GENERATION OF ANIMALS. 263 



mals to propagate their fpecies ; for their -bodies 

 are full grown before they are transformed. 

 The infed:, immediately before its transforma- 

 tion, ceafes to take nourishment; and it has no 

 organs proper for generation, no means of con- 

 verting the nutritive particles, with which it a- 

 bounds more than any other fpecies of animals, 

 into eggs, or a feminal fluid. Hence the whole 

 of this great furplus of nutritive particles at firft 

 unites and moulds itfelf into a form nearly re- 

 fembling that of the original animal. The ca- 

 terpillar becomes a butterfly, becaufe, having no 

 organs of generation, no refervoirs for contain- 

 ing the Superfluous nutritive particles, and, con- 

 fequently, being incapable of producing minute 

 organic bodies flmilar to the animal itfelf, the 

 organic nutritive particles, which are always ac- 

 tive, aflume, by their union, the form of a but- 

 terfly, partly refembling that of a caterpillar, 

 both internally and externally, except that 

 the parts of generation are unfolded, and ren- 

 dered capable of receiving and tranfmitting the 

 nutritive organic particles which form the eggs 

 and individuals peculiar to the fpecies. The 

 individuals produced by the butterfly ought not 

 to be butterflies, but caterpillars; becaufe it was 

 the caterpillar that received the nourlfliment, 

 and becaufe the organic particles of this nouriflr- 

 ment mufl: therefore be aflimllated into the form 

 of a caterpillar, and not of a butterfly, which is 

 only an occafioaal produdion of the fuperfluous 



nourifhmeut 



