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 /; idi
 
 THE BRIDGEWATER TREATISES 
 
 ON THE POWER WISDOM AND GOODNESS OF GOD 
 AS MANIFESTED IN THE CREATION 
 
 TREATISE II 
 
 ON THE ADAPTATION OF EXTERNAL NATURE TO 
 THE PHYSICAL CONDITION OF MAN 
 
 BY J. KIDD M. D. 
 [FIFTH EDITION.]
 
 THOU MADEST HIM TO HAVE DOMINION OVER THE WORKS OF THY HANDS; 
 THOU HAST PUT ALL THINGS UNDER HIS FEET. PSALM VIII.
 
 ON THE ADAPTATION OF 
 
 EXTERNAL NATURE TO THE PHYSICAL 
 
 CONDITION OF MAN 
 
 PRINCIPALLY WITH REFERENCE TO THE SUPPLY OF HIS 
 WANTS AND THE EXERCISE OF HIS INTEL- 
 LECTUAL FACULTIES 
 
 BY 
 
 JOHN KIDD M.D. F.R.S. 
 
 REGIUS PROFESSOR OF MEDICINE 
 
 IN THE UNIVERSITY 
 
 OF OXFORD 
 
 ALDI 
 
 LONDON 
 
 WILLIAM PICKERING 
 
 1837.
 
 8L 
 
 '7* 
 8 7 
 
 /8lS 
 
 OXFORD, 
 
 PRINTED By S. COLLINGWOOD, PRINTER TO THE UNIVERSITY.
 
 TO 
 
 HIS GRACE 
 
 THE 
 
 ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY. 
 
 MY LORD, 
 
 Having been appointed to write the follow- 
 ing Treatise by the late President of the 
 Royal Society, in consequence of your Grace's 
 recommendation, it was natural that I should 
 be desirous of publickly acknowledging the 
 high honour thus conferred upon me. 
 
 I therefore request you to accept my re- 
 spectful thanks for permitting me to inscribe 
 this Treatise with your Grace's name : assur- 
 ing you that, however inadequately I may have 
 been found to answer your expectation in the
 
 VI DEDICATION. 
 
 execution, I have not applied myself to the 
 task committed to me, without the exertion 
 of much thought, and the strongest desire of 
 so executing it, as to justify your Grace's fa- 
 vourable opinion. 
 
 I have the honour to be, 
 My Lord, 
 with the greatest respect, 
 Your Grace's most obliged 
 
 and obedient Servant, 
 
 J. Kidd. 
 
 Oxford, 
 March 15, 1833.
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 I HE occasion which gave rise to this and the 
 accompanying Treatises is explained in the fol- 
 lowing notice : but the Author of the present 
 Treatise thinks it right to add, that, although 
 encouraged by the honour of having been re- 
 commended by His Grace the Archbishop of 
 Canterbury, he should have shrunk from his 
 present attempt, had he considered that any 
 exact elucidation of the details of science was 
 required in the execution of it. 
 
 As, however, the intention of Lord Bridge- 
 water, and the very extent and diversified na- 
 ture of the subject, seemed to him almost neces- 
 sarily to exclude any great exactness of eluci- 
 dation, and to require a popular rather than a 
 scientific exposition of facts ; and as the whole 
 tenour of his pursuits during the last thirty 
 years of his life accorded with the character of 
 the proposed subject; he the more readily un- 
 dertook a task, to the execution of which he
 
 yiii PREFACE. 
 
 could not but look forward with much pleasure. 
 And if he should in any instance stimulate the 
 reader to examine the question with any por- 
 tion of the interest and satisfaction with which 
 he has himself examined it, he is confident that 
 he shall not have laboured in vain. 
 
 It will be for others to determine whether a 
 judicious selection and a sufficiently natural ar- 
 rangement of the materials of the following 
 Treatise have been adopted : but to those, who 
 may think that many of the subjects have been 
 treated too cursorily, the Author begs leave to 
 point out the extensive range afforded by so 
 wide a field of inquiry ; and the consequent 
 necessity of compression in each particular ; the 
 subject of this Treatise being in fact an epitome 
 of the subjects of almost all the others. He also 
 considers it right to state, that it is the imme- 
 diate object of the Treatise itself to unfold a train 
 of facts, not to maintain a formal argument; to 
 give a general view of the adaptation of the exter- 
 nal world to the physical condition of man, not to 
 attempt directly to convince the reader that this 
 adaptation is a proof cither of the existence
 
 PREFACE. IX 
 
 and omnipotence of the Deity, or of his bene- 
 ficence and wisdom ; though undoubtedly it 
 is hoped by the writer, as it was intended by 
 the munificent individual who originally pro- 
 posed the general subject of this and the ac- 
 companying Treatises, that such a conviction, 
 if not already existing, may be produced by 
 its perusal. Without questioning, therefore, on 
 the present occasion, the intellectual powers or 
 the moral motives of those who profess them- 
 selves sceptics with respect to either natural or 
 revealed religion, the Author addresses himself 
 principally to those who are believers in both 
 the one and the other. With respect indeed to 
 a disbelief in the basis of natural religion, he 
 must ever feel assured, as in another place he 
 has expressed himself, that, however easy it 
 may be to account for the external profession of 
 a disbelief in God, the supposition of the exist- 
 ence of intellectual atheism involves an intel- 
 lectual absurdity. With respect to the truth of 
 Revelation, although the subject of this Treatise 
 is not directly connected with that question, he 
 would still wish to consider himself as addressing 
 those chiefly who with himself believe that the
 
 X PREFACE. 
 
 objects which surround us in our present state 
 of existence, and which are so obviously in- 
 tended to advance the general powers and fa- 
 culties of Man, without advancing the powers 
 and faculties of any other animal, are purposely 
 destined to produce an ulterior and higher effect; 
 the nature of which effect is to be learnt from 
 the doctrines of Revelation alone. And he has 
 thought it right to say thus much on the general 
 subject of religion, not merely for the purpose of 
 recording his own sentiments ; but that, in pro- 
 fessing to address those principally who believe 
 in revealed as well as in natural religion, if on 
 any occasion he should assume the truth of Re- 
 velation, he may not be with justice accused of 
 taking that for granted, of which the reader 
 doubts. 

 
 NOTICE. 
 
 The series of Treatises, of which the present is one, is pub- 
 lished under the following circumstances : 
 
 The Right Honourable and Reverend Francis 
 Henry, Earl of Bridgewater, died in the month of 
 February, 1829 ; and by his last Will and Testament, bear- 
 ing date the 25th of February, 1825, he directed certain 
 Trustees therein named to invest in the public funds the 
 sum of eight thousand pounds sterling; this sum, with 
 the accruing dividends thereon, to be held at the disposal 
 of the President, for the time being, of the Royal Society 
 of London, to be paid to the person or persons nominated 
 by him. The Testator further directed, that the person or 
 persons selected by the said President should be appointed 
 to write, print, and publish one thousand copies of a work 
 On the Power, Wisdom, and Goodness of God, as mani- 
 fested hi the Creation ; illustrating such work by all reason- 
 able arguments ; as for instance the variety and formation of 
 God's creatures in the animal, vegetable, and mineral king- 
 doms ; the effect of digestion, and thereby of conversion ; 
 the construction of the hand of man, and an infinite variety 
 of other arguments ; as also by discoveries ancient and 
 modern, in arts, sciences, and the •whole extent of literature. 
 He desired, moreover, that the profits arising from the sale 
 of the works so published should be paid to the authors of 
 the works.
 
 Xll 
 
 The late President of the Royal Society, Davies Gilbert, 
 Esq. requested the assistance of his Grace the Archbishop 
 of Canterbury and of the Bishop of London, in determining 
 upon the best mode of carrying into effect the intentions of 
 the Testator. Acting with their advice, and with the con- 
 currence of a nobleman immediately connected with the de- 
 ceased, Mr. Davies Gilbert appointed the following eight gen- 
 tlemen to write separate Treatises on the different branches 
 of the subject, as here stated : 
 
 THE REV. THOMAS CHALMERS, D. D. 
 
 PROFESSOR OP DIVINITY IN THE UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH. 
 
 ON THE POWER WISDOM AND GOODNESS OF GOD AS MA- 
 NIFESTED IN THE ADAPTATION OF EXTERNAL NA- 
 TURE TO THE MORAL AND INTELLECTUAL 
 CONSTITUTION OF MAN. 
 
 JOHN KIDD, M.D. F.R.S. 
 
 REGIUS PROFESSOR OF MEDICINE IN THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD. 
 
 ON THE ADAPTATION OF EXTERNAL NATURE TO THE 
 PHYSICAL CONDITION OF MAN. 
 
 THE REV. WILLIAM WHEWELL, M.A. F.R.S. 
 
 FELLOW OF TRINITY COLLEGE CAMBRIDGE. 
 
 ASTRONOMY AND GENERAL PHYSICS CONSIDERED WITH 
 REFERENCE TO NATURAL THEOLOGY. 
 
 SIR CHARLES BELL, K. H. F.R.S. 
 
 Till; HAND: ITS MECHANISM AND VITAL ENDOWMENTS 
 AS EVINCING DESIGN. 
 
 PETER MARK ROGET, M.D. 
 
 IKM.inv ok .ixn SECRETARY TO THE noYAI. SOCIETY. 
 
 ON ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE PHYSIOLOGY.
 
 Xlll 
 
 THE REV. WILLIAM BUCKLAND, D. D. F.R.S. 
 
 CANON OF CHRIST CHURCH AND PROFESSOR OF GEOLOGY IN THE 
 UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD. 
 
 ON GEOLOGY AND MINERALOGY. 
 
 THE REV. WILLIAM KIRBY, M.A. F.R.S. 
 
 ON THE HISTORY, HABITS, AND INSTINCTS OF ANIMALS. 
 
 WILLIAM PROUT, M.D. F.R.S. 
 
 ON CHEMISTRY, METEOROLOGY, AND THE FUNCTION 
 
 OF DIGESTION, CONSIDERED WITH REFERENCE 
 
 TO NATURAL THEOLOGY. 
 
 His Royal Highness the Duke of Sussex, Presi- 
 dent of the Royal Society, having desired that no unneces- 
 sary delay should take place in the publication of the 
 above mentioned treatises, they will appear at short inter- 
 vals, as they are ready for publication.
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 Page 
 
 CHAP. I. Introduction 1 
 
 Sect. I. The Physical Condition of Man ib. 
 
 II. The general Constitution of external Nature 4 
 
 CHAP. II. The Physical Character of Man 9 
 
 Sect. I. The Physical Character of Man, compared 
 
 with that of other Animals ib. 
 
 II. Differences in the form of the Infant and of 
 the Adult ; particularly with reference to the 
 Spine 12 
 
 III. Physical Superiority of Man, on what Prin- 
 ciple to be estimated 18 
 
 IV. Early and gradual Developement of the in- 
 tellectual Faculties of Man 22 
 
 CHAP. III. On the Powers of the human Hand, 
 
 considered as a corporeal Organ 28 
 
 CHAP. IV. On the Brain, considered as the Organ 
 
 OF THE INTELLECTUAL FACULTIES 43 
 
 CHAP. V. The Nervous System of Animals in 
 
 GENERAL - 47 
 
 Sect. I. The Nervous System of the inferior Animals. . ib. 
 
 II. The Nervous System of Man 53 
 
 III. Indications of natural Talent and Disposition 
 deducible from the Structure of the Brain. ... 59 
 
 IV. The general Doctrine of Physiognomy, as 
 connected with the Form of the Body 67 
 
 V. The Developement of the Human Brain, com- 
 pared with that of other Animals 73 
 
 VI. Cursory View of the Extent of Human Power 
 over the Objects of the external World 76
 
 CONTENTS. XV 
 
 Page 
 
 CHAP. VI. Adaptation of the Atmosphere to the 
 
 Physical Condition op Man 80 
 
 Sect. I. The general Constitution of the Atmosphere . . ib. 
 
 II. Light 83 
 
 III. Heat 95 
 
 IV. The general Uses of Water 107 
 
 V. Baths 112 
 
 VI. The Fluidity of Water 118 
 
 VII. The natural Sources of Water 123 
 
 VIII. The Air of the Atmosphere, as connected 
 with Respiration 126 
 
 IX. Effects of the Motion of the Air, as con- 
 nected with Human Health, &c 133 
 
 X. Effects of the Motion of the Air, as con- 
 nected with the Arts, &c 144 
 
 CHAP. VII. Adaptation of Minerals to the Phy- 
 sical Condition of Man 152 
 
 Sect. I. The general Characters of Minerals ib. 
 
 II. Application of Minerals to Architecture and 
 Sculpture 154 
 
 III. Gems and precious Stones 168 
 
 IV. The Distribution and relative Proportions of 
 Sea and Land ; and the geological Arrangement 
 and physical Character of some of the super- 
 ficial Strata of the Earth 173 
 
 V. Beds of Gravel 176 
 
 VI. Metals 187 
 
 VII. Common Salt, &c 199 
 
 CHAP. VIII. Adaptation of Vegetables to the Phy- 
 sical Condition of Man 202 
 
 Sect, I. General Observations on the Vegetable King- 
 
 dom ib. 
 
 II. The Cocoa-nut Tree, including the Formation 
 
 of Coral Reefs 204 
 
 III. Vegetables as a Source of Food 216 
 
 IV. Vegetables as applicable to Medicine 225 
 
 V. Vegetables as applicable to the Arts, &c 232 

 
 XVI CONTENTS. 
 
 Page 
 CHAP. IX. Adaptation of Animals to the physical 
 
 Condition of Man 243 
 
 Sect. I. General Observations on the Animal Kingdom ib. 
 
 II. Geographical Distribution of Animals 248 
 
 III. The Camel 249 
 
 IV. Domestication of Animals 258 
 
 V. Animals as a Source of Food 264 
 
 VI. Manufacture of Sal Ammoniac 267 
 
 VII. Animals as a Source of Clothing, &c 2/0 
 
 CHAP. X. Adaptation of the external World to 
 
 the Exercise of the Intellectual Faculties 
 
 of Man 273 
 
 Sect. I. On the Rise and Progress of Human Know- 
 ledge ib. 
 
 II. Opinions of Lucretius on the Constitution of 
 Matter in general ; and on the Nature of 
 Light, Heat, Water, and Air 286 
 
 III. Opinions of the Ancients on the Organization 
 and Classification of Animals 298 
 
 IV. On those Animal Forms called Monsters, or 
 Lusus Naturae 334 
 
 CHAP. XI. Conclusion 339 
 
 APPENDIX 347
 
 ON THE 
 ADAPTATION OF EXTERNAL NATURE 
 
 TO THE 
 
 PHYSICAL CONDITION OF MAN. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 Introduction. 
 
 SECT. I. 
 
 The Physical Condition of Man. 
 
 W HEN Hamlet, in contemplating the gran- 
 deur of creation, breaks forth into that sublime 
 apostrophe on man — " How noble in reason ! 
 " how infinite in faculties ! in form and moving, 
 " how express and admirable ! in action, how 
 " like an angel ! in apprehension, how like a 
 " God ! the beauty of the world ! the paragon 
 "of animals!" — who does not feel elated by 
 the description? who does not feel conscious of 
 its truth ? 
 
 Nor is its truth the less admissible, because 
 the poet, in concentrating the powers of his 
 imagination on the excellencies of that work of 
 
 b
 
 2 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 creation which bears the stamp of the Creator's 
 image, 1ms omitted to present to our view the 
 reverse of the impression, the frailty namely of 
 our fallen nature : for although, on moral and 
 religious considerations, each individual is bound 
 habitually to take the one view in conjunction 
 with the other ; in a simply philosophical con- 
 templation of human nature we are not pre- 
 cluded by any reasonable barrier, from taking 
 such a partial view of the subject as the occa- 
 sion may suggest. 
 
 In the present instance, indeed, I am strictly 
 called upon to consider, not the moral, but the 
 physical condition of man : and to examine how 
 far the state of external nature is adapted to that 
 condition ; whether we regard the provisions 
 made for the supply of mans wants, either natural 
 or acquired; or those which are made for the 
 exercise of his intellectual faculties. The follow- 
 ing treatise naturally, therefore, divides itself 
 into two parts : in the first of which it is in- 
 tended to investigate and describe the physical 
 condition of man ; in the second, the adaptation 
 of external nature to that condition. 
 
 But a wide field here opens to our view : for 
 man cannot, under any circumstances, be con- 
 sidered as an insulated being ; or unconnected 
 with the rest of animated nature. He is indeed 
 but one link in the great chain of animal crea- 
 tion ; and not only does the contemplation of his
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 condition lose half its interest, if separated from 
 the contemplation of the condition of other ani- 
 mals; but it cannot be satisfactorily investigated 
 without that aid. And, again, animal life itself 
 is but one among many modes of existence, by 
 which the Creator has manifested his omnipo- 
 tence ; and which it is necessary to contemplate 
 in connexion with the general phenomena of 
 nature, in order to shew the superiority of that 
 province, at the head of which human beings 
 have been placed. 
 
 In attempting however to form a just estimate 
 of the physical condition of man, we must not 
 regard him merely under the aspect of savage 
 or uncivilized life, and consider this as his na- 
 tural state : for it may be presumed that, at the 
 present day, such a puerile view of the question 
 is not for a moment entertained by any one 
 capable of philosophical reflection. In fact, in 
 as many different states as man does actually 
 exist, civilized or savage, so many are his na- 
 tural states. If any indeed could be preemi- 
 nently called his natural state, it would be that 
 of civilization : for not only does experience 
 shew that his natural tendency is towards such 
 a state; but we know, from the highest authority, 
 that the existence of man is connected with a 
 moral end; (with more indeed than a moral end ; 
 since morals have immediately a relation to this 
 life only, while man is destined for a future ;) 
 
 b 2
 
 4 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 and a moral end is hardly attainable in an un- 
 civilized state of society. 
 
 SECT. II. 
 The general Constitution of external Nature. 
 
 The more familiar objects of that external 
 world by which man is surrounded are usually 
 distributed into three kingdoms, as they are 
 called ; the animal, vegetable, and mineral: but 
 for the purpose of this treatise it will be neces- 
 sary to take into our account the phenomena of 
 the atmosphere also. 
 
 The atmosphere principally consists of the air 
 which we respire, (a form of matter so subtile, in 
 all its states, as to be invisible,) together with a 
 variable proportion of water; of which a part is 
 always retained in close combination with the air, 
 and, like the air itself, exists always in an invi- 
 sible state. There are also diffused through the 
 atmosphere those still more subtile agents, heat 
 and electricity. But all these, however inefficient 
 they may appear on a first view, are in their oc- 
 casional effects the most powerful agents of na- 
 ture. For, omitting the consideration of their si- 
 lent but wonderful operation, as exhibited in the 
 process of vegetation, and in many other pro- 
 cesses less open to observation, let us consider 
 the occasional effects of air in the violence of a 
 tornado ; or of water, in the inundation of a ra- 
 pid river : or let us contemplate the effect of
 
 INTRODUCTION. 5 
 
 either an indefinite diminution or increase of 
 heat; on the one hand, the natural process of 
 animal decomposition arrested by its abstraction, 
 so that the imbedded mammoth remains at this 
 moment in the same state that it was four thou- 
 sand years ago ; and in which, under the same 
 circumstances, it undoubtedly would be, four 
 thousand or four million years hence ; on the 
 other hand the possibility of the dissipation of all 
 the constituent parts of matter, or their fixation 
 in the state of glass, resulting from the agency of 
 indefinitely increased heat : or, lastly, let us con- 
 sider the tremendous effects of condensed elec- 
 tricity in the form of lightning : — and we shall 
 necessarily acknowledge that though in their 
 usual state the constituents of the atmosphere 
 are among the most tranquil agents of nature, 
 yet, when their power is concentrated, they are 
 the most awfully energetic. 
 
 In the mineral kingdom the most characteristic 
 property of the several species appears to be a 
 disposition to a peculiar mode of mutual attrac- 
 tion among the particles composing the indivi- 
 duals belonging to them ; from which attraction, 
 when exerted under the most favourable circum- 
 stances, result that symmetry and regularity of 
 form, to which the term crystal has been ap- 
 plied. The transparency and degree of hard- 
 ness of crystals are various, and depend much 
 upon external circumstances. The form is funda- 
 
 b 3
 
 6 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 mentally the same for each species, though ca- 
 pable of being modified according to known 
 laws ; and the substance is chemically the same 
 throughout its whole extent. Every atom of a 
 crystallized mass of gypsum consists of water, 
 lime, and sulphuric acid, united in the same pro- 
 portions as are found to exist in the whole mass, 
 or in any given part of it. 
 
 The individuals of the vegetable kingdom differ 
 very remarkably from those of the mineral, both 
 in form and substance. In their form we see 
 nothing like the mathematical precision of crys- 
 tallization ; and in their substance they differ 
 widely, according to the part of the vegetable 
 which is examined : so that, independently of 
 previous knowledge of the species, we could 
 hardly discover any natural relation between 
 the several constituent parts of the individual. 
 What is there in the insulated leaf of a rose or 
 of a peach tree, that would lead us to expect the 
 fruit of the one or the flower of the other? But 
 the most remarkable line of distinction between 
 vegetables and the individuals of the preceding 
 kingdom consists in their mode of increase and 
 reproduction. Minerals can only increase as 
 such, by the apposition of particles specifically 
 similar to themselves; and can only be originally 
 produced by the immediate combination of their 
 constituent elements. But vegetables have an 
 apparatus within them, by means of which they
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 can assimilate the heterogeneous particles of the 
 surrounding soil to their own nature ; and they 
 have also the power of producing individuals 
 specifically the same as themselves : in common 
 language, they are capable of contributing to 
 their own growth, and to the continuation of 
 their species. And as they produce these effects 
 by means of internal organs adapted to the pur- 
 pose, they are hence denominated organized 
 bodies. 
 
 The individuals of the animal kingdom very 
 closely resemble those of the vegetable in the 
 two properties just described. The respective 
 organs differ, as we might expect, in their form 
 and position ; but in their functions or mode of 
 action, there is a strong analogy, and even simi- 
 larity, throughout. But animals differ from vege- 
 tables more remarkably than these do from every 
 unorganized form of matter, in being endued 
 with sensation and volition ; properties which 
 extend the sphere of their relations to such a 
 degree, as to raise them immeasurably above 
 all other forms of matter in the scale of ex- 
 istence. 
 
 In distributing the individuals of the material 
 world among these four kingdoms of nature, 
 there occasionally prevails considerable ob- 
 scurity, not only with respect to the true place 
 which an individual ought to occupy in the 
 scale of a particular kingdom ; but even with 
 
 b 4
 
 8 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 respect to the question, under which of the four 
 kingdoms it ought to be arranged ; this ob- 
 scurity arising of course from the points of re- 
 semblance apparently balancing, or more than 
 balancing, the points of difference. Let us for 
 instance, in the atmospherical kingdom, take a 
 fragment of a perfectly transparent crystal of 
 pure ice ; and, under ordinary circumstances, it 
 would be difficult, either by the sight or the 
 touch, to distinguish it from a fragment of trans- 
 parent quartz, or rock crystal : indeed the trans- 
 fer of the original term KovvraWog, from the one 
 to the other, shews the close resemblance of the 
 two. Some minerals again so nearly resemble 
 vegetables in form, as to have given rise to spe- 
 cific terms of appellation, derived from the vege- 
 table kingdom ; as flos ferri, mineral agaric, &c. 
 And, lastly, many of the animals called sea-ane- 
 mones so far resemble the flower called by the 
 same name, that their real character is at first 
 very doubtful to those who are unacquainted 
 with the animals of that genus. But, omitting 
 these rare and equivocal instances, and avoiding 
 the confinement of abstract definitions, we may 
 safely affirm that, of all the kingdoms of nature, 
 the individuals of the animal kingdom have the 
 most extensive and important relations to the 
 surrounding universe. And I need not here in- 
 sist on the obvious inference, that if among the 
 kingdoms of nature animals hold the first rank,
 
 PHYSICAL CHARACTER OF MAN. .9 
 
 in consequence of the importance of these rela- 
 tions, among animals themselves the first rank 
 must be assigned to man. 
 
 CHAP. II. 
 The Physical Character of Man. 
 
 SECT. I. 
 
 The Physical Character of Man, compared with that of 
 
 other Animals, 
 
 Although, when viewed in the aggregate of 
 his faculties, moral as well as physical, man 
 confessedly holds the first rank among animals ; 
 yet, if we exclude from our consideration those 
 intellectual powers and moral qualities by which 
 he is essentially characterized, and confine our 
 view to his mere animal nature, we find that he 
 scarcely differs in any important point from any 
 of the species of the higher classes. In each 
 there is the same necessity for air, and sleep, 
 and food ; and the nature of the food and the 
 mode of its digestion are not materially dif- 
 ferent : the nutrient fluid extracted by the pro- 
 cess of digestion is converted into blood of the 
 same character, and distributed in the same 
 manner through the system : the constituent 
 parts of the body and their mode of growth are 
 almost precisely the same ; for the bone, muscle,
 
 10 PHYSICAL CHARACTER OF MAN. 
 
 tendon, skin, hair, and brain of the horse, or 
 deer, or tiger, or bear, scarcely differ in their 
 physical or chemical characters from the corre- 
 spondent parts in man : similar secretions, as the 
 bile, tears, and saliva, are separated by similarly 
 constructed organs ; and similar parts become 
 similarly diseased : the special senses of sight, 
 hearing, taste, and smell, are exercised through 
 the medium of similar organs, simply modified 
 according to the particular wants of individual 
 species : the sources of mere bodily pain or plea- 
 sure are generally the same : the instinctive af- 
 fections, passions, and propensities are the same, 
 and are manifested in the same way ; the angry 
 look of a dog, for instance, bespeaking the inter- 
 nal feeling as strongly as that of the man ; and 
 the playful and rapid movements of the young 
 puppy resembling the careless hilarity of child- 
 hood, no less than the stayed motions and wary 
 eye of the aged hound resemble the sedateness 
 of the aged human being. 
 
 Probably, however, it would be nearer the 
 truth, were we to say that man, if divested of his 
 intellectual powers, and endued merely with his 
 animal nature, would be inferior to the brutes ; 
 for, possessing, as is the case, very few of the 
 prospective or preservative instincts, he would 
 be unable, without the aid of his intellectual 
 powers, to provide for some of his most impe- 
 rious wants.
 
 PHYSICAL CHARACTER OF MAN. 1 1 
 
 But we may go even further than this. Let 
 us suppose, for instance, a community of human 
 individuals, who, though not gifted with intel- 
 lectual powers in a degree sufficient to instruct 
 others, or improve themselves, were yet endued 
 with them to a degree sufficient to render them, 
 if the opportunity offered, docile to a certain ex- 
 tent, and capable of executing many of the com- 
 mon offices of life ; (and what town or village 
 does not present to our observation individual 
 instances of such unhappy shadows of human 
 nature ?) how could a community like this exist ; 
 in which, though all, by the terms of the suppo- 
 sition, were capable of learning something, yet 
 none would be capable of teaching any thing? 
 of what use under these circumstances would be 
 that " instrument of instruments" the human 
 hand, where there was no presiding mind to di- 
 rect its movements ? And, with respect to that 
 wonderful auxiliary of the human powers, how 
 incorrect is the reflection of those who have as- 
 serted that men are superior to brutes, only be- 
 cause they possess this instrument : and how 
 truly philosophical is the opposite reflection, 
 that man is not superior to other animals be- 
 cause he possesses this instrument ; but he is 
 provided with such an instrument precisely be- 
 cause he is already superior to all other animals. 
 And the converse is equally true, that, with in- 
 tellectual powers of even a higher order than
 
 12 PHYSICAL CHARACTER OF MAN. 
 
 those which they already possess, human beings 
 could not live in a state of society, could hardly 
 indeed exist in any state, unless furnished with 
 such an instrument as the hand. 
 
 SECT. II. 
 
 Differences in the Form of the Infant and of the Adult : 
 particularly with reference to the Spine. 
 
 And yet, notwithstanding the confessed supe- 
 riority of man, if we view him only in the in- 
 fancy of his individual existence, what is there 
 that is calculated to give an earnest of his future 
 vigour and activity, either with respect to bodily 
 or mental powers ; and what are all the advan- 
 tages of the external world to a creature so ut- 
 terly helpless, so utterly incapable of using or 
 even passively enjoying them ? In fact, with the 
 exception of a very few instinctive rather than 
 voluntary acts, such as that of deriving its nutri- 
 ment from the mother's breast, the infant is, from 
 the feebleness of his powers, incapable of effi- 
 cient exertion ; and depends entirely on the as- 
 sistance of those around it. 
 
 The physical differences, observable in com- 
 paring the structure of the infant with that of 
 the adult, which enable the one to execute many 
 operations of which the other is incapable, exist 
 to a certain extent in every part of the body ; 
 but are perhaps more remarkable in the spine 
 than in any other part: and the spine there-
 
 PHYSICAL CHARACTER OF MAN. 13 
 
 fore may be selected as a lit term of compa- 
 rison. 
 
