202 STUDY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
other so harmoniously, —that he begins to think the 
task much easier than he at first expected ; and that 
he will not only be able to prove, by these very ex- 
amples before him, the absolute connection of one 
given genus to another, but also to demonstrate 
that the scale of nature is simple—that is, passing 
in a straight line from the highest to the lowest 
organised forms. All these ideas, however (ge- 
nerally resulting from partial reasening or from 
limited information ), are soon found to be fallacious. 
As the student proceeds, he meets with some insects 
which disturb the regularity of his series, and with 
others which he knows not where to place. He still 
goes on, however, introducing the former, in the best 
way he can, among those to which they have an evi- 
dent affinity, and placing the latter by themselves, 
under the hope of finally discovering their proper place. 
The further he proceeds, however, these difficulties 
are rather increased than diminished. He remodels 
his groups, and alters his series ; still he cannot reduce 
all into harmonious order. What he gains by one 
modification of arrangement, he loses by another ; 
and affinities, which were preserved in his first 
series, are destroyed, that a place may be found for 
other insects, which seem to have equally strong 
relations, although, in some respects, they evidently 
disturb the order of progression. But his difficul- 
ties do not terminate here ; for, admitting the possi- 
bility of his success in bringing every species into 
an appropriate group, the union of these groups 
among themselves opens a new source of embarrass- 
ment. It is plain that, in the order of nature, they 
must follow one another in some sort; for if there 

