REMARKS ON THE FIGURES OF PLATE II. 
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FOSSIL REMAINS BEAR COMPARISON WITH RECENT STRUCTURES. 
IME, space, number, and metamorphosis, are those conditions belonging to the natura which are 
without limitation. .The actual and mathematical state of fact regarding these attributes of ‘Nature 
is immeasurable immensity. The universal has no boundary line, and therefore it must follow that 
the origo and finis, having no absolute occurrence: in Nature, are ideas which the mind creates as 
descriptive of its own meee cr finity. The mental, like the physical eye, has a limited vision, and 
therefore all limitation is only absolute and real with regard to the faculty which draws it. That which 
seems to be a boundary line is not one in fact and with eed to Nature, but it is one in fact 
with regard to mens. The mind, by reason of its own incapacity, becomes its own obstruction, and 
carries no further than its strength will allow it to advance. Its own weakness creates its own 
OYPANOS or horizon, and when it penetrates into the vast expanse of time or space it makes a 
measurement of itself only. The abstract and general state of truth has never yet been manifested, 
nor will it ever be explained. A demonstration of the full glory and majesty of entire truth would 
be, instead of a favour granted, a boon to no purpose, for the human. mind is not a fitting recipient 
for it, has not a capacity equal to receive it, and therefore could not acknowledge to the gift. 
The utmost stretch of human capability in reaching to truth is the recognition of a law founded 
upon the natural concatenation of relationary facts or phenomena; and this general manifestation, 
which we designate a law, encloses the mind which recognises it as within a circle; for a law, whatever 
way we turn to consider it, is, while we stand at its centre, still equidistant from us on all sides, 
and still circumscribing us as a fact whose commencement and termination is nowhere. The law of 
skeleton formation includes within its compass as well those remains of extinct races. of animals as 
those now existing, and this law furnishes to us no real evidence of either a first or last passage in 
the act of creation with regard to this planet’s history and age. 
The skeleton part relates to the skeleton whole,—this to 
the animal,—the animal relates’ to its proper element, 
whether land or ocean,—these relate to the natural world, 
and this to the planetary system,—this system to countless 
other systems, and these to the whole regions of space. 
The enchainment of ideas holds together continuously as. 
far as physical vision can take in an impression, but all 
beyond this operation is void, unless we people this void, 
as some propose, with vertebrated animals. 
But the skeleton part is not equal to the skeleton whole. 
This skeleton is not the animal. This animal is not its 
proper element either of land or ocean, and for the same 
reason may it be added that neither element has of itself 
ever constituted all nature, at any one period of past time. 
It is when we begin to generalise with the part as though 
it were a whole quantity, and complete created design, 
that we commence to err; and perhaps when we hear it 
said that figs. A and B once formed the general character 
of animal nature, peopling the then existing state of 
things, the idea may be no less absurd than if, on meeting 
with a vertebra isolated and apart from all the subject 
with which it naturally connects itself, we gave it the name 
of the osseous skeleton entirety. Be this as it may, how- 
ever, the anatomical remarks which may be made respecting 
the forms of figs. A and B may be well separated from the — 
question as to the probable state of nature to which such 
animal frameworks had in a bygone age been fitted. 
Viewing the skeleton conformation of a Plesiosaure and 
an Ichthyosaure, we now know them to be anatomical 
facts not so totally difform to existing skeleton species as 