 In considering the office of the adult spine, 
 with a view to the present subject, we find that 
 great strength, combined with great flexibility, 
 is particularly requisite. With reference to 
 strength, the pyramidal form of this natural co- 
 lumn is obviously conducive to the purpose in- 
 tended ; and the arrangement of the solid mat- 
 ter, of which it is composed, is such as to contri- 
 bute to the same effect ; for that solid matter, in- 
 stead of being collected into one compact mass, 
 is diffused in such a manner as to resemble the 
 structure of sponge ; and it is well known, with 
 reference to the strength of artificial columns, 
 that, the same quantity of matter being given 
 for each, and their height being the same, those 
 columns which are hollow are stronger than 
 those which are solid. Again, the whole column 
 is made up of numerous parts, called vertebra?, 
 which are so firmly bound together as to lessen 
 the chance of being separated in the act of bend- 
 ing : and these vertebrae being applied to each 
 other, throughout, by broad horizontal surfaces, 
 are thus best calculated to support the perpen- 
 dicular pressure of the superincumbent parts. 
 The effect of general strength is further accom- 
 plished by the mutual locking in of the project- 
 ing portions, or processes, of the several verte- 
 brae ; and the same effect is accomplished to an
 
 14 PHYSICAL CHARACTER OF MAN. 
 
 additional extent among those vertebrae which 
 belong to the thorax or chest, by the mode of ar- 
 ticulation between them and the ribs ; each rib 
 being united, not entirely to a single vertebra, 
 but partially to two contiguous vertebrae, near 
 their line of junction. 
 
 The flexibility of the spine is secured to the ut- 
 most requisite extent, by the great number of ar- 
 ticulations or joints which it possesses, amount- 
 ing to more than twenty ; as well as by the elas- 
 ticity of the substance constituting those joints; 
 and the projecting parts or processes of the se- 
 veral vertebrae, which serve for the insertion of 
 the muscles and tendons which are to move the 
 whole, are differently disposed in the neck, the 
 back, and the loins ; so as to be accommodated 
 to the degree and kind of motion required in 
 each : thus the vertebrae of the neck admit of a 
 lateral motion to a greater extent than those of 
 the back ; and the vertebrae of the back admit of 
 flexion and extension to a greater degree than 
 those of the neck ; while the vertebrae of the 
 loins, being intended for support rather than 
 flexibility, have their processes so distributed, 
 as to contribute principally to the former of 
 those effects. 
 
 Thus far we have considered the conditions of 
 the adult spine, and have seen that they are cal- 
 culated most admirably both for flexibility and 
 for strength. Let us now examine the same co-
 
 PHYSICAL CHARACTER OF MAN. 15 
 
 lumn in the age of early infancy ; and here we 
 shall see, that, although at that period the parts, 
 in which the conditions of strength and flexibi- 
 lity are so remarkably developed in the adult 
 state, are not yet formed, or not completed ; those 
 parts which are essential to the security of the 
 life of the individual are nearly in as perfect a 
 state as at the age of manhood : so that in the 
 midst of the most decided marks of weakness 
 and imperfection in the rest of the column, there 
 is an extraordinary instance of strength and per- 
 fect growth, in precisely that part of it which 
 could not have been left in an incomplete state, 
 without manifest, immediate, and constant dan- 
 ger to the individual. In other words, the bodies 
 and processes of the several vertebrae on which 
 the strength and flexibility of the spine depend, 
 are in early infancy still in a soft or cartilagin- 
 ous state ; while the annular portions, which with 
 their intervening ligaments constitute the spinal 
 canal, are completely ossified ; so as to give as 
 great a degree of security to the spinal marrow 
 as at the age of manhood. 
 
 Nor need we spend much time in ascertaining 
 the final cause of this remarkable difference. Is 
 it not indeed obvious on a moments reflection, 
 that the very helplessness and imperfect state of 
 the physical powers in infancy, so ill understood 
 and appreciated, though so beautifully described 
 by Lucretius, contribute to the fuller develope-
 
 16 PHYSICAL CHARACTER OF MAN. 
 
 ment of the moral character, not only of the in- 
 dividual, but of his parents also, and of all his 
 immediate connexions? The mutual affection, 
 for instance, that takes place and is cemented 
 between the infant and its mother, during the 
 lengthened period in which the latter nurses her 
 offspring; the stimulus, which is given to the 
 exertions of the other parent in supplying the 
 increasing wants of those who depend on him 
 for support ; and the general feeling and expres- 
 sion of good-will and attachment, which bind 
 together the numerous individuals of the same 
 family ; all coincide to increase the sum of hu- 
 man happiness and virtue. Whereas, were the 
 infant born with all its powers complete, and 
 capable of exerting those powers as soon as 
 born, independently of the assistance of parent, 
 or sister, or brother ; what would then remain 
 of those endearing relations, but the empty 
 name ? 
 
 How incorrect then is the conclusion of the 
 poet in that otherwise most beautiful passage 
 of his poem! "The new-born babe, which, like 
 " the shipwrecked mariner, lies prostrate on the 
 " ground, naked and destitute of every assist- 
 " ance required for the support of life, pierces 
 44 the surrounding air with its incessant cries; as 
 " if foreseeing the long train of miseries which 
 " it must hereafter encounter. And yet the ten- 
 " der foal and lamb not only begin to crop the
 
 PHYSICAL CHARACTER OF MAN. 17 
 
 " grass, but play about the mother almost as 
 " soon as born. The nurse's soothing lullaby is 
 " not wanted by them, nor the excitement of the 
 " rattle or of any other toy: nor do they require 
 " a change of clothing accommodated to the 
 " changing temperature of the surrounding at- 
 " mosphere ; nor arms for their defence, nor 
 " walled cities for their protection ; kind na- 
 " ture supplying to them in bountiful profusion 
 " whatever is necessary to satisfy their wants 3 ." 
 As if it might not have been reasonably and 
 safely concluded, that that same power, (call it 
 " nature," or by any other name,) which pro- 
 vided so amply for the early wants of the lower 
 species of animals, had some good and special 
 reason for leaving the human infant in a tern- 
 
 * 
 
 porary state of helpless weakness. 
 
 a Turn porro Puer, ut saevis projectus ab undis 
 Navita, nudus humi jacet, infans, indigus omni 
 Vitali auxilio, cum primum in luminis oras 
 Nixibus ex alvo matris natura profudit ; 
 Vagituque locum lugubri complet, ut aequum 'st, 
 Cui tantum in vita restet transire malorum. 
 At variae crescunt Pecudes, Armenta, Feraeque ; 
 Nee crepitacula eis opu' sunt, nee cuiquam adhibenda 'st 
 Almae nutricis blanda atque infracta loquela : 
 Nee varias quaerunt Vesteis pro tempore Cceli. 
 Denique non Armis opus est, non Moenibus altis, 
 Queis sua tutentur, quando omnibus omnia large 
 Tellus ipsa parit, naturaque daedala rerum. 
 
 Lib. V. 223-235.
 
 18 PHYSICAL CHARACTER OF MAN. 
 
 SECT. III. 
 
 Physical Superiority of Man, on ivltat Principle to be 
 
 estimated. 
 
 From this helplessness in his early years, and 
 from the inferiority of some of his physical or- 
 gans to the corresponding organs of brutes, it 
 has sometimes been absurdly asked what claim 
 man has, from his physical structure or powers, 
 to be placed first in the scale of animal beings. 
 His strength, what is it to that of the elephant 
 or of the horse, or even of some species of rep- 
 tiles or fish? his powers of sight and motion, 
 what are they to those of the bird ? his sense of 
 odours, to that of the dog? his touch, to that of 
 the spider ? 
 
 And yet, even if we entirely omit the con- 
 sideration of the soul, that immaterial and im- 
 mortal principle which is for a time united to 
 his body, and view him only in his merely ani- 
 mal character, man is still the most excellent of 
 animals. How confined are the powers of other 
 animals, considered generally, when compared 
 with those of the human species ! The comb of 
 the bee indeed is in its construction wonderful ; 
 and so is even the nest of the bird, or the habi- 
 tation of the beaver : but these animals could 
 never be taught to fabricate, or to use, the sim- 
 plest of those machines or instruments, which 
 man, even in a very partially civilized state, is
 
 PHYSICAL CHARACTER OF MAN. 19 
 
 in the daily habit of making and employing : 
 much less could they be taught to perform those 
 complicated operations which result from their 
 employment. 
 
 But, it may perhaps be said, it is the mind, 
 the intellectual power of man, which enables 
 him to produce the effects in question. His 
 mind indeed enables him to conceive the plan 
 of those operations which he executes, but it 
 does no more : and were his form deficient by 
 one of the smallest of its present members, he 
 would be rendered nearly helpless. Take from 
 his hand but one of the fingers, and he could do 
 nothing. It is the human hand which gives the 
 power of execution to the human mind ; and it 
 is the relative position of one of the fingers to 
 the other four, which principally stamps the 
 character of the hand ; for the thumb, by its 
 capability of being brought into opposition with 
 each of the other fingers, enables the hand to 
 adapt itself to every shape ; and gives it that 
 complete dominion which it possesses over the 
 various forms of matter b . 
 
 Give all the intelligence therefore that you 
 please to the horse, or to the elephant, yet with 
 hoofs instead of hands it is physically impos- 
 sible that they could construct the simplest in- 
 
 b The term poltroon, if not of fancied etymology, (pollice 
 truncatus,) verifies this statement ; the Roman soldier who had 
 been deprived of his thumb, being deemed unfit for service. 
 
 c 2
 
 20 PHYSICAL CHARACTER OF MAN. 
 
 strument : nor could the organs even of the 
 beaver, were that animal gifted with the high- 
 est intellectual powers, enable it to effect much 
 more than it is capable of effecting at present. 
 
 Man then is in every sense superior, in organ- 
 ization as well as in intellectual powers, to all 
 other animals ; and the degree of resemblance 
 to him, as thus superior, is the main principle of 
 classification adopted at the present day : and 
 upon the whole it will be found that, in propor- 
 tion as the powers and relations of animals are 
 extensive, their structure resembles that of man. 
 And, with respect to the degrees of this resem- 
 blance, it may be observed that occasionally it 
 is so strong, as to constitute all but identity of 
 form, as in some of the quadrumanous animals, 
 or apes; while sometimes it is so faint, as to ren- 
 der it questionable whether we are viewing an 
 animate or inanimate body, as in several va- 
 rieties of sponge. It is evident that the stability 
 of the principle of classification, now described, 
 depends on the permanency of the specific form 
 of animals ; and it will be found that nature has 
 guarded this point in so sacred a manner, that 
 after the lapse of thousands of years, the iden- 
 tity of the species may be not only traced, but 
 demonstrated, when nothing but the almost 
 mouldering bones of the individual remain. But 
 this subject will be considered more at large 
 hereafter.
 
 PHYSICAL CHARACTER OF MAN. 21 
 
 As then, in estimating the moral or intellectual 
 characters of particular men, we are not influ- 
 enced by the consideration of insulated defects 
 or excellencies, but of the aggregate powers and 
 qualities of the individual ; so, in comparing 
 other animals with man, we ought not to affirm 
 that they approach nearer to the standard of his 
 perfection in proportion as they approach nearer 
 to him in the structure of this or that part, or in 
 the developement of particular powers or quali- 
 ties ; but in proportion to that approximation 
 which results from the balance of their structure 
 and powers considered collectively. And on this 
 principle, however nearly a few of them may re- 
 semble him, they never can approach even the 
 confines of an equality of nature ; whatever 
 some speculative individuals have presumptu- 
 ously supposed, or others in their simplicity 
 have feared. Thus the resemblance to the hu- 
 man form, as well internally as externally, is so 
 remarkable in particular species of the ape, that 
 while some philosophers (who however proceed- 
 ed without a knowledge or a due considera- 
 tion of the true principles of the science con- 
 cerned in their reasonings) have maintained 
 that the ape and man are but varieties of the 
 same species, or at most but different species of 
 the same genus ; others, with an unnecessary 
 anxiety, have laboured to vindicate the supposed 
 insult thus offered to the dignity of human na- 
 
 c 3
 
 22 PHYSICAL CHARACTER OF MAN. 
 
 ture, by searching for some fixed and invari- 
 able difference in the structure of correspond- 
 ing parts of each. 
 
 But the question is puerile : for let us even 
 suppose that the whole and every part of the 
 structure of the ape were the same as that of 
 man ; let every bone, and every muscle, and 
 every fibre of the one correspond exactly with 
 those of the other, not only in form and situation, 
 but also in size and proportion ; let the brain 
 itself, that tangible instrument of the intellectual 
 powers, be in structure the counterpart of the 
 human ; yet, unless in its functions it resembled 
 that of man, in other words, unless there Mere 
 associated with it his intellectual peculiarities 
 and the moral and religious sense, to what dread- 
 ed conclusion would the closest resemblances 
 lead ? However near the approximation in their 
 form, in their nature there must ever be an im- 
 measurable distance between the two. The ape, 
 compared with man, may indeed be among other 
 animals " proximus huic :" still however it must 
 be added, " longo sed proximus intervallo." 
 
 SECT. IV. 
 
 Early and gradual Developement of the intelleclual 
 Faculties of Man, 
 
 The helplessness of infancy then is but tem- 
 porary : and a new scene soon opens to the con- 
 templation of those who have sufficient opportu-
 
 PHYSICAL CHARACTER OF MAN. 23 
 
 nities of watching the developement of the hu- 
 man character : for, long as is the period, com- 
 pared with the natural term of his own life, and 
 longer still, compared with the corresponding 
 period in the life of other animals, before man 
 attains the full stature of his mind as well as of 
 his body ; he at a very early season begins to 
 manifest the superiority of his intellectual na- 
 ture : he very soon begins to collect those mate- 
 rials for future use, which, though he will never 
 hereafter be able to call to mind the moment or 
 the circumstances of their accession, he will use 
 as effectually as if he had originally acquired 
 them by industrious and direct attention. 
 
 It does not fall within the intention of this 
 treatise to attempt to ascertain the period when 
 the first dawn of intelligence enlightens the 
 countenance of the infant ; but, undoubtedly, 
 among its earliest beams are those expressive 
 smiles, which, although they are occasioned by 
 the aspect of the mother, and are perhaps only 
 connected with the expectation of an animal 
 pleasure, namely the simple enjoyment of nou- 
 rishment, yet are soon elicited by other indi- 
 viduals also, who may understand how to win 
 the attention, and amuse the faculties of the in- 
 fant mind. 
 
 It seems as if there were implanted in the 
 young of all animals, of the higher orders, an 
 instinctive propensity to those actions which are 
 
 c 4
 
 24 PHYSICAL CHARACTER OF MAN. 
 
 naturally determined by their specific form when 
 fully developed ; in order perhaps, among other 
 purposes, to give occasion for that exercise of the 
 limbs which is necessary to the health of the in- 
 dividual. Hence the young ram couches his 
 head, and tilts at his adversary, long before his 
 horns have appeared ; and the young pheasant 
 assails his antagonist with his projected legs, 
 long before his spurs have begun to bud. And, 
 following this analogy, may we not reasonably 
 suppose that the sports of childhood have a na- 
 tural tendency to prefigure the occupations of 
 manhood ; and that by the extension of the same 
 principle, independently of the impulse given by 
 systematic education, or spontaneous imitation 
 of their parents and others, there are instinctive 
 differences in the amusements of children of dif- 
 ferent temperaments, connected with their fu- 
 ture destinations in life ? Thus while the boy is 
 engaged in the mimicry of military parade or 
 equestrian exercises, the girl devotes her time 
 to more feminine occupations, and busies herself 
 in acting the various duties which her nursery 
 or household will hereafter require. The re- 
 corded attempt to conceal Achilles in female 
 attire, whether founded in fact, or, as is pro- 
 bable, merely a fictitious anecdote, will serve 
 to illustrate the present point; inasmuch as 
 the use of the means, said to have been em- 
 ployed by Ulysses to detect the hero, was evi-
 
 PHYSICAL CHARACTER OF MAN. *25 
 
 dently suggested by the principle just now ad- 
 vanced. 
 
 At this early period of life then, the judgment 
 being not sufficiently matured for deeper obser- 
 vation, the mind is satisfied with a view of the 
 form and surface of objects presented to it ; with 
 their anatomy, as it were, rather than with their 
 physiology : but, in the mean time, it is thus 
 acquainting itself undistractedly with those sen- 
 sible qualities, with which it must necessarily be 
 familiar before it can proceed to reason on causes 
 and relations. And although it may appear at 
 first view that a very disproportionately long 
 period of our life is devoted to the mere exercise 
 of the senses, it is yet highly probable that im- 
 portant mental operations may be simultane- 
 ously going on, though we are at the time un- 
 conscious of them : for something analogous is 
 observable throughout the whole course of our 
 existence. How few there are, for instance, who, 
 at any period of life, can call to mind a tenth 
 part of what they have even recently heard or 
 observed. Aud if this may be correctly affirmed 
 of the adult age of life, and of those individuals 
 whose original powers of mind are great, how 
 much more strongly will it apply to those whose 
 original powers of mind are not above the com- 
 mon standard, or not yet matured by age. So 
 that there can be very little doubt that the ge- 
 neral principles and rules, which regulate the
 
 26 PHYSICAL CHARACTER OF MAN. 
 
 reasoning and conduct of men on ordinary oc- 
 casions, have been originally deduced by each 
 individual from much of what has been long 
 forgotten. 
 
 It has been asserted by persons , whose in- 
 tellectual powers were of the highest order, and 
 whose industry was as remarkable as their abili- 
 ties, that more than six or eight hours in each 
 day could not be employed effectively by the 
 generality of young men for the purpose of men- 
 tal improvement. If this however be the case, 
 and as a general position it probably is not very 
 far from the truth, in vain does the ambitious 
 student rob nature of that sleep which Provi- 
 dence has made necessary for the renovation of 
 the exhausted powers of our mind, as well as of 
 our body ; and in vain also does he attempt to 
 combine simultaneously the efforts of mental at- 
 tention with bodily exercise, or to pursue his 
 severer studies during the hour of meals : in 
 both which cases, they, who adopt the custom, 
 not only err in employing too continuous an ap- 
 plication of the powers of the mind ; but in im- 
 peding to a certain and often very inconvenient 
 degree the process of natural respiration ; and, 
 consequently, of other functions of the body, 
 particularly of digestion. How main a point 
 
 c Lord chief justice Hale; (see Boswell's Life of Johnson, 
 vol. ii. p. 511, 4to. London, 1791;) not to mention living au- 
 thorities.
 
 PHYSICAL CHARACTER OF MAN. 27 
 
 ought it to be therefore with those who superin- 
 tend the education of young persons, to avoid 
 the application of too great a strain on the natu- 
 ral spring of the intellectual powers. 
 
 It is questionable whether at any period of life 
 the correspondence between the external world 
 and the sensitive and intellectual faculties of 
 man, is so rapid, so vivid, and so effectual, as 
 during that space which is intermediate to in- 
 fancy and adolescence : and this fact, if it be so, 
 may be explained by that principle of our na- 
 ture, on which depends the love of novelty; 
 namely, that susceptibility of the nerves which 
 makes them capable of being stimulated more 
 vehemently by new, than by accustomed im- 
 pressions : for certainly this principle is likely 
 to be more exercised in proportion as we are 
 nearer the period of infancy ; since every im- 
 pression is then either absolutely new, or has not 
 yet rendered the nerves dull by too frequent a 
 repetition of its application. Another happy in- 
 stance of the harmony that exists between the 
 nature of man and the external world, is the 
 readiness and confidence with which at this 
 early period of life the impressions of sense 
 are received. Where all is new, and therefore 
 equally matter of wonder, there is yet no room 
 for doubt. Nature teaches the mind to receive 
 every thing without distrust, and to rely impli- 
 citly on those inlets to knowledge, the impres-
 
 28 POWERS OF THE HUMAN HAND, 
 
 sions of sense, which are destined to be its only 
 guides in the first years of life. Scepticism is 
 not the tendency of childhood : and perhaps it 
 is with reference to the analogy between the eye 
 of faith and the eye of sense at this early period 
 of life, that our Saviour pronounces a blessing 
 upon those who receive the evidences of our re- 
 ligion with the simplicity of little children. 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 
 On the Powers of the human Hand, considered 
 as a corporeal Organ. 
 
 At length however, having passed the pre- 
 paratory discipline both of natural and of pa- 
 rental education, and having arrived at the ma- 
 turity of his powers, man is fitted to exercise his 
 empire over the external world. 
 
 But before we consider the character of the 
 materials provided for the supply of his various 
 wants, or for the exercise of his intellectual fa- 
 culties, let us examine more closely than hitherto 
 the condition of those corporeal organs, by the 
 agency of which he is enabled to produce the 
 results intended. 
 
 There can be no doubt that those organs are, 
 if not exclusively, at least preeminently, the 
 brain and the hand : of the latter of which, 
 not only are the uses of the several parts and
 
 CONSIDERED AS A CORPOREAL ORGAN. 29 
 
 of the whole made practically manifest every 
 moment of our lives ; but its antecedent capa- 
 bilities are so open to the investigating eye 
 of reason, as to afford one of the readiest sub- 
 jects of physical demonstration. And although, 
 with respect to the brain, we not only have no 
 satisfactory evidence, but cannot even form a 
 well-grounded conjecture, of the mode of action 
 of any particular part ; yet we cannot doubt 
 that it is the instrument by which our intellec- 
 tual powers hold communion with external na- 
 ture. I shall dedicate therefore this and the 
 following chapter to the consideration of the 
 general history of these organs. 
 
 It would be an invasion of the province of 
 others to give an anatomical description of the 
 several constituent parts of the human hand : 
 but in saying that its adaptation to the various 
 purposes to which it is applicable is so open to 
 the investigating eye of reason, as to afford one 
 of the readiest subjects of physical demonstra- 
 tion, a tacit reference was made to that remark- 
 able part of the writings of Galen, in which he 
 expatiates upon the capabilities of this won- 
 derful instrument : and that that extraordinary 
 writer could hardlv have selected a better sub- 
 ject, for the exercise of his powers in intellectual 
 analysis, will be readily granted on a perusal of 
 the following passages ; provided they correctly 
 represent the spirit of the original.
 
 .30 POWERS OF THE HUMAN HAND, 
 
 In that portion of his works which bears this 
 title, " On the Use of the various Parts of the 
 " Body," after having denned what is to be un- 
 derstood by the term part, or member ', as applied 
 to an animal body, Galen proceeds in the fol- 
 lowing manner d : "But all these parts of the 
 ' body were made for the use of the soul, that 
 ' sentient and intelligent principle which ani- 
 ' mates the body, and of which the body is 
 ' merely the organ ; and on this account the 
 ' component parts of animals differ according to 
 ' the nature of this principle : for some ani- 
 ' mals are bold and fierce ; others are timid and 
 ' gentle : some are gregarious, and cooperate for 
 ' their mutual sustenance and defence ; others 
 ' are solitary, and avoid the society of their fel- 
 ' lows : but all have a form or body accommo- 
 1 dated to their natural dispositions and habits. 
 ' Thus the lion has powerful fangs and claws ; 
 ' the hare has swiftness of foot, but in other 
 ' points is defenceless. And the fitness of this 
 1 arrangement is obvious : for those weapons 
 ' with which the lion is furnished are as appro- 
 ' priate to his nature, as they would be useless 
 ' to the timid hare ; whose safety, depending 
 * entirely on flight, requires that swiftness of 
 1 foot for which she is so remarkable. But to 
 ' man, the only animal that partakes of divine 
 ' intelligence, the Creator has given, in lieu of 
 
 d Lib. I. cap. 2.
 
 CONSIDERED AS A CORPOREAL ORGAN. 31 
 
 " every other natural weapon or organ of de- 
 " fence, that instrument, the hand; an instru- 
 " ment applicable to every art and occasion, as 
 " well of peace as of Mar. Man therefore wants 
 " not a hoof, or horn, or any other natural wea- 
 " pon ; inasmuch as he is able with his hand to 
 " grasp a much more effective weapon, the sword 
 " or spear. Besides which, natural weapons can 
 " be employed only in close conflict ; while some 
 " of the weapons employed by man, as javelins 
 " or arrows, are even more effectual at a distance. 
 " And, again, though man may be inferior to 
 " the lion in swiftness, yet by his dexterity and 
 " skill he breaks in to his use a still swifter ani- 
 " mal, the horse ; mounted on whose back he 
 " can escape from or pursue the lion, or attack 
 " him at every advantage. He is enabled more- 
 " over by means of this instrument to clothe 
 " himself with armour of various kinds, or to en- 
 " trench himself within camps or fenced cities. 
 " Whereas were his hands encumbered with any 
 " natural armour, he would be unable to employ 
 " them for the fabrication of those instruments 
 " and means, which give him such a decided 
 " advantage over all the other animals of cre- 
 " ation. 
 
 " Nor have we yet enumerated the most im- 
 " portant of those privileges which the hand 
 " imparts to man. With this he weaves the 
 " garment that protects him from the summer's
 
 32 POWERS OF THE HUMAN HAND, 
 
 " heat or winter's cold ; with this he forms the 
 " various furniture of nets and snares, which give 
 " him dominion over the inhabitants as well of 
 " the water as of the air and earth ; with his 
 " hand he constructs the lyre and lute, and the 
 " numerous instruments employed in the several 
 " arts of life ; with the hand he erects altars and 
 " shrines to the immortal gods ; and, lastly, by 
 " means of the same instrument he bequeaths to 
 " posterity, in writing, the intellectual treasures 
 " of his own divine imagination : and hence we, 
 " who are living at this day, are enabled to hold 
 " converse with Plato and Aristotle, and all the 
 " venerable sages of antiquity." 
 
 In reasoning on the utility of the hand, as 
 characteristic of the human species, Galen thus 
 expresses himself 6 : " Man being naturally de- 
 " stitute of corporeal weapons, as also of any 
 " instinctive art, has received a compensation, 
 " first in the gift of that peculiar instrument the 
 " hand, secondly in the gift of reason ; by the 
 " employment of which two gifts he arms and 
 " protects his body in every mode, and adorns 
 " his mind with the knowledge of every art. 
 " For since, had he been furnished with any 
 " natural weapon, he woidd have possessed the 
 " use of this alone on all occasions ; or had he 
 " been gifted with any instinctive art, he would 
 " never have attained to the exercise of other 
 
 '■ Lib. I. cap. 4.
 
 CONSIDERED AS A CORPOREAL ORGAN. 33 
 
 " arts ; hence he was created destitute of those 
 " insulated and individual means and arts, which 
 " characterize other animals ; inasmuch as it is 
 " manifestly preferable to have the power of 
 " making use of various means and various arts. 
 " Rightly, therefore, has Aristotle denned the 
 " hand to be the instrument antecedent to, or 
 " productive of, all other instruments : and 
 " rightly might we, in imitation of Aristotle, de- 
 " fine reason, as opposed to instinct, to be the 
 " art antecedent to, or productive of, all other 
 " arts. For as the hand, though itself no par- 
 " ticular organ, is yet capable of being adapted 
 " to all other organs, and is consequently ante- 
 " cedent to them ; so reason, though itself no 
 " particular art, is yet capable of comprehend- 
 " ing and applying all ; and may therefore be 
 " considered as an art antecedent to all others. 
 " Thus man alone, of all animals, possessing in 
 " his soul this general and original capacity, is 
 "justly endued in his body with this general 
 " and original instrument." 
 
 " f Let us then scrutinize this member of our 
 " body ; and inquire, not simply whether it be 
 " in itself useful for all the purposes of life, and 
 " adapted to an animal endued with the highest 
 " intelligence ; but whether its entire structure 
 " be not such, that it could not be improved by 
 " any conceivable alteration. 
 
 f Lib. i. cap. 5. 
 D
 
 34 POWERS OF THE HUMAN HAND, 
 
 " In the first place, it possesses in an eminent 
 " degree a leading quality of an organ of grasp ; 
 " since it readily applies itself to, and securely 
 " holds, bodies of every form and size that are 
 " capable of being moved by human strength. 
 " Nor need we inquire whether it be better for 
 " this purpose that it should be divided into 
 " several parts ; or, that it should be altogether 
 " undivided : for is it not apparent without fur- 
 " ther reasoning, that had it been undivided, it 
 " could have grasped only just such a portion 
 " of every object presented to it, as was equal 
 " to itself; but that, being divided into many 
 " parts, it can both easily grasp bodies much 
 " larger than itself; and can accurately search 
 " out, and lay hold of, the smallest particles of 
 " matter. For to the former it is capable of 
 " generally applying itself so, as to encompass 
 " them by the separation of the fingers ; while 
 " in laying hold of very minute objects, the en- 
 " tire hand is not employed, but only the tips. 
 " of two of the fingers : because from the grasp 
 " of the whole hand minute objects would easily 
 " escape. 
 
