158 STUDY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
consideration. No one, who believes that the cre- 
ation is the work of Omnipotence, can for a moment 
suppose that it was called into being without some 
great plan, or method. It therefore follows, that, 
unless our exposition of such parts of this plan as 
we believe we have discovered, is found equally 
applicable to a// groups in nature, there is induc- 
tive evidence to believe that our theory is funda- 
mentally wrong. It is contrary, as we before 
observed, to the sense of the word method, that 
quadrupeds should have been created on one 
system, birds upon another, and insects on a third. 
The harmonies of the natural world are every where 
conspicuous; and how can we suppose that the 
most perfect works of the Creator, save and except 
man, have been framed without any regard to unity 
of plan, and harmony of purpose? The supposition 
-is monstrous, and not to be admitted for a moment. 
This alone should be sufficient to shake our pre- 
judices in favour of all such systems or theories as 
are made applicable to one division of nature, but 
not to the others. 
(97.) Having now, as we hope, sufficiently 
warned the student against prejudices of opinion, 
by pointing out to him those rules by which the 
value of all systems and theories regarding his 
favourite science are to be judged, we shall advert 
to those few prejudices of sense which belong to 
this science; and which, however trivial they may 
appear in themselves, may be productive of essential 
injury to science when used as arguments. 
(98.) Prejudices of sense, in natural history, are 
chiefly confined to opinions derived from witnessing 
