H 
Contemplating these arrangements, we unequivocally assert 
that the Carnivore is designed to occupy that particular field in 
the economy of creation for which its powers are so befittingly 
adapted ; and one would scarcely suppose the legitimacy of this 
conclusion could be denied. Nevertheless it is. Some have, even 
recently, undertaken to teach that the organs in question — in 
which we are wont to recognise evidences of harmony and design 
• — have been diverted from their proper development. They 
aver that the claws, teeth, and stomach — thus admirably con- 
structed for the seizure, tearing, and digestion of the flesh of 
other species — so far from exhibiting evidences of benevolence, 
display rather traces of a different intention ; all these organs 
severally contributing to render the creature ferocious, cruel, and 
destructive — habits which, in these anti-zoologists’ views, the 
animal ought not to have ! Such is an illustration of the melan- 
choly inferences to which unscientific reasonings inevitably lead — - 
a sad mimicry of mediaeval times. 
For the successful cultivation of the Natural History Sciences, 
it is above all things necessary that our minds be imbued with a 
love of truth, in whatever aspect it may present itself. If we 
perceive that the integrity of organised existences on this planet 
can only be maintained by the reciprocal action of antagonistic 
forces, and that the balance of this reciprocity involves and 
guarantees the welfare of every living entity having — in actual 
possession of — a residence on the habitable globe ; if, I repeat, it 
is clearly evident that any departure from this divinely-appointed 
law would, on the one hand, only bring about a redundancy, 
or, on the other, a deterioration ; what, I ask, is to be gained by 
criticising this universal plan — this wise method of government, 
fixed on principles of justice, equity, and compensation? In the 
nicely-adjusted balance of probabilities, I recognise abundant 
good to all living beings, whose immediate wants are thus 
provided for, and I am content to acknowledge the fitness of the 
provision which thus regulates the destiny of every species ! 
The vantage-ground thus imperceptibly acquired induces me, 
finally, to offer a more direct illustration of the moral tendency 
of the Natural History Sciences. Here, however, I may be brief, 
as the subject has been treated by other hands.* 
It is a true observation, that things familiarly known and under- 
stood often fail to leave their due impression on the mind ; yet 
this evanescence is in a great measure counterbalanced in those 
who court philosophy in common things. Some of the more 
striking phenomena, however, maintain their teleologic power, in 
spite of the deteriorating influences of familiarity, or the falsely 
so-regarded materialistic tendencies of developmental hypotheses. 
* See Professor Huxley’s discourse 1 On Natural History, as Knowledge, 
Discipline, and Power,’ delivered at the Royal Institution, Friday evening, 
February 15tli, 1856. 