 " Thus then the hand is framed in the man- 
 " ner most convenient for laying a firm hold on 
 " objects both greater and less than itself. And 
 " in order to enable it to apply itself to objects 
 " of various shapes, it is evidently most conve- 
 " nient that it should be divided into many
 
 CONSIDERED AS A CORPOREAL ORGAN. 35 
 
 parts, as it is : and it seems to be better con- 
 stituted for this purpose than any similar in- 
 strument ; for it not only can apply itself to 
 substances of a spherical form, so as to touch 
 them with every part of itself ; but it also can 
 securely hold substances of a plane or of a 
 concave surface ; and, consequently, it can 
 hold substances of any form. 
 " And, because many bodies are of too great 
 a size to be held by one hand alone, nature 
 has therefore made each hand an assistant to 
 its fellow ; so that the two, when together lay- 
 ing hold of bodies of unusual bulk, on opposite 
 sides, are fully equivalent to a single hand of 
 the very largest dimensions : and, on this ac- 
 count, the hands are inclined towards, and in 
 every point are made equal to, each other ; 
 which is at least desirable, if not necessary, 
 in instruments intended to have a combined 
 action. 
 
 "Take then any one of those unwieldy bodies, 
 which a man can only lay hold of by means of 
 both his hands, as a millstone or a rafter ; or 
 take one of the smallest objects, as a millet- 
 seed or a hair, or a minute thorn ; or, lastly, re- 
 flect on that vast multitude of objects of every 
 possible size, intermediate to the greatest and 
 the least of those above mentioned ; and you 
 will find the hands so exactly capable of grasp- 
 ing each particular one, as if they had been 
 
 d 2
 
 36 POWERS OF THE HUMAN HAND, 
 
 " expressly made for grasping that alone. Thus 
 " the smallest things of all we take up with the 
 " tips of the fingers; those which are a little larger 
 " we take up with the same fingers, but not with 
 " the tips of them ; substances still larger we 
 " take up with three fingers, and so on with 
 " four, or with all the five fingers, or even with 
 " the whole hand ; all which we could not do, 
 " were not the hand divided, and divided pre- 
 " cisely as it is. For suppose the thumb were 
 " not placed as it is, in opposition to the other 
 " four fingers, but that all the five were ranged 
 " in the same line ; is it not evident that in this 
 " case their number would be useless ? For in 
 " order to have a firm hold of any thing, it is 
 " necessary either to grasp it all round, or at 
 " least to grasp it in two opposite points ; neither 
 " of which would have been possible, if all the 
 " five fingers had been placed in the same plane: 
 " but the end is now fully attainable, simply in 
 " consequence of the position of the thumb ; 
 " which is so placed, and has exactly such a 
 " degree of motion, as, by a slight inclination, to 
 " be easily made to cooperate with any one of 
 " the four fingers. And no one can doubt that 
 " nature purposely gave to the hands a form 
 " adapted to that mode of action, which they 
 " are observed to haves; while in the feet, where 
 " extent of surface is wanted for support, all the 
 
 g Lib. ii. cap. !).
 
 CONSIDERED AS A CORPOREAL ORGAN. 37 
 
 " toes are arranged in the same plane. h But, to 
 " return to a point which we were just now con- 
 " sidering, it is not merely necessary in laying 
 " hold of minute objects to employ the extremi- 
 " ties of the fingers opposed to each other, but 
 " that those extremities should be exactly of the 
 " character they are, namely soft, and round, 
 " and furnished with nails : for if the tips of the 
 " fingers were of bone, and not of flesh, we could 
 " not then lay hold of such minute bodies as 
 " thorns or hairs ; or if they were of a softer and 
 " moister substance than flesh, neither then could 
 " such small bodies have been secured. For, in 
 " order that a body may be firmly held, it is 
 " necessary that it be in some degree infolded 
 " in the substance holding it ; which condition 
 " could not have been fulfilled by a hard or 
 " bony material ; and on the other hand, a mate- 
 " rial too soft would easily yield to substances 
 " of which it attempted to lay hold, and would 
 " continually let them escape : whereas the ex- 
 " tremities of the fingers are just of that inter- 
 " mediate degree of consistence, which is calcu- 
 " lated for their intended use. 
 
 " 'But, since tangible substances vary much 
 " in their degree of hardness, nature has adapted 
 " the structure of the extremities of the fingers 
 " to that circumstance : for they are not formed 
 " either entirely of flesh, or of the substance 
 
 h Lib. i. cap. 6. i Lib. i. cap. 7- 
 
 D 3
 
 38 POWERS OF THE HUMAN HAND, 
 
 " called nail ; but of a most convenient combi- 
 " nation of the two ; thus those parts which are 
 " capable of being mutually brought in apposi- 
 " tion, and which are employed in feeling for 
 " minute objects, are fleshy ; while the nails are 
 " placed externally, as a support to the former. 
 " For the fingers are capable of holding soft sub- 
 " stances, simply by the fleshy or soft part of 
 " their extremity ; but they could not hold hard 
 " substances without the assistance of nails ; 
 " deprived of the support of which the flesh 
 " would be forced out of its position. And on 
 " the other hand, we could not lay hold of hard 
 " substances by means of the nails alone ; for 
 " these being themselves hard, would easily slip 
 " from the contact of hard bodies. 
 
 " Thus then the soft flesh at the tips of the 
 " fingers compensating for the unyielding nature 
 " of the nails, and the nails giving support to the 
 " yielding softness of the flesh, the fingers are 
 k ' hereby rendered capable of holding substances 
 " that are both small and hard. And this will 
 " be more evident, if you consider the effect of 
 " an unusual length of the nails; for where the 
 " nails are immoderately long, and consequently 
 " come in contact with each other, they cannot 
 " lay hold of any minute object, as a small thorn 
 " or a hair ; while, on the other hand, if, from 
 " being unusually short, they do not reach to 
 " the extremities of the lingers, minute bodies
 
 CONSIDERED AS A CORPOREAL ORGAN. 39 
 
 " are incapable of being held through defect of 
 " the requisite support : but if they reach exactly 
 " to the extremities of the fingers, they then, 
 " and then only, fulfil the intention for which 
 " they were made. The nails, however, are ap- 
 " plicable to many other purposes besides those 
 " which have been mentioned ; as in polishing 
 " and scraping, and in tearing and peeling off 
 " the skin of vegetables, or animals : and in 
 " short, in almost every art where nicety of ex- 
 " edition is required, the nails are called into 
 " action." 
 
 In alluding to the sceptics of his time, the lan- 
 guage of Galen is as follows : " k Whoever ad- 
 ' mires not the skill and contrivance of nature, 
 ' must either be deficient in intellect, or must 
 ' have some private motive, which withholds 
 ' him from expressing his admiration. He must 
 ' be deficient in intellect, if he do not perceive 
 ' that the human hand possesses all those qua- 
 ' lifications which it is desirable it should pos- 
 ' sess ; or if he think that it might have had a 
 ' form and construction preferable to that which 
 ' it has: or he must be prejudiced, by having 
 ' imbibed some wretched opinions, consistently 
 ' with which he could not allow that contrivance 
 ' is observable in the works of nature 1 ." 
 
 k Lib. iii. cap. 10. 
 
 1 Galen adds : " Such persons we are bound to pity, as being 
 " originally infatuated with respect to so main a point ; while 
 
 D 4
 
 40 POWERS OF THE HUMAN HAND, 
 
 Galen then thus sums up this part of the ar- 
 gument. " The contrivances of nature are so 
 " various, and so consummately skilful, that the 
 " wisest of mankind, in endeavouring to search 
 " them out, have not yet been able to discover 
 " them all m ." And nearly in the same words, 
 expressive of the same sentiment, does Solomon 
 say — " Then I beheld all the work of God, that 
 " a man cannot find out the work that is done 
 " under the sun : because though a man labour 
 " to seek it out, yet he shall not find it ; yea far- 
 " ther ; though a wise man think to know it, yet 
 " shall he not be able to find it 11 ." 
 
 I may be permitted, perhaps, to subjoin a 
 passage from another part of the same work of 
 Galen, though not confined to the same subject ; 
 in which, after having noticed many evidences 
 of design in the construction of the human body, 
 particularly the adaptation, in the number and 
 
 ; ' at the same time it behoves us to proceed in the instruction of 
 " those happier individuals, who are not only possessed of a 
 " sound intellect, but of a love of truth." 
 
 On another occasion, in reprobating such cavillers, he says — 
 (lib. iii. cap. 10.) " But if I waste more time on such profligates, 
 " virtuous men might justly accuse me of polluting this sacred 
 " argument, which I have composed as a sincere hymn to the 
 " praise and honour of the Creator; being persuaded that true 
 " piety to him consists, not in the sacrifice of whole hecatombs 
 
 of oxon, nor in the offer of a thousand varieties of incense ; 
 " but in believing within ourselves, and in declaring to others, 
 1 how greal lie is in wisdom, power, and goodness." 
 
 "> Lib. \. cap. 10. " Eccles. viii. 17.
 
 CONSIDERED AS A CORPOREAL ORGAN. 41 
 
 size of the parts, to the effect to be produced, 
 he breaks out into this remarkable apostrophe — 
 " °How can a man of any intelligence refer all 
 " this to chance, as its cause : or, if he deny this 
 " to be the effect of foresight and skill, I would 
 " ask, what is there that foresight and skill do 
 " effect? For surely where chance or fortune 
 " act, we see not this correspondence and regu- 
 " larity of parts. I am not very solicitous about 
 " terms : but if you choose to call that chance 
 " which has so nicely constructed and so justly 
 " distributed all the parts of an animal body, do 
 " so ; only remember and allow, that in so doing 
 " you do not fairly exercise the privilege of 
 " framing new terms : for in this way you may 
 " call the meridian splendour of the sun by the 
 " name of night ; and the sun itself, darkness. 
 " What ! was it chance that made the skin give 
 " way so as to produce a mouth ? or, if this hap- 
 " pened by chance, did chance also place teeth 
 " and a tongue within that mouth ? For, if so, 
 " why should there not be teeth and a tongue in 
 " the nostrils, or in the ear?" Or, to carry on a 
 similar appeal, " did chance dispose the teeth 
 " themselves in their present order ; which if it 
 " were any other than it is, what would be the 
 " consequence? If, for instance, the incisors and 
 " canine teeth had occupied the back part of the 
 " mouth, and the molar or grinding teeth had 
 
 Lib. xi. cap. 7- <md 8.
 
 42 POWERS OF THE HUMAN HAND, 
 
 " occupied the front, what use could we have 
 " made of either ? Shall we then admire the skill 
 " of him who disposes a chorus of thirty-two 
 " men in just order ; and can we deny the skill 
 " of the Creator, in disposing the same number 
 " of teeth in an order so convenient, so neces- 
 " sary even for our existence ?" 
 
 He then extends the argument to the teeth of 
 other animals, as corresponding with the nature 
 of their food ; and also to the form of their feet, 
 as having a relation to the character of their 
 teeth. 
 
 " Never," says Cuvier, one of the most expe- 
 rienced physiologists of the present age, " never 
 " do you see in nature the cloven hoof of the ox 
 " joined with the pointed fang of the lion ; nor 
 " the sharp talons of the eagle accompanying 
 " the flattened beak of the swan." 
 
 In corresponding expressions Galen exclaims, 
 
 " i' How does it happen that the teeth and talons 
 
 " of the leopard and lion should be similar ; as 
 
 " also the teeth and hoofs of the sheep and 
 
 "goat; that in animals which are by nature 
 
 " courageous, there should be found sharp and 
 
 k strong weapons, which are never found in 
 
 4k those animals that are by nature timid : or, 
 
 " lastly, that in no animal do we meet with a 
 
 " combination of powerful talons with inoffen- 
 
 i 1 Lib. xi. cap. 8. ed. Kiilm. vol. Hi. p. 87- r >. li". 3-17- and 
 p. }{<»■->. lin. 12-17.
 
 CONSIDERED AS A CORPOREAL ORGAN. 43 
 
 " sive teeth ? How should this happen, but that 
 " they are all the work of a Creator, who ever 
 " kept in mind the use and mutual relation of 
 " different organs, and the final purpose of all 
 " his works?" 
 
 CHAP. IV. 
 
 On the Brain, considered as the Organ of the 
 
 Intellectual Faculties. 
 
 IT can no more be doubted that many of the 
 phenomena of nature, and the important practi- 
 cal and philosophical conclusions deduced from 
 them, would have been hitherto concealed from 
 human knowledge, had man failed to exercise 
 those intellectual faculties with which the Crea- 
 tor has endued him ; than that political commu- 
 nities would have failed to exist, and social life 
 to be adorned with the arts of civilization, had 
 all mankind determined to pursue the mode of 
 life adopted by savage tribes : nor can it be 
 doubted that the Creator, in imparting to man 
 intellectual faculties superior to those of brutes, 
 intended that he should exercise them, not solely 
 with a view to the higher and future destination 
 of his nature, but also with a view to the pur- 
 poses of this present life. 
 
 Since however the senses of hearing, sight, 
 and touch, which are the great inlets of know- 
 ledge, are possessed by many of the inferior
 
 44 ON THE BRAIN. 
 
 classes of animals in common with ourselves, by 
 some indeed in a more exquisite degree ; since 
 also those animals are capable of remembering 
 past, and conjecturing future events, although 
 incapable of the more abstract functions of the 
 understanding ; it becomes highly interesting to 
 inquire whether there is any thing in the physi- 
 cal structure of man which renders him more 
 capable of being acted on by external agents, 
 with respect to the developement of his intel- 
 lectual faculties, than brutes are : in other words, 
 whether there is a material instrument in animal 
 organization, the general composition of which 
 is in obvious correspondence with the degree of 
 intellect evinced by different species of animals 
 including man as one of those species. 
 
 Now if any one in the least degree conversant 
 with the laws of optics and of sound, were to 
 doubt the adaptation of the structure of the eye 
 and of the ear to those laws respectively, he 
 would fairly be ranked among the individuals 
 of that class of speculatists whose minds are too 
 weak to apprehend any truth. And though there 
 is not so obvious a relation between the struc- 
 ture of the brain and the exercise of the mental 
 faculties, as in the case of the eye and light, and 
 of the car and sound; yet the indications of a 
 natural connexion between the two are both 
 clear and numerous. And hence not only have 
 philosophical inquirers in all ages acknowledged
 
 ON THE BRAIN. 45 
 
 such a connexion ; but the most common ob- 
 servers have ever felt an intuitive conviction of 
 its existence, and have considered the brain as 
 the instrument of thought and reason^: the 
 truth of which assertion is evident from various 
 metaphorical terms expressive both of intellec- 
 tual defect and of intellectual excellence. 
 
 It may be presumed that, without the aid af- 
 forded by the study of anatomy or natural his- 
 tory, the most cursory observer might discover 
 that the indications of intelligence, manifested 
 by the various classes of animals, generally cor- 
 respond in degree with their approximation in 
 physical structure to man ; and that, if we con- 
 fine our view to the four highest classes, namely 
 fish, reptiles, birds, and quadrupeds, and con- 
 sider them with reference to their respective de- 
 gree of docility ; fish and reptiles, which are the 
 lowest in the scale, will readily be allowed to 
 be inferior to birds, which are a degree higher 
 in the scale ; and these again will with equal 
 readiness be allowed to be inferior to quadru- 
 peds, which are the highest. 
 
 And it would be acknowledged upon a more 
 accurate investigation, that, although there are 
 
 i and his pure brain, 
 
 Which some suppose the soul's frail dwelling house, 
 Doth, by the idle comments which it makes, 
 Foretell the ending of mortality. 
 
 King John, Act 5, Scene 7-
 
 46 ON THE BRAIN. 
 
 at first sight some seeming exceptions to the 
 regularity of gradation, the apparent anomalies 
 vanish when put to the test of a philosophical 
 examination. Should it be said, for instance, that 
 the bee or the ant shews greater indications of 
 intelligence than many species much higher in 
 the scale of animal creation, it may be answered 
 that those indications are manifested in actions 
 which are referable to instinct, rather than intel- 
 ligence ; actions namely, which being essential 
 to the existence of the individuals, and the pre- 
 servation of the species, are apparently deter- 
 mined by some internal impulse which animals 
 unconsciously obey. Nor does it militate against 
 such a notion of instinct, that when accidental 
 impediments prevent the regular evolution of 
 the comb, taking that as an instance, the bee 
 accommodates the arrangement of its fabric to 
 the impediment which is placed in its way : for 
 such a modification of instinct is as clearly ne- 
 cessary in the case of an occasional impedi- 
 ment, as instinct itself is necessary for the gene- 
 ral purpose. 
 
 In speaking of instinct I purposely avoid a 
 formal definition of the term : for any attempt 
 to define with accuracy a principle, of the real 
 nature of which we are ignorant, usually leaves 
 us in a state of greater darkness than we were 
 before ; of which the following extraordinary at- 
 tempt, with reference to the very principle now
 
 ON THE BRAIN. 47 
 
 under consideration, is a sufficient illustration. 
 It is quoted from an author of the name of Wag- 
 ner, in a work on the Brain of Man and other 
 Animals, written by Wenzel and his brother ; 
 and is as follows : " The instincts of animals 
 " are nothing more than inert or passive attrac- 
 " tions derived from the power of sensation : and 
 " the instinctive operations of animals nothing 
 " more than crystallizations produced through 
 " the agency of that power 1 *." 
 
 Of the general position, then, that the brain 
 is the instrument of intelligence, and that the 
 degree of intelligence characteristic of different 
 classes of animals is proportional to the ap- 
 proximation of their structure to that of man, it 
 may for the present be presumed that no one 
 doubts. 
 
 CHAP. V. 
 The Nervous System of Animals in general. 
 
 SECT. I. 
 
 The Nervous System of the inferior Animals. 
 
 AS the peculiarities in the structure of the 
 human brain cannot be understood without a 
 reference not only to the brain but to the nerv- 
 
 r " Instinctus animalium nihil aliud sunt., quam attractiones 
 " mortuae a sensibilitate profectae ; et eorum artificia nihil aliud 
 " quam crystallizationes per sensibilitatem productae." Wenzel, 
 De penitiori Structura Cerebri. Tubingae, fol. 1812. p. 248, 1. 10.
 
 48 NERVOUS SYSTEM OF ANIMALS. 
 
 ous system at large of other animals ; it will be 
 necessary to take such a survey of that system 
 as may be sufficient for the present purpose. 
 
 In the lowest species of animals, which ap- 
 pear to be devoid of any specific organs of di- 
 gestion, motion, or sensation ; whose economy 
 indeed only enables them to contribute, in a 
 mode as yet unknown, to the nutrition and pre- 
 servation of the individual, or to the continu- 
 ation of the species, no distinct nervous system 
 has yet been discovered, or at least satisfactorily 
 demonstrated: it is presumed rather than known 
 that in such animals there exists a variable num- 
 ber of small insulated masses of nervous matter 
 called ganglions, which are connected with each 
 other, and with different parts of the body, by 
 means of slender filaments that radiate from 
 these masses in various directions. 
 
 In ascending the scale of animal existence 
 we meet with species, in which, though devoid 
 of organs of sense and motion, there exist dis- 
 tinct organs of digestion : and in such species 
 the upper part of the passage leading from the 
 mouth to the stomach is usually surrounded by 
 a kind of collar, from whence distinct nerves 
 are distributed to the other parts of the body. 
 
 In ascending still higher the scale of animal 
 existence we find, together with a greater sym- 
 metry of structure in the whole individual, ad- 
 ditional component parts of the nervous system,
 
 NERVOUS SYSTEM OF ANIMALS. 49 
 
 and a greater degree of regularity in the distri- 
 bution of these superadded parts. Thus in those 
 classes of animals which include the leech, the 
 centipede, and the bee, whose bodies are natu- 
 rally divisible into distinct segments, we find a 
 series of ganglions placed opposite the respective 
 segments, and sending out nerves which are ap- 
 propriated to the muscles of voluntary motion 
 attached to these segments : and the several 
 ganglions are reciprocally united by interven- 
 ing portions of a nervous cord, which is continu- 
 ed from one extremity of the body to the other ; 
 so as to present the appearance of a thread in 
 which knots have been tied at stated intervals. 
 And in those species of these classes which have 
 eyes, as is the case with insects, there are ad- 
 ditional ganglions near the head ; from which 
 arise the nerves of vision, and, probably, of 
 touch. 
 
 If in ascending still higher the scale of ani- 
 mal existence, we examine the nervous system 
 of fish, reptiles, birds, and quadrupeds, we find 
 that those parts which are subservient to the 
 nutrition of the individual, and to the continu- 
 ation of the species, are supplied with ganglions 
 and nerves corresponding in their general cha- 
 racter and mode of distribution with the nervous 
 system of the lower classes : and that the ar- 
 rangement of the nerves of voluntary motion 
 merely differs from that of the intermediate 
 
 E
 
 50 NERVOUS SYSTEM OF ANIMALS. 
 
 classes, in being more elaborate ; the individual 
 nerves all communicating with a continuous cord 
 which extends from one extremity of the body 
 to the other ; but which, instead of floating 
 loosely in the general cavity of the body, as in 
 insects, &c. is contained in a canal essentially 
 consisting of a series of parts called vertebra, 
 which taken together form what is called the 
 spine or backbone. From the structure of this 
 spine these classes are called vertebrated : and 
 it is deserving of notice that these classes alone 
 have a cranium, or skull. 
 
 The nervous cord above described is known 
 more familiarly under the name of the spinal 
 marrow, a term which is derived from its re- 
 semblance, in some of its physical characters, 
 to the oil contained in the interior of the bones 
 of man and various other animals. 
 
 That portion of the spinal cord which is con- 
 tiguous to the head is continued into the cavity 
 of the skull ; and is there apparently lost in a 
 more or less regular mass of nervous matter 
 called the brain : which is small, and simple in 
 its structure, in fish ; larger, and more com- 
 plicated, progressively, in reptiles, birds, and 
 quadrupeds; largest, and most complicated, in 
 man. From the lower surface of the brain 
 arise several pairs of nerves which are princi- 
 pally distributed upon the organs of the distinct 
 senses, and the muscles of the face: and it is
 
 NERVOUS SYSTEM OF ANIMALS. 51 
 
 worthy of observation, that while the nerves of 
 the muscles of mere animal motion, as of the 
 trunk and extremities, are derived from the 
 spinal marrow ; the nerves of the muscles of 
 the face, which may be called preeminently the 
 muscles of moral and intellectual expression, 
 are derived from the brain itself. 
 
 In ascending then from fish, the lowest of the 
 four classes of vertebral animals, to quadrupeds 
 which constitute the highest class, the general 
 mass of the brain upon the whole increases in 
 proportional size ; and at the same time it also 
 more and more resembles that of man both in 
 its general form, and in the character and pro- 
 portions of its several parts. But the human 
 brain, when fully developed, contains parts which 
 do not exist in the brain of those animal species 
 which approach nearest to man in the structure 
 of this part s . 
 
 It cannot be uninteresting in an inquiry like 
 the present to add, with respect to those occa- 
 sional deviations from the common form, called 
 monsters and lusus naturae, that nature never 
 
 s It mar be convenient here to state that the human brain is 
 naturally divisible into two parts, called the cerebrum and cere- 
 bellum ; of which the former is eight or nine times larger than 
 the latter. The cerebrum, which occupies nearly the whole of 
 the cavity of the skull, consists of two parts, called hemispheres ; 
 and it should be particularly borne in mind that it is with refer- 
 ence to the great size of its hemispheres that the human brain 
 exceeds that of all other animals. 
 
 E 2 

 
 52 NERVOUS SYSTEM OF ANIMALS. 
 
 elevates the brain of an individual of a lower to 
 that of a higher class ; though the brain of an 
 individual of a higher is frequently not develop- 
 ed beyond the degree of a lower : and this law 
 of the developement of the brain is, with refer- 
 ence at least to the distinction of classes, cor- 
 respondent with that of the general form. Thus 
 a lusus naturae or monster in the class of quad- 
 rupeds, for instance, or of birds, may have two 
 heads, or eight legs ; but the supernumerary 
 parts will be always those of its own class, in- 
 deed of its own species : and therefore it is ab- 
 surd to suppose that if there be no mixture of 
 species in the same class, there should ever be a 
 confusion of two distinct kingdoms of nature. 
 
 Horace, than whom no one better understood 
 the principles of imaginative or artificial poetry, 
 knew that abrupt combinations of heterogeneous 
 subjects would certainly offend a correct taste, 
 because unnatural : for taste, it may be affirmed, 
 is, in one of its essential attributes, a feeling in 
 harmony with natural combinations ; whether 
 the individual combination be that of sounds, or 
 colours, or forms, or of intellectual images, or 
 moral sentiments : and nature, which may be 
 preeminently called the t^v ™v\tik\ though she 
 may occasionally surprise the mind by unusual 
 combinations of organs natural to the species, 
 never so couples together heterogeneous or- 
 gans, as that the limbs of animals of one species
 
 NERVOUS SYSTEM OF ANIMALS. 53 
 
 should be united with those of another species ; 
 in short, as Horace himself expresses the con- 
 ception, 
 
 Non ut 
 
 Serpentes avibus geminentur, tigribus agni 1 . 
 
 SECT. II. 
 The Nervous System of Man. 
 
 The nervous system of man, without any re- 
 ference to that of other animals, naturally re- 
 solves itself into three sufficiently distinct divi- 
 sions : of which one is appropriated to those 
 parts, which characterize him as simply an or- 
 ganized being ; another, to his powers of volun- 
 tary motion ; the third, or the brain, to the or- 
 gans of the several senses, and, probably, to 
 the manifestation of the intellectual powers and 
 moral affections. 
 
 Of the two first of the foregoing divisions it is 
 not necessary to speak more at large ; because 
 no doubt exists in the minds of physiologists as 
 to the nature of their offices. But this is not 
 the case with respect to the brain ; which there- 
 fore demands a greater share of our attention. 
 
 Of all the parts of the nervous system taken 
 collectively, the brain has been most generally 
 considered as the organ of the mind : and it has 
 long been a favourite speculation to endeavour 
 to ascertain what part of this organ is subser- 
 
 * The subject of lusus naturae, or monsters, will be resumed 
 towards the conclusion of this treatise. 
 
 E 3
 
 •j4 nervous system of animals. 
 
 vient to the existence and exercise of those in- 
 tellectual powers and moral feelings, which to a 
 greater or less extent are possessed by many 
 other animals as well as man. It is presumed at 
 least that of the existence of intellectual powers 
 or moral feelings in brutes no one can doubt, 
 who has been at all accustomed to observe the 
 characters and habits of animals 11 ; so that when 
 in common language it is asserted that man 
 differs from other animals in possessing reason, 
 while they are irrational, the term reason must 
 be taken in its most extended sense, as implying 
 the aggregate faculties of man, both moral and 
 intellectual. 
 
 I will not here insist on the evidence of the 
 intellectual powers of brutes, as deducible from 
 the effects of what we call instinct ; because in 
 all those actions which are the result of instinct, 
 animals appear to be guided by a natural and 
 irresistible impulse from within, which leads 
 them to seek or to avoid that which will be 
 either useful or injurious to them ; and enables 
 them to perform the most complicated acts, as 
 t lie building of a nest or the construction of a 
 comb, though they may never even have seen 
 the same acts performed by other individuals of 
 
 " Aristotle, in his History of Animals, distinctly affirms such 
 .111 existence -ivtan yap iv rois nXfirrroLi kcu. tq>i> /i'AXcoi> ^wu>v lx vr l 
 tow ntpi rtjV ^ni^i)p Tpniruiv, airep em tu>v dvOpdonoyv e'^ei (pave part pas 
 
 rat is. |>. 212. Lin. 7—10. ed. Bekker.
 
 NERVOUS SYSTEM OF ANIMALS. 55 
 
 their species. I would rather insist on that 
 evidence of their intellectual powers, which is 
 derived from their conduct, when, in conse- 
 quence of having been removed from their na- 
 tural sphere of action, they are impelled by ex- 
 ternal and accidental circumstances. Thus the 
 wariness of old animals in avoiding the pursuit 
 or arts of man, and the sagacity with which a 
 practised hound will cut off an angle in order 
 to shorten his distance, may be considered as 
 proofs of a considerable degree of intellectual 
 rather than of instinctive prudence in brutes. 
 
 The playfulness of the young of most quadru- 
 peds, often indeed observable in the adult ani- 
 mal also, may be regarded as no obscure proof 
 of the exercise of the intellectual faculty which 
 we call imagination ; for that playfulness almost 
 always consists in the representation of mutual 
 hostility, though the real disposition at the same 
 time is any thing but hostile. The dog' for in- 
 stance, under such circumstances, snarls and 
 bites, but with evident intention not to hurt. 
 
 Of the existence of moral feelings in brutes, 
 there is still more decided proof than of the ex- 
 istence of intellect. Thus the expression of joy 
 in a dog at sia:ht of his master is not to be mis- 
 taken, and the expression of fear in a horse at 
 the sound of the whip is equally unequivocal in 
 its character. Again, animals become attached 
 not only to individuals of their own species, but 
 
 e 4 

 
 56 NERVOUS SYSTEM OF ANIMALS. 
 
 to individuals of even a different order or class : 
 and they evidently feel regret upon separation 
 from these their companions. 
 
