270 ON THE CLASSES OF THE 



to bear on the discovery of the natural system. An En- 

 glishman, on reflecting how much superior our medical 

 schools have ever been in reputation to those of the Con- 

 tinent, must necessarily lament that with such means in our 

 possession we should be so far behind our neighbours in 

 comparative anatomy. Yet if that which has been de- 

 signed by Omnipotence ought to interest us, how can we 

 obtain more insight into the truth than by tracing organi- 

 zation from its most imperfect sketches up to man ? or, 

 even if our curiosity should go no further than to know 

 the nature of material life, how can we hope to master 

 this difficult and most intricate question, unless by watch- 

 ing the first dawn of vitality, and following it carefully to 

 the place where its energies appear to be the most con- 

 centrated ? It may well then be asked why there are so 

 few persons who, in fact, take any interest in the investi- 

 gation of the smaller animals. But the answer is simple : 

 Such researches humble the pride, while they do not pre- 

 sent any immediate prospect of utility or profit: it were 

 to argue therefore a complete ignorance of human nature, 

 to expect that such studies should be generally cultivated. 

 If an object be small, it is despised, and in proportion to 

 its magnitude it is sure to excite attention. Now when 

 our views relate solely to the humbler concerns of human 

 life no doubt this is perfectly just, but in the contemplation 

 of Nature and of Nature's God it is far otherwise. By 

 Him who is without beginning and without end, infinity 

 of magnitude is comprehended with the same ease as that 

 of minuteness; so that in Zoology we ought never to for- 

 get an observation of Madame de Stael, " le plus foible 

 atome est un monde, et le monde peutitre riest qu'wi crtome." 

 In the pursuits of literature, the judgement orimagination 



