30 
CLASSIFICATIONS OF THE MAMMALIA. 
interesting and instructive, however, to study the develop¬ 
ment of thought in this direction during the past 2,000 
years. It might be illustrated equally well by nearly every 
branch of natural history. I confine myself to-niglit to the 
Mammalia. 
Within the scope of history the first man who studied 
biology as a science was Aristotle, about 350 years before 
Christ. He divided the Mammals into four orders, viz.:— 
Man, Quadrupeds with Claws, Quadrupeds with Hoofs, and 
Whales. For that period, and as a first attempt, this division 
was not unworthy of the wonderful genius of Aristotle. He 
saw that, as a matter of fact and science, man and the 
beasts of the field were inseparably allied ; and his four 
orders were founded on correct though superficial obser¬ 
vation. For nineteen centuries Aristotle was the one only 
great master and teacher of natural history in the civilised 
world. 
There is no other notable name till 1550, when the 
German Gesner published an original work on zoology, in 
which he classifies the Mammals somewhat more elaborately 
than Aristotle had done. He divides the clawed quadrupeds 
into such groups as monkeys, dogs, cats, &c.; and the hoofed 
quadrupeds into horses, cattle, deer, &c. This was a step 
forward, but not a very large step, as the result of education 
for 1,900 years. A hundred years later (1050) came the 
Englishmen John Ray and his friend and colleague Wil¬ 
loughby. Their arrangement of Mammals did not differ 
much from Aristotle’s, but they gave the name of Ungui- 
culates to the clawed quadrupeds, and that of Ungulates to 
the hoofed ones ; and these names have been universally 
adopted. 
Yet another century brings us to Linnaeus—about 1750. 
In his treatment of the Mammals he adheres to Aristotle’s 
three great sections—of Unguiculates, with claws ; Ungu¬ 
lates, with hoofs; and Whales, which he calls “Mutica,” 
or creatures without claws or hoofs of any kind. He, for 
the first time, includes man with the clawed animals, instead 
of placing him in a separate division. His arrangement is:— 
OLDER. 
Unguiculates... Primates... Man, monkeys, bats. 
,, Bruta. Elephants, rhinoceroses, &c. 
,, Ferae . Hogs, cats, &c. 
,, Glires. Hares, rabbits, rats, &c. 
Ungulates. Pecora. Oxen, deer, &c. 
,, . Belluae. Hippopotamus, horses, pigs, &c. 
Mutica . Oete. Whales and dolphins. 