 On the supposition that the brain is the organ 
 of the intellectual powers, physiologists have 
 been led to compare the proportions of the 
 whole and of its several regions in man and 
 brutes ; in order to arrive at a knowledge of 
 such facts as might serve for a basis for ascer- 
 taining which are the parts essential to its action 
 as such an organ. It has been supposed by 
 some that the intellectual faculties may be in 
 proportion to the absolute size of the brain ; such 
 an opinion being grounded on the fact, that the 
 human brain is larger than that of the horse or 
 ox. But on the other hand, the brain of the 
 whale or of the elephant taken in its whole 
 mass is larger than that of man ; though the in- 
 telligence even of the elephant bears no propor- 
 tion to that of the human mind. Again, the 
 brain of the monkey or of the dog is smaller 
 than that of the ox or the ass ; yet with respect 
 to their intellectual faculties the former approx- 
 imate much more closely to man than the latter. 
 Neither do the dispositions or qualities of ani- 
 mals .appear to be connected with the absolute 
 size of their brain : for animals most different 
 and even opposite in disposition may be ranged 
 in the same class with reference to the size of 
 this organ ; the tiger and the deer, for instance,
 
 NERVOUS SYSTEM OF ANIMALS. 57 
 
 among quadrupeds : and among birds, the hawk 
 and the pigeon. 
 
 It would appear probable from some instances, 
 that the proportional size of the brain with refer- 
 ence to the size of the body would give a more 
 uniform result. Thus a crocodile twelve feet in 
 length, a serpent eighteen feet in length, and a 
 turtle that weighs from three hundred to five 
 hundred pounds, have not any of them a quan- 
 tity of substance in their brain equal to half 
 an ounce ; and the slight degree of intellectual 
 power manifested by these animals corresponds 
 with such a proportion. But on examination it 
 appears that the proportional size of the brain 
 is not a more certain criterion than the absolute 
 size. The brain of the elephant for instance is 
 smaller in proportion to its body than that of 
 any other quadruped : and yet what quadruped 
 exceeds the elephant in sagacity? and, in com- 
 paring many of the inferior animals with man in 
 this respect, it is found that not only do different 
 genera of the same order differ very widely from 
 each other in the proportion of their brain to 
 their body, as the bat and the fox ; but that the 
 proportion is sometimes inversely as the degree 
 of intellect of the animal : thus, as far as we are 
 capable of judging, the intellect of the fox is in- 
 finitely greater than that of the bat, and yet the 
 brain of the former, proportionally to its body, is 
 only one half the size of the latter. Occasionally 

 
 58 NERVOUS SYSTEM OF ANIMALS. 
 
 the disproportion is still greater in different spe- 
 cies of the same genus, and even in different va- 
 rieties of the same species : thus in some dogs the 
 brain compared with the body is as one to fifty, 
 while in others it is as one to three hundred. 
 
 Again, it appears that the brain of some of the 
 genera of the lowest orders in a class is propor- 
 tionally larger than that of some of the genera of 
 the highest orders. Thus, in the mammalia, the 
 brain of the dolphin, which animal is in the 
 lowest order of that class, is in proportion to its 
 body four times as large as the brain of the fox, 
 which is an animal of one of the highest orders. 
 And the brain of the mouse and of the mole 
 are nearly, if not quite as large, in proportion to 
 their body, as that of man. And the same cir- 
 cumstance occurs even in the second class, or 
 birds ; for the brain of the sparrow is in propor- 
 tion to the body as large as, nay even larger, 
 than that of man. 
 
 Lastly, for it is unnecessary, and would be 
 tedious, to enter further into the detail of this 
 part of the subject, there does not appear to be 
 any connexion between the degree of intellectual 
 faculties and the mutual proportions of the se- 
 veral constituent parts of the brain ; or between 
 the degree of the intellectual faculties and the 
 mutual proportions of the brain and nerves. So 
 that it appears, from a review of what has been 
 advanced, that no criterion of the degree of in-
 
 NERVOUS SYSTEM OF ANIMALS. 59 
 
 tellect is found in the absolute size of the brain; 
 nor in its relative size, as compared with that of 
 the body of the individual ; nor in the relative 
 size of its constituent parts, or of the whole of it, 
 to the nerves. 
 
 SECT. III. 
 
 Indications of natural Talent and Disposition deducible 
 from the Structure of the Brain. 
 
 If the entire history of the brain were a pri- 
 mary object in this treatise, it would be right 
 here to investigate in detail the observations and 
 theory of Dr. Gall respecting this organ : but on 
 the present occasion it will be unnecessary to 
 refer to that theory further than may be re- 
 quired by the course of the argument. 
 
 The simple enunciation of Dr. Gall's theory 
 is this, that " the brain in general is the instru- 
 " ment by which the intellectual faculties, and 
 " the moral sentiments and propensities, are 
 " manifested ; particular parts of it being the 
 " organs of those several faculties, sentiments, 
 " and propensities : and that according to the 
 " state of these organs will be the faculties, sen- 
 " timents, and propensities of each individual." 
 
 To those who have objected to this theory, 
 that it leads towards the doctrines of fatalism, 
 and the material nature of the soul, it has been 
 answered ; first, that as, according to the theory, 
 no individual, who is endued with intellect, is
 
 60 NERVOUS SYSTEM OF ANIMALS. 
 
 deficient in the organs of those moral sentiments, 
 which, if cultivated, will be sufficient to coun- 
 teract whatever bad propensities he may have, 
 the theory cannot consistently be accused of in- 
 culcating the doctrine of fatalism : and second- 
 ly, that without inquiring what the soul is, or in 
 what manner it is united to the body in this life, 
 which Dr. Gall considers as questions not only 
 beyond the comprehension of human reason, but 
 totally unconnected with his inquiries, the theory 
 merely investigates the material conditions of 
 that part of the body by which the soul is af- 
 firmed to manifest itself to our observation. 
 
 It has been already stated that, in exposing 
 to view the lower surface of the brain, several 
 pairs of nerves are observable which may be 
 traced to the organs of sense and some other 
 parts : and it is admitted by many anatomists 
 of acknowledged accuracy, that, of all these 
 pairs, not one, excepting the olfactory and op- 
 tic, is derived from the great mass of the brain 
 called its hemispheres : but Dr. Gall shews it to 
 be highly probable in fact, as it evidently is 
 in reasoning, that neither the olfactory nor the 
 optic nerves are derived from the hemispheres : 
 whence it would appear that, with the doubtful 
 exception of the nerves of smell and sight, not 
 a single nerve of the whole body is derived from 
 t he great mass of the brain : for the organs of 
 the other senses, and all the muscles of voluii-
 
 NERVOUS SYSTEM OF ANIMALS. b'l 
 
 tary motion, together with the whole assem- 
 blage of the organs of digestion, and the heart, 
 and the lungs, are evidently supplied from other 
 sources. 
 
 Either then the great mass of the brain is al- 
 lotted in a most anomalous disproportion to the 
 two senses of smell and sight, which in many 
 animals are comparatively weak ; or, if it do not 
 supply the nerves of sight and smell, there is no 
 part of the body which it does apparently sup- 
 ply with nerves : and then the conclusion presses 
 upon us with peculiar force, that the brain is 
 exclusively the instrument of the immaterial 
 part of our present existence. 
 
 It appears from Dr. Gall's own account, that 
 he was originally led to this peculiar train of 
 thought by observing the difference of talents 
 and character in his own brothers, and in other 
 children with whom he happened to associate ; 
 some of whom, though under perfectly similar 
 circumstances of education with the rest, were 
 much quicker in apprehending what was taught 
 them : and further, by observing in different in- 
 dividuals of the same species of animals, as dogs, 
 that some were fierce, some mild : again, that in 
 birds of the same species some continued to sing 
 their own notes only, while others would listen 
 to, and imitate, artificial music : and with re- 
 ference to the last mentioned instance particu- 
 larly, he argued that the difference could not 

 
 02 NERVOUS SYSTEM OF ANIMALS. 
 
 arise from the greater or less degree of perfec- 
 tion in the organ of hearing, for it is the same in 
 both ; but must be looked for in the brain, to 
 which the organ of hearing conveys sounds ; and 
 in which, and not in the ear itself, they are per- 
 ceived. There are moreover numerous instances 
 which shew that the sense of hearing is by no 
 means in proportion to the degree of perfection 
 in the construction of the ear. Thus, the dog 
 hears with indifference the sweetest melody : and 
 yet the construction of his ear approximates 
 more to that of man than the construction of the 
 ear of even the most musical birds. And on 
 this point Dr. Gall asks, if the organ of hearing 
 determine the power of singing, why should the 
 female bird be mute, seeing that in this part of 
 its bodily construction it differs not from the 
 male I It is equally observable that in men the 
 talent for music is not in proportion to any su- 
 periority in the organ of hearing; in the con- 
 struction of which indeed there is little if any 
 apparent difference between any two indivi- 
 duals. 
 
 Partial insanity and partial idiotcy are among 
 the circumstances which Dr. Gall considers as 
 favouring his theory. The frequency of the for- 
 mer must be a fact well known to all : the latter 
 i- not uncommon ; and even persons of consider- 
 able intelligence occasionally exhibit very ob- 
 scure traces of this or that particular faculty.
 
 NERVOUS SYSTEM OF ANIMALS. ()3 
 
 Other arguments in favour of his system he 
 draws from the temporary effects produced by 
 cerebral inflammation on the state of the mental 
 powers : in the case, for instance, of idiots, who 
 during the inflammatory action have manifested 
 a considerable degree of understanding ; but 
 after the cessation of that action have relapsed 
 into their former state of fatuity. 
 
 It would seem, in the instances here adduced 
 by Dr. Gall, that the mental faculties which had 
 been previously in a state of fatuity, are ren- 
 dered for the time rational, in consequence of a 
 degree of excitement which in individuals not 
 labouring under fatuity would have probably 
 produced delirium : and, as a rational state of 
 the faculties may be considered, to use a mathe- 
 matical expression, as a mean proportional to 
 fatuity and delirium, it might be expected that 
 the same cause which would raise a rational 
 state of the faculties to delirium, would raise an 
 idiotic only to a natural state : as, in a similar 
 manner, wine is observed to modify the charac- 
 ters of individuals of different temperaments, by 
 elevating them for the moment : 
 
 " It keeps the unhappy from sinking, 
 
 " And makes e'en the valiant more brave." 
 
 It would occupy too much time to enter into 
 the detail of this interesting part of Dr. Galls 
 system : nor was more originally intended than 
 to introduce the subject to the consideration of 

 
 64 NERVOUS SYSTEM OF ANIMALS. 
 
 those, who happen not to have reflected on it 
 before, in such a manner as to enable them to 
 form some judgment of the merits of a theory, 
 the character of which has been injured to the 
 full as much by its injudicious friends as by its 
 professed enemies. Of this theory it may per- 
 haps be affirmed with truth, that, considered as 
 an abstract philosophical speculation, it is highly 
 ingenious, and founded upon unobjectionable 
 principles : and that while the general conclu- 
 sion is inevitable with respect to the collective 
 functions of the brain, there is nothing unrea- 
 sonable in supposing that specific parts serve 
 specific purposes. The rock, on which Dr. Gall 
 and his implicit advocates have split, is the at- 
 tempt to fix the local boundaries of the several 
 faculties of the soul. Had he satisfied himself 
 with developing the structure of the brain in the 
 various classes of animals; and had he been con- 
 tent to shew that, in tracing its structure from 
 those animals which manifest the least indica- 
 tions of intelligence to those which exhibit still 
 stronger and stronger, it proportionally advances 
 in its resemblance to the structure of the human ; 
 and lastly, had he only drawn from these pre- 
 mises the general probable conclusion, that spe- 
 cific parts had specific uses with respect to the 
 manifestations of the immaterial principle of 
 animal existence; (and assuredly brutes are en- 
 dued with such a principle, though, as being
 
 NERVOUS SYSTEM OF ANIMALS. 65 
 
 devoid of the moral sense, they are not fitted for 
 a future state, and consequently perish when 
 their bodies die ;) had Dr. Gall been content 
 to have stopped at this point, without ventur- 
 ing to define the local habitations of the sup- 
 posed specific organs, he would have acquired 
 the unalloyed fame of having developed a beau- 
 tiful train of inductive reasoning in one of the 
 most interesting provinces of speculative philo- 
 sophy : whereas, in the extent to which he has 
 carried his principles, his doctrine has become 
 ridiculous as a system ; while in its individual 
 applications it is not only useless, but of a posi- 
 tively mischievous tendency : for, without the aid 
 of this system, every man of common sense has 
 sufficient grounds on which to judge of the cha- 
 racters of those with whom he associates ; and 
 it is evidently more safe to judge of others by 
 their words and actions, and the general tenor 
 of their conduct, than to run the risk of con- 
 demning an individual from the indication of 
 some organ, the activity of which, for a moment 
 allowing its existence, may have been subdued 
 by the operation of moral or religious motives. 
 
 But there is an occasional absurdity in the 
 application of the theory, which, though obvi- 
 ous, does not seem to have been noticed. Let 
 us suppose, for instance, the case of a murderer; 
 and that a disciple of Dr. Gall were to maintain 
 that, as the crime of murder proceeds from the 
 
 F 

 
 66 NERVOUS SYSTEM OF ANIMALS. 
 
 operation of the organ of destructiveness, that 
 organ would be found highly developed in such 
 an individual ; and yet, upon actual inspection, 
 this were not found to be the case. Here, 
 although the disciple of Dr. Gall might be dis- 
 appointed in finding no such developement, a 
 plain reasoner would not be so disappointed : 
 for is it not obvious that avarice, or shame, or 
 jealousy, might in a moment operate so power- 
 fully as to lead an individual to the crime of 
 murder, whose nature and habits were as far 
 as possible removed from the propensity to that 
 crime ; and who, consequently, according to 
 Dr. Gall's own principles, would be devoid of 
 any undue developement of the organ of mur- 
 der ? 
 
 With respect to ourselves indeed, the study of 
 the system may be attended sometimes with the 
 happiest consequences : for if, from the contem- 
 plation of it, we can be strengthened in our con- 
 viction of the fact, which both reason and reve- 
 lation teach us, that each individual is liable to 
 particular temptations depending on his specific 
 temperament, we shall thus have one additional 
 memento of our frailty, one additional incentive 
 to watch over, and combat, " the sin which doth 
 " so easily beset us."
 
 NERVOUS SYSTEM OF ANIMALS. 67 
 
 SECT. IV. 
 
 The general Doctrine of Physiognomy, as connected with 
 the Form of the Body. 
 
 As the indiscreet zeal, not only of Dr. Gall, 
 but of physiognomists in general, has thrown 
 unmerited discredit on that department of spe- 
 culative philosophy which they have cultivated, 
 it maybe worth while to examine the subject on 
 other authority than that of professed physio- 
 gnomists. 
 
 There are many phenomena, then, connected 
 with the moral and intellectual faculties of man, 
 both in a healthy and diseased state, which, by 
 shewing the reciprocal influence of the two dis- 
 tinct parts of our nature, the soul and the body, 
 render it probable that the energies of the for- 
 mer, although it be itself immaterial, may be 
 manifested by means of a material instrument. 
 The existence of this reciprocal influence, which 
 indeed we might expect from their intimate 
 though mysterious union, cannot be denied. 
 Thus grief or expectation destroys appetite ; 
 and mental application to any favourite pursuit 
 makes us insensible of the want of food : and, 
 on the other hand, a disordered state of the di- 
 gestive organs evidently impedes the free ex- 
 ercise of the mental powers ; or oppresses the 
 soul with those dreadful, though really ground- 
 less apprehensions, which have been termed hy- 
 pochondriacal from the situation of the organs, 
 
 f 2
 
 08 NERVOUS SYSTEM OF ANIMALS. 
 
 the morbid state of which is supposed to give 
 rise to those apprehensions. Again, intoxica- 
 tion confuses the memory and judgment ; and 
 the repeated abuse of wine permanently de- 
 bilitates the mind, and often terminates in con- 
 firmed insanity. The state of the air affects the 
 mental energies and moral feelings of many in- 
 dividuals, to a degree inconceivable to those who 
 are not thus subject to its influence. And the 
 impression of fear has been known suddenly to 
 arrest the symptoms of endemic ague and epi- 
 lepsy. 
 
 The general idea that this connexion of the 
 soul and body may be traced in the conforma- 
 tion of the latter, it will be at once remembered, 
 is by no means new : and the anecdote of the 
 unfavourable judgment passed on the moral dis- 
 position of Socrates, from the character of his 
 countenance, will readily recur to the mind on 
 this occasion. Aristotle has even entered into 
 some details on the forms and shades of colour 
 of the hair and features, and indeed of various 
 other parts of the body, as indicative of particu- 
 lar temperaments or constitutions of the mind x . 
 And it is hardly a question, whether every indi- 
 
 x For an exposition of Aristotle's views on this subject con- 
 sult B work of Galen, entitled nEPI TON TH2 *YXH2 H6QN, in 
 which the question of the connexion between the faculties of the 
 soul and the conformation of the body is discussed. Galen, op. 
 Ki.lm, v.,1. iv. p. 768-798.
 
 NERVOUS SYSTEM OF ANIMALS. 69 
 
 vidual is not accustomed in some degree to de- 
 cide on character from the features, the colour 
 of the hair, and other external indications, in- 
 dependently of that expression of the counte- 
 nance, which rather marks the actually existing 
 state of the mind than the latent disposition of 
 ity. But if it be in any degree probable that 
 the connexion between the soul and body may 
 be traced in the conformation of the features or 
 other parts of the body, in a much greater must 
 it be probable that that connexion may be traced 
 in the structure of the brain. 
 
 Nor does there appear, on the ground either 
 of reason or of religion, any thing objectionable 
 or absurd in the assumption, antecedently to ob- 
 servation, that the intellectual and moral ten- 
 
 y Shakspeare h&s several references to indications of personal 
 character, as depending on the form of the countenance, &c. 
 
 Cleopat. Bear'st thou her face in mind ? is't long, or round ? 
 Messeng. Round, even to fault iness. 
 Cleopat. For the most part too, 
 
 They are foolish that are so. Her hair, what colour ? 
 Messeng. Brown, madam : and her forehead 
 
 As low as she would wish it. 
 
 Antony and Cleopatra, Act III. Scene 3. 
 
 Caliban We shall lose our time, 
 
 And all be turn'd to barnacles, or to apes 
 With foreheads villainous loir. 
 
 Tempest, Act IV. near the end. 
 
 Julia. Ay, but her forehead's low ; and mine's as high. 
 
 Two Gentlemen of Verona, end of Act IV. 
 
 F 3
 
 70 NERVOUS SYSTEM OF ANIMALS. 
 
 dencies of the soul may in a qualified sense be 
 determined, or at least modified, by the peculiar 
 structure of the body : that they are frequently 
 coincident with certain peculiarities of corporeal 
 structure is a matter of actual observation. 
 
 Is it absurd to suppose that, man being a com- 
 pound of soul and body, the body has been so 
 constructed in each individual as to become a 
 fit arena on which that struggle shall be mani- 
 fested, which undoubtedly takes place between 
 the conflicting passions of the soul ? For it will 
 not be denied by those to whom this treatise is 
 addressed, that the soul wants not the substance 
 of a corporeal frame for the mere existence of its 
 evil principles, but only for the external mani- 
 festation of them. An authority at least which 
 cannot be questioned by a believer in revelation, 
 asserts that out of the heart, thafe is, evidently 
 from the context, out of the soul, proceed mur- 
 der, theft, adultery, and the like. 
 
 Is it absurd to suppose that, the brain being 
 a very complicated organ, made up of distinctly 
 different parts, these parts are subservient to the 
 exercise of different functions? or, since it is evi- 
 dent that in every other individual organ of the 
 body, where there is an identity of structure, 
 there is also an identity of function in all the 
 parts, may we not fairly presume that, were the 
 integral parts different, the effects produced 
 would be different; and, consequently, that as
 
 NERVOUS SYSTEM OF ANIMALS. 71 
 
 the integral parts of the brain differ from each 
 other, the offices of those parts may be different ? 
 Or, again, will it be denied as a matter of fact 
 that different faculties and propensities manifest 
 themselves in different individuals ; and is it un- 
 reasonable, on the ground of analogy, our only 
 ground in this case, to suppose that they mani- 
 fest themselves through the agency of different 
 instruments? And since the visceral nerves are 
 appropriated to the mere vital functions of nu- 
 trition ; and the spinal nerves to general mus- 
 cular motion and common sensation ; and the 
 nerves of the special senses occupy but a very 
 small portion of the brain ; to what assignable 
 purpose can the great mass of that organ be ap- 
 plied, if not to the operations of that intellectual 
 and moral principle, which, after the abstrac- 
 tion of the organs of nutrition, motion, and sensa- 
 tion, is the only imaginable part of our present 
 nature ? 
 
 Is the language of Scripture entirely allegori- 
 cal throughout the sacred volume ? or do we be- 
 lieve on just grounds that we are contaminated 
 with an innate propensity to evil ; that there are 
 two principles within us constantly struggling 
 for the mastery ; and that, spite of our better 
 part, and against the strongest feelings of con- 
 science and determination of judgment, we still 
 are for ever yielding to the worse ? 
 
 Shall we deny that the tendencies to evil are 
 
 f 4
 
 72 NERVOUS SYSTEM OF ANIMALS. 
 
 different in character in different individuals; 
 and by that denial shall we attempt to falsify 
 the testimony of experience as to the fact itself; 
 and the conclusions of antecedent reasoning as 
 to its probability : for, if all men were avaricious 
 for instance, or ambitious in the same points, 
 where would be the field for the display of other 
 qualities ; and how could the affairs of the world 
 be conducted ? 
 
 But whatever may be the real state of the 
 case — whether the brain act as a simple organ 
 by the simultaneous operation of all its parts ; 
 or whether those parts act independently in the 
 production of specific effects — no one can doubt 
 that the organ itself is the mysterious instru- 
 ment by means of which, principally, if not ex- 
 clusively, a communication is maintained be- 
 tween the external world and the soul. Nor can 
 it be doubted, indeed it is a matter of fact which 
 is constantly open to our observation, that the 
 degree of approximation in the structure of the 
 brain of other animals to that of man bears a 
 very obvious relation to the degree of intelli- 
 gence manifested by the various classes of ani- 
 mals : so that, in just reasoning, it must on every 
 consideration be admitted to be the instrument 
 by which the various degrees of intelligence are 
 manifested. 
 
 It is a matter also of observation, that the 
 powers of the mind are capable, like those of
 
 NERVOUS SYSTEM OF ANIMALS. 73 
 
 the body, of being strengthened by exercise and 
 cultivation : and, farther, that not only do the 
 mental faculties gradually manifest themselves 
 from the moment of birth onwards ; but that the 
 physical developement of the brain advances 
 proportionally up to a certain period. But on 
 this point it will be desirable to make a few 
 more particular remarks. 
 
 sect. v. 
 
 The Developement of the Human Brain, compared ivith 
 that of other Animals. 
 
 The brain of all vertebral animals, including 
 even man, is nearly identical in structure in the 
 early period of the embryo state of those ani- 
 mals. But at the period of birth there is a very 
 remarkable difference between the degree of 
 developement of the human brain, and of that 
 of the inferior animals. In quadrupeds, for in- 
 stance, the brain, according to Wenzel z , is fully 
 developed at the moment of the birth of the in- 
 dividual ; contains, that is, at that time, all the 
 parts in as perfect a state as they are in the 
 adult animal of the same species : while, with 
 respect to the human species, it is asserted by 
 Wenzel, and his statement is confirmed by the 
 observations of others, that although the brain 
 makes continual and rapid advances to its ulti- 
 mate magnitude and perfect state, from the 
 z De penitiori Structnra Cerebri p. 246.
 
 74 NERVOUS SYSTEM OF ANIMALS. 
 
 period of conception to the seventh year after 
 birth, yet all the parts have not attained their 
 full size till the age of seven years (p. 254). 
 And this difference is exactly what might be 
 antecedently expected, from the comparatively 
 greater degree of intelligence manifested by the 
 young of other animals, of the higher orders at 
 least, than by the human infant. 
 
 But it is very worthy of observation, that those 
 parts of the human brain, which are formed 
 subsequently to birth, are entirely wanting in 
 all other animals, including even quadrupeds, 
 which Wenzel has examined (p. 246) : and that 
 during the evolution of the parts peculiar to the 
 human brain, the peculiar faculties of the hu- 
 man intellect are proportionally developed : and 
 finally, that, till those parts are developed, those 
 faculties are not clearly perceptible (p. 247)- 
 But at the age of seven years the human being 
 essentially possesses, although not yet matured 
 by exercise and education, all those intellectual 
 faculties which are thenceforward observable : 
 and at that age the brain is perfect in all its 
 parts. And, from the age of seven years to the 
 age of eighty, the changes of the human brain 
 with respect to size, either collectively or in its 
 several parts, are so trifling as hardly to be 
 worth notice (p. 247-200). 
 
 In comparing either individual actions or the 
 complicated operations of man, with those of
 
 NERVOUS SYSTEM OF ANIMALS. 75 
 
 other animals, it is observable, that the actions 
 and operations of the adult human being as 
 much excel in design and method the actions 
 and operations of all other adult animals, as 
 those of the infant are excelled in precision and 
 adroitness by the young of all other animals 
 (p. 247) : and both these facts correspond with 
 the relative constitution of the brain at the re- 
 spective periods ; the brain of other animals be- 
 ing perfect at birth, which is not the case with 
 the infant ; while the brain of the adult human 
 being manifests a higher degree of organization 
 than that of any other animal, and is there- 
 fore physically fitted for functions of a higher 
 order. 
 
 It appears then highly probable, both from 
 the intuitive conviction of mankind at large, and 
 from a comparative examination of the struc- 
 ture and developement of the brain in man and 
 other animals, that the intellectual superiority 
 of man, physically considered, depends on the 
 peculiarities of the human brain : and with re- 
 spect to the rest of his body, it is certain that 
 the hand is the instrument which gives him that 
 decidedly physical superiority which he pos- 
 sesses over all other animals. In all other re- 
 spects there is no physiological difference, of 
 any importance at least to the present argu- 
 ment, between man and the higher orders of 
 animals : and the peculiarities of his physical
 
 76 NERVOUS SYSTEM OF ANIMALS. 
 
 condition, with reference to the form and gene- 
 ral powers of his body, rest therefore on those 
 two organs, the hand and the brain. And as 
 the adaptation of the external world to the phy- 
 sical condition of man must have a special re- 
 ference to those peculiarities in his structure 
 which distinguish him essentially from other 
 animals, it has therefore been thought impor- 
 tant to dedicate a considerable portion of this 
 treatise to the investigation of the characters of 
 the two organs above mentioned. 
 
 SECT. VI. 
 
 Cursory View of the Extent of Human Power over the 
 Objects of the external World. 
 
 Having examined, as far as is necessary for 
 the purpose of this treatise, the animal charac- 
 ter of man, both with respect to the points in 
 which he partakes of the nature of other species, 
 and those in which he is elevated above them ; 
 let us proceed to consider the adaptation of the 
 external world to the physical condition of that 
 being to whom the Creator has given dominion 
 over all his other works ; whom alone, of all the 
 living tenants of the earth, he has endued with 
 a mind capable of conceiving, and corporeal 
 powers capable of executing those wonderful 
 combinations, which make him lord of the world 
 which he inhabits; which enable him to com- 
 pel the properties of inert matter to bend to his
 
 NERVOUS SYSTEM OF ANIMALS. 77 
 
 behests ; and to direct not only the energies of 
 the inferior animals, but even those of his fel- 
 low creatures, to the purposes which he may 
 have in view. 
 
 In contemplating, for instance, as in all the 
 pride of its appointments it advances through 
 the waves, the majestic movements of a man-of- 
 war, let us trace its whole history, and thence 
 admire the extent of human power over the ma- 
 terial world. Look at the rude canoe of the New 
 Zealander, or call to mind the nearly as rude 
 coracle of our own forefathers, and compare 
 those simple and puny products of an infant art 
 with the complicated and gigantic triumph of 
 naval architecture now before you ; and no won- 
 der if, observing the ease and precision of its 
 movements, the unlettered savages of the islands 
 of the Pacific conceived the stupendous machine 
 to be some form of animated matter ; whose fierce 
 nature and awful power were announced by the 
 tremendous roar and destructive effects of its 
 artillery. 
 
 Or, passing from inert matter to living and 
 intellectual agents, let us in imagination first 
 view the tumultuary and predatory incursions 
 of the aboriginal borderers of the Ohio, or even 
 of the more civilized tribes of modern Arabia ; 
 revenge or booty their sole object, without any 
 plan of civil government or national aggrandize- 
 ment ; and then let us contemplate the profound
 
 78 NERVOUS SYSTEM OF ANIMALS. 
 
 views and combinations of the Macedonian mon- 
 arch — that military meteor, whose course, though 
 occasionally eccentric, was yet constantly regu- 
 lated by the preponderating attraction of his ori- 
 ginal design ; and whose plans, though marked 
 by temporary and local devastation, yet secured 
 the foundation of the durable and general pros- 
 perity of future generations. The theme is too 
 vast and too sublime for the present effort, even 
 had it never been before attempted ; but the 
 genius of the learned author of the " Commerce 
 " and Navigation of the Ancients 3 " has admir- 
 ably developed the great and profound views of 
 Alexander, ignorantly described by Pope as the 
 sallies of insane ambition ; and has significantly 
 alluded to the successful accomplishment of his 
 wonderful attempt, in that beautifully appro- 
 priate legend placed under the engraving of the 
 head of his hero, 
 
 " Aperiam terras g■entibus b .'' , 
 Or let us investigate the career of the equally 
 extraordinary conqueror of the present century. 
 View him overcoming every moral and physical 
 difficulty in the pursuit of his gigantic and fear- 
 ful project of universal empire; uniting distant 
 and hostile nations in confederacies against their 
 own liberties ; changing their long established 
 
 * 
 
 a The very reverend W. Vincent, D. D. late dean of West- 
 minster. 
 
 h Q. Cnrt. lib. ix. cap. 6.
 
