   
,,commences  ,,with ,,reptiles4  ,,first
 ,,traces ,,of ,,birds4      ,,the next 
volume of the rock series refers to an  
era distinguished by an  event of no    
less importance than the commencement of
 land animals4  ,the  ,new ,red         
,sandstone ,system is subdivided into   
groups1 some of which are  wanting in   
some places2 they are pretty fully      
developed in the north of  ,england1 in 
the following ascending order3--#a4     
,lower red sandstone2 #b4  ,magnesian   
limestone2 #c4  ,red and white          
sandstones and conglomerate2 #d4        
,variegated marls4  ,between the third  
and fourth there is1 in ,germany1       
another group1 called the ,muschelkalk1 

a word expressing a limestone full  of  
shells4    ,the first group1 containing 
the conglomerates already adverted to1  
seems  to have been produced during the 
time of disturbance which occurred so   
generally after the carbonigenous era4  
,this new era is distinguished by  a    
paucity of organic remains1 as might    
partly be expected from the  appearances
 of disturbance1 and the red tint of the
 rocks1 the latter  being communicated  
by a solution of oxide of iron1 a       
substance  unfavourable to animal life4 
,the second group is a limestone with an
 infusion of magnesia4  ,it is          
developed less generally than some      
others1 but occurs conspicuously in     
,england and ,germany4  ,its place1     
above the red sandstone1 shews the      
recurrence of circumstances favourable  
to animal life1 and we accordingly  find
 in it not only zoophytes1 conchifera1  
and a few tribes of fish1 but  some     
faint traces of land plants1 and a new  
and startling appearance--a  reptile of 

saurian 7lizard7 character1 analogous to
 the now existing  family called        
monitors4  ,remains of this creature are
 found in  cupriferous 7copper-bearing7 
slate connected with the mountain       
limestone1  at ,mansfield and           
,glucksbrunn1 in ,germany1 which may be 
taken as evidence  that dry land existed
 in that age near those places4  ,the   
magnesia  limestone is also remarkable  
as the last rock in which appears the   
leptna1 or producta1 a conchifer of     
numerous species which makes a          
conspicuous appearance in all previous  
seas4  ,it is likewise to be  observed1 
that the fishes of this age1 to the     
genera of which the names  paloniscus1  
catopterus1 platysomus1 c41 have been   
applied1 vanish1 and  henceforth appear 
no more4    ,the third group1 chiefly   
sandstones1 variously coloured according
 to the  amount and nature of the       
metallic oxide infused into them1 shews 
a  recurrence of agitation1 and a       
consequent diminution of the amount of  

animal life4  ,in the upper part1       
however1 of this group1 there are       
abundant symptoms of a revival of proper
 conditions for such life4  ,there  are 
marl beds1 the origin of which substance
 in decomposed shells is  obvious2 and  
in ,germany1 though not in ,england1    
here occurs the  muschelkalk1 containing
 numerous organic remains1 7generally   
different  from those of the magnesian  
limestone17 and noted for the specimens 
of  land animals1 which it is the first 
to present in any considerable          
abundance to our notice4    ,these      
animals are of the vertebrate           
sub-kingdom1 but of its lowest class    
next after fishes1--namely1 reptiles1--a
 portion of the terrestrial tribes      
whose imperfect respiratory system      
perhaps fitted them for enduring an     
atmosphere not yet quite suitable for   
birds or mammifers4 #ig  ,the  specimens
 found in the muschelkalk are allied to 
the crocodile and lizard  tribes of the 
present day1 but in the latter instance 

are upon a scale of  magnitude as much  
superior to present forms as the        
lepidodendron of the  coal era was      
superior to the dwarf club-mosses of our
 time4  ,these  saurians also combine   
some peculiarities of structure of a    
most  extraordinary character4    ,the  
animal to which the name ichthyosaurus  
has been given1 was as long  as a young 
whale1 and it was fitted for living in  
the water1 though  breathing the        
atmosphere4  ,it had the vertebral      
column and general bodily  form of a    
fish1 but to that were added the head   
and breast-bone of a  lizard1 and the   
paddles of the whale tribes4  ,the beak1
 moreover1 was  that of a porpoise1 and 
the teeth were those of a crocodile4    
,it must  have been a most destructive  
creature to the fish of those early     
seas4    ,the plesiosaurus was of       
similar bulk1 with a turtle-like body   
and  paddles1 shewing that the sea was  
its element1 but with a long            
serpent-like neck1 terminating in a     

saurian head1 calculated to reach  prey 
at a considerable distance4  ,these two 
animals1 of which many  varieties have  
been discovered1 constituting distinct  
species1 are  supposed to have lived in 
the shallow borders of the seas of this 
and  subsequent formations1 devouring   
immense quantities of the finny tribes4 
,it was at first thought that no        
creatures approaching them in character 
now inhabit the earth2 but latterly ,mr4
 ,darwin has discovered1 in the         
reptile-peopled ,galapagos ,islands1 in 
the ,south ,sea1 a marine saurian  from 
three to four feet long4    ,the        
megalosaurus was an enormous lizard--a  
land creature1 also  carnivorous4  ,the 
pterodactyle was another lizard1 but    
furnished with  wings to pursue its prey
 in the air1 and varying in size between
 a  cormorant and a snipe4  ,crocodiles 
abounded1 and some of these were        
herbivorous4  ,such was the iguanodon1 a
 creature of the character of the       
iguana of the ,ganges1 but reaching a   

hundred feet in length1 or twenty  times
 that of its modern representative4     
,there were also numerous tortoises1    
some of them reaching a great size2  and
 ,professor ,owen has found in          
,warwickshire some remains of an animal 
of  the batrachian order1 #ii to which1 
from the peculiar form of the teeth1  he
 has given the name of labyrinthidon4   
,thus1 three of ,cuvier's four  orders  
of reptilia 7sauria1 chelonia1 and      
batrachia7 are  represented in this     
formation1 the serpent order 7ophidia7  
being alone  wanting4    ,the variegated
 marl beds which constitute the         
uppermost group of the  formation1      
present two additional genera of huge   
saurians1--the  phytosaurus and         
mastodonsaurus4    ,it is in the upper  
beds of the red sandstone that beds of  
salt first  occur4  ,these are sometimes
 of such thickness1 that the mine from  
which  the material has been excavated  
looks like a lofty church4  ,we see in  
the  present world no circumstances     

calculated to produce the formation of a
  bed of rock salt2 yet it is not       
difficult to understand how such strata 
were formed in an age marked by         
ultra-tropical heat and frequent        
volcanic  disturbances4  ,an estuary1   
cut off by an upthrow of trap1 or a     
change of  level1 and left to dry up    
under the heat of the sun1 would quickly
 become  the bed of a dense layer of    
rock salt4  ,a second shift of level1 or
 some  other volcanic disturbance1      
connecting it again with the sea1 would 
expose this stratum to being covered    
over with a layer of sand or mud1       
destined in time to form the next       
stratum of rock above it4    ,the plants
 of this era are few and unobtrusive4   
,equiseta1 calamites1  ferns1 ,voltzia1 
and a few of the other families found so
 abundantly in  the preceding formation1
 here present themselves1 but in        
diminished size  and quantity4    ,this 
seems to be the proper place to advert  
to certain memorials of a  peculiar and 

unexpected character respecting these   
early ages in the  sandstones4  ,so low 
as the bottom of the carboniferous      
system1 slabs are  found marked over a  
great extent of surface with that       
peculiar  corrugation or wrinkling which
 the receding tide leaves upon a sandy  
beach when the sea is but slightly      
agitated2 and not only are these        
ripple-marks1 as they are called1 found 
on the surfaces1 but casts of  them are 
found on the under sides of slabs lying 
above4  ,the phenomena  suggests the    
time when the sand ultimately formed    
into these stone slabs1  was part of the
 beach of a sea of the carbonigenous    
era2 when1 left wavy  by one tide1 it   
was covered over with a thin layer of   
fresh sand by the  next1 and so on1     
precisely as such circumstances might be
 expected to  take place at the present 
day4  ,sandstone surfaces1              
ripple-marked1 are  found throughout the
 subsequent formations3 in those of the 
new red1 at  more than one place in     

,england1 they further bear impressions 
of  rain-drops which have fallen upon   
them--the rain1 of course1 of the       
inconceivably remote age in which the   
sandstones were formed4  ,in the        
,greensill sandstone1 near ,shrewsbury1 
it has even been possible to tell  from 
what direction the shower came which    
impressed the sandy surface1  the rims  
of the marks being somewhat raised on   
one side1 exactly as might  be expected 
from a slanting shower falling at this  
day upon one of our  beaches4  ,these   
facts have the same sort of interest as 
the season rings  of the ,craigleith    
conifers1 as speaking of a parity       
between some of the  familiar processes 
of nature in those early ages and our   
own4    ,in the new red sandstone1      
impressions still more important in the 
inferences to which they tend1 have been
 observed1--namely1 the footmarks  of   
various animals4  ,in a quarry of this  
formation1 at ,corncockle ,muir1  in    
,dumfriesshire1 where the slabs incline 

at an angle of thirty-eight  degrees1   
the vestiges of an animal supposed to   
have been a tortoise are  distinctly    
traced up and down the slope1 as if the 
creature had had  occasion to pass      
backwards and forwards in that direction
 only1 possibly  in its daily visits to 
the sea4  ,some slabs similarly         
impressed1 in the  ,stourton quarries in
 ,cheshire1 are further marked with a   
shower of rain  which we know must have 
fallen afterwards1 for its little       
hollows are  impressed in the footmarks 
also1 though more slightly than on the  
rest of  the surface1 the comparative   
hardness of a trodden place having      
apparently prevented so deep an         
impression being made4  ,at ,hessberg1  
in  ,saxony1 the vestiges of four       
distinct animals have been traced1 one  
of  them a web-footed animal of small   
size1 considered as a congener of the   
crocodile2 another1 whose footsteps     
having a resemblance to an impression   
of a swelled human hand1 has caused it  

to be named the cheirotherium4  ,the    
footsteps of the cheirotherium have been
 found also in the ,stourton  quarries  
above mentioned4  ,professor ,owen1 who 
stands at the head of  comparative      
anatomy in the present day1 has         
expressed his belief that  this last    
animal was the same batrachian of which 
he has found fragments  in the new red  
sandstone of ,warwickshire4  ,at        
,runcorn1 near ,manchester1  and        
elsewhere1 have been discovered the     
tracks of an animal which ,mr4  ,owen   
calls the rynchosaurus1 uniting with the
 body of a reptile the beak  and feet of
 a bird1 and which clearly had been a   
link between these two  classes4    ,if 
geologists shall ultimately give their  
approbation to the inferences  made from
 a recent discovery in ,america1 we     
shall have the addition of  perfect     
birds1 though probably of a low type1 to
 the animal forms of this  era4  ,it is 
stated to be in quarries of this rock1  
in the valley of  ,connecticut1 that    

footprints have been found1 apparently  
produced by  birds of the order grall1  
or waders4  8,the footsteps appear in   
regular  succession on the continuous   
track of an animal1 in the act of       
walking or  running1 with the right and 
left foot always in their relative      
places4  ,the distance of the intervals 
between each footstep on the same track 
is  occasionally varied1 but to no      
greater amount than may be explained by 
the bird having altered its pace4  ,many
 tracks of different individuals  and   
different species are often found       
crossing each other1 and crowded1  like 
impressions of feet upon the shores of a
 muddy stream1 where ducks  and geese   
resort40 #ajc  ,some of these prints    
indicate small animals1  but others     
denote birds of what would now be an    
unusually large size4  ,one animal1     
having a foot fifteen inches in length1 
7one-half more than  that of the        
ostrich17 and a stride of from four to  
six feet1 has been  appropriately       

entitled1 ornithichnites giganteus4     
,,era ,,of ,,the ,,oolite4              
,,commencement ,,of ,,mammalia4         
,,the chronicles of this period consist 
of a series of beds1 mostly  calcareous1
 taking their general name 7,oolite     
,system7 from a  conspicuous member of  
them--the oolite--a limestone composed  
of an  aggregation of small round grains
 or spherules1 and so called from its   
fancied resemblance to a cluster of     
eggs1 or the roe of a fish4  ,this      
texture of stone is novel and striking4 
,it is supposed to be of chemical       
origin1 each spherule being an          
aggregation of particles round a central
  nucleus4  ,the oolite system is       
largely developed in ,england1 ,france1 
,westphalia1 and ,northern ,italy2 it   
appears in ,northern ,india and ,africa1
  and patches of it exist in ,scotland1 
and in the vale of the ,mississippi4    
,it may of course be yet discovered in  
many other parts of the world4    ,the  
series1 as shewn in the neighbourhood of

 ,bath1 is 7beginning with the  lowest7 
as follows3--#a4  ,lias1 a set of strata
 variously composed of  limestone1 clay1
 marl1 and shale1 clay being            
predominant2 #b4  ,lower  oolitic       
formation1 including1 besides the great 
oolite bed of central  ,england1        
fullers' earth beds1 forest marble1 and 
cornbrash2 #c4  ,middle  oolitic        
formation1 composed of two sub-groups1  
the ,oxford clay and coral  rag1 the    
latter being a mere layer of the works  
of the coral polype2 #d4  ,upper oolitic
 formation1 including what are called   
,kimmeridge clay and  ,portland oolite4 
,in ,yorkshire there is an additional   
group above the  lias1 and in           
,sutherlandshire there is another group 
above that again4  ,in  the wealds      
7moorlands7 of ,kent and ,sussex1 there 
is1 in like manner1  above the fourth of
 the ,bath series1 another additional   
group1 to which  the name of the        
,wealden has been given1 from its       
situation1 and which1  composed of      

sandstones and clays1 is subdivided into
 ,purbeck beds1  ,hastings sand1 and    
,weald clay4    ,there are no particular
 appearances of disturbance between the 
close of  the new red sandstone and the 
beginning of the oolite system1 as far  
as  has been observed in ,england4  ,yet
 there is a great change in the         
materials of the rocks of the two       
formations1 shewing that while the      
bottoms of the seas of the one period   
had been chiefly arenaceous1 those  of  
the other were chiefly clayey and limy4 
,and there is an equal  difference      
between the two periods in respect of   
both botany and zoology4  ,while the new
 red sandstone shews comparatively      
scanty traces of organic  creation1     
those in the oolite are extremely       
abundant1 particularly in the           
department of animals1 and more         
particularly still of sea mollusca1     
which1 it has been observed1 are always 
the more conspicuous in  proportion to  
the predominance of calcareous rocks4   

,it is also  remarkable that the animals
 of the oolitic system are entirely     
different  in species from those of the 
preceding age1 and that these species   
cease  before the next4  ,in this system
 we likewise find that uniformity over  
great space which has been remarked of  
the ,faunas of earlier formations4  8,in
 the equivalent deposits in the         
,himalaya ,mountains1 at ,fernando ,po1 
in  the region north of the ,cape of    
,good ,hope1 and in the ,run of ,cutch1 
and  other parts of ,hindostan1 fossils 
have been discovered1 which1 as far as  
,english naturalists who have seen them 
can determine1 are  undistinguishable   
from certain oolite and lias fossils of 
,europe40 #ajh;a    ,the dry land of    
this age presented cycade1 8a beautiful 
class of plants  between the palms and  
conifers1 having a tall1 straight trunk1
  terminating in a magnificent crown of 
foliage40 #ajh;b  ,there were tree      
ferns1 but in smaller proportion than in
 former ages2 also equisetace1  lilia1  

and conifers4  ,the vegetation was      
generally analogous to that of  the     
,cape of ,good ,hope and ,australia1    
which seems to argue a climate 7we  must
 remember1 a universal climate7 between 
the tropical and temperate4  ,it was1   
however1 sufficiently luxuriant in some 
instances to produce thin  seams of     
coal1 for such are found in the oolite  
formation of both  ,yorkshire and       
,sutherland4  ,the sea1 as for ages     
before1 contained alg1  of which1       
however1 only a few species have been   
preserved to our day4  ,the lower       
classes of the inhabitants of the ocean 
were unprecedentedly  abundant4  ,the   
polypiaria were in such abundance as to 
form whole strata  of themselves4  ,the 
crinoidea and echinites were also       
extremely numerous4  ,shell mollusks1 in
 hundreds of new species1 occupied the  
bottoms of the  seas of those ages1     
while of the swimming shell-fish1       
ammonites and  belemnites1 there were   
also many scores of varieties4  ,the    

belemnite here  calls for some          
particular notice4  ,it commences in the
 oolite1 and  terminates in the next    
formation4  ,it is an elongated1 conical
 shell1  terminating in a point1 and    
having1 at the larger end1 a cavity for 
the  residence of the animal1 with a    
series of air-chambers below4  ,the     
animal1 placed in the upper cavity1     
could raise or depress itself in the    
water at pleasure by a pneumatic        
operation upon the entral air tube      
pervading its shell4  ,its tentacula1   
sent abroad over the summit of the      
shell1 searched the sea for prey4  ,the 
creature had an ink-bag1 with  which it 
could muddle the water around it1 to    
protect itself from more  powerful      
animals1 and1 strange to say1 this has  
been found so well  preserved that an   
artist has used it in one instance as a 
paint1  wherewith to delineate the      
belemnite itself4    ,the crustacea     
discovered in this formation are less   
numerous4  ,there are  many fishes1 some

 of which 7acrodus1 psammodus1 c417 are 
presumed  from remains of their palatal 
bones1 to have been of the gigantic     
cartilaginous class1 now represented by 
such as the cestraceon4  ,it has  been  
considered by ,professor ,owen as worthy
 of notice1 that1 the  cestraceon being 
an inhabitant of the ,australian seas1  
we have1 in both  the botany and        
ichthyology of this period1 an analogy  
to that continent4  ,the pycnodontes1   
7thick-toothed17 and lepidoides1 7having
 thick scales17  are other families     
described by ,m4 ,agassiz as extensively
 prevalent4  ,in  the shallow waters of 
the oolitic formation1 the              
ichthyosaurus1  plesiosaurus1 and other 
huge saurian carnivora of the preceding 
age1  plied1 in increased numbers1 their
 destructive vocation4 #aaj  ,to them   
were added new genera1 the cetiosaurus1 
mososaurus1 and some others1 all  of    
similar character and habits4    ,land  
reptiles abounded1 including species of 
the pterodactyle of the  preceding      

age--tortoises1 trionyces1              
crocodilians--and the pliosaurus1 a     
creature which appears to have formed a 
link between the plesiosaurus and  the  
crocodile4  ,we know of at least six    
species of the flying saurian1  the     
pterodactyle1 in this formation4        
,now1 for the first time1 we find       
remains of insects1 an order of animals 
not well calculated for fossil          
preservation1 and which are therefore   
amongst the rarest of the animal tribes 
found in rocks1 though they are  the    
most numerous of all living families4   
,a single libellula  7dragon-fly7 was   
found in the ,stonesfield slate1 a      
member of the lower  oolitic group      
quarried near ,oxford2 and this was for 
several years the  only specimen known  
to exist so early2 but now many species 
have been  found in a corresponding rock
 at ,solenhofen1 in ,germany4  ,it is   
remarkable that the remains of insects  
are found most plentifully near  the    
remains of pterodactyles1 to which      

undoubtedly they served as prey4    ,the
 first glimpse of the highest class of  
the vertebrate                          
sub-kingdom--mammalia--is obtained from 
the ,stonesfield slate1 where  there has
 been found the jaw-bone of a quadruped 
evidently insectivorous1  and inferred1 
from peculiarities in the structure of  
that small fragment1  to have belonged  
to the marsupial family1 7pouched       
animals74  ,it may be  observed1        
although no specimens of so high a class
 of animals as mammalia  are found      
earlier1 such may nevertheless have     
existed3 the defect may be  in our not  
having found them2 but1 other things    
considered1 the  probability is that    
heretofore there were no mammifers4  ,it
 is an  interesting circumstance that   
the first mammifers found should have   
belonged to the marsupialia1 when the   
place of that order in the scale of     
creation is considered4  ,in the        
imperfect structure of their brain1     
deficient in the organs connecting the  

two hemispheres--and in the mode of     
gestation1 which is only in small part  
uterine--this family is clearly a  link 
between the oviparous vertebrata 7birds1
 reptiles1 and fishes7 and  the higher  
mammifers4  ,this is further established
 by their possessing a  faint           
development of two canals passing from  
near the anus to the  external surface  
of the viscera1 which are fully         
possessed in reptiles  and fishes1 for  
the purpose of supplying aerated water  
to the blood  circulating in particular 
vessels1 but which are unneeded by      
mammifers4  ,such rudiments of organs in
 certain species which do not require   
them in  any degree1 are common in both 
the animal and vegetable kingdoms1 but  
are  always most conspicuous in families
 approaching in character to those      
classes to which the full organs are    
proper4  ,this subject will be more     
particularly adverted to in the sequel4 
,the highest part of the oolitic        
formation presents some phenomena of an 

unusual and interesting character1 which
 demand special notice4  ,immediately   
above the upper oolitic group in        
,buckinghamshire1 in the  vicinity of   
,weymouth1 and other situations1 there  
is a thin stratum1  usually called by   
workmen the dirt-bed1 which appears1    
from  incontestable evidence1 to have   
been a soil1 formed1 like soils of the  
present day1 in the course of time1 upon
 a surface which had previously  been   
the bottom of the sea4  ,the dirt-bed   
contains exuvi of tropical  trees1      
accumulated through time1 as the forest 
shed its honours on the  spot where it  
grew1 and became itself decayed4  ,near 
,weymouth there is a  piece of this     
stratum1 in which stumps of trees remain
 rooted1 mostly  erect or slightly      
inclined1 and from one to three feet    
high2 while trunks  of the same forest1 
also silicified1 lie imbedded on the    
surface of the  soil in which they grew4
    ,above this bed lie those which have
 been called the ,wealden1 from their   

full development in the ,weald of       
,sussex2 and these as incontestably     
argue  that the dry land forming the    
dirt-bed had next afterwards become the 
area of brackish estuaries1 or lakes    
partially connected with the sea2  for  
the ,wealden strata contain exuvi of    
fresh-water tribes1 besides  those of   
the great saurians and chelonia4  ,the  
area of this estuary  comprehends the   
whole south-east province of ,england4  
,a geologist thus  confidently narrates 
the subsequent events3 8,much calcareous
 matter was  first deposited in this    
estuary1 and in it were entombed myriads
 of  shells1 apparently analogous to    
those of the vivipara4  ,then came a    
thick  envelope of sand1 sometimes      
interstratified with mud2 and1 finally1 
muddy  matter prevailed4  ,the solid    
surface beneath the waters would appear 
to  have suffered a long continued and  
gradual depression1 which was as        
gradually filled1 or nearly so1 with    
transported matter2 in the end1         

however1 after a depression of several  
hundred feet1 the sea again  entered    
upon the area1 not suddenly or          
violently--for the ,wealden rocks  pass 
gradually into the superincumbent       
cretaceous series--but so quietly1  that
 the mud containing the remains of      
terrestrial and fresh-water  creatures  
was tranquilly covered up by sands      
replete with marine exuvi40  #aad  ,a   
subsequent depression of the same area1 
to the depth of at least  three hundred 
fathoms1 is believed to have taken      
place1 to admit of the  deposition of   
the cretaceous beds lying above4        
,from the scattered way in which remains
 of the larger terrestrial animals      
occur in the ,wealden1 and the          
intermixture of pebbles of the special  
appearance of those worn in rivers1 it  
is also inferred that the estuary  which
 once covered the south-east part of    
,england was the mouth of a  river of   
that far-descending class of which the  
,mississippi and ,amazon  are examples4 

,what part of the earth's surface       
presented the dry land  through which   
that and other similar rivers flowed1 no
 one can tell for  certain4  ,it has    
been surmised1 that the particular one  
here spoken of  may have flowed from a  
point not nearer than the site of the   
present  ,newfoundland4  ,professor     
,philips has suggested1 from the analogy
 of the  mineral composition1 that      
anciently elevated coal strata may have 
composed the dry land from which the    
sandy matters of these strata were      
washed4  ,such a deposit as the ,wealden
 almost necessarily implies a  local1   
not a general condition2 yet it has been
 thought that similar  strata and       
remains exist in the ,pays de ,bray1    
near ,beauvais4  ,this leads  to the    
supposition that there may have been1 in
 that age1 a series of  river-receiving 
estuaries along the border of some such 
great ocean as  the ,atlantic1 of which 
that of modern ,sussex is only an       
example4          ,,era ,,of ,,the      

,,cretaceous ,,formation4      ,,the    
record of this period consists of a     
series of strata1 in which chalk  beds  
make a conspicuous appearance1 and which
 is therefore called the  cretaceous    
system or formation4  ,in ,england1 a   
long stripe1 extending  from ,yorkshire 
to ,kent1 presents the cretaceous beds  
upon the surface1  generally lying      
conformably upon the oolite1 and in many
 instances rising  into bold escarpments
 towards the west4  ,the celebrated     
cliffs of ,dover  are of this formation4
  ,it extends into northern ,france1 and
 thence  north-westward into ,germany1  
whence it is traced into ,scandinavia   
and  ,russia4  ,the same system exists  
in ,north ,america1 and probably in     
other  parts of the earth not yet       
geologically investigated4  ,being a    
marine  deposit1 it establishes that    
seas existed at the time of its         
formation on  the tracts occupied by it1
 while some of its organic remains prove
 that1  in the neighbourhood of those   

seas1 there were tracts of dry land4    
,the cretaceous formation in ,england   
presents beds chiefly sandy in the      
lowest part1 chiefly clayey in the      
middle1 and chiefly of chalk in the     
upper part1 the chalk beds being never  
absent1 which some of the lower  are in 
several places4  ,in the vale of the    
,mississippi1 again1 the true  chalk is 
wholly1 or all but wholly absent4  ,in  
the south of ,england1 the  lower beds  
are1 7reckoning from the lowest         
upwards71 #a4  ,shankland or  greensand1
 8a triple alternation of sands and     
sandstones with clay20 #b4  ,galt1 8a   
stiff blue or black clay1 abounding in  
shells1 which frequently  possess a     
pearly lustre20 #c4  ,hard chalk2 #d4   
,chalk with flints2 these  two last     
being generally white1 but in some      
districts red1 and in others  yellow4   
,the whole are1 in ,england1 about #abjj
 feet thick1 shewing the  considerable  
depths of the ocean in which the        
deposits were made4    ,chalk is a      

carbonate of lime1 and the manner of its
 production in such  vast quantities was
 long a subject of speculation among    
geologists4  ,some  light seemed to be  
thrown upon the subject a few years ago1
 when it was  observed1 that the        
detritus of coral reefs in the present  
tropical seas  gave a powder1           
undistinguishable1 when dried1 from     
ordinary chalk4  ,it  then appeared     
likely that the chalk beds were the     
detritus of the corals  which were in   
the oceans of that era4  ,mr4 ,darwin1  
who made some curious  inquiries on this
 point1 further suggested1 that the     
matter might have  intermediately passed
 through the bodies of worms and fish1  
such as feed  on the corals of the      
present day1 and in whose stomachs he   
has found  impure chalk4  ,this1        
however1 cannot be a full explanation of
 the  production of chalk1 if we admit  
some more recent discoveries of         
,professor ,ehrenberg4  ,that master of 
microscopic investigation announces1    

that chalk is composed partly of        
8inorganic particles of irregular       
elliptical structure and granular slaty 
disposition10 and partly of  shells of  
inconceivable minuteness1 8varying from 
the one-twelfth to the  two hundred and 
eighty-eighth part of a line0--a cubic  
inch of the  substance containing above 
ten millions of them6  ,the chalk of the
 north  of ,europe contains1 he says1 a 
larger proportion of the inorganic      
matter2  that of the south1 a larger    
proportion of the organic matter1 being 
in  some instances almost entirely      
composed of it4  ,he has been able to   
classify many of these creatures1 some  
of them being allied to the  nautili1   
nummuli1 cyprides1 c4  ,the shells of   
some are calcareous1 of  others         
siliceous4  ,m4 ,ehrenberg has likewise 
detected microscopic  sea-plants in the 
chalk4    ,the distinctive feature of   
the uppermost chalk beds in ,england1 is
 the  presence of flint nodules4  ,these
 are generally disposed in layers       

parallel to each other4  ,it was readily
 presumed by geologists that these      
masses were formed by a chemical        
aggregation of particles of silica1     
originally held in solution in the mass 
of the chalk4  ,but whence the  silica  
in a substance so different from it8    
,ehrenberg suggests that it  is composed
 of the siliceous coverings of a portion
 of the microscopic  creatures1 whose   
shells he has in other instances        
detected in their  original condition4  
,it is remarkable that the chalk with   
flint abounds  in the north of ,europe2 
that without flints in the south2 while 
in the  northern chalk siliceous        
animalcules are wanting1 and in the     
southern  present in great quantities4  
,the conclusion seems but natural1 that 
in  the one case the siliceous exuvi    
have been left in their original form2  
in the other dissolved chemically1 and  
aggregated on the common principle  of  
chemical affinity into nodules of flint1
 probably concentrating1 in  every      

instance1 upon a piece of decaying      
organic matter1 as has been the  case   
with the nodules of ironstone in the    
earlier rocks1 and the  spherules of the
 oolite4    ,what is more remarkable1   
,m4 ,ehrenberg has ascertained that at  
least  fifty-seven species of the       
microscopic animals of the chalk1 being 
infusoria and calcareous-shelled        
polythalamia1 are still found living in 
various parts of the earth4  ,these     
species are the most abundant in the    
rock4  ,singly they are the most        
unimportant of all animals1 but in the  
mass1 forming as they do such enormous  
strata over a large part of the  earth's
 surface1 they have an importance       
greatly exceeding that of the  largest  
and noblest of the beasts of the field4 
,moreover1 these species  have a        
peculiar interest1 as the only specific 
types of that early age  which are      
reproduced in the present day4  ,species
 of sea mollusks1 of  reptiles1 and of  
mammifers1 have been changed again and  

again1 since the  cretaceous era2 and it
 is not till a long subsequent age that 
we find the  first traces of any other  
of even the humblest species which now  
exist2  but here have these humble      
infusoria and polythalamia kept their   
place on  earth through all its         
revolutions since that time1--are we to 
say1 safe in  their very humility1 which
 might adapt them to a greater variety  
of  circumstances than most other       
animals1 or are we required to look for 
some other explanation of the           
phenomenon8    ,all the ordinary and    
more observable orders of the           
inhabitants of the  sea1 except the     
cetacea1 have been found in the         
cretaceous  formation--zoophytes1       
radiaria1 mollusks1 crustacea1 7in great
 variety of  species17 and fishes in    
smaller variety4  ,in ,europe1 remains  
of the  marine saurians have been found2
 they may be presumed to have become    
extinct in that part of the globe before
 this time1 their place and  destructive

 office being perhaps supplied by       
cartilaginous fishes1 of  which the     
teeth are found in great quantities4    
,in ,america1 however1  remains of the  
plesiosaurus have been discovered in    
this part of the  stratified series4    
,the reptiles1 too1 so numerous in the  
two preceding  periods1 appear to have  
now much diminished in numbers4  ,one1  
entitled  the mossaurus1 seems to have  
held an intermediate place between the  
monitor and iguana1 and to have been    
about twenty-five feet long1 with a     
tail calculated to assist it powerfully 
in swimming4  ,crocodiles and  turtles  
existed1 and amongst the fishes were    
some of a saurian character4    ,fuci   
abounded in the seas of this era4       
,conferv are found enclosed in  flints4 
,of terrestrial vegetation1 as of       
terrestrial animals1 the  specimens in  
the ,european area are comparatively    
rare1 rendering it  probable that there 
was no dry land near4  ,the remains are 
chiefly of  ferns1 conifers1 and cycade1

 but in the two former cases we have    
only  cones and leaves4  ,there have    
been discovered many pieces of wood1    
containing holes drilled by the teredo1 
and thus shewing that they had  been    
long drifted about in the ocean before  
being entombed at the bottom4    ,the   
series in ,america corresponding to     
this1 entitled the ferruginous  sand    
formation1 presents fossils generally   
identical with those of  ,europe1 not   
excepting the fragments of drilled wood2
 shewing that1 in  this1 as in earlier  
ages1 there was a parity of conditions  
for animal  life over a vast tract of   
the earth's surface4  ,to ,european     
reptiles1 the  ,american formation adds 
a gigantic one1 styled the saurodon1    
from the  lizard-like character of its  
teeth4    ,we have seen that footsteps  
of birds are considered to have been    
discovered in ,america1 in the new red  
sandstone4  ,some similar isolated      
phenomena occur in the subsequent       
formations4  ,mr4 ,mantell discovered   

some bones of birds1 apparently waders1 
in the ,wealden4  ,the immediate        
connexion of that set of birds with     
land1 may account1 of course1 for  their
 containing a terrestrial organic relic1
 which the marine beds above  and below 
did not possess4  ,in the slate of      
,glarus1 in ,switzerland1  corresponding
 to the ,english galt1 in the chalk     
formation1 the remains of  a bird have  
been found4  ,from a chalk bed near     
,maidstone1 have likewise  been         
extracted some remains of a bird1       
supposed to have been of the            
long-winged swimmer family1 and equal in
 size to the albatross4  ,these1  it    
must be owned1 are less strong traces of
 the birds than we possess of  the      
reptiles and other tribes2 but it must  
be remembered1 that the  evidence of    
fossils1 as to the absence of any class 
of animals from a  certain period of the
 earth's history1 can never be          
considered as more  than negative4      
,animals1 of which we find no remains in

 a particular  formation1 may1          
nevertheless1 have lived at the time1   
and it may have  only been from         
unfavourable circumstances that their   
remains have not  been preserved for our
 inspection4  ,the single circumstance  
of their  being little liable to be     
carried down into seas1 might be the    
cause of  their non-appearance in our   
quarries4  ,there is at the same time a 
limit  to uncertainty on this point4    
,we see1 from what remains have been    
found  in the whole series1 a clear     
progress throughout1 from humble to     
superior  types of being4  ,hence we    
derive a light as to what animals may   
have  existed at particular times1 which
 is in some measure independent of the  
specialties of fossilology4  ,the birds 
are below the mammalia in the  animal   
scale2 and therefore they may be        
supposed to have existed about  the time
 of the new red sandstone and oolite1   
although we find but slight  traces of  
them in those formations1 and1 it may be

 said1 till a  considerably later       
period4          ,,era ,,of ,,the       
,,tertiary ,,formation4--  ,,mammalia   
,,abundant4      ,,the chalk-beds are   
the highest which extend over a         
considerable space2  but in hollows of  
these beds1 comparatively limited in    
extent1 there have  been formed series  
of strata--clays1 limestones1 marls1    
alternating--to  which the name of the  
,tertiary ,formation has been applied4  
,london and  ,paris alike rest on basins
 of this formation1 and another such    
basin  extends from near ,winchester1   
under ,southampton1 and re-appears in   
the  ,isle of ,wight4  ,there is a      
patch1 or fragment of the formation in  
one of  the ,hebrides4  ,a stripe of it 
extends along the east coast of ,north  
,america1 from ,massachusetts to        
,florida4  ,it is also found in ,sicily 
and  ,italy1 insensibly blended with    
formations still in progress4  ,though  
comparatively a local formation1 it is  
not of the less importance as a  record 

of the condition of the earth during a  
certain period4  ,as in  other          
formations1 it is marked1 in the most   
distant localities1 by  identity of     
organic remains4    ,the hollows filled 
by the tertiary formation must be       
considered as the  beds of estuaries    
left at the conclusion of the cretaceous
 period4  ,we  have seen that an        
estuary1 either by the drifting up of   
its mouth1 or a  change of level in that
 quarter1 may be supposed to have become
 an inland  sheet of water1 and that1 by
 another change1 of the reverse kind1 it
 may  be supposed to have become an     
estuary again4  ,such changes the ,paris
  basin appears to have undergone       
oftener than once1 for1 first1 we have  
there a fresh-water formation of clay   
and limestone beds2 then1 a             
marine-limestone formation2 next1 a     
second fresh water formation1 in  which 
the material of the celebrated plaster  
of ,paris 7gypsum7 is  included2 then1 a
 second marine formation of sandy and   

limy beds2 and  finally1 a third series 
of fresh-water strata4  ,such           
alternations occur  in other examples of
 the tertiary formation likewise4       
,the tertiary beds present all but an   
entirely new set of animals1 and as  we 
ascend in the series1 we find more and  
more of these identical with  species   
still existing upon earth1 as if we had 
now reached the dawn of  the present    
state of the zoology of our planet4  ,by
 the study of the  shells alone1 ,mr4   
,lyell has been enabled to divide the   
whole term into  four sub-periods1 to   
which he has given names with reference 
to the  proportions which they          
respectively present of surviving       
species--first1  the eocene1 7from '1   
the dawn2 1 recent27 second1 the        
miocene1  71 less27 third1 older        
pliocene1 71 more27 fourth1 newer       
pliocene4        ,,eocene               
,,sub-,,period4      ,the eocene period 
presents1 in three continental groups1  
#abch species of  shells1 of which      

forty-two1 or #c4e per cent1 yet        
flourish4  ,some of these  are          
remarkable enough2 but they all sink    
into insignificance beside the          
mammalian remains which the lower eocene
 deposits of the ,paris basin  present  
to us1 shewing that the land had now    
become the theatre of an  extensive     
creation of the highest class of        
animals4  ,cuvier ascertained  about    
fifty species of these1 all of them long
 since extinct4  ,a  considerable number
 are pachydermata1 #abg of a character  
approximating to the ,south ,american   
tapir3 the names1 palotherium1          
anthracotherium1 anoplotherium1         
lophiodon1 c41 have been applied to them
  with a consideration of more or less  
conspicuous peculiarities2 but a        
description of the first may give some  
general idea of the whole4  ,it was     
about the size of a horse1 but more     
squat and clumsy1 and with a heavier    
head1 and a lower jaw shorter than the  
upper2 the feet1 also1 instead of       

hooves1 presented three large toes1     
rounded1 and unprovided with claws4     
,these animals were all herbivorous4    
,amongst an immense number of others    
are found many new reptiles1 some of    
them adapted for fresh water2  species  
of birds allied to the sea-lark1 curlew1
 quail1 buzzard1 owl1 and  pelican2     
species allied to the dormouse and      
squirrel2 also the opossum  and racoon2 
and species allied to the genette1 fox1 
and wolf4        ,,miocene              
,,sub-,,period4      ,in the miocene    
sub-period1 the shells give eighteen per
 cent4 of existing  species1 shewing a  
considerable advance from the preceding 
era1 with  respect to the inhabitants of
 the sea4  ,the advance in the land     
animals  is less marked1 but yet        
considerable4  ,the predominating forms 
are still  pachydermatous1 and the tapir
 type continues to be conspicuous4  ,one
  animal of this kind1 called the       
dinotherium1 is supposed to have been   
not less than eighteen feet long2 it had

 a mole-like form of the                
shoulder-blade1 conferring the power of 
digging for food1 and a couple of  tusks
 turning down from the lower jaw1 by    
which it could have attached  itself1   
like the walrus1 to a shore or bank1    
while its body floated in  the water4   
,dr4 ,buckland considers this and some  
similar miocene animals1  as adapted for
 a semi-aquatic life1 in a region where 
lakes abounded4  ,besides the tapirs1 we
 have in this era animals allied to the 
glutton1  the bear1 the dog1 the horse1 
the hog1 and lastly1 several felin1     
7creatures of which the lion is the     
type27 all of which are new forms1 as   
far as we know4  ,there was also an     
abundance of marine mammalia1 seals1    
dolphins1 lamantins1 walruses1 and      
whales1 none of which had previously    
appeared4        ,,pliocene             
,,sub-,,period4      ,the shells of the 
older pliocene give from thirty-five to 
fifty2 those of  the newer1 from ninety 
to ninety-five per cent4 of existing    

species4  ,the  pachydermata of the     
preceding era now disappear1 and are    
replaced by  others belonging to still  
existing families--elephant1            
hippopotamus1  rhinoceros--though now   
extinct as species4  ,some of these are 
startling1  from their enormous         
magnitude4  ,the great mastodon1 whose  
remains are  found in abundance in      
,america1 was a species of elephant1    
judged1 from  peculiarities of its      
teeth1 to have lived on aquatic plants1 
and reaching  the height of twelve feet4
  ,the mammoth was another elephant1 but
  supposed to have survived till        
comparatively recent times1 as a        
specimen1  in all respects entire1 was  
found in #ahja1 preserved in ice1 in    
,siberia4  ,we are more surprised by    
finding such gigantic proportions in an 
animal  called the megatherium1 which   
ranks in an order now assuming much     
humbler  forms--the edentata--to which  
the sloth1 ant-eater1 and armadillo     
belong4  ,the megatherium had a skeleton

 of enormous solidity1 with an          
armour-clad  body1 and five toes1       
terminating in huge claws1 wherewith to 
grasp the  branches1 from which1 like   
its existing congener1 the sloth1 it    
derived  its food4  ,the megalonyx was a
 similar animal1 only somewhat less than
  the preceding4  ,finally1 the pliocene
 gives us for the first time1 oxen1     
deer1 camels1 and other specimens of the
 ruminantia4    ,such is an outline of  
the fauna of the tertiary era1 as       
ascertained by  the illustrious         
naturalists who first devoted their     
attention to it4  ,it  will be observed 
that it brings us up to the felin1 or   
carnivora1 a  considerably elevated     
point in the animal scale1 but still    
leaving a  blank for the quadrumana     
7monkeys7 and for man1 who collectively 
form1 as  will be afterwards seen1 the  
first group in that scale4  ,it         
sometimes  happens1 however1 as we have 
seen1 that a few rare traces of a       
particular  class of animals are in time

 found in formations originally thought 
to be  destitute of them1 displaying as 
it were a dawn of that department of    
creation4  ,such seems to be the case   
with at least the quadrumana4  ,a       
jaw-bone and tooth of an animal of this 
order1 and belonging to the genus       
macacus1 were found in the ,london clay1
 7eocene17 at ,kyson1 near  ,woodbridge1
 in #ahci4  ,another jaw-bone1          
containing several teeth1  supposed to  
have belonged to a species of monkey    
about three feet high1  was discovered  
about the same time in a stratum of marl
 surmounted by  compact limestone1 in   
the department of ,gers1 at the foot of 
the  ,pyrenees4  ,associated with this  
last were remains of not less than      
thirty  mammiferous quadrupeds1         
including three species of rhinoceros1 a
 large  anoplotherium1 three species of 
deer1 two antelopes1 a true dog1 a large
  cat1 an animal like a weasel1 a small 
hare1 and a huge species of the         
edentata4  ,both of these places are    

considerably to the north of any  region
 now inhabited by the monkey tribes4    
,fossil remains of quadrumana  have been
 found in at least two other parts of   
the earth1--namely1 the  sub-,himalayan 
hills1 near the ,sutlej1 and in ,brazil1
 7both in the  tertiary strata27 the    
first being a large species of          
semnopithecus1 and  the second1 a still 
larger animal belonging to the ,american
 group of  monkeys1 but a new genus1 and
 denominated by its discoverer1 ,dr4    
,lund1  protopithecus4  ,the latter     
would be four feet in height4    ,one   
remarkable circumstance connected with  
the tertiary formation remains  to be   
noticed1--namely1 the prevalence of     
volcanic action at that era4  ,in       
,auvergne1 in ,catalonia1 near ,venice1 
and in the vicinity of ,rome and        
,naples1 lavas exactly resembling the   
produce of existing volcanoes1 are      
associated and intermixed with the      
lacustrine as well as marine            
tertiaries4  ,the superficies of        

tertiaries in ,england is disturbed by  
two  great swells1 forming what are     
called anticlinal axes1 one of which    
divides the ,london from the ,hampshire 
basin1 while the other passes  through  
the ,isle of ,wight1 both throwing the  
strata down at violent  inclination     
towards the north1 as if the            
subterranean disturbing force  had waved
 forward in that direction4  ,the       
,pyrenees1 too1 and ,alps1 have  both   
undergone elevation since the deposition
 of the tertiaries2 and in  ,sicily     
there are mountains which have risen    
three thousand feet since the           
deposition of some of the most recent of
 these rocks4  ,the general effect  of  
these operations was of course to extend
 the land surface1 and to  increase the 
variety of its features1 thus improving 
the natural  drainage1 and generally    
adapting the earth for the reception of 
higher  classes of animals4             
,,era ,,of ,,the ,,superficial          
,,formations4  ,,commencement ,,of      

