PRINCIPLES OF SCIENTIFIC ARRANGEMENT. 131 
which, briefly, is the chronological list of the several 
names under which species or genera may have been 
known. This diversity of names has originated in several 
ways,—from indolence, or ignorance, or excessive refine¬ 
ment. The views of systematists will differ in the collo¬ 
cation of creatures; hence, sometimes what had been 
previously divided will be recombined, or divisions into 
further groups be made of what had been before united. 
Both processes will necessarily produce synonyms; the 
recombination of what had been separated reduces the 
names of such groups to the rank of synonyms of the 
old one from which they have been disjoined. In the 
latter case the old name will be retained to the typical 
species merely, and be also made a partial synonym of 
the names of the new generic groups: or, indeed, 
it may happen that the same creature has been described 
generically, unknowingly, by two different persons, about 
the same time. By another recognized rule in nomen¬ 
clature, the f law of priority/ the name given by the 
first describer is accepted, and the other consequently 
falls to the condition of a synonym. 
With respect to specific synonymy, many causes con¬ 
duce to it; namely, an imperfect description which can¬ 
not be clearly recognized, reducing it to that category, 
with a mark of interrogation appended; subsequent de¬ 
scription when want of tact has not discerned the iden¬ 
tity of the old one; indolence in looking about for 
works upon the same subject; inability to obtain access 
to books wherein they may be described, owing either to 
their costliness or to their obscurity, or by lying buried 
in some collapsed journal, or the poverty of our public 
libraries, etc. etc. But however thus lost sight of, or 
wilfully ignored, the name still retains vital elasticity, 
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