374- CHARACTERISTIC. , 246. 



" Solid : taste ;" where solidity is the condition under which 

 the property of exciting some taste must necessarily take 

 place. The characters, and every single mark which they 

 contain, must be taken literally ; and they admit of no expla- 

 nation or other accessory significations, but that which is 

 really expressed by the words. In the instance just men- 

 tioned, it would be erroneous to infer, that if a mineral 

 which shall belong to the first class is not solid, it must be 

 insipid. The character does not express this ; and it is 

 therefore quite indifferent whether, if not solid, the mine- 

 ral has any taste or not. Sometimes the conditioning part, 

 sometimes the conditioned part of the characteristic mark, 

 at other times both of them, are compound. Yet the em- 

 ployment of the conditioned characteristic mark is not dif- 

 ferent from that of the absolute ones, as explained above. 



. 246. ARRANGEMENT OF THE CHARACTERS OF 

 THE SPECIES. 



The arrangement of the characters of the species 

 must be such, that, by their assistance, the deter- 

 mination of the individuals receives the greatest evi- 

 dence which the science can possibly produce. 



The only thing we may reasonably demand from the 

 characters of the classes, the orders and genera, is, that they 

 should exclude every individual which does not belong to 

 them, and that they should not exclude those which these uni- 

 ties comprehend. It is quite indifferent by what properties, 

 and in what manner this is effected, provided the properties 

 be sufficient for a general distinction within their sphere, and 

 the method agreeable to the principles of Natural History. 

 The character of the species requires something more. 

 For here the object of our inquiry is not only to know that 

 a given individual is not excluded from a certain species, 

 but we wish to find out, and to convince ourselves, that it 

 really does belong to that species. For this reason the 