 NERVOUS SYSTEM OF ANIMALS. 79 
 
 dynasties, in order to set over them kings of his 
 own family. View him absorbed in his heart- 
 less calculations on the advantages to be ob- 
 tained, for his personal aggrandizement, by the 
 endless sacrifice of human life ; breaking into 
 the peaceful occupations of domestic scenes, and 
 desolating the happiness of myriads of his sub- 
 jects, not to ward off the dangers of hostile in- 
 vasion, nor to lay the foundation of the future 
 good of his country, but solely to gratify his own 
 insatiable thirst of power ; and yet by the magic 
 of his name rallying round his standard, even 
 to the last, the remnants of his former reckless 
 schemes of inordinate ambition. 
 
 In meditating on the astonishing scene pre- 
 sented to the imagination by the description of 
 a career so strange, we might almost be in doubt 
 whether these effects were produced by a mere 
 human mind ; or marked the presence of a su- 
 perhuman intelligence, permitted for a time to 
 exercise a guilty world. But whatever he were, 
 he is gone ; and his place will know him no 
 more. One moral reflection in the mean time 
 forces itself upon the mind ; partly applicable 
 to himself, and partly to mankind at large. 
 
 Inebriated with prosperity, and regardless of 
 the Power which could alone uphold him, he 
 fell from his towering height ; and was banished 
 far from the theatre of his former ambition, and 
 almost, indeed, from the haunts of men. But,
 
 80 ADAPTATION OF THE ATMOSPHERE 
 
 haply, the prolongation of his existence in the 
 silent retirement of that sequestered island was 
 mercifully intended to lead him to a calm re- 
 flection on the real value of sublunary posses- 
 sions : for how very visionary and like a dream 
 must all his former life have frequently appear- 
 ed to him, when standing on the brow of some 
 precipitous rock, the natural boundary of his in- 
 sulated prison, he mused on the interminable 
 expanse of the Atlantic ; and compared his pre- 
 sent desolation with his former glory. Or, if the 
 terrors of Omnipotence failed even then to move 
 his obdurate heart, his example at least remains 
 a merciful beacon to others ; who may learn 
 from his doom, that there is a Power which can 
 say, as easily to the tempestuous ocean of am- 
 bition, as to the natural deep, " Hitherto shalt 
 " thou come, but no further : and here shall 
 " thy proud waves be stayed." 
 
 CHAP. VI. 
 
 Adaptation of the Atmosphere to the Physical 
 Condition of Man. 
 
 .SECT. I. 
 The general Constitution of the Atmosphere. 
 IN the foregoing part of this treatise the phy- 
 sical condition of man has been considered under 
 the view of the general capabilities of his nature, 
 rather than of his actual state : but it is evident
 
 TO THE PHYSICAL CONDITION OF MAN. 81 
 
 on a moment's reflection that his actual state will 
 be very different at different periods of time, or 
 in different parts of the world at the same pe- 
 riod : and this observation applies no less to 
 communities than to individuals. How great 
 the contrast, with reference to the case of indi- 
 viduals, between the intellectual powers and at- 
 tainments of a Newton and a native of New 
 Holland ; and in the case of communities, how 
 great the contrast between any of the kingdoms 
 of modern Europe, and the rude tribes from 
 whence they were originally derived. 
 
 In proceeding then to illustrate the adapta- 
 tion of the external world to the physical con- 
 dition of the human species, we must view in- 
 dividuals or communities under all possible cir- 
 cumstances of existence, and make the illustra- 
 tion of as general application as the nature of 
 the subject evidently demands. 
 
 And, in order to effect something like a sys- 
 tematic arrangement of the immense mass of 
 materials whence the following illustration is to 
 be deduced, it is proposed to investigate sepa- 
 rately the four kingdoms or divisions of nature, 
 the general characters of which were given in 
 the commencement of this treatise ; beginning 
 with the atmospherical and ending with the ani- 
 mal kingdom. 
 
 If it were possible, with the bodily as with the 
 mental eye, to behold the constitution of the at- 
 
 (. 

 
 82 ADAPTATION OF THE ATMOSPHERE 
 
 mosphere which surrounds our earth, we should 
 view a compound probably the most complex 
 in nature : for into this circumambient ocean of 
 air, as it is called by Lucretius b , are carried up 
 whatever exhalations arise not only from the 
 earth itself, but from every organized form of 
 matter, whether living or in a state of decompo- 
 sition, that is found upon the earth's surface ; the 
 dews of morning, the balms of evening ; the fra- 
 grance of every plant and flower ; the breath 
 and characteristic odour of every animal ; the 
 vapour invisibly arising from the surface of the 
 whole ocean and its tributary streams ; and, 
 lastly, those circumscribed and baneful effluvia, 
 however generated, which when confined to de- 
 finite portions of the atmosphere produce those 
 various forms of fever which infest particular 
 districts: or those more awful and mysterious 
 miasmata, which, arising in some distant region, 
 and advancing by a slow but certain march, 
 carry dismay and death to the inhabitants of 
 another hemisphere. 
 
 Such is the complex character of the atmo- 
 sphere ; and, indeed, from this assemblage of 
 vapours contained in it, it has received its pe- 
 culiar appellation ; being the receptacle, or ma- 
 gazine, as it were, of terrestrial exhalations . 
 
 b Semper enim quodcunque fhiit de rebus ; id omne 
 
 Aeris in magnum fertur mare. Lib. V. 277; *$■ 
 
 t: "Arfiuv (jtya'ijHi.
 
 TO THE PHYSICAL CONDITION OF MAN. 83 
 
 All these various exhalations however may be 
 considered as foreign to the constitution of the 
 air, being neither constantly nor necessarily pre- 
 sent anywhere ; all, with the exception of that 
 aqueous vapour which is continually rising from 
 the surface of the earth, as well as of the ocean 
 and every lake and river. But, in addition to 
 this aqueous vapour, the air is also charged to 
 a variable extent with light and heat and elec- 
 tricity : of which the two first are so obviously 
 adapted to the wants of man as to demand im- 
 mediate attention. Electricity is probably of 
 equal importance in its relation to man : but the 
 true character of that relation has not yet been 
 sufficiently developed to call for a distinct con- 
 sideration on the present occasion. 
 
 SECT. II. 
 Light. 
 The metaphorical expressions of all ages and 
 nations, with respect to light, sufficiently evince 
 the value in which that inestimable gift is held. 
 In the sacred Scriptures indeed, not only are 
 temporal blessings compared to light, and tem- 
 poral evils to darkness ; but holy deeds are fre- 
 quently described under the character of the 
 former; and unholy deeds under the character 
 of the latter : and, with respect either to classical 
 or oriental literature, a thousand instances might 
 easily be adduced illustrative of the same meta- 
 phorical use of the terms in question. 
 
 g 2 

 
 84 ADAPTATION OF THE ATMOSPHERE 
 
 When, after a dark and tempestuous night, 
 the mariner first perceives the dawn of returning 
 day ; although that dawn discover to his view 
 the evil plight to which the storm has reduced 
 his vessel, why does he still hail day's harbinger 
 as his greatest relief, but because without the 
 aid of light he could not possibly extricate him- 
 self from the difficulties of his situation ? Or, 
 when the child, awakened from its sleep, finds 
 itself alone in darkness, why is it overwhelmed 
 with terror, and why does it call out for protec- 
 tion, but from the influence of those undefined 
 fears, which naturally occur to the mind under 
 the privation of light ? 
 
 There is something so congenial to our nature 
 in light, something so repulsive in darkness, that, 
 probably on this ground alone, the very aspect 
 of inanimate things is instinctively either grate- 
 ful or the reverse, in consequence of our being 
 reminded by that aspect of the one or of the 
 other : so that on this principle, perhaps, parti- 
 cular colours throughout every province of na- 
 ture are more or less acceptable in proportion 
 as they approach nearest or recede farthest from 
 the character of light, whether reflected imme- 
 diately from the heavenly bodies, or from the 
 azure of the sky, or from the thousand brilliant 
 hues with which the setting or the rising sun 
 illuminates its attendant clouds. 
 
 Tn illustration of the principle just advanced,
 
 TO THE PHYSICAL CONDITION OF MAN. 85 
 
 gold and silver among metals might be opposed 
 to lead and iron : and, among flowers, the bril- 
 liancy of the crocus, the lily, or the rose, to the 
 lurid aspect of henbane or belladonna. And 
 though something of a moral character may in 
 these instances determine the preference ; yet 
 there is nothing unreasonable in supposing, that, 
 as the instincts of the inferior animals regulate 
 their tastes and distastes to natural objects; so 
 there may also be in the case of human beings " 
 congruities, or the reverse, between the sense 
 impressed and the object impressing it. In 
 fact, with respect to that sense, the organ of 
 which is the ear, it is known that infants shrink 
 back from deep sounds, and express delight at 
 acute sounds, long before any intellectual or 
 moral feeling can sway them ; and, correspond- 
 ency with this assertion, the lullaby of the nurse 
 partakes, among all nations, of the same essen- 
 tial character. It is a fact equally deducible 
 from observation, that particular flavours and 
 odours are naturally acceptable, or the reverse, 
 to children. And again, with reference to the 
 sense of touch, smooth surfaces almost univer- 
 sally give a pleasing impression ; which is not 
 imparted by rugged surfaces. Why then may 
 it not be the same with respect to the sense of 
 sight, in the case either of colour or of form ? 
 
 The abundant supply of light from its natural 
 source the sun, and the ease with which it is pro- 
 
 G 3 

 
 86 ADAPTATION OF THE ATMOSPHERE 
 
 ducible by artificial means during the absence of 
 that luminary, render us habitually less sensible 
 of its real value, than undoubtedly we should be, 
 were we to experience a long continued priva- 
 tion of it. And as to the regularly periodical 
 privation of it which we experience in conse- 
 quence of the alternation of night with day, this 
 is so far from being an evil, that it is obviously 
 beneficial ; inasmuch as, in consequence of this 
 very absence, sleep is both directly and indi- 
 rectly conciliated: without which gift of Heaven, 
 all our faculties would soon be exhausted, and 
 all our happiness consequently extinguished. 
 
 The beneficial influence of sleep on our whole 
 frame is too obvious in its effects to require any 
 formal demonstration : but it will be interesting 
 to consider its relation to the absence of light. 
 It appears then that, by a fundamental law of 
 our nature, a sense of uneasiness invariably fol- 
 lows a long continued exercise of our powers, 
 either corporeal or mental : and, unless this 
 sense of uneasiness have been produced by too 
 inordinate exercise, it is soon relieved by that 
 state of the system which we call sleep ; during 
 the continuance of which, provided it be sound 
 and of a perfectly healthy character, all the vo- 
 luntary muscles of the body become relaxed, and 
 the nervous system remains comparatively in- 
 active; the whole body acquiring by this tem- 
 porary cessation of its energies a renovated ac-
 
 TO THE PHYSICAL CONDITION OF MAN. 87 
 
 cumulation of those powers, which are necessary 
 for the purposes of active and intellectual life. 
 
 By the periodical succession of night to day, 
 we are naturally disposed to yield to the sensa- 
 tion of approaching sleep. For, with the ab- 
 sence of light cease all the usual stimuli of that 
 sense, which is accommodated to the impulse 
 of this agent, and which calls our faculties into 
 action more frequently than any other : nor is 
 the intention of nature less evident, because, 
 either from avarice or the dissipation of luxury, 
 some individuals protract the labours or the 
 pleasures of the day beyond the natural period 
 assigned for those purposes ; since these are 
 unnatural exceptions to the observance of the 
 general law. 
 
 Although it would be difficult to prove directly 
 that there is any necessary connexion between 
 darkness and sleep, yet this connexion is ren- 
 dered at least highly probable by the effect usu- 
 ally produced on the approach of darkness upon 
 animals in general, but more remarkably on 
 birds ; for, with the exception of those whose 
 habits are nocturnal, all birds betake themselves 
 to sleep as soon as night approaches : and if 
 darkness should anticipate night by many hours, 
 as happens when any considerable eclipse of the 
 sun takes place in the middle of the day, we still 
 find that the birds of the field as well as our do- 
 mesticated fowls give the same indications of 
 
 o 4
 
 tttf ADAPTATION OF THE ATMOSPHERE 
 
 composing themselves to sleep, as at the regular 
 period of sunset. If it should be said that this 
 does not more serve to prove a connexion between 
 darkness and sleep with reference to these ani- 
 mals, than to prove the effect of a long continued 
 association resulting from their habit of going to 
 roost at sunset ; it may be asked, why should 
 darkness, unless from some inherent cause, lead 
 them to compose themselves to sleep at the hour 
 of noon, instead of the usual hour of evening ; 
 since, on the one hand, periodical states of the 
 animal system do not usually recur before the 
 termination of the habitual period ; and, on the 
 other hand, the individuals cannot at so early an 
 hour have experienced such a degree of exhaus- 
 tion as would of itself invite to sleep ? 
 
 In stating that the voluntary action of the 
 muscles ceases during sound sleep, we ought not 
 to omit the remarkable fact that those muscles 
 which are not under the empire of the will con- 
 tinue their action uninterruptedly through the 
 deepest sleep. Of all the muscles of involun- 
 tary motion, this observation holds most remark- 
 ably with respect to the heart ; the continued 
 action of which organ during sleep is a phe- 
 nomenon worthy of the deepest attention of a 
 philosophical mind. All other organs of the body 
 have their periods either of absolute or compa- 
 rative rest; the senses are in a measure periodi- 
 cally locked up by sleep during one quarter at
 
 TO THE PHYSICAL CONDITION OF MAN. 89 
 
 least, if not one third of our whole existence ; 
 the limbs of the most athletic individual lose 
 their power of motion after a few hours of unre- 
 mitted exertion ; even the brain, which during 
 the hours of sleep and the interruption of all the 
 common functions of the body frequently repre- 
 sents to the internal senses the most busy scenes 
 of active life — even the brain may be exhausted 
 by unusual fatigue, or other causes, and may 
 thus involve the general system in the stupor of 
 apparent death — but the heart, unless on such 
 occasions as the momentary interruption of a 
 swoon, never rests : so that, whether we look 
 back to that period of our existence, when, in 
 our yet imperfect state, there could scarcely be 
 discovered the faint outline of those members, 
 which in after life constitute man's strength 
 and beauty, the presence of the heart may be 
 recognised by the impulse of its vibratory mo- 
 tion, though its form is yet undefined, or at least 
 indistinguishable; or whether, on the other hand, 
 we look forward to the latest moments of pro- 
 tracted disease, or expiring old age, the same 
 organ is the last part of our frame which conti- 
 nues to give immediate proof of vital motion. 
 
 The privation of light is rarely, if ever, total : 
 for though the empire of time is divided in 
 nearly equal proportion between day and night, 
 there are comparatively few nights in which 
 there is not diffused through the air a sufficient 

 
 90 ADAPTATION OF THE ATMOSPHERE 
 
 quantity of light for many of the purposes of 
 life. Nor, with respect to those persons who 
 either were born blind, or became blind in early 
 infancy, is the absence of light felt with any 
 degree of severity; for, in such instances, al- 
 though the individual may be made to under- 
 stand that he wants some faculty which those 
 around him possess, there cannot be however 
 any consciousness of privation where there never 
 had been actually any enjoyment; or where 
 there was no recollection of it, if it had for a 
 time existed. And even in the case of indi- 
 viduals who have been deprived of sight long 
 subsequently to birth, although the recollection 
 of the former enjoyment must more or less em- 
 bitter their present state; yet so long as the 
 offices of surrounding friends are the means of 
 administering to their comfort, more especially 
 if those offices are fulfilled with kindness, the 
 mind soon becomes reconciled to the privation ; 
 for it is a fact, repeatedly observed, that blind 
 persons under such circumstances are usually 
 cheerful. Nor ought we to forget the compensa- 
 tion which nature affords to those who are de- 
 prived of sight, in the consequently quickened 
 activity of some of the other senses. 
 
 Let us however suppose for a moment that, all 
 the faculties and recollections of man remaining 
 unaltered, and the general processes of nature 
 continuing, if possible, the same as they are
 
 TO THE PHYSICAL CONDITION OF MAN. f ) 1 
 
 now, the existence of light were withdrawn from 
 this earth : what would then be the condition 
 of mankind ? How could those occupations of 
 life be pursued which are necessary for the sup- 
 ply of our simplest wants? Who in that case 
 should yoke the ox to the plough, or sow the 
 seed, or reap the harvest? but indeed under 
 such a supposition there would soon be neither 
 seed for the ground, nor grain for food : for, if 
 deprived of light, the character of vegetation is 
 completely altered ; and its results, as far as 
 general utility is concerned, destroyed. Or sup- 
 pose, further, that these necessary supplies of 
 life were no longer required, on account of some 
 consequent alteration in our physical constitu- 
 tion ; or that they were procured for us by any 
 unknown means ; yet, in all the higher enjoy- 
 ments of our nature, how cheerless, how utterly 
 miserable would be our situation. Under such 
 circumstances, wisdom would not only be 
 
 " at one entrance quite shut out,' 1 '' 
 but no other entrance could then be found for 
 it ; for of the other senses, the only remaining 
 inlets of knowledge with reference to an exter- 
 nal world, there is not one, which, if unaided 
 by sight, could be of any practical value. With 
 respect indeed to our inward feelings, though we 
 should, on the one hand, be spared, by the pri- 
 vation of light, the worse than corporeal pain of 
 the averted eye of those who ought to meet us 

 
 92 ADAPTATION OF THE ATMOSPHERE 
 
 with gratitude and affection : we should, on the 
 other hand, lose the beams of filial or parental 
 love ; of which even a momentary smile out- 
 weighs an age of pain. 
 
 As in mathematical reasoning the truth of a 
 proposition is sometimes indirectly proved, by 
 shewing that every process of proof but the one 
 proposed would lead to an absurd conclusion ; 
 so, though the supposition of a general and total 
 privation of light is on all probable grounds of 
 reasoning inadmissible, it may yet serve to shew 
 us indirectly the value of the good we enjoy. 
 But it is sufficient to have given a few instances 
 of the necessary effects of such a privation : and 
 it will be a more grateful task to enumerate the 
 actual benefits which we derive from the agency 
 of light. 
 
 In the vegetable world, upon the products of 
 which animal existence ultimately depends, light 
 is the prime mover of every change that takes 
 place, from the moment the germ emerges from 
 the soil. Exclude the agency of light, and in a 
 short time the most experienced botanist might 
 possibly be at a loss to know the plant with 
 which he is otherwise most familiar; so com- 
 pletely obliterated are all its natural characters, 
 whether of colour, form, taste, or odour. Thus 
 the faded colour of the interior leaves of the let- 
 tuce and other culinary vegetables is the result 
 of such a degree of compression of the body of
 
 TO THE PHYSICAL CONDITION OF MAN. 93 
 
 the plant as excludes the admission of light 
 beyond the exterior leaves. And, again, if a 
 branch of ivy or of any spreading plant happen 
 to penetrate during the progress of its vegeta- 
 tion into a dark cellar, or any similar subterra- 
 neous situation, it is observable, that, with the 
 total loss of colour, its growth advances with 
 great rapidity, but its proportions alter to such 
 a degree as often to mask its original form. 
 And, lastly, which in a practical point of view 
 is of the greatest importance, if a plant which 
 has grown without the influence of light be che- 
 mically examined, its juices, it might almost be 
 said its whole substance, would be found to con- 
 sist of little else than mere water; and, what- 
 ever odour it may have, is characteristic, not of 
 its original nature, but of its unnatural mode of 
 growth ; becoming, in short, very like that of a 
 common fungus. The total result is, that all the 
 native beauties and uses of a vegetable growing 
 under these circumstances are lost : the eye is 
 neither delighted by any variety or brightness 
 of colour ; nor is the sense of smell gratified by 
 any fragrance : the degeneracy of its fibre into 
 a mere pulp renders it unfit for any mechanical 
 purpose ; and the resinous and other principles 
 on which its nutritive and medicinal virtues de- 
 pend, cease to be developed. In some instances, 
 however, the bleaching or etiolation of plants is 
 useful in correcting the acrid taste which be-
 
 94 ADAPTATION OF THE ATMOSPHERE 
 
 longs to them in their natural state ; as in the 
 case of endive and of celery. 
 
 The effect of light upon vegetation has been 
 selected in the preceding paragraph as affording 
 the most powerful instance of the adaptation of 
 this natural agent to the physical condition of 
 man. Its effects upon individuals of the mineral 
 and animal kingdom are neither so easily to be 
 traced, nor are nearly so important in their con- 
 sequences, at least in a practical point of view ; 
 and therefore it is not proposed to bring them 
 forward in a more particular manner. 
 
 The observation of those modifications which 
 light undergoes when reflected from the surfaces 
 of bodies has given rise to one of those impres- 
 sive arts which are capable of contributing no 
 less to the refinement of society at large, than 
 to the gratification of the individuals who culti- 
 vate or admire them. For who can look on the 
 productions of such masters as Guido, Raphael, 
 or Michael Angelo, without imbibing a portion 
 of the spirit which animated those masters in 
 the execution of their inimitable works? or, if 
 we quit the regions of imagination and of his- 
 tory, and descend from the higher efforts of the 
 art into the retirement of domestic life, who can 
 successfully describe those emotions which are 
 excited by the portrait of a beloved object, a 
 child or parent now no more; or by the re- 
 presentation of that home and its surrounding
 
 TO THE PHYSICAL CONDITION OF MAN. 95 
 
 scenery, in which the careless and happy hours 
 of childhood were passed ? 
 
 The intrinsic source of the pleasure which we 
 experience from the contemplation of a paint- 
 ing is probably to be sought for in that prin- 
 ciple of our nature, of more extensive influence 
 perhaps than is generally supposed, which de- 
 rives a gratification from perceiving the resem- 
 blance of actual or probable truth ; or even, and 
 sometimes in a higher degree, from the deli- 
 neation of fictitious characters and scenes : and 
 hence the art of painting is easily made the ve- 
 hicle of the ludicrous and the horrible, no less 
 than of the sublime and the beautiful : and, hence 
 also, the painter may incur a considerable de- 
 gree of moral responsibility in the exercise of 
 his art. But this view of the subject, though 
 fertile in reflections of great moment, and prac- 
 tically too much neglected, does not belong to 
 the purpose of the present treatise. 
 
 SECT. III. 
 
 Heat. 
 
 From the consideration of the subject of light, 
 the mind passes by a natural transition to that 
 of heat : for these agents, though not necessarily 
 or always, are in reality very often associated 
 together : and they are each of them charac- 
 terized by the want of that property which al- 
 most seems essential to matter, namely weight. 

 
 96 ADAPTATION OF THE ATMOSPHERE 
 
 In their relation to the physical existence of 
 man and animal life in general, there is this dif- 
 ference between them — the presence of light is 
 only indirectly necessary ; the presence of heat 
 is directly necessary. Different degrees of heat 
 indeed are requisite for different species of ani- 
 mals : but if the heat to which any individual 
 animal be exposed be much below that which is 
 natural to the species, and be continued for a 
 sufficient length of time, all the vital functions 
 are eventually destroyed ; or, as in the case of 
 the hibernation of particular species of animals, 
 are at least partially suspended. 
 
 The degree of heat adapted to the human 
 frame is so nicely adjusted to the bodily feel- 
 ings of man, that, if we take a range of fifty de- 
 grees of Fahrenheit's thermometer as indicating 
 the average extent of variation to which the 
 body is exposed in this climate, it will be found 
 that a difference of two or three degrees, above 
 or below a given point, will generally be suffi- 
 cient to create an uncomfortable sensation. The 
 late Mr. Walker, whose experiments on the ar- 
 tificial production of cold are well known to the 
 philosophical world, ascertained that the point 
 of 62° or 63° of Fahrenheit is that, which, upon 
 an average of many individuals, is in this climate 
 the most congenial, as far as sensation is con- 
 cerned, to the human body. But it is a merciful 
 provision of nature, considering the numerous
 
 TO THE PHYSICAL CONDITION OF MAN. 97 
 
 vicissitudes of human life, that man is capable 
 of resisting very great and even sudden altera- 
 tions of temperature without any serious incon- 
 venience. Thus an atmosphere so cold, as to 
 depress the mercury in Fahrenheit's thermome- 
 ter to the 52d degree below the freezing point 
 of water, has been borne under the protection of 
 very moderate clothing. And, on the other hand, 
 an atmosphere of a temperature as high as the 
 200dth degree of Fahrenheit, which is within a 
 few degrees of the boiling point of water, was 
 borne by the late Dr. Fordyce, during ten mi- 
 nutest And it is highly worthy of notice, as 
 connected with the general intention of this 
 Treatise, that, during the same time, a thermo- 
 meter which had been fixed under his tongue 
 indicated only the 98th degree of Fahrenheit e : 
 so that the body remained very nearly of its na- 
 tural temperature, during its exposure to an at- 
 mosphere exceeding its own temperature by full 
 100 degrees f . 
 
 This uniformity of animal temperature, under 
 such circumstances, is in a great measure owing 
 to the process of evaporation, which takes place 
 from the general surface of the body, and from 
 the air-vessels of the lungs : for if animals are 
 confined in a chamber, the atmosphere of which 
 
 d Phil. Trans. 1775. vol. lxv. p. 117- e Ibid. p. 118. 
 
 f For an account of similar experiments carried to a further 
 extent, see p. 484, &c. of the same volume of the Phil. Trans. 
 
 H
 
 98 ADAPTATION OF THE ATMOSPHERE 
 
 is so moist that no evaporation can take place 
 from the surface of their bodies, it has been 
 found that their temperature is as capable of 
 being steadily and uniformly raised, by increas- 
 ing the heat of the room in which they are 
 placed, as if they were inanimate matter. 
 
 The application of heat to the various pur- 
 poses of life has a very extensive range ; and 
 with reference to the daily preparation of the 
 more common forms of our food, whether ani- 
 mal or vegetable, distinguishes the habits of man 
 from those of every other species. Without the 
 power indeed of commanding the application of 
 heat in its various degrees, many of the most 
 important arts of civilized society would fail. 
 
 Without that power, how could clay be hard- 
 ened into the state of brick, of which material 
 most of the habitations in many large cities are 
 constructed 1 Without the aid of the same agent, 
 how could quicklime, the base of every common 
 cement, be produced from limestone ? Without 
 the application of the higher degrees of heat, 
 metals could neither be reduced from their ores, 
 nor the reduced metals be worked into conve- 
 nient forms. Neither, without the same aid, 
 could that most useful substance glass be pro- 
 duced ; a material, which, in comparison hardly 
 known to the ancients, has in modern times 
 become almost indispensably necessary to per- 
 sons of the poorest class, as a substance of daily
 
 TO THE PHYSICAL CONDITION OF MAN. 99 
 
 use for various economical purposes. But if we 
 consider the properties of this valuable com- 
 pound, with reference to the aid derived from 
 it in the investigations of science, there are few 
 substances of higher importance to the philoso- 
 pher. Among the most useful of those proper- 
 ties are its impermeability to fluids, either in a 
 liquid or aeriform state ; its ready permeability 
 to light, together with its power of modifying 
 the qualities of that fluid ; and its resistance to 
 almost all those chemical agents, which are ca- 
 pable of destroying the texture of most other sub- 
 stances with which they remain long in contact. 
 In considering the extensive utility of the 
 thermometer and barometer, in their common 
 and most convenient forms, it is evident that 
 their practical value almost entirely depends on 
 the transparency of glass, and on its imperme- 
 ability to air : for if the glass, of which they are 
 made, were opaque, the variations in the level 
 of the quicksilver contained within them would 
 be imperceptible to the eye ; and could not be 
 indirectly ascertained, unless by very circuitous 
 and difficult means : and, on the other hand, if 
 the glass were permeable to air, the variation in 
 the level of the quicksilver, in the case of the 
 barometer at least, would necessarily be pre- 
 vented. The same properties of transparency 
 and impermeability to air very greatly enhance, 
 if they do not solely constitute the value of glass, 
 
 h 2 

 
 100 ADAPTATION OF THE ATMOSPHERE 
 
 in all those philosophical experiments which are 
 carried on under what is called the exhausted 
 receiver. 
 
 But the most important result of the transpa- 
 rency of glass is the modification which light un- 
 dergoes in its passage through lenticular masses 
 of that material. When, for instance, in con- 
 sequence of disease or advancing age, the eye 
 no longer retains the power of discerning ob- 
 jects distinctly, how much of hourly comfort, as 
 well as of intellectual enjoyment, would be lost, 
 were we not able to supply the natural defect 
 by the artificial aid of glasses of the requisite 
 form and density. And, again, how many im- 
 portant facts in the physiology of animals and 
 vegetables, as also in the constitution of inani- 
 mate bodies, would have remained for ever un- 
 discovered, but for the aid of the microscope ; 
 the magnifying powers of which depend on the 
 transparency, and form, and the right adjust- 
 ment of those pieces of glass through which the 
 objects subjected to observation are viewed ! 
 
