64 THE HISTORY OF CEEATION. 



wliicli it has gradually spread over the rest of the earth. 

 Instead of this, Agassiz assumes each species to have been 

 created at several points of the earth's surface, and that in 

 each case a large number of individuals was created. 



The " natural system " of organisms, the different groups 

 and categories of which arranged above one another — 

 namely, the branches, classes, orders, families, genera, and 

 species — we consider, in accordance with the Theory of 

 Descent, as different branches and twigs of the organic family- 

 tree, is, according to Agassiz, the direct expression of the 

 divine plan of creation, and the naturalist, while investigat- 

 ing the natural system, repeats the creative thoughts of God. 

 In this Agassiz finds the strongest proof that man is the 

 image and child of God. The different stages of groups or 

 categories of the natural system correspond with the different 

 stages of development which the divine plan of creation 

 had attained. The Creator, in projecting and carrying out 

 this plan, starting from the most general ideas of creation, 

 plunged more and more into specialities. For instance, 

 when creating the animal kingdom, God had in the first 

 place four totally distinct ideas of animal bodies, which he 

 embodied in the difierent structures of the four great, 

 principal forms, types, or branches of the animal kingdom; 

 namely, vertebrate animals, articulate animals, molluscous 

 animals, and radiate animals. The Creator then, having 

 reflected in what manner he might vary these four different 

 plans of structure, next created within each of the four 

 principal forms, several different classes — for example, in 

 the vertebrate animal form, the classes of mammals, 

 birds, reptiles, amphibious animals, and fishes. Then 

 God further reflected u[)on the individual classes, and by 



