126 On the Existence of the Unicorn. 
horn of a quadruped, it was thence concluded that the unicorn had 
never existed, and consequently that it was only a fabulous animal, 
whose nonexistence was mechanically demonstrated by Kamper. 
Without detracting from the celebrity of this great anatomist, we do 
not cite his demonstration, persuaded that the beauties of nature and 
her admirable secrets cannot be explained by the laws of mechanics 
ly. atlas 
Nevertheless, we may remark that Wormius, cautious in his infer- 
ences, is always in doubt; that he speaks of the unicorn as he had 
heard it described before the king of Denmark, by an embassador 
from Congo; that Gmelin is not sure that the fossil unicorn, which 
is sometimes found in the earth, is the defense of the narwal ; that, 
finally, if the narwal were unknown till of late, the unicorn, after be- 
ing seen by the ancients, may not yet have been discovered by us. 
_ Finally, is it not the hight of error and blindness to maintain the 
nonexistence of our quadruped by the existence of the narwal? It 
must be confessed that this would be to disguise the process of nt 
ture, that seems to delight in repeating the particular animals in eacli 
class, and that it is to regard as favorable to an opinion that, which is 
almost sufficient to overthrow it. Thus, as the ostrich ainong irds, 
and the highbunched coffre, among the inhabitants of the seas, a 
the representatives of the camel, and the fish zebra is of the quad- 
ruped zebra, so the unicorn of the sea seems to prove the existence 
of the land unicorn. 
We conclude, theréfore, that we have satisfactory evidence, 
say the least, that this animal may have existed, that it is possible 
that he exists still, and close by saying with the immortal Buflon: 
“Tt is not by contracting the sphere of nature and confining her with 
in a narrow circle that we shall be able to understand her} it is 0! 
by making her act according to some preconceived ideas that we 
shall be able to judge of her or comprehend her; and we shall not 
be able to fathom the designs of the Creator by furnishing him with 
our ideas; instead of confining the limits of his power it is nec® 
sary to extend them even to immensity; it is necessary tO consider 
nothing as impossible, to look for every thing, and to suppose that 
~ Whatever can exist, really does.” 
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