 And, lastly, how shall we estimate the value 
 of those discoveries, to say nothing of the con- 
 stantly accumulating mass of observations con- 
 nected with them, which the world owes to that 
 wonderful instrument the telescope ? By the aid 
 of which not only has the knowledge of our own 
 sidereal system been extended, in consequence 
 of the discovery of new planets belonging to it ;
 
 TO THE PHYSICAL CONDITION OF MAN. 101 
 
 but it seems to have been rendered highly pro- 
 bable that those obscurely defined luminous 
 masses, which sir William Herschel termed ne- 
 bula, observable within the limits of individual 
 constellations, are really the accumulated light 
 of innumerable stars seen through the medium 
 of a space hitherto immeasurable : and that the 
 milky way itself is an extended accumulation of 
 similar nebulae ; the collected light of which, at 
 some inconceivable point of distance, may ap- 
 pear to the inhabitants of still more distant 
 spheres, as a mere speck. Dare the mind at- 
 tempt to penetrate beyond this general state- 
 ment, and to speculate upon the characters of 
 its detail ? What if there be a resemblance, or 
 even an analogy, between the structure and in- 
 habitants of this earth and of the other planets 
 of our system ? What if every fixed star which 
 we either see with the naked eye or by the aid 
 of the telescope, or whose existence we can con- 
 ceive on probable grounds by the mind's eye, be 
 itself the centre of a system consisting, like our 
 own, of numerous subordinate spheres, and every 
 one of these inhabited by responsible agents, 
 like ourselves; to whose uses both inorganic ele- 
 ments and animals and vegetables, analogous 
 if not similar to our own, may be subservient ? 
 What if the moral history and state of the in- 
 habitants of those numberless spheres be like 
 that of man ? — But the view, which the investi- 
 
 h 3
 
 102 ADAPTATION OF THE ATMOSPHERE 
 
 gation of this question seems capable of unfold- 
 ing, is too awful for the eye of reason ; and, 
 however its discussion might magnify our con- 
 viction of the infinite power and goodness of 
 the Creator, is not to be approached perhaps 
 without culpable presumption. 
 
 Let us therefore return to considerations more 
 appropriate to the character of human know- 
 ledge : and, having referred to the effects pro- 
 duced by heat on various forms of matter, let us 
 inquire what facilities nature has placed within 
 our reach for the purpose of exciting and main- 
 taining heat itself. The chemist in his labor- 
 atory, surrounded by the numerous and various 
 agents which he is constantly employing, can 
 never have any difficulty in producing it. By 
 concentration of the sun's rays he may inflame 
 any combustible substance : by compression of 
 common air in a small cylinder of glass, or 
 metal, he may ignite a piece of fungus, or in- 
 flame a piece of phosphorus, attached to the 
 extremity of the piston which is employed to 
 compress the air. He may instantaneously pro- 
 duce flame by pouring concentrated nitric acid 
 on oil of turpentine, or on certain saline com- 
 pounds ; by the simple trituration of phospho- 
 rus, or other chemical agents ; by directing a 
 small stream of inflammable air on minute par- 
 ticles of platina loosely aggregated in a state 
 somewhat resembling sponge ; or, not to accu-
 
 TO THE PHYSICAL CONDITION OF MAN. 103 
 
 mulate too many instances, he may delight him- 
 self for the thousandth time by igniting a fine 
 wire of steel, in passing the electric current 
 along it by means of the Voltaic apparatus^. 
 
 There are few individuals however who have 
 commonly such magic instruments at hand : and, 
 even if they had, it is probable that they would 
 want both the leisure and inclination to preserve 
 them in a state fitted to produce at any moment 
 the intended effect ; for, though each successive 
 
 S It Avill not perhaps be deemed impertinent, to relate an in- 
 stance of the sagacity of the late Dr. Wollaston, in connexion 
 with the present subject. It happened to the author of this 
 Treatise, at a comparatively eai'ly period of his life, to deliver a 
 letter of introduction to Dr. Wollaston at a moment when that 
 philosopher was engaged in conducting an electric current, by 
 means of the Voltaic apparatus, through three portions of fine 
 steel wire, differing from each other in diameter. With that vi- 
 vacity of manner, which in him resulted rather from the simple 
 consciousness of the acquisition of truth, than from the ignoble 
 triumph of individual superiority, he asked which of those wires 
 would first become of a red heat ; and being answered, at a 
 hazard rather than from any reasonable ground of conjecture, 
 that a red heat would perhaps first take place in the thickest of 
 the three — " I expect it will," he said, •' and that the finest wire 
 " will never reach a red heat ; for I conclude, from its extreme 
 " fineness, that the heat excited in it will be dissipated by ra- 
 " diation so rapidly, as to prevent the accumulation of a quan- 
 " tity sufficient for its ignition." It need hardly be added that 
 the conjecture was verified. 
 
 As an instance of the minute scale on which Dr. Wollaston 
 was in the habit of carrying on his philosophical investigations, 
 it may be mentioned that the preceding experiment was con- 
 ducted in a single cell of a single and moderately sized Voltaic 
 trough. 
 
 H 4
 
 104 ADAPTATION OF THE ATMOSPHERE 
 
 year has of late given birth to some new form of 
 apparatus calculated to produce instantaneous 
 light, we find ourselves constantly recurring to 
 the flint and steel, which our forefathers of many 
 generations have used ; and which will doubtless 
 be the staple apparatus of our latest posterity. 
 
 The more important part of the present in- 
 quiry remains to be considered, the means 
 namely of maintaining heat, when once ex- 
 cited, to a sufficient extent and degree of in- 
 tensity for the various purposes of social and 
 civilized life. To this important purpose, among 
 others, the products of the vegetable world, both 
 in a fossil and recent state, are destined ; and 
 in examining the origin and general history 
 of some of these products, particularly with re- 
 ference to common coal, we shall meet with an 
 interesting example of those provisions of na- 
 ture which Dr. Paley has denominated pro- 
 spective contrivances. 
 
 In the early periods of civilization, and while 
 the population of a country bears a small pro- 
 portion to the extent of soil occupied, the in- 
 digenous forests easily supply an ample quan- 
 tity of fuel : or, in the absence of those larger 
 species of the vegetable kingdom which may be 
 described under the term of timber, the hum- 
 blest productions of the morass, though not the 
 most desirable, are however a sufficient sub- 
 stitute. Thus the sphagnum palustre and other
 
 TO THE PHYSICAL CONDITION OF MAN. 105 
 
 mosses, by their successive growth and decay, 
 form the combustible substratum of those exten- 
 sive and at present uncultivated tracts in Ire- 
 land, which, till they shall have happily been 
 reclaimed by the industry of a yet barbarous 
 population, contribute by the turf and peat 
 which they afford, to the comfort of myriads of 
 individuals ; who, were it not for this source of 
 supply, would be, in their present state, in total 
 want of one of the principal necessaries of life. 
 
 In many populous districts of this island, the 
 aboriginal forests, which formerly so amply sup- 
 plied the surrounding inhabitants, have long 
 since been cleared from the surface of the earth : 
 and their site is now occupied by cultivated 
 lands and a condensed population. The former 
 source of fuel has consequently in such parts 
 long since failed : but the clearing of the surface 
 has in many places detected that invaluable mi- 
 neral combustible, which, usually bearing in it- 
 self indubitable marks of a vegetable origin, 
 from the traces of organization still apparent in 
 almost every part of its substance, was deposited 
 ages before it was wanted, as a future substi- 
 tute for the fuel which in the meantime has 
 been derived from the actually existing vegeta- 
 ble kingdom. 
 
 It is not intended here to enter into the gene- 
 ral consideration of those geological formations 
 called coal fields, which are the repositories of
 
 106 ADAPTATION OF THE ATMOSPHERE 
 
 this useful mineral : but there is one circum- 
 stance in their history so evidently calculated 
 to facilitate the labour of man in obtaining this 
 substance, and to extend its supply, and so re- 
 markably though not exclusively characteristic 
 of those particular formations, that, though not 
 obvious to a general observer, it cannot fail to 
 arrest the attention of those to whom it is pointed 
 out. A coal field may be represented, in a po- 
 pular description, as consisting of a succession 
 of alternating strata of coal and sand-stone, &c. : 
 which, having been originally deposited in a 
 basin-shaped cavity, in such a manner as to be 
 at the same time parallel to the concave surface 
 of the basin and to each other, have been sub- 
 sequently broken up by some force that has 
 thrown the planes of the ruptured masses into 
 various directions. Now, had the strata remained 
 undisturbed, a very considerable proportion of 
 the coal which is now quarried would most pro- 
 bably never have been obtained by human in- 
 dustry : for, the strata dipping down from the 
 circumference towards the centre of the basin, 
 that perpendicular depth, beyond which it is 
 practically impossible to work the coal, would 
 soon have been reached in the operation of min- 
 ing. But, in consequence of the rupture and 
 consequent dislocation of the strata, many of 
 those portions which were originally deposited 
 at such a depth beneath the surface as would
 
 TO THE PHYSICAL CONDITION OF MAN. 107 
 
 have rendered the working of them impossible, 
 have been thrown up to the very surface ; and 
 thus have become available to the miner. 
 
 SECT. IV. 
 
 The general Uses of Water. 
 
 One of the earliest political punishments of 
 ancient Rome affords an indirect but very re- 
 markable proof, of the immediate importance of 
 the elements of fire and water h to human life : 
 for this punishment consisting, in part, in an in- 
 terdiction from the use of water, compelled the 
 individual so punished to fly from his native 
 neighbourhood, in order to obtain that neces- 
 sary article of support elsewhere : and, hence, 
 banishment and interdiction from fire and water 
 became synonymous terms. There are few who 
 have not experienced the uneasy sensation oc- 
 casioned by even a temporary privation of this 
 necessary : and the death that ensues upon a 
 
 h An apology will hardly be required for applying the term 
 element to a substance, which, though it has long been experi- 
 mentally ascertained to be a compound, will in a popular view 
 be always considered as a simple body • especially if it be re- 
 membered that even among the ancients this term did not neces- 
 sarily imply that the substance so called was absolutely a simple 
 or uncompounded body. It was sufficient with them, that, in 
 all the known processes and phenomena of nature, the substance 
 presented itself under the same essential form ; but they were 
 prepared to allow that elementary bodies (oroi^eta) might possi- 
 bly be resolved into absolutely simple principles (dpxal.) 

 
 J 08 ADAPTATION OF THE ATMOSPHERE 
 
 continued privation of it is, perhaps, of all modes 
 of death the most dreadful. This we learn from 
 the occasional accounts of individuals who have 
 escaped from shipwrecks, in which their com- 
 panions had perished amidst the agonies of 
 thirst. And it is said of those unhappy victims 
 of a barbarous punishment, in Persia, (who be- 
 ing immured in masonry as to every part of 
 their body but the head, are left to perish in 
 that state,) that they terminate their last hours, 
 perhaps days, in incessant cries for water. 
 
 The necessity of this element for our support 
 may be antecedently inferred, on philosophical 
 principles, from an examination of the physical 
 composition of any animal body ; of which, in 
 by far the greater number of instances, more 
 than three-fourths of the whole weight are due 
 to the presence of water. This water of com- 
 position may be easily separated by the appli- 
 cation of a moderate degree of heat, or even by 
 spontaneous evaporation at a common tempera- 
 ture, without any further decomposition of the 
 body; the muscles and skin consequently shrink- 
 ing to such an extent, as to give the whole frame 
 the appearance of a skeleton, enveloped, as it 
 were, in parchment. Such a result is occasion- 
 ally observable in human bodies which have 
 been deposited in dry cemeteries ; and is by no 
 means uncommon in the case of small animals, 
 as rats, for instance, which having been acci-
 
 TO THE PHYSICAL CONDITION OF MAN. 109 
 
 dentally wedged in between a wall and a wains- 
 cot, are subsequently found in the state above 
 described. 
 
 An experiment of a very simple character in 
 itself, and very easily made, will serve to ascer- 
 tain, not only the proportional quantity of water 
 of composition contained in some forms of ani- 
 mal matter, but also the properties communi- 
 cated by the presence of that element thus com- 
 bined. Every one has noticed the opaline or 
 milky appearance and the remarkable elasticity 
 of cartilage, or gristle, as it is more commonly 
 called : which characters depend on the water 
 contained in it ; for if a piece of gristle, the 
 weight of which has been previously ascertained, 
 be exposed to the air of a warm room, it will at 
 the end of a few hours have lost a portion of its 
 weight ; and will have become nearly transpa- 
 rent, and entirely inelastic : and if, in this state, 
 it be immersed in water, it will gradually re- 
 cover its original weight, and also its elasticity 
 and opaline appearance. If, instead of gristle, 
 a piece of boiled white of egg be employed, the 
 same results will be observable ; for, together 
 with loss of weight and elasticity, it will become 
 brittle, and nearly as transparent as pure am- 
 ber : and on the other hand, by subsequent im- 
 mersion in water, its original properties will be 
 soon restored. By experiments nearly as sim- 
 ple as those above mentioned it may be demon-
 
 110 ADAPTATION OF THE ATMOSPHERE 
 
 strated, that all the liquid and solid parts of an 
 animal, with some few exceptions, contain or 
 consist of more than three-fourths of their weight 
 of water : the importance of which element in 
 the mere composition of our body is hence di- 
 rectly evident. 
 
 But if we would have a familiar illustration of 
 its importance in the daily and hourly occur- 
 rences of life, let us in imagination accompany 
 an individual of moderate rank and condition in 
 society, from the time of his rising in the morn- 
 ing till the hour of sleep at night, in order to ob- 
 serve the utility of water in administering either 
 directly or indirectly to his various wants and 
 habits. How great is the comfort, to say nothing 
 of the salubrity of the practice, which results to 
 him from the application of water to the surface 
 of the body, by means either of the bath or any 
 simpler process ! and, again, the change of the 
 linen in which he is partially clothed is render- 
 ed equally comfortable and salutary, in conse- 
 quence of its having been previously submitted 
 to the process of washing. The infusion of coffee 
 or of tea, which is probably an essential part of 
 his earliest meal, could not have been prepared 
 without water : neither could the flour of which 
 his bread consists, have been kneaded ; nor the 
 food of his subsequent meal, the broths and most 
 of the vegetables at least, have been rendered 
 digestible, without the aid of the same fluid ;
 
 TO THE PHYSICAL CONDITION OF MAN. Ill 
 
 and with respect to his common beverage, whe- 
 ther milk, or any form of fermented liquor, 
 water still constitutes the main bulk of that be- 
 verage. 
 
 So far the use of water is directly and imme- 
 diately necessary to his comfort and subsistence; 
 but its indirect and remote necessity is equally 
 observable in all that surrounds him. There is 
 scarcely an article of his apparel, in some part 
 of the preparation of which water has not been 
 necessarily employed ; in the tanning of the 
 leather of his shoes ; in the dressing of the flax 
 of which his linen is made ; in the dyeing of the 
 wool of his coat, or of the materials of his hat. 
 Without water the china or earthen cups, out of 
 which he drinks, could not have been turned on 
 the lathe : nor the bricks, of which his house is 
 constructed, nor the mortar by which they are 
 cemented, have been formed. The ink with 
 which he writes, and the paper which receives 
 it, could not have been made without the use 
 of water. The knife with which he divides his 
 solid food, and the spoon with which he con- 
 veys it when in a liquid form to his mouth, could 
 not have been, or at least have not probably been 
 formed, without the application of water during 
 some part of the process of making them. 
 
 By water the medicinal principles of various 
 vegetable and mineral substances are extracted, 
 and rendered potable ; which could not be in-
 
 112 ADAPTATION OF THE ATMOSPHERE 
 
 troduced into the animal system in a solid state: 
 and this element itself becomes occasionally a 
 most powerful medicinal instrument by its ex- 
 ternal application, in every one of its forms ; 
 whether as a liquid, under the name of the cold 
 or warm bath ; or in the form of ice, in restrain- 
 ing inflammation and hemorrhage ; or, lastly, in 
 the state of steam, as in the application of the 
 vapour bath. 
 
 SECT. V. 
 Baths. 
 The custom of bathing, whether in a medium 
 of a high or of a low temperature, appears to be 
 in a great measure derived from the gratification 
 of a natural feeling : for we find it prevalent in 
 every country and in every stage of society, not 
 only with reference to its medicinal effects, but 
 as a mere luxury. Thus at every season of the 
 year, when the sky is serene at least, the in- 
 habitants of hot climates plunge into their native 
 streams for the sake of the refreshment impart- 
 ed to the surface of their bodies ; and the same 
 refreshment is equally sought by the natives of 
 colder climates during the heat of their short 
 summer : in each of which instances the plea- 
 surable sensation is the principal motive for the 
 practice. But on some occasions a more per- 
 manent good is sought ; and the hope of imme- 
 diate pleasure is so far from being the motive, 
 that a sensation very nearly allied to pain, and
 
 TO THE PHYSICAL CONDITION OF MAN. 113 
 
 in many instances less tolerable than pain itself, 
 is encountered in the shock of the cold bath, 
 with a view to the preservation or restoration of 
 health. It may be said perhaps that the glow 
 of warmth which usually succeeds this shock is 
 in itself a pleasure ; as indeed it is : but it may 
 be presumed that very few individuals expe- 
 rience any pleasure from the shock itself, or 
 would consent to encounter it but for its plea- 
 surable and beneficial consequences. 
 
 For the enjoyment of the cold bath nature 
 affords the immediate resource of springs and 
 rivers, in almost every part of the world ; but 
 the enjoyment of the warm bath is in general 
 not easily attainable ; warm springs being com- 
 paratively of rare occurrence : the pleasure of 
 the warm bath however is so congenial to man's 
 feelings, that it is sought for by savages as well 
 as by the inhabitants of the most luxurious 
 cities ; and is as acceptable in tropical as in 
 cold climates. 
 
 It is at all times interesting to contemplate the 
 expedients which human ingenuity discovers for 
 the accomplishment of its purposes : but such 
 a contemplation is more particularly interesting 
 when it developes the revival of a principle, the 
 knowledge of which had been buried during 
 many centuries of intervening ignorance ; and 
 thus justifies the reflection of moral wisdom — 
 " The thing that hath been, it is that which 
 
 i 

 
 114 ADAPTATION OF THE ATMOSPHERE 
 
 " shall be ; and that which is done is that which 
 " shall be done : and there is no new thing under 
 " the sun." 
 
 In the first part of a most amusing and in- 
 structive account of Pompeii, published among 
 the volumes of the Library of Entertaining 
 Knowledge, is a dissertation on the Baths of 
 the Ancients ; which will amply repay, by the 
 information it conveys, the time occupied in its 
 perusal. In that dissertation is contained a de- 
 scription of the remains of some public baths, 
 discovered in the excavations of Pompeii : and 
 with reference to the disposition of the furnace 
 of the baths a fact is stated, which is peculiarly 
 applicable to our present purpose. 
 
 It is evicfent that, in consequence of the enor- 
 mous quantity of water which was daily heated 
 in their public baths, the attention of the an- 
 cients must necessarily have been directed to 
 the most economical mode of applying the fuel by 
 which the heat of the furnace was maintained : 
 and the following extract from the abovemen- 
 tioned account of Pompeii will shew that, even 
 in a small town of ancient Italy, an economical 
 principle was well understood and applied eigh- 
 teen centuries since, which has only been of late 
 revived in modern science. It is stated in that ac- 
 count (part I. p. 152), that " close to the furnace, 
 " at the distance of four inches, a round vacant 
 " space still remains, in which was placed the
 
 TO THE PHYSICAL CONDITION OF MAN. 115 
 
 copper for boiling water (caldarium) ; near 
 which, with the same interval between them, 
 was placed the copper for warm water (tepi- 
 darium) ; and at the distance of two feet from 
 this was the receptacle for cold water (fri- 
 gidarium). A constant communication was 
 maintained between these vessels ; so that as 
 fast as hot water was drawn off from the cal- 
 darium, the void was supplied from the te- 
 pidarium, which, being already considerably 
 heated, did but slightly reduce the tempera- 
 ture of the hotter boiler. The tepidarium in 
 its turn was supplied from a general reservoir : 
 so that the heat which was not taken up by 
 the first boiler passed on to the second ; and, 
 instead of being wasted, did its office in pre- 
 paring the contents of the second for the 
 higher temperature which it was to obtain in 
 the first. It is but lately that this principle 
 has been introduced into modern furnaces ; 
 but its use in reducing the consumption of 
 fuel is well known." 
 In the same account of Pompeii is afforded a 
 striking instance, with reference to the vapour 
 bath, not only of the similarity of the means 
 employed for producing a similar effect, by in- 
 dividuals between whom no communication can 
 be traced or even supposed ; but also a similarity 
 of custom, with reference to the enjoyment of 
 social intercourse, between communities not less 
 
 i 2 

 
 I 16 ADAPTATION OF THE ATMOSPHERE 
 
 widely separated from each other by time and 
 space, than by degree of civilization ; between 
 the luxurious inhabitants of imperial Rome 
 eighteen centuries ago, and the savage tribes 
 of north-western America at the present day. 
 The author of the account of Pompeii states 
 (p. 187-190), on the authority of Tooke's Rus- 
 sia, " that the Russian baths, as used by the 
 " common people, bear a close resemblance to 
 " the vapour bath (laconicum) of the Romans. 
 " They usually consist of wooden houses, situ- 
 " ated, if possible, by the side of a running 
 " stream. In the bath-room is a large vaulted 
 " oven, which, when heated, makes the paving 
 "stones lying upon it red hot; and adjoining 
 " to the oven is a kettle, fixed in masonry, for 
 " the purpose of holding boiling water. In those 
 " parts of the country where wood is scarce, the 
 " baths sometimes consist of wretched caverns, 
 " commonly dug in the earth close to the bank 
 " of some river. The heat in the bath-room is 
 " usually from 104° to 122° of Fahrenheit ; and 
 " may be much increased by throwing water on 
 " the glowing hot stones in the chamber of the 
 " oven. The Russian baths therefore are va- 
 " pour-baths ; and it appears that even the sa- 
 " vage tribes of America are not wholly un- 
 " acquainted with the use of the vapour-bath. 
 " Lewis and Clarke, in their voyage up the Mis- 
 " souri, have described one of these in the fol-
 
 TO THE PHYSICAL CONDITION OF MAN. 117 
 
 " lowing terms : ' We observed a vapour-bath, 
 " consisting of a hollow square of six or eight 
 " feet deep, formed in the river bank by dam- 
 " ming up with mud the other three sides, and 
 " covering the whole completely, except an 
 " aperture about two feet wide at the top. The 
 " bathers descend by this hole, taking with 
 " them a number of heated stones, and jugs 
 " of water; and, after being seated round the 
 " room, throw the water on the stones till the 
 " steam becomes of a temperature sufficiently 
 " high for their purposes 1 ." 
 
 It appears then, from the foregoing statement, 
 that the peasants of Russia, and the savages of 
 North America, are in the habit of employing 
 the same means for converting water into va- 
 pour, which were employed by the Romans at 
 the most luxurious period in their history : and 
 to the peasants of Russia and the savages of 
 North America, may be added the natives of 
 New Zealand and other islands of the Pacific 
 ocean ; merely with this qualification, that they 
 employ the steam, so raised, not for the purpose 
 of a vapour-bath, but of dressing their food. 
 
 It is worthy of notice, as illustrative of the 
 social feeling inherent in human nature, that, 
 equally among the uncivilized natives of Ame- 
 rica as among the luxurious inhabitants of an- 
 
 > Suuer, in his account of Billings's expedition, describes the 
 same kind of bath as used in north-western America, (p. 175.) 
 
 I 3 

 
 118 ADAPTATION OF THE ATMOSPHERE 
 
 cient Italy, " it is very uncommon for an indi- 
 " vidual to bathe alone ; he is generally accom- 
 " panied by one, or sometimes several, of his 
 " acquaintance : bathing indeed is so essentially 
 " a social amusement, that to decline going in 
 " to bathe, when invited by a friend, is one of 
 " the highest indignities that can be offered to 
 " him" (p. 190). 
 
 SECT. VI. 
 The Fluidity of Water. 
 
 Familiarized as we are to the consequences 
 resulting from that property of water, whereby 
 its particles move so easily among themselves as 
 to yield to the least impulse, provided there be 
 space for yielding, we rarely perhaps meditate 
 on its importance : and yet it is entirely owing 
 to this property that a free communication is ca- 
 pable of being maintained between distant parts 
 of the world by means of the ocean at large, and 
 between different parts of the same country by 
 means of navigable rivers; or by those more than 
 rivals of navigable rivers, artificial canals k . 
 
 Rarely also, perhaps, do we meditate on the 
 equally important fact, that, throughout the 
 greater part of the world this element usually 
 
 k It has been stated, on credible authority, that an agent of 
 a great proprietor of canals being incidentally asked, during a 
 legal examination, for what purpose he conceived rivers had 
 been made, answered, "that, no doubt, they were intended to 
 " feed canals."
 
 TO THE PHYSICAL CONDITION OF MAN. 1 W 
 
 exists in a liquid state : and important indeed is 
 that fact ; for, of the three states under which it 
 is capable of existing, namely of ice, water, and 
 vapour, if its predominant state had been that' 
 of ice or of vapour, philosophers might possibly 
 have conjectured, but the world could never 
 have seen realized, the mighty results of com- 
 merce as depending on the art of navigation. 
 
 From the same physical character of water, 
 above described, namely, its fluidity, manifest- 
 ing itself actively instead of passively, are daily 
 produced results of equal importance to society, 
 and equally surprising in themselves. Who in- 
 deed can adequately describe the advantages 
 derived from water in aiding the powers of me- 
 chanism, from the half-decayed and moss-grown 
 wheel that scarcely sets in motion the grinding- 
 stone of the village mill, to the astonishing mo- 
 mentum of the steam engine which kneads a 
 hundred tons of heated iron with as much ease 
 as the hands of the potter knead a lump of clay ! 
 
 And here, since it is of the utmost importance 
 to mankind that this element should usually 
 exist in a liquid state, let us pause awhile to in- 
 vestigate the means employed by nature to pre- 
 vent its rapid conversion either into vapour or 
 into ice. For although its partial existence in 
 both those states is perhaps eventually as ne- 
 cessary to the general good of the world as its 
 more common state of water, yet, if its sudden 
 
 i 4
 
 120 ADAPTATION OF THE ATMOSPHERE 
 
 or rapid conversion into either were not pre- 
 vented, great temporary evil would necessarily 
 ensue from our privation of it as a liquid. 
 
 It has been already mentioned that the atmo- 
 sphere constantly holds in solution or suspen- 
 sion a great body of water, in a state of minute 
 division : but the quantity that can be carried up 
 into the atmosphere by the process of evapora- 
 tion is limited in two ways ; first, by the air's 
 incapability of holding in suspension more than 
 a certain proportion ; and secondly, by the re- 
 straining effect of the pressure of the atmo- 
 sphere. But the rapid evaporation of water is 
 also prevented by the comparatively low tem- 
 perature at which all its natural forms exist, 
 even in tropical latitudes. 
 
 The prevention of the sudden conversion of 
 water into ice depends on a peculiarity in its 
 physical constitution, which is no less remark- 
 able in a simply philosophical point of view, 
 than beneficial in its result to the great bulk of 
 mankind. Water, in common with all other 
 forms of matter, is gradually contracted in its 
 volume by a diminution of its temperature ; and 
 ultimately passes into a solid state. It does not 
 however continue to be condensed to the mo- 
 ment of its congelation, but only to a certain de- 
 gree of temperature ; from whence it begins to 
 expand ; and continues to expand till it arrives 
 at the point of congelation.
 
 TO THE PHYSICAL CONDITION OF MAN. 121 
 
 In this deviation from a general law we find a 
 very beneficial accommodation to the wants of 
 man : for had it been the property of water to 
 become more and more condensed as it ap- 
 proached the point of congelation, one of the 
 consequences would have been that lakes and 
 rivers, instead of becoming gradually frozen from 
 the surface towards their bed, would almost in 
 a moment have become one solid mass of ice : 
 and the evil that would be produced by such 
 an effect may be conjectured, by consider- 
 ing that whenever a long protracted and severe 
 frost has thickened to an unusual extent the 
 superincumbent stratum of ice, the difficulty 
 of breaking through this stratum, in order to 
 arrive at the water beneath, is proportionally 
 increased, and sometimes becomes practically 
 insuperable. 
 