,,present ,,species4      ,,we have now 
completed our survey of the series of   
stratified rocks1 and  traced in their  
fossils the progress of organic creation
 down to a time  which seems not long   
antecedent to the appearance of man4    
,there are1  nevertheless1 monuments of 
still another era or space of time which
 it is  all but certain did also precede
 that event4    ,over the rock          
formations of all eras1 in various parts
 of the globe1 but  confined in general 
to situations not very elevated1 there  
is a layer of  stiff clay1 mostly of a  
blue colour1 mingled with fragments of  
rock of  all sizes1 travel-worn1 and    
otherwise1 and to which geologists give 
the  name of diluvium1 as being         
apparently the produce of some vast     
flood1 or  of the sea thrown into an    
unusual agitation4  ,it seems to        
indicate that1  at the time when it was 
laid down1 much of the present dry land 
was under  the ocean1 a supposition     
which we shall see supported by other   

evidence4  ,the included masses of rock 
have been carefully inspected in many   
places1  and traced to particular parent
 beds at considerable distances4        
,connected with these phenomena are     
certain rock surfaces on the slopes of  
hills and elsewhere1 which exhibit      
groovings and scratchings1 such as we   
might suppose would be produced by a    
quantity of loose blocks hurried  along 
over them by a flood4  ,another         
associated phenomenon is that called    
crag and tail1 which exists in many     
places1--namely1 a rocky mountain1  or  
lesser elevation1 presenting on one side
 the naked rock in a more or  less      
abrupt form1 and on the other a gentle  
slope2 the sites of ,windsor1           
,edinburgh1 and ,stirling1 with their   
respective castles1 are specimens of    
crag and tail4  ,finally1 we may advert 
to certain long ridges of clay and      
gravel which arrest the attention of    
travellers on the surface of ,sweden    
and ,finland1 and which are also found  

in the ,united ,states1 where1  indeed1 
the whole of these phenomena have been  
observed over a large  surface1 as well 
as in ,europe4  ,it is very remarkable  
that the direction  from which the      
diluvial blocks have generally come1 the
 lines of the  grooved rock surfaces1   
the direction of the crag and tail      
eminences1 and  that of the clay and    
gravel ridges--phenomena1 be it         
observed1 extending  over the northern  
parts of both ,europe and ,america--are 
all from the  north and north-west      
towards the south-east4  ,we thus       
acquire the idea  of a powerful current 
moving in a direction from north-west to
  south-east1 carrying1 besides mud1    
masses of rock which furrowed the  solid
 surfaces as they passed along1 abrading
 the north-west faces of  many hills1   
but leaving the slopes in the opposite  
direction uninjured1  and in some       
instances forming long ridges of        
detritus along the surface4  ,these are 
curious considerations1 and it has      

become a question of much  interest1 by 
what means1 and under what              
circumstances1 was such a current       
produced4  ,one hypothetical answer has 
some plausibility about it4  ,from  an  
investigation of the nature of glaciers1
 and some observations which  seem to   
indicate that these have at one time    
extended to lower levels1  and existed  
in regions 7the ,scottish ,highlands an 
example7 where there is  now no         
perennial snow1 it has been surmised    
that there was a time1  subsequent to   
the tertiary era1 when the circumpolar  
ice extended far  into the temperate    
zone1 and formed a lofty1 as well as    
extensive  accumulation4  ,a change to a
 higher temperature1 producing a sudden 
thaw  of this mass1 might set free such 
a quantity of water as would form a     
large flood1 and the southward flow of  
this deluge1 joined to the  direction   
which it would obtain from the rotatory 
motion of the globe1  would of course   
produce that compound or south-easterly 

direction which  the phenomena require4 
,all of these speculations are as yet   
far too  deficient in facts to be of    
much value2 and ,i must freely own that1
 for  one1 ,i attach little importance  
to them4  ,all that we can legitimately 
infer from the diluvium is1 that the    
northern parts of ,europe and ,america  
were then under the sea1 and that a     
strong current set over them4           
,connected with the diluvium is the     
history of ossiferous caverns1 of  which
 specimens singly exist at ,kirkdale in 
,yorkshire1 ,gailenreuth in  ,franconia1
 and other places4  ,they occur in the  
calcareous strata1 as the  great caverns
 generally do1 but have in all instances
 been naturally  closed up till the     
recent period of their discovery4  ,the 
floors are  covered with what appears to
 be a bed of the diluvial clay1 over    
which  rests a crust of stalagmite1 the 
result of the droppings from the roof   
since the time when the clay-bed was    
laid down4  ,in the instances above     

specified1 and several others1 there    
have been found1 under the clay bed1    
assemblages of the bones of animals1 of 
many various kinds4  ,at ,kirkdale1  for
 example1 the remains of twenty-four    
species were ascertained--namely1       
pigeon1 lark1 raven1 duck1 and          
partridge2 mouse1 water-rat1 rabbit1    
hare1  deer1 7three species17 ox1 horse1
 hippopotamus1 rhinoceros1 elephant1    
weazel1 fox1 wolf1 bear1 tiger1 hyena4  
,from many of the bones of the  gentler 
of these animals being found in a broken
 state1 it is supposed  that the cave   
was a haunt of hyenas and other         
predaceous animals1 by  which the       
smaller ones were here consumed4  ,this 
must have been at a time  antecedent to 
the submersion which produced the       
diluvium1 since the bones  are covered  
by a bed of that formation4  ,it is     
impossible not to see here  a very      
natural series of incidents4  ,first1   
the cave is frequented by  wild beasts1 
who make it a kind of charnel-house4    

,then1 submerged in the  current which  
has been spoken of1 it receives a clay  
flooring from the  waters containing    
that matter in suspension4  ,finally1   
raised from the  water1 but with no     
mouth to the open air1 it remains       
unintruded on for a  long series of     
ages1 during which the clay flooring    
receives a new  calcareous covering1    
from the droppings of the roof4  ,dr4   
,buckland1 who  examined and described  
the ,kirkdale cave1 was at first of     
opinion that it  presented a physical   
evidence of the ,noachian deluge2 but he
 afterwards  saw reason to consider its 
phenomena as of a time far apart from   
that  event1 which rests on evidence of 
an entirely different kind4    ,our     
attention is next drawn to the erratic  
blocks or boulders1 which in  many parts
 of the earth are thickly strewn over   
the surface1 particularly  in the north 
of ,europe4  ,some of these blocks are  
many tons in weight1  yet are clearly   
ascertained to have belonged originally 

to situations at  a great distance4     
,fragments1 for example1 of the granite 
of ,shap ,fell  are found in every      
direction around to the distance of     
fifty miles1 one  piece being placed    
high upon ,criffel ,mountain1 on the    
opposite side of  the ,solway estuary2  
so also are fragments of the ,alps found
 far up the  slopes of the ,jura4       
,there are even blocks on the east coast
 of ,england1  supposed to have         
travelled from ,norway4  ,the only      
rational conjecture  which can be formed
 as to the transport of such masses from
 so great a  distance1 is one which     
presumes them to have been carried and  
dropped by  icebergs1 while the space   
between their original and final sites  
was  under ocean4  ,icebergs do even now
 carry off such masses from the polar   
coasts1 which1 falling when the         
retaining ice melts1 must take up       
situations at the bottom of the sea     
analogous to those in which we find  the
 erratic blocks of the present day4     

,as the diluvium and erratic blocks     
clearly suppose one last long           
submersion of the surface1 7last1       
geologically speaking17 there is        
another set of appearances which as     
manifestly shew the steps by which  the 
land was made afterwards to reappear4   
,these consist of terraces1  which have 
been detected near1 and at some distance
 inland from1 the  coast lines of       
,scandinavia1 ,britain1 ,america1 and   
other regions2 being  evidently ancient 
beaches1 or platforms1 on which the     
margin of the sea  at one time rested4  
,they have been observed at different   
heights above  the present sea-level1   
from twenty to above twelve hundred     
feet2 and in  many places they are seen 
rising above each other in succession1  
to the  number of three1 four1 and even 
more4  ,the smooth flatness of these    
terraces1 with generally a slight       
inclination towards the sea1 the sandy  
composition of many of them1 and1 in    
some instances1 the preservation of     

marine shells in the ground1 identify   
them perfectly with existing            
sea-beaches1 notwithstanding the cuts   
and scoopings which have every here  and
 there been effected in them by         
water-courses4  ,the irresistible       
inference from the phenomena is1 that   
the highest was first the coast  line2  
then an elevation took place1 and the   
second highest became so1 the  first    
being now raised into the air and thrown
 inland4  ,then1 upon  another          
elevation1 the sea began to form1 at its
 new point of contact  with the land1   
the third highest beach1 and so on down 
to the platform  nearest to the present 
sea-beach4  ,phenomena of this kind     
become  comparatively familiar to us1   
when we hear of evidence that the last  
sixty feet of the elevation of ,sweden1 
and the last eighty-five of that  of    
,chili1 have taken place since man first
 dwelt in those countries2 nay1  that   
the elevation of the former country goes
 on at this time at the rate  of about  

forty-five inches in a century1 and that
 a thousand miles of the  ,chilian coast
 rose four feet in one night1 under the 
influence of a  powerful earthquake1 so 
lately as #ahbb4  ,subterranean forces1 
of the kind  then exemplified in ,chili1
 supply a ready explanation of the whole
  phenomena1 though some other operating
 causes have been suggested4  ,in an    
inquiry on this point1 it becomes of    
consequence to learn some  particulars  
respecting the levels4  ,taking a       
particular beach1 it is  generally      
observed that the level continues the   
same along a considerable  number of    
miles1 and nothing like breaks or       
hitches has as yet been  detected in any
 case4  ,a second and a third beach are 
also observed to be  exactly parallel to
 the first4  ,these facts would seem to 
indicate quiet  elevating movements1    
uniform over a large tract4  ,it must1  
however1 be  remarked that the raised   
beaches at one part of a coast rarely   
coincide  with those at another part    

forty or fifty miles off4  ,we might    
suppose  this to indicate a limit in    
that extent of the uniformity of the    
elevating cause1 but it would be rash to
 conclude positively that such is  the  
case4  ,in the present sea1 as is well  
known1 there are different  levels at   
different places1 owing to the operation
 of peculiar local  causes1 as currents1
 evaporation1 and the influx of large   
rivers into  narrow-mouthed estuaries4  
,the differences of level in the ancient
  beaches might be occasioned by some   
such causes4  ,but1 whatever doubt may  
rest on this minor point1 enough has    
been ascertained to settle the main     
one1 that we have in these platforms    
indubitable monuments of the last  rise 
of the land from the sea1 and the       
concluding great event of the           
geological history4    ,the idea of such
 a wide-spread and possibly universal   
submersion  unavoidably suggests some   
considerations as to the effect which it
 might  have upon terrestrial animal    

life4  ,it seems likely that this would 
be1  on such an occasion1 extensively1  
if not universally destroyed4  ,nor does
  the idea of its universal destruction 
seem the less plausible1 when we        
remark1 that none of the species of land
 animals heretofore discovered  can be  
detected at a subsequent period4  ,the  
whole seem to have been now  changed4   
,some geologists appear much inclined to
 think that there was at  this time a   
new development of terrestrial animal   
life upon the globe1  and ,m4 ,agassiz1 
whose opinion on such a subject must    
always be worthy of  attention1 speaks  
all but decidedly for such a conclusion4
  ,it must1  however1 be owned1 that    
proofs for it are still scanty1 beyond  
the bare  fact of a submersion which    
appears to have had a very wide range4  
,i must  therefore be content to leave  
this point1 as far as geological        
evidence  is concerned1 for future      
affirmation4    ,there are some other   
superficial deposits1 of less           

consequence on the  present occasion    
than the diluvium--namely1 lacustrine   
deposits1 or  filled-up lakes2 alluvium1
 or the deposits of rivers beside their 
margins2 deltas1 the deposits made by   
great ones at their efflux into the     
sea2 peat mosses2 and the vegetable     
soil4  ,the animal remains found in     
these generally testify to a zoology on 
the verge of that which still  exists1  
or melting into it1 there being included
 many species which still  exist4  ,in a
 lacustrine deposit at                  
,market-,weighton1 in the ,vale of      
,york1  there have been found bones of  
the elephant1 rhinoceros1 bison1 wolf1  
horse1 felis1 deer1 birds1 all or nearly
 all extinct species2 associated  with  
thirteen species of land and fresh water
 shells1 8exactly identical  with types 
now living in the vicinity40  ,in       
similar deposits in ,north  ,america1   
are remains of the mammoth1 mastodon1   
buffalo1 and other animals  of extinct  
and living types4  ,in short1 these     

superficial deposits shew  precisely    
such remains as might be expected from a
 time at which the  present system of   
things 7to use a vague but not          
unexpressive phrase7  obtained1 but yet 
so far remote in chronology as to allow 
of the dropping  of many species1       
through familiar causes1 in the         
interval4  ,still1  however1 there is no
 authentic or satisfactory instance of  
human remains  being found1 except in   
deposits obviously of very modern date2 
a  tolerably strong proof that the      
creation of our own species is a        
comparatively recent event1 and one     
posterior 7generally speaking7 to all   
the great natural transactions          
chronicled by geology4                  
,,general ,,considerations  ,,respecting
  ,,the ,,origin ,,of ,,the ,,animated  
,,tribes4      ,,thus concludes the     
wondrous chapter of the earth's history 
which is told  by geology4  ,it takes up
 our globe at the period when its       
original  incandescent state had nearly 

ceased2 conducts it through what we have
  every reason to believe were vast1 or 
at least very considerable1 spaces  of  
time1 in the course of which many       
superficial changes took place1 and     
vegetable and animal life was gradually 
developed2 and drops it just at  the    
point when man was apparently about to  
enter on the scene4  ,the  compilation  
of such a history1 from materials of so 
extraordinary a  character1 and the     
powerful nature of the evidence which   
these materials  afford1 are calculated 
to excite our admiration1 and the result
 must be  allowed to exalt the dignity  
of science1 as a product of man's       
industry  and his reason4    ,if there  
is any thing more than another impressed
 on our minds by the  course of the     
geological history1 it is1 that the same
 laws and  conditions of nature now     
apparent to us have existed throughout  
the whole  time1 though the operation of
 some of these laws may now be less     
conspicuous than in the early ages1 from

 some of the conditions having  come to 
a settlement and a close4  ,that seas   
have flowed and ebbed1 and  winds       
disturbed their surfaces1 in the time of
 the secondary rocks1 we  have proof on 
the yet preserved surfaces of the sands 
which constituted  margins of the seas  
in those days4  ,even the fall of       
wind-slanted rain is  evidenced on the  
same tablets4  ,the washing down of     
detached matter from  elevated grounds1 
which we see rivers constantly engaged  
in at the  present time1 and which is   
daily shallowing the seas adjacent to   
their  mouths1 only appears to have     
proceeded on a greater scale in earlier 
epochs4  ,the volcanic subterranean     
force1 which we see belching forth      
lavas on the sides of mountains1 and    
throwing up new elevations by land  and 
sea1 was only more powerfully operative 
in distant ages4  ,to turn to  organic  
nature1 vegetation seems to have        
proceeded then exactly as now4  ,the    
very alternations of the seasons has    

been read in unmistakable  characters in
 sections of the trees of those days1   
precisely as it might  be read in a     
section of a tree cut down yesterday4   
,the system of prey  amongst animals    
flourished throughout the whole of the  
pre-human period2  and the adaptation of
 all plants and animals to their        
respective spheres  of existence was as 
perfect in those early ages as it is    
still4    ,but1 as has been observed1   
the operation of the laws may be        
modified by  conditions4  ,at one early 
age1 if there was any dry land at all1  
it was  perhaps enveloped in an         
atmosphere unfit for the existence of   
terrestrial  animals1 and which had to  
go though some changes before that      
condition  was altered4  ,in the        
carbonigenous era1 dry land seems to    
have consisted  only of clusters of     
islands1 and the temperature was much   
above what now  obtains at the same     
places4  ,volcanic forces1 and perhaps  
also the  disintegrating power1 seem to 

have been on the decrease since the     
first1  or we have at least long enjoyed
 an exemption from such paroxysms of the
  former1 as appear to have prevailed at
 the close of the coal formation in     
,england and throughout the tertiary    
era4  ,the surface has also undergone  a
 gradual progress by which it has become
 always more and more  variegated1 and  
thereby fitted for the residence of a   
higher class of  animals4    ,in        
pursuing the progress of the development
 of both plants and animals  upon the   
globe1 we have seen an advance in both  
cases1 along the line  leading to the   
higher forms of organization4  ,amongst 
plants1 we have  first sea-weeds1       
afterwards land plants2 and amongst     
these the simpler  7cellular and        
cryptogamic7 before the more complex4   
,in the department of  zoology1 we see  
zoophytes1 radiata1 mollusca1           
articulata1 existing for  ages before   
there were any higher forms4  ,the first
 step forward gives  fishes1 the        

humblest class of the vertebrata2 and1  
moreover1 the earliest  fishes partake  
of the character of the next lowest     
sub-kingdom1 the  articulata4           
,afterwards come land animals1 of which 
the first are  reptiles1 universally    
allowed to be the type next in advance  
from fishes1  and to be connected with  
these by the links of an insensible     
gradation4  ,from reptiles we advance to
 birds1 and thence to mammalia1 which   
are  commenced by marsupialia1          
acknowledgedly low forms in their class4
  ,that  there is thus a progress of    
some kind1 the most superficial glance  
at the  geological history is sufficient
 to convince us4  ,indeed the doctrine  
of  the gradation of animal forms has   
received a remarkable support from the  
discoveries of this science1 as several 
types formerly wanting to a  completion 
of the series have been found in a      
fossil state4 #adi    ,it is scarcely   
less evident1 from the geological       
record1 that the  progress of organic   

life has observed some correspondence   
with the  progress of physical          
conditions on the surface4  ,we do not  
know for  certain that the sea1 at the  
time when it supported radiated1        
molluscous1  and articulated families1  
was incapable of supporting fishes2 but 
causes  for such a limitation are far   
from inconceivable4  ,the huge saurians 
appear to have been precisely adapted to
 the low muddy coasts and sea  margins  
of the time when they flourished4       
,marsupials appear at the time  when the
 surface was generally in that flat1    
imperfectly variegated state  in which  
we find ,australia1 the region where    
they now live in the  greatest          
abundance1 and one which has no higher  
native mammalian type4  ,finally1 it was
 not till the land and sea had come into
 their present  relations1 and the      
former1 in its principal continents1 had
 acquired the  irregularity of surface  
necessary for man1 that man appeared4   
,we have  likewise seen reason for      

supposing that land animals could not   
have lived  before the carbonigenous    
era1 owing to the great charge of       
carbonic acid  gas presumed to have been
 contained in the atmosphere down to    
that time4  ,the surplus of this having 
gone1 as ,m4 ,brogniart suggests1 to    
form the  vegetation1 whose ruins became
 coal1 and the air being thus brought to
  its present state1 land animals       
immediately appeared4  ,so also1        
sea-plants were at first the only       
specimens of vegetation1 because there  
appears to have been no place where     
other plants could be produced or       
supported4  ,land vegetation followed1  
at first simple1 afterwards  complex1   
probably in conformity with an advance  
of the conditions  required by the      
higher class of plants4  ,in short1 we  
see everywhere  throughout the          
geological history1 strong traces of a  
parallel advance of  the physical       
conditions and the organic forms4    ,in
 examining the fossils of the lower     

marine creation1 with a reference  to   
the kind of rock in connexion1 with     
which they are found1 it is  observed   
that some strata are attended by a much 
greater abundance of  both species and  
individuals than others4  ,they abound  
most in calcareous  rocks1 which is     
precisely what might be expected1 since 
lime is necessary  for the formation of 
the shells of the mollusks and          
articulata1 and the  hard substance of  
the crinoidea and corals2 next in the   
carboniferous  series2 next in the      
tertiary2 next in the new red sandstone2
 next in  slates2 and lastly1 least of  
all1 in the primary rocks4 #aea  ,this  
may  have been the case without regard  
to the origination of new species1 but  
more probably it was otherwise2 or why1 
for instance1 should the  polypiferous  
zoophyta be found almost exclusively in 
the limestones8  ,there are1 indeed1    
abundant appearances as if1 throughout  
all the changes  of the surface1 the    
various kinds of organic life invariably

 pressed  in1 immediately on the        
specially suitable conditions arising1  
so that no  place which could support   
any form of organic being might be left 
for any  length of time unoccupied4     
,nor is it less remarkable how various  
species  are withdrawn from the earth1  
when the proper conditions for their    
particular existence are changed4  ,the 
trilobite1 of which fifty species       
existed during the earlier formations1  
was extirpated before the  secondary had
 commenced1 and appeared no more4  ,the 
ammonite does not  appear above the     
chalk4  ,the species1 and even genera of
 all the early  radiata and mollusks    
were exchanged for others long ago4     
,not one species  of any creature which 
flourished before the tertiary          
7,ehrenberg's  infusoria excepted7 now  
exists2 and of the mammalia which arose 
during  that series1 many forms are     
altogether gone1 while of others we have
 now  only kindred species4  ,thus to   
find not only frequent additions to the 

previously existing forms1 but frequent 
withdrawals of forms which had          
apparently become inappropriate--a      
constant shifting as well as advance--is
  a fact calculated very forcibly to    
arrest attention4    ,a candid          
consideration of all these circumstances
 can scarcely fail to  introduce into   
our minds a somewhat different idea of  
organic creation  from what has hitherto
 been generally entertained4  ,that ,god
 created  animated beings1 as well as   
the terraqueous theatre of their being1 
is a  fact so powerfully evidenced1 and 
so universally received1 that ,i at once
  take it for granted4  ,but in the     
particulars of this so highly supported 
idea1 we surely here see cause for some 
re-consideration4  ,it may now be       
inquired1--,in what way was the creation
 of animated beings effected8  ,the     
ordinary notion may1 ,i think1 be not   
unjustly described as this1--that the   
,almighty author produced the           
progenitors of all existing species by  

some  sort of personal or immediate     
exertion4  ,but how does this notion    
comport  with what we have seen of the  
gradual advance of species1 from the    
humblest to the highest8  ,how can we   
suppose an immediate exertion of  this  
creative power at one time to produce   
zoophytes1 another time to add  a few   
marine mollusks1 another to bring in one
 or two conchifers1 again  to produce   
crustaceous fishes1 again perfect       
fishes1 and so on to the  end8  ,this   
would surely be to take a very mean view
 of the ,creative  ,power--to1 in short1
 anthropomorphize it1 or reduce it to   
some such  character as that borne by   
the ordinary proceedings of mankind4    
,and yet  this would be unavoidable2 for
 that the organic creation was thus     
progressive through a long space of     
time1 rests on evidence which nothing   
can overturn or gainsay4  ,some other   
idea must then be come to with  regard  
to the mode in which the ,divine ,author
 proceeded in the organic  creation4    

,let us seek in the history of the      
earth's formation for a new  suggestion 
on this point4  ,we have seen powerful  
evidence1 that the  construction of this
 globe and its associates1 and          
inferentially that of  all the other    
globes of space1 was the result1 not of 
any immediate or  personal exertion on  
the part of the ,deity1 but of natural  
laws which are  expressions of his will4
  ,what is to hinder our supposing that 
the  organic creation is also a result  
of natural laws1 which are in like      
manner an expression of his will8  ,more
 than this1 the fact of the  cosmical   
arrangements being an effect of natural 
laws is a powerful  argument for the    
organic arrangements being so likewise1 
for how can we  suppose that the august 
,being who brought all these countless  
worlds into  form by the simple         
establishment of a natural principle    
flowing from his  mind1 was to interfere
 personally and specially on every      
occasion when a  new shell-fish or      

reptile was to be ushered into existence
 on one of  these worlds8  ,surely this 
idea is too ridiculous to be for a      
moment  entertained4    ,it will be     
objected that the ordinary conceptions  
of ,christian nations on  this subject  
are directly derived from ,scripture1   
or1 at least1 are in  conformity with   
it4  ,if they were clearly and          
unequivocally supported by  ,scripture1 
it may readily be allowed that there    
would be a strong  objection to the     
reception of any opposite hypothesis4   
,but the fact is1  however startling the
 present announcement of it may be1 that
 the first  chapter of the ,mosaic      
record is not only not in harmony with  
the ordinary  ideas of mankind          
respecting cosmical and organic         
creation1 but is opposed  to them1 and  
only in accordance with the views here  
taken4  ,when we  carefully peruse it   
with awakened minds1 we find that all   
the procedure  is represented primarily 
and pre-eminently as flowing from       

commands and  expressions of will1 not  
from direct acts4  ,let there be        
light--let  there be a firmament--let   
the dry land appear--let the earth bring
 forth  grass1 the herb1 the tree--let  
the waters bring forth the moving       
creature  that hath life--let the earth 
bring forth the living creature after   
his  kind--these are the terms in which 
the principal acts are described4  ,the 
additional expressions1--,god made the  
firmament--,god made the beast of the   
earth1 c41 occur subordinately1 and only
 in a few instances2 they do not        
necessarily convey a different idea of  
the mode of creation1 and indeed  only  
appear as alternative phrases1 in the   
usual duplicative manner of  ,eastern   
narrative4  ,keeping this in view1 the  
words used in a subsequent  place1 8,god
 formed man in his own image10 cannot   
well be understood as  implying any more
 than what was implied before1--namely1 
that man was  produced in consequence of
 an expression of the ,divine will to   

that  effect4  ,thus1 the scriptural    
objection quickly vanishes1 and the     
prevalent ideas about the organic       
creation appear only as a mistaken      
inference from the text1 formed at a    
time when man's ignorance prevented  him
 from drawing therefrom a just          
conclusion4  ,at the same time1 ,i      
freely  own that ,i do not think it     
right to adduce the ,mosaic record1     
either in  objection to1 or support of  
any natural hypothesis1 and this for    
many  reasons1 but particularly for     
this1 that there is not the least       
appearance of an intention in that book 
to give philosophically exact  views of 
nature4    ,to a reasonable mind the    
,divine attributes must appear1 not     
diminished or  reduced in any way1 by   
supposing a creation by law1 but        
infinitely  exalted4  ,it is the        
narrowest of all views of the ,deity1   
and  characteristic of a humble class of
 intellects1 to suppose him acting      
constantly in particular ways for       

particular occasions4  ,it1 for one     
thing1 greatly detracts from his        
foresight1 the most undeniable of all   
the attributes of ,omnipotence4  ,it    
lowers him towards the level of our  own
 humble intellects4  ,much more worthy  
of him it surely is1 to suppose  that   
all things have been commissioned by him
 from the first1 though  neither is he  
absent from a particle of the current of
 natural affairs in  one sense1 seeing  
that the whole system is continually    
supported by his  providence4  ,even in 
human affairs1 if ,i may be allowed to  
adopt a  familiar illustration1 there is
 a constant progress from specific      
action  for particular occasions1 to    
arrangements which1 once established1   
shall  continue to answer for a great   
multitude of occasions4  ,such plans the
  enlightened readily form for          
themselves1 and conceive as being       
adopted by  all who have to attend to a 
multitude of affairs1 while the ignorant
  suppose every act of the greatest     

public functionary to be the result of  
some special consideration and care on  
his part alone4  ,are we to suppose  the
 ,deity adopting plans which harmonize  
only with the modes of procedure  of the
 less enlightened of our race8  ,those  
who would object to the  hypothesis of a
 creation by the intervention of law1 do
 not perhaps  consider how powerful an  
argument in favour of the existence of  
,god is  lost by rejecting this         
doctrine4  ,when all is seen to be the  
result of  law1 the idea of an ,almighty
 ,author becomes irresistible1 for the  
creation of a law for an endless series 
of phenomena--an act of  intelligence   
above all else that we can              
conceive--could have no other           
imaginable source1 and tells1 moreover1 
as powerfully for a sustaining as  for  
an originating power4  ,on this point a 
remark of ,dr4 ,buckland seems          
applicable3 8,if the properties adopted 
by the elements at the moment of  their 
creation adapted them beforehand to the 

infinity of complicated  useful purposes
 which they have already answered1 and  
may have still  farther to answer1 under
 many dispensations of the material     
world1 such  an aboriginal constitution1
 so far from superseding an intelligent 
agent1  would only exalt our conceptions
 of the consummate skill and power that 
could comprehend such an infinity of    
future uses under future systems1 in    
the original groundwork of his          
creation40    ,a late writer1 in a work 
embracing a vast amount of miscellaneous
  knowledge1 but written in a dogmatic  
style1 argues at great length for  the  
doctrine of more immediate exertions on 
the part of the ,deity in the  works of 
his creation4  ,one of the most striking
 of his illustrations is  as            
follows3--8,the coral polypi1 united by 
a common animal bond1 construct  a      
defined form in stone2 many kinds       
construct many forms4  ,an allotted     
instinct may permit each polypus to     
construct its own cell1 but there is  no

 superintending one to direct the       
pattern1 nor can the workers unite by   
consultation for such an end4  ,there is
 no recipient for an instinct by  which 
the pattern might be constructed4  ,it  
is ,god alone1 therefore1 who  is the   
architect2 and for this end1            
consequently1 he must dispose of  every 
new polypus required to continue the    
pattern1 in a new and peculiar          
position1 which the animal could not    
have discovered by itself4  ,yet  more1 
millions of these blind workers unite   
their works to form an  island1 which is
 also wrought out according to a        
constant general  pattern1 and of a very
 peculiar nature1 though the separate   
coral works  are numerously diverse4    
,still less1 then1 here is an instinct  
possible4  ,the ,great ,architect       
himself must execute what he planned1 in
 each case  equally4  ,he uses these    
little and senseless animals as hands2  
but they  are hands which himself must  
direct4  ,he must direct each one       

everywhere1  and therefore he is ever   
acting40 #aei  ,this is a most notable  
example  of a dangerous kind of         
reasoning4  ,it is now believed that    
corals have a  general life and         
sensation throughout the whole mass1    
residing in the  nervous tissue which   
envelops them2 consequently1 there is   
nothing more  wonderful in their        
determinate general forms than in those 
of other  animals4    ,it may here be   
remarked that there is in our doctrine  
that harmony in all  the associated     
phenomena which generally marks great   
truths4  ,first1 it  agrees1 as we have 
seen1 with the idea of planet-creation  
by natural law4  ,secondly1 upon this   
supposition1 all that geology tells us  
of the  succession of species appears   
natural and intelligible4  ,organic life
  presses in1 as has been remarked1     
wherever there was room and             
encouragement for it1 the forms being   
always such as suited the               
circumstances1 and in a certain relation

 to them1 as1 for example1 where  the   
limestone-forming seas produced an      
abundance of corals1 crinoidea1  and    
shell-fish4  ,admitting for a moment a  
re-origination of species after  a      
cataclysm1 as has been surmised by some 
geologists1 though the  hypothesis is   
always becoming less and less tenable1  
it harmonizes with  nothing so well as  
the idea of a creation by law4  ,the    
more solitary  commencements of species1
 which would have been the most         
inconceivably  paltry exercise for an   
immediately creative power1 are         
sufficiently  worthy of one operating by
 laws4    ,it is also to be observed1   
that the thing to be accounted for is   
not  merely the origination of organic  
being upon this little planet1 third of 
a series which is but one of hundreds of
 thousands of series1 the whole  of     
which again form but one portion of an  
apparently infinite  globe-peopled      
space1 where all seems analogous4  ,we  
have to suppose1 that  every one of     

these numberless globes is either a     
theatre of organic  being1 or in the way
 of becoming so4  ,this is a conclusion 
which every  addition to our knowledge  
makes only the more irresistible4  ,is  
it  conceivable1 as a fitting mode of   
exercise for creative intelligence1     
that it should be constantly moving from
 one sphere to another1 to form  and    
plant the various species which may be  
required in each situation at           
particular times8  ,is such an idea     
accordant with our general conception   
of the dignity1 not to speak of the     
power1 of the ,great ,author8  ,yet such
  is the notion which we must form1 if  
we adhere to the doctrine of special    
exercise4  ,let us see1 on the other    
hand1 how the doctrine of a creation  by
 law agrees with this expanded view of  
the organic world4    ,unprepared as    
most men may be for such an             
announcement1 there can be no  doubt    
that we are able1 in this limited       
sphere1 to form some satisfactory       

conclusions as to the plants and animals
 of those other spheres which  move at  
such immense distances from us4         
,suppose that the first persons  of an  
early nation who made a ship and        
ventured to sea in it1 observed1  as    
they sailed along1 a set of objects     
which they had never before             
seen--namely1 a fleet of other          
ships--would they not have been         
justified in  supposing that those ships
 were occupied1 like their own1 by human
 beings  possessing hands to row and    
steer1 eyes to watch the signs of the   
weather1 intelligence to guide them from
 one place to another--in short1  beings
 in all respects like themselves1 or    
only shewing such differences  as they  
knew to be producible by difference of  
climate and habits of  life4  ,precisely
 in this manner we can speculate on the 
inhabitants of  remote spheres4  ,we see
 that matter has originally been        
diffused in one  mass1 of which the     
spheres are portions4  ,consequently1   

inorganic matter  must be presumed to be
 everywhere the same1 although probably 
with  differences in the proportions of 
ingredients in different globes1 and    
also some difference of conditions4     
,out of a certain number of the         
elements of inorganic matter are        
composed organic bodies1 both vegetable 
and animal2 such must be the rule in    
,jupiter and in ,sirius1 as it is  here4
  ,we1 therefore1 are all but certain   
that herbaceous and ligneous  fibre1    
that flesh and blood1 are the           
constituents of the organic beings  of  
all those spheres which are as yet seats
 of life4  ,gravitation we see  to be an
 all-pervading principle3 therefore     
there must be a relation  between the   
spheres and their respective organic    
occupants1 by virtue of  which they are 
fixed1 as far as necessary1 on the      
surface4  ,such a  relation1 of course1 
involves details as to the density and  
elasticity of  structure1 as well as    
size1 of the organic tenants1 in        

proportion to the  gravity of the       
respective planets--peculiarities1      
however1 which may quite  well consist  
with the idea of a universality of      
general types1 to which  we are about to
 come4  ,electricity we also see to be  
universal2 if1  therefore1 it be a      
principle concerned in life and in      
mental action1 as  science strongly     
suggests1 life and mental action must   
everywhere be of  one general character4
  ,we come to comparatively a matter of 
detail1 when  we advert to heat and     
light2 yet it is important to consider  
that these  are universal agents1 and   
that1 as they bear marked relations to  
organic  life and structure on earth1   
they may be presumed to do so in other  
spheres also4  ,the considerations as to
 light are particularly  interesting1   
for1 on our globe1 the structure of one 
important organ1  almost universally    
distributed in the animal kingdom1 is in
 direct and  precise relation to it4    
,where there is light there will be     

eyes1 and  these1 in other spheres1 will
 be the same in all respects as the eyes
 of  tellurian animals1 with only such  
differences as may be necessary to      
accord with minor peculiarities of      
condition and of situation4  ,it is but 
a small stretch of the argument to      
suppose that1 one conspicuous organ of  
a large portion of our animal kingdom   
being thus universal1 a parity in  all  
the other organs--species for species1  
class for class1 kingdom for            
kingdom--is highly likely1 and that thus
 the inhabitants of all the other       
globes of space bear not only a general1
 but a particular resemblance to  those 
of our own4    ,assuming that organic   
beings are thus spread over all space1  
the idea of  their having all come into 
existence by the operation of laws      
everywhere  applicable1 is only         
conformable to that principle1          
acknowledged to be so  generally visible
 in the affairs of ,providence1 to have 
all done by the  employment of the      

smallest possible amount of means4      
,thus1 as one set of  laws produced all 
orbs and their motions and geognostic   
arrangements1 so  one set of laws       
overspread them all with life4  ,the    
whole productive or  creative           
arrangements are therefore in perfect   
unity4          ,,particular            
,,considerations  ,,respecting  ,,the   
,,origin ,,of ,,the ,,animated ,,tribes4
      ,,the general likelihood of an    
organic creation by law having been     
shewn1  we are next to inquire if       
science has any facts tending to bring  
the  assumption more nearly home to     
nature4  ,such facts there certainly    
are2  but it cannot be surprising that  
they are comparatively few and          
scattered1 when we consider that the    
inquiry is into one of nature's         
profoundest mysteries1 and one which has
 hitherto engaged no direct  attention  
in almost any quarter4                  
,crystallization is confessedly a       
phenomenon of inorganic matter2 yet the 

simplest rustic observer is struck by   
the resemblance which the examples  of  
it left upon a window by frost bear to  
vegetable forms4  ,in some              
crystallizations the mimicry is         
beautiful and complete2 for example1 in 
the well-known one called the ,arbor    
,dian4  ,an amalgam of four parts of    
silver and two of mercury being         
dissolved in nitric acid1 and water     
equal  to thirty weights of the metals  
being added1 a small piece of soft      
amalgam of silver suspended in the      
solution1 quickly gathers to itself  the
 particles of the silver of the amalgam1
 which form upon it a  crystallization  
precisely resembling a shrub4  ,the     
experiment may be  varied in a way which
 serves better to detect the influence  
of  electricity in such operations1 as  
noted below4 #aff  ,vegetable figures   
are also presented in some of the most  
ordinary appearances of the  electric   
fluid4  ,in the marks caused by positive
 electricity1 or which it  leaves in its

 passage1 we see the ramifications of a 
tree1 as well as of  its individual     
leaves2 those of the negative1 recal the
 bulbous or the  spreading root1        
according as they are clumped or        
divergent4  ,these  phenomena seem to   
say that the electric energies have had 
something to do  in determining the     
forms of plants4  ,that they are        
intimately connected  with vegetable    
life is indubitable1 for germination    
will not proceed in  water charged with 
negative electricity1 while water       
charged positively  greatly favours it2 
and a garden sensibly increases in      
luxuriance1 when a  number of conducting
 rods are made to terminate in branches 
over its  beds4  ,with regard to the    
resemblance of the ramifications of the 
branches and leaves of plants to the    
traces of the positive electricity1  and
 that of the roots to the negative1 it  
is a circumstance calling for  especial 
remark1 that the atmosphere1            
particularly its lower strata1 is       

generally charged positively1 while the 
earth is always charged  negatively4    
,the correspondence here is curious4  ,a
 plant thus appears as  a thing formed  
on the basis of a natural electrical    
operation--the brush  realized4  ,we can
 thus suppose the various forms of      
plants as1  immediately1 the result of a
 law in electricity variously affecting 
them  according to their organic        
character1 or respective germinal       
constituents4  ,in the poplar1 the brush
 is unusually vertical1 and little      
divergent2 the reverse in the beech3 in 
the palm1 a pencil has proceeded        
straight up for a certain distance1     
radiates there1 and turns outwards  and 
downwards2 and so on4  ,we can here see 
at least traces of secondary  means by  
which the ,almighty ,deviser might      
establish all the vegetable  forms with 
which the earth is overspread4          
,vegetable and animal bodies are mainly 
composed of the same four simple        
substances or elements--carbon1 oxygen1 

hydrogen1 and nitrogen4  ,the first     
combinations of these in animals are    
into what are called proximate          
principles1 as albumen1 fibrin1 urea1   
alantoin1 c41 out of which the          
structure of the animal body is         
composed4  ,now the chemist1 by the     
association of two parts oxygen1 four   
hydrogen1 two carbon1 and two  nitrogen1
 can make urea4  ,alantoin has also been
 produced artificially4  ,two of the    
proximate principles being realizable by
 human care1 the  possibility of        
realizing or forming all is established4
  ,thus the chemist  may be said to have
 it in his power to realize the first   
step in  organization4 #afi;a  ,indeed1 
it is fully acknowledged by ,dr4        
,daubeny1  that in the combinations     
forming the proximate principles there  
is no  chemical peculiarity4  8,it is   
now certain10 he says1 8that the same   
simple laws of composition pervade the  
whole creation2 and that1 if the        
organic chemist only takes the requisite

 precautions to avoid resolving  into   
their ultimate elements the proximate   
principles upon which he  operates1 the 
results of his analysis will shew that  
they are combined  precisely according  
to the same plan as the elements of     
mineral bodies  are known to be40 #afi;b
  ,a particular fact is here worthy of  
attention4  8,the conversion of fecula  
into sugar1 as one of the ordinary      
processes of  vegetable economy1 is     
effected by the production of a         
secretion termed  diastose1 which       
occasions both the rupture of the starch
 vesicles1 and  the change of their     
contained gum into sugar4  ,this        
diastose may be  separately obtained by 
the chemist1 and it acts as effectually 
in his  laboratory as in the vegetable  
organization4  ,he can also imitate its 
effects by other chemical agents40 #agj 
,the writer quoted below adds1  8,no    
reasonable ground has yet been adduced  
for supposing that1 if we had  the power
 of bringing together the elements of   

any organic compound1 in  their         
requisite states and proportions1 the   
result would be any other  than that    
which is found in the living body40     
,it is much to know the elements out of 
which organic bodies are composed4  ,it 
is something more to know their first   
combinations1 and that these are  simply
 chemical4  ,how these combinations are 
associated in the structure  of living  
bodies is the next inquiry1 but it is   
one to which as yet no  satisfactory    
answer can be given4  ,the investigation
 of the minuti of  organic structure by 
the microscope is of such recent origin1
 that its  results cannot be expected to
 be very clear4  ,some facts1 however1  
are  worthy of attention with regard to 
the present inquiry4  ,it is            
ascertained that the basis of all       
vegetable and animal substances         
consists of nucleated cells2 that is1   
cells having granules within them4      
,nutriment is converted into these      
before being assimilated by the system4 

