28 FINAL CAUSES. 



point, on which they concentrate their united 

 powers of illumination. 



The more we extend our knowledge of the ope- 

 rations of creative power, as manifested in the 

 structure and economy of organized beings, the 

 better we become quahfied to appreciate the inten- 

 tions with which the several arrangements and con- 

 structions have been devised, the art with which 

 they have been accomplished, and the grand com- 

 prehensive plan of which they form a part. By 

 knowing the general tendencies of analogous for- 

 mations, we can sometimes recognise designs that 

 are but faintly indicated, and trace the links which 

 connect them with more general laws. By ren- 

 dering ourselves familiar with the hand- writing 

 where the characters are clearly legible, we gra- 

 dually learn to decypher the more obscure passages, 

 and are enabled to follow the continuity of the nar- 

 rative through chapters which would otherwise ap- 

 pear mutilated and defaced. Hence the utility of 

 comprehending in our studies the whole range of 

 the organized creation, with a view to the discovery 

 of final causes, and obtaining adequate ideas of the 

 power, the wisdom, and the goodness of God. 



Chapter II. 



THE FUNCTIONS OF LIFE. 



The intentions of the Deity in the creation of the 

 animal kingdom, as far as we are competent to 

 discern or comprehend them, are referable to the 

 following classes of objects. The first relates to 