 It will be interesting to trace the steps by 
 which this providential law of nature is mani- 
 fested : and the whole process is easily rendered 
 intelligible to any one who will simply bear in 
 mind these three points, namely, that the aver- 
 age temperature of lakes and rivers is during 
 the heat of summer more or less above the 40th 
 degree of Fahrenheit's scale ; that water itself at 
 about the 40th degree is of its greatest density ; 
 and that under all common circumstances it 
 freezes, or becomes solid, at the 32d degree. If 
 we suppose then the temperature of a pool or
 
 122 ADAPTATION OF THE ATMOSPHERE 
 
 lake to equal at any given moment the 50th de- 
 gree of Fahrenheit ; and a gradual reduction of 
 its temperature to take place from that moment 
 by the effect of a constantly diminishing tem- 
 perature of the air ; under such circumstances 
 the following phenomena would occur. The 
 particles of the water at the surface becoming 
 more condensed, that is, heavier, as they became 
 cooler, would sink towards the bottom, and be 
 replaced by the hitherto subjacent particles ; 
 which in their turn, undergoing a similar con- 
 densation by a decrease in their temperature, 
 would consequently subside towards the bot- 
 tom ; till at length the whole mass of water 
 had arrived at the temperature of about 40°. 
 From this point any progressive decrease of 
 temperature would have an expansive effect 
 upon the particles of water near the surface ; 
 which, being thus rendered relatively lighter 
 than the particles of the subjacent mass, would 
 not subside ; but, remaining on the surface, 
 would continue to be expanded and made still 
 lighter till they had reached the temperature 
 of 32° ; at which degree, under ordinary circum- 
 stances, they would freeze. But the coat of ice 
 thus formed would be, in some measure, a bar- 
 rier to the effect of the colder atmosphere 
 upon the bulk of the water beneath ; which 
 consequently would remain for a comparatively 
 longer time in a liquid state ; and would be
 
 TO THE PHYSICAL CONDITION OF MAN. 123 
 
 easily procured for general purposes, by making 
 partial openings through the frozen surface. 
 Now if the density of water continued to in- 
 crease in a regular progression to the moment 
 of congelation, it would necessarily happen, 
 from the sinking of the particles gradually thus 
 condensed, that at some given moment the 
 temperature of the whole mass, still in a liquid 
 state, would have arrived at the freezing point ; 
 and consequently the whole mass would have 
 been frozen, or become solid, at the same 
 moment. The possibility of such a simul- 
 taneous congelation is not merely a philoso- 
 phical deduction, it sometimes actually occurs. 
 Thus, under certain circumstances, water, still 
 retaining its liquid form, may be cooled down 
 to a point several degrees below that of con- 
 gelation ; when, upon a slight agitation, the 
 whole mass is converted at once into the state 
 
 of ice. 
 
 SECT. VII. 
 
 The natural Sources of Water. 
 
 For the supply of a substance of such imme- 
 diate necessity to the very existence of man, and 
 of such extensive utility in promoting his com- 
 forts, nature has provided the amplest means ; 
 all however ultimately derived from that mass of 
 water which has been carried up into the atmo- 
 sphere by evaporation from the sea, and other 
 sources : so that if that evaporation were to fail,
 
 124 ADAPTATION OF THE ATMOSPHERE 
 
 all forms of animal and vegetable matter, with the 
 exception of those which belong to the ocean it- 
 self, would soon perish ; for under such circum- 
 stances the earth would be deprived of those sea- 
 sonable showers, without which its vegetable pro- 
 ductions could not be sustained ; and every spring 
 would soon fail, and every river be dried up : 
 for rivers are in most instances formed by the 
 progressive accumulation of various torrents ; 
 and these are produced by that portion of rain 
 which, having fallen upon the ridges and in- 
 clined surfaces of hills and mountains, descends 
 more rapidly than the soil can absorb it : and 
 springs result, in a manner that will be hereafter 
 mentioned, from the accumulation of that por- 
 tion of the rain which sinks beneath the surface 
 on which it has fallen. But it is evident that if 
 the vegetable world were to perish, the animal 
 world could not long survive. 
 
 Nor are the laws by which the moisture, con- 
 tained in the atmosphere, is precipitated from it 
 in dews or rain, among the least admirable in- 
 stances of the provision made by nature for a 
 constant supply of the wants of man. 
 
 The mechanism, if the term be allowable, by 
 which the formation of clouds and the occa- 
 sional descent of rain are regulated, resides in 
 the variableness of the state of the heat and 
 electricity of the atmosphere : in consequence of 
 which a given mass of air is incapable of re-
 
 TO THE PHYSICAL CONDITION OF MAN. 125 
 
 taining, in solution or suspension, the same quan- 
 tity of moisture which it did before ; and hence 
 that moisture is precipitated in the form of dews 
 and fogs ; or, being previously condensed into 
 accumulated masses of clouds, is discharged 
 from those clouds, in the form of rain. 
 
 It almost seems puerile to illustrate the adap- 
 tation of the present laws and order of nature to 
 the wants of man, by the supposition of the con- 
 sequences that would ensue from a failure of those 
 laws ; and yet, as in actual life we often feel not 
 the value of the good which we possess, till ad- 
 monished by the prospect of its loss ; so, with 
 reference to the constitution of nature, we may 
 more forcibly be impressed with the conviction 
 of its general harmony and subserviency to our 
 wants, by the supposition of its being different 
 from what it is, than by the direct contemplation 
 of its actual state. In supposing then that means 
 had not been provided for the regular discharge 
 of portions of that mass of water which has been 
 carried up into the atmosphere by the process 
 of evaporation, the existence of that mass would 
 have been of little avail to man : for mere con- 
 tact of an atmosphere, however moist, could not 
 promote vegetation to any useful extent 1 ; and 
 
 1 Niebuhr asserts, what is confirmed bv other travellers, that 
 many tracts in Egypt and Palestine, formerly well cultivated and 
 fertile, are at present mere deserts for want of irrigation. (De- 
 script, de 1' Arable, p. 241.) 

 
 126 ADAPTATION OF THE ATMOSPHERE 
 
 the formation of springs and rivers would be as 
 effectually prevented by rain ceasing to fall from 
 the atmosphere, as if the material of the rain it- 
 self did not exist in it. 
 
 Of the modes in which nature disposes of the 
 rain that has fallen on the earth, and of the 
 formation of natural springs and rivers, more 
 particular notice will be taken hereafter : but it 
 may be observed by the way, that, although 
 there is scarcely any substance which water is 
 not capable of dissolving to a certain extent, 
 and consequently no natural form of water is 
 pure, yet in almost every instance the natural 
 forms of water are not only innocuous, but sa- 
 lutary. 
 
 SECT. vm. 
 
 The Air of the Atmosphere, as connected with Respira- 
 tion. 
 
 If we suppose the atmosphere deprived of 
 heat, and light, and moisture, and of all those 
 other heterogeneous particles which are either 
 naturally or accidentally contained in it ; there 
 still remains the medium which is the receptacle 
 or vehicle of those various substances: and this 
 medium is indeed that, which in common appre- 
 hension is understood to be the atmosphere it- 
 self. 
 
 Of the vital importance of atmospherical air 
 no formal proof can be required ; for every one 
 capable of the least reflection must know that
 
 TO THE PHYSICAL CONDITION OF MAN. 127 
 
 its presence is almost constantly necessary to the 
 existence of man, from the moment of his birth 
 to that of his death. Of all other external aids 
 we may be deprived for a comparatively long 
 time without danger, or even without much in- 
 convenience ; of light and heat for instance, and 
 of food and sleep ; but we cannot be deprived of 
 the air which we breathe even for a very few 
 minutes, without dreadful distress ; or, if for 
 more than a very few minutes, without the ex- 
 tinction of life. 
 
 This vital importance of the air depends, prin- 
 cipally, on its capability of assisting to withdraw 
 from the body, chiefly through the agency of the 
 lungs, portions of that peculiar principle called 
 carbon : the permanent retention of which would 
 be incompatible with the continuance of life. 
 And the union of this principle with one of the 
 constituent parts of atmospherical air is pro- 
 bably effected in the lungs during the process of 
 respiration ; the compound passing off in the act 
 of expiration, in the state of an aeriform fluid, 
 called carbonic acid gas. 
 
 But, in order to give a clear idea of the nature 
 of the process of respiration, it will be necessary 
 to explain more particularly not only the con- 
 stitution of that portion of the atmosphere which 
 supports this process, but some of its chemical 
 relations to other substances. Atmospherical air 
 then, considering it in its adaptation to the pro-
 
 128 ADAPTATION OF THE ATMOSPHERE 
 
 cess of respiration, consists of a mixture or com- 
 bination of two aeriform fluids, which are very 
 different from each other in character, but inti- 
 mately blended together in the proportion of four 
 to one. Of these two fluids, that which is in the 
 smaller proportion is not only capable of sup- 
 porting life, when respired or breathed alone; 
 but is capable of supporting it for a much longer 
 period than an equal volume of atmospherical 
 air would have supported it : and if, instead of 
 being employed for the process of respiration, it 
 be made the medium of supporting combustion, 
 the consequent phenomena are still more re- 
 markable; for the combustible body not only 
 burns for a longer time than it would have done 
 in the same quantity of atmospherical air, but it 
 burns with an intensity much more vivid ; the 
 light of the flame being in many instances too 
 powerful to be easily borne by the eye. On the 
 other hand, that constituent part of atmospheri- 
 cal air, which is in the greater proportion, not 
 only will not support either life or flame, even 
 for a short time ; but extinguishes both, almost 
 in an instant. 
 
 By numerous experiments, which it is at pre- 
 sent unnecessary to describe, it has been ascer- 
 tained, that many of the metals are capable of 
 attracting and combining with this respirable 
 part of the air : during which process the me- 
 tallic body assumes an earthy character, and be-
 
 TO THE PHYSICAL CONDITION OF MAN. 129 
 
 comes increased in weight ; while the weight 
 of the air, in which the experiment has been 
 conducted, becomes diminished exactly to the 
 amount in which that of the metal has been in- 
 creased : and, at the same time, the residuary 
 portion of the air which has been employed in 
 the experiment equals only about four fifths of 
 the original volume ; and is now incapable of 
 supporting either life or flame. But, by pro- 
 cesses well known to chemists, the metallic sub- 
 stance may be made to yield a quantity of air 
 equalling that which has been lost during the 
 experiment, the metal at the same time return- 
 ing to its original state and weight ; while the 
 air, thus separated, if added to the residual por- 
 tion, not only restores the volume and weight of 
 the original quantity ; but also its power of sup- 
 porting life and flame. 
 
 If, instead of a metal, certain inflammable 
 substances be employed, similar changes are ef- 
 fected on the air; and the inflammable sub- 
 stance, together with an increase of weight and 
 other alterations, acquires acid properties ; and 
 hence that respirable portion of the air has, from 
 a Greek derivation, been called oxygen ; as being 
 the effective cause of the acidification of those 
 inflammable bodies. It has moreover been 
 ascertained that, during combustion, a piece 
 of pure charcoal weighing twenty-eight grains 
 combines with as much oxygen gas as would 
 
 K
 
 1.30 ADAPTATION OF THE ATMOSPHERE 
 
 weigh seventy-two grains : and, as the volume 
 of the gas employed remains the same at the 
 end of the experiment that it was at the be- 
 ginning, provided it be brought to the same 
 degree of temperature and atmospherical pres- 
 sure, it appears that the carbon is as it were 
 held in solution by the gas : and as this che- 
 mical compound of carbon and oxygen pos- 
 sesses acid properties, it is called carbonic acid 
 gas. 
 
 A volume of this gas, then, which weighs one 
 hundred grains, consists of twenty-eight grains 
 of carbon chemically combined with seventy- 
 two grains of oxygen : and it has certain pro- 
 perties, by which, without the labour of actual 
 analysis, it may be recognised from any other 
 gas ; among the more important of which, for 
 our present purpose at least, is the readiness 
 with which it communicates a wheyish appear- 
 ance to lime-water, when made to pass through 
 that liquid. Making use of this character as 
 a test, any individual may easily satisfy him- 
 self that during the process of respiration a 
 quantity of carbonic acid gas passes from his 
 lungs : for if, after having inhaled a portion of 
 atmospherical air uncontaminated with any mix- 
 ture of it, he breathe slowly through a narrow 
 tube, the further extremity of which is immersed 
 beneath the surface of a portion of lime-water, 
 he will observe that as the bubbles of air arise
 
 TO THE PHYSICAL CONDITION OF MAN. 1.31 
 
 through the lime-water, that liquid becomes 
 opaque ; and the opacity thus communicated to 
 the water can be shewn to be the result of a 
 compound formed by the union of the carbonic 
 acid, which has evidently been given out from 
 the lungs, with the lime previously held in solu- 
 tion in the lime-water. 
 
 Let it now be kept in mind that a hundred 
 cubic inches of carbonic acid gas, under ordi- 
 nary circumstances, weigh a little more than 
 forty-six grains ; and that a quantity of the 
 same gas weighing a hundred grains contains 
 twenty -eight grains of carbon ; and the follow- 
 ing statement will be easily intelligible. It ap- 
 pears, from experiments which have been made 
 for the purpose, that during the process of re- 
 spiration in an individual of ordinary size and 
 health, about twenty seven cubic inches and a 
 half of carbonic acid gas are given off from the 
 lungs in the course of one minute ; which at the 
 end of twenty-four hours would amount to 39,600 
 cubic inches, or in round numbers 40,000; and 
 as 100 cubic inches weigh 46^ grains, 40,000 
 would weigh 18,532 grains. Then, since a quan- 
 tity of carbonic acid gas weighing 100 grains 
 contains twenty-eight grains of carbon, a quan- 
 tity weighing 18,532 grains would contain 5190 
 grains, or nearly eleven ounces, at 480 grains 
 to an ounce : so that a quantity of carbon equal- 
 ing two thirds of a pound in weight is daily dis- 
 
 k 2
 
 132 ADAPTATION OF THE ATMOSPHERE 
 
 charged from the blood by means of the simple 
 process of respiration. 
 
 In an illustration of the general question of 
 the adaptation of external nature to the physical 
 condition of man, it is clearly immaterial whe- 
 ther, during the process of respiration, the car- 
 bonic acid is supposed to be produced by the 
 union of the carbon of the animal system with 
 the oxygen of the air respired ; or whether, as 
 is possible, the carbonic acid, having been pre- 
 viously formed in the body at large, is given off 
 in the form of carbonic acid gas from the lungs, 
 while the oxygen gas of the atmosphere is ab- 
 sorbed by those organs. The main point to be 
 considered is, the fact of the removal of that quan- 
 tity of carbon, which could not be retained with 
 safety to the life of the individual : and when we 
 consider that the entire quantity of the carbon, 
 thus discharged, is collected from every the most 
 interior and remote part of the body, how worthy 
 of admiration is the economy of nature in pro- 
 ducing the intended effect ! The air is the me- 
 dium through which the carbon is to be dis- 
 charged ; and yet the constitution of the body 
 is such, that the air could scarcely be introduced 
 into any of its internal parts without occasioning 
 the most serious consequences, if not death it- 
 self: but by means of the circulation of the blood, 
 that beautiful contrivance intended primarily for 
 sustaining the nourishment and warmth and life
 
 TO THE PHYSICAL CONDITION OF MAN. 133 
 
 of every part, the noxious principle is conveyed 
 to the lungs ; where it is of necessity brought, if 
 not actually, yet virtually, into contact with the 
 air ; and thus it is effectually removed from the 
 system. 
 
 SECT. IX. 
 
 Effects of the Motion of the Air, us connected ivith 
 Human Health, Sfc. 
 
 In the history of water we had an opportu- 
 nity of observing how extensive are the benefits 
 arising to mankind from that physical property, 
 by which its particles are capable of moving 
 with the greatest ease among each other : nor 
 are the benefits less considerable, which arise 
 from the same property in the element now 
 under consideration ; especially when aided by 
 those alterations in its volume, which follow 
 upon every change of temperature : for from 
 these combined causes arise those currents of 
 air, which administer, in various modes, as well 
 to the luxury and comforts of man, as to his 
 most important wants. 
 
 Who does not see the miseries that would re- 
 sult from a stagnant atmosphere? To the house- 
 less and half-clothed mendicant indeed, who 
 under exposure to a wintry sky instinctively 
 collects his limbs into an attitude as fixed as 
 marble, lest by their motion he should dissipate 
 the stratum of warmer air immediately surround- 
 
 k 3
 
 134 ADAPTATION OF THE ATMOSPHERE 
 
 ing his body — to such an individual indeed, un- 
 der such circumstances, a stagnant atmosphere 
 becomes a benefit of the highest value ; not only 
 by preventing or moderating the painful sensa- 
 tion of cold ; but by preventing the dissipation 
 of that degree of heat which is necessary for 
 the preservation of the vital principle, which in 
 his unsheltered state might otherwise possibly 
 be soon extinguished. But let circumstances be 
 reversed : and, instead of the wretched beggar 
 exposed to an inclement sky, let us picture to 
 ourselves an Asiatic prince surrounded by all 
 the luxuries which power and opulence can pro- 
 cure, but oppressed by the sultry atmosphere of 
 a burning sun ; how grateful to his feelings is 
 the refreshing coolness occasioned by the arti- 
 ficial agitation of the surrounding air : in order 
 to extend the means of obtaining which grati- 
 fication, fountains of water are customarily in- 
 troduced into the interior rooms of Indian and 
 Arabian palaces, the evaporation of the spray 
 of which gives a refreshing coolness to the air. 
 Or let us recur to scenes more familiar, and 
 more illustrative of the effect produced ; to the 
 bedside of the almost exhausted invalid, whose 
 existence is alone made tolerable by the assidu- 
 ous supply of fresh streams of air : there let us 
 witness, in the thankful smile which animates 
 his pallid countenance, the soothing sensation 
 which the languid sufferer experiences. Even
 
 TO THE PHYSICAL CONDITION OF MAN. 135 
 
 for such a momentary solace, what, of all his 
 most valuable possessions, would not every one 
 of those miserable victims have surrendered, 
 who once perished in that dreadful dungeon of 
 Calcutta? 
 
 In many instances nature tempers the high 
 degree of heat belonging to particular climates, 
 by the periodical recurrence of cooling winds at 
 stated hours of the day. Thus, in the islands 
 and on the coasts in general of the tropical re- 
 gions of the earth, the alternations of what are 
 called the sea and the land breeze are of the 
 highest importance to the comfort and health of 
 the inhabitants : of which the following state- 
 ment, taken from an official paper on the medi- 
 cal topography of Malacca, furnishes a sufficient 
 illustration m . " The Malay peninsula possesses, 
 " though within the tropics, and almost under 
 " the equator, a very equable temperature and 
 " mild climate. Whatever be the prevailing 
 " wind, the sea-breeze generally sets in from 
 " the south between ten and twelve in the mora- 
 " ing, and continues till six or seven in the even- 
 " ing ; when, after a short calm, the land wind 
 " begins to blow from the north-east : and so 
 " constant are these breezes, that, unless dur- 
 " ing a storm, the influence of the monsoon is 
 " scarcely perceptible. And so uniform is their 
 
 ra Printed at the government press 3 Pinang, 1830. See the 
 Edin. Med. and Surg. Journal, for July 1831, p. 179. 
 
 K 4
 
 136 ADAPTATION OF THE ATMOSPHERE 
 
 " effect, with respect to the temperature of the 
 " air, that, throughout the year, the variation 
 " does not exceed fourteen or fifteen degrees of 
 " Fahrenheit ; being rarely higher than eighty- 
 " eight degrees, or lower than seventy-four de- 
 " grees." 
 
 And though the hurricanes, to which these 
 regions are frequently exposed, are occasionally 
 most dreadful in their effects upon the property 
 and even the lives of the inhabitants ; yet we 
 may not only be assured on general principles 
 of reasoning that in the main they are benefi- 
 cial, but on some occasions we have immediate 
 demonstration of their remedying a greater evil. 
 Thus when swarms of a peculiar species of ant 
 had, during many years, ravaged the island of 
 Grenada, to so serious an extent that a reward 
 of twenty thousand pounds had been offered to 
 any one who should discover a practicable me- 
 thod of destroying them ; and when neither poi- 
 son nor fire had effected more than a partial 
 and temporary destruction of them, they were 
 at once swept away by a hurricane and its ac- 
 companying torrents of rain. Of the numbers 
 in which th3se injects occurred, some estimate 
 may be formed from the following statement of 
 an eyewitness of credible authority ; who says 
 " he had seen the roads coloured by them for 
 " many miles together; and so crowded were 
 " they in many places, that the print of the
 
 TO THE PHYSICAL CONDITION OF MAN. 137 
 
 " horse's feet was in a moment filled up by the 
 " surrounding swarms 11 ." 
 
 We who rarely are oppressed, for more than 
 a few hours in a whole summer, by such a state 
 of the atmosphere as occasionally precedes a 
 thunderstorm, when no friendly breeze inter- 
 poses to remove the close and humid stratum of 
 air which envelopes our bodies, may well be 
 thankful that our lot has not been cast in cer- 
 tain regions of the earth ; in those Alpine val- 
 leys, for instance, whose scarcely human inha- 
 bitants attest the dreadful consequences of a 
 confined atmosphere : the influence of which 
 often affects not only the present sensations and 
 comforts, but even the intellectual, and eventu- 
 ally the moral character, of those who are ha- 
 bitually exposed to it. 
 
 It appears, from recent inquiries, that the 
 physical and intellectual and moral degrada- 
 tion, so often observable in the inhabitants of 
 mountain valleys in general, but noticed parti- 
 cularly in the valleys of the Rhone, may be 
 referred with probability, among other causes, 
 to a stagnant atmosphere ; and to the reverbe- 
 ration of heat from the sides of the mountains 
 which bound those valleys, cooperating with an 
 alternation of piercing winds : the degree of that 
 degradation at least is always proportional to 
 the action of those supposed causes. 
 '* Philos. Trans. 1790, p. 347-
 
 138 ADAPTATION OF THE ATMOSPHERE 
 
 It is not necessary here to dwell minutely on 
 the disgusting alteration which the human be- 
 ings, now particularized, undergo : those who 
 are desirous of such information may consult a 
 very recent work by Dr. James Johnson . All 
 that is here intended is a statement of the ge- 
 neral fact. And it appears that in the milder 
 instances, the principal alteration which takes 
 place is an enlargement of the thyreoid gland ; 
 which enlargement is by medical men called 
 bronchocele, and by the inhabitants of the Alps 
 goitre?. In the instances of extreme alteration, 
 the stature rarely reaches the height of five feet; 
 the skin becomes unnaturally discoloured, and 
 disfigured by eruptions ; the limbs distorted ; 
 and the cretin, for so he is denominated in this 
 state, is frequently, in addition, both deaf and 
 dumb, and entirely idiotic. Between the state 
 of simple goitre and that of most perfect cretin- 
 ism the degrees of alteration are innumerable. 
 And, as indicating the connexion between this 
 unnatural state of the individual, and the atmo- 
 sphere which he habitually respires, the follow- 
 ing observation is worthy of attention. " In the 
 
 Change of Air, &c. by James Johnson, M.D. London, 8vo. 
 1831. 
 
 P Such an enlargement we often in this country witness in 
 individuals, who, in every other respect, are so far from being- 
 deformed, that they are frequently remarkable both on account 
 of their beauty, and the symmetry and full developement of 
 their whole body.
 
 TO THE PHYSICAL CONDITION OF MAN. 139 
 
 " Vallais," and " in the lower gorges or ravines 
 " that open on its sides, both cretinism and goitre 
 " prevail in the most intense degree : as we as- 
 " cend the neighbouring mountains, cretinism 
 " disappears, and goitre only is observed ; and 
 " when we reach a certain altitude, both mala- 
 " dies vanish q." 
 
 Among the physical effects of the motion of 
 the air, that of sound is among the most remark- 
 able and important : of the intimate nature of 
 which, however, and of the laws that regulate 
 its transmission, I should not speak more par- 
 ticulary, even if I felt myself competent to the 
 task ; being a subject of too abstruse a cha- 
 racter in itself to claim a close investigation in 
 a treatise like the present : besides which, it will 
 be examined in a separate treatise by others. 
 Whatever may be the moral effects either of 
 simple sounds, or of certain combinations of 
 sounds, and such effects though apparently of a 
 fugitive character are occasionally very power- 
 ful, there can be no doubt that particular sounds 
 act physically on our frame. Thus the gentle 
 murmur of running water, or the repetition of 
 any simple tone, even though not agreeable in 
 itself, is calculated to soothe the whole nervous 
 system so as to induce sleep. There are few 
 perhaps who have not experienced such an ef- 
 fect, from long continued attention to a public 
 
 t Change of Air, &c. p. 58.
 
 140 ADAPTATION OF THE ATMOSPHERE 
 
 speaker ; and an apparent, though probably not 
 the legitimate, proof of the effect having been 
 produced by the sound of the voice of the speaker 
 is derived from the fact, that, upon his ceasing 
 to speak, the sleeper usually awakes. There are 
 few, again, who have not known from personal 
 experience that certain tones affect the teeth 
 with that peculiar and unpleasant sensation fa- 
 miliarly described under the term, set on edge. 
 Even in the appalling sensation excited by 
 thunder, the mind is probably overawed by the 
 physical effect produced on the nervous system 
 by the crash, rather than by any apprehension 
 of danger from the thunder itself: for that sen- 
 sation is usually excited even in those who are 
 most assured that no danger is to be expected 
 from the loudest crash of the thunder, but only 
 from the lightning which accompanies it. Nor 
 is it unreasonable to suppose that an analogy 
 exists between the sense of hearing and the 
 other senses, with reference to the objects of 
 their several sensations : and since in the case 
 of taste, of sight, of smell, and of touch, some 
 objects are on reasonable grounds conjectured 
 to be naturally offensive, while others are agree- 
 able to the respective senses ; why, it may be 
 asked, should not the same relations hold with 
 respect to the ear and the peculiar objects of its 
 sensation ? Evelyn well observes, that the boun- 
 tiful Creator has left none of the senses which
 
 TO THE PHYSICAL CONDITION OF MAN. 141 
 
 he has not gratified at once with their most 
 agreeable and proper objects. 
 
 Of all the objects of sense, sound perhaps, 
 as a principle of mental association, the most 
 powerfully excites a recollection of past scenes 
 and feelings. Shakspeare briefly elucidates this 
 principle in these lines : 
 
 " Yet the first bringer of unwelcome news 
 " Hatli but a losing office ; and his tongue 
 " Sounds ever after as a sullen bell, 
 tl Remembered knolling a departed friend." 
 
 Henry IV. Part II. Act I. Scene 1. 
 
 The author of the " Pleasures of Memory" not 
 less forcibly illustrates the same principle : 
 
 " The intrepid Swiss, who guards a foreign shore, 
 " Condemned to climb his mountain cliffs no more, 
 " If chance he hear the song so sweetly wild, 
 " Which on those cliffs his infant hours beguiled, 
 " Melts at the long-lost scenes that round him rise, 
 " And sinks a martyr to repentant sighs." 
 
 Rogers, &c. page 21, linel. 
 
 Nor is the principle less powerfully illustrated 
 in that most beautiful Psalm beginning with the 
 words, " By the waters of Babylon we sat down 
 " and wept :" for who can read that affecting 
 apostrophe, " How shall we sing the Lord's song 
 " in a strange land," without entering into all the 
 pathos of the scene represented by the sacred 
 poet to the imagination ? 
 
 It is said to be the opinion of the Hindoos,
 
 142 ADAPTATION OF THE ATMOSPHERE 
 
 and though not of much value in argument, 
 there is at least a metaphysical elegance in the 
 opinion, that the remarkable effects of music on 
 the human mind depend on its power of recall- 
 ing to the memory the airs of paradise, heard 
 in a state of preexistence. 
 
 But, if an individual instance of the truth of 
 the present position were to be selected, it would 
 not be possible perhaps to find one more im- 
 pressive than that which has been recorded of 
 the late emperor of the French. It is said that 
 at that period of his life, when the consequences 
 of his infatuated conduct had fully developed 
 themselves in unforeseen reverses, Napoleon, 
 driven to the necessity of defending himself 
 within his own kingdom with the shattered rem- 
 nant of his army, had taken up a position at 
 Brienne, the very spot where he had received 
 the rudiments of his early education ; when, un- 
 expectedly, and while he was anxiously employ- 
 ed in a practical application of those military 
 principles which first exercised the energies 
 of his young mind in the college of Brienne, 
 his attention was arrested bv the sound of the 
 church clock. The pomp of his imperial court, 
 and even the glories of Marengo and of Auster- 
 litz, faded for a moment from his regard, and 
 almost from his recollection. Fixed for a while 
 to the spot on which he stood, in motionless at- 
 tention to the well known sound, he at length
 
 TO THE PHYSICAL CONDITION OF MAN. 143 
 
 gave utterance to his feelings ; and condemned 
 the tenour of all his subsequent life, by con- 
 fessing that the hours, then brought back to 
 his recollection, were happier than any he had 
 experienced throughout the whole course of his 
 tempestuous career.
 
 144 ADAPTATION OF THE ATMOSPHERE 
 
 SECT. X. 
 
 Effects of the Motion of the Air, as connected with the 
 
 Arts, Sfc. 
 
 I proceed now to consider the effects of the 
 atmosphere, while in a state of motion, in aiding 
 the various arts and operations of civilized so- 
 ciety : in which the action is sometimes expli- 
 cable on mechanical, sometimes on chemical or 
 on physical principles. 
 
