REMARKS ON THE FIGURES OF PLATE XXVIII. 
THE LENGTH OF A THORACIC REGION OF SERIES DEPENDS UPON THE NUMBER OF PERSISTENT ARCHETYPES 
AND THIS DETERMINES THE LENGTH OF THE CERVICAL AND LUMBAR REGIONS OF VERTEBRAL QUANTITIES. 
IVERSITY follows the degradation of form, and hence, as it depends solely upon the negation or 
subtraction of quantity it cannot be regarded as an ens. Proportionals are positive quantities, and 
as such relate to each other, (being the parts of an integer,) and, therefore, analogy binds them together a 
one collective series. But proportionals not being equals as to quantity, is that very state which introduces 
amongst them the negative or special condition of development. Now, the comparison of proportionals must 
lead to a knowledge of that whole quantity from which they have been proportioned, and this is the object 
of the present argument. Through the medium of our comparisons of proportional quantities, we press 
forward to the recognition of that origimal or archetype whose figure suffers metamorphosis. And with this 
end in view, we merge, for the present, the questions of uniformity and of diversity visible between propor- 
tionals, in the paramount subject or being of that whole whose metamorphosis yields all other forms 
manifesting the proportional analogy and the proportional diversity. For the comparison of unequals has 
never rendered them equal, nor do we here attempt to mterpret them as equal to each other, our purpose 
being only to prove that they are proportionals ofa whole. ‘Tis granted that the serial quantities of the 
mammal axis are proportional analogues of each other; but still we may pass onward to the question 
whether they present to us in this condition as being the proportionals of archetype plus models. Tis also 
fully granted that these mammalian serial forms of the spinal axis are diverse to each other by inequality 
of quantity; but still we may seek the cause of this inequality or diversity, and question Nature as to whether 
this appearance be resulting by the law of metamorphosis or proportioning from the plus archetype skeleton. 
Amongst the units of serial order we discern that all 
variety is produced by the law of proportioning the minus 
quantity from the plus. Consequently, when we find that 
any unit of the spimal axis, which is ordinarily in minus 
quantity, does now and then instance the plus quantity, 
then we are led to interpret this condition of development 
‘to be, not anomalous to the archetype plus or to the ver- 
tebral minus, but only as anomalous to the fitting propor- 
tions of the special skeleton. The cervical or lumbar ver- 
tebrze, producing costee for example, may be regarded as 
proportionals of the costo-vertebral archetype, as well as 
the cervical or lumbar vertebree, which have only the au- 
togenous pieces of the coste. 
Now, for the same reason, fig. A, whose thoracic quan- 
tities commence at the unit marked 8 a, and terminate at 
the unit marked 18 a, (the lumbar region numbering six 
vertebrze,) will be read and understood as being various to 
fig. B, whose thoracic series commences at 6 a, and termi- 
nates at 21a, (both the cervical and lumbar spine having 
less than their proper number of vertebre,) various, we. 
say, only by the like rule of plus rendered minus. 
When the number of plus thoracic quantities is reduced, 
we see that, consequent upon this subtraction, the cervical 
and lumbar minus regions are increased in their number of 
vertebree ; and when, on the other hand, the number of 
thoracic quantities exceed their ordinary number, then we 
see that the increase of a thoracic series is at the expense 
of a lumbar or cervical spine. This fluctuation as to ver- 
tebral number in each of the regions of spinal series is 
altogether owing to the numerical place of that unit of 
series whereat Nature suffers the plus quantity to persist, 
or where she wills that it shall be minus, that is to say, of 
vertebral proportion. 
And therefore it is that we have numbered all the 
