42 THE HISTORY OF CREATION. 



first time, it became possible to arrange the immense mass of 

 different organic forms according to tlieir greater or less 

 degree of resemblance, and to obtain an easy survey of the 

 general outlines of sucb a "system." Linnseus facilitated 

 tbe tabulation and survey of this " system " of plants and 

 animals still more by placing together the most nearly 

 similar genera into so-called orders (ordines) ; and by 

 uniting the most nearly similar orders into still more com- 

 prehensive main divisions or classes. Thus, according to 

 Linnaeus, each of the two organic kingdoms were broken up 

 into a number of classes, the vegetable kingdom into twenty- 

 four, and the animal kingdom into six. Each class again 

 contains several orders. Every single order may contain 

 a number of genera, and, again, every single genus several 

 species. 



Valuable as was Linnaeus' binary nomenclature in a prac- 

 tical way, in bringing about a comprehensive systematic 

 distinction, designation, arrangement, and division of the 

 organic world of forms, yet the incalculable theoretical 

 influence which it gained forthwith in relation to the 

 history of creation was no less important. Even now all 

 the important fundamental questions as to the history of 

 creation turn finally upon the decision of the very 

 remote and unimportant question, What really are kinds or 

 species ? Even now the idea of organic species may be 

 termed the central point of the whole question of creation, 

 the disputed centre, about the difierent conceptions of 

 which Darwinists and Anti-Darwinists fight. 



According to Darwin's opinion, and that of his adherents, 

 the difierent species of one and the same genus of animals 

 and plants are nothing else than difierently developed 



