164 



AFFINITIES AND GEOGRAPHICAL 

 DISTKIBUTION OF OBGANISMS. 



ALL trutli being self-consistent, we might expect that this view 

 of the history of organic nature, if sound, would accord with a 

 just classification of Plants and Animals, supposing such to 

 exist. It is certainly very desirable that our hypothesis could 

 have been subjected to this test ; but it cannot be, for natu- 

 ralists are as yet only struggling towards true classifications in 

 both kingdoms. We may, nevertheless, make some inquiry 

 into at least the general lineaments of that order which has 

 long been alleged to exist in animated nature, with a view to 

 ascertaining how far any such order agrees with a genealogical 

 system. 



The result of any investigations which I have been able to 

 make, is, that there is an order in animated nature, but that it 

 has hitherto been much misunderstood. We see some pointing 

 to that " chain of being," or series of ascending forms, which 

 has long been supposed to extend between the animalcule and 

 the human being. It has been on the other hand successfully 

 shown that beings do not form " a single and continuous 

 series ;" that it is " impossible to place all living animals in 

 such an order that we may always pass from one species to 

 another by following a decrease in perfection." " On the one 

 hand, there are classes of animals so insulated, that nothing- 

 connects them with others." " On the other, there are types 

 of organization which are absolutely indivisible, and of which 

 the most perfect beings are superior to the mean of another 

 type, while the most imperfect are inferior to it." A solution 

 for the difficulty may be found, if we contemplate the animal 

 kingdom (and, by consideration of parity, we may presume the 

 vegetable also) as consisting of a plurality of series going on 

 side by side with each other, but not all to the same point in 



