BUFFONFULLER QUOTATIONS. 119 



and ambiguous, or, rather, it must appear so to those 

 who believe the hypothetical order of their own ideas 

 to be the real order of things, and who see nothing in 

 the infinite chain of existences but a few apparent 

 points to which they will refer everything. 



" But we cannot know Nature by inclosing her action 

 within the narrow circle of our own thoughts. . . . 

 Instead of limiting her action, we should extend it 

 through immensity itself; we should regard nothing 

 as impossible, but should expect to find all things 

 supposing that all things are possible nay, are. 

 Doubtful species, then, irregular productions, anoma- 

 lous existences will henceforth no longer surprise us, 

 and will find their place in the infinite order of things 

 as duly as any others. They fill up the links of the 

 chain ; they form knots and intermediate points, and 

 also they mark its extremities : they are of especial 

 value to human intelligence, as providing it with cases 

 in which Nature, being less in conformity with herself, 

 is taken more unawares, so that we can recognize singu- 

 lar characters and fleeting traits which show us that her 

 ends are much more general than are our own views of 

 those ends, and that, though she does nothing in vain, yet 

 she does but little with the designs which we ascribe 

 to her." * 



"The pig," he continues, "is not formed on an 

 original, special, and perfect type ; its type is com- 

 pounded of that of many other animals. It has parts 

 which are evidently useless, or which at any rate it 

 cannot use such as toes, all the bones of which are 

 * Tom. v. p. 103, 1755. 