,the tissues are formed from them4  ,the
 ovum destined to become a new          
creature1 is originally only a cell with
 a contained granule4  ,we see it       
acting this reproductive part in the    
simplest manner in the cryptogamic      
plants4  8,the parent cell1 arrived at  
maturity by the exercise of its  organic
 functions1 bursts1 and liberates its   
contained granules4  ,these1  at once   
thrown upon their own resources1 and    
entirely dependent for their  nutrition 
on the surrounding elements1 develop    
themselves into new cells1  which repeat
 the life of their original4  ,amongst  
the higher tribes of  the cryptogamia1  
the reproductive cell does not burst1   
but the first  cells of the new         
structure are developed within it1 and  
these gradually  extend1 by a similar   
process of multiplication1 into that    
primary  leaf-like expansion which is   
the first formed structure in all       
plants40  #aga  ,here the little cell   
becomes directly a plant1 the full      

formed  living being4  ,it is also      
worthy of remark that1 in the sponges1  
7an  animal form17 a gemmule detached   
from the body of the parent1 and        
trusting for sustentation only to the   
fluid into which it has been cast1      
becomes1 without further process1 the   
new creature4  ,further1 it has been    
recently discovered by means of the     
microscope1 that there is1 as far as    
can be judged1 a perfect resemblance    
between the ovum of the mammal  tribes1 
during that early stage when it is      
passing through the oviduct1  and the   
young of the infusory animalcules4  ,one
 of the most remarkable of  these1 the  
volvox globator1 has exactly the form of
 the germ which1  after passing through 
a long ftal progress1 becomes a complete
 mammifer1  an animal of the highest    
class4  ,it has even been found that    
both are  alike provided with those     
cilia1 which1 producing a revolving     
motion1  or its appearance1 is partly   
the cause of the name given to this     

animalcule4  ,these resemblances are the
 more entitled to notice1 that  they    
were made by various observers1 distant 
from each other at the time4  #agb  ,it 
has likewise been noted that the        
globules of the blood are  reproduced by
 the expansion of contained granules2   
they are1 in short1  distinct organisms 
multiplied by the same fissiparous      
generation4  ,so  that all animated     
nature may be said to be based on this  
mode of origin2  the fundamental form of
 organic being is a globule1 having a   
new  globule forming within itself1 by  
which it is in time discharged1 and     
which is again followed by another and  
another1 in endless succession4  ,it is 
of course obvious that1 if these        
globules could be produced by any       
process from inorganic elements1 we     
should be entitled to say that the  fact
 of a transit from the inorganic into   
the organic had been witnessed  in that 
instance2 the possibility of the        
commencement of animated  creation by   

the ordinary laws of nature might be    
considered as  established4  ,now it was
 given out some years ago by a ,french  
physiologist1 that globules could be    
produced in albumen by  electricity4    
,if1 therefore1 these globules be       
identical with the cells  which are now 
held to be reproductive1 it might be    
said that the  production of albumen by 
artificial means is the only step in the
 process  wanting4  ,this has not yet   
been effected2 but it is known to be    
only a  chemical process1 the mode of   
which may be any day discovered in the  
laboratory1 and two compounds perfectly 
co-ordinate1 urea and alantoin1  have   
actually been produced4    ,in such an  
investigation as the present1 it is not 
unworthy of notice  that the production 
of shell is a natural operation which   
can be  precisely imitated artificially4
  ,such an incrustation takes place on  
both the outside and inside of the wheel
 in a bleaching establishment1 in  which
 cotton cloth is rinsed free of the lime

 employed in its  purification4  ,from  
the dressing employed by the weaver1 the
 cloth  obtains the animal matter1      
gelatin2 this and the lime form the     
constituents of the incrustation1       
exactly as in natural shell4  ,in the   
wheel employed at ,catrine1 in          
,ayrshire1 where the phenomenon was     
first  observed by the eye of science1  
it had required ten years to produce a  
coating the tenth of an inch in         
thickness4  ,this incrustation has all  
the  characters of shell1 displaying a  
highly polished surface1 beautifully    
iridescent1 and1 when broken1 a foliated
 texture4  ,the examination of it  has  
even thrown some light on the character 
and mode of formation of  natural shell4
  8,the plates into which the substance 
is divisible have  been formed in       
succession1 and certain intervals of    
time have elapsed  between their        
formation2 in general1 every two        
contiguous lamin are  separated by a    
thin iridescent film1 varying from the  

three to the fifty  millionth part of an
 inch in thickness1 and producing all   
the various  colours of thin plates     
which correspond to intermediate        
thicknesses3  between some of the lamin 
no such film exists1 probably in        
consequence  of the interval of time    
between their formation being too short2
 and  between others the film has been  
formed of unequal thickness4  ,there can
  be no doubt that these iridescent     
films are formed when the dash-wheel is 
at rest during the night1 and that when 
no film exists between two  lamin1 an   
interval too short for its formation1   
7arising1 perhaps1 from  the stopping of
 the work during the day17 has elapsed  
during the drying  or induration of one 
lamina and the deposition of another40  
#age  ,from  this it has been deduced1  
by a patient investigation1 that those  
colours  of mother-of-pearl1 which are  
incommunicable to wax1 arise from       
iridescent films deposited between the  
lamin of its structure1 and it is  hence

 inferred that the animal1 like the     
wheel1 rests periodically  from its     
labours in forming the natural          
substance4    ,these1 it will be owned1 
are curious and not irrelevant facts2   
but it  will be asked what actual       
experience says respecting the          
origination of  life4  ,are there1 it   
will be said1 any authentic instances of
 either  plants or animals1 of however  
humble and simple a kind1 having come   
into  existence otherwise than in the   
ordinary way of generation1 since the   
time of which geology forms the record8 
,it may be answered1 that the  negative 
of this question could not be by any    
means formidable to the  doctrine of    
law-creation1 seeing that the conditions
 necessary for the  operation of the    
supposed life-creating laws may not have
 existed within  record to any great    
extent4  ,on the other hand1 as we see  
the physical  laws of early times still 
acting with more or less force1 it might
 not be  unreasonable to expect that we 

should still see some remnants1 or      
partial  and occasional workings of the 
life-creating energy amidst a system of 
things generally stable and at rest4    
,are there1 then1 any such remnants  to 
be traced in our own day1 or during     
man's existence upon earth8  ,if  there 
be1 it clearly would form a strong      
evidence in favour of the  doctrine1 as 
what now takes place upon a confined    
scale and in a  comparatively casual    
manner may have formerly taken place on 
a great  scale1 and as the proper and   
eternity-destined means of supplying a  
vacant globe with suitable tenants4  ,it
 will at the same time be observed      
that1 the earth being now supplied with 
both kinds of tenants in great          
abundance1 we only could expect to find 
the life-originating power at  work in  
some very special and extraordinary     
circumstances1 and probably  only in the
 inferior and obscurer departments of   
the vegetable and animal  kingdoms4     
,perhaps1 if the question were asked of 

ten men of approved reputation in       
science1 nine out of the number would   
answer in the negative4  ,this is       
because1 in a great number of instances 
where the superficial observers  of     
former times assumed a non-generative   
origin for life1 7as in the  celebrated 
case in ,virgil's fourth ,georgic17     
either the direct contrary  has been    
ascertained1 or exhaustive experiments  
have left no alternative  from the      
conclusion that ordinary generation did 
take place1 albeit in a  manner which   
escapes observation4  ,finding that an  
erroneous assumption  has been formed in
 many cases1 modern inquirers have not  
hesitated to  assume that there can be  
no case in which generation is not      
concerned2 an  assumption not only      
unwarranted by1 but directly opposed to1
 the  principles of philosophical       
investigation4  ,yet this is truly the  
point  at which the question now rests  
in the scientific world4    ,i have no  
wish here to enter largely into a       

subject so wide and so full  of         
difficulties2 but ,i may remark1 that   
the explanations usually  suggested     
where life takes its rise without       
apparent generative means1  always      
appear to me to partake much of the     
fallacy of the petitio  principii4      
,when1 for instance1 lime is laid down  
upon a piece of waste  moss ground1 and 
a crop of white clover for which no     
seeds were sown is  the consequence1 the
 explanation that the seeds have been   
dormant there  for an unknown time1 and 
were stimulated into germination when   
the lime  produced the appropriate      
circumstances1 appears extremely        
unsatisfactory1  especially when we know
 that 7as in an authentic case under my 
notice7  the spot is many miles from    
where clover is cultivated1 and that    
there is  nothing for six feet below but
 pure peat moss1 clover seeds being1    
moreover1 known to be too heavy to be   
transported1 as many other seeds  are1  
by the winds4  ,mushrooms1 we know1 can 

be propagated by their seed2  but       
another mode of raising them1 well known
 to the gardener1 is to mix  cow and    
horse dung together1 and thus form a bed
 in which they are  expected to grow    
without any seed being planted4  ,it is 
assumed that the  seeds are carried by  
the atmosphere1 unperceived by us1 and1 
finding here  an appropriate field for  
germination1 germinate accordingly2 but 
this is  only assumption1 and though    
designed to be on the side of a severe  
philosophy1 in reality makes a pretty   
large demand on credulity4  ,there  are 
several persons eminent in science who  
profess at least to find great          
difficulties in accepting the doctrine  
of invariable generation4  ,one of      
these1 in the work noted below1 #agi;a  
has stated several considerations       
arising from analogical reasoning1 which
 appear to him to throw the  balance of 
evidence in favour of the aboriginal    
production of infusoria1  #agi;b the    
vegetation called mould1 and the like4  

,one seems to be of  great force2       
namely1 that the animalcules1 which are 
supposed 7altogether  hypothetically7 to
 be produced by ova1 are afterwards     
found increasing  their numbers1 not by 
that mode at all1 but by division of    
their bodies4  ,if it be the nature of  
these creatures to propagate in this    
splitting or  fissiparous manner1 how   
could they be communicated to a         
vegetable  infusion8  ,another fact of  
very high importance is presented in the
  following terms3--8,the nature of the 
animalcule1 or vegetable production1    
bears a constant relation to the state  
of the infusion1 so that1 in  similar   
circumstances1 the same are always      
produced without this being  influenced 
by the atmosphere4  ,there seems to be a
 certain progressive  advance in the    
productive powers of the infusion1 for  
at the first the  animalcules are only  
of the smaller kinds1 or monades1 and   
afterwards  they become gradually larger
 and more complicated in their          

structure2  after a time1 the production
 ceases1 although the materials are by  
no means exhausted4  ,when the quantity 
of water is very small1 and the  organic
 matter abundant1 the production is     
usually of a vegetable nature2  when    
there is much water1 animalcules are    
more frequently produced40  ,it  has    
been shewn by the opponents of this     
theory1 that when a vegetable  infusion 
is debarred from the contact of the     
atmosphere1 by being closely  sealed up 
or covered with a layer of oil1 no      
animalcules are produced2  but it has   
been said1 on the other hand1 that the  
exclusion of the air  may prevent some  
simple condition necessary for the      
aboriginal  development of life--and    
nothing is more likely4  ,perhaps the   
prevailing  doctrine is in nothing      
placed in greater difficulties than it  
is with  regard to the entozoa1 or      
creatures which live within the bodies  
of  others4  ,these creatures do1 and   
apparently can1 live nowhere else than  

in the interior of other living bodies1 
where they generally take up  their     
abode in the viscera1 but also sometimes
 in the chambers of the  eye1 the       
interior of the brain1 the serous sacs1 
and other places having  no             
communication from without4  ,some are  
viviparous1 others oviparous4  ,of the  
latter it cannot reasonably be supposed 
that the ova ever pass  through the     
medium of the air1 or through the       
blood-vessels1 for they are  too heavy  
for the one transit1 and too large for  
the other4  ,of the  former1 it cannot  
be conceived how they pass into young   
animals--certainly  not by communication
 from the parent1 for it has often been 
found that  entozoa do not appear in    
certain generations1 and some of        
peculiar and  noted character have only 
appeared at rare intervals1 and in very 
extraordinary circumstances4  ,a candid 
view of the less popular doctrine1  as  
to the origin of this humble form of    
life1 is taken by a distinguished       

living naturalist4  8,to explain the    
beginning of these worms within the     
human body1 on the common doctrine that 
all created beings proceed from  their  
likes1 or a primordial egg1 is so       
difficult1 that the moderns have  been  
driven to speculate1 as our fathers did1
 on their spontaneous birth2  but they  
have received the hypothesis with some  
modification4  ,thus it is  not from    
putrefaction or fermentation that the   
entozoa are born1 for both  of these    
processes are rather fatal to their     
existence1 but from the  aggregation and
 fit apposition of matter which is      
already organized1 or  has been thrown  
from organized surfaces4  ,their origin 
in this manner is  not more wonderful or
 more inexplicable than that of many of 
the inferior  animals from sections of  
themselves4 99 99 ,particles of matter  
fitted by  digestion1 and their         
transmission through a living body1 for 
immediate  assimilation with it1 or     
flakes of lymph detached from surfaces  

already  organized1 seem neither to     
exceed nor fall below that simplicity of
  structure which favours this wonderful
 development2 and the supposition  that1
 like morsels of a planaria1 they may   
also1 when retained in contact  with    
living parts1 and in other favourable   
circumstances1 continue to  live and be 
gradually changed into creatures of     
analogous conformation1  is surely not  
so absurd as to be brought into         
comparison with the  ,metamorphoses of  
,ovid4 99 99 ,we think the hypothesis is
 also supported in  some degree by the  
fact1 that the origin of the entozoa is 
favoured by  all causes which tend to   
disturb the equality between the        
secerning and  absorbent systems40 #ahb 
,here particles of organized matter are 
suggested as the germinal origin of     
distinct and fully organized animals1   
many of which have a highly developed   
reproductive system4  ,how near such    
particles must be to the inorganic form 
of matter may be judged from what  has  

been said within the last few pages4    
,if1 then1 this view of the  production 
of entozoa be received1 it must be held 
as in no small degree  favourable to the
 general doctrine of an organic creation
 by law4    ,there is another series of 
facts1 akin to the above1 and which     
deserve  not less attention4  ,the pig1 
in its domestic state1 is subject to the
  attacks of a hydatid1 from which the  
wild animal is free2 hence the  disease 
called measles in pork4  ,the           
domestication of the pig is of  course  
an event subsequent to the origin of    
man2 indeed1 comparatively  speaking1 a 
recent event4  ,whence1 then1 the first 
progenitor of this  hydatid8  ,so also  
there is a tinea which attacks dressed  
wool1 but never  touches it in its      
unwashed state4  ,a particular insect   
disdains all food  but chocolate1 and   
the larva of the oinopota cellaris lives
 nowhere but  in wine and beer1 all of  
these being articles manufactured by    
man4  ,there  is likewise a creature    

called the pimelodes cyclopum1 which is 
only  found in subterranean cavities    
connected with certain specimens of the 
volcanic formation in ,south ,america1  
dating from a time posterior to the     
arrangements of the earth for our       
species4  ,whence the first pymelodes   
cyclopum8  ,will it1 to a geologist1    
appear irrational to suppose that1  just
 as the pterodactyle was added in the   
era of the new red sandstone1  when the 
earth had become suited for such a      
creature1 so may these  creatures have  
been added when media suitable for their
 existence arose1  and that such        
phenomena may take place any day1 the   
only cause for their  taking place      
seldom being the rarity of the rise of  
new physical  conditions on a globe     
which seems to have already undergone   
the principal  part of its destined     
mutations8    ,between such isolated    
facts and the greater changes which     
attended  various geological eras1 it is
 not easy to see any difference1 besides

  simply that of the scale on which the 
respective phenomena took place1 as  the
 throwing off of one copy from an       
engraved plate is exactly the same      
process as that by which a thousand are 
thrown off4  ,nothing is more easy  to  
conceive than that to ,creative         
,providence1 the numbers of such        
phenomena1 the time when1 and the       
circumstances under which they take     
place1 are indifferent matters4  ,the   
,eternal ,one has arranged for          
everything beforehand1 and trusted all  
to the operation of the laws of  his    
appointment1 himself being ever present 
in all things4  ,we can even  conceive  
that man1 in his many doings upon the   
surface of the earth1 may  occasionally1
 without his being aware of it1 or      
otherwise1 act as an  instrument in     
preparing the association of conditions 
under which the  creative laws work2 and
 perhaps some instances of his having   
acted as  such an instrument have       
actually occurred in our own time4    ,i

 allude1 of course1 to the experiments  
conducted a few years ago by ,mr4       
,crosse1 which seemed to result in the  
production of a heretofore unknown      
species of insect in considerable       
numbers4  ,various causes have prevented
  these experiments and their results   
from receiving candid treatment1 but    
they may perhaps be yet found to have   
opened up a new and most  interesting   
chapter of nature's mysteries4  ,mr4    
,crosse was pursuing some  experiments  
in crystallization1 causing a powerful  
voltaic battery to  operate upon a      
saturated solution of silicate of       
potash1 when the insects  unexpectedly  
made their appearance4  ,he afterwards  
tried nitrate of  copper1 which is a    
deadly poison1 and from that fluid also 
did live  insects emerge4  ,discouraged 
by the reception of his experiments1    
,mr4  ,crosse soon discontinued them2   
but they were some years after pursued  
by  ,mr4 ,weekes1 of ,sandwich1 with    
precisely the same results4  ,this      

gentleman1 besides trying the first of  
the above substances1 employed          
ferro-cyanet of potash1 on account of   
its containing a larger proportion  of  
carbon1 the principal element of organic
 bodies2 and from this  substance the   
insects were produced in increased      
numbers4  ,a few weeks  sufficed for    
this experiment1 with the powerful      
battery of ,mr4 ,crosse2  but the first 
attempts of ,mr4 ,weekes required about 
eleven months1 a  ground of presumption 
in itself that the electricity was      
chiefly  concerned in the phenomenon4   
,the changes undergone by the fluid     
operated  upon1 were in both cases      
remarkable1 and nearly alike4  ,in ,mr4 
,weekes'  apparatus1 the silicate of    
potash became first turbid1 then of a   
milky  appearance2 round the negative   
wire of the battery1 dipped into the    
fluid1 there gathered a quantity of     
gelatinous matter1 a part of the        
process of considerable importance1     
considering that gelatin is one of  the 

proximate principles1 or first          
compounds1 of which animal bodies  are  
formed4  ,from this matter ,mr4 ,weekes 
observed one of the insects in  the very
 act of emerging1 immediately after     
which1 it ascended to the  surface of   
the fluid1 and sought concealment in an 
obscure corner of the  apparatus4  ,the 
insects produced by both                
experimentalists seem to have  been the 
same1 a species of acarus1 minute and   
semi-transparent1 and  furnished with   
long bristles1 which can only be seen by
 the aid of the  microscope4  ,it is    
worthy of remark1 that some of these    
insects1 soon  after their existence had
 commenced1 were found to be likely to  
extend  their species4  ,they were      
sometimes observed to go back to the    
fluid to  feed1 and occasionally they   
devoured each other4 #ahg    ,the       
reception of novelties in science must  
ever be regulated very much by  the     
amount of kindred or relative phenomena 
which the public mind already  possesses

 and acknowledges1 to which the new can 
be assimilated4  ,a  novelty1 however   
true1 if there be no received truths    
with which it can  be shewn in          
harmonious relation1 has little chance  
of a favourable  hearing4  ,in fact1 as 
has been often observed1 there is a     
measure of  incredulity from our        
ignorance as well as from our knowledge1
 and if the  most distinguished         
philosopher three hundred years ago had 
ventured to  develop any striking new   
fact which only could harmonize with the
 as yet  unknown ,copernican solar      
system1 we cannot doubt that it would   
have been  universally scoffed at in the
 scientific world1 such as it then was1 
or  at the best interpreted in a        
thousand wrong ways in conformity with  
ideas  already familiar4  ,the          
experiments above described1 finding a  
public mind  which had never discovered 
a fact or conceived an idea at all      
analogous1  were of course ungraciously 
received4  ,it was held to be impious1  

even to  surmise that animals could have
 been formed through any instrumentality
  of an apparatus devised by human      
skill4  ,the more likely account of the 
phenomena was said to be1 that the      
insects were only developed from ova1   
resting either in the fluid1 or in the  
wooden frame on which the  experiments  
took place4  ,on these objections the   
following remarks may be  made4  ,the   
supposition of impiety arises from an   
entire misconception of  what is implied
 by an aboriginal creation of insects4  
,the  experimentalist could never be    
considered as the author of the         
existence  of these creatures1 except by
 the most unreasoning ignorance4  ,the  
utmost  that can be claimed for1 or     
imputed to him is that he arranged the  
natural conditions under which the true 
creative energy--that of the  ,divine   
,author of all things--was pleased to   
work in that instance4  ,on the         
hypothesis here brought forward1 the    
acarus ,crossii was a type of being     

ordained from the beginning1 and        
destined to be realized under certain   
physical conditions4  ,when a human hand
 brought these conditions into the      
proper arrangement1 it did an act akin  
to hundreds of familiar ones which  we  
execute every day1 and which are        
followed by natural results2 but it  did
 nothing more4  ,the production of the  
insect1 if it did take place as         
assumed1 was as clearly an act of the   
,almighty himself1 as if he had         
fashioned it with hands4  ,for the      
presumption that an act of aboriginal   
creation did take place1 there is this  
to be said1 that1 in ,mr4 ,weekes's     
experiment1 every care that ingenuity   
could devise was taken to exclude  the  
possibility of a development of the     
insects from ova4  ,the wood of  the    
frame was baked in a powerful heat2 a   
bell-shaped glass covered the           
apparatus1 and from this the atmosphere 
was excluded by the constantly  rising  
fumes from the liquid1 for the emission 

of which there was an  aperture so      
arranged at the top of the glass1 that  
only these fumes could  pass4  ,the     
water was distilled1 and the substance  
of the silicate had  been subjected to  
white heat4  ,thus every source of      
fallacy seemed to be  shut up4  ,in such
 circumstances1 a candid mind1 which    
sees nothing either  impious or         
unphilosophical in the idea of a new    
creation1 will be  disposed to think    
that there is less difficulty in        
believing in such a  creation having    
actually taken place1 than in believing 
that1 in two  instances1 separated in   
place and time1 exactly the same insects
 should  have chanced to arise from     
concealed ova1 and these a species      
heretofore  unknown4                    
,,hypothesis ,,of ,,the ,,development   
,,of ,,the  ,,vegetable ,,and ,,animal  
,,kingdoms4      ,,it has been already  
intimated1 as a general fact1 that there
 is an  obvious gradation amongst the   
families of both the vegetable and      

animal  kingdoms1 from the simple lichen
 and animalcule respectively up to the  
highest order of dicotyledonous trees   
and the mammalia4  ,confining our       
attention1 in the meantime1 to the      
animal kingdom--it does not appear that 
this gradation passes along one line1 on
 which every form of animal life  can   
be1 as it were1 strung2 there may be    
branching or double lines at  some      
places2 or the whole may be in a circle 
composed of minor circles1  as has been 
recently suggested4  ,but still it is   
incontestable that there  are general   
appearances of a scale beginning with   
the simple and  advancing to the        
complicated4  ,the animal kingdom was   
divided by ,cuvier  into four           
sub-kingdoms1 or divisions1 and these   
exhibit an unequivocal  gradation in the
 order in which they are here           
enumerated3--,radiata1  7polypes1 c427  
mollusca1 7pulpy animals27 articulata1  
7jointed animals27  vertebrata1 7animals
 with internal skeleton47  ,the         

gradation can1 in like  manner1 be      
clearly traced in the classes into which
 the sub-kingdoms  are subdivided1 as1  
for instance1 when we take those of the 
vertebrata in  this order--reptiles1    
fishes1 birds1 mammals4    ,while the   
external forms of all these various     
animals are so different1  it is very   
remarkable that the whole are1 after    
all1 variations of a  fundamental plan1 
which can be traced as a basis          
throughout the whole1  the variations   
being merely modifications of that plan 
to suit the  particular conditions in   
which each particular animal has been   
designed  to live4  ,starting from the  
primeval germ1 which1 as we have seen1  
is the  representative of a particular  
order of full-grown animals1 we find all
  others to be merely advances from that
 type1 with the extension of  endowments
 and modification of forms which are    
required in each  particular case2 each 
form1 also1 retaining a strong affinity 
to that  which precedes it1 and tending 

to impress its own features on that     
which  succeeds4  ,this unity of        
structure1 as it is called1 becomes the 
more  remarkable1 when we observe that  
the organs1 while preserving a          
resemblance1 are often put to different 
uses4  ,for example3 the ribs  become1  
in the serpent1 organs of locomotion1   
and the snout is extended1  in the      
elephant1 into a prehensile instrument4 
,it is equally remarkable that analogous
 purposes are served in different       
animals by organs essentially different4
  ,thus1 the mammalia breathe by  lungs2
 the fishes1 by gills4  ,these are not  
modifications of one organ1  but        
distinct organs4  ,in mammifers1 the    
gills exist and act at an early  stage  
of the ftal state1 but afterwards go    
back and appear no more2  while the     
lungs are developed4  ,in fishes1 again1
 the gills only are  fully developed2   
while the lung structure either makes no
 advance at all1  or only appears in the
 rudimentary form of an air-bladder4    

,so1 also1 the  baleen of the whale and 
the teeth of the land mammalia are      
different  organs4  ,the whale1 in      
embryo1 shews the rudiments of teeth2   
but these1  not being wanted1 are not   
developed1 and the baleen is brought    
forward  instead4  ,the land animals1 we
 may also be sure1 have the rudiments of
  baleen in their organization4  ,in    
many instances1 a particular structure  
is found advanced to a certain point in 
a particular set of animals1 7for       
instance1 feet in the serpent tribe17   
although it is not there required  in   
any degree2 but the peculiarity1 being  
carried a little farther  forward1 is   
perhaps useful in the next set of       
animals in the scale4  ,such  are called
 rudimentary organs4  ,with this class  
of phenomena are to be  ranked the      
useless mamm of the male human being1   
and the unrequired  process of bone in  
the male opossum1 which is needed in the
 female for  supporting her pouch4      
,such curious features are most         

conspicuous in  animals which form links
 between various classes4    ,as        
formerly stated1 the marsupials1        
standing at the bottom of the  mammalia1
 shew their affinity to the oviparous   
vertebrata1 by the  rudiments of two    
canals passing from near the anus to the
 external  surfaces of the viscera1     
which are fully developed in fishes1    
being  required by them for the         
respiration of aerated waters1 but which
 are not  needed by the                 
atmosphere-breathing marsupials4  ,we   
have also the peculiar  form of the     
sternum and rib-bones of the lizards    
represented in the  mammalia in certain 
white cartilaginous lines traceable     
among their  abdominal muscles4  ,the   
struphionid 7birds of the ostrich type7 
form a  link between birds and mammalia1
 and in them we find the wings          
imperfectly or not at all developed1 a  
diaphragm and urinary sac1 7organs      
wanting in other birds17 and feathers   
approaching the nature of hair4  ,again1

 the ornithorynchus belongs to a class  
at the bottom of the  mammalia1 and     
approximating to birds1 and in it behold
 the bill and  web-feet of that order6  
,for further illustration1 it is obvious
 that1 various as may be the  lengths of
 the upper part of the vertebral column 
in the mammalia1 it  always consists of 
the same parts4  ,the giraffe has in its
 tall neck the  same number of bones    
with the pig1 which scarcely appears to 
have a neck  at all4 #aie  ,man1 again1 
has no tail2 but the notion of a        
much-ridiculed philosopher of the last  
century is not altogether1 as it        
happens1 without foundation1 for the    
bones of a caudal extremity exist in  an
 undeveloped state in the os coccygis of
 the human subject4  ,the  limbs of all 
the vertebrate animals are1 in like     
manner1 on one plan1  however various   
they may appear4  ,in the hind-leg of a 
horse1 for  example1 the angle called   
the hock is the same part which in us   
forms the  heel2 and the horse1 and all 

other quadrupeds1 with almost the       
solitary  exception of the bear1 walk1  
in reality1 upon what answers to the    
toes of  a human being4  ,in this and   
many other quadrupeds the fore part of  
the  extremities is shrunk up in a hoof1
 as the tail of the human being is      
shrunk up in the bony mass at the bottom
 of the back4  ,the bat1 on the  other  
hand1 has these parts largely developed4
  ,the membrane1 commonly  called its   
wing1 is framed chiefly upon bones      
answering precisely to  those of the    
human hand2 its extinct congener1 the   
pterodactyle1 had the  same membrane    
extended upon the fore-finger only1     
which in that animal  was prolonged to  
an extraordinary extent4  ,in the       
paddles of the whale  and other animals 
of its order1 we see the same bones as  
in the more  highly developed           
extremities of the land mammifers2 and  
even the serpent  tribes1 which present 
no external appearance of such          
extremities1 possess  them in reality1  

but in an undeveloped or rudimental     
state4    ,the same law of development  
presides over the vegetable kingdom4    
,amongst  phanerogamous plants1 a       
certain number of organs appear to be   
always  present1 either in a developed  
or rudimentary state2 and those which   
are  rudimentary can be developed by    
cultivation4  ,the flowers which bear   
stamens on one stalk and pistils on     
another1 can be caused to produce  both1
 or to become perfect flowers1 by having
 a sufficiency of  nourishment supplied 
to them4  ,so also1 where a special     
function is  required for particular    
circumstances1 nature has provided for  
it1 not by  a new organ1 but by a       
modification of a common one1 which she 
has  effected in development4  ,thus1   
for instance1 some plants destined to   
live in arid situations1 require to have
 a store of water which they may  slowly
 absorb4  ,the need is arranged for by a
 cup-like expansion round  the stalk1 in
 which water remains after a shower4    

,now the pitcher1 as  this is called1 is
 not a new organ1 but simply a          
metamorphose of a leaf4    ,these facts 
clearly shew how all the various organic
 forms of our world  are bound up in    
one--how a fundamental unity pervades   
and embraces them  all1 collecting them1
 from the humblest lichen up to the     
highest  mammifer1 in one system1 the   
whole creation of which must have       
depended  upon one law or decree of the 
,almighty1 though it did not all come   
forth  at one time4  ,after what we have
 seen1 the idea of a separate exertion  
for each must appear totally            
inadmissible4  ,the single fact of      
abortive  or rudimentary organs condemns
 it2 for these1 on such a supposition1  
could be regarded in no other light than
 as blemishes or blunders--the  thing of
 all others most irreconcilable with    
that idea of ,almighty  ,perfection     
which a general view of nature so       
irresistibly conveys4  ,on  the other   
hand1 when the organic creation is      

admitted to have been  effected by a    
general law1 we see nothing in these    
abortive parts but  harmless            
peculiarities of development1 and       
interesting evidences of the  manner in 
which the ,divine ,author has been      
pleased to work4    ,we have yet to     
advert to the most interesting class of 
facts connected  with the laws of       
organic development4  ,it is only in    
recent times that  physiologists have   
observed that each animal passes1 in the
 course of its  germinal history1       
through a series of changes resembling  
the permanent  forms of the various     
orders of animals inferior to it in the 
scale4  ,thus1 for instance1 an insect1 
standing at the head of the articulated 
animals1 is1 in the larva state1 a true 
annelid1 or worm1 the annelida  being   
the lowest in the same class4  ,the     
embryo of a crab resembles the  perfect 
animal of the inferior order myriapoda1 
and passes through all  the forms of    
transition which characterize the       

intermediate tribes of  crustacea4  ,the
 frog1 for some time after its birth1 is
 a fish with  external gills1 and other 
organs fitting it for an aquatic life1  
all of  which are changed as it advances
 to maturity1 and becomes a land animal4
  ,the mammifer only passes through     
still more stages1 according to its     
higher place in the scale4  ,nor is man 
himself exempt from this law4  ,his     
first form is that which is permanent in
 the animalcule4  ,his  organization    
gradually passes through conditions     
generally resembling a  fish1 a reptile1
 a bird1 and the lower mammalia1 before 
it attains its  specific maturity4  ,at 
one of the last stages of his ftal      
career1 he  exhibits an intermaxillary  
bone1 which is characteristic of the    
perfect  ape2 this is suppressed1 and he
 may then be said to take leave of the  
simial type1 and become a true human    
creature4  ,even1 as we shall see1  the 
varieties of his race are represented in
 the progressive development  of an     

individual of the highest1 before we see
 the adult ,caucasian1 the  highest     
point yet attained in the animal scale4 
,to come to particular points of the    
organization4  ,the brain of man1  which
 exceeds that of all other animals in   
complexity of organization and  fulness 
of development1 is1 at one early period1
 only 8a simple fold of  nervous matter1
 with difficulty distinguishable into   
three parts1 while a  little tail-like  
prolongation towards the hinder parts1  
and which had  been the first to appear1
 is the only representation of a spinal 
marrow4  ,now1 in this state it         
perfectly resembles the brain of an     
adult fish1  thus assuming in transitu  
the form that in the fish is permanent4 
,in a  short time1 however1 the         
structure is become more complex1 the   
parts more  distinct1 the spinal marrow 
better marked2 it is now the brain of a 
reptile4  ,the change continues2 by a   
singular motion1 certain parts  7corpora
 quadragemina7 which had hitherto       

appeared on the upper  surface1 now pass
 towards the lower2 the former is their 
permanent  situation in fishes and      
reptiles1 the latter in birds and       
mammalia4  ,this  is another advance in 
the scale1 but more remains yet to be   
done4  ,the  complication of the organ  
increases2 cavities termed ventricles   
are  formed1 which do not exist in      
fishes1 reptiles1 or birds2 curiously   
organized parts1 such as the corpora    
striata1 are added2 it is now the  brain
 of the mammalia4  ,its last and final  
change alone seems wanting1  that which 
shall render it the brain of ,,man40    
#bja  ,and this change in  time takes   
place4    ,so also with the heart4      
,this organ1 in the mammalia1 consists  
of four  cavities1 but in the reptiles  
of only three1 and in fishes of two     
only1  while in the articulated animals 
it is merely a prolonged tube4  ,now in 
the mammal ftus1 at a certain early     
stage1 the organ has the form of a      
prolonged tube2 and a human being may be

 said to have then the heart of  an     
insect4  ,subsequently it is shortened  
and widened1 and becomes divided  by a  
contraction into two parts1 a ventricle 
and an auricle2 it is now  the heart of 
a fish4  ,a subdivision of the auricle  
afterwards makes a  triple-chambered    
form1 as in the heart of the reptile    
tribes2 lastly1 the  ventricle being    
also subdivided1 it becomes a full      
mammal heart4    ,another illustration  
here presents itself with the force of  
the most  powerful and interesting      
analogy4  ,some of the earliest fishes  
of our  globe1 those of the ,old ,red   
,sandstone1 present1 as we have seen1   
certain  peculiarities1 as the one-sided
 tail and an inferior position of the   
mouth4  ,no fishes of the present day1  
in a mature state1 are so               
characterized2 but some1 at a certain   
stage of their existence1 have such     
peculiarities4  ,it occurred to a       
geologist to inquire if the fish which  
existed before the ,old ,red ,sandstone 

had any peculiarities assimilating  them
 to the ftal condition of existing fish1
 and particularly if they  were small4  
,the first which occur before the time  
of the ,old ,red  ,sandstone1 are those 
described by ,mr4 ,murchison1 as        
belonging to the  ,upper ,ludlow ,rocks2
 they are all rather small4  ,still     
older are those  detected by ,mr4       
,philips1 in the ,aymestry ,limestone1  
being the most  ancient of the class    
which have as yet been discovered2 these
 are so  extremely minute as only to be 
distinguishable by the microscope4      
,here  we apparently have very clear    
demonstrations of a parity1 or rather   
identity1 of laws presiding over the    
development of the animated tribes  on  
the face of the earth1 and that of the  
individual in embryo4    ,the tendency  
of all these illustrations is to make us
 look to  development as the principle  
which has been immediately concerned in 
the peopling of this globe1 a process   
extending over a vast space of  time1   

but which is nevertheless connected in  
character with the briefer  process by  
which an individual being is evoked from
 a simple germ4  ,what  mystery is there
 here--and how shall ,i proceed to      
enunciate the conception  which ,i have 
ventured to form of what may prove to be
 its proper  solution6  ,it is an idea  
by no means calculated to impress by its
  greatness1 or to puzzle by its        
profoundness4  ,it is an idea more      
marked  by simplicity than perhaps any  
other of those which have explained the 
great secrets of nature4  ,but in this  
lies1 perhaps1 one of its strongest     
claims to the faith of mankind4    ,the 
whole train of animated beings1 from the
 simplest and oldest up to  the highest 
and most recent1 are1 then1 to be       
regarded as a series of  advances of the
 principle of development1 which have   
depended upon  external physical        
circumstances1 to which the resulting   
animals are  appropriate4  ,i           
contemplate the whole phenomena as      

having been in the  first place arranged
 in the counsels of ,divine ,wisdom1 to 
take place1 not  only upon this sphere1 
but upon all the others in space1 under 
necessary  modifications1 and as being  
carried on1 from first to last1 here and
  elsewhere1 under immediate favour of  
the creative will or energy4 #bjd  ,the 
nucleated vesicle1 the fundamental form 
of all organization1 we must  regard as 
the meeting-point between the inorganic 
and the organic--the end  of the mineral
 and beginning of the vegetable and     
animal kingdoms1 which  thence start in 
different directions1 but in perfect    
parallelism and  analogy4  ,we have     
already seen that this nucleated vesicle
 is itself a  type of mature and        
independent being in the infusory       
animalcules1 as well  as the starting   
point of the ftal progress of every     
higher individual in  creation1 both    
animal and vegetable4  ,we have seen    
that it is a form of  being which       
electric agency will produce--though not

 perhaps usher into  full life--in      
albumen1 one of those compound elements 
of animal bodies1 of  which another     
7urea7 has been made by artificial      
means4  ,remembering  these things1 we  
are drawn on to the supposition1 that   
the first step in  the creation of life 
upon this planet was a chemico-electric 
operation1  by which simple germinal    
vesicles were produced4  ,this is so    
much1 but  what were the next steps8    
,let a common vegetable infusion help us
 to an  answer4  ,there1 as we have     
seen1 simple forms are produced at      
first1 but  afterwards they become more 
complicated1 until at length the        
life-producing powers of the infusion   
are exhausted4  ,are we to presume      
that1 in this case1 the simple engender 
the complicated8  ,undoubtedly1  this   
would not be more wonderful as a natural
 process than one which we  never think 
of wondering at1 because familiar to    
us--namely1 that in the  gestation of   
the mammals1 the animalcule-like ovum of

 a few days is the  parent1 in a sense1 
of the chick-like form of a few weeks1  
and that in  all the subsequent         
stages--fish1 reptile1 c4--the one may1 
with scarcely a  metaphor1 be said to be
 the progenitor of the other4  ,i       
suggest1 then1 as  an hypothesis already
 countenanced by much that is           
ascertained1 and  likely to be further  
sanctioned by much that remains to be   
known1 that  the first step was an      
advance under favour of peculiar        
conditions1  from the simplest forms of 
being1 to the next more complicated1 and
  this through the medium of the        
ordinary process of generation4         
,unquestionably1 what we ordinarily see 
of nature is calculated to impress  a   
conviction that each species invariably 
produces its like4  ,but ,i would  here 
call attention to a remarkable          
illustration of natural law which has   
been brought forward by ,mr4 ,babbage1  
in his ,ninth ,bridgewater ,treatise4   
,the reader is requested to suppose     

himself seated before the calculating   
machine1 and observing it4  ,it is moved
 by a weight1 and there is a wheel      
which revolves through a small angle    
round its axis1 at short intervals1     
presenting to his eye successively1 a   
series of numbers engraved on its       
divided circumference4    ,let the      
figures thus seen be the series1 #a1 #b1
 #c1 #d1 #e1 c41 of natural  numbers1   
each of which exceeds its immediate     
antecedent by unity4    8,now1 reader10 
says ,mr4 ,babbage1 8let me ask you how 
long you will have  counted before you  
are firmly convinced that the engine has
 been so  adjusted1 that it will        
continue1 while its motion is           
maintained1 to  produce the same series 
of natural numbers8  ,some minds are so 
constituted1 that1 after passing the    
first hundred terms1 they will be       
satisfied that they are acquainted with 
the law4  ,after seeing five  hundred   
terms few will doubt1 and after the     
fifty thousandth term the  propensity to

 believe that the succeeding term will  
be fifty thousand and  one1 will be     
almost irresistible4  ,that term will be
 fifty thousand and  one2 and the same  
regular succession will continue2 the   
five millionth  and the fifty millionth 
term will still appear in their expected
 order1  and one unbroken chain of      
natural numbers will pass before your   
eyes1  from one up to one hundred       
million4    8,true to the vast induction
 which has been made1 the next          
succeeding term  will be one hundred    
million and one2 but the next number    
presented by the  rim of the wheel1     
instead of being one hundred million and
 two1 is one  hundred million ten       
thousand and two4  ,the whole series    
from the  commencement being thus1--    
#a                                      
#b                                      
#c                                      
#d                                      
#e                                      
4                                      4

 4                                    4 
4 4                                     
#ii1iii1iii                             
#ajj1jjj1jjj  regularly as far as       
#ajj1jjj1jja                            
#ajj1jaj1jjb  the law changes4          
#ajj1jcj1jjc                            
#ajj1jfj1jjd                            
#ajj1ajj1jje                            
#ajj1aej1jjf                            
#ajj1baj1jjg                            
#ajj1bhj1jjh                            
4 4 4                                   
4 4 4                                   
4 4 4    8,the law which seemed at first
 to govern this series failed at the    
hundred million and second term4  ,this 
term is larger than we expected by      
#aj1jjj4  ,the next term is larger than 
was anticipated by #cj1jjj1 and the     
excess of each term above what we had   
expected forms the following  table3--  
#aj1jjj       #cj1jjj       #fj1jjj     
#ajj1jjj      #aej1jjj        4 4 4     
4 4 4    being1 in fact1 the series of  

triangular numbers1 #bjh each multiplied
  by #aj1jjj4    8,if we now continue to
 observe the numbers presented by the   
wheel1 we  shall find1 that for a       
hundred1 or even for a thousand terms1  
they  continue to follow the new law    
relating to the triangular numbers2 but 
after watching them for #bgfa terms1 we 
find that this law fails in the  case of
 the #bgfb;d term4    8,if we continue  
to observe1 we shall discover another   
law then coming  into action1 which also
 is dependent1 but in a different       
manner1 on  triangular numbers4  ,this  
will continue through about #adcj terms1
 when a  new law is again introduced    
which extends over about #iej terms1 and
 this1  too1 like all its predecessors1 
fails1 and gives place to other laws1   
which appear at different intervals4    
8,now it must be observed that the law  
that each number presented by the       
engine is greater by unity than the     
preceding number1 which law the         
observer had deduced from an induction  

of a hundred million instances1  was not
 the true law that regulated its action1
 and that the occurrence  of the number 
#ajj1jaj1jjb at the #ajj1jjj1jjbnd term 
was as necessary a  consequence of the  
original adjustment1 and might have been
 as fully  foreknown at the             
commencement1 as was the regular        
succession of any one  of the           
intermediate numbers to its immediate   
antecedent4  ,the same  remark applies  
to the next apparent deviation from the 
new law1 which was  founded on an       
induction of #bgfa terms1 and also to   
the succeeding law1  with this          
limitation only--that1 whilst their     
consecutive introduction at  various    
definite intervals1 is a necessary      
consequence of the mechanical  structure
 of the engine1 our knowledge of        
analysis does not enable us to  predict 
the periods themselves at which the more
 distant laws will be  introduced40     
,it is not difficult to apply the       
philosophy of this passage to the       

question under consideration4  ,it must 
be borne in mind that the  gestation of 
a single organism is the work of but a  
few days1 weeks1 or  months2 but the    
gestation 7so to speak7 of a whole      
creation is a matter  probably involving
 enormous spaces of time4  ,suppose that
 an ephemeron1  hovering over a pool for
 its one ,april day of life1 were       
capable of  observing the fry of the    
frog in the water below4  ,in its aged  
afternoon1  having seen no change upon  
them for such a long time1 it would be  
little  qualified to conceive that the  
external branchi of these creatures were
  to decay1 and be replaced by internal 
lungs1 that feet were to be  developed1 
the tail erased1 and the animal then to 
become a denizen of  the land4          
,precisely such may be our difficulty in
 conceiving that any of  the species    
which people our earth is capable of    
advancing by generation  to a higher    
type of being4  ,during the whole time  
which we call the  historical era1 the  

limits of species have been1 to ordinary
 observation1  rigidly adhered to4  ,but
 the historical era is1 we know1 only a 
small  portion of the entire age of our 
globe4  ,we do not know what may have   
happened during the ages which preceded 
its commencement1 as we do not  know    
what may happen in ages yet in the      
distant future4  ,all1 therefore1  that 
we can properly infer from the          
apparently invariable production of     
like by like is1 that such is the       
ordinary procedure of nature in the     
time immediately passing before our     
eyes4  ,mr4 ,babbage's illustration     
powerfully suggests that this ordinary  
procedure may be subordinate to a       
higher law which only permits it for a  
time1 and in proper season  interrupts  
and changes it4  ,we shall soon see some
 philosophical evidence  for this very  
conclusion4    ,it has been seen that1  
in the reproduction of the higher       
animals1 the new  being passes through  
stages in which it is successively      

fish-like and  reptile-like4  ,but the  
resemblance is not to the adult fish or 
the adult  reptile1 but to the fish and 
reptile at a certain point in their ftal
  progress2 this holds true with regard 
to the vascular1 nervous1 and other     
systems alike4  ,it may be illustrated  
by a simple diagram4  ,the ftus of  all 
the four classes may be supposed to     
advance in an identical condition  to   
the point ,a4  ,picture3 ,diagram  ,the 
fish there diverges and passes  along a 
line apart1 and peculiar to ,a itself1  
to its mature state at ,f4  ,the        
reptile1 bird1 and mammal1 go on        
together to ,c1 where the reptile       
diverges in like manner1 and advances by
 itself to ,r4  ,the bird diverges  at  
,d1 and goes on to ,b4  ,the mammal then
 goes forward in a straight line  to the
 highest point of organization at ,m4   
,this diagram shews only the  main      
ramifications2 but the reader must      
suppose minor ones1 representing  the   
subordinate differences of orders1      

tribes1 families1 genera1 c41 if  he    
wishes to extend his views to the whole 
varieties of being in the  animal       
kingdom4  ,limiting ourselves at present
 to the outline afforded by  this       
diagram1 it is apparent that the only   
thing required for an advance  from one 
type to another in the generative       
process is that1 for example1  the fish 
embryo should not diverge at ,a1 but go 
on to ,c before it  diverges1 in which  
case the progeny will be1 not a fish1   
but a reptile4  ,to protract the        
straightforward part of the gestation   
over a small  space--and from species to
 species the space would be small       
indeed--is all  that is necessary4      
,this might be done by the force of     
certain external conditions operating   
upon the parturient system4  ,the nature
 of these conditions we can only        
conjecture1 for their operation1 which  
in the geological eras was so  powerful1
 has in its main strength been long     
interrupted1 and is now  perhaps only   

allowed to work in some of the lowest   
departments of the  organic world1 or   
under extraordinary casualties in some  
of the higher1  and to these points the 
attention of science has as yet been    
little  directed4  ,but though this     
knowledge were never to be clearly      
attained1  it need not much affect the  
present argument1 provided it be        
satisfactorily shewn that there must be 
some such influence within the  range of
 natural things4    ,to this conclusion 
it must be greatly conducive that the   
law of organic  development is still    
daily seen at work to certain effects1  
only somewhat  short of a transition    
from species to species4  ,sex we have  
seen to be a  matter of development4    
,there is an instance1 in a humble      
department of  the animal world1 of     
arrangements being made by the animals  
themselves  for adjusting this law to   
the production of a particular sex4     
,amongst  bees1 as amongst several other
 insect tribes1 there is in each        

community  but one true female1 the     
queen bee1 the workers being false      
females or  neuters2 that is to say1 sex
 is carried on in them to a point where 
it is  attended by sterility4  ,the     
preparatory states of the queen bee     
occupy  sixteen days2 those of the      
neuters1 twenty2 and those of males1    
twenty-four4  ,now it is a fact1 settled
 by innumerable observations and        
experiments1 that the bees can so modify
 a worker in the larva state1  that1    
when it emerges from the pupa1 it is    
found to be a queen or true  female4    
,for this purpose they enlarge its cell1
 make a pyramidal hollow  to allow of   
its assuming a vertical instead of a    
horizontal position1  keep it warmer    
than other larv are kept1 and feed it   
with a peculiar  kind of food4  ,from   
these simple circumstances1 leading to a
 shortening  of the embryotic condition1
 results a creature different in form1  
and  also in dispositions1 from what    
would have otherwise been produced4     

