XIV PRELIMINARY SKETCH OF THE 



the internal organization of each individual 

 part ; the processes of digestion, assimilation, 

 nutrition, secretion, and reproduction ; the won- 

 derful instincts, the varied dispositions, and 

 the different degrees of intellectual superiority 

 in the animal world, from the half vegetable 

 zoophyte through innumerable gradations of 

 being up to man himself, the image of the 

 divinity. Let no one pretend to disparage or 

 undervalue a science like this. In such a case, 

 contempt can only be founded on ignorance. 

 " Damnant quod non intelligunt." Wonderful, 

 indeed, are all the works of that divine artist, 

 whom minuteness cannot perplex, or magni- 

 tude encumber ; but of them all, the most 

 wonderful beyond all comparison, is an orga- 

 nized body possessed of life, motion, sensation, 

 and thought. 



The utility of this science will be further 

 apparent, when we consider its relations with 

 several others. The accomplished Zoologist 

 must be well acquainted with human and com- 

 parative anatomy ; he must be versed in che- 

 mistry and physiology. He cannot avoid an 

 acquaintance with geology, since it will be 

 necessary for him to study the fossil remains 

 of animals, and the wrecks of former crea- 

 tions. 



