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 all 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 