,some  of the organs possessed by the   
worker are here altogether wanting4  ,we
  have a creature 8destined to enjoy    
love1 to burn with jealousy and anger1  
to be incited to vengeance1 and to pass 
her time without labour10 instead  of   
one 8zealous for the good of the        
community1 a defender of the public     
rights1 enjoying an immunity from the   
stimulus of sexual appetite and the     
pains of parturition2 laborious1        
industrious1 patient1 ingenious1        
skilful2 incessantly engaged in the     
nurture of the young1 in collecting     
honey and pollen1 in elaborating wax1 in
 constructing cells and the             
like6--paying the most respectful and   
assiduous attention to objects  which1  
had its ovaries been developed1 it would
 have hated and pursued  with the most  
vindictive fury till it had destroyed   
them60 #bae  ,all  these changes may be 
produced by a mere modification of the  
embryotic  progress1 which it is within 
the power of the adult animals to       

effect4  ,but it is important to observe
 that this modification is different    
from  working a direct change upon the  
embryo4  ,it is not the different food  
which effects a metamorphosis4  ,all    
that is done is merely to accelerate    
the period of the insect's perfection4  
,by the arrangements made and the  food 
given1 the embryo becomes sooner fit for
 being ushered forth in its  imago or   
perfect state4  ,development may be said
 to be thus arrested at a  particular   
stage--that early one at which the      
female sex is complete4  ,in  the other 
circumstances1 it is allowed to go on   
four days longer1 and a  stage is then  
reached between the two sexes1 which in 
this species is  designed to be the     
perfect condition of a large portion of 
the community4  ,four days more make it 
a perfect male4  ,it is at the same time
 to be  observed that there is1 from the
 period of oviposition1 a destined      
distinction between the sexes of the    
young bees4  ,the queen lays the  whole 

of the eggs which are designed to become
 workers1 before she begins  to lay     
those which become males4  ,but probably
 the condition of her  reproductive     
system governs the matter of sex1 for it
 is remarked that  when her impregnation
 is delayed beyond the twenty-eighth day
 of her  entire existence1 she lays only
 eggs which become males4    ,we have   
here1 it will be admitted1 a most       
remarkable illustration of the          
principle of development1 although in an
 operation limited to the  production of
 sex only4  ,let it not be said that the
 phenomena concerned  in the generation 
of bees may be very different from those
 concerned in  the reproduction of the  
higher animals4  ,there is a unity      
throughout  nature which makes the one  
case an instructive reflection of the   
other4    ,we shall now see an instance 
of development operating within the     
production of what approaches to the    
character of variety of species4  ,it   
is fully established that a human       

family1 tribe1 or nation1 is liable1 in 
the course of generations1 to be either 
advanced from a mean form to a  higher  
one1 or degraded from a higher to a     
lower1 by the influence of the  physical
 conditions in which it lives4  ,the    
coarse features1 and other  structural  
peculiarities of the negro race only    
continue while these  people live amidst
 the circumstances usually associated   
with barbarism4  ,in a more temperate   
clime1 and higher social state1 the face
 and figure  become greatly refined4    
,the few ,african nations which possess 
any  civilization also exhibit forms    
approaching the ,european2 and when the 
same people in the ,united ,states of   
,america have enjoyed a within-door     
life for several generations1 they      
assimilate to the whites amongst whom   
they live4  ,on the other hand1 there   
are authentic instances of a people     
originally well-formed and good-looking1
 being brought1 by imperfect diet  and a
 variety of physical hardships1 to a    

meaner form4  ,it is remarkable  that   
prominence of the jaws1 a recession and 
diminution of the cranium1  and an      
elongation and attenuation of the limbs1
 are peculiarities always  produced by  
these miserable conditions1 for they    
indicate an unequivocal  retrogression  
towards the type of the lower animals4  
,thus we see nature  alike willing to go
 back and to go forward4  ,both effects 
are simply the  result of the operation 
of the law of development in the        
generative  system4  ,give good         
conditions1 it advances2 bad ones1 it   
recedes4  ,now1  perhaps1 it is only    
because there is no longer a            
possibility1 in the  higher types of    
being1 of giving sufficiently favourable
 conditions to  carry on species to     
species1 that we see the operation of   
the law so far  limited4    ,let us     
trace this law also in the production of
 certain classes of  monstrosities4  ,a 
human ftus is often left with one of the
 most  important parts of its frame     

imperfectly developed3 the heart1 for   
instance1 goes no farther than the      
three-chambered form1 so that it is  the
 heart of a reptile4  ,there are even   
instances of this organ being  left in  
the two-chambered or fish form4  ,such  
defects are the result of  nothing more 
than a failure of the power of          
development in the system of  the       
mother1 occasioned by weak health or    
misery4  ,here we have apparently  a    
realization of the converse of those    
conditions which carry on species  to   
species1 so far1 at least1 as one organ 
is concerned4  ,seeing a  complete      
specific retrogression in this one      
point1 how easy it is to  imagine an    
access of favourable conditions         
sufficient to reverse the  phenomenon1  
and make a fish mother develop a reptile
 heart1 or a reptile  mother develop a  
mammal one4  ,it is no great boldness to
 surmise that a  super-adequacy in the  
measure of this under-adequacy 7and the 
one thing  seems as natural an          

occurrence as the other7 would suffice  
in a goose to  give its progeny the body
 of a rat1 and produce the              
ornithorynchus1 or  might give the      
progeny of an ornithorynchus the mouth  
and feet of a true  rodent1 and thus    
complete at two stages the passage from 
the aves to the  mammalia4    ,perhaps  
even the transition from species to     
species does still take place  in some  
of the obscurer fields of creation1 or  
under extraordinary  casualties1 though 
science professes to have no such facts 
on record4  ,it  is here to be remarked1
 that such facts might often happen1 and
 yet no  record be taken of them1 for so
 strong is the prepossession for the    
doctrine of invariable like-production1 
that such circumstances1 on  occurring1 
would be almost sure to be explained    
away on some other  supposition1 or1 if 
presented1 would be disbelieved and     
neglected4  ,science1 therefore1 has no 
such facts1 for the very same reason    
that some  small sects are said to have 

no discreditable members--namely1 that  
they  do not receive such persons1 and  
extrude all who begin to verge upon the 
character4  ,there are1 nevertheless1   
some facts which have chanced to be     
reported without any reference to this  
hypothesis1 and which it seems          
extremely difficult to explain          
satisfactorily upon any other4  ,one of 
these has already been mentioned--a     
progression in the forms of the         
animalcules in a vegetable infusion from
 the simpler to the more  complicated1 a
 sort of microcosm1 representing the    
whole history of the  progress of animal
 creation as displayed by geology4      
,another is given in  the history of the
 ,acarus ,crossii1 which may be only the
 ultimate stage  of a series of similar 
transformations effected by electric    
agency in the  solution subjected to it4
  ,there is1 however1 one direct case of
 a  translation of species1 which has   
been presented with a respectable       
amount of authority4 #bba  ,it appears  

that1 whenever oats sown at the  usual  
time are kept cropped down during summer
 and autumn1 and allowed to  remain over
 the winter1 a thin crop of rye is the  
harvest presented at  the close of the  
ensuing summer4  ,this experiment has   
been tried  repeatedly1 with but one    
result2 invariably the secale cereale is
 the  crop reaped where the avena       
sativa1 a recognised different species1 
was  sown4  ,now it will not satisfy a  
strict inquirer to be told that the     
seeds of the rye were latent in the     
ground and only superseded the dead     
product of the oats2 for if any such    
fact were in the case1 why should  the  
usurping grain be always rye8  ,perhaps 
those curious facts which have  been    
stated with regard to forests of one    
kind of trees1 when burnt down1  being  
succeeded 7without planting7 by other   
kinds1 may yet be found most            
explicable1 as this is1 upon the        
hypothesis of a progression of species  
which takes place under certain         

favouring conditions1 now apparently of 
comparatively rare occurrence4  ,the    
case of the oats is the more  valuable1 
as bearing upon the suggestion as to a  
protraction of the  gestation at a      
particular part of its course4  ,here1  
the generative  process is1 by the      
simple mode of cropping down1 kept up   
for a whole year  beyond its usual term4
  ,the type is thus allowed to advance1 
and what was  oats becomes rye4    ,the 
idea1 then1 which ,i form of the        
progress of organic life upon the       
globe--and the hypothesis is applicable 
to all similar theatres of vital        
being--is1 that the simplest and most   
primitive type1 under a law to  which   
that of like-production is subordinate1 
gave birth to the type  next above it1  
that this again produced the next       
higher1 and so on to  the very highest1 
the stages of advance being in all cases
 very  small--namely1 from one species  
only to another2 so that the phenomenon 
has always been of a simple and modest  

character4  ,whether the whole of  any  
species was at once translated forward1 
or only a few parents were  employed to 
give birth to the new type1 must remain 
undetermined2 but1  supposing that the  
former was the case1 we must presume    
that the moves  along the line or lines 
were simultaneous1 so that the place    
vacated by  one species was immediately 
taken by the next in succession1 and so 
on  back to the first1 for the supply of
 which the formation of a new  germinal 
vesicle out of inorganic matter was     
alone necessary4  ,thus1 the  production
 of new forms1 as shewn in the pages of 
the geological record1  has never been  
anything more than a new stage of       
progress in gestation1  an event as     
simply natural1 and attended as little  
by any circumstances  of a wonderful or 
startling kind1 as the silent advance of
 an ordinary  mother from one week to   
another of her pregnancy4  ,yet1 be it  
remembered1  the whole phenomena are1 in
 another point of view1 wonders of the  

highest  kind1 for in each of them we   
have to trace the effect of an ,almighty
 ,will  which had arranged the whole in 
such harmony with external physical     
circumstances1 that both were developed 
in parallel steps--and probably  this   
development upon our planet is but a    
sample of what has taken place1  through
 the same cause1 in all the other       
countless theatres of being  which are  
suspended in space4    ,this may be the 
proper place at which to introduce the  
preceding  illustrations in a form      
calculated to bring them more forcibly  
before the  mind of the reader4  ,the   
following table was suggested to me1 in 
consequence of seeing the scale of      
animated nature presented in ,dr4       
,fletcher's ,rudiments of ,physiology4  
,taking that scale as its basis1 it     
shews the wonderful parity observed in  
the progress of creation1 as  presented 
to our observation in the succession of 
fossils1 and also in  the ftal progress 
of one of the principal human organs4   

#bbd  ,this  scale1 it may be remarked1 
was not made up with a view to support  
such an  hypothesis as the present1 nor 
with any apparent regard to the history 
of  fossils1 but merely to express the  
appearance of advancement in the  orders
 of the ,cuvierian system1 assuming1 as 
the criterion of that  advancement1 8an 
increase in the number and extent of the
 manifestations  of life1 or of the     
relations which an organized being bears
 to the  external world40  ,excepting in
 the relative situation of the annelida 
and  a few of the mammal orders1 the    
parity is perfect2 nor may even these   
small discrepancies appear when the     
order of fossils shall have been        
further investigated1 or a more correct 
scale shall have been formed4           
,meanwhile1 it is a wonderful evidence  
in favour of our hypothesis1 that a     
scale formed so arbitrarily should      
coincide to such a nearness with our    
present knowledge of the succession of  
animal forms upon earth1 and also  that 

both of these series should harmonize so
 well with the view given by  modern    
physiologists of the embryotic progress 
of one of the organs of  the highest    
order of animals4                       
,picture3 ,complex table of animal      
kingdom #bbf    ,the reader has seen    
physical conditions several times       
referred to1 as to  be presumed to have 
in some way governed the progress of the
 development  of the zoological circle4 
,this language may seem vague1 and1 it  
may be  asked1--can any particular      
physical condition be adduced as likely 
to have  affected development8  ,to this
 it may be answered1 that air and light 
are  probably amongst the principal     
agencies of this kind which operated in 
educing the various forms of being4     
,light is found to be essential to  the 
development of the individual embryo4   
,when tadpoles were placed in a         
perforated box1 and that box sunk in the
 ,seine1 light being the only  condition
 thus abstracted1 they grew to a great  

size in their original  form1 but did   
not pass through the usual metamorphose 
which brings them  to their mature state
 as frogs4  ,the proteus1 an animal of  
the frog kind1  inhabiting the          
subterraneous waters of ,carniola1 and  
which never acquires  perfect lungs so  
as to become a land animal1 is presumed 
to be an example  of arrested           
development1 from the same cause4       
,when1 in connexion with  these facts1  
we learn that human mothers living in   
dark and close cells  under             
ground1--that is to say1 with an        
inadequate provision of air and         
light1--are found to produce an unusual 
proportion of defective children1  #bbi 
we can appreciate the important effects 
of both these physical  conditions in   
ordinary reproduction4  ,now there is   
nothing to forbid the  supposition that 
the earth has been at different stages  
of its career  under different          
conditions1 as to both air and light4   
,on the contrary1  we have seen reason  

for supposing that the proportion of    
carbonic acid  gas 7the element fatal to
 animal life7 was larger at the time of 
the  carboniferous formation than it    
afterwards became4  ,we have also seen  
that astronomers regard the zodiacal    
light as a residuum of matter           
enveloping the sun1 and which was       
probably at one time denser than it is  
now4  ,here we have the indications of  
causes for a progress in the            
purification of the atmosphere and in   
the diffusion of light during the       
earlier ages of the earth's history1    
with which the progress of organic  life
 may have been conformable4  ,an        
accession to the proportion of  oxygen1 
and the effulgence of the central       
luminary1 may have been the  immediate  
prompting cause of all those advances   
from species to species  which we have  
seen1 upon other grounds1 to be         
necessarily supposed as  having taken   
place4  ,and causes of the like nature  
may well be supposed  to operate on     

other spheres of being1 as well as on   
this4  ,i do not  indeed present these  
ideas as furnishing the true explanation
 of the  progress of organic creation2  
they are merely thrown out as hints     
towards  the formation of a just        
hypothesis1 the completion of which is  
only to be  looked for when some        
considerable advances shall have been   
made in the  amount and character of our
 stock of knowledge4    ,early in this  
century1 ,m4 ,lamarck1 a naturalist of  
the highest character1  suggested an    
hypothesis of organic progress which    
deservedly incurred  much ridicule1     
although it contained a glimmer of the  
truth4  ,he  surmised1 and endeavoured1 
with a great deal of ingenuity1 to      
prove1 that  one being advanced in the  
course of generations to another1 in    
consequence merely of its experience of 
wants calling for the exercise of  its  
faculties in a particular direction1 by 
which exercise new  developments of     
organs took place1 ending in variations 

sufficient to  constitute a new species4
  ,thus he thought that a bird would be 
driven by  necessity to seek its food in
 the water1 and that1 in its efforts to 
swim1 the outstretching of its claws    
would lead to the expansion of the      
intermediate membranes1 and it would    
thus become web-footed4  ,now it is     
possible that wants and the exercise of 
faculties have entered in some  manner  
into the production of the phenomena    
which we have been  considering2 but    
certainly not in the way suggested by   
,lamarck1 whose  whole notion is        
obviously so inadequate to account for  
the rise of the  organic kingdoms1 that 
we only can place it with pity among the
 follies  of the wise4  ,had the laws of
 organic development been known in his  
time1  his theory might have been of a  
more imposing kind4  ,it is upon these  
that the present hypothesis is mainly   
founded4  ,i take existing natural      
means1 and shew them to have been       
capable of producing all the existing   

organisms1 with the simple and easily   
conceivable aid of a higher  generative 
law1 which we perhaps still see         
operating upon a limited  scale4  ,i    
also go beyond the ,french philosopher  
to a very important  point1 the original
 ,divine conception of all the forms of 
being which  these natural laws were    
only instruments in working out and     
realizing4  ,the actuality of such a    
conception ,i hold to be strikingly     
demonstrated  by the discoveries of     
,macleay1 ,vigors1 and ,swainson1 with  
respect to the  affinities and analogies
 of animal 7and by implication          
vegetable7  organisms4 #bcb  ,such a    
regularity in the structure1 as we may  
call  it1 of the classification of      
animals1 as is shewn in their systems1  
is  totally irreconcilable with the idea
 of form going on to form merely as     
needs and wishes in the animals         
themselves dictated4  ,had such been the
  case1 all would have been irregular1  
as things arbitrary necessarily are4    

,but1 lo1 the whole plan of being is as 
symmetrical as the plan of a  house1 or 
the laying out of an old-fashioned      
garden6  ,this must needs  have been    
devised and arranged for beforehand4    
,and what a preconception  or           
forethought have we here6  ,let us only 
for a moment consider how  various are  
the external physical conditions in     
which animals  live--climate1 soil1     
temperature1 land1 water1 air--the      
peculiarities of  food1 and the various 
ways in which it is to be sought2 the   
peculiar  circumstances in which the    
business of reproduction and the        
care-taking  of the young are to be     
attended to--all these required to be   
taken into  account1 and thousands of   
animals were to be formed suitable in   
organization and mental character for   
the concerns they were to have with     
these various conditions and            
circumstances--here a tooth fitted for  
crushing nuts2 there a claw fitted to   
serve as a hook for suspension2  here to

 repress teeth and develop a bony       
net-work instead2 there to  arrange for 
a bronchial apparatus1 to last only for 
a certain brief time2  and all these    
animals were to be schemed out1 each as 
a part of a great  range1 which was on  
the whole to be rigidly regular3 let us1
 ,i say1 only  consider these things1   
and we shall see that the decreeing of  
laws to  bring the whole about was an   
act involving such a degree of wisdom   
and  device as we only can attribute1   
adoringly1 to the one ,eternal and      
,unchangeable4  ,it may be asked1 how   
does this reflection comport with  that 
timid philosophy which would have us to 
draw back from the  investigation of    
,god's works1 lest the knowledge of them
 should make us  undervalue his         
greatness and forget his paternal       
character8  ,does it not  rather appear 
that our ideas of the ,deity can only be
 worthy of him in  the ratio in which we
 advance in a knowledge of his works and
 ways2 and  that the acquisition of this

 knowledge is consequently an available 
means  of our growing in a genuine      
reverence for him6    ,but the idea that
 any of the lower animals have been     
concerned in any way  with the origin of
 man--is not this degrading8  ,degrading
 is a term1  expressive of a notion of  
the human mind1 and the human mind is   
liable to  prejudices which prevent its 
notions from being invariably correct4  
,were  we acquainted for the first time 
with the circumstances attending the    
production of an individual of our race1
 we might equally think them  degrading1
 and be eager to deny them1 and exclude 
them from the admitted  truths of       
nature4  ,knowing this fact familiarly  
and beyond contradiction1  a healthy and
 natural mind finds no difficulty in    
regarding it  complacently4  ,creative  
,providence has been pleased to order   
that it  should be so1 and it must      
therefore be submitted to4  ,now the    
idea as to  the progress of organic     
creation1 if we become satisfied of its 

truth1  ought to be received precisely  
in this spirit4  ,it has pleased        
,providence  to arrange that one species
 should give birth to another1 until the
  second highest gave birth to man1 who 
is the very highest3 be it so1 it  is   
our part to admire and to submit4  ,the 
very faintest notion of there  being    
anything ridiculous or degrading in the 
theory--how absurd does it  appear1 when
 we remember that every individual      
amongst us actually passes  through the 
characters of the insect1 the fish1 and 
reptile1 7to speak  nothing of others17 
before he is permitted to breathe the   
breath of life6  ,but such notions are  
mere emanations of false pride and      
ignorant  prejudice4  ,he who conceives 
them little reflects that they1 in      
reality1  involve the principle of a    
contempt for the works and ways of ,god4
  ,for  it may be asked1 if ,he1 as     
appears1 has chosen to employ inferior  
organisms as a generative medium for the
 production of higher ones1 even        

including ourselves1 what right have we1
 his humble creatures1 to find  fault8  
,there is1 also1 in this prejudice1 an  
element of unkindliness  towards the    
lower animals1 which is utterly out of  
place4  ,these  creatures are all of    
them part products of the ,almighty     
,conception1 as  well as ourselves4     
,all of them display wondrous evidences 
of his wisdom  and benevolence4  ,all of
 them have had assigned to them by their
 ,great  ,father a part in the drama of 
the organic world1 as well as ourselves4
  ,why should they be held in such      
contempt8  ,let us regard them in a     
proper  spirit1 as parts of the grand   
plan1 instead of contemplating them in  
the  light of frivolous prejudices1 and 
we shall be altogether at a loss to  see
 how there should be any degradation in 
the idea of our race having  been       
genealogically connected with them4     
,,macleay ,,system ,,of ,,animated      
,,nature4  ,,this ,,system ,,considered 
,,in ,,connexion ,,with ,,the           

,,progress ,,of ,,organic ,,creation1   
,,and ,,as ,,indicating  ,,the ,,natural
 ,,status ,,of ,,man4      ,,it is now  
high time to advert to the system formed
 by the animated  tribes1 both with a   
view to the possible illustration of the
 preceding  argument1 and for the light 
which it throws upon that general system
 of  nature which it is the more        
comprehensive object of this book to    
ascertain4    ,the vegetable and animal 
kingdoms are arranged upon a scale1     
starting  from simply organized forms1  
and going on to the more complex1 each  
of  these forms being but slightly      
different from those next to it on both 
sides4  ,the lowest and most slightly   
developed forms in the two kingdoms  are
 so closely connected1 that it is       
impossible to say where vegetable  ends 
and animal begins4  ,united at what may 
be called their bases1 they  start away 
in different directions1 but not        
altogether to lose sight of  each other4
  ,on the contrary1 they maintain a     

strict analogy throughout  the whole of 
their subsequent courses1 sub-kingdom   
for sub-kingdom1 class  for class2      
shewing a beautiful1 though as yet      
obscure relation between  the two grand 
forms of being1 and consequently a unity
 in the laws which  brought them both   
into existence4  ,so complete does this 
analogy appear1  even in the present    
imperfect state of science1 that ,i     
fully expect in a  few years to see the 
animal and vegetable kingdoms duly      
ranked up against  each other in a      
system of parallels1 which will admit of
 our assigning to  each species in the  
former the particular shrub or tree     
corresponding to  it in the latter1 all 
marked by unmistakable analogies of the 
most  interesting kind4    ,it is as yet
 but a few years since a system of      
subordinate analogies not  less         
remarkable began to be speculated upon  
as within the range of the  animal      
kingdom4  ,probably it also exists in   
the vegetable kingdom2 but to  this     

point no direct attention has been      
given2 so we are left to infer  that    
such is the case from theoretical       
considerations only4  ,we are  indebted 
for what we know of these beautiful     
analogies to three                      
naturalists--,macleay1 ,vigors1 and     
,swainson1 whose labours tempt us to    
dismiss in a great measure the          
artificial classifications hitherto     
used1  and make an entirely new         
conspectus of the animal kingdom1 not to
 speak  of the corresponding reform     
which will be required in our systems of
  botany also4    ,the ,macleay system1 
as it may be called in honour of its    
principal  author1 announces that1      
whether we take the whole animal        
kingdom1 or any  definite division of   
it1 we shall find that we are examining 
a group of  beings which is capable of  
being arranged along a series of close  
affinities1 in a circular form1--that is
 to say1 starting from any one  portion 
of the group1 when it is properly       

arranged1 we can proceed from  one to   
another by minute gradations1 till at   
length1 having run through  the whole1  
we return to the point whence we set    
out4  ,all natural groups  of animals   
are1 therefore1 in the language of ,mr4 
,macleay1 circular2  and the possibility
 of throwing any supposed group into a  
circular  arrangement is held as a      
decisive test of its being a real or    
natural  one4  ,it is of course to be   
understood that each circle is composed 
of a  set of inferior circles3 for      
example1 a set of tribe circles composes
  an order2 a set of order circles1     
again1 forms a class2 and so on4  ,of   
each group1 the component circles are   
invariably five in number3  thus1 in the
 animal kingdom1 there are five         
sub-kingdoms1--the vertebrata1          
annulosa1 #bci;a radiata1 acrita1 #bci;b
 mollusca4  ,take1 again1 one of  these 
sub-kingdoms1 the vertebrata1 and we    
find it composed of five  classes1--the 
mammalia1 reptilia1 pisces1 amphibia1   

and aves1 each of the  other            
sub-kingdoms being similarly divisible4 
,take the mammalia1 and it  is in like  
manner found to be composed of five     
orders1--the cheirotheria1  #bci;c fer1 
cetacea1 glires1 ungulata4  ,even in    
this numerical  uniformity1 which goes  
down to the lowest ramifications of the 
system1  there would be something very  
remarkable1 as arguing a definite and   
preconceived arrangement2 but this is   
only the least curious part of the      
,macleay theory4    ,we shall best      
understand the wonderfully complex      
system of analogies  developed by that  
theory1 if we start from the part of the
 kingdom in  which they were first      
traced1--namely1 the class aves1 or     
birds4  ,this  gives for its five       
orders1--incessores1 7perching birds17  
raptores1  7birds of prey17 natatores1  
7swimming birds17 grallatores1 7waders17
  rasores1 7scrapers47  ,in these orders
 our naturalists discerned  distinct    
organic characters1 of different degrees

 of perfectness1 the  first being the   
most perfect with regard to the general 
character of the  class1 and therefore  
the best representative of that class2  
whence it was  called the typical order4
  ,the second was found to be inferior1 
or  rather to have a less perfect       
balance of qualities2 hence it was      
designated the sub-typical4  ,in this   
are comprehended the chief noxious  and 
destructive animals of the circle to    
which it belongs4  ,the other  three    
groups were called aberrant1 as         
exhibiting a much wider departure  from 
the typical standard1 although the last 
of the three is observed to  make a     
certain recovery1 and join on to the    
typical group1 so as to  complete the   
circle4  ,the first of the aberrant     
groups 7natatores7 is  remarkable for   
making the water the theatre of its     
existence1 and the  birds composing it  
are in general of comparatively large   
bulk4  ,the  second 7grallatores7 are   
long-limbed and long-billed1 that they  

may wade  and pick up their subsistence 
in the shallows and marshes in which    
they  chiefly live4  ,the third         
7rasores7 are distinguished by strong   
feet1 for  walking or running on the    
ground1 and for scraping in it for their
 food2  also by wings designed to       
scarcely raise them off the earth and1  
farther1  by a general domesticity of   
character and usefulness to man4    ,now
 the most remarkable circumstance is1   
that these organic characters1  habits1 
and moral properties1 were found to be  
traceable more or less  distinctly in   
the corresponding portions of every     
other group1 even of  those belonging to
 distant subdivisions of the animal     
kingdom1 as1 for  instance1 the insects4
  ,the incessores 7typical order of     
aves7 being  reduced to its constituent 
circles or tribes1 it was found that    
these  strictly represented the five    
orders4  ,in the conirostres are the    
perfections which belong to the         
incessores as an order1 with the        

conspicuous external feature of a       
comparatively small notch in their      
bills2 in the dentirostres1 the notch is
 strong and toothlike1 7hence  the name 
of the tribe7 assimilating them to the  
raptores2 the  fissirostres come into   
analogy with the natatores in the slight
  development of their feet and their   
great powers of flight2 the             
tenuirostres have the small mouths and  
long soft bills of the  grallatores4    
,finally1 the scansores resemble the    
rasores in their  superior intelligence 
and docility1 and in their having strong
 limbs and  a bill entire at the tip4   
,this parity of qualities becomes       
clearer when  placed in a tabular       
form3--      ,orders of ,birds4         
,characters4             ,tribes of     
,incessores4  ,incessores               
,most perfect of their   ,conirostres4  
circle2 notch of bill                   
small  ,raptores                ,notch  
of bill like a    ,dentirostres4        
tooth  ,natatores                       

,slightly developed      ,fissirostres4 
feet2 strong flight  ,grallatores       
,small mouths2 long      ,tenuirostres4 
soft bills  ,rasores                    
,strong feet1 short      ,scansores4    
wings2 docile and                       
domestic    ,some comprehensive terms   
are much wanted to describe these five  
characters1 so curiously repeated       
throughout the whole of the animal1 and 
probably also the vegetable kingdom4    
,meanwhile1 ,mr4 ,swainson calls them   
typical1 sub-typical1 natatorial1       
suctorial1 #bdb and rasorial4  ,some of 
his illustrations of the principle are  
exceedingly interesting4  ,he shews     
that the leading animal of a typical    
circle usually has a combination of     
properties concentrated in itself1      
without any of these preponderating     
remarkably over others4  ,the           
sub-typical circles1 he says1 8do not   
comprise the largest individuals in     
bulk1 but always those which are the    
most powerfully armed1 either for       

inflicting injury on their own class1   
for exciting terror1 producing injury1  
or creating annoyance to man4  ,their   
dispositions are often sanguinary1 since
 the forms most conspicuous  among them 
live by rapine1 and subsist on the blood
 of other animals4  ,they are1 in short1
 symbolically types of evil40  ,this    
symbolical  character is most           
conspicuous about the centre of the     
series of  gradations3--    ,kingdom    
,annulosa4  ,sub-kingdom                
,reptilia4  ,class 7,mammalia7          
,fer4  7,aves7                ,raptores4
    ,in the annulosa it is not distinct1
 although we must also remember that    
insects do produce enormous ravages and 
annoyance in many parts of the  earth4  
,in the reptilia it is more distinct1   
since to this class belong  the ophidia1
 7serpents17 an order peculiarly        
noxious4  ,it comes to a kind  of climax
 in the fer and raptores1 which fulfil  
the function of butchers  among land    
animals4  ,as we descend through tribes1

 families1 genera1  species1 it becomes 
fainter and fainter1 but never          
altogether vanishes4  ,in the           
dentirostres1 for instance1 we have in a
 subdued form the hooked  bill and      
predaceous character of the raptores2 to
 this tribe belongs the  family of the  
shrikes1 so deadly to all the lesser    
field birds4  ,in the  genus bos1 we    
have1 in the sub-typical group1 the     
bison1 8wild1  revengeful1 and shewing  
an innate detestation of man40  ,in     
equus1 we  have1 in the same situation1 
the zebra1 which actually shews the     
stripes  of the tiger1 and is as        
remarkable for its wildness as its      
congeners1 the  horse and ass1 are for  
their docility and usefulness4  ,to     
quote again  from ,mr4 ,swainson1 8the  
singular threatening aspect which the   
caterpillars of the sphinx moth assume  
on being disturbed1 is a  remarkable    
modification of the terrific or evil    
nature which is impressed  in one form  
or another1 palpable or remote1 upon all

 sub-typical groups2  for this division 
of the lepidopterous order is precisely 
of this  denomination4  ,in the         
pre-eminent type of this order of       
insects1 the  butterflies1              
7papilionides17 our associations little 
prepare us for  expecting any trace of  
the evil principle2 but here1 too1 there
 is a  sub-typical division4  ,these10  
says our naturalist1 8are distinguished 
by  their caterpillars being armed with 
formidable spines or prickles1 which  in
 general are possessed of some highly   
acrimonious or poisonous quality1       
capable of injuring those who touch     
them4  ,it is only10 continues ,mr4     
,swainson1 8when extensive researches   
bring to light a uniformity of  results1
 that we can venture to believe they are
 so universal as to  deserve being      
ranked as primary laws4  ,thus1 when a  
celebrated  entomologist denounced as   
impure the black and lurid beetles      
forming the  saprophagous petalocera of 
,mr4 ,macleay1 a tribe living only upon 

putrid  vegetable matter1 and hiding    
themselves in their disgusting food1 or 
in  dark hollows of the earth1 neither  
of these celebrated men suspected the   
absolute fact1 elicited from our        
analogies of this group1 that this very 
tribe constituted the sub-typical group 
of one of the primary divisions  of     
coleopterous insects3 nor had they any  
suspicion that1 by the filthy  habits   
and repulsive forms of these beetles1   
nature had intended that  they should be
 types or emblems of hundreds of other  
groups1  distinguished by peculiarities 
equally indicative of evil4  ,on the    
other  hand1 the thalerophagous         
petalocera1 forming the typical group of
 the  same division1 present us with all
 the perfections and habits belonging   
to their kind4  ,these families of      
beetles live only upon fresh            
vegetables2 they are diurnal1 and sport 
in the glare of day1 pure in  their     
food1 elegant in their shapes1 and      
beautiful in their colours40  #bdf      

,the third type1 7first of the three    
aberrant17 called by ,mr4 ,swainson1    
the natatorial1 or aquatic1 are chiefly 
remarkable for their bulk1 the          
disproportionate size of the head1 and  
the absence1 or slight development  of  
the feet4  ,they partake of the         
predaceous and destructive character of 
the adjoining sub-typical group1 and the
 means of their predacity are  generally
 found in the mouth alone4  ,in the     
primary division of the  animal kingdom1
 we find the type in the radiata1 not   
one of which lives  out of water4  ,in  
the vertebrata1 it is in the fishes4    
,in both of these1  feet are totally    
wanting4  ,descending to the class      
mammalia1 we have this  type in the     
cetacea1 which present a comparatively  
slight development of  limbs4  ,in the  
aves1 as we have seen1 the type is      
presented in the  natatores1 whose name 
has been adopted as an appropriate term 
for all the  corresponding groups4  ,an 
enumeration of some other examples of   

the  natatorial type1 as the cephalopoda
 7instanced in the cuttle-fish7 in the  
mollusca2 the crustacea 7crabs1 c47 in  
the annulosa2 the owls 7which  often    
duck for fish7 in the raptores2 the     
ichthyosaurus1 plesiosaurus1  c41 among 
reptilia1 will serve to bring the       
general character1 and its  pervasion of
 the whole animal world1 forcibly before
 the mind of the  reader4    ,the next  
type is that of meanest and most        
imperfect organization1 the  lower      
termination of all groups1 as the       
typical is the upper4  ,it is  called by
 ,mr4 ,swainson the suctorial1 from a   
very generally prevalent  peculiarity1  
that of drawing sustenance by suction4  
,the acrita1 or  polypes1 among the     
sub-kingdoms2 the intestina1 among the  
annulosa2 the  tortoises1 among the     
reptilia2 the armadillo and scaly       
ant-eater1 pig1  mouse1 jerboa1 and     
kangaroo1 among quadrupeds2 the waders  
and  tenuirostres1 among birds2 the     
coleoptera1 7bug1 louse1 flea1 c47 among

  insects2 the gastrobranchus1 among    
fishes2 are examples which will         
illustrate the special characters of    
this type4  ,these are smallness1       
particularly in the head and mouth1     
feebleness1 and want of offensive       
protection1 defect of organs of         
mastication1 considerable powers of     
swift  movement1 and 7often7 a parasitic
 mode of living2 while of negative      
qualities1 there are1 besides1          
indisposition to domestication1 and an  
unsuitableness to serve as human food4  
,the rasorial type comprehends most of  
the animals which become  domesticated  
and useful to man1 as1 first1 the fowls 
which give a name to  the type1 the     
ungulata1 and more particularly the     
ruminantia1 among  quadrupeds1 and the  
dog among the fer4  ,gentleness1        
familiarity with  man1 and a peculiar   
approach to human intelligence1 are the 
leading  mental characteristics of      
animals of this type4  ,amongst external
  characters1 we generally find power of

 limbs and feet for locomotion on  land1
 7to which the rasorial type is         
confined17 abundant tail and  ornaments 
for the head1 whether in the form of    
tufts1 crests1 horns1 or  bony          
excrescences4  ,in the animal kingdom1  
the mollusca are the rasorial  type1    
which1 however1 only shews itself there 
in their soft and sluggish  character1  
and their being very generally edible4  
,in the ptilota1 or  winged insects1 the
 hymenopterous are the rasorial type1   
and it is not  therefore surprising to  
find amongst them the ants and bees1    
8the most  social1 intelligent1 and in  
the latter case1 most useful to man1 of 
all  the annulose animals40    ,as yet  
the speculations on representation are  
imperfect1 in consequence  of the       
novelty of the doctrine1 and the        
defective state of our knowledge  of    
animated nature4  ,it has1 however1 been
 so fully proved in the aves1  and      
traced so clearly in other parts of the 
animal kingdom1 and as a  general       

feature of that part of nature1 that    
hardly a doubt can exist of  its being  
universally applicable4  ,even in the   
lowly forms of the acrita1  7polypes17  
the suctorial type of the animal        
kingdom1 representation has  been       
discerned1 and with some remarkable     
results as to the history of our  world4
  ,the acrita were the first forms of   
animal life upon earth1 the  starting   
point of that great branch of           
organization4  ,now1 this  sub-kingdom  
consists1 like the rest1 of five groups1
 7classes17 and these  are respectively 
representations of the acrita itself1   
and the other four  sub-kingdoms1 which 
had not come into existence when the    
acrita were  formed4  ,the polypi       
vaginati1 in the crustaceous covering of
 the living  mass1 and their more or    
less articulated structure1 represent   
the  annulosa4  ,in the radiated forms  
of the rotifera1 and the simple         
structure of the polypi rudes1 we are   
reminded of the radiata4  ,the  mollusca

 are typified in the soft1 mucous1      
sluggish intestina4  ,and1  finally1 in 
the fleshy living mass which surrounds  
the bony and hollow  axis of the polypi 
natantes1 we have a sketch of the       
vertebrata4  ,the  acrita thus appear as
 a prophecy of the higher events of     
animal  development4  ,they shew that   
the nobler orders of being1 including   
man  himself1 were contemplated from the
 first1 and came into existence by      
virtue of a law1 the operation of which 
had commenced ages before their  forms  
were realized4    ,the system of        
representation is therefore to be       
regarded as a powerful  additional proof
 of the hypothesis of organic progress  
by virtue of law4  ,it establishes the  
unity of animated nature and the        
definite character of  its entire       
constitution4  ,it enables us to see    
how1 under the flowing  robes of nature1
 where all looks arbitrary and          
accidental1 there is an  artificiality  
of the most rigid kind4  ,the natural1  

we now perceive1  sinks into and merges 
in a ,higher ,artificial4  ,to adopt a  
comparison more  apt than dignified1 we 
may be said to be placed here as insects
 are in a  garden of the old style4     
,our first unassisted view is limited1  
and we  perceive only the irregularities
 of the minute surface1 and single      
shrubs  which appear arbitrarily        
scattered4  ,but our view at length     
extending and  becoming more            
comprehensive1 we begin to see parterres
 balancing each  other1 trees1 statues1 
and arbours placed symmetrically1 and   
that the  whole is an assemblage of     
parts mutually reflective4  ,it can     
scarcely be  necessary to point to the  
inference hence arising with regard to  
the  origination of nature in some      
,power1 of which man's mind is a faint  
and  humble representation4  ,the       
insects of the garden1 supposing them to
 be  invested with reasoning power1 and 
aware how artificial are their own      
works1 might of course very reasonably  

conclude that1 being in its  totality an
 artificial object1 the garden was the  
work of some maker or  artificer4  ,and 
so also must we conclude1 when we attain
 a knowledge of  the artificiality which
 is at the basis of nature1 that nature 
is wholly  the production of a ,being   
resembling1 but infinitely greater than 
ourselves4    ,organic beings are1 then1
 bound together in development1 and in a
 system  of both affinities and         
analogies4  ,now1 it will be asked1 does
 this agree  with what we know of the   
geographical distribution of organic    
beings1 and  of the history of organic  
progress as delineated by geology8  ,let
 us  first advert to the geographical   
question4    ,plants1 as is well known1 
require various kinds of soil1 forms of 
geographical surface1 climate1 and other
 conditions1 for their existence4  ,and 
it is everywhere found that1 however    
isolated a particular spot may  be with 
regard to these conditions1--as a       
mountain top in a torrid  country1 the  

marsh round a salt spring far inland1 or
 an island placed  far apart in the     
ocean1--appropriate plants have there   
taken up their  abode4  ,but the torrid 
zone divides the two temperate regions  
from each  other by the space of more   
than forty-six degrees1 and the torrid  
and  temperate zones together form a    
much broader line of division between   
the  two arctic regions4  ,the ,atlantic
 and ,pacific ,oceans1 and the ,persian 
,gulf1 also divide the various portions 
of continent in the torrid and          
temperate zones from each other4        
,australia is also divided by a broad   
sea from the continent of ,asia4  ,thus 
there are various portions of the  earth
 separated from each other in such a way
 as to preclude anything  like a general
 communication of the seeds of their    
respective plants  towards each other4  
,hence arises an interesting            
question--,are the plants  of the       
various isolated regions which enjoy a  
parity of climate and other  conditions1

 identical or the reverse8  ,the answer 
is--that in such regions  the vegetation
 bears a general resemblance1 but the   
species are nearly  all different1 and  
there is even1 in a considerable        
measure1 a diversity  of families4      
,the general facts have been thus       
stated3 in the arctic and antarctic     
regions1 and in those parts of lower    
latitudes1 which1 from their  elevation1
 possess the same cold climate1 there is
 always a similar or  analogous         
vegetation1 but few species are common  
to the various  situations4  ,in like   
manner1 the intertropical vegetation of 
,asia1  ,africa1 and ,america1 are      
specifically different1 though generally
  similar4  ,the southern region of     
,america is equally diverse from that of
  ,africa1 a country similar in clime1  
but separated by a vast extent of       
ocean4  ,the vegetation of ,australia1  
another region similarly placed in      
respect of clime1 is even more peculiar4
  ,these facts are the more  remarkable 

when we discover that1 in most          
instances1 the plants of one  region    
have thriven when transplanted to       
another of parallel clime4  ,this  would
 shew that parity of conditions does not
 lead to a parity of  productions so    
exact as to include identity of species1
 or even genera4  ,besides the various  
isolated regions here enumerated1 there 
are some  others indicated by           
naturalists as exhibiting a vegetation  
equally  peculiar4  ,some of these are  
isolated by mountains1 or the           
interposition  of sandy wastes4  ,for   
example1 the temperate region of the    
elder  continent is divided about the   
centre of ,asia1 and the east of that   
line  is different from the west4  ,so  
also is the same region divided in      
,north  ,america by the ,rocky          
,mountains4  ,abyssinia and ,nubia      
constitute another  distinct botanical  
region4  ,de ,candolle enumerates in all
 twenty  well-marked portions of the    
earth's surface which are peculiar with 

respect to vegetation2 a number which   
would be greatly increased if  remote   
islands and isolated mountain ranges    
were to be included4    ,when we come to
 the zoology1 we find precisely similar 
results1 excepting  that man 7with1     
perhaps1 some of the less conspicuous   
forms of being7 is  universal1 and that 
several tribes1 as the bear and dog1    
appear to have  passed by the land      
connexion from the arctic regions of the
 eastern to  those of the western       
hemisphere4  8,with these exceptions10  
says ,dr4  ,prichard1 8and without any  
others1 as far as zoological researches 
have  yet gone1 it may be asserted that 
no individual species are common to     
distant regions4  ,in parallel climates1
 analogous species replace each  other2 
sometimes1 but not frequently1 the same 
genus is found in two  separate         
continents2 but the species which are   
natives of one region are  not identical
 with corresponding races indigenous in 
the opposite  hemisphere4    8,a similar