 It would not be a short or easy task to enu- 
 merate the various substances which require to 
 be deprived of all sensible moisture, in order to 
 be applicable to the immediate purposes of life ; 
 or in order to be capable of being preserved in 
 a state fit for future use : and the separation of 
 that moisture which they may contain in their 
 natural state, or which they may have accident- 
 ally contracted, can in general only be effected 
 by exposure to the open air : but as that por- 
 tion of the air, which is in contact with the 
 moistened substance, would soon be so far sa- 
 turated with the vapour arising from it as to be 
 incapable of absorbing more, it must necessarily 
 be replaced by successive portions of fresh air ; 
 in order that the substance may be thoroughly 
 dried : and hence we see the advantage of cur- 
 rents of air, or, in common language, of the 
 wind, for the purposes in question. Without 
 the aid of such currents, the grass newly mown
 
 TO THE PHYSICAL CONDITION OF MAN. 145 
 
 would often with difficulty be converted into 
 hay : and with still more difficulty would that 
 conversion take place should it during the pro- 
 cess, as is most likely to happen, be exposed to 
 rain. The same difficulty would occur, but at- 
 tended with much more serious effects, in the 
 case of sheaves of wheat or barley, which hav- 
 ing been once drenched with rain Mould be 
 rendered unfit for producing bread, unless the 
 moisture were soon dissipated : and with respect 
 to the process of reducing the corn itself to the 
 state of meal, that is, in common language, of 
 grinding it ; although many other mechanical 
 means are capable of being applied to that pur- 
 pose, who does not see the advantages of the 
 common windmill, even where other means are 
 available, which in many places they would not 
 be? 
 
 In the drying of moistened linen, and of paper 
 newly made ; in the seasoning, as it is called, 
 of wood ; and on numerous other occasions, the 
 same advantages occur from the same cause, 
 and are explicable in the same way. But there 
 is one instance of very familiar occurrence, 
 where the effect of a free ventilation is pro- 
 ductive of the greatest comfort. At the break- 
 ing up of a long protracted frost, a very remark- 
 able quantity of moisture is usually deposited 
 from the air, upon the surface of every thing 
 with which it comes in contact : and there can 
 
 L
 
 146 ADAPTATION OF THE ATMOSPHERE 
 
 be scarcely an individual, from the peasant to 
 the noble, who has not often experienced the 
 comfortless state of the interior of his habitation 
 from this cause. The opulent indeed, supposing 
 that nature did not provide the remedy, might 
 easily remove, and often do accelerate the re- 
 moval of the evil, by the introduction of currents 
 of air artificially heated ; but the indigent, in- 
 capable of commanding so expensive a remedy, 
 would meet with serious detriment, did not a 
 timely change in the state of the atmosphere 
 enable it to reabsorb the moisture which had 
 previously been discharged from it ; for many 
 parts of the furniture of their habitation would 
 be injured, or even destroyed by the moisture 
 imbibed by them : and with respect to a much 
 more important point, a healthy state of body, 
 both the opulent and the indigent would be alike 
 sufferers, from a continued exposure to the ex- 
 ternal atmosphere in such a state. 
 
 In the foreo-oins; instances currents of air have 
 been considered as acting on a fixed point as 
 it were, or on bodies nearly stationary. Let us 
 now consider their action on bodies capable of 
 being set in motion, as nautical vessels of all 
 kinds, and we shall not fail to see the import- 
 ance of that action to some of the highest in- 
 terests of man . 
 
 To those, of whatever condition in life, who 
 are surrounded by the numerous resources of a
 
 TO THE PHYSICAL CONDITION OF MAN. 147 
 
 commercial city, it is immediately of little im- 
 port, unless as a question of mere corporeal feel- 
 ing, whether the air be in a state of perfect 
 calm, or freshened by a breeze ; and whether 
 that breeze be from the east, or from the west. 
 To the agriculturist even it is comparatively of 
 little interest, unless at particular seasons, whe- 
 ther the wind be high or low, or from what 
 quarter it may come ; further than as particular 
 states and directions of the wind are indications 
 of rain or drought. But to those " who go down 
 " to the sea in ships, and occupy their business 
 " in great waters," not only the degree of force, 
 but the direction of the wind, is of the highest 
 moment : while on many occasions, even in the 
 present advanced state of science and naval ar- 
 chitecture, a motionless state of the atmosphere, 
 or a calm, might be fatal to all their specula- 
 tions. Every one who has lived for a time on 
 the sea-coast must have observed with what 
 anxiety the owner of the smallest fishing boat 
 watches the variations in the state or direction 
 of the wind, as connected with the practicability 
 of putting out to sea. If the wind be in an un- 
 favourable quarter, or if it blow not with suf- 
 ficient force to swell his sails, he saunters in 
 listless inactivity along the beach : but if the 
 wished for breeze spring up, the scene is at 
 once changed, and all is alacrity and life. 
 
 In some parts of the world Providence has 
 
 L 2 

 
 148 ADAPTATION OF THE ATMOSPHERE 
 
 compensated for the disadvantages arising from 
 the general uncertainty of the wind, by the con- 
 tinued regularity of its direction through stated 
 seasons : in consequence of which, the merchant- 
 man calculates upon the commencement and 
 duration of his voyage with a degree of security 
 and confidence, which sets him comparatively at 
 ease as to the event. These periodical currents 
 of air indeed have been named from this very 
 circumstance the trade winds : and, in illustra- 
 tion of their adaptation to the purposes of com- 
 merce, a more striking instance perhaps could 
 not be adduced than the following, which is 
 given in a volume, entitled, " Four years' Resi- 
 " dence in the West Indies," written by a gen- 
 tleman of the name of Bayley 1 ". In the descrip- 
 tion of the island of St. Vincent it is there 
 stated that a little sloop, the private signal of 
 which was unknown to any of the merchants, 
 sailed into the harbour one morning, and im- 
 mediately attracted the notice of the surround- 
 ing crowd ; and the history of its unexpected 
 appearance is thus given. " Every one has 
 " heard of the little fishing smacks employed in 
 " cruising along the coast of Scotland ; which 
 " carry herrings and other fish to Leith, Edin- 
 " burgh, or Glasgow, worked by three or four 
 " hardy sailors, and generally commanded by 
 
 >• London, 8vo. 1830, p. L 2\Y1.
 
 TO THE PHYSICAL CONDITION OF MAN. 149 
 
 an individual having no other knowledge of 
 navigation than that which enables him to 
 keep his dead reckoning, and to take the sun 
 with his quadrant at noonday. 
 " It appears that a man who owned and com- 
 manded one of these coasting vessels had been 
 in the habit of seeing the West India ships 
 load and unload in the several ports of Scot- 
 land ; and, having learned that sugar was a 
 very profitable cargo, he determined, by way 
 of speculation, on making a trip to St. Vincent, 
 and returning to the Scottish market with a 
 few hogsheads of that commodity. The na- 
 tives were perfectly astonished — they had never 
 heard of such a feat before ; and they deemed 
 it quite impossible that a mere fishing smack, 
 worked by only four men, and commanded by 
 an ignorant master, should plough the bois- 
 terous billows of the Atlantic, and reach the 
 West Indies in safety : yet so it was. The 
 hardy Scotchman freighted his vessel ; made 
 sail ; crossed the bay of Biscay in a gale ; got 
 into the trades ; and scudded along before the 
 wind, at the rate of seven knots an hour, trust- 
 ing to his dead reckoning all the way. He 
 spoke no vessel during the whole voyage, and 
 never once saw land until the morning of the 
 thirty-fifth day; when he descried St. Vincent's 
 right a-head : and setting his gaft-topsail, he 
 ran down, under a light breeze, along the 
 
 l 3
 
 150 ADAPTATION OF THE ATMOSPHERE 
 
 " windward coast of the island ; and came to 
 " anchor about eleven o'clock under the circum- 
 " stances before mentioned/' 
 
 Such a vessel, and so manned, could hardly 
 have performed the voyage here described, had 
 it not been aided by the current of the trade 
 wind : and what then must be the advantage of 
 such a wind, when, instead of aiding the puny 
 enterprise of a single and obscure individual, it 
 forwards the annual fleets of mightv nations. 
 Most important therefore to the Roman empire 
 was the discovery of Hippalus, which enabled 
 its fleets to stretch across at once from the Afri- 
 can to the Indian coast by means of the south- 
 westerly monsoons. But, if we would view the 
 subject in all its magnitude, let us contemplate 
 with a philosophic eye the haven of any one of 
 the larger sea-ports of Europe ; filled with ves- 
 sels from every maritime nation of the world, 
 freighted not only with every thing which the 
 natural wants of man demand, or which the state 
 of society has rendered necessary to his comfort, 
 but with all which the most refined luxury has 
 been able to suggest. " Merchandise," to use 
 the words of Scripture, " of gold, and silver, and 
 " precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, 
 " and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine 
 " wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and 
 " all manner vessels of most precious wood, 
 " and of brass, and iron, and marble, and cin-
 
 TO THE PHYSICAL CONDITION OF MAN. 151 
 
 " namon, and odours, and ointments, and frank- 
 " incense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and 
 " wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and 
 " chariots." 
 
 But the importance of all the foregoing points 
 of consideration in the history of the relation of 
 the air to human wants is far inferior to that 
 highest and most beneficial of all its relations, 
 the production of the human voice : for from 
 this source arises articulate language ; with- 
 out which medium of communication between 
 man and man, what would become of the most 
 important transactions of the business of life, 
 as well as of its most rational pleasures, the 
 charms of social converse? But the considera- 
 tion of the mechanism of the human voice is 
 appropriated to a distinct treatise : and the use* 
 of language is adapted rather to the moral than 
 to the physical condition of man : and I there- 
 fore forbear to dwell on a theme in itself of the 
 highest interest. 
 
 In dismissing the subject of atmospherical air, 
 I would wish to observe how beautiful an in- 
 stance its history affords of the multiplicity of 
 beneficial effects, of very different characters, 
 produced by one and the same agent ; and often 
 at one and the same moment. Thus while we 
 have seen the air of the atmosphere serving as 
 the reservoir of that mass of water from whence 
 clouds of rain, and consequently springs and 
 
 l 4
 
 152 ADAPTATION OF MINERALS 
 
 rivers are derived, we have also seen that it at 
 the same time prevents, by the effect of its pres- 
 sure on their surface, the unlimited evaporation 
 and consequent exhaustion of the ocean, and 
 other sources, from whence that mass of water 
 is supplied. And again, while the agitation of 
 the air contributes to the health of man, by sup- 
 plying those currents which remove or prevent 
 the accumulation of local impurities, it at the 
 same time facilitates that intercourse between 
 different nations in which the welfare of the 
 whole world is ultimately concerned. And lastly, 
 while in passing from the lungs in the act of ex- 
 piration it essentially forms the voice, it at the 
 same time removes from the system that noxious 
 principle, the retention of which would be in- 
 compatible with life. 
 
 CHAP. VII. 
 
 Adaptation of Minerals to the Physical Condition 
 
 of Man. 
 
 SECT. I. 
 
 The general Characters of Minerals. 
 
 IT has been shewn in the foregoing chapter, 
 that the constituent parts of the atmosphere are 
 few in number, and of great simplicity in their
 
 TO THE PHYSICAL CONDITION OF MAN. 153 
 
 composition ; that some of them usually exist in 
 the state of invisible vapour, and consequently 
 are without sensible form and colour : and that 
 others, as light, and heat, and electricity, are not 
 only without form and colour, but are also of 
 such tenuity as to be incapable of affecting the 
 most delicately constructed balance ; in com- 
 mon language, are without weight. We are now 
 entering on a department of nature, which con- 
 sists of objects characterised by properties very 
 different from those we have been lately con- 
 sidering ; remarkable, as a class, for the ma- 
 thematical precision of their form, the bril- 
 liancy and variety of their colour, and for their 
 great weight ; most of them being many times 
 heavier than the heaviest element of the at- 
 mosphere. 
 
 Few mineral substances, however, exist in 
 such a state of purity as to exhibit the simple 
 characters of their individual properties; the 
 class consisting of a great variety of species, 
 which are capable of entering into union with 
 each other, and of which the natural combi- 
 nations are extremely numerous. But, as might 
 be anticipated from the general analogy of na- 
 ture, the advantages arising to mankind from 
 this mixture of character are infinitely greater 
 than if the individual minerals had existed in 
 a state of purity, and uncombined with each 
 other. Thus, to take the most familiar, and
 
 154 ADAPTATION OF MINERALS 
 
 perhaps the most important instance, almost 
 all natural soils consist principally of mix- 
 tures of the three earths called silex, lime, and 
 alumine ; none of which, unmixed with either 
 of the other two, or at least with some equi- 
 valent substance, would serve the purposes of 
 agriculture. 
 
 Again, all the common forms of clay consist 
 principally of various combinations of the two 
 earths called silex and alumine ; and although 
 many of those properties which make clay valu- 
 able are communicated by the alumine, the si- 
 lex contributes very considerably towards the 
 general utility of the compound. 
 
 SECT. II. 
 Application of Minerals to Architecture and Sculpture. 
 Among the earliest arts of civilized life may 
 be justly reckoned the rudiments of architec- 
 ture : for it may be with truth affirmed that, 
 with very few exceptions, wherever man exists 
 in a state of society, he is found to protect him- 
 self from the vicissitudes of the weather, not 
 only by the immediate clothing of his body, but 
 by means of independent habitations ; to which, 
 if at no other time, at the close of the day at 
 least, he betakes himself; in order to enjoy that 
 periodical rest which is requisite for the re- 
 newed exertion of his bodily powers : and very 
 few are the situations which do not afford con-
 
 TO THE PHYSICAL CONDITION OF MAN. 155 
 
 venient materials for the purposes of build- 
 ing. 
 
 In whatever situation then man may be placed, 
 he will most probably have the means of procur- 
 ing the comfort of a fixed habitation. Nor is it 
 long before he adds a certain degree of luxury 
 to utility : for wherever the simple architecture 
 of the dwelling is not decorated with some orna- 
 mental additions, we may be certain that society 
 exists in a very low state of civilization ; so that 
 sculpture, as an artificial refinement, seems to 
 be a natural consequence of architecture. And, 
 perhaps, the superiority attainable by education 
 and habit is not displayed in any of the arts of 
 life so strikingly as in these. From the simple 
 tent of the Bedouin to the majestic ruins of Pal- 
 myra, among which it is pitched ; or from the 
 rude hut of the modern Acropolis to the awful 
 grandeur of the Parthenon which overshadows 
 it ; how infinite are the gradations which mark 
 the progress of these arts ! 
 
 And with respect to statuary, that highest de- 
 partment of the art of sculpture, what emotions 
 is it not capable of raising in the mind, particu- 
 larly when employed in representing the pas- 
 sions or any of the attributes of man ! If, for in- 
 stance, the mind of the savage could be instan- 
 taneously elevated to the feeling of correct taste, 
 what would be the sensations of the islander of 
 the southern Pacific, in turning from the view
 
 156 ADAPTATION OF MINERALS 
 
 of his hideously-formed and grim idol, to the 
 
 contemplation of that glory of the Vatican, 
 
 " the Lord of the unerring bow, 
 " The God of life, and poesy, and light ; 
 " The sun in human limbs arrayed, and brow 
 " All radiant from his triumph in the fight : 
 
 " in whose eye 
 
 " And nostril, beautiful disdain, and might, 
 " And majesty, flash their full lightnings by, 
 " Developing in that one glance the Deity C 
 
 I will not here attempt to trace the history of 
 architecture, considered as an art characteristic 
 of civilized society : for in such an attempt our 
 reasoning must often be founded on conjecture 
 instead of facts ; than which nothing is more 
 unsatisfactory and irksome to a philosophically 
 contemplative mind. It will be more congenial 
 to the purpose of this treatise to point out the 
 means afforded by nature for the advancement 
 of an art, which in its origin is necessary to 
 some of the chief wants and comforts of indivi- 
 duals ; and which is subsequently conducive, by 
 the exercise of the highest faculties of the mind, 
 not only to national utility and glory, but also 
 to national security 1 . 
 
 With respect to the inferior animals the in- 
 stinctive propensity to construct receptacles for 
 themselves or their offspring is obvious : and if 
 
 s Childe Harold, canto IV. stanza 161. 
 
 t In the construction for instance of military fortifications, 
 and piers, and bridges, &c.
 
 TO THE PHYSICAL CONDITION OF MAN. 157 
 
 on any ground we may attribute the principle 
 of instinct to man, it seems justifiable on that 
 which we are now considering. Omitting, how- 
 ever, those more remarkable instances of instinct 
 which direct the bee, the ant, the spider, the 
 swallow, or the beaver, in the fabrication of the 
 structures which they put together with such 
 nice art; if we merely consider the simple bur- 
 row of the rabbit or the mole, we seem to ac- 
 quire a strong presumption that man would not 
 be destitute of a similar instinct : and it may 
 reasonably be supposed that, by whatever intel- 
 lectual power or internal sensation the savage 
 is directed so to adjust the various joints and 
 muscles of his limbs as to balance his body 
 when in danger of falling, by a similar power 
 he is enabled so to adjust the rude boughs of 
 which his hut is composed, that by mutually 
 supporting one another they may at the same 
 time serve for a support to the grass, or moss, 
 which is thrown over them for the purpose of 
 forming a shelter 11 . Numerous traces of such 
 
 u The following statement, from Lewis and Clarke's Travels, 
 will shew how much may be effected by human ingenuity and 
 industry though aided by the slightest means : " The Colum- 
 " bian Indians possess very few axes ; and the only tool em- 
 " ployed in their building, from the felling of the tree to the 
 " delicate workmanship of the images, (adorning their canoes,) 
 " is a chisel made of an old file : and this is worked without 
 " the aid of a mallet. But with this they finish a canoe fifty 
 " feet long, and capable of holding between twenty and thirty 
 " persons, in a few weeks." p. 435. To the preceding state- 

 
 158 ADAPTATION OF MINERALS 
 
 an instinct are observable in the amusements of 
 children ; as in the arrangement of loose stones 
 in the form of enclosures ; and in the formation 
 of banks and dikes by the heaping up of the 
 sand of the sea-beach : and, should it be asserted 
 that such amusements are not to be referred to 
 instinct, but are to be classed simply under the 
 principle of imitation, (as may certainly many 
 of the amusements of children,) it may be an- 
 swered, that, if not original instincts, they may 
 be considered as at least instinctive imitations 
 of the necessary engagements of after-life. It 
 has been sometimes supposed that the inclining 
 branches of an avenue of elms or other trees 
 suggested the idea of the gothic aisle ; but such 
 a supposition seems both unnecessary in itself, 
 
 ment may with propriety be added the following translation of 
 the account which accompanies the twelfth plate in the first 
 volume of De Brv : " The method of making boats in Virginia 
 " is truly wonderful : for, although the natives have no instru- 
 " ments of iron, or in any way resembling those of European 
 " nations, they still have the power of making boats fully capa- 
 " ble of being conveniently navigated. Having selected a large 
 " and lofty tree, they surround it with a fire just above the 
 " roots ; taking care to smother any flame, lest it should injure 
 " the rising part of the stem. In this way they burn through 
 " the greater part of the stem ; and, by thus weakening it, oc- 
 " casion its downfal. By a similar process they burn away the 
 " branches and the upper part of the tree ; and, raising the 
 " trunk thus prepared on forked props, so as to support it at a 
 " convenient height for working, they scrape away the bark by 
 " means of large shells ; and then excavate it in a longitudinal 
 " direction by alternately burning and scraping it."
 
 TO THE PHYSICAL CONDITION OF MAN. 159 
 
 and incorrect as to the probable order of oc- 
 currences : for whoever has read the travels of 
 Pallas through different parts of the Russian 
 empire, or of other Oriental travellers, will find 
 ample proof of the existence of the gothic style 
 of architecture long before our earliest European 
 churches were built: and it is just as probable, 
 if not more so, that the gothic aisle suggested 
 the idea of the elm avenue, as that this sug- 
 gested the idea of the gothic aisle. 
 
 The mineral substances employed in the struc- 
 ture of human habitations necessarily differ in 
 different parts of the world, in consequence of 
 the difference of the materials afforded by the 
 subjacent strata ; and, accordingly, an expe- 
 rienced eye will conjecture, almost with cer- 
 tainty, the character of the subjacent strata, 
 from the nature of the materials employed in 
 the buildings erected on the surface : or, con- 
 versely, if the nature of the subjacent strata be 
 antecedently known, the character of the stone 
 employed in the buildings of the vicinity will, 
 almost to a certainty, be known also ; and, on 
 this principle, as much surprise would be ex- 
 cited in the mind of a well-informed geologist 
 by the prevalence of granite in the buildings of 
 Kent or Sussex, as of limestone near the Land's 
 End in Cornwall. 
 
 The nature, however, of the material employed 
 in building is in some measure determined by
 
 160 ADAPTATION OF MINERALS 
 
 the particular stage of civilization of the inha- 
 bitants. Thus in the early periods of civiliza- 
 tion, and before the aboriginal forests of a coun- 
 try have been cleared, wood has usually been 
 the principal and almost the only substance em- 
 ployed. In proportion as the population of a 
 country increases, wood becomes more and more 
 scarce ; and then brick and stone begin to be 
 employed : but when the population has in- 
 creased to a very considerable extent, those 
 materials almost entirely supersede the use of 
 wood, unless in the interior of the building: 
 and hence, in this densely-peopled island, the 
 half-timbered dwellings of our ancestors are 
 daily becoming more picturesque x . 
 
 The value of building-stone depending greatly 
 on its hardness, but the difficulty of working it 
 being increased proportionally to its degree of 
 hardness, it ought not to escape our notice, in 
 a treatise, of which it is the professed object to 
 illustrate the adaptation of external nature to 
 the physical condition of man, that many of the 
 common forms of building-stone, though soft 
 while yet undetached from the quarry, become 
 hardened very considerably by exposure to the 
 air: which change in their state enhances their 
 value in a twofold sense ; for, in consequence 
 
 x Throughout the interior of Russia and of Siberia the greater 
 part of the buildings in every town were, within a few years, 
 entirely of wood.
 
 TO THE PHYSICAL CONDITION OF MAN. l6l 
 
 of their previous softness, they are more easily 
 worked ; while their subsequent hardness insures 
 the greater durability of the building in which 
 they are employed. And, again, though many 
 varieties of stone are so easily worked, even 
 after a long exposure to the air, as to have 
 acquired in consequence the name of freestone ; 
 yet even with respect to such as are of the 
 hardest and toughest quality, an equal degree 
 of ease in working them is easily attainable by 
 practice. To an unpractised workman, for in- 
 stance, nothing is more difficult than to give a 
 determinate form, by the hammer or chisel, to 
 granite, slate, or flint ; and yet a little experi- 
 ence enables the mason to work all these to the 
 greatest nicety : and that person would indeed 
 be very incurious, who, although he might not 
 naturally be disposed to notice mechanical pro- 
 cesses, did not feel an interest in observing the 
 form which the roofing-slate takes under the 
 bill of the slater; or the ease with which the gun- 
 flint is formed into its peculiar shape by a few 
 strokes of a light hammer. 
 
 But, after the stones have been detached from 
 the quarry, and have been worked into a con- 
 venient form for building, it is in the greater 
 number of instances necessary to the stability 
 of the intended structure, that they should be 
 consolidated together by some intermediate sub- 
 stance : for it would very rarely happen that the 
 
 M
 
 162 ADAPTATION OF MINERALS 
 
 separate stones could be obtained of such a size 
 as to be capable of remaining fixed by their 
 own weight. Sometimes this effect is produced 
 by means merely mechanical, as in the case of 
 the construction of the larger circle of Stone- 
 henge ; where the upper extremity of two con- 
 tiguous perpendicular stones, being pared away 
 so as to form what is called a tenon, is let into 
 a corresponding cavity called a mortise cut into 
 each extremity of the horizontal stone that 
 unites them. 
 
 As such Cyclopean masonry would be far too 
 expensive for common purposes ; and as the la- 
 bour and expense of uniting together, by cramps 
 of iron or other mechanical means, the very 
 great number of stones requisite for the con- 
 struction of even a small building, would be 
 endless ; we at once see the importance of any 
 medium that will fully and readily effect that 
 union, without much expense of time or money : 
 and how completely the substance called mor- 
 tar answers the intended purpose, the slightest 
 observation will make manifest. As the em- 
 ployment of this useful substance appears to 
 have existed antecedently to history, it is not 
 worth while to spend any time in conjecturing 
 how it was first discovered : but it is quite in 
 unison with the intention of the present treatise 
 to observe, that, of the three materials of which 
 it is principally made, namely lime, sand, and
 
 TO THE PHYSICAL CONDITION OF MAN. 163 
 
 water, the first is readily obtained by the simple 
 application of heat to any common form of 
 limestone, a process which is occasionally going 
 on in every limekiln ; and the means of ob- 
 taining the two others are almost every where 
 at hand. 
 
 Hitherto the materials, applicable to the arts 
 of architecture and sculpture, have been con- 
 sidered as adapted to the common or necessary 
 wants of mankind : but in what may not impro- 
 perly be called the poetry of those arts, they are 
 capable, in their application, of eliciting the 
 highest powers of the imagination : for surely 
 this may with propriety be affirmed of such sub- 
 lime productions as the Parthenon in archi- 
 tecture, or the Belvedere Apollo in sculpture. 
 Nor are we obliged to seek for such productions 
 solely in the classic ages of antiquity : for, to say 
 nothing of Palladio, Michael Angelo, Canova, 
 Thorvaldson, and other ornaments of modern 
 Europe, our own country has given birth to 
 works of the highest excellence in either depart- 
 ment of the art. Nor need this assertion be 
 made with any hesitation, while in architecture 
 that imperishable monument of genius, the Ed- 
 dystone lighthouse, attests the fame of Smeaton ; 
 and in sculpture, the pure and simple taste of 
 Chantrey has, in that most exquisite work con- 
 tained within the walls of Litchfield cathedral, 
 thrown a truth and beauty over the image of 
 
 m 2 

 
 164 ADAPTATION OF MINERALS 
 
 death, which none of his predecessors had ever 
 attained >. 
 
 Who can peruse the journal of Smeaton, and 
 not admire the penetration, the resources, and 
 the activity of his genius ? Consider the nature 
 of the task which he had engaged to perform ; 
 his limited and uncertain opportunities of action ; 
 the failures of others who had preceded him in 
 a similar undertaking ; the consequent necessity 
 of new principles, and new combinations, in his 
 plan of operations; the formidable dangers he 
 was continually under the necessity of encoun- 
 tering ; and, lastly, the awful responsibility of 
 the undertaking itself: consider all these points, 
 and it may be safely affirmed that, as an in- 
 stance of the conjoined effects of personal en- 
 terprise, fortitude, and perseverance, the Eddy- 
 stone lighthouse stands unrivalled. 
 
 On a small, precipitous, and completely insu- 
 lated rock, deriving its very name from the irre- 
 gular and impetuous eddies which prevail around 
 it ; elevated but a few feet above the level of the 
 surrounding ocean, even in its calmest state ; 
 and exposed at all times to the uninterrupted 
 swell of the Atlantic ; by the joint violence of 
 the wind and waves of which, a preceding struc- 
 ture had been in a moment swept away, leaving 
 
 y One exception to this assertion exists, in a work on a si- 
 milar subject by Banks ; in the church of Ashbourne, Derby- 
 shire.
 
 TO THE PHYSICAL CONDITION OF MAN. 165 
 
 not a wreck behind ; on such a spot was this 
 new wonder of the world to be erected. Former 
 experience is here of little avail, and common 
 principles and means have been already tried in 
 vain ; the architect is thrown almost entirely on 
 his own resources ; and they do not fail him. 
 In order to combat the force of these overpower- 
 ing elements to which the future structure is to 
 be constantly exposed, he looks about for that 
 natural form which is found most permanently 
 to resist a similar conflict; and viewing with a 
 philosophic eye the expanded base of the oak, 
 and the varying proportions of its rising stem, 
 he made the happy selection of this object as 
 the type of the proportions of his intended 
 work. 
 
 " On this occasion," he himself says 55 , " the 
 " natural figure of the waist or bole of a large 
 " spreading oak presented itself to my imagina- 
 " tion. Let us for a moment consider this tree : 
 " suppose at twelve or fifteen feet above its base, 
 " it branches out in every direction, and forms 
 " a large bushy top, as we often observe. This 
 " top, when full of leaves, is subject to a very 
 " great impulse from the agitation of violent 
 " winds ; yet partly by its elasticity, and partly 
 " by the natural strength arising from its figure, 
 " it resists them all, even for ages, till the gra- 
 
 z A Narration of the Building, &c. of the Eddystoue Light- 
 house, London, 1791 , p. 42. 
 
 M 3
 
 166 ADAPTATION OF MINERALS 
 
 dual decay of the material diminishes the co- 
 herence of the parts, and they suffer piece- 
 meal by the violence of the storm : but it is 
 very rare that we hear of such a tree being 
 torn up by the roots. Let us now consider its 
 particular figure — connected with its roots, 
 which lie hid below ground, it rises from the 
 surface thereof with a large swelling base, 
 which at the height of one diameter is gene- 
 rally reduced by an elegant curve, concave to