ORGANIZED BODIES. 7 
nic bodies can neither boast of youth nor age, parent nor 
child; while organized bodies have the power of reproduc- 
tion as well as the tendency to decay. 
Such are the characters by which inorganic and organiz- 
ed bodies may be distinguished, as constituting the two 
great and primary classes of natural objects. Let us now 
direct our attention to the structure of the organized king- 
dom, for the purpose of ascertaining those subordinate di- 
visions of which it is susceptible. 
CHAP. If. 
ON THE PECULIAR CHARACTERS OF ORGANIZED BODIES. 
Tk infinite variety of species which constitute the orga- 
nized kingdom, possess many common properties, indepen- 
dent of the remarkable differences which they exhibit in 
their structure and appearance. By attending to these com- 
mon properties, we shall be able to discover some of the 
qualities of that principle to which they owe their charac- 
ter, and by which their arrangements are regulated. 
All organized bodies consist of Solids and Fluids. The 
former exhibit the appearance of fibres or laminee, of which 
cells and tubes are constructed, destined to contain the fluids. 
These solids and fluids are very differently arranged in the 
different classes of organized being, although similar in m- 
dividuals of the same species. 
I. The Characters of the Vital Principle—When we 
examine a plant or an animal as near to the origin of 
its existence as possible, we witness its embryo or germ, 