 result arises when we compare the three
 great intertropical  regions1 as well  
as the extreme spaces of the three great
 continents1  which advance into the    
temperate climates of the southern      
hemisphere4    8,thus1 the tribes of    
simi1 7monkeys17 of the dog and cat     
kinds1 of  pachyderms1 including        
elephants1 tapirs1 rhinoceroses1 hogs1  
of bats1 of  saurian and ophidian       
reptiles1 as well of birds and other    
terrene  animals1 are all different in  
the three great continents4  ,in the    
lower  departments of the mammiferous   
family1 we find that the bruta1 or      
edendata1 7sloths1 armadillos1 c417 of  
,africa1 are differently organized  from
 those of ,america1 and these again from
 the tribes found in the  ,malayan      
archipelago and ,terra ,australis40 #bee
    ,it does not appear that the        
diversity between the similar regions of
  ,africa1 ,asia1 and ,america1 is      
occasioned in all instances by any      
disqualification of these countries to  

support precisely the same genera  or   
species4  ,the ox1 horse1 goat1 c41 of  
the elder continent have  thriven and   
extended themselves in the new1 and many
 of the indigenous  tribes of ,america  
would no doubt flourish in corresponding
 climates in  ,europe1 ,asia1 and       
,africa4  ,it has1 however1 been        
remarked by naturalists  unacquainted   
with the ,macleay system1 that the      
larger and more powerful  animals of    
their respective orders belong to the   
elder continent1 and  that thus the     
animals of ,america1 unlike the features
 of inanimate  nature1 appear to be upon
 a small scale4  ,the swiftest and most 
agile  animals1 and a large proportion  
of those most useful to man1 are also   
natives of the elder continent4  ,on the
 other hand1 the bulk of the  edentata1 
a group remarkable for defects and      
meanness of organization1  are          
,american4  ,the zoology of ,america may
 be said1 upon the whole1 to  recede    
from that of ,asia1 8and perhaps in a   

greater degree10 adds ,dr4  ,prichard1  
8from that of ,africa40  ,a much greater
 recession is1 however1  observed in    
both the botany and zoology of          
,australia4    ,there 8we do not find1  
in the great masses of vegetation1      
either the  majesty of the virgin       
forests of ,america1 or the variety and 
elegance of  those of ,asia1 or the     
delicacy and freshness of the woods of  
our  temperate countries of ,europe4    
,the vegetation is generally gloomy and 
sad2 it has the aspect of our evergreens
 or heaths2 the plants are for  the most
 part woody2 the leaves of nearly all   
the plants are linear1  lanceolated1    
small1 coriaceous1 and spinescent4  ,the
 grasses1 which  elsewhere are generally
 soft and flexible1 participate in the  
stiffness  of the other vegetables4     
,the greater part of the plants of ,new 
,holland  belong to new genera2 and     
those included in the genera already    
known are  of new species4  ,the natural
 families which prevail are those of the

  heaths1 the prote1 composit1          
leguminos1 and myrthoide2 the larger    
trees all belong to the last family40   
#beg    ,the prevalent animals of       
,australia are not less peculiar4  ,it  
is well  known that none above the      
marsupialia1 or pouched animals1 are    
native to  it4  ,the most conspicuous   
are these marsupials1 which exist in    
great  varieties here1 though unknown in
 the elder continent1 and only found in 
a few mean forms in ,america4  ,next to 
them are the monotremata1 which are     
entirely peculiar to this portion of the
 earth4  ,now these are animals at  the 
bottom of the mammiferous class1        
adjoining to that of birds1 of whose    
character and organization the          
monotremata largely partake1 the        
ornithorynchus presenting the bill and  
feet of a duck1 producing its  young in 
eggs1 and having1 like birds1 a clavicle
 between the two  shoulders4  ,the birds
 of ,australia vary in structure and    
plumage1 but all  have some singularity 

about them--the swan1 for instance1 is  
black4  ,the  country abounds in        
reptiles1 and the prevalent fishes are  
of the early  kinds1 having a           
cartilaginous structure4    ,altogether1
 the plants and animals of this minor   
continent convey the  impression of an  
early system of things1 such as might be
 displayed in  other parts of the earth 
about the time of the oolite4  ,in      
connexion with  this circumstance1 it is
 a fact of some importance1 that the    
geognostic  character of ,australia1 its
 vast arid plains1 its little           
diversified  surface and consequent     
paucity of streams1 and the very slight 
development of volcanic rock on its     
surface1 seem to indicate a system of   
physical conditions1 such as we may     
suppose to have existed elsewhere in    
the oolitic era3 perhaps we see the     
chalk formation preparing there in  the 
vast coral beds frontiering the coast4  
,australia thus appears as a  portion of
 the earth which has1 from some unknown 

causes1 been belated in  its physical   
and organic development4  ,and certainly
 the greater part of  its surface is not
 fitted to be an advantageous place of  
residence for  beings above the         
marsupialia1 and judging from analogy1  
it may yet be  subjected to a series of 
changes in the highest degree           
inconvenient to  any human beings who   
may have settled upon it4    ,the       
general conclusions regarding the       
geography of organic nature1 may be     
thus stated4  7#a47 ,there are numerous 
distinct foci of organic production     
throughout the earth4  7#b47 ,these have
 everywhere advanced in accordance  with
 the local conditions of climate c41 as 
far as at least the class  and order are
 concerned1 a diversity taking place in 
the lower  gradations4  ,no physical or 
geographical reason appearing for this  
diversity1 we are led to infer that1    
7#c17 it is the result of minute and    
inappreciable causes giving the law of  
organic development a particular        

direction in the lower subdivisions of  
the two kingdoms4  7#d47  ,development  
has not gone on to equal results in the 
various continents1  being most advanced
 in the eastern continent1 next in the  
western1 and  least in ,australia1 this 
inequality being perhaps the result of  
the  comparative antiquity of the       
various regions1 geologically and       
geographically4    ,it must at the same 
time be admitted that the line of       
organic development  has nowhere        
required for its advance the whole of   
the families  comprehended in the two   
kingdoms1 seeing that some of these are 
confined  to one continent1 and some to 
another1 without a conceivable          
possibility  of one having been         
connected with the other in the way of  
ancestry4  ,the  two great families of  
quadrumana1 cebid and simiad1 are a     
noted  instance1 the one being          
exclusively ,american1 while the other  
belongs  entirely to the old world4     
,there are many other cases in which the

 full  circular group can only be       
completed by taking subdivisions from   
various  continents4  ,this would seem  
to imply that1 while the entire system  
is so  remarkable for its unity1 it has 
nevertheless been produced in lines     
geographically detached1 these lines    
perhaps consisting of particular        
typical groups placed in an independent 
succession1 or of two or more of  these 
groups4  ,and for this idea there is1   
even in the present imperfect  state of 
our knowledge of animated nature1 some  
countenance in  ascertained facts1 the  
birds of ,australia1 for example1 being 
chiefly of  the suctorial type1 while it
 may be presumed that the observation as
 to  the predominance of the useful     
animals in the ,old ,world1 is not much 
different from saying that the rasorial 
type is there peculiarly  abundant4  ,it
 does not appear that the idea of       
independent lines1  consisting of       
particular types1 or sets of types1 is  
necessarily  inconsistent with the      

general hypothesis1 as nothing yet      
ascertained of  the ,macleay system     
forbids their having an independent set 
of affinities4  ,on this subject1       
however1 there is as yet much obscurity1
 and it must be  left to future         
inquirers to clear it up4    ,we must   
now call to mind that the geographical  
distribution of plants and  animals was 
very different in the geological ages   
from what it is now4  ,down to a time   
not long antecedent to man1 the same    
vegetation overspread  every clime1 and 
a similar uniformity marked the zoology4
  ,this is  conceived by ,m4 ,brogniart1
 with great plausibility1 to have been  
the  result of a uniformity of climate1 
produced by the as yet unexhausted      
effect of the internal heat of the earth
 upon its surface2 whereas  climate has 
since depended chiefly on external      
sources of heat1 as  modified by the    
various meteorological influences4      
,however the early  uniform climate was 
produced1 certain it is that1 from about

 the close of  the geological epoch1    
plants and animals have been dispersed  
over the  globe with a regard to their  
particular characters1 and specimens of 
both  are found so isolated in          
particular situations1 as utterly to    
exclude the  idea that they came thither
 from any common centre4  ,it may be    
asked1--,considering that1 in the       
geological epoch1 species are not       
limited  to particular regions1 and that
 since the close of that epoch1 they are
  very peculiarly limited1 are we to    
presume the present organisms of the    
world to have been created ab initio    
after that time8  ,to this it may  be   
answered1--,not necessarily1 as it so   
happens that animals begin to be  much  
varied1 or to appear in a considerable  
variety of species1 towards  the close  
of the geological history4  ,it may have
 been that the  multitudes of locally   
peculiar species only came into being   
after the  uniform climate had passed   
away4  ,it may have only been when a    

varied  climate arose1 that the         
originally few species branched off into
 the  present extensive variety4    ,a  
question of a very interesting kind will
 now probably arise in the  reader's    
mind--,what place or status is assigned 
to man in the new natural  system4      
,before going into this inquiry1 it is  
necessary to advert to  several         
particulars of the natural system not   
yet noticed4    ,it is necessary1 in    
particular1 to ascertain the grades     
which exist in  the classification of   
animals4  ,in the line of the aves1 ,mr4
 ,swainson  finds these to be nine1 the 
species pica1 for example1 being thus   
indicated3--    ,kingdom                
,animalia4  ,sub-kingdom                
,vertebrata4  ,class                    
,aves4  ,order                          
,incessores4  ,tribe                    
,conirostres4  ,family                  
,corvid4  ,sub-family                   
,corvin4  ,genus                        
,corvus4  ,sub-genus1 or species        

,pica4    ,this brings us down to       
species1 the subdivision where          
intermarriage or  breeding is usually   
considered as natural to animals1 and   
where a  resemblance of offspring to    
parents is generally persevered in4     
,the dog1  for instance1 is a species1  
because all dogs can breed together1 and
 the  progeny partakes of the           
appearances of the parents4  ,the human 
race is  held as a species1 primarily   
for the same reasons4  ,species1        
however1 is  liable to another          
subdivision1 which naturalists call     
variety2 and  variety appears to be     
subject to exactly the same system of   
representation which have been traced in
 species and higher  denominations4  ,in
 canis1 for instance1 the bull-dog and  
mastiff  represent the ferocious        
sub-typical group2 the waterdog is      
natatorial2 we  see the speed and length
 of muzzle of the suctorial group in the
  greyhound2 and the bushy tail and     
gentle and serviceable character of the 

rasorial in the shepherd's dog and      
spaniel4  ,even the striped and spotted 
skin of the tiger and panther is        
reproduced in the more ferocious kind of
  dogs--an indication of a fundamental  
connexion between physical and mental   
qualities which we have also seen in the
 zebra1 and which is likewise  displayed
 in the predominance of a yellow colour 
in the vultures and owls  in common with
 the lion and his congeners4    ,it is  
by no means clearly made out that this  
system of nine gradations  over and     
above that of variety applies in all    
departments of nature4  ,on  the        
contrary1 even ,mr4 ,swainson gives     
series in which several of them are     
omitted4  ,it may be that1 in some      
departments of nature1 variation from   
the class or order has gone down into   
fewer shades than in others2 or it  may 
be1 that many of the variations have not
 survived till our era1 or  have not    
been as yet detected by naturalists2 in 
either of which cases  there may be a   

necessity for shortening the series by  
the omission of one  or two grades1 as  
for instance tribe or sub-family4       
,this1 however1  is much to be          
regretted1 as it introduces an          
irregularity into the  natural system1  
and consequently throws a difficulty and
 doubt in the way  of our investigating 
it4  ,with these preliminary remarks1 ,i
 shall proceed  to inquire what is the  
natural status of man4    ,that man's   
place is to be looked for in the class  
mammalia and  sub-kingdom vertebrata    
admits of no doubt1 from his possessing 
both the  characters on which these     
divisions are founded4  ,when we        
descend1  however1 below the class1 we  
find no settled views on the subject    
amongst naturalists4  ,mr4 ,swainson1   
who alone has given a review of the     
animal kingdom on the ,macleay system1  
unfortunately writes on this  subject in
 a manner which excites a suspicion as  
to his judgment4  ,his  arrangement of  
the first or typical order of the       

mammalia is therefore to  be received   
with great hesitation4  ,it is as       
follows3--    ,typical                  
,quadrumana      ,pre-eminently         
organized for                           
grasping4  ,sub-typical      ,fer       
,claws retractile2 carnivorous4         
,natatorial       ,cetacea              
,pre-eminently aquatic2 feet very       
short4  ,suctorial        ,glires       
,muzzle lengthened and pointed4         
,rasorial         ,ungulata             
,crests and other processes on the      
head4    ,he then takes the quadrumana1 
and places it in the following          
arrangement3--    ,typical              
,simiad              7,monkeys of ,old  
,world47  ,sub-typical      ,cebid      
7,monkeys of ,new ,world47  ,natatorial 
,unknown  ,suctorial                    
,vespertilionid      7,bats47  ,rasorial
         ,lemurid             7,lemurs47
    ,he considers the simiad as a       
complete circle1 and argues thence that 
there is no room in the range of the    

animal kingdom for man4  ,man1 he  says1
 is not a constituent part of any       
circle1 for1 if he were1 there  ought to
 be other animals on each hand having   
affinity to him1 whereas  there are     
none1 the resemblance of the orangs     
being one of mere analogy4  ,mr4        
,swainson therefore considers our race  
as standing apart1 and forming  a link  
between the unintelligent order of      
beings and the angels6  ,and  this in   
spite of the glaring fact that1 in our  
teeth1 hands1 and other  features       
grounded on by naturalists as           
characteristic1 we do not differ  more  
from the simiad than the bats do from   
the lemurs--in spite also of  that      
resemblance of analogy to the orangs    
which he himself admits1 and  which1 at 
the least1 must be held to imply a      
certain relation4  ,he also  overlooks  
that1 though there may be no room for   
man in the circle of the  simiad1 7this1
 indeed1 is quite true17 there may be in
 the order1 where  he actually leaves a 

place entirely blank1 or only to be     
filled up1 as he  suggests1 by mermen6  
#bff  ,another argument in his          
arrangement is1 that  it leaves the     
grades of classification very much      
abridged1 there being at  the most seven
 instead of nine4  ,but serious argument
 on a theory so  preposterous may be    
considered as nearly thrown away4  ,i   
shall therefore  at once proceed to     
suggest a new arrangement of this       
portion of the  animal kingdom1 in which
 man is allowed the place to which he is
  zoologically entitled4    ,i propose  
that the typical order of the mammalia  
should be designated  cheirotheria1 from
 the sole character which is universal  
amongst them1  their possessing hands1  
and with a regard to that pre-eminent   
qualification for grasping which has    
been ascribed to them--an analogy to    
the perching habit of the typical order 
of birds1 which is worthy of  particular
 notice4  ,the tribes of the            
cheirotheria ,i arrange as follows3--   

,typical          ,bimana4  ,sub-typical
      ,simiad4  ,natatorial             
,vespertilionid4  ,suctorial            
,lemurid4  ,rasorial         ,cebid4    
,here man is put into the typical place1
 as the genuine head1 not only of  this 
order1 but of the whole animal world4   
,the double affinity which is  requisite
 is obtained1 for here he has the simiad
 on one hand1 and the  cebid on the     
other4  ,the five tribes of the order   
are completed1 the  vespertilionid being
 shifted 7provisionally7 into the       
natatorial place1  for which their      
appropriateness is so far evidenced by  
the aquatic habits  of several of the   
tribe1 and the lemurid into the         
suctorial1 to which  their length of    
muzzle and remarkable saltatory power   
are highly  suitable4  ,at the same     
time1 the simiad are degraded from the  
typical  place1 to which they have no   
sort of pretension1 and placed where    
their  mean and mischievous character   
seem to require2 the cebid again being  

assigned that situation which their     
comparatively inoffensive  dispositions1
 their arboreal habits1 and their       
extraordinary development  of the tail1 
7which with them is like a fifth hand17 
render so proper4    ,the zoological    
status thus assigned to the human race  
is precisely what  might be expected4   
,in order to understand its full value1 
it is  necessary to observe how the     
various type peculiarities operate in   
fixing  the character of the animals    
ranked in them4  ,it is easy to conceive
 that  they must be1 in some instances1 
much mixed up with each other1 and      
consequently obscured4  ,if an animal1  
for example1 is the suctorial  member of
 a circle of species1 forming the       
natatorial type of genera1  forming a   
family or sub-family which in its turn  
is rasorial1 its  qualities must        
evidently be greatly mingled and ill to 
define4  ,but1 on  the other hand1 if we
 take the rapacious or sub-typical group
 of birds1  and look in it for the tribe

 which is again the rapacious or        
sub-typical  group of its order1 we may 
expect to find the qualities of that    
group  exalted or intensified1 and      
accordingly made the more conspicuous4  
,such  is really the case with the      
vultures1 in the rapacious birds1 a     
family  remarkable above all of their   
order for their carnivorous and foul    
habits4  ,so1 also1 if we take the      
typical group of the birds1 the         
incessores or perchers1 and look in it  
for its typical group1 the  conirostres1
 and seek there again for the typical   
family of that group1  the corvid1 we   
may expect to find a very marked        
superiority in  organization and        
character4  ,such is really the case4   
8,the crow10 says  ,mr4 ,swainson1      
8unites in itself a greater number of   
properties than are  to be found        
individually in any other genus of      
birds2 as if in fact it  had taken from 
all the other orders a portion of their 
peculiar  qualities1 for the purpose of 

exhibiting in what manner they could be 
combined4  ,from the rapacious birds    
this 8type of types10 as the crow has   
been justly called1 takes the power of  
soaring in the air1 and of seizing  upon
 living birds1 like the hawks1 while its
 habit of devouring putrid  substances1 
and picking out the eyes of young       
animals1 is borrowed from  the vultures4
  ,from the scansorial or climbing order
 it takes the faculty  of picking the   
ground1 and discovering its food when   
hidden from the eye1  while the parrot  
family gives it the taste for vegetable 
food1 and  furnishes it with great      
cunning1 sagacity1 and powers of        
imitation1 even  to counterfeiting the  
human voice4  ,next come the order of   
waders1 who  impart their quota to the  
perfection of the crow by giving it     
great  powers of flight1 and perfect    
facility in walking1 such being among   
the  chief attributes of the suctorial  
order4  ,lastly1 the aquatic birds      
contribute their portion1 by giving this

 terrestrial bird the power of  feeding 
not only on fish1 which are their       
peculiar food1 but actually of          
occasionally catching it4 #bgj  ,in this
 wonderful manner do we find the  crow  
partially invested with the united      
properties of all other birds1  while in
 its own order1 that of the incessores  
or perchers1 it stands the  pre-eminent 
type4  ,we cannot also fail to regard it
 as a remarkable proof  of the superior 
organization and character of the       
corvid1 that they are  adapted for all  
climates1 and accordingly found all over
 the world4    ,mr4 ,swainson's         
description of the zoological status of 
the crow1 written  without the least    
design of throwing any light upon that  
of man1  evidently does so in a         
remarkable degree4  ,it prepares us to  
expect in  the place among the mammalia1
 corresponding to that of the corvid in 
the  aves1 a being or set of beings     
possessing a remarkable concentration of
  qualities from all the other groups of

 their order1 but in general  character 
as far above the corvid as a typical    
group is above an  aberrant one1 the    
mammalia above the aves4  ,can any of   
the simiad  pretend to such a place1    
narrowly and imperfectly endowed as     
these  creatures are--a mean reflection 
apparently of something higher8         
,assuredly not1 and in this             
consideration alone ,mr4 ,swainson's    
arrangement  must fall to the ground4   
,to fill worthily so lofty a station in 
the  animated families man alone is     
competent4  ,in him only is to be found 
that concentration of qualities from all
 the other groups of his order  which   
has been described as marking the       
corvid4  ,that grasping power1  which   
has been selected as the leading        
physical quality of his order1 is       
nowhere so beautifully or so powerfully 
developed as in his hand4  ,the         
intelligence and teachableness of the   
simiad rise to a climax in his          
pre-eminent mental nature4  ,his        

sub-analogy to the fer is marked by his 
canine teeth1 and the universality of   
his rapacity1 for where is the          
department of animated nature which he  
does not without scruple sacrifice  to  
his convenience8  ,with sanguinary1 he  
has also gentle and domesticable        
dispositions1 thus reflecting the       
characters of the ungulata1 7the        
rasorial type of the class17 to which we
 perhaps see a further analogy in  the  
use which he makes of the surface of the
 earth as a source of food4  ,to the    
aquatic type his love of maritime       
adventure very readily  assimilates him2
 and how far the suctorial is           
represented in his nature  it is hardly 
necessary to say4  ,as the corvid1 too1 
are found in every  part of the         
earth--almost the only one of the       
inferior animals which has  been        
acknowledged as universal--so do we find
 man4  ,he thrives in all  climates1 and
 with regard to style of living1 can    
adapt himself to an  infinitely greater 

diversity of circumstances than any     
other animated  creature4    ,man1 then1
 considered zoologically1 and without   
regard to the distinct  character       
assigned to him by theology1 simply     
takes his place as the type  of all     
types of the animal kingdom1 the true   
and unmistakable head of  animated      
nature upon this earth4  ,it will       
readily occur that some more  particular
 investigations into the ranks of types 
might throw additional  light on man's  
status1 and perhaps his nature2 and such
 light we may hope  to obtain when the  
philosophy of zoology shall have been   
studied as it  deserves4  ,perhaps some 
such diagram as the one given on the    
next page  will be found to be an       
approximation to the expression of the  
merely  natural or secular grade of man 
in comparison with other animals4       
,picture3 ,diagram #bgd    ,here the    
upright lines1 #a1 #b1 #c1 #d1 #e1 may  
represent the comparative  height and   
grade of organization of both the five  

sub-kingdoms1 and the  five classes of  
each of these2 #e being the vertebrata  
in the one case1  and the mammalia in   
the other4  ,the difference between the 
height of the  line #a and the line #e  
gives an idea of the difference of being
 the head  type of the aves1 7corvid17  
and the head type of the mammalia1      
7bimana27  a4 b4 c4 d4  #e1 again1      
represent the five groups of the first  
order of  the mammalia2 a1 being the    
organic structure of the highest simia1 
and  #e1 that of man4  ,a set of tangent
 lines of this kind may yet prove one of
  the most satisfactory means of        
ascertaining the height and breadth of  
the  psychology of our species4    ,it  
may be asked1--,is the existing human   
race the only species designed to       
occupy the grade to which it is here    
referred8  ,such a question evidently   
ought not to be answered rashly2 and ,i 
shall therefore confine myself to  the  
admission that1 judging by analogy1 we  
might expect to see several  varieties  

of the being1 homo4  ,there is no other 
family approaching to  this in          
importance1 which presents but one      
species4  ,the corvid1 our  parallel in 
aves1 consist of several distinct genera
 and sub-genera4  ,it  is startling to  
find such an appearance of imperfection 
in the circle to  which man belongs1 and
 the ideas which rise in consequence are
 not less  startling4  ,is our race but 
the initial of the grand crowning type8 
,are  there yet to be species superior  
to us in organization1 purer in feeling1
  more powerful in device and act1 and  
who shall take a rule over us6  ,there  
is in this nothing improbable on other  
grounds4  ,the present race1  rude and  
impulsive as it is1 is perhaps the best 
adapted to the present  state of things 
in the world2 but the external world    
goes through slow  and gradual changes1 
which may leave it in time a much       
serener field of  existence4  ,there may
 then be occasion for a nobler type of  
humanity1  which shall complete the     

zoological circle on this planet1 and   
realize  some of the dreams of the      
purest spirits of the present race4     
,,early ,,history ,,of ,,mankind4       
,,the human race is known to consist of 
numerous nations1 displaying            
considerable differences of external    
form and colour1 and speaking in        
general different languages4  ,this has 
been the case since the  commencement of
 written record4  ,it is also           
ascertained that the external           
peculiarities of particular nations do  
not rapidly change4  ,there is  rather a
 tendency to a persistency of type in   
all lines of descent1  insomuch that a  
subordinate admixture of various type is
 usually  obliterated in a few          
generations4  ,numerous as the varieties
 are1 they  have all been found         
classifiable under five leading         
ones3--#a4  ,the  ,caucasian or         
,indo-,european1 which extends from     
,india into ,europe and  ,northern      
,africa2 #b4  ,the ,mongolian1 which    

occupies ,northern and ,eastern  ,asia2 
#c4  ,the ,malayan1 which extends from  
the ,ultra-,gangetic ,peninsula  into   
the numerous islands of the ,south ,sea 
and ,pacific2 #d4  ,the ,negro1  chiefly
 confined to ,africa2 #e4  ,the         
aboriginal ,american4  ,each of these   
is distinguished by certain general     
features of so marked a kind1 as to     
give rise to a supposition that they    
have had distinct or independent        
origins4  ,of these peculiarities1      
colour is the most conspicuous3 the     
,caucasians are generally white1 the    
,mongolians yellow1 the ,negroes black1 
and the ,americans red4  ,the opposition
 of two of these in particular1  white  
and black1 is so striking1 that of them1
 at least1 it seems almost  necessary to
 suppose separate origins4  ,of late    
years1 however1 the whole  of this      
question has been subjected to a        
rigorous investigation1 and it  has been
 successfully shewn that the human race 
might have had one  origin1 for anything

 that can be inferred from external     
peculiarities4    ,it appears from this 
inquiry1 #bgh that colour and other     
physiological  characters are of a more 
superficial and accidental nature than  
was at  one time supposed4  ,one fact is
 at the very first extremely startling1 
that there are nations1 such as the     
inhabitants of ,hindostan1 known to be  
one in descent1 which nevertheless      
contain groups of people of almost all  
shades of colour1 and likewise          
discrepant in other of those important  
features on which much stress has been  
laid4  ,some other facts1 which ,i  may 
state in brief terms1 are scarcely less 
remarkable4  ,in ,africa1 there  are    
,negro nations1--that is1 nations of    
intensely black complexion1 as the      
,jolofs1 ,mandingoes1 and ,kafirs1 whose
 features and limbs are as elegant  as  
those of the best ,european nations4    
,while we have no proof of ,negro  races
 becoming white in the course of        
generations1 the converse may be  held  

as established1 for there are ,arab and 
,jewish families of ancient  settlement 
in ,northern ,africa1 who have become as
 black as the other  inhabitants4       
,there are also facts which seem to shew
 the possibility of  a natural          
transition by generation from the black 
to the white  complexion1 and from the  
white to the black4  ,true whites 7apart
 from  ,albinoes7 are not unfrequently  
born among the ,negroes1 and the        
tendency  to this singularity is        
transmitted in families4  ,there is1 at 
least1 one  authentic instance of a set 
of perfectly black children being born  
to an  ,arab couple1 in whose ancestry  
no such blood had intermingled4  ,this  
occurred in the valley of the ,jordan1  
where it is remarkable that the  ,arab  
population in general have flatter      
features1 darker skins1 and  coarser    
hair1 than any other tribes of the same 
nation4 #bhj    ,the style of living is 
ascertained to have a powerful effect in
 modifying  the human figure in the     

course of generations1 and this even in 
its  osseous structure4  ,about two     
hundred years ago1 a number of people   
were  driven by a barbarous policy from 
the counties of ,antrim and ,down1 in   
,ireland1 towards the sea-coast1 where  
they have ever since been settled1  but 
in unusually miserable circumstances1   
even for ,ireland2 and the  consequence 
is1 that they exhibit peculiar features 
of the most repulsive  kind1 projecting 
jaws with large open mouths1 depressed  
noses1 high cheek  bones1 and bow legs1 
together with an extremely diminutive   
stature4  ,these1 with an abnormal      
slenderness of the limbs1 are the       
outward marks  of a low and barbarous   
condition all over the world2 it is     
particularly  seen in the ,australian   
aborigines4  ,on the other hand1 the    
beauty of the  higher ranks in ,england 
is very remarkable1 being1 in the main1 
as  clearly a result of good external   
conditions4  8,coarse1 unwholesome1 and 
ill-prepared food10 says ,buffon1 8makes

 the human race degenerate4  ,all  those
 people who live miserably are ugly and 
ill-made4  ,even in ,france1  the       
country people are not so beautiful as  
those who live in towns2 and ,i  have   
often remarked that in those villages   
where the people are richer  and better 
fed than in others1 the men are likewise
 more handsome1 and  have better        
countenances40  ,he might have added1   
that elegant and  commodious dwellings1 
cleanly habits1 comfortable clothing1   
and being  exposed to the open air only 
as much as health requires1 cooperate   
with  food in increasing the elegance of
 a race of human beings4    ,subject    
only to these modifying agencies1 there 
is1 as has been said1 a  remarkable     
persistency in national features and    
forms1 insomuch that a  single          
individual thrown into a family         
different from himself is absorbed  in  
it1 and all trace of him lost after a   
few generations4  ,but while  there is  
such a persistency to ordinary          

observation1 it would also appear  that 
nature has a power of producing new     
varieties1 though this is only  done    
rarely4  ,such novelties of type abound 
in the vegetable world1 are  seen more  
rarely in the animal circle1 and perhaps
 are least frequent of  occurrence in   
our own race4  ,there is a noted        
instance in the production1  on a ,new  
,england farm1 of a variety of sheep    
with unusually short legs1  which was   
kept up by breeding1 on account of the  
convenience in that  country of having  
sheep which are unable to jump over low 
fences4  ,the  starting and main taming 
a breed of cattle1 that is1 a variety   
marked  by some desirable peculiarity1  
are familiar to a large class of        
persons4  ,it appears only necessary1   
when a variety has been thus produced1  
that a  union should take place between 
individuals similarly characterized1 in 
order to establish it4  ,early in the   
last century1 a man named ,lambert1  was
 born in ,suffolk1 with semi-horny      

excrescences of about half an inch      
long1 thickly growing all over his body4
  ,the peculiarity was transmitted  to  
his children1 and was last heard of in a
 third generation4  ,the  peculiarity of
 six fingers on the hand and six toes on
 the feet1 appears  in like manner in   
families which have no record or        
tradition of such a  peculiarity having 
affected them at any former period1 and 
it is then  sometimes seen to descend   
through several generations4  ,it was   
,mr4  ,lawrence's opinion1 that a pair1 
in which both parties were so           
distinguished1 might be the progenitors 
of a new variety of the race who  would 
be thus marked in all future time4  ,it 
is not easy to surmise the  causes which
 operate in producing such varieties4   
,perhaps they are  simply types in      
nature1 possible to be realized under   
certain  appropriate conditions1 but    
which conditions are such as altogether 
to  elude notice4  ,i might cite as     
examples of such possible types1 the    

rise  of whites amongst the ,negroes1   
the occurrence of the family of black   
children in the valley of the ,jordan1  
and the comparatively frequent  birth of
 red-haired children amongst not only   
the ,mongolian and ,malayan  families1  
but amongst the ,negroes4  ,we are      
ignorant of the laws of                 
variety-production2 but we see it going 
on as a principle in nature1 and  it is 
obviously favourable to the supposition 
that all the great families  of men are 
of one stock4    ,the tendency of the   
modern study of the languages of nations
 is to the  same point4  ,the last fifty
 years have seen this study elevated to 
the  character of a science1 and the    
light which it throws upon the history  
of  mankind is of a most remarkable     
nature4    ,following a natural analogy1
 philologists have thrown the earth's   
languages into a kind of classification3
 a number bearing a considerable        
resemblance to each other1 and in       
general geographically near1 are styled 

a group or sub-family2 several groups1  
again1 are associated as a  family1 with
 regard to more general features of     
resemblance4  ,six  families are spoken 
of4    ,the ,indo-,european family      
nearly coincides in geographical limits 
with  those which have been assigned to 
that variety of mankind which generally 
shews a fair complexion1 called the     
,caucasian variety4  ,it may be said to 
commence in ,india1 and thence to       
stretch through ,persia into ,europe1   
the  whole of which it occupies1        
excepting ,hungary1 the ,basque         
provinces of  ,spain1 and ,finland4     
,its sub-families are the ,sanskrit1 or 
ancient  language of ,india1 the        
,persian1 the ,slavonic1 ,celtic1       
,gothic1 and  ,pelasgian4  ,the         
,slavonic includes the modern languages 
of ,russia and  ,poland4  ,under the    
,gothic1 are 7#a7 the ,scandinavian     
tongues1 the ,norske1  ,swedish1 and    
,danish2 and 7#b7 the ,teutonic1 to     
which belong the modern  ,german1 the   

,dutch1 and our own ,anglo-,saxon4  ,i  
give the name of ,pelasgian  to the     
group scattered along the north shores  
of the ,mediterranean1 the  ,greek and  
,latin1 including the modifications of  
the latter under the  names of ,italian1
 ,spanish1 c4  ,the ,celtic was from two
 to three thousand  years ago1 the      
speech of a considerable tribe dwelling 
in ,western ,europe2  but these have    
since been driven before superior       
nations into a few  corners1 and are now
 only to be found in the highlands of   
,scotland1  ,ireland1 ,wales1 ,cornwall1
 and certain parts of ,france4  ,the    
,gaelic of  ,scotland1 ,erse of         
,ireland1 and the ,welsh1 are the only  
living branches of  this sub-family of  
languages4    ,the resemblances amongst 
languages are of two kinds1--identity of
 words1  and identity of grammatical    
forms2 the latter being now generally   
considered as the most important towards
 the argument4  ,when we inquire  into  
the first kind of affinity among the    

languages of the ,indo-,european        
family1 we are surprised at the great   
number of common terms which exist      
amongst them1 and these referring to    
such primary ideas1 as to leave no      
doubt of their having all been derived  
from a common source4  ,colonel  ,vans  
,kennedy presents nine hundred words    
common to the ,sanskrit and other       
languages of the same family4  ,in the  
,sanskrit and ,persian1 we find  several
 which require no sort of translation to
 an ,english reader1 as  pader1 mader1  
sunu1 dokhter1 brader1 mand1 vidhava2   
likewise asthi1 a bone1 7,greek1        
ostoun27 denta1 a tooth1 7,latin1  dens1
 dentis27 eyeumen1 the eye2 brouwa1 the 
eye-brow1 7,german1  braue27 nasa1 the  
nose2 karu1 the hand1 7,gr4 cheir27     
genu1 the  knee1 7,lat4 genu27 ped1 the 
foot1 7,lat4 pes1 pedis27 hrti1 the     
heart2 jecur1 the liver1 7,lat4 jecur27 
stara1 a star2 gela1 cold1  7,lat4 gelu1
 ice27 aghni1 fire1 7,lat4 ignis27      
dhara1 the earth1  7,lat4 terra1        

,gaelic1 tir27 arrivi1 a river2 nau1 a  
ship1 7,gr4  naus1 ,lat4 navis27 ghau1 a
 cow2 sarpam1 a serpent4    ,the        
inferences from these verbal            
coincidences were confirmed in a        
striking manner when ,bopp and others   
investigated the grammatical  structure 
of this family of languages4  ,dr4      
,wiseman pronounces that the  great     
philologist just named1 8by a minute and
 sagacious analysis of the  ,sanskrit   
verb1 compared with the conjugational   
system of the other  members of this    
family1 left no doubt of their intimate 
and positive  affinity40  ,it was now   
discovered that the peculiar            
terminations or  inflections by which   
persons are expressed throughout the    
verbs of nearly  the whole of these     
languages1 have their foundations in    
pronouns2 the  pronoun was simply placed
 at the end1 and thus became an         
inflexion4  8,by  an analysis of the    
,sanskrit pronouns1 the elements of     
those existing in  all the other        

languages were cleared of their         
anomalies2 the verb  substantive1 which 
in ,latin is composed of fragments      
referable to two  distinct roots1 here  
found both existing in regular form2 the
 ,greek  conjugations1 with all their   
complicated machinery of middle voice1  
augments1 and reduplications1 were here 
found and illustrated in a  variety of  
ways1 which a few years ago would have  
appeared chimerical4  ,even our own     
language may sometimes receive light    
from the study of  distant members of   
our family4  ,where1 for instance1 are  
we to seek for  the root of our         
comparative better8  ,certainly not in  
its positive1  good1 nor in the         
,teutonic dialects in which the same    
anomaly exists4  ,but  in the ,persian  
we have precisely the same comparative1 
behter1 with  exactly the same          
signification1 regularly formed from its
 positive beh1  good40 #bhg    ,the     
second great family is the              
,syro-,phnician1 comprising the ,hebrew1

  ,syro-,chaldaic1 ,arabic1 and ,gheez  
or ,abyssinian1 being localized         
principally in the countries to the west
 and south of the ,mediterranean4       
,beyond them1 again1 is the ,african    
family1 which1 as far as research has   
gone1 seems to be in like manner marked 
by common features1 both verbal  and    
grammatical4  ,the fourth is the        
,polynesian family1 extending from      
,madagascar on the west through all the 
,indian ,archipelago1 besides taking  in
 the ,malayan dialect from the continent
 of ,india1 and comprehending           
,australia and the islands of the       
western portion of the ,pacific4  ,this 
family1 however1 bears such an affinity 
to that next to be described1  that ,dr4
 ,leyden and some others do not give it 
a distinct place as a  family of        
languages4    ,the fifth family is the  
,chinese1 embracing a large part of     
,china1 and  most of the regions of     
,central and ,northern ,asia4  ,the     
leading features  of the ,chinese are1  

its consisting altogether of            
monosyllables1 and being  destitute of  
all grammatical forms1 except certain   
arrangements and  accentuations1 which  
vary the sense of particular words4  ,it
 is also  deficient in some of the      
consonants most conspicuous in other    
languages1  b1 d1 r1 v1 and z2 so that  
this people can scarcely pronounce our  
speech  in such a way as to be          
intelligible3 for example1 the word     
,christus they  call ,kuliss-ut-oo-suh4 
,the ,chinese1 strange to say1 though   
they early  attained to a remarkable    
degree of civilization1 and have        
preceded the  ,europeans in many of the 
most important inventions1 have a       
language which  resembles that of       
children1 or deaf and dumb people4  ,the
 sentence of  short1 simple1 unconnected
 words1 in which an infant amongst us   
attempts  to express some of its wants  
and its ideas--the equally broken and   
difficult terms which the deaf and dumb 
express by signs1 as the  following     

passage of the ,lord's ,prayer3--8,our  
,father1 heaven in1 wish your  name     
respect1 wish your soul's kingdom       
providence arrive1 wish your will  do   
heaven earth equality10 c4--these are   
like the discourse of the  refined      
people of the so-called ,celestial      
,empire4  ,an attempt was made by  the  
,abb ,sicard to teach the deaf and dumb 
grammatical signs2 but they  persisted  
in restricting themselves to the simple 
signs of ideas1 leaving  the structure  
undetermined by any but the natural     
order of connexion4  ,such is exactly   
the condition of the ,chinese language4 
,crossing the ,pacific1 we come to the  
last great family in the languages  of  
the aboriginal ,americans1 which have   
all of them features in common1  proving
 them to constitute a group by          
themselves1 without any regard to  the  
very different degrees of civilization  
which these nations had  attained at the
 time of the discovery4  ,the common    
resemblance is in the  grammatical      

structure as well as in words1 and the  
grammatical structure  of this family is
 of a very peculiar and complicated     
kind4  ,the general  character in this  
respect has caused the term             
,polysynthetic to be applied  to the    
,american languages4  ,a long           
many-syllabled word is used by the  rude
 ,algonquins and ,delawares to express a
 whole sentence3 for example1 a  woman  
of the latter nation1 playing with a    
little dog or cat1 would  perhaps be    
heard saying1 8kuligatschis10 meaning1  
8give me your pretty  little paw20 the  
word1 on examination1 is found to be    
made up in this  manner3 k1 the second  
personal pronoun2 uli1 part of the word 
wulet1  pretty2 gat1 part of the word   
wichgat1 signifying a leg or paw2       
schis1 conveying the idea of littleness4
  ,in the same tongue1 a youth  is      
called pilape1 a word compounded from   
the first part of pilsit1  innocent1 and
 the latter part of lenape1 a man4      
,thus1 it will be  observed1 a number of

 parts of words are taken and thrown    
together1 by a  process which has been  
happily termed agglutination1 so as to  
form one  word1 conveying a complicated 
idea4  ,there is also an elaborate      
system of  inflection2 in nouns1 for    
instance1 there is one kind of          
inflection to  express the presence or  
absence of vitality1 and another to     
express  number4  ,the genius of the    
language has been described as          
accumulative3  it 8tends rather to add  
syllables or letters1 making farther    
distinctions  in objects already before 
the mind1 than to introduce new words40 
#bia  ,yet it has also been shewn very  
distinctly1 that these languages are    
based in words of one syllable1 like    
those of the ,chinese and ,polynesian   
families2 all the primary ideas are thus
 expressed3 the elaborate system  of    
inflection and agglutination is shewn to
 be simply a farther  development of the
 language-forming principle1 as it may  
be called--or the  ,chinese system may  

be described as an arrestment of this   
principle at a  particular early point4 
,it has been fully shewn1 that between  
the  structure of the ,american and     
other families1 sufficient affinities   
exist  to make a common origin or early 
connexion extremely likely4  ,the verbal
  affinities are also very considerable4
  ,humboldt says1 8,in eighty-three     
,american languages examined by ,messrs4
 ,barton and ,vater1 one hundred and    
seventy words have been found1 the roots
 of which appear to be the same2  and it
 is easy to perceive that this analogy  
is not accidental1 since it  does not   
rest merely upon imitative harmony1 or  
on that conformity of  organs which     
produces almost a perfect identity in   
the first sounds  articulated by        
children4  ,of these one hundred and    
seventy words which  have this          
connexion1 three-fifths resemble the    
,manchou1 the ,tongouse1 the  ,mongal1  
and the ,samoyed2 and two-fifths1 the   
,celtic and ,tchoud1 the  ,biscayan1 the

