138 Scientific Notices. 



" as important a fact to science, even if these animals should prove to 

 " be the young and adult of the same species, by demonstrating the change 

 " that takes place in the animal at different stages of life, as if these 

 " differences, according to their own supposition, should be found to be 

 " specifick." p. 1 10. Notwithstanding the explicitness with which 

 they imagined they had expressed themselves on this point, they find 

 their problematical species enrolled by M. Lesson among their other 

 " nominal species," and " pretended novelties." With an originality 

 truly edifying when the foregoing passage is taken into consideration, M. 

 Lesson suggests as a new and brilliant idea, proper to himselfj, the doubt, 

 whether one species may not be the young of the other / — But it would be 

 an act of injustice to this writer to conceal the fact that he has brought 

 other weapons to his aid in this " encounter of wits" besides mere con- 

 jecture. M. Lesson, it appears, has added to his other accomplishments a 

 proficiency in the art of logick. Such also we may remember was the 

 case with Aristotle, the first naturalist in every sense of the word, whose 

 works we have on record. In imitation of his great prototype, our modern 

 Stagyrite calls the powers of syllogism to his aid. He argues in form that 

 " en bonne logique" we may as well create species among the lords of the 

 creation themselves in consequence of the variation in the longitude of their 

 noses, as among the aforesaid inonkies. Mr. Vigors and Dr. Horsfield, 

 although thus convicted of breakmg the head of Aristotle, have yet paid 

 some attention to his favourite art. They were aware that it would have 

 been as inconsistent with the rules of fair reasoning to institute species 

 among monkies from the length of their noses, as among certain animals, 

 which for obvious reasons shall at present be nameless, from the length 

 of their ears ; — they knew, in fact, that other characters besides these 

 evanescent proportions were necessary to discriminate between the qua- 

 drumanous as well as the solipede animal. And they dwelt upon such 

 characters accordingly. " The claims of our animal to a separate apeci- 

 " fick title, rest chiejl;/ upon the nose 2Lnd facial angW^ — "from the 

 " difference in the shape of the nose, and more particularly from the 

 " difference in the /aciaZ angle.'^ — "With so great a disproportion be- 

 " tweenthe facial angles of both animals," &c. — Other minour points 

 of difference are also introduced, although not insisted upon ; but the 

 character above mentioned is one on which the writers in the Journal, 



