136 SPECIES AND BREEDS. 



and Genus as much as of its Species. Specific 

 characters are only those determining size, pro- 

 portion, color, habits, and relations to surround- 

 ing circumstances and external objects. How 

 superficial, then, must be any one's knowledge of 

 an animal who studies it only with relation to its 

 specific characters ! He will know nothing of the 

 finish of special parts of the body, — nothing of 

 the relations between its form and its structure, 



— nothing of the relative complication of its or- 

 ganization as compared with other allied animals, 



— nothing of the general mode of execution of 

 its structure, — nothing of the general plan of 

 structure expressed in that mode of execution. 

 Yet, with the exception of the ordinal charac- 

 ters, which, since they imply relative superiority 

 and inferiority, require, of course, a number of 

 specimens for comparison, his one animal would 

 tell him all this as well as the specific characters. 



All the more comprehensive groups, equally 

 with Species, are based upon a positive, perma- 

 nent, specific principle, maintained generation 

 after generation with all its essential characteris- 

 tics. Individuals are the transient representa- 

 tives of all these organic principles, which cer- 

 tainly have an independent, immaterial existence, 

 since they outlive the individuals that embody 

 them, and are no less real after the generation 

 that has represented them for a time has passed 

 away, than they were before. 