 ,coptic1 and ,congo languages4  ,these 
words have been found  by comparing the 
whole of the ,american languages with   
the whole of those  of the ,old ,world2 
for hitherto we are acquainted with no  
,american idiom  which seems to have an 
exclusive correspondence with any of the
 ,asiatic1  ,african1 or ,european      
tongues40 #bic  ,humboldt and others    
considered  these words as brought into 
,america by recent immigrants2 an idea  
resting  on no proof1 and which seems at
 once refuted by the common words being 
chiefly those which represent primary   
ideas2 besides1 we now know1 what  was  
not formerly perceived or admitted1 that
 there are great affinities  of         
structure also4  ,i may here refer to a 
curious mathematical  calculation by    
,dr4 ,thomas ,young1 to the effect1 that
 if three words  coincide in two        
different languages1 it is ten to one   
they must be  derived in both cases from
 some parent language1 or introduced in 
some  other manner4  8,six words would  

give more10 he says1 8than seventeen    
hundred to one1 and eight near #ajj1jjj1
 so that in these cases the  evidence   
would be little short of absolute       
certainty40  ,he instances the          
following words to shew a connexion     
between the ancient ,egyptian and the   
,biscayan3--                ,,biscayan4 
,,egyptian4  ,new       ,beria          
,beri4  ,a dog     ,ora                 
,whor4  ,little    ,gutchi              
,kudchi4  ,bread     ,ognia             
,oik4  ,a wolf    ,otgsa                
,ounsh4  ,seven     ,shashpi            
,shashf4    ,now1 as there are1         
according to ,humboldt1 one hundred and 
seventy words  in common between the    
languages of the new and old continents1
 and many  of these are expressive of   
the most primitive ideas1 there is1 by  
,dr4  ,young's calculation1 overpowering
 proof of the original connexion of the 
,american and other human families4     
,this completes the slight outline which
 ,i have been able to give1 of the      

evidence for the various races of men   
being descended from one stock4  ,it    
cannot be considered as conclusive1 and 
there are many eminent persons  who deem
 the opposite idea the more probable2   
but ,i must say that1  without the least
 regard to any other kind of evidence1  
that which  physiology and philology    
present seems to me decidedly favourable
 to the  idea of a single origin4       
,assuming that the human race is one1 we
 are next called upon to inquire  in    
what part of the earth it may most      
probably be supposed to have            
originated4  ,one obvious mode of       
approximating to a solution of this     
question is to trace backward the lines 
in which the principal tribes  appear to
 have migrated1 and to see if these     
converge nearly to a point4  ,it is very
 remarkable that the lines do converge1 
and are concentrated  about the region  
of ,hindostan4  ,the language1 religion1
 modes of  reckoning time1 and some     
other peculiar ideas of the ,americans1 

are now  believed to refer their origin 
to ,north-,eastern ,asia4  ,trace them  
farther  back in the same direction1 and
 we come to the north of ,india4  ,the  
history of the ,celts and ,teutones     
represents them as coming from the      
east1 the one after the other1          
successive waves of a tide of population
  flowing towards the north-west of     
,europe3 this line being also traced    
back1 rests finally at the same place4  
,so does the line of ,iranian           
population1 which has peopled the east  
and south shores of the  ,mediterranean1
 ,syria1 ,arabia1 and ,egypt4  ,the     
,malay variety1 again1 rests  its limit 
in one direction on the borders of      
,india4  ,standing on that  point1 it is
 easy to see how the human family1      
originating there1 might  spread out in 
different directions1 passing into      
varieties of aspect and  of language as 
they spread1 the ,malay variety         
proceeding towards the  ,oceanic region1
 the ,mongolians to the east and north1 

and sending off the  red men as a       
sub-variety1 the ,european population   
going off to the  north-westward1 and   
the ,syrian1 ,arabian1 and ,egyptian1   
towards the  countries which they are   
known to have so long occupied4  ,the   
,negro alone  is here unaccounted for2  
and of that race it may fairly be said1 
that it  is the one most likely to have 
had an independent origin1 seeing that  
it  is a type so peculiar in an         
inveterate black colour1 and so mean in 
development4  ,but it is not necessary  
to presume such an origin for it1  as   
much good argument might be employed to 
shew that it is only a  deteriorated    
offshoot of the general stock4  ,our    
view of the probable  original seat of  
man agrees with the ancient traditions  
of the race4  ,there is one among the   
,hindoos which places the cradle of the 
human  family in ,thibet2 another makes 
,ceylon the residence of the first man4 
,our view is also in harmony with the   
hypothesis detailed in the chapter      

before the last4  ,according to that    
theory1 we should expect man to have    
originated where the highest species of 
the quadrumana are to be found4  ,now   
these are unquestionably found in the   
,indian ,archipelago4    ,after all1 it 
may be regarded as still an open        
question1 whether mankind  is of one or 
many origins4  ,the first human         
generation may have consisted  of many  
pairs1 though situated at one place1 and
 these may have been  considerably      
different from each other in external   
characters4  ,and we  are equally bound 
to admit1 though this does not as yet   
seem to have  occurred to any other     
speculator1 that there may have been    
different  lines and sources of         
origination1 geographically apart1 but  
which all  resulted uniformly in the    
production of a being1 one in species1  
although  variously marked4    ,it has  
of late years been a favourite notion   
with many1 that the human  race was at  
first in a highly civilized state1 and  

that barbarism was a  second condition4 
,this idea probably took its origin in a
 wish to  support certain               
interpretations of the ,mosaic record1  
and it has never  yet been propounded by
 any writer who seemed to have a due    
sense of the  value of science in this  
class of investigations4  ,the principal
 argument  for it is1 that we see many  
examples of nations falling away from   
civilization into barbarism1 while in   
some regions of the earth1 the  history 
of which we do not clearly know1 there  
are remains of works of  art far        
superior to any which the present       
unenlightened inhabitants could  have   
produced4  ,it is to be readily admitted
 that such decadences are  common2 but  
do they necessarily prove that there has
 been anything like a  regular and      
constant decline into the present state1
 from a state more  generally refined8  
,may not these be only instances of     
local failures and  suppressions of the 
principle of civilization1 where it had 

begun to take  root amongst a people    
generally barbarous8  ,it is1 at least1 
as  legitimate to draw this inference   
from the facts which are known4  ,but it
  is also alleged that we know of no    
such thing as civilization being ever   
self-originated4  ,it is always seen to 
be imparted from one people to  another4
  ,hence1 of course1 we must infer that 
civilization at the first  could only   
have been of supernatural origin4  ,this
 argument appears to be  founded on     
false premises1 for civilization does   
sometimes rise in a  manner clearly     
independent amongst a horde of people   
generally barbarous4  ,a striking       
instance is described in the laborious  
work of ,mr4 ,catlin on  the            
,north-,american tribes4  ,far placed   
among those which inhabit the vast      
region of the north-west1 and quite     
beyond the reach of any influence  from 
the whites1 he found a small tribe      
living in a fortified village1  where   
they cultivated the arts of manufacture1

 realized comforts and  luxuries1 and   
had attained to a remarkable refinement 
of manners1  insomuch as to be generally
 called the polite and friendly         
,mandans4  ,they  were also more than   
usually elegant in their persons1 and of
 every  variety of complexion between   
that of their compatriots and a pure    
white4  ,up to the time of ,mr4         
,catlin's visit1 these people had been  
able to  defend themselves and their    
possessions against the roving bands    
which  surrounded them on all sides2    
but1 soon after1 they were attacked by  
small-pox1 which cut them all off except
 a small party1 whom their  enemies     
rushed in upon and destroyed to a man4  
,what is this but a  repetition on a    
small scale of phenomena with which     
ancient history  familiarizes us--a     
nation rising in arts and elegances     
amidst barbarous  neighbours1 but at    
length overpowered by the rude majority1
 leaving only  a ,tadmor or a ,luxor as 
a monument of itself to beautify the    

waste8  ,what  can we suppose the nation
 which built ,palenque and ,copan to    
have been but  only a ,mandan tribe1    
which chanced to have made its way      
farther along the  path of civilization 
and the arts1 before the barbarians     
broke in upon  it8  ,the flame essayed  
to rise in many parts of the earth2 but 
there were  always considerable chances 
against it1 and down it accordingly     
went1  times without number2 but there  
was always a vitality in it1            
nevertheless1 and a tendency to         
progress1 and at length it seems to have
  attained a strength against which the 
powers of barbarism can never more      
prevail4  ,the state of our knowledge of
 uncivilized nations is very apt  to    
make us fall into error on this subject4
  ,they are generally supposed  to be   
all at one point in barbarism1 which is 
far from being the case1  for in the    
midst of every great region of          
uncivilized men1 such as ,north         
,america1 there are nations partially   

refined4  ,the ,jolofs1 ,mandingoes1    
and ,kafirs1 are ,african examples1     
where a natural and independent origin  
for the improvement which exists is as  
unavoidably to be presumed as in  the   
case of the ,mandans4    ,the most      
conclusive argument against the original
 civilization of mankind  is to be found
 in the fact that we do not now see     
civilization existing  anywhere except  
in certain conditions altogether        
different from any we  can suppose to   
have existed at the commencement of our 
race4  ,to have  civilization1 it is    
necessary that a people should be       
numerous and  closely placed2 that they 
should be fixed in their habitations1   
and safe  from violent external and     
internal disturbance2 that a            
considerable  number of them should be  
exempt from the necessity of drudging   
for  immediate subsistence4  ,feeling   
themselves at ease about the first      
necessities of their nature1 including  
self-preservation1 and daily  subjected 

to that intellectual excitement which   
society produces1 men  begin to manifest
 what is called civilization2 but never 
in rude and  shelterless circumstances1 
or when widely scattered4  ,even men who
 have  been civilized1 when transferred 
to a wide wilderness1 where each has to 
work hard and isolatedly for the first  
requisites of life1 soon shew a         
retrogression to barbarism3 witness the 
plains of ,australia1 as well as  the   
backwoods of ,canada and the prairies of
 ,texas4  ,fixity of residence  and     
thickening of population are perhaps the
 prime requisites for  civilization1 and
 hence it will be found that all        
civilizations as yet  known have taken  
place in regions physically limited4    
,that of ,egypt  arose in a narrow      
valley hemmed in by deserts on both     
sides4  ,that of  ,greece took its rise 
in a small peninsula bounded on the only
 land side  by mountains4  ,etruria and 
,rome were naturally limited regions4   
,civilizations have taken place at both 

the eastern and western  extremities of 
the elder continent--,china and ,japan1 
on the one hand2  ,germany1 ,holland1   
,britain1 ,france1 on the other--while  
the great unmarked  tract between       
contains nations decidedly less         
advanced4  ,why is this1 but  because   
the sea1 in both cases1 has imposed     
limits to further migration1  and caused
 the population to settle and           
condense--the conditions most  necessary
 for social improvement4 #cjb  ,even the
 simple case of the  ,mandans affords an
 illustration of this principle1 for    
,mr4 ,catlin  expressly1 though without 
the least regard to theory1 attributes  
their  improvement to the fact of their 
being a small tribe1 obliged1 by fear of
  their more numerous enemies1 to settle
 in a permanent village1 so  fortified  
as to ensure their preservation4  8,by  
this means10 says he1  8they have       
advanced farther in the arts of         
manufacture1 and have supplied  their   
lodges more abundantly with the comforts

 and even luxuries of life  than any    
,indian nation ,i know of4  ,the        
consequence of this10 he adds1 8is  that
 the tribe have taken many steps ahead  
of other tribes in manners  and         
refinements40  ,these conditions can    
only be regarded as natural laws        
affecting civilization1 and it might not
 be difficult1 taking them into         
account1 to predict of any newly settled
 country its social destiny4  ,an       
island like ,van ,dieman's land might   
fairly be expected to go on more        
rapidly to good manners and sound       
institutions than a wide region like    
,australia4  ,the ,united ,states might 
be expected to make no great way in     
civilization till they be fully peopled 
to the ,pacific2 and it might not  be   
unreasonable to expect that1 when that  
even has occurred1 the greatest         
civilizations of that vast territory    
will be found in the peninsula of       
,california and the narrow stripe of    
country beyond the ,rocky ,mountains4   

,this1 however1 is a digression4  ,to   
return3 it is also necessary for a      
civilization that at least a portion of 
the community should be placed  above   
mean and engrossing toils4  ,man's mind 
becomes subdued1 like the  dyer's hand1 
to that it works in4  ,in rude and      
difficult circumstances we  unavoidably 
become rude1 because then only the      
inferior and harsher  faculties of our  
nature are called into existence4       
,when1 on the  contrary1 there is       
leisure and abundance1 the self-seeking 
and  self-preserving instincts are      
allowed to rest1 the gentler and more   
generous sentiments are evoked1 and man 
becomes that courteous and  chivalric   
being which he is found to be amongst   
the upper classes of  almost all        
civilized countries4  ,these1 then1 may 
be said to be the chief  natural laws   
concerned in the moral phenomenon of    
civilization4  ,if ,i am  right in so   
considering them1 it will of course be  
readily admitted that  the earliest     

families of the human race1 although    
they might be simple  and innocent1     
could not have been in anything like a  
civilized state1  seeing that the       
conditions necessary for that state     
could not have then  existed4  ,let us  
only for a moment consider some of the  
things requisite  for their being       
civilized1--namely1 a set of elegant    
homes ready furnished  for their        
reception1 fields ready cultivated to   
yield them food without  labour1 stores 
of luxurious appliances of all kinds1 a 
complete social  enginery for the       
securing of life and property1--and we  
shall turn from  the whole conceit as   
one worthy only of the philosophers of  
,utopia4    ,yet1 as has been remarked1 
the earliest families might be simple   
and  innocent1 while at the same time   
unskilled and ignorant1 and obliged to  
live merely upon such substances as they
 could readily procure4  ,the           
traditions of all nations refer to such 
a state as that in which mankind  were  

at first3 perhaps it is not so much a   
tradition as an idea which the  human   
mind naturally inclines to form         
respecting the fathers of the race2  but
 nothing that we see of mankind         
absolutely forbids our entertaining     
this idea1 while there are some         
considerations rather favourable to it4 
,a few families1 in a state of nature1  
living near each other1 in a  country   
supplying the means of livelihood       
abundantly1 are generally  simple and   
innocent2 their instinctive and         
perceptive faculties are also  apt to be
 very active1 although the higher       
intellect may be dormant4  ,if  we      
therefore presume ,india to have been   
the cradle of our race1 they  might at  
first exemplify a sort of golden age2   
but it could not be of  long            
continuance4  ,the very first movements 
from the primal seat would be  attended 
with degradation1 nor could there be any
 tendency to true  civilization till    
groups had settled and thickened in     

particular seats  physically limited4   
,the probability may now be assumed that
 the human race sprung from one  stock1 
which was at first in a state of        
simplicity1 if not barbarism4  ,as  yet 
we have not seen very distinctly how the
 various branches of the  family1 as    
they parted off1 and took up separate   
ground1 became marked by  external      
features so peculiar4  ,why are the     
,africans black1 and generally  marked  
by coarse features and ungainly forms8  
,why are the ,mongolians  generally     
yellow1 the ,americans red1 the         
,caucasians white8  ,why the flat       
features of the ,chinese1 the small     
stature of the ,laps1 the soft round    
forms of the ,english1 the lank features
 of their descendants1 the  ,americans8 
,all of these phenomena appear1 in a    
word1 to be explicable on  the ground of
 development4  ,we have already seen    
that various leading  animal forms      
represent stages in the embryotic       
progress of the  highest--the human     

being4  ,our brain goes through the     
various stages of a  fish's1 a          
reptile's1 and a mammifer's brain1 and  
finally becomes human4  ,there is more  
than this1 for1 after completing the    
animal  transformations1 it passes      
through the characters in which it      
appears1 in  the ,negro1 ,malay1        
,american1 and ,mongolian nations1 and  
finally is  ,caucasian4  ,the face      
partakes of these alterations4  8,one of
 the earliest  points in which          
ossification commences is the lower jaw4
  ,this bone is  consequently sooner    
completed than the other bones of the   
head1 and  acquires a predominance1     
which1 as is well known1 it never loses 
in the  ,negro4  ,during the soft pliant
 state of the bones of the skull1 the   
oblong form which they naturally assume1
 approaches nearly the permanent  shape 
of the ,americans4  ,at birth1 the      
flattened face1 and broad smooth        
forehead of the infant1 the position of 
the eyes rather towards the side  of the

 head1 and the widened space between1   
represent the ,mongolian form2  while it
 is only as the child advances to       
maturity1 that the oval face1  the      
arched forehead1 and the marked features
 of the true ,caucasian1  become        
perfectly developed40 #cjg;a  ,the      
leading characters1 in  short1 of the   
various races of mankind1 are simply    
representations of  particular stages in
 the development of the highest or      
,caucasian type4  ,the ,negro exhibits  
permanently the imperfect brain1        
projecting lower jaw1  and slender bent 
limbs1 of a ,caucasian child1 some      
considerable time  before the period of 
its birth4  ,the aboriginal ,american   
represents the  same child nearer birth4
  ,the ,mongolian is an arrested infant 
newly born4  ,and so forth4  ,all this  
is as respects form2 #cjg;b but whence  
colour8  ,this might be supposed to have
 depended on climatal agencies only2 but
 it  has been shewn by overpowering     
evidence to be independent of these4    

,in  further considering the matter1 we 
are met by the very remarkable fact     
that colour is deepest in the least     
perfectly developed type1 next in the   
,malay1 next in the ,american1 next in  
the ,mongolian1 the very order in  which
 the degrees of development are ranged4 
,may not colour1 then1  depend upon     
development also8  ,we do not1 indeed1  
see that a ,caucasian  ftus at the stage
 which the ,african represents is       
anything like black2  neither is a      
,caucasian child yellow1 like the       
,mongolian4  ,there may1  nevertheless1 
be a character of skin at a certain     
stage of development  which is          
predisposed to a particular colour when 
it is presented as the  envelope of a   
mature being4  ,development being       
arrested at so immature a  stage in the 
case of the ,negro1 the skin may take on
 the colour as an  unavoidable          
consequence of its imperfect            
organization4  ,it is favourable  to    
this view1 that ,negro infants are not  

deeply black at first1 but only  acquire
 the full colour tint after exposure for
 some time to the  atmosphere4  ,another
 consideration in its favour is that    
there is a  likelihood of peculiarities 
of form and colour1 since they are so   
coincident1 depending on one set of     
phenomena4  ,if it be admitted as  true1
 there can be no difficulty in          
accounting for all the varieties of     
mankind4  ,they are simply the result of
 so many advances and  retrogressions in
 the developing power of the human      
mothers1 these  advances and            
retrogressions being1 as we have        
formerly seen1 the  immediate effect of 
external conditions in nutrition1       
hardship1 c41  #cji and also1 perhaps1  
to some extent1 of the suitableness and 
unsuitableness of marriages1 for it is  
found that parents too nearly  related  
tend to produce offspring of the        
,mongolian type1--that is1 persons  who 
in maturity still are a kind of         
children4  ,according to this view1  the

 greater part of the human race must be 
considered as having lapsed or  declined
 from the original type4  ,in the       
,caucasian or ,indo-,european  family   
alone has the primitive organization    
been improved upon4  ,the  ,mongolian1  
,malay1 ,american1 and ,negro1          
comprehending perhaps five-sixths  of   
mankind1 are degenerate4  ,strange that 
the great plan should admit of  failures
 and aberrations of such portentous     
magnitude6  ,but pause and  reflect2    
take time into consideration3 the past  
history of mankind may  be1 to what is  
to come1 but as a day4  ,look at the    
progress even now  making over the      
barbaric parts of the earth by the best 
examples of the  ,caucasian type1       
promising not only to fill up the waste 
places1 but to  supersede the imperfect 
nations already existing4  ,who can tell
 what  progress may be made1 even in a  
single century1 towards reversing the   
proportions of the perfect and imperfect
 types8 and who can tell but that  the  

time during which the mean types have   
lasted1 long as it appears1 may  yet be 
thrown entirely into the shade by the   
time during which the best  types will  
remain predominant8    ,we have seen    
that the traces of a common origin in   
all languages afford a  ground of       
presumption for the unity of the human  
race4  ,they establish a  still stronger
 probability that mankind had not yet   
begun to disperse  before they were     
possessed of a means of communicating   
their ideas by  conventional sounds--in 
short1 speech4  ,this is a gift so      
peculiar to man1  and in itself so      
remarkable1 that there is a great       
inclination to surmise  a miraculous    
origin for it1 although there is no     
proper ground1 or even  support1 for    
such an idea in ,scripture1 while it is 
clearly opposed to  everything else that
 we know with regard to the providential
 arrangements  for the creation of our  
race4  ,here1 as in many other cases1 a 
little  observation of nature might have

 saved much vain discussion4  ,the real 
character of language itself has not    
been thoroughly understood4  ,language1 
in its most comprehensive sense1 is the 
communication of ideas  by whatever     
means4  ,ideas can be communicated by   
looks1 gestures1 and  signs of various  
other kinds1 as well as by speech4  ,the
 inferior animals  possess some of those
 means of communicating ideas1 and they 
have  likewise a silent and unobservable
 mode of their own1 the nature of which 
is a complete mystery to us1 though we  
are assured of its reality by its       
effects4  ,now1 as the inferior animals 
were all in being before man1  there was
 language upon earth long ere the       
history of our race commenced4  ,the    
only additional fact in the history of  
language1 which was produced  by our    
creation1 was the rise of a new mode of 
expression--namely1 that by  sound-signs
 produced by the vocal organs4  ,in     
other words1 speech was  the only       
novelty in this respect attending the   

creation of the human  race4  ,no doubt 
it was an addition of great importance1 
for1 in  comparison with it1 the other  
natural modes of communicating ideas    
sink  into insignificance4  ,still1 the 
main and fundamental phenomenon1        
language1 as the communication of ideas1
 was no new gift of the ,creator  to    
man2 and in speech itself1 when we judge
 of it as a natural fact1 we  see only a
 result of some of those superior       
endowments of which so many  others have
 fallen to our lot through the medium of
 an improved or  advanced organization4 
,the first and most obvious natural     
endowment concerned in speech is that   
peculiar organization of the larynx1    
trachea1 and mouth1 which enables us  to
 produce the various sounds required in 
the case4  ,man started at first  with  
this organization ready for use1 a      
constitution of the atmosphere  adapted 
for the sounds which that organization  
was calculated to produce1  and1 lastly1
 but not leastly1 as will afterwards be 

more particularly  shewn1 a mental power
 within1 prompting to1 and giving       
directions for1  the expression of      
ideas4  ,such an arrangement of mutually
 adapted things  was as likely to       
produce sounds as an ,eolian harp placed
 in a draught is  to produce tones4  ,it
 was unavoidable that human beings so   
organized1 and  in such a relation to   
external nature1 should utter sounds1   
and also come  to attach to these       
conventional meanings1 thus forming the 
elements of  spoken language4  ,the     
great difficulty which has been felt was
 to account  for man going in this      
respect beyond the inferior animals4    
,there could  have been no such         
difficulty if speculators in this class 
of subjects had  looked into physiology 
for an account of the superior vocal    
organization  of man1 and had they      
possessed a true science of mind to shew
 man  possessing a faculty for the      
expression of ideas which is only       
rudimental  in the lower animals4       

,another difficulty has been in the     
consideration  that1 if men were at     
first utterly untutored and barbarous1  
they could  scarcely be in a condition  
to form or employ language--an          
instrument which  it requires the       
fullest powers of thought to analyse and
 speculate upon4  ,but this difficulty  
also vanishes upon reflection--for1 in  
the first  place1 we are not bound to   
suppose the fathers of our race early   
attaining to great proficiency in       
language1 and1 in the second1 language  
itself seems to be amongst the things   
least difficult to be acquired1 if  we  
can form any judgment from what we see  
in children1 most of whom have1  by     
three years of age1 while their         
information and judgment are still as   
nothing1 mastered and familiarized      
themselves with a quantity of words1    
infinitely exceeding in proportion what 
they acquire in the course of any       
subsequent similar portion of time4     
,discussions as to which parts of speech

 were first formed1 and the  processes  
by which grammatical structure and      
inflections took their rise1  appear in 
a great measure needless1 after the     
matter has been placed in  this light4  
,the mental powers could readily connect
 particular arbitrary  sounds with      
particular ideas1 whether those ideas   
were nouns1 verbs1 or  interjections4   
,as the words of all languages can be   
traced back into  roots which are       
monosyllables1 we may presume these     
sounds to have all  been monosyllabic   
accordingly4  ,the clustering of two or 
more together to  express a compound    
idea1 and the formation of inflections  
by additional  syllables expressive of  
pronouns and such prepositions as of1   
by1 and to1  are processes which would  
or might occur as matters of course1    
being  simple results of a mental power 
called into action1 and partly directed1
  by external necessities4  ,this power1
 however1 as we find it in very         
different degrees of endowment in       

individuals1 so would it be in          
different degrees of endowment in       
nations1 or branches of the human       
family4  ,hence we find the formation of
 words and the process of their         
composition and grammatical arrangement1
 in very different stages of            
development in different races4  ,the   
,chinese have a language composed of  a 
limited number of monosyllables1 which  
they multiply in use by mere  variations
 of accent1 and which they have never   
yet attained the power of  clustering or
 inflecting2 the language of this       
immense nation--the third  part of the  
human race--may be said to be in the    
condition of infancy4  ,the aboriginal  
,americans1 so inferior in civilization1
 have1 on the other  hand1 a language of
 the most elaborately composite kind1   
perhaps even  exceeding1 in this        
respect1 the languages of the most      
refined ,european  nations4  ,these are 
but a few out of many facts tending to  
shew that  language is in a great       

measure independent of civilization1 as 
far as its  advance and development are 
concerned4  ,do they not also help to   
prove  that cultivated intellect is not 
necessary for the origination of        
language8    ,facts daily presented to  
our observation afford equally simple   
reasons  for the almost infinite        
diversification of language4  ,it is    
invariably  found that1 wherever society
 is at once dense and refined1 language 
tends  to be uniform throughout the     
whole population1 and to undergo few    
changes  in the course of time4         
,wherever1 on the contrary1 we have a   
scattered  and barbarous people1 we have
 great diversities1 and comparatively   
rapid  alterations of language4         
,insomuch that1 while ,english1 ,french1
 and  ,german are each spoken with      
little variation by many millions1 there
 are  islands in the ,indian            
archipelago1 probably not inhabited by  
one million1  but in which there are    
hundreds of languages1 as diverse as are

 ,english1  ,french1 and ,german4  ,it  
is easy to see how this should be4      
,there are  peculiarities in the vocal  
organization of every person1 tending to
  produce peculiarities of              
pronunciation2 for example1 it has been 
stated  that each child in a family of  
six gave the monosyllable1 fly1 in a    
different manner1 7eye1 fy1 ly1 c47     
until1 when the organs were more        
advanced1 correct example induced the   
proper pronunciation of this and        
similar words4  ,such departures from   
orthoepy are only to be checked by  the 
power of such example2 but this is a    
power not always present1 or not  always
 of sufficient strength4  ,the able and 
self-devoted ,robert ,moffat1  in his   
work on ,south ,africa1 states1 without 
the least regard to  hypothesis1 that   
amongst the people of the towns of that 
great region1  8the purity and harmony  
of language is kept up by their pitchos 
or public  meetings1 by their festivals 
and ceremonies1 as well as by their     

songs  and their constant intercourse4  
,with the isolated villages of the      
desert  it is far otherwise4  ,they have
 no such meetings2 they are compelled to
  traverse the wilds1 often to a great  
distance from their native village4  ,on
 such occasions1 fathers and mothers1   
and all who can bear a burden1  often   
set out for weeks at a time1 and leave  
their children to the care  of two or   
three infirm old people4  ,the infant   
progeny1 some of whom are  beginning to 
lisp1 while others can just master a    
whole sentence1 and  those still farther
 advanced1 romping and playing together1
 the children  of nature1 through the   
live-long day1 become habituated to a   
language of  their own4  ,the more      
voluble condescend to the less          
precocious1 and  thus1 from this infant 
,babel1 proceeds a dialect composed of a
 host of  mongrel words and phrases1    
joined together without rule1 and in the
  course of a generation the entire     
character of the language is changed40  

#cag  ,i have been told1 that in like   
manner the children of the  ,manchester 
factory workers1 left for a great part  
of the day1 in large  assemblages1 under
 the care of perhaps a single elderly   
person1 and  spending the time in       
amusements1 are found to make a great   
deal of new  language4  ,i have seen    
children in other circumstances amuse   
themselves  by concocting and throwing  
into the family circulation entirely new
  words2 and ,i believe ,i am running   
little risk of contradiction when ,i say
  that there is scarcely a family1 even 
amongst the middle classes of this      
country1 who have not some peculiarities
 of pronunciation and syntax1  which    
have originated amongst themselves1 it  
is hardly possible to say  how4  ,all   
these things being considered1 it is    
easy to understand how  mankind have    
come at length to possess between three 
and four thousand  languages1 all       
different at least as much as ,french1  
,german1 and ,english1  though1 as has  

been shewn1 the traces of a common      
origin are observable  in them all4     
,what has been said on the question     
whether mankind were originally         
barbarous or civilized1 will have       
prepared the reader for understanding   
how the arts and sciences1 and the      
rudiments of civilization itself1 took  
their rise amongst men4  ,the only      
source of fallacious views on this      
subject is the so frequent observation  
of arts1 sciences1 and social  modes1   
forms1 and ideas1 being not indigenous  
where we see them now  flourishing1 but 
known to have been derived elsewhere3   
thus ,rome borrowed  from ,greece1      
,greece from ,egypt1 and ,egypt itself1 
lost in the mists of  historic          
antiquity1 is now supposed to have      
obtained the light of  knowledge from   
some still earlier scene of intellectual
 culture4  ,this  has caused to many a  
great difficulty in supposing a natural 
or  spontaneous origin for civilization 
and the attendant arts4  ,but1 in the   

first place1 several stages of          
derivation are no conclusive argument   
against there having been an originality
 at some earlier stage4  ,in the        
second1 such observers have not looked  
far enough1 for1 if they had1 they      
could have seen various instances of    
civilizations which it is  impossible1  
with any plausibility1 to trace back to 
a common origin with  others2 such are  
those of ,china and ,america4  ,they    
would also have seen  civilization      
springing up1 as it were1 like oases    
amongst the arid plains  of barbarism1  
as in the case of the ,mandans4  ,a     
still more attentive  study of the      
subject would have shewn1 amongst living
 men1 the very  psychological procedure 
on which the origination of civilization
 and the  arts and sciences depended4   
,these things1 like language1 are simply
 the effects of the spontaneous  working
 of certain mental faculties1 each in   
relation to the things of  the external 
world on which it was intended by       

creative ,providence to be  exercised4  
,the monkeys themselves1 without        
instruction from any quarter1  learn to 
use sticks in fighting1 and some build  
houses--an act which  cannot in their   
case be considered as one of instinct1  
but of  intelligence4  ,such being the  
case1 there is no necessary difficulty  
in  supposing how man1 with his superior
 mental organization1 7a brain five     
times heavier17 was able1 in his        
primitive state1 without instruction1 to
  turn many things in nature to his use1
 and commence1 in short1 the circle  of 
the domestic arts4  ,he appears1 in the 
most unfavourable  circumstances1 to be 
able to provide himself with some sort  
of dwelling1  to make weapons1 and to   
practise some simple kind of cookery4   
,but1  granting1 it will be said1 that  
he can go thus far1 how does he ever    
proceed farther unprompted1 seeing that 
many nations remain fixed for  ever at  
this point1 and seem unable to take one 
step in advance8  ,it is  perfectly true

 that there is such a fixation in many  
nations2 but1 on the  other hand1 all   
nations are not alike in mental         
organization1 and another  point has    
been established1 that only when some   
favourable circumstances  have settled a
 people in one place1 do arts and social
 arrangements get  leave to flourish4   
,if we were to limit our view to humbly 
endowed  nations1 or the common class of
 minds in those called civilized1 we    
should see absolutely no conceivable    
power for the origination of new  ideas 
and devices4  ,but let us look at the   
inventive class of minds which  stand   
out amongst their fellows--the men who1 
with little prompting or  none1 conceive
 new ideas in science1 arts1 morals--and
 we can be at no  loss to understand how
 and whence have arisen the elements of 
that  civilization which history traces 
from country to country throughout the  
course of centuries4  ,see a ,pascal1   
reproducing the ,alexandrian's  problems
 at fifteen2 a ,ferguson1 making clocks 

from the suggestions of  his own brain1 
while tending cattle on a ,morayshire   
heath2 a boy  ,lawrence1 in an inn on   
the ,bath road1 producing1 without a    
master1  drawings which the educated    
could not but admire2 or look at ,solon 
and  ,confucius1 devising sage laws1 and
 breathing the accents of all but       
divine wisdom1 for their barbarous      
fellow-countrymen1 three thousand  years
 ago--and the whole mystery is solved at
 once4  ,amongst the  arrangements of   
,providence is one for the production of
 original1  inventive1 and aspiring     
minds1 which1 when circumstances are not
  decidedly unfavourable1 strike out new
 ideas for the benefit of their         
fellow-creatures1 or put upon them a    
lasting impress of their own  superior  
sentiments4  ,nations1 improved by these
 means1 become in turn  foci for the    
diffusion of light over the adjacent    
regions of  barbarism--their very       
passions helping to this end1 for       
nothing can be  more clear than that    

ambitious aggression has led to the     
civilization of  many countries4  ,such 
is the process which seems to form the  
destined  means for bringing mankind    
from the darkness of barbarism to the   
day of  knowledge and mechanical and    
social improvement4  ,even the noble art
 of  letters is but1 as ,dr4 ,adam      
,fergusson has remarked1 8a natural     
produce of  the human mind1 which will  
rise spontaneously1 wherever men are    
happily  placed20 original alike amongst
 the ancient ,egyptians and the dimly   
monumented ,toltecans of ,yucatan4      
8,banish10 says ,dr4 ,gall1 8music1     
poetry1 painting1 sculpture1            
architecture1 all the arts and sciences1
 and  let your ,homers1 ,raphaels1      
,michael ,angelos1 ,glucks1 and         
,canovas1 be  forgotten1 yet let men of 
genius of every description spring up1  
and  poetry1 music1 painting1           
architecture1 sculpture1 and all the    
arts and  sciences will again shine out 
in all their glory4  ,twice within the  

records of history has the human race   
traversed the great circle of its       
entire destiny1 and twice has the       
rudeness of barbarism been followed by  
a higher degree of refinement4  ,it is a
 great mistake to suppose one  people to
 have proceeded from another on account 
of their conformity of  manners1        
customs1 and arts4  ,the swallow of     
,paris builds its nest like  the swallow
 of ,vienna1 but does it thence follow  
that the former sprung  from the latter8
  ,with the same causes we have the same
 effects2 with the  same organization we
 have the manifestation of the same     
powers40          ,,mental              
,,constitution ,,of ,,animals4      ,,it
 has been one of the most agreeable     
tasks of modern science to trace  the   
wonderfully exact adaptations of the    
organization of animals to the  physical
 circumstances amidst which they are    
destined to live4  ,from the  mandibles 
of insects to the hand of man1 all is   
seen to be in the most  harmonious      

relation to the things of the outward   
world1 thus clearly  proving that design
 presided in the creation of the        
whole--design again  implying a         
designer1 another word for a ,,creator4 
,it would be tiresome to present in this
 place even a selection of the  proofs  
which have been adduced on this point4  
,the ,natural ,theology of  ,paley1 and 
the ,bridgewater ,treatises1 place the  
subject in so clear a  light1 that the  
general postulate may be taken for      
granted4  ,the physical  constitution of
 animals is1 then1 to be regarded as in 
the nicest  congruity and adaptation to 
the external world4    ,less clear ideas
 have hitherto been entertained on the  
mental  constitution of animals4  ,the  
very nature of this constitution is not 
as  yet generally known or held as      
ascertained4  ,there is1 indeed1 a      
notion  of old standing1 that the mind  
is in some way connected with the brain2
  but the metaphysicians insist that it 
is1 in reality1 known only by its  acts 

or effects1 and they accordingly present
 the subject in a form which  is unlike 
any other kind of science1 for it does  
not so much as pretend  to have nature  
for its basis4  ,there is a general     
disinclination to  regard mind in       
connexion with organization1 from a fear
 that this must  needs interfere with   
the cherished religious doctrine of the 
spirit of  man1 and lower him to the    
level of the brutes4  ,a distinction is 
therefore drawn between our mental      
manifestations and those of the lower   
animals1 the latter being comprehended  
under the term instinct1 while  ours are
 collectively described as mind1 mind   
being again a received  synonyme with   
soul1 the immortal part of man4  ,there 
is here a strange  system of confusion  
and error1 which it is most imprudent to
 regard as  essential to religion1 since
 candid investigations of nature tend to
 shew  its untenableness4  ,there is1 in
 reality1 nothing to prevent our        
regarding man as specially endowed with 

an immortal spirit1 at the same  time   
that his ordinary mental manifestations 
are looked upon as simple  phenomena    
resulting from organization1 those of   
the lower animals being  phenomena      
absolutely the same in character1 though
 developed within much  narrower limits4
 #cbf    ,what has chiefly tended to    
take mind1 in the eyes of learned and   
unlearned1 out of the range of nature1  
is its apparently irregular and  wayward
 character4  ,how different the         
manifestations in different beings6  how
 unstable in all6--at one time so calm1 
at another so wild and  impulsive6  ,it 
seemed impossible that anything so      
subtle and aberrant  could be part of a 
system1 the main features of which are  
regularity and  precision4  ,but the    
irregularity of mental phenomena is only
 in  appearance4  ,when we give up the  
individual1 and take the mass1 we find  
as much uniformity of result as in any  
other class of natural phenomena4  ,the 
irregularity is exactly of the same kind

 as that of the weather4  ,no  man can  
say what may be the weather of          
to-morrow2 but the quantity of  rain    
which falls in any particular place in  
any five years1 is precisely  the same  
as the quantity which falls in any other
 five years at the same  place4  ,thus1 
while it is absolutely impossible to    
predict of any one  ,frenchman that     
during next year he will commit a crime1
 it is quite  certain that about one in 
every six hundred and fifty of the      
,french  people will do so1 because in  
past years the proportion has generally 
been about that amount1 the tendencies  
to crime in relation to the  temptations
 being everywhere invariable over a     
sufficiently wide range of  time4  ,so  
also1 the number of persons taken in    
charge by the police in  ,london for    
being drunk and disorderly on the       
streets1 is1 week by week1 a  nearly    
uniform quantity1 shewing that the      
inclination to drink to excess  is      
always in the mass about the same1      

regard being had to the existing        
temptations or stimulations to this     
vice4  ,even mistakes and oversights    
are of regular recurrence1 for it is    
found in the post-offices of large      
cities1 that the number of letters put  
in without addresses is year by  year   
the same4  ,statistics has made out an  
equally distinct regularity in  a wide  
range1 with regard to many other things 
concerning the mind1 and  the doctrine  
founded upon it has lately produced a   
scheme which may well  strike the       
ignorant with surprise4  ,it was        
proposed to establish in  ,london a     
society for ensuring the integrity of   
clerks1 secretaries1  collectors1 and   
all such functionaries as are usually   
obliged to find  security for money     
passing through their hands in the      
course of business4  ,a gentleman of the
 highest character as an actuary spoke  
of the plan in  the following           
terms3--8,if a thousand bankers' clerks 
were to club together  to indemnify     

their securities1 by the payment of one 
pound a year each1  and if each had     
given security for #ejjl41 it is obvious
 that two in  each year might become    
defaulters to that amount1 four to half 
the  amount1 and so on1 without         
rendering the guarantee fund insolvent4 
,if it  be tolerably well ascertained   
that the instances of dishonesty        
7yearly7  among such persons amount to  
one in five hundred1 this club would    
continue to exist1 subject to being in  
debt in a bad year1 to an amount  which 
it would be able to discharge in good   
ones4  ,the only question  necessary to 
be asked previous to the formation of   
such a club would  be1--may it not be   
feared that the motive to resist        
dishonesty would be  lessened by the    
existence of the club1 or that          
ready-made rogues1 by  belonging to it1 
might find the means of obtaining       
situations which they  would otherwise  
have been kept out of by the            
impossibility of obtaining  security    

among those who know them8  ,suppose    
this be sufficiently  answered by       
saying1 that none but those who could   
bring satisfactory  testimony to their  
previous good character should be       
allowed to join the  club2 that persons 
who may now hope that a deficiency on   
their parts will  be made up and hushed 
up by the relative or friend who is     
security1 will  know very well that the 
club will have no motive to decline a   
prosecution1 or to keep the secret1 and 
so on4  ,it then only remains to  ask1  
whether the sum demanded for the        
guarantee is sufficient80 #cca  ,the    
philosophical principle on which the    
scheme proceeds1 seems to be  simply    
this1 that1 amongst a given 7large7     
number of persons of good  character1   
there will be1 within a year or other   
considerable space of  time1 a          
determinate number of instances in which
 moral principle and the  terror of the 
consequences of guilt will be overcome  
by temptations of a  determinate kind   

and amount1 and thus occasion a certain 
periodical  amount of loss which the    
association must make up4    ,this      
statistical regularity in moral affairs 
fully establishes their  being under the
 presidency of law4  ,man is now seen to
 be an enigma only  as an individual2 in
 the mass he is a mathematical problem4 
,it is hardly  necessary to say1 much   
less to argue1 that mental action1 being
 proved to  be under law1 passes at once
 into the category of natural things4   
,its  old metaphysical character        
vanishes in a moment1 and the           
distinction  usually taken between      
physical and moral is annulled1 as only 
an error in  terms4  ,this view agrees  
with what all observation teaches1 that 
mental  phenomena flow directly from the
 brain4  ,they are seen to be dependent 
on  naturally constituted and naturally 
conditioned organs1 and thus  obedient1 
like all other organic phenomena1 to    
law4  ,and how wondrous  must the       
constitution of this apparatus be1 which

 gives us consciousness  of thought and 
of affection1 which makes us familiar   
with the numberless  things of earth1   
and enables us to rise in conception and
 communion to  the councils of ,god     
himself6  ,it is matter which forms the 
medium or  instrument--a little mass    
which1 decomposed1 is but so much common
 dust2  yet in its living constitution1 
designed1 formed1 and sustained by      
,almighty ,wisdom1 how admirable its    
character6 how reflective of the        
unutterable depths of that ,power by    
which it was so formed1 and is so       
sustained6    ,in the mundane economy1  
mental action takes its place as a means
 of  providing for the independent      
existence and the various relations of  
animals1 each species being furnished   
according to its special  necessities   
and the demands of its various          
relations4  ,the nervous  system--the   
more comprehensive term for its organic 
apparatus--is variously  developed in   
different classes and species1 and also 

in different  individuals1 the volume or
 mass bearing a general relation to the 
amount  of power4  ,in the mollusca and 
crustacea we see simply a ganglionic    
cord  pervading the extent of the body1 
and sending out lateral filaments4  ,in 
the vertebrata1 we find a brain with a  
spinal cord1 and branching lines  of    
nervous tissue4 #ccc  ,but here1 as in  
the general structure of  animals1 the  
great principle of unity is observed4   
,the brain of the  vertebrata is merely 
an expansion of one of the ganglions of 
the nervous  cord of the mollusca and   
crustacea4  ,or the corresponding       
ganglion of the  mollusca and crustacea 
may be regarded as the rudiment of a    
brain2 the  superior organ thus         
appearing as only a farther development 
of the  inferior4  ,there are many facts
 which tend to prove that the action of 
this apparatus is of an electric nature1
 a modification of that  surprising     
agent1 which takes magnetism1 heat1 and 
light1 as other  subordinate forms1 and 

of whose general scope in this great    
system of  things we are only beginning 
to have a right conception4  ,it has    
been  found that simple electricity1    
artificially produced1 and sent along   
the  nerves of a dead body1 excites     
muscular action4  ,the brain of a       
newly-killed animal being taken out1 and
 replaced by a substance which  produces
 electric action1 the operation of      
digestion1 which had been  interrupted  
by the death of the animal1 was resumed1
 shewing the absolute  identity of the  
brain with a galvanic battery4  ,nor is 
this a very  startling idea1 when we    
reflect that electricity is almost as   
metaphysical as ever mind was supposed  
to be4  ,it is a thing perfectly        
intangible1 weightless4  ,metal may be  
magnetized1 or heated to seven  hundred 
of ,fahrenheit1 without becoming the    
hundredth part of a grain  heavier4     
,and yet electricity is a real thing1 an
 actual existence in  nature1 as witness
 the effects of heat and light in       

vegetation--the power  of the galvanic  
current to re-assemble the particles of 
copper from a  solution1 and make them  
again into a solid plate--the rending   
force of the  thunderbolt as it strikes 
the oak2 see also how both heat and     
light  observe the angle of incidence in
 reflection1 as exactly as does the     
grossest stone thrown obliquely against 
a wall4  ,so mental action may be       
imponderable1 intangible1 and yet a real
 existence1 and ruled by the  ,eternal  
through his laws4 #cce    ,common       
observation shews a great general       
superiority of the human mind  over that
 of the inferior animals4  ,man's mind  
is almost infinite in  device2 it ranges
 over all the world2 it forms the most  
wonderful  combinations2 it seeks back  
into the past1 and stretches forward    
into the  future2 while the animals     
generally appear to have a narrow range 
of  thought and action4  ,but so also   
has an infant but a limited range1 and  
yet it is mind which works there1 as    

well as in the most accomplished        
adults4  ,the difference between mind in
 the lower animals and in man is a      
difference in degree only2 it is not a  
specific difference4  ,all who have     
studied animals by actual observation1  
and even those who have given a  candid 
attention to the subject in books1 must 
attain more or less clear  convictions  
of this truth1 notwithstanding all the  
obscurity which  prejudice may have     
engendered4  ,we see animals capable of 
affection1  jealousy1 envy2 we see them 
quarrel1 and conduct quarrels1 in the   
very  manner pursued by the more        
impulsive of our own race4  ,we see them
 liable  to flattery1 inflated with     
pride1 and dejected by shame4  ,we see  
them as  tender to their young as human 
parents are1 and as faithful to a trust 
as  the most conscientious of human     
servants4  ,the horse is startled by    
marvellous objects1 as a man is4  ,the  
dog and many others shew tenacious      
memory4  ,the dog also proves himself   

