Reflections on some Miner ah gical Systems. 4 1 5 



T inquired if it was the common or the white Polar bear 

 [Ursus maritimus], and was answered, " It may be the 

 passage from one to the other." (Es mag wold ein ulergang 

 scyn.) The mineral kingdom, in appropriating this unfor- 

 tunate bear, has rendered it the subject of an absurdity. 



With the word passage we may associate two other fa- 

 vourites in the same class; modification and tendence*. For- 

 merly manganese was considered as a modification of iron; 

 nickel, cobalt, lime, magnesia, the earths and alkalis, al- 

 most all were modifications. It might have been said that 

 in modifying nature produced all. When a man is afraid 

 of saying he does not know, he speaks of modification. But 

 philosophy, in appropriating to itself the sciences, has ba- 

 nished this fear ; and, in fact, what are all these pretended 

 modifications, but modifications of our ignorance ? 



In the same cabinet of petrifications I saw a disciple of 

 the transcendent philosophy who admired each specimen, 

 was enraptured with a lichen, and in ecstasv before a fish. 

 " You believe/' said he, " that these are real impressions of 

 animals and plants. No; they are tendencies in nature to 

 form them ; tendencies to organization, — trials." Con- 

 ducting him gently near a beautiful piece of Florence marble, 

 <( Behold," said f, " a tendency in nature to build ruins." 

 I also demonstrated to him, by graphical granite, that nature 

 had a tendency to write ! 



The philosopher supported his opinions on the circum- 

 stance that among the petrifications we find natural species 

 which no longer exist : now, it is contrary to the svstem of 

 dualism that a species should be extinguished, as then the 

 sum of all the quantities in the universe would be no longer 

 equal to zero. I observed to him that these species might 

 be concealed for the moment in caverns. Yet he occupies 

 a distinguished place in the mines of Germany, and will 

 soon appear before the world in the character of an author. 

 How little honourable are these dreams, of which transcend- 

 entalism is so proud, even to human weakness ! 



SYSTEMATIC PRINCIPLES OF CLASSIFICATION. 



Besides the division into species, five or six other general 

 ones are admitted in mineralogy (Kmmerling, p. 27, vol. i. 

 2d edition ; and Brochant, vol. i, p. 45), classes, genera, 

 subspepies, 8cc. There are, it is said, as many classes as 

 fundamental principles, («rund lestandtheile) marking, and 

 predominating in, the combination of minerals ; the earths, 



* To these maybe added Mr. Jameson's English terms of Jijctz, suite, 

 foimatiuii. suiie, drusy, &c. fijfc* — Trans. 



salts, 



