396 Mr. N. A. Vicors on the Natural Affinities 
cies, while they remained comparatively few in number, was 
easily acquired and retained. And the naturalist, in devoting 
his attention to them, seemed to have had no other object in 
view but to study them in detached and isolated groups, un- 
compared and unconnected with each other. Nay, after the 
gradual increase of the materials of zoology had rendered sy- 
stematic arrangement necessary for their illustration and com- 
prehension, the various systems proposed by scientific writers 
were confessedly artificial, and instituted alone for the avowed 
purpose of forming an easy reference, by which the names and 
qualities of individuals might be discovered. Classification thus 
held out but a mere index to the volume of Nature ; a catalogue 
which the naturalist might consult to determine a name or iden- 
tify a species. But new subjects arrived to perplex by their mul- 
titude, and new forms to confound by their variety, the limited 
views of the systematist. The natural growth of his subject, as 
it expanded beneath his hands, was sufficient of itself to break 
through the artificial fetters with which he would have circum- 
scribed it. Forced to abandon the narrow paths of his predeces- 
sors in a pursuit which seemed calculated, by the inexhaustible 
profusion it exhibited, to baffle all research, the true naturalist 
sought in Nature herself for the means of unravelling her appa- 
rent perplexities. He studied the affinities of her various groups ; 
he investigated the mutual relations by which they seemed to 
approach each other; he applied to comparative anatomy as a 
guide to their analogous conformation; and he traced out their 
geographical distribution as some clue through the “ mighty 
maze” that lay before him. His mind expanded as the materials 
of his research became multiplied. He learned to generalize his 
observations. He looked upon the creation with a more enlarged 
and philosophic eye—he applied a grander scale to its dimen- 
sions—and he ceased to dwell merely on the wonders of the 
indi- 
