METHOD IN THE HISTORY OF LIFE. 315 



of individual forms that diversify the surface of the earth 

 at the present day. Saying nothing about the solitary 

 JEozoon, which stands inscrutable, isolated, and mysterious 

 in the remote ages of Eozoic Time, like a desolate islet in 

 the midst of a dark, and trackless, and tempest-beaten sea, 

 we find that upon the very threshold of Paleozoic Time rep- 

 resentatives of Radiates, Molluscs, and Articulates burst 

 into multifarious being almost simultaneously. So nearly 

 simultaneous was the appearance of each of these types, 

 that all hypothesis of their genealogical succession is ra- 

 tionally precluded. The doctrine of development finds 

 great discountenance in the very first of the facts from 

 which such a doctrine ought to derive its support. Later 

 in the history of the world Vertebrates made their advent, 

 and thus were laid the four corner-stones on which Nature 

 has built the superstructure of the animal creation. Among 

 all the multitudes of organic forms which have been disen- 

 tombed from the cemeteries of the solid rocks, we have 

 found none which were not conformed to one of the four 

 fundamental types announced in the beginning. Here is 

 no caprice, here is no chance, but the constancy, and or- 

 der, and persistence of intelligence, foresight, and fixed pur- 

 pose. 



When this grand procession of organic forms was mar- 

 shaling for its movement through time, the Supreme Intel- 

 ligence sent it forward in foirr columns, in each of which 

 was dominant one of the four ideas of structure. But as 

 Nature did not range her four columns in linear order, but 

 set them abreast of each other, so she was equally far from 

 bringing forward the subordinate divisions of each column 

 or plan in any thing like a fixed progressive succession. 

 Neither the highest and most exalted forms, nor the low- 

 est and most humble, were ordained to take absolute pre- 

 cedence. In the sub-kingdom of Radiates the type was 



