BARON CUVIER. 85 



nary Discourse to the Fossil Remains (which 

 has been pubhshed in a separate form, has un- 

 dergone several editions, and been translated 

 into almost every modern language, under the 

 title of " Theory of the Earth"), treating of the 

 revolutions of the globe, he says, " Antiquary of 

 a new species, I have been obliged at once to 

 learn how to restore these monuments of past 

 times, and to dccypher their meaning. I have 

 been obliged to collect and bring together the 

 fragments which compose them into their pri- 

 mitive order ; to reconstruct these ancient be- 

 ings ; to reproduce them, with their proportions 

 and characters; and, lastly, to compare them 

 with those which now live on the surface of the 

 globe." 



To this task did M. Cuvier devote a large 

 portion of his life, and his first care was, to de- 

 termine the living and fossil species of elephants, 

 which form the subject of the first volume. The 

 plan he adopted was, to describe the osteology 

 of the best known species ; to point out the 

 countries they inhabit ; to ascertain how many 

 species have been found ; and, then, to compare 

 them with those bones which are in a fossil state. 

 He himself visited many of the spots whence 

 these remains had been taken ; such as Eng- 



G 3 