possessed of imagination1 by the act  of
 dreaming4  ,horses1 finding themselves 
in want of a shoe1 have of their  own   
accord gone to a farrier's shop where   
they were shod before4  ,cats1  closed  
up in rooms1 will endeavour to obtain   
their liberation by pulling  a latch or 
ringing a bell4  ,it has several times  
been observed that in a  field of       
cattle1 when one or two were            
mischievous1 and persisted long in      
annoying or tyrannizing over the rest1  
the herd1 to all appearance1  consulted1
 and then1 making a united effort1 drove
 the troublers off the  ground4  ,the   
members of a rookery have also been     
observed to take turns  in supplying the
 needs of a family reduced to           
orphanhood4  ,all of these  are acts of 
reason1 in no respect different from    
similar acts of men4  ,moreover1        
although there is no heritage of        
accumulated knowledge amongst  the lower
 animals1 as there is amongst us1 they  
are in some degree  susceptible of those

 modifications of natural character1 and
 capable of  those accomplishments1     
which we call education4  ,the taming   
and  domestication of animals1 and the  
changes thus produced upon their nature 
in the course of generations1 are       
results identical with civilization     
amongst ourselves2 and the quiet1       
servile steer is probably as unlike the 
original wild cattle of this country1 as
 the ,english gentleman of the  present 
day is unlike the rude baron of the age 
of ,king ,john4  ,between a  young1     
unbroken horse1 and a trained one1 there
 is1 again1 all the  difference which   
exists between a wild youth reared at   
his own discretion  in the country1 and 
the same person when he has been toned  
down by long  exposure to the influences
 of refined society4  ,on the           
accomplishments  acquired by animals it 
were superfluous to enter at any length2
 but ,i may  advert to the dogs of ,m4  
,leonard1 as remarkable examples of what
 the  animal intellect may be trained   

to4  ,when four pieces of card are laid 
down before them1 each having a number  
pronounced once in connexion  with it1  
they will1 after a re-arrangement of the
 pieces1 select any one  named by its   
number4  ,they also play at dominoes1   
and with so much skill  as to triumph   
over biped opponents1 whining if the    
adversary place a  wrong piece1 or if   
they themselves be deficient in a right 
one4  ,of  extensive combinations of    
thought we have no reason to believe    
that any  animal is capable--and yet    
most of us must feel the force of       
,walter  ,scott's remark1 that there was
 scarcely anything which he would not   
believe of a dog4  ,there is a curious  
result of education in certain  animals1
 namely1 that habits to which they have 
been trained in some  instances become  
hereditary4  ,for example1 the          
accomplishment of pointing  at game1    
although a pure result of education1    
appears in the young pups  brought up   
apart from their parents and kind4  ,the

 peculiar leap of the  ,irish horse1    
acquired in the course of traversing a  
boggy country1 is  continued in the     
progeny brought up in ,england4  ,this  
hereditariness of  specific habits      
suggests a relation to that form of     
psychological  demonstration usually    
called instinct2 but instinct is only   
another term  for mind1 or is mind in a 
peculiar stage of development2 and      
though the  fact were otherwise1 it     
could not affect the postulate1 that    
demonstrations such as have been        
enumerated are mainly intellectual      
demonstrations1 not to be distinguished 
as such from those of human  beings4    
,more than this1 the lower animals      
manifested mental phenomena long before 
man existed4  ,while as yet there was no
 brain capable of working out a         
mathematical problem1 the economy of the
 six-sided figure was exemplified  by   
the instinct of the bee4  ,ere human    
musician had whistled or piped1  the owl
 hooted in ,b flat1 the cuckoo had her  

song of a falling third1 and  the chirp 
of the cricket was in ,b4  ,the dog and 
the elephant prefigured  the sagacity of
 the human mind4  ,the love of a human  
mother for her babe  was anticipated by 
nearly every humbler mammal1 the        
carnaria not  excepted4  ,the peacock   
strutted1 the turkey blustered1 and the 
cock  fought for victory1 just as human 
beings afterwards did1 and still do4    
,our faculty of imitation1 on which so  
much of our amusement depends1 was      
exercised by the mocking-bird2 and the  
whole tribe of monkeys must have  walked
 about the pre-human world1 playing off 
those tricks in which we  see the       
comicality and mischief-making of our   
character so curiously  exaggerated4    
,the unity and simplicity which         
characterize nature give great          
antecedent  probability to what         
observation seems about to establish1   
that1 as the  brain of the vertebrata   
generally is just an advanced condition 
of a  particular ganglion in the        

mollusca and crustacea1 so are the      
brains of  the higher and more          
intelligent mammalia only farther       
developments of the  brains of the      
inferior orders of the same class4  ,or1
 to the same  purpose1 it may be said1  
that each species has certain superior  
developments1 according to its needs1   
while others are in a rudimental or     
repressed state4  ,this will more       
clearly appear after some inquiry has   
been made into the various powers       
comprehended under the term mind4       
,one of the first and simplest functions
 of mind is to give                     
consciousness--consciousness of our     
identity and of our existence4  ,this1  
apparently1 is independent of the       
senses1 which are simply media1 and1  as
 ,locke has shewn1 the only media1      
through which ideas respecting the      
external world reach the brain4  ,the   
access of such ideas to the brain is    
the act to which the metaphysicians have
 given the name of perception4  ,gall1  

however1 has shewn1 by induction from a 
vast number of actual  cases1 that there
 is a part of the brain devoted to      
perception1 and that  even this is      
subdivided into portions which are      
respectively dedicated to  the reception
 of different sets of ideas1 as those of
 form1 size1 colour1  weight1 objects in
 their totality1 events in their        
progress or  occurrence1 time1 musical  
sounds1 c4  ,the system of mind invented
 by  this philosopher--the only one     
founded upon nature1 or which even      
pretends  to or admits of that necessary
 basis--shews a portion of the brain    
acting  as a faculty of comic ideas1    
another of imitation1 another of wonder1
 one  for discriminating or observing   
differences1 and another in which       
resides  the power of tracing effects to
 causes4  ,there are also parts of the  
brain for the sentimental part of our   
nature1 or the affections1 at the  head 
of which stand the moral feelings of    
benevolence1 conscientiousness1  and    

veneration4  ,through these1 man stands 
in relation to himself1 his  fellow-men1
 the external world1 and his ,god2 and  
through these comes most  of the        
happiness of man's life1 as well as that
 which he derives from the              
contemplation of the world to come1 and 
the cultivation of his relation  to it1 
7pure religion47  ,the other sentiments 
may be briefly enumerated1  their names 
being sufficient in general to denote   
their  functions--firmness1 hope1       
cautiousness1 self-esteem1 love of      
approbation1  secretiveness1            
marvellousness1 constructiveness1       
imitation1  combativeness1              
destructiveness1 concentrativeness1     
adhesiveness1 love of  the opposite sex1
 love of offspring1 alimentiveness1 and 
love of life4  ,through these faculties1
 man is connected with the external     
world1 and  supplied with active        
impulses to maintain his place in it as 
an  individual and as a species4  ,there
 is also a faculty1 7language7 for      

expressing1 by whatever means1 7signs1  
gestures1 looks1 conventional  terms in 
speech17 the ideas which arise in the   
mind4  ,there is a  particular state of 
each of these faculties1 when the ideas 
of objects  once formed by it are       
revived or reproduced1 a process which  
seems to be  intimately allied with some
 of the phenomena of the new science of 
photography1 when images impressed by   
reflection of the sun's rays upon       
sensitive paper are1 after a temporary  
obliteration1 resuscitated on the  sheet
 being exposed to the fumes of mercury4 
,such are the phenomena of  memory1 that
 handmaid of intellect1 without which   
there could be no  accumulation of      
mental capital1 but an universal and    
continual infancy4  ,conception and     
imagination appear to be only           
intensities1 so to speak1 of  the state 
of brain in which memory is produced4   
,on their promptness and  power depend  
most of the exertions which distinguish 
the man of arts and  letters1 and even  

in no small measure the cultivator of   
science4    ,the faculties above        
described--the actual elements of the   
mental  constitution--are seen in mature
 man in an indefinite potentiality and  
range of action4  ,it is different with 
the lower animals4  ,they are there     
comparatively definite in their power   
and restricted in their  application4   
,the reader is familiar with what are   
called instincts in  some of the humbler
 species1 that is1 an uniform and       
unprompted tendency  towards certain    
particular acts1 as the building of     
cells by the bee1 the  storing of       
provisions by that insect and several   
others1 and the  construction of nests  
for a coming progeny by birds4  ,this   
quality is  nothing more than a mode of 
operation peculiar to the faculties in a
  humble state of endowment1 or early   
stage of development4  ,the cell        
formation of the bee1 the house-building
 of ants and beavers1 the  web-spinning 
of spiders1 are but primitive exercises 

of constructiveness1  the faculty which1
 indefinite with us1 leads to the arts  
of the weaver1  upholsterer1 architect1 
and mechanist1 and makes us often work  
delightedly where our labours are in    
vain1 or nearly so4  ,the storing of    
provisions by the ants is an exercise of
 acquisitiveness1--the faculty  which   
with us makes rich men and misers4  ,a  
vast number of curious  devices1 by     
which insects provide for the protection
 and subsistence of  their young1 whom  
they are perhaps never to see1 are most 
probably a  peculiar restricted effort  
of philoprogenitiveness4  ,the common   
source of  this class of acts1 and of   
common mental operations1 is shewn very 
convincingly by the melting of the one  
set into the other4  ,thus1 for         
example1 the bee and bird will make     
modifications in the ordinary form of   
their cells and nests when necessity    
compels them4  ,thus1 the               
alimentiveness of such animals as the   
dog1 usually definite with regard  to   

quantity and quality1 can be pampered or
 educated up to a kind of  epicurism1   
that is1 an indefiniteness of object and
 action4  ,the same  faculty acts       
limitedly in ourselves at first1        
dictating the special act  of sucking2  
afterwards it acquires indefiniteness4  
,such is the real  nature of the        
distinction between what are called     
instincts and reason1  upon which so    
many volumes have been written without  
profit to the world4  ,all faculties are
 instinctive1 that is1 dependent on     
internal and  inherent impulses4  ,this 
term is therefore not specially         
applicable to  either of the recognised 
modes of the operation of the faculties4
  ,we  only1 in the one case1 see the   
faculty in an immature and slightly     
developed state2 in the other1 in its   
most advanced condition4  ,in the  one  
case it is definite1 in the other       
indefinite1 in its range of  action4    
,these terms would perhaps be the most  
suitable for expressing  the            

distinction4    ,in the humblest forms  
of being we can trace scarcely anything 
besides a  definite action in a few of  
the faculties4  ,generally speaking1 as 
we  ascend in the scale1 we see more and
 more of the faculties in exercise1  and
 these tending more to the indefinite   
mode of manifestation4  ,and for  this  
there is the obvious reason in          
providence1 that the lowest animals     
have all of them a very limited sphere  
of existence1 born only to perform  a   
few functions1 and enjoy a brief term of
 life1 and then give way to  another    
generation1 so that they do not need    
much mental guidance4  ,at  higher      
points in the scale1 the sphere of      
existence is considerably  extended1 and
 the mental operations are less definite
 accordingly4  ,the  horse1 dog1 and a  
few other rasorial types1 noted for     
their  serviceableness to our race1 have
 the indefinite powers in no small      
endowment4  ,man1 again1 shews very     
little of the definite mode of          

operation1 and that little chiefly in   
childhood1 or in barbarism or  idiocy4  
,destined for a wide field of action1   
and to be applicable to  infinitely     
varied contingencies1 he has all the    
faculties developed to a  high pitch of 
indefiniteness1 that he may be ready to 
act well in all  imaginable cases4  ,his
 commission1 it may be said1 gives large
  discretionary powers1 while that of   
the inferior animals is limited to a    
few precise directions4  ,but when the  
human brain is congenitally  imperfect  
or diseased1 or when it is in the state 
of infancy1 we see in  it an approach   
towards the character of the brains of  
some of the  inferior animals4  ,dr4 ,g4
 ,j4 ,davey states that he has          
frequently  witnessed1 among his        
patients at the ,hanwell ,lunatic       
,asylum1 indications  of a particular   
abnormal cerebration which forcibly     
reminded him of the  specific healthy   
characteristics of animals lower in the 
scale of  organization2 #cdf and every  

one must have observed how often the    
actions of children1 especially in their
 moments of play1 and where their       
selfish feelings are concerned1 bear a  
resemblance to those of certain         
familiar animals4 #cdg  ,behold1 then1  
the wonderful unity of the whole        
system4  ,the grades of mind1 like the  
forms of being1 are mere stages of      
development4  ,in the humbler forms1 but
 a few of the mental faculties are      
traceable1 just as we see in them but a 
few of the lineaments of  universal     
structure4  ,in man the system has      
arrived at its highest  condition4  ,the
 few gleams of reason1 then1 which we   
see in the lower  animals1 are precisely
 analogous to such a development of the 
fore-arm as  we find in the paddle of   
the whale4  ,causality1 comparison1 and 
other of  the nobler faculties1 are in  
them rudimental4    ,bound up as we thus
 are by an identity in the character of 
our mental  organization with the lower 
animals1 we are yet1 it will be         

observed1  strikingly distinguished from
 them by this great advance in          
development4  ,we have faculties in full
 force and activity which the animals   
either  possess not at all1 or in so low
 and obscure a form as to be equivalent 
to non-existence4  ,now these parts of  
mind are those which connect us  with   
the things that are not of this world4  
,we have veneration1  prompting us to   
the worship of the ,deity1 which the    
animals lack4  ,we  have hope1 to carry 
us on in thought beyond the bounds of   
time4  ,we have  reason1 to enable us to
 inquire into the character of the      
,great ,father1  and the relation of us1
 his humble creatures1 towards him4  ,we
 have  conscientiousness and            
benevolence1 by which we can in a faint 
and humble  measure imitate1 in our     
conduct1 that which he exemplifies in   
the whole  of his wondrous doings4      
,beyond this1 mental science does not   
carry us in  support of religion3 the   
rest depends on evidence of a different 

kind4  ,but it is surely much that we   
thus discover in nature a provision for 
things so important4  ,the existence of 
faculties having a regard to such       
things is a good evidence that such     
things exist4  ,the face of ,god is     
reflected in the organization of man1 as
 a little pool reflects the  glorious   
sun4    ,the affective or sentimental   
faculties are all of them liable to     
operate  whenever appropriate objects or
 stimuli are presented1 and this they do
  as irresistibly and unerringly as the 
tree sucks up moisture which it         
requires1 with only this exception1 that
 one faculty often interferes  with the 
action of another1 and operates instead 
by force of superior  inherent strength 
or temporary activity4  ,for example1   
alimentiveness may  be in powerful      
operation with regard to its appropriate
 object1 producing  a keen appetite1 and
 yet it may not act1 in consequence of  
the more  powerful operation of         
cautiousness1 warning against evil      

consequences  likely to ensue from the  
desired indulgence4  ,this liability to 
flit from  under the control of one     
feeling to the control of another1      
constitutes  what is recognised as free 
will in man1 being nothing more than a  
vicissitude in the supremacy of the     
faculties over each other4    ,it is a  
common mistake to suppose that the      
individuals of our own species  are all 
of them formed with similar             
faculties--similar in power and         
tendency--and that education and the    
influence of circumstances produce  all 
the differences which we observe4       
,there is not1 in the old systems  of   
mental philosophy1 any doctrine more    
opposite to the truth than this4  ,it is
 refuted at once by the great           
differences of intellectual tendency    
and moral disposition to be observed    
amongst a group of young children  who  
have been all brought up in             
circumstances perfectly identical--even 
in  twins1 who have never been but in   

one place1 under the charge of one      
nurse1 attended to alike in all         
respects4  ,the mental characters of    
individuals are inherently various1 as  
the forms of their persons and the      
features of their faces are2 and        
education and circumstances1 though     
their influence is not to be despised1  
are incapable of entirely altering      
these characters1 where they are        
strongly developed4  ,that the original 
characters of mind are dependent on the 
volume of particular parts of the  brain
 and the general quality of that viscus1
 is proved by induction from  an        
extensive range of observations1 the    
force of which must have been  long     
since universally acknowledged but for  
the unpreparedness of mankind  to admit 
a functional connexion between mind and 
body4  ,the different  mental characters
 of individuals may be presumed from    
analogy to depend  on the same law of   
development which we have seen          
determining forms of  being and the     

mental characters of particular species4
  ,this we may  conceive as carrying    
forward the intellectual powers and     
moral  dispositions of some to a high   
pitch1 repressing those of others at a  
moderate amount1 and thus producing all 
the varieties which we see in our       
fellow-creatures4  ,thus a ,cuvier and a
 ,newton are but expansions of a  clown1
 and the person emphatically called the 
wicked man1 is one whose  highest moral 
feelings are rudimental4  ,such         
differences are not confined  to our    
species2 they are only less strongly    
marked in many of the  inferior animals4
  ,there are clever dogs and wicked     
horses1 as well as  clever men and      
wicked men1 and education sharpens the  
talents1 and in  some degree regulates  
the dispositions of animals1 as it does 
our own4  ,here ,i may advert to a very 
interesting analogy between the mental  
characters of the types in the quinary  
system of zoology and the  characters of
 individual men4  ,we have seen that the

 pre-eminent type is  usually endowed   
with an harmonious assemblage of the    
mental qualities  belonging to the whole
 group1 while the sub-typical inclines  
to ferocity1  the rasorial to           
gentleness1 and so on4  ,now1 amongst   
individuals1 some  appear to be almost  
exclusively of the sub-typical1 and     
others of the  rasorial characters1     
while to a limited number is given the  
finely  assorted assemblage of qualities
 which places them on a parallel with   
the  typical4  ,to this may be          
attributed the universality which marks 
all the  very highest brains1 such as   
those of ,shakespeare and ,scott1 men of
 whom  it has been remarked that they   
must have possessed within themselves   
not  only the poet1 but the warrior1 the
 statesman1 and the philosopher2 and    
who1 moreover1 appear to have had the   
mild and manly1 the moral and the       
forcible parts of our nature1 in the    
most perfect balance4    ,there is1     
nevertheless1 a general adaptation of   

the mental constitution  of man to the  
circumstances in which he lives1 as     
there is between all  the parts of      
nature to each other4  ,the goods of the
 physical world are  only to be realized
 by ingenuity and industrious exertion2 
behold1  accordingly1 an intellect full 
of device1 and a fabric of the faculties
  which would go to pieces or destroy   
itself if it were not kept in  constant 
occupation4  ,nature presents to us much
 that is sublime and  beautiful3 behold 
faculties which delight in contemplating
 these  properties of hers1 and in      
rising upon them1 as upon wings1 to the 
presence of the ,eternal4  ,it is also a
 world of difficulties and perils1  and 
see how a large portion of our species  
are endowed with vigorous  powers which 
take a pleasure in meeting and          
overcoming difficulty and  danger4      
,even that principle on which our       
faculties are constituted--a  wide range
 of freedom in which to act for all     
various  occasions--necessitates a      

resentful faculty1 by which individuals 
may  protect themselves from the undue  
and capricious exercise of each other's 
faculties1 and thus preserve their      
individual rights4  ,so also there is   
cautiousness1 to give us a tendency to  
provide against the evils by which  we  
may be assailed2 and secretiveness1 to  
enable us to conceal whatever1  being   
divulged1 would be offensive to others  
or injurious to ourselves1--a  function 
which obviously has a certain legitimate
 range of action1  however liable to be 
abused4  ,the constitution of the mind  
generally  points to a state of intimate
 relation of individuals towards        
society1  towards the external world1   
and towards things above this world4    
,no  individual being is integral or    
independent2 he is only part of an      
extensive piece of social mechanism4    
,the inferior mind1 full of rude  energy
 and unregulated impulse1 does not more 
require a superior nature  to act as its
 master and its mentor1 than does the   

superior nature  require to be          
surrounded by such rough elements on    
which to exercise its  high endowments  
as a ruling and tutelary power4  ,this  
relation of each to  each produces a    
vast portion of the active business of  
life4  ,it is easy  to see that1 if we  
were all alike in our moral tendencies1 
and all placed  on a medium of perfect  
moderation in this respect1 the world   
would be a  scene of everlasting dulness
 and apathy4  ,it requires the variety  
of  individual constitution to give     
moral life to the scene4    ,the        
indefiniteness of the potentiality of   
the human faculties1 and the  complexity
 which thus attends their relations1    
lead unavoidably to  occasional error4  
,if we consider for a moment that there 
are not less  than thirty such          
faculties1 that they are each given in  
different  proportions to different     
persons1 that each is at the same time  
endowed  with a wide discretion as to   
the force and frequency of its action1  

and  that our neighbours1 the world1 and
 our connexions with something beyond   
it1 are all exercising an ever-varying  
influence over us1 we cannot be         
surprised at the irregularities         
attending human conduct4  ,it is simply 
the penalty paid for the superior       
endowment4  ,it is here that the        
imperfection of our nature resides4     
,causality and conscientiousness are1   
it is true1 guides over all2 but even   
these are only faculties of the  same   
indeterminate constitution as the rest1 
and partake accordingly of  the same    
inequality of action4  ,man is therefore
 a piece of mechanism1  which never can 
act so as to satisfy his own ideas of   
what he might  be--for he can imagine a 
state of moral perfection1 7as he can   
imagine a  globe formed of diamonds1    
pearls1 and rubies17 though his         
constitution  forbids him to realize it4
  ,there ever will1 in the best disposed
 and  most disciplined minds1 be        
occasional discrepancies between the    

amount of  temptation and the power     
summoned for regulation or resistance1  
or  between the stimulus and the        
mobility of the faculty2 and hence those
  errors1 and shortcomings1 and         
excesses1 without end1 with which the   
good  are constantly finding cause to   
charge themselves4  ,there is at the    
same  time even here a possibility of   
improvement4  ,in infancy1 the impulses 
are all of them irregular2 a child is   
cruel1 cunning1 and false1 under  the   
slightest temptation1 but in time learns
 to control these  inclinations1 and to 
be habitually humane1 frank1 and        
truthful4  ,so is  human society1 in its
 earliest stages1 sanguinary1           
aggressive1 and  deceitful1 but in time 
becomes just1 faithful1 and benevolent4 
,to such  improvements there is a       
natural tendency which will operate in  
all fair  circumstances1 though it is   
not to be expected that irregular and   
undue  impulses will ever be altogether 
banished from the system4    ,it may    

still be a puzzle to many1 how beings   
should be born into the  world whose    
organization is such that they          
unavoidably1 even in a  civilized       
country1 become malefactors4  ,does     
,god1 it may be asked1 make  criminals8 
,does he fashion certain beings with a  
predestination to evil8  ,he does not do
 so2 and yet the criminal type of brain1
 as it is called1  comes into existence 
in accordance with laws which the ,deity
 has  established4  ,it is not1 however1
 as the result of the first or general  
intention of those laws1 but as an      
exception from their ordinary and       
proper action4  ,the production of those
 evilly disposed beings is in this      
manner4  ,the moral character of the    
progeny depends in a general way1 7as   
does the physical character also17 upon 
conditions of the parents1--both        
general conditions1 and conditions at   
the particular time of the  commencement
 of the existence of the new being1 and 
likewise external  conditions affecting 

the ftus through the mother4  ,now the  
amount of  these conditions is          
indefinite4  ,the faculties of the      
parents1 as far as  these are concerned1
 may have oscillated for the time       
towards the extreme  of tensibility in  
one direction4  ,the influences upon the
 ftus may have  also been of an extreme 
and unusual kind4  ,let us suppose that 
the  conditions upon the whole have been
 favourable for the development1 not  of
 the higher1 but of the lower           
sentiments1 and of the propensities of  
the new being1 the result will          
necessarily be a mean type of brain4    
,here1 it will be observed1 ,god no more
 decreed an immoral being1 than he      
decreed an immoral paroxysm of the      
sentiments4  ,our perplexity is in      
considering the ill-disposed being by   
himself4  ,he is only a part of a       
series of phenomena1 traceable to a     
principle good in the main1 but which   
admits of evil as an exception4  ,we    
have seen that it is for wise ends  that

 ,god leaves our moral faculties to an  
indefinite range of action2 the  general
 good results of this arrangement are   
obvious2 but exceptions of  evil are    
inseparable from such a system1 and this
 is one of them4  ,to  come to          
particular illustration--when a people  
are oppressed1 or kept in a  state of   
slavery1 they invariably contract habits
 of lying1 for the  purpose of deceiving
 and outwitting their superiors1        
falsehood being a  refuge of the weak   
under difficulties4  ,what is a habit in
 parents  becomes an inherent quality in
 children4  ,we are not1 therefore1 to  
be  surprised when a traveller tells us 
that black children in the ,west        
,indies appear to lie by instinct1 and  
never answer a white person truly  even 
in the simplest matter4  ,here we have  
secretiveness roused in a  people to a  
state of constant and exalted exercise2 
an over tendency of  the nervous energy 
in that direction is the consequence1   
and a new  organic condition is         

established4  ,this tells upon the      
progeny1 which  comes into the world    
with secretiveness excessive in volume  
and activity4  ,all other evil          
characteristics may be readily conceived
 as being  implanted in a new generation
 in the same way4  ,and sometimes not   
one1  but several generations1 may be   
concerned in bringing up the result to a
  pitch which produces crime4  ,it is1  
however1 to be observed1 that the       
general tendency of things is to a      
limitation1 not the extension of such   
abnormally constituted beings4  ,the    
criminal brain finds itself in a  social
 scene where all is against it4  ,it may
 struggle on for a time1 but  the medium
 and superior natures are never long at 
a loss in getting the  better of it4    
,the disposal of such beings will always
 depend much on the  moral state of a   
community1 the degree in which just     
views prevail with  regard to human     
nature1 and the feelings which accident 
may have caused  to predominate at a    

particular time4  ,where the mass was   
little  enlightened or refined1 and     
terrors for life or property were highly
  excited1 malefactors have ever been   
treated severely4  ,but when order is   
generally triumphant1 and reason allowed
 sway1 men begin to see the true  case  
of criminals--namely1 that while one    
large department are victims of         
erroneous social conditions1 another are
 brought to error by tendencies  which  
they are only unfortunate in having     
inherited from nature4  ,criminal       
jurisprudence then addresses itself less
 to the direct  punishment than to the  
reformation and care-taking of those    
liable to its  attention4  ,and such a  
treatment of criminals1 it may be       
farther  remarked1 so that it stop short
 of affording any encouragement to      
crime1  7a point which experience will  
determine17 is evidently no more than   
justice1 seeing how accidentally all    
forms of the moral constitution are     
distributed1 and how thoroughly mutual  

obligation shines throughout the  whole 
frame of society--the strong to help the
 weak1 the good to redeem  and restrain 
the bad4    ,the sum of all we have seen
 of the psychical constitution of man   
is1 that  its ,almighty ,author has     
destined it1 like everything else1 to be
  developed from inherent qualities1 and
 to have a mode of action depending     
solely on its own organization4  ,thus  
the whole is complete on one  principle4
  ,the masses of space are formed by    
law2 law makes them in due  time        
theatres of existence for plants and    
animals2 sensation1  disposition1       
intellect1 are all in like manner       
developed and sustained in  action by   
law4  ,it is most interesting to observe
 into how small a field  the whole of   
the mysteries of nature thus ultimately 
resolve themselves4  ,the inorganic has 
one final comprehensive law1            
,,gravitation4  ,the organic1  the other
 great department of mundane things1    
rests in like manner on one  law1 and   

that is1--,,development4  ,nor may even 
these be after all twain1  but only     
branches of one still more comprehensive
 law1 the expression of  that unity     
which man's wit can scarcely separate   
from ,deity itself4          ,,purpose  
,,and ,,general ,,condition ,,of ,,the  
,,animated ,,creation4      ,,we have   
now to inquire how this view of the     
constitution and origin of  nature bears
 upon the condition of man upon the     
earth1 and his relation  to             
supra-mundane things4    ,that enjoyment
 is the proper attendant of animal      
existence is pressed  upon us by all    
that we see and all we experience4      
,everywhere we perceive  in the lower   
creatures1 in their ordinary condition1 
symptoms of  enjoyment4  ,their whole   
being is a system of needs1 the         
supplying of  which is gratification1   
and of faculties1 the exercise of which 
is  pleasurable4  ,when we consult our  
own sensations1 we find that1 even in a 
sense of a healthy performance of all   

the functions of the animal  economy1   
,god has furnished us with an innocent  
and very high enjoyment4  ,the mere     
quiet consciousness of a healthy play of
 the mental functions--a  mind at ease  
with itself and all around it--is in    
like manner extremely  agreeable4  ,this
 negative class of enjoyments1 it may be
 remarked1 is  likely to be even more   
extensively experienced by the lower    
animals than  by man1 at least in the   
proportion of their absolute endowments1
 as their  mental and bodily functions  
are much less liable to derangement than
  ours4  ,to find the world constituted 
on this principle is only what in       
reason we would expect4  ,we cannot     
conceive that so vast a system could    
have been created for a contrary        
purpose4  ,no averagely constituted     
human  being would1 in his own limited  
sphere of action1 think of producing a  
similar system upon an opposite         
principle4  ,but to form so vast a range
  of being1 and to make being everywhere

 a source of gratification1 is          
conformable to our ideas of a ,creator  
in whom we are constantly  discovering  
traits of a nature1 of which our own is 
but a faint and  far-cast shadow at the 
best4    ,it appears at first difficult 
to reconcile with this idea the many    
miseries which we see all sentient      
beings1 ourselves included1             
occasionally enduring4  ,how1 the sage  
has asked in every age1 should a  ,being
 so transcendently kind1 have allowed of
 so large an admixture of  evil in the  
condition of his creatures8  ,do we not 
at length find an  answer to a certain  
extent satisfactory1 in the view which  
has now been  given of the constitution 
of nature8  ,we there see the ,deity    
operating in  the most august of his    
works by fixed laws1 an arrangement     
which1 it is  clear1 only admits of the 
main and primary results being good1 but
  disregards exceptions4  ,now the      
mechanical laws are so definite in their
  purposes1 that no exceptions ever take

 place in that department2 if there  is 
a certain quantity of nebulous matter to
 be agglomerated and divided  and set in
 motion as a planetary system1 it will  
be so with  hair's-breadth accuracy1 and
 cannot be otherwise4  ,but the laws    
presiding  over meteorology1 life1 and  
mind1 are necessarily less definite1 as 
they  have to produce a great variety of
 mutually related results4  ,left to act
  independently of each other1 each     
according to its separate commission1   
and each with a wide range of           
potentiality to be modified by          
associated  conditions1 they can only   
have effects generally beneficial3 often
 there  must be an interference of one  
law with another1 often a law will      
chance  to operate in excess1 or upon a 
wrong object1 and thus evil will be     
produced4  ,thus1 winds are generally   
useful in many ways1 and the sea is     
useful as a means of communication      
between one country and another2 but    
the natural laws which produce winds are

 of indefinite range of action1  and    
sometimes are unusually concentrated in 
space or in time1 so as to  produce     
storms and hurricanes1 by which much    
damage is done2 the sea may  be by these
 causes violently agitated1 so that many
 barks and many lives  perish4  ,here1  
it is evident1 the evil is only         
exceptive4  ,suppose1  again1 that a    
boy1 in the course of the lively sports 
proper to his age1  suffers a fall which
 injures his spine1 and renders him a   
cripple for  life4  ,two things have    
been concerned in the case3 first1 the  
love of  violent exercise1 and second1  
the law of gravitation4  ,both of these 
things are good in the main4  ,in the   
rash enterprises and rough sports in    
which boys engage1 they prepare their   
bodies and minds for the hard tasks  of 
life4  ,by gravitation1 all moveable    
things1 our own bodies included1  are   
kept stable on the surface of the earth4
  ,but when it chances that  the playful
 boy loses his hold 7we shall say7 of   

the branch of a tree1  and has no solid 
support immediately below1 the law of   
gravitation  unrelentingly pulls him to 
the ground1 and thus he is hurt4  ,now  
it was  not a primary object of         
gravitation to injure boys2 but         
gravitation could  not but operate in   
the circumstances1 its nature being to  
be universal  and invariable4  ,the evil
 is1 therefore1 only a casual exception 
from  something in the main good4       
,the same explanation applies to even   
the most conspicuous of the evils  which
 afflict society4  ,war1 it may be said1
 and said truly1 is a  tremendous       
example of evil1 in the misery1         
hardship1 waste of human life1  and     
mis-spending of human energies1 which it
 occasions4  ,but what is it  that      
produces war8  ,certain tendencies of   
human nature1 as keen assertion  of a   
supposed right1 resentment of supposed  
injury1 acquisitiveness1  desire of     
admiration1 combativeness1 or mere love 
of excitement4  ,all of  these are      

tendencies which are every day1 in a    
legitimate extent of  action1 producing 
great and indispensable benefits to us4 
,man would be a  tame1 indolent1        
unserviceable being without them1 and   
his fate would be  starvation4  ,war1   
then1 huge evil though it be1 is1 after 
all1 but the  exceptive case1 a casual  
misdirection of properties and powers   
essentially good4  ,god has given us the
 tendencies for a benevolent  purpose4  
,he has only not laid down any absolute 
obstruction to our  misuse of them4     
,that were an arrangement of a kind     
which he has nowhere  made4  ,but he has
 established many laws in our nature    
which tend to  lessen the frequency and 
destructiveness of these abuses4  ,our  
reason  comes to see that war is purely 
an evil1 even to the conqueror4         
,benevolence interposes to make its     
ravages less mischievous to human       
comfort1 and less destructive to human  
life4  ,men begin to find that  their   
more active powers can be exercised with

 equal gratification on  legitimate     
objects2 for example1 in overcoming the 
natural difficulties  of their path     
through life1 or in a generous spirit of
 emulation in a  line of duty beneficial
 to themselves and their                
fellow-creatures4  ,thus1  war at length
 shrinks into a comparatively narrow    
compass1 though there  certainly is no  
reason to suppose that it will be at any
 early period1 if  ever1 altogether     
dispensed with1 while man's constitution
 remains as it  is4  ,in considering an 
evil of this kind1 we must not limit our
 view to  our own or any past time4     
,placed upon the earth with faculties   
prepared  to act1 but inexperienced1 and
 with the more active propensities      
necessarily in great force to suit the  
condition of the globe1 man was  apt to 
misuse his powers much in this way at   
first1 compared with what he  is likely 
to do when he advances into a condition 
of civilization4  ,in  the scheme of    
providence1 thousands of years of       

frequent warfare1 all the  so-called    
glories which fill history1 may be only 
an exception to the  general rule4      
,the sex passion in like manner leads to
 great evils2 but the evils are  only an
 exception from the vast mass of good   
connected with this  affection4         
,providence has seen it necessary to    
make very ample provision  for the      
preservation and utmost possible        
extension of all species4  ,the  aim    
seems to be to diffuse existence as     
widely as possible1 to fill up  every   
vacant piece of space with some sentient
 being to be a vehicle of  enjoyment4   
,hence this passion is conferred in     
great force4  ,but the  relation between
 the number of beings1 and the means of 
supporting them1  is only on the footing
 of general law4  ,there may be         
occasional  discrepancies between the   
laws operating for the multiplication of
  individuals1 and the laws operating to
 supply them with the means of          
subsistence1 and evils will be endured  

in consequence1 even in our own  highly 
favoured species4  ,but against all     
these evils1 and against those          
numberless vexations which have arisen  
in all ages from the attachment of  the 
sexes1 place the vast amount of         
happiness which is derived from this    
source--the basis of the whole circle of
 the domestic affections1 the           
sweetening principle of life1 the       
prompter of all our most generous       
feelings1 and even of our most virtuous 
resolves--and every ill that can  be    
traced to it is but as dust in the      
balance4  ,and here1 also1 we must  be  
on our guard against judging from what  
we see in the world at a  particular    
era4  ,as reason and the higher         
sentiments of man's nature  increase in 
force1 this passion is put under better 
regulation1 so as to  lessen many of the
 evils connected with it4  ,the         
civilized man is more  able to give it  
due control2 his attachments are less   
the result of  impulse2 he studies more 

the weal of his partner and offspring4  
,there  are even some of the resentful  
feelings connected in early society with
  love1 such as hatred of successful    
rivalry1 and jealousy1 which almost     
disappear in an advanced stage of       
civilization4  ,the evils springing1 in 
our own species at least1 from this     
passion1 may therefore be an  exception 
mainly peculiar to a particular term of 
the world's progress1  and which may be 
expected to decrease greatly in amount4 
,with respect1 again1 to disease1 so    
prolific a cause of suffering to man1   
the human constitution is merely a      
complicated but regular process in      
electro-chemistry1 which goes on well1  
and is a source of continual            
gratification1 so long as nothing occurs
 to interfere with it  injuriously1 but 
which is liable every moment to be      
deranged by various  external agencies1 
when it becomes a source of pain1 and1  
if the injury  be severe1 ceases to be  
capable of retaining life4  ,it may be  

readily  admitted that the evils        
experienced in this way are very great2 
but1  after all1 such experiences are no
 more than occasional1 and not          
necessarily frequent--exceptions from a 
general rule of which the direct  action
 is to confer happiness4  ,the human    
constitution might have been  made of a 
more hardy character2 but we always see 
hardiness and  insensibility go         
together1 and it may be of course       
presumed that we only  could have       
purchased this immunity from suffering  
at the expense of a  large portion of   
that delicacy in which lie some of our  
most agreeable  sensations4  ,or man's  
faculties might have been restricted to 
definiteness of action1 as is greatly   
the case with those of the lower        
animals1 and thus we should have been   
equally safe from the aberrations  which
 lead to disease2 but in that event we  
should have been incapable of  acting to
 so many different purposes as we are1  
and of the many high  enjoyments which  

the varied action of our faculties      
places in our power3  we should not1 in 
short1 have been human beings1 but      
merely on a level  with the inferior    
animals4  ,thus1 it appears1 that the   
very fineness of  man's constitution1   
that which places him in such a high    
relation to the  mundane economy1 and   
makes him the vehicle of so many        
exquisitely  delightful sensations--it  
is this which makes him liable to the   
sufferings  of disease4  ,it might be   
said1 on the other hand1 that the       
noxiousness of  the agencies producing  
disease might have been diminished or   
extinguished2 but the probability is1   
that this could not have been done      
without such a derangement of the whole 
economy of nature as would have  been   
attended with more serious evils4  ,for 
example--a large class of  diseases are 
the result of effluvia from decaying    
organic matter4  ,this  kind of matter  
is known to be extremely useful1 when   
mixed with earth1 in  favouring the     

process of vegetation4  ,supposing the  
noxiousness to the  human constitution  
done away with1 might we not also lose  
that important  quality which tends so  
largely to increase the food raised from
 the  ground8  ,perhaps 7as has been    
suggested7 the noxiousness is even a    
matter  of special design1 to induce us 
to put away decaying organic substances 
into the earth1 where they are          
calculated to be so useful4  ,now man   
has  reason to enable him to see that   
such substances are beneficial under one
  arrangement1 and noxious in the other4
  ,he is1 as it were1 commanded to  take
 the right method in dealing with it4   
,in point of fact1 men do not  always   
take this method1 but allow             
accumulations of noxious matter to      
gather close about their dwellings1     
where they generate fevers and agues4   
,but their doing so may be regarded as  
only a temporary exception from the     
operation of mental laws1 the general   
tendency of which is to make men  adopt 

the proper measures4  ,and these        
measures will probably be in time       
universally adopted1 so that one        
extensive class of diseases will be     
altogether or nearly abolished4         
,another large class of diseases spring 
from mismanagement of our personal      
economy4  ,eating to excess1 eating and 
drinking what is noxious1  disregard to 
that cleanliness which is necessary for 
the right action of  the functions of   
the skin1 want of fresh air for the     
supply of the lungs1  undue1 excessive1 
and irregular indulgence of the mental  
affections1 are  all of them recognised 
modes of creating that derangement of   
the system  in which disease consists4  
,here also it may be said that a        
limitation of  the mental faculties to  
definite manifestations 7vulgo1         
instincts7  might have enabled us to    
avoid many of these errors2 but here    
again we  are met by the consideration  
that1 if we had been so endowed1 we     
should  have been only as the lower     

animals are1 wanting that transcendently
  higher character of sensation and     
power1 by which our enjoyments are made 
so much greater4  ,in making the desire 
of food1 for example1 with us an        
indefinite mental manifestation1 instead
 of the definite one1 which it is       
amongst the lower animals1 the ,creator 
has given us a means of deriving  far   
greater gratifications from food        
7consistently with health7 than the     
lower animals appear to be capable of4  
,he has also given us reason to  act as 
a guiding and controlling power over    
this and other propensities1  so that   
they may be prevented from becoming     
causes of malady4  ,we can see  that    
excess is injurious1 and are thus       
prompted to moderation4  ,we can  see   
that all the things which we feel       
inclined to take are not healthful1  and
 are thus exhorted to avoid what are    
pernicious4  ,we can also see that  a   
cleanly skin and a constant supply of   
pure air are necessary to the  proper   

performance of some of the most         
important of the organic  functions1 and
 thus are stimulated to frequent        
ablution1 and to a right  ventilation of
 our parlours and sleeping apartments4  
,and so on with the  other causes of    
disease4  ,reason may not operate very  
powerfully to these  purposes in an     
early state of society1 and prodigious  
evils may therefore  have been endured  
from disease in past ages2 but these are
 not  necessarily to be endured always4 
,as civilization advances1 reason       
acquires a greater ascendancy2 the      
causes of the evils are seen and        
avoided2 and disease shrinks into a     
comparatively narrow compass4  ,the     
experience of our own country places    
this in a striking light4  ,in the      
middle ages1 when large towns had no    
police regulations1 society was  every  
now and then scourged by pestilence4    
,the third of the people of  ,europe are
 said to have been carried off by one   
epidemic4  ,even in ,london  the annual 

mortality has greatly sunk within a     
century4  ,the improvement  in human    
life1 which has taken place since the   
construction of the  ,northampton tables
 by ,dr4 ,price1 is equally remarkable4 
,modern tables  still shew a prodigious 
mortality among the young in all        
civilized  countries--evidently a result
 of some prevalent error in the usual   
modes  of rearing them4  ,but to remedy 
this evil there is the sagacity of the  
human mind1 and the sense to adopt any  
reformed plans which may be shewn  to be
 necessary4  ,by a change in the        
management of an orphan institution  in 
,london1 during the last fifty years1 an
 immense reduction in the  mortality    
took place4  ,we may of course hope to  
see measures devised and  adopted for   
producing a similar improvement of      
infant life throughout the  world at    
large4    ,in this part of our subject1 
the most difficult point certainly lies 
in  those occurrences of disease where  
the afflicted individual has been in  no

 degree concerned in bringing the       
visitation upon himself4  ,daily        
experience shews us infectious disease  
arising in a place where the  natural   
laws in respect of cleanliness are      
neglected1 and then spreading  into     
regions where there is no blame of this 
kind4  ,we then see the  innocent       
suffering equally with those who may be 
called the guilty4  ,nay1  the          
benevolent physician who comes to       
succour the miserable beings whose      
error may have caused the mischief1 is  
sometimes seen to fall a victim to  it1 
while many of his patients recover4  ,we
 are also only too familiar  with the   
transmission of diseases from erring    
parents to innocent  children1 who1     
accordingly suffer1 and perhaps die     
prematurely1 as it  were for the sins of
 others4  ,after all1 however painful   
such cases may  be in contemplation1    
they cannot be regarded in any other    
light than as  exceptions from          
arrangements1 the general working of    

which is beneficial4    ,with regard to 
the innocence of the suffering parties1 
there is one  important consideration   
which is pressed upon us from many      
quarters1  namely--that moral conditions
 have not the least concern in the      
working of  these simply physical laws4 
,these laws proceed with an entire      
independence of all such conditions1 and
 desirably so1 for otherwise  there     
could be no certain dependence placed   
upon them4  ,thus it may  happen that   
two persons ascending a piece of        
scaffolding1 the one a  virtuous1 the   
other a vicious man1 the former1 being  
the less cautious of  the two1 ventures 
upon an insecure place1 falls1 and is   
killed1 while the  other1 choosing a    
better footing1 remains uninjured4  ,it 
is not in what  we can conceive of the  
nature of things1 that there should be a
 special  exemption from the ordinary   
laws of matter1 to save this virtuous   
man4  ,so it might be that1 of two      
physicians1 attending fever cases1 in a 

