1910.] Relatioits of Ari.stotic to Ray and Linnmus. 11 



placing Aristotle at the head of those naturalists to whom the first views of 

 the necessity of a zoological system are due" (op. cit., p. 352). And again 

 (p. 350) : "Aristotle does show, as far as could be done at his time, a percep- 

 tion of the need of groups, and of names of groups, in the study of the anianal 

 kingdom; and thus may justly be held up as the great figure in the Prelude 

 to the Formation of Systems which took place in the more advanced scientific 

 times." Aristotle also perceived the principle of adaptation (see Osborn, 

 1894, p. 45) and his idea of a graded series of beings from po\Yp to man 

 doubtless contained the germ of the theory of evolution (Osborn, op. cit., 

 p. 44). 



The true relation of Aristotle as a zoologist to Ray and Linnfeus is ex- 

 hibited in the following well-known citations by Whewell {op. cit., p. 347) 

 from 'The Parts of Animals.' 



"Some animals are viviparous, some oviparous, some vermiparous. 

 The viviparous are such as man, and the horse, and all those animals which 

 have hair; and of the aquatic animals, the whale kind as the dolphin and 

 cartilaginous fishes ^ (Book I, Chap. v). 



Of quadrupeds which have blood and are viviparous, some are (as to 

 their extremities), many-cloven, as the hands and feet of man. For some 

 are many-toed, as the lion, the dog, the panther; some are bifid, and have 

 hoofs instead of nails, as the sheep, the goat, the elephant, the hippopotamus; 

 and some have undivided feet, as the solid-hoofed animals, the horse and ass. 

 The swine kind share both characters ' (Book II, Chap. vii). 



Ray, Klein and later writers undoubtedly had this passage in mind when 

 they used the descriptive terms "multifido," "bifido," "solidungula," 

 "ungulata," "unguiculata," "fissipedes." Here, also, attention is directed 

 to the feet as exhibiting characteristic differences. 



In another passage Aristotle says: 



"Animals have also great differences in the teeth, both when compared 

 with each other and with man. For all quadrupeds which have blood and 

 are viviparous, have teeth. And in the first place, some are ambidental,^ 

 (having teeth in both jaws;) and some are not so, Avanting the front teeth 

 in the upper jaw. Some have neither front teeth nor horns, as the camel; 

 some have tusks,* as the boar, some have not. Some have serrated ^ teeth 

 as the lion, the panther, the dog; some have the teeth unvaried," as the horse 

 and the ox; for the animals which vary their cutting teeth have all serrated 



^ In reference to the viviparity of certain sharlcs. 



2 An allusion to the "mule footed" swine monstrosities in which the median digits are 

 fused, and terminate in a solid composite hoof. 



3 A(i.<j)d8ovTa * XauXio'SovTa 



5 Kapx^apdSovra e 'AvcTraXXaKxa 



