FOSSIL MAMMALIA OF THE PARIS STRATA. 



255 



organization of animal existence is governed, soon enabled 

 him to assign to each bone, and even fragment, its proper 

 place in the skeleton ; and the forms of beings hitherto 

 unseen by mortal eye arose before him. " I cannot," ex- 

 claimed the illustrious philosopher, in all the enthusiasm of 

 successful genius, " express my delight on finding how the 

 application of one principle was instantly followed by the 

 most triumphant results. The essential character of a 

 tooth, and its relation to the skull, being determined, 

 immediately all the other elements of the fabric fell into 

 their proper places ; and the vertebras, ribs, bones of the 

 legs, thighs and feet, seemed to arrange themselves even 

 without my bidding, and precisely in the manner which 

 I had predicted." The principles of comparative anatomy 

 enunciated in the previous lecture will have prepared you 

 for this result ; and I need not dwell on the application of 

 the laws of correlation of structure by which the animals 



Lign. 45. — Animals of the tertiary epoch. 



Fig. 1. Anoplotherium gracile. 2. Falaeotherium magnum. 3. P. minus. 



4. Anoplotherium commune. 



of the Paris basin have been brought to light. This group 

 of figures {Lign. 45) from Cuvier's restorations, is indeed 

 a splendid achievement of Palaeontology. 



