BARON CUVIER. 315 



corporeal existence unimpaired, and also contri- 

 buted to the perfection of his mental vigour ; for 

 more than forty years he had been unremittingly 

 labouring to perfect his great views in science 

 and legislature; and concerning the former he 

 was about to give to the w^orld the results of his 

 researches and reflections. *' His intention was 

 to review all his works, and put them on a foot- 

 ing with the last discoveries, and then to deduce 

 from them all the consequences, all tlie general 

 principles, which appeared to him to emanate 

 irom such an assemblage of facts, though he did 

 not think it possible, in the present state of 

 human knowledge, to establish a general theory. 

 All his studies, all his meditations had convinced 

 him of the philosophical principle, that organised 

 beings exist for an end, for a special object; but 

 he did not admit any scientific theory, and with 

 all his energy maintained that it was not yet 

 possible for any to be formed." * But even the 

 entire publication of these facts, of these deduc- 

 tions, was denied to us by the inscrutable w^ays of 

 the Almighty ; perhaps we were not yet worthy 

 of penetrating so deeply into the mysteries of 

 creation as had been given to this one gigantic 



* Laurillard. 