mean  part of a large city1 the one1 an 
excellent citizen1 may stand in such a  
position with respect to the beds of the
 patients as to catch the  infection1 of
 which he dies in a few days1 while the 
other1 a bad husband  and father1 and   
who1 unlike the other1 only attends such
 cases with  selfish ends1 takes care to
 be as much as possible out of the      
stream of  infection1 and accordingly   
escapes4  ,in both of these cases man's 
sense  of good and evil--his faculty of 
conscientiousness--would incline him to 
destine the vicious man to destruction  
and save the virtuous4  ,but the  ,great
 ,ruler of ,nature does not act on such 
principles4  ,he has  established laws  
for the operation of inanimate matter1  
which are quite  unswerving1 so that    
when we know them1 we have only to act  
in a certain  way with respect to them1 
in order to obtain all the benefits and 
avoid  all the evils connected with     
them4  ,he has likewise established     
moral  laws in our nature1 which are    

equally unswerving1 7allowing for their 
wider range of action17 and from        
obedience to which unfailing good is to 
be derived4  ,but the two sets of laws  
are independent of each other4          
,obedience to each gives only its own   
proper advantage1 not the advantage     
proper to the other4  ,hence it is that 
virtue forms no protection against  the 
evils connected with the physical laws1 
while1 on the other hand1 a  man skilled
 in and attentive to these1 but         
unrighteous and disregardful  of his    
neighbour1 is in like manner not        
protected by his attention to  physical 
circumstances from the proper           
consequences of neglect or breach  of   
the moral laws4    ,thus it is that the 
innocence of the party suffering for the
 faults of a  parent1 or of any other   
person or set of persons1 is evidently a
  consideration quite apart from that   
suffering4    ,it is clear1 moreover1   
from the whole scope of the natural     
laws1 that the  individual1 as far as   

the present sphere of being is          
concerned1 is to the  ,author of ,nature
 a consideration of inferior moment4    
,everywhere we see  the arrangements for
 the species perfect2 the individual is 
left1 as it  were1 to take his chance   
amidst the mle of the various laws      
affecting  him4  ,if he be found        
inferiorly endowed1 or ill befalls him1 
there was at  least no partiality       
against him4  ,the system has the       
fairness of a  lottery1 in which every  
one has the like chance of drawing the  
prize4    ,yet it is also to be observed
 that few evils are altogether unmixed4 
,god1 contemplating apparently the      
unbending action of his great laws1 has 
established others which appear to be   
designed to have a compensating1 a      
repairing1 and a consoling effect4      
,suppose1 for instance1 that1 from a    
defect in the power of development in a 
mother1 her offspring is ushered  into  
the world destitute of some of the most 
useful members1 or blind1 or  deaf1 or  

of imperfect intellect1 there is ever to
 be found in the parents  and other     
relatives1 and in the surrounding       
public1 a sympathy with the  sufferer1  
which tends to make up for the          
deficiency1 so that he is in the  long  
run not much a loser4  ,indeed1 the     
benevolence implanted in our  nature    
seems to be an arrangement having for   
one of its principal objects  to cause  
us1 by sympathy and active aid1 to      
remedy the evils unavoidably  suffered  
by our fellow-creatures in the course of
 the operation of the  other natural    
laws4  ,and even in the sufferer        
himself1 it is often found  that a      
defect in one point is made up for by an
 extra power in another4  ,the blind    
come to have a sense of touch much more 
acute than those who  see4  ,persons    
born without hands have been known to   
acquire a power of  using their feet for
 a number of the principal offices      
usually served by  that member4  ,i need
 hardly say how remarkably fatuity is   

compensated by  the more than usual     
regard paid to the children born with it
 by their  parents1 and the zeal which  
others usually feel to protect and      
succour  such persons4  ,in short1 we   
never see evil of any kind take place   
where  there is not some remedy or      
compensating principle ready to         
interfere for  its alleviation4  ,and   
there can be no doubt that in this      
manner suffering  of all kinds is very  
much relieved4    ,we may1 then1 regard 
the globes of space as theatres designed
 for the  residence of animated sentient
 beings1 placed there with this as their
  first and most obvious                
purpose--namely1 to be sensible of      
enjoyments from  the exercise of their  
faculties in relation to external       
things4  ,the  faculties of the various 
species are very different1 but the     
happiness of  each depends on the       
harmony there may be between its        
particular faculties  and its particular
 circumstances4  ,for instance1 place   

the small-brained  sheep or ox in a good
 pasture1 and it fully enjoys this      
harmony of  relation2 but man1 having   
many more faculties1 cannot be thus     
contented4  ,besides having a           
sufficiency of food and bodily comfort1 
he must have  entertainment for his     
intellect1 whatever be its grade1       
objects for the  domestic and social    
affections1 objects for the sentiments4 
,he is also a  progressive being1 and   
what pleases him to-day may not please  
him  to-morrow2 but1 in each case he    
demands a sphere of appropriate         
conditions in order to be happy4  ,by   
virtue of his superior organization1    
his enjoyments are much higher and more 
varied than those of any of the  lower  
animals2 but the very complexity of     
circumstances affecting him  renders it 
at the same time unavoidable1 that his  
nature should be often  inharmoniously  
placed and disagreeably affected1 and   
that he should  therefore be unhappy4   
,still unhappiness amongst mankind is   

the exception  from the rule of their   
condition1 and an exception which is    
capable of  almost infinite diminution1 
by virtue of the improving reason of    
man1 and  the experience which he       
acquires in working out the problems of 
society4    ,to secure the immediate    
means of happiness it would seem to be  
necessary  for men first to study with  
all care the constitution of nature1    
and1  secondly1 to accommodate          
themselves to that constitution1 so as  
to obtain  all the realizable advantages
 from acting conformably to it1 and to  
avoid  all likely evils from            
disregarding it4  ,it will be of no use 
to sit down  and expect that things are 
to operate of their own accord1 or      
through the  direction of a partial     
deity1 for our benefit2 equally so were 
it to  expose ourselves to palpable     
dangers1 under the notion that we shall1
 for  some reason1 have a dispensation  
or exemption from them3 we must         
endeavour so to place ourselves1 and so 

to act1 that the arrangements  which    
,providence has made impartially for all
 may be in our favour1 and  not against 
us2 such are the only means by which we 
can obtain good and  avoid evil here    
below4  ,and1 in doing this1 it is      
especially necessary  that care be taken
 to avoid interfering with the like     
efforts of other  men1 beyond what may  
have been agreed upon by the mass as    
necessary for  the general good4  ,such 
interferences1 tending in any way to    
injure the  body1 property1 or peace of 
a neighbour1 or to the injury of society
 in  general1 tend very much to reflect 
evil upon ourselves1 through the        
re-action which they produce in the     
feelings of our neighbour and of        
society1 and also the offence which they
 give to our own  conscientiousness and 
benevolence4  ,on the other hand1 when  
we endeavour  to promote the efforts of 
our fellow-creatures to attain          
happiness1 we  produce a re-action of   
the contrary kind1 the tendency of which

 is  towards our own benefit4  ,the one 
course of action tends to the injury1   
the other to the benefit of ourselves   
and others4  ,by the one course the     
general design of the ,creator towards  
his creatures is thwarted2 by the  other
 it is favoured4  ,and thus we can      
readily see the most substantial        
grounds for regarding all moral emotions
 and doings as divine in their  nature1 
and as a means of rising to and         
communing with ,god4  ,obedience is  not
 selfishness1 which it would otherwise  
be--it is worship4  ,the merest         
barbarians have a glimmering sense of   
this philosophy1 and it continually     
shines out more and more clearly in the 
public mind1 as a nation advances  in   
intelligence4  ,nor are individuals     
alone concerned here4  ,the same  rule  
applies as between one great body or    
class of men and another1 and  also     
between nations4  ,thus if one set of   
men keep others in the  condition of    
slaves--this being a gross injustice to 

the subjected party1  the mental        
manifestations of that party to the     
masters will be such as to  mar the     
comfort of their lives2 the minds of the
 masters themselves will  be degraded by
 the association with beings so         
degraded2 and thus1 with  some immediate
 or apparent benefit from keeping       
slaves1 there will be in  a far greater 
degree an experience of evil4  ,so also1
 if one portion of a  nation1 engaged in
 a particular department of industry1   
grasp at some  advantages injurious to  
the other sections of the people1 the   
first  effect will be an injury to those
 other portions of the nation1 and the  
second a re-active injury to the        
injurers1 making their guilt their      
punishment4  ,and so when one nation    
commits an aggression upon the  property
 or rights of another1 or even pursues  
towards it a sordid or  ungracious      
policy1 the effects are sure to be      
redoubled evil from the  offended party4
  ,all of these things are under laws   

which make the  effects1 on a large     
range1 absolutely certain2 and an       
individual1 a  party1 a people1 can no  
more act unjustly with safety1 than ,i  
could with  safety place my leg in the  
track of a coming wain1 or attempt to   
fast  thirty days4  ,we have been       
constituted on the principle of only    
being  able to realize happiness for    
ourselves when our fellow-creatures are 
also happy2 we must therefore both do to
 others only as we would have  others to
 do to us1 and endeavour to promote     
their happiness as well as  our own1 in 
order to find ourselves truly           
comfortable in this field of  existence4
  ,these are words which ,god speaks to 
us as truly through his  works1 as if we
 heard them uttered in his own voice    
from heaven4    ,it will occur to every 
one1 that the system here unfolded does 
not imply  the most perfect conceivable 
love or regard on the part of the ,deity
  towards his creatures4  ,constituted  
as we are1 feeling how vain our  efforts

 often are to attain happiness or avoid 
calamity1 and knowing that  much evil   
does unavoidably befall us from no fault
 of ours1 we are apt to  feel that this 
is a dreary view of the ,divine economy2
 and before we have  looked farther1 we 
might be tempted to say1 ,far rather let
 us cling to  the idea1 so long         
received1 that the ,deity acts          
continually for special  occasions1 and 
gives such directions to the fate of    
each individual as he  thinks meet2 so  
that1 when sorrow comes to us1 we shall 
have at least the  consolation of       
believing that it is imposed by a       
,father who loves us1 and  who seeks by 
these means to accomplish our ultimate  
good4  ,now1 in the  first place1 if    
this be an untrue notion of the ,deity  
and his ways1 it  can be of no real     
benefit to us2 and1 in the second1 it is
 proper to  inquire if there be         
necessarily in the doctrine of natural  
law any  peculiarity calculated         
materially to affect our hitherto       

supposed  relation to the ,deity4  ,it  
may be that while we are committed to   
take our  chance in a natural system of 
undeviating operation1 and are left with
  apparent ruthlessness to endure the   
consequences of every collision into    
which we knowingly or unknowingly come  
with each law of the system1 there  is a
 system of ,mercy and ,grace behind the 
screen of nature1 which is to  make up  
for all casualties endured here1 and the
 very largeness of which  is what makes 
these casualties a matter of            
indifference to ,god4  ,for the         
existence of such a system1 the actual  
constitution of nature is itself  an    
argument4  ,the reasoning may proceed   
thus3 ,the system of nature  assures us 
that benevolence is a leading principle 
in the divine mind4  ,but that system is
 at the same time deficient in a means  
of making this  benevolence of          
invariable operation4  ,to reconcile    
this to the recognised  character of the
 ,deity1 it is necessary to suppose that

 the present  system is but a part of a 
whole1 a stage in a ,great ,progress1   
and that  the ,redress is in reserve4   
,another argument here occurs--the      
economy of  nature1 beautifully arranged
 and vast in its extent as it is1 does  
not  satisfy even man's idea of what    
might be2 he feels that1 if this        
multiplicity of theatres for the        
exemplification of such phenomena as we 
see on earth were to go on for ever     
unchanged1 it would not be worthy of    
the ,being capable of creating it4  ,an 
endless monotony of human  generations1 
with their humble thinkings and doings1 
seems an object  beneath that august    
,being4  ,but the mundane economy might 
be very well as  a portion of some      
greater phenomenon1 the rest of which   
was yet to be  evolved4  ,it therefore  
appears that our system1 though it may  
at first  appear at issue with other    
doctrines in esteem amongst mankind1    
tends to  come into harmony with them1  
and even to give them support4  ,i would

 say1  in conclusion1 that1 even where  
the two above arguments may fail of     
effect1 there may yet be a faith derived
 from this view of nature  sufficient to
 sustain us under all sense of the      
imperfect happiness1 the  calamities1   
the woes1 and pains of this sphere of   
being4  ,for let us but  fully and truly
 consider what a system is here laid    
open to view1 and we  cannot well doubt 
that we are in the hands of ,one who is 
both able and  willing to do us the most
 entire justice4  ,and in this faith we 
may well  rest at ease1 even though life
 should have been to us but a protracted
  disease1 or though every hope we had  
built on the secular materials  within  
our reach were felt to be melting from  
our grasp4  ,thinking of all  the       
contingencies of this world as to be in 
time melted into or lost in  the greater
 system1 to which the present is only   
subsidiary1 let us wait  the end with   
patience1 and be of good cheer4         
,,note ,,conclusory4      ,,thus ends a 

book1 composed in solitude1 and almost  
without the cognizance  of a single     
human being1 for the sole purpose 7or as
 nearly so as may be7  of improving the 
knowledge of mankind1 and through that  
medium their  happiness4  ,for reasons  
which need not be specified1 the        
author's name is  retained in its       
original obscurity1 and1 in all         
probability1 will never  be generally   
known4  ,i do not expect that any word  
of praise which the  work may elicit    
shall ever be responded to by me2 or    
that any word of  censure shall ever be 
parried or deprecated4  ,it goes forth  
to take its  chance of instant oblivion1
 or of a long and active course of      
usefulness  in the world4  ,neither     
contingency can be of any importance to 
me1 beyond  the regret or the           
satisfaction which may be imparted by my
 sense of a  lost or a realized benefit 
to my fellow-creatures4  ,the book1 as  
far as ,i  am aware1 is the first       
attempt to connect the natural sciences 

into a  history of creation4  ,the idea 
is a bold one1 and there are many       
circumstances of time and place to      
render its boldness more than usually   
conspicuous4  ,but ,i believe my        
doctrines to be in the main true2 ,i    
believe all truth to be valuable1 and   
its dissemination a blessing4  ,at  the 
same time1 ,i hold myself duly sensible 
of the common liability to  error1 but  
am certain that no error in this line   
has the least chance of  being allowed  
to injure the public mind4  ,therefore  
,i publish4  ,my views1  if correct1    
will most assuredly stand1 and may      
sooner or later prove  beneficial2 if   
otherwise1 they will as surely pass out 
of notice without  doing any harm4      
,my sincere desire in the composition of
 the book was to give the true  view of 
the history of nature1 with as little   
disturbance as possible to  existing    
beliefs1 whether philosophical or       
religious4  ,i have made little         
reference to any doctrines of the latter

 kind which may be thought  inconsistent
 with mine1 because to do so would have 
been to enter upon  questions for the   
settlement of which our knowledge is not
 yet ripe4  ,let  the reconciliation of 
whatever is true in my views with       
whatever is true  in other systems come 
about in the fulness of calm and careful
 inquiry4  ,i cannot but here remind the
 reader of what ,dr4 ,wiseman has shewn 
so  strikingly in his lectures1 how     
different new philosophic doctrines are 
apt to appear after we have become      
somewhat familiar with them4  ,geology  
at first seems inconsistent with the    
authority of the ,mosaic record4  ,a    
storm of unreasoning indignation rises  
against its teachers4  ,in time1  its   
truths1 being found quite irresistible1 
are admitted1 and mankind  continue to  
regard the ,scriptures with the same    
respect as before4  ,so  also with      
several other sciences4  ,now the only  
objection that can be  made on such     
ground to this book1 is1 that it brings 

forward some new  hypotheses1 at first  
sight1 like geology1 not in perfect     
harmony with  that record1 and arranges 
all the rest into a system which        
partakes of  the same character4  ,but  
may not the sacred text1 on a liberal   
interpretation1 or with the benefit of  
new light reflected from nature1  or    
derived from learning1 be shewn to be as
 much in harmony with the  novelties of 
this volume as it has been with geology 
and natural  philosophy8  ,what is there
 in the laws of organic creation more   
startling  to the candid theologian than
 in the ,copernican system or the       
natural  formation of strata8  ,and if  
the whole series of facts is true1 why  
should we shrink from inferences        
legitimately flowing from it8  ,is it   
not  a wiser course1 since              
reconciliation has come in so many      
instances1 still  to hope for it1 still 
to go on with our new truths1 trusting  
that they  also will in time be found   
harmonious with all others8  ,thus we   

avoid the  damage which the very        
appearance of an opposition to natural  
truth is  calculated to inflict on any  
system presumed to require such support4
  ,thus we give1 as is meet1 a          
respectful reception to what is revealed
  through the medium of nature1 at the  
same time that we fully reserve our     
reverence for all we have been          
accustomed to hold sacred1 not one      
tittle  of which it may ultimately be   
found necessary to alter4               
,,footnotes4      #c  ,by ,mr4          
,henderson1 ,professor of ,astronomy in 
the ,edinburgh  ,university1 and        
,lieutenant ,meadows4    #e  ,made by   
,m4 ,argelander1 late director of the   
,observatory at ,abo4    #f  ,professor 
,mossotti1 on the ,constitution of the  
,sidereal ,system1 of  which the ,sun   
forms a part4--,london1 ,edinburgh1 and 
,dublin  ,philosophical ,magazine1      
,february1 #ahdc4    #i  ,the orbitual  
revolutions of the satellites of ,uranus
 have not as yet  been clearly scanned4 

,it has been thought that their path is 
retrograde  compared with the rest4     
,perhaps this may be owing to a         
bouleversement  of the primary1 for the 
inclination of its equator to the       
ecliptic is  admitted to be unusually   
high2 but the subject is altogether so  
obscure1  that nothing can be founded on
 it4    #ab  ,astronomy1 ,lardner's     
,cyclopdia4    #ag  ,m4 ,compte combined
 ,huygens's theorems for the measure of 
centrifugal force with the law of       
gravitation1 and thus formed a simple   
fundamental equation between the        
duration of the rotation of what he     
calls the producing star1 and the       
distance of the star produced4  ,the    
constants of this equation were the     
radius of the central star1 and the     
intensity of gravity at its surface1    
which is a direct consequence of its    
mass4  ,it leads directly to the third  
law of ,kepler1 which thus becomes      
susceptible of being conceived  priori  
in a cosmogonical point of  view4  ,m4  

,compte first applied it to the moon1   
and found1 to his great  delight1 that  
the periodic time of that satellite     
agrees within an hour  or two with the  
duration which the revolution of the    
earth ought to have  had at the time    
when the lunar distance formed the limit
 of the earth's  atmosphere4  ,he found 
the coincidence less exact1 but still   
very striking  in every other case4  ,in
 those of the planets he obtained for   
the  duration of the corresponding solar
 rotations a value always a little  less
 than their actual periodic times4  8,it
 is remarkable10 says he1  8that this   
difference1 though increasing as the    
planet is more distant1  preserves very 
nearly the same relation to the         
corresponding periodic  time1 of which  
it commonly forms the forty-fifth       
part10--shewing1 we may  suppose1 that  
only some small elements of the question
 had been  overlooked by the calculator4
  ,the defect changes to an excess in   
the  different systems of the           

satellites1 where it is proportionally  
greater  than in the planets1 and       
unequal in the different systems4       
8,from the  whole of these comparisons10
 says he1 8,i deduced the following     
general  result3--,supposing the        
mathematical limit of the solar         
atmosphere  successively extended to the
 regions where the different planets are
 now  found1 the duration of the sun's  
rotation was1 at each of these epochs1  
sensibly equal to that of the actual    
sidereal revolution of the              
corresponding planet2 and the same is   
true for each planetary atmosphere  in  
relation to the different               
satellites40--,cours de ,philosophie    
,positif4    #db  ,the researches on    
this subject were conducted chiefly by  
the late  ,baron ,fourier1 perpetual    
secretary to the ,academy of ,sciences  
of ,paris4  ,see his ,thorie ,analytique
 de la ,chaleur4  #ahbb4    #eb         
,delabeche's ,geological ,researches4   
#fj  ,in the ,cumbrian limestone occur  

8calamopor1 lithodendra1  cyathophylla1 
and orbicula40--,philips4  ,the asaphus 
and trinucleus  7crustacea7 have been   
found respectively in the slate rocks of
 ,wales1 and  the limestone beds of the 
grawacke group in ,bohemia4  ,that      
fragments of  crinoidea1 though of no   
determinate species1 occur in this      
system1 we  have the authority of ,mr4  
,murchison4--,silurian ,system1 p4 #gaj4
    #fb  ,such as amphioxus and myxene4 
#fd  ,miller's 8,new ,walks in an ,old  
,field40    #fh  ,june1 #ahdb4    #hd;a 
,the principal families are named       
sphenopteris1 neuropteris1 and          
pecopteris4    #hd;b  ,a specimen from  
,bengal1 in the staircase of the        
,british ,museum1 is  forty-five feet   
high4    #ic  8,some of the most        
considerable dislocations of the border 
of the  coal fields of ,coalbrookdale   
and ,dudley happened after the          
deposition of  a part of the new red    
sandstone2 but it is certain that those 
of  ,somersetshire and ,gloucestershire 

were completed before the date of that  
rock40--,philips4    #ig  ,the immediate
 effects of the slow respiration of the 
reptilia are1  a low temperature in     
their bodies1 and a slow consumption of 
food4  ,requiring little oxygen1 they   
could have existed in an atmosphere     
containing a less proportion of that gas
 to carbonic acid gas than what  now    
obtains4    #ii  ,the order to which    
frogs and toads belong4    #ajc  ,dr4   
,buckland1 quoting an article by        
,professor ,hitchcock1 in the  ,american
 ,journal of ,science and ,arts1 #ahcf4 
#ajh;a  ,murchison's ,silurian ,system1 
p4 #ehc4    #ajh;b ,buckland4    #aaj   
,in some instances1 these fossils are   
found with the contents of  the stomach 
faithfully preserved1 and even with     
pieces of the external  skin4  ,the     
pellets ejected by them 7coprolites7 are
 found in vast  numbers1 each generally 
enclosed in a nodule of ironstone1 and  
sometimes  shewing remains of the fishes
 which had formed their food4    #aad   

,de la ,beche's ,geological ,researches1
 p4 #cdd4    #abg  ,thick-skinned       
animals4  ,this term has been given by  
,cuvier to an  order in which the hog1  
elephant1 horse1 and rhinoceros are     
included4    #adi  ,intervals in the    
series were numerous in the department  
of the  pachydermata2 many of these gaps
 are now filled up from the extinct     
genera found in the tertiary formation4 
#aea  ,see paper by ,professor ,edward  
,forbes1 read to the ,british           
,association1 #ahci4    #aei            
,macculloch on the ,attributes of the   
,deity1 iii4 #efi4    #aff  8,a glass   
tube is to be bent into a syphon1 and   
placed with the  curve downwards1 and in
 the bend is to be placed a small       
portion of  mercury1 not sufficient to  
close the connexion between the two     
legs2 a  solution of nitrate of silver  
is then to be introduced until it rises 
in  both limbs of the tube4  ,the       
precipitation of the mercury1 in the    
form of  an ,arbor ,dian1 will then take

 place1 slowly1 only when the syphon is 
placed in a plane perpendicular to the  
magnetic meridian2 but if it be  placed 
in a plane coinciding with the magnetic 
meridian1 the action is  rapid1 and the 
crystallization particularly beautiful1 
taking place  principally in that branch
 of the syphon towards the north4  ,if  
the  syphon be placed in a plane        
perpendicular to the magnetic meridian1 
and a  strong magnet brought near it1   
the precipitation will commence in a    
short  time1 and be most copious in the 
branch of the syphon nearest to the     
south pole of the magnet40    #afi;a    
,fatty matter has also been formed in   
the laboratory4  ,the process  consisted
 in passing a mixture of carbonic acid1 
pure hydrogen1 and  carburetted         
hydrogen1 in the proportion of one      
measure of the first1  twenty of the    
second1 and ten of the third1 through a 
red-hot tube4    #afi;b  ,supplement to 
the ,atomic ,theory4    #agj  ,carpenter
 on ,life2 ,todd's ,cyclopdia of        

,physiology4    #aga  ,carpenter's      
,report on the results obtained by the  
,microscope in  the ,study of ,anatomy  
and ,physiology1 #ahdc4    #agb  ,see   
,dr4 ,martin ,barry on ,fissiparous     
,generation2 ,jameson's ,journal1  ,oct4
 #ahdc4  ,appearances precisely similar 
have been detected in the germs  of the 
crustacea4    #age  ,mr4 ,leonard       
,horner and ,sir ,david ,brewster1 on a 
substance  resembling                   
shell4--,philosophical ,transactions1   
#ahcf4    #agi;a  ,dr4 ,allen ,thomson1 
in the article ,generation1 in ,todd's  
,cyclopdia of ,anatomy and ,physiology4 
#agi;b  ,the term aboriginal is here    
suggested1 as more correct than         
spontaneous1 the one hitherto generally 
used4    #ahb  ,article 8,zoophytes10   
,encyclopdia ,britannica1 #gth edition4 
#ahg  ,see a pamphlet circulated by ,mr4
 ,weekes1 in #ahdb4    #aie  ,daubenton 
established the rule1 that all the      
viviparous quadrupeds  have seven       
vertebr in the neck4    #bja  ,lord's   

,popular ,physiology4  ,it is to        
,tiedemann that we chiefly owe  these   
curious observations2 but ground was    
first broken in this branch of          
physiological science by ,dr4 ,john     
,hunter4    #bjd  ,when ,i formed this  
idea1 ,i was not aware of one which     
seems  faintly to foreshadow it--namely1
 ,socrates's doctrine1 afterwards       
dilated  on by ,plato1 that 8previous to
 the existence of the world1 and beyond 
its  present limits1 there existed      
certain archetypes1 the embodiment 7if  
we  may use such a word7 of general     
ideas2 and that these archetypes were   
models1 in imitation of which all       
particular beings were created40    #bjh
  ,the numbers #a1 #c1 #f1 #aj1 #ae1    
#ba1 #bh1 c4 are formed by adding the   
successive terms of the series of       
natural numbers thus3    #a             
#a  #ab           #c  #abc         #f   
l#bcd       #aj1 c4    ,they are called 
triangular numbers1 because a number of 
points  corresponding to any term can   

always be placed in the form of a       
triangle2  for instance--      4       4
           4               4            
44          44              44          
444             444                     
4444    #a       #c           #f        
#aj    #bae  ,kirby and ,spence4    #bba
  ,see an article by ,dr4 ,weissenborn1 
in the ,new ,series of 8,magazine  of   
,natural ,history10 vol4 i4 p4 #egd4    
#bbd  8,it is a fact of the highest     
interest and moment that as the brain   
of every tribe of animals appears to    
pass1 during its development1 in        
succession through the types of all     
those below it1 so the brain of man     
passes through the types of those of    
every tribe in the creation4  ,it       
represents1 accordingly1 before the     
second month of utero-gestation1 that   
of an avertebrated animal2 at the second
 month1 that of an osseous fish2  at the
 third1 that of a turtle2 at the fourth1
 that of a bird2 at the  fifth1 that of 
one of the rodentia2 at the sixth1 that 

of one of the  ruminantia2 at the       
seventh1 that of one of the digitigrada2
 at the  eighth1 that of one of the     
quadrumana2 till at length1 at the      
ninth1 it  compasses the brain of ,man6 
,it is hardly necessary to say1 that all
 this  is only an approximation to the  
truth2 since neither is the brain of all
  osseous fishes1 of all turtles1 of all
 birds1 nor of all the species of  any  
one of the above order of mammals1 by   
any means precisely the same1  nor does 
the brain of the human ftus at any time 
precisely resemble1  perhaps1 that of   
any individual whatever among the lower 
animals4  ,nevertheless1 it may be said 
to represent1 at each of the            
above-mentioned  periods1 the aggregate1
 as it were1 of the brains of each of   
the tribes  stated2 consisting as it    
does1 about the second month1 chiefly of
 the  mesial parts of the cerebellum1   
the corpora quadrigemina1 thalami       
optici1  rudiments of the hemispheres of
 the cerebrum and corpora striata2 and  

receiving in succession1 at the third1  
the rudiments of the lobes of the       
cerebrum2 at the fourth1 those of the   
fornix1 corpus callosum1 and septum     
lucidum2 at the fifth1 the tubor        
annulare1 and so forth2 the posterior   
lobes of the cerebrum increasing from   
before to behind1 so as to cover  the   
thalami optici about the fourth month1  
the corpora quadrigemina about  the     
sixth1 and the cerebellum about the     
seventh4  ,this1 then1 is another       
example of an increase in the complexity
 of an organ succeeding its             
centralization2 as if ,nature1 having   
first piled up her materials in one     
spot1 delighted afterwards to employ her
 abundance1 not so much in  enlarging   
old parts as in forming new ones upon   
the old foundations1 and  thus adding to
 the complexity of a fabric1 the        
rudimental structure of  which is in all
 animals equally simple40--,fletcher's  
,rudiments of  ,physiology4    #bbf     
,project ,gutenberg note3 the table in  

the book is very wide4  ,since  it won't
 fit within the normal ,gutenberg       
margins1 and cannot be  reproduced      
typographically1 the rows of the table  
have been broken out as  follows4--,,dp4
    ,table shows3 scale of animal       
kingdom 7the numbers indicate orders72  
order  of animals in2 ascending series  
of rocks2 ftal human brain resembles1 in
    7,the numbers indicate orders7      
,rocks3 #a4 ,gneiss and ,mica ,slate    
system    ,ftal3 #ast month1 that of an 
avertebrated animal2    ,scale3         
,,radiata 7#a1 #b1 #c1 #d1 #e7          
,order3 ,zoophyta1 ,polypiaria          
,rocks3 #b4 ,clay ,slate and ,grawacke  
system    ,ftal3 #ast month1 that of an 
avertebrated animal2    ,scale3         
,,mollusca 7#f1 #g1 #h1 #i1 #aj1 #aa7   
,order3 ,conchifera1 ,double-shelled    
,mollusks    ,rocks3 #c4 ,silurian      
system    ,ftal3 #ast month1 that of an 
avertebrated animal2    ,scale3         
,,articulata ,annelida 7#ab1 #ac1 #ad7  
,rocks3 #c4 ,silurian system    ,ftal3  

#ast month1 that of an avertebrated     
animal2    ,scale3 ,,articulata         
,crustacea 7#ae1 #af1 #ag1 #ah1 #ai1    
#bj7    ,order3 ,crustacea1 ,annelida1  
,crustaceous ,fishes    ,rocks3 #c4     
,silurian system    ,ftal3 #ast month1  
that of an avertebrated animal2         
,scale3 ,,articulata ,arachnida         
,insecta 7#ba-ca7    ,order3            
,crustaceous ,fishes    ,rocks3 #d4 ,old
 ,red ,sandstone    ,ftal3 #ast month1  
that of an avertebrated animal2         
,scale3 ,,vertebrata ,pisces 7#cb1 #cc1 
#cd1 #ce1 #cf7    ,order3 ,true ,fishes 
,rocks3 #e4 ,carboniferous formation    
,ftal3 #bnd month1 that of a fish2      
,scale3 ,,vertebrata ,reptilia 7#cg1    
#ch1 #ci1 #dj7    ,order3 ,piscine      
,saurians 7ichthyosaurus1 c471          
,pterodactyles1 ,crocodiles1            
,tortoises1 ,batrachians    ,rocks3 #f4 
,new ,red ,sandstone    ,ftal3 #crd     
month1 that of a turtle2    ,scale3     
,,vertebrata ,aves 7#da1 #db1 #dc1 #dd1 
#de1 #df7    ,order3 ,birds    ,rocks3  

#f4 ,new ,red ,sandstone    ,ftal3 #dth 
month1 that of a bird2    ,scale3       
,,vertebrata ,mammalia3 #dg ,cetacea    
,order3 7,bone of a marsupial animal7   
,rocks3 #g4 ,oolite    ,scale3          
,,vertebrata ,mammalia3 #dh ,ruminantia 
,order3 7,bone of a marsupial animal7   
,rocks3 #h4 ,cretaceous formation       
,scale3 ,,vertebrata ,mammalia3 #di     
,pachydermata    ,order3 ,pachydermata  
7tapirs1 horses1 c47    ,rocks3 #i4     
,lower ,eocene    ,scale3 ,,vertebrata  
,mammalia3 #ej ,edentata    ,order3     
,pachydermata 7tapirs1 horses1 c47      
,rocks3 #i4 ,lower ,eocene    ,scale3   
,,vertebrata ,mammalia3 #ea ,rodentia   
,order3 ,rodentia 7dormouse1 squirrel1  
c47    ,rocks3 #i4 ,lower ,eocene       
,ftal3 #eth month1 that of a rodent2    
,scale3 ,,vertebrata ,mammalia3 #eb     
,marsupialia    ,order3 ,marsupialia    
7racoon1 opossum1 c47    ,rocks3 #i4    
,lower ,eocene    ,ftal3 #fth month1    
that of a ruminant2    ,scale3          
,,vertebrata ,mammalia3 #ec ,amphibia   

,order3 ,marsupialia 7racoon1 opossum1  
c47    ,rocks3 #i4 ,lower ,eocene       
,ftal3 #fth month1 that of a ruminant2  
,scale3 ,,vertebrata ,mammalia3 #ed     
,digitigrada    ,order3 ,digitigrada    
7genette1 fox1 wolf1 c47    ,rocks3 #aj4
 ,miocene    ,ftal3 #gth month1 that of 
a digitigrade animal2    ,scale3        
,,vertebrata ,mammalia3 #ee ,plantigrada
    ,order3 ,plantigrada 7bear7         
,rocks3 #aj4 ,miocene    ,scale3        
,,vertebrata ,mammalia3 #ee ,plantigrada
    ,order3 ,cetacea 7lamantins1 seals1 
whales7    ,rocks3 #aj4 ,miocene        
,scale3 ,,vertebrata ,mammalia3 #ef     
,insectivora    ,order3 ,edentata       
7sloths1 c47    ,rocks3 #aa4 ,pliocene  
,scale3 ,,vertebrata ,mammalia3 #ef     
,insectivora    ,order3 ,ruminantia     
7oxen1 deer1 c47    ,rocks3 #aa4        
,pliocene    ,scale3 ,,vertebrata       
,mammalia3 #eg ,cheiroptera    ,rocks3  
#aa4 ,pliocene    ,scale3 ,,vertebrata  
,mammalia3 #eh ,quadrumana    ,order3   
,quadrumana 7monkeys7    ,rocks3 #aa4   

,pliocene    ,ftal3 #hth month1 that of 
the quadrumana2    ,scale3 ,,vertebrata 
,mammalia3 #ei ,bimana    ,order3       
,bimana 7man7    ,rocks3 #ab4           
,superficial deposits    ,ftal3 #ith    
month1 attains full human character2    
#bbi  ,some poor people having taken up 
their abode in the cells under  the     
fortifications of ,lisle1 the proportion
 of defective infants produced  by them 
became so great1 that it was deemed     
necessary to issue an order  commanding 
these cells to be shut up4    #bcb      
,these affinities and analogies are     
explained in the next chapter4    #bci;a
  ,corresponding to the articulata of   
,cuvier4    #bci;b  ,a new sub-kingdom1 
made out of part of the radiata of      
,cuvier4    #bci;c  ,this is a newly    
applied term1 the reasons for which will
 be  explained in the sequel4    #bdb   
,this is preferred to grallatorial1 as  
more comprehensively  descriptive4      
,there is the same need for a substitute
 for rasorial1 which  is only applicable

 to birds4    #bdf  ,distribution and   
,classification of ,animals1 p4 #bdh4   
#bee  ,researches1 #dth edition1 i4 #ie4
    #beg  ,prichard4    #bff  ,mr4      
,swainson's arguments about the         
entireness of the circle  simiad are    
only too rigid1 for fossil geology has  
since added new genera  to this group   
and the cebid1 and there may be still   
farther additions4    #bgj  ,see        
,wilson's ,american ,ornithology2       
article1 ,fishing ,crow4    #bgd        
,project ,gutenberg note3 in the diagram
 the triangles extending  from the      
#a1b1c1d and the a1b1c1d meet at the    
same point--the line from the  #a1b1c1d 
being at around #de and the line from   
the a1b1c1d being at around  #fj4       
,despite what the text says there is no 
line labelled #e in the  diagram4--,,dp4
    #bgh  ,see ,dr4 ,prichard's         
,researches into the ,physical ,history 
of ,man4    #bhj  ,buckingham's ,travels
 among the ,arabs4  ,this fact is the   
more  valuable to the argument1 as      

having been set down with no regard to  
any  kind of hypothesis4    #bhg        
,wiseman's ,lectures on the ,connexion  
between ,science and ,revealed          
,religion1 i4 #dd4  ,the ,celtic has    
been established as a member or group of
  the ,indo-,european family1 by the    
work of ,dr4 ,prichard1 on the ,eastern 
,origin of the ,celtic ,nations4        
8,first10 says ,dr4 ,wiseman1 8he has   
examined the lexical resemblances1 and  
shewn that the primary and most  simple 
words are the same in both1 as well as  
the numerals and elementary  verbal     
roots4  ,then follows a minute analysis 
of the verb1 directed to  shew its      
analogies with other languages1 and they
 are such as manifest no  casual        
coincidence1 but an internal structure  
radically the same4  ,the  verb         
substantive1 which is minutely analysed1
 presents more striking  analogies to   
the ,persian verb than perhaps any other
 language of the  family4  ,but ,celtic 
is not thus become a mere member of this

 confederacy1  but has brought to it    
most important aid2 for1 from it alone  
can be  satisfactorily explained some of
 the conjugational endings in the other 
languages4  ,for instance1 the third    
person plural of the ,latin1 ,persian1  
,greek1 and ,sanscrit ends in nt1 nd1 1 
1 nti1 or nt4  ,now1  supposing1 with   
most grammarians1 that the inflexions   
arose from the  pronouns of the         
respective persons1 it is only in       
,celtic that we find a  pronoun that can
 explain this termination2 for there1   
too1 the same  person ends in nt1 and   
thus corresponds exactly1 as do the     
others1 with  its pronoun1 hwynt1 or    
ynt40    #bia  ,schoolcraft4    #bic    
,views of the ,cordilleras4    #cjb     
,the problem of ,chinese civilization1  
such as it is--so puzzling  when we     
consider that they are only1 as will be 
presently seen1 the child  race of      
mankind--is solved when we look to      
geographical position producing  fixity 
of residence and density of population4 

#cjg;a  ,lord's ,popular ,physiology1   
explaining observations by ,m4 ,serres4 
#cjg;b  ,conformably to this view1 the  
beard1 that peculiar attribute of       
maturity1 is scanty in the ,mongolian1  
and scarcely exists in the  ,americans  
and ,negroes4    #cji  ,of this we have 
perhaps an illustration in the          
peculiarities which  distinguish the    
,arabs residing in the valley of the    
,jordan4  ,they have  flatter features1 
darker skins1 and coarser hair than     
other tribes of  their nation2 and we   
have seen one instance of a thoroughly  
,negro family  being born to an ordinary
 couple4  ,it may be presumed that the  
conditions  of the life of these people 
tend to arrest development4  ,we thus   
see how  an offshoot of the human family
 migrating at an early period into      
,africa1  might in time1 from subjection
 to similar influences1 become ,negroes4
    #cag  ,missionary ,scenes and       
,labours in ,south ,africa4    #cbf     
8,is not ,god the first cause of matter 

as well as of mind8  ,do not  the first 
attributes of matter lie as inscrutable 
in the bosom of ,god--of  its first     
author--as those of mind8  ,has not even
 matter confessedly  received from ,god 
the power of experiencing1 in           
consequence of  impressions from the    
earlier modifications of matter1 certain
  consciousnesses called sensations of  
the same8  ,is not1 therefore1 the      
wonder of matter also receiving the     
consciousnesses of other matter  called 
ideas of the mind a wonder more flowing 
out of and in analogy with  all former  
wonders1 than would be1 on the contrary1
 the wonder of this  faculty of the mind
 not flowing out of any faculties of    
matter8  ,is it  not a wonder which1 so 
far from destroying our hopes of        
immortality1 can  establish that        
doctrine on a train of inferences and   
inductions more  firmly established and 
more connected with each other than the 
former  belief can be1 as soon as we    
have proved that matter is not          

perishable1  but is only liable to      
successive combinations and             
decombinations4    8,can we look farther
 back one way into the first origin of  
matter than we  can look forward the    
other way into the last developments of 
mind8  ,can  we say that ,god has not in
 matter itself laid the seeds of every  
faculty  of mind1 rather than that he   
has made the first principle of mind    
entirely distinct from that of matter8  
,cannot the first cause of all we  see  
and know have fraught matter itself1    
from its very beginning1  with all the  
attributes necessary to develop into    
mind1 as well as he  can have from the  
first made the attributes of mind wholly
 different from  those of matter1 only  
in order afterwards1 by an imperceptible
 and  incomprehensible link1 to join the
 two together8    8 99 99 ,the          
decombination of the matter on which    
mind rests is this a  reason why mind   
must be annihilated8  ,is the temporary 
reverting of the  mind1 and of the sense

 out of which that mind developes1 to   
their  original component elements1 a   
reason for thinking that they cannot    
again  at another later period1 and in  
another higher globe1 be again          
recombined1 and with more splendour than
 before8 99 99 ,the ,new ,testament     
does not after death here promise us a  
soul hereafter unconnected with  matter1
 and which has no connexion with our    
present mind--a soul  independent of    
time and space4  ,that is a fanciful    
idea1 not founded on  its expressions1  
when taken in their just and real       
meaning4  ,on the  contrary1 it promises
 us a mind like the present1 founded on 
time and  space2 since it is1 like the  
present1 to hold a certain situation in 
time1 and a certain locality in space4  
,but it promises a mind situated  in    
portions of time and of space different 
from the present2 a mind  composed of   
elements of matter more extended1 more  
perfect1 and more  glorious3 a mind     
which1 formed of materials supplied by  

different globes1  is consequently able 
to see farther into the past1 and to    
think farther  into the future1 than any
 mind here existing3 a mind which1 freed
 from  the partial and uneven           
combination incidental to it on this    
globe1 will  be exempt from the changes 
for evil to which1 on the present globe1
 mind  as well as matter is liable1 and 
will only thenceforth experience the    
changes for the better which matter1    
more justly poised1 will alone  continue
 to experience3 a mind which1 no longer 
fearing the death1 the  total           
decomposition1 to which it is subject on
 this globe1 will  thenceforth continue 
last and immortal40--,,hope1 on the     
,origin and  ,prospects of ,man1 #ahca4 
#cca  ,dublin ,review1 ,aug4 #ahdj4     
,the ,guarantee ,society has since been 
established1 and is likely to become a  
useful and prosperous institution4      
#ccc  ,the ray1 which is considered the 
lowest in the scale of fishes1 or  next 
to the crustaceans1 gives the first     

faint representation of a brain  in     
certain scanty and medullary masses1    
which appear as merely composed  of     
enlarged origins of the nerves4    #cce 
,if mental action is electric1 the      
proverbial quickness of  thought--that  
is1 the quickness of the transmission of
 sensation and  will--may be presumed to
 have been brought to an exact          
measurement4  ,the  speed of light has  
long been known to be about #aib1jjj    
miles per second1  and the experiments  
of ,wheatstone have shewn that the      
electric agent  travels 7if ,i may so   
speak7 at the same rate1 thus shewing a 
likelihood  that one law rules the      
movements of all the 8imponderable      
bodies40  ,mental action may accordingly
 be presumed to have a rapidity equal to
 one  hundred and ninety-two thousand   
miles in the second--a rate evidently   
far  beyond what is necessary to make   
the design and execution of any of our  
ordinary muscular movements apparently  
identical in point of time1 which  they 

are4    #cdf  ,phrenological ,journal1  
xv4 #cch4    #cdg  ,a pampered lap-dog1 
living where there is another of its own
  species1 will hide any nice morsel    
which it cannot eat1 under a rug1 or  in
 some other by-place1 designing to enjoy
 it afterwards4  ,i have seen  children 
do the same thing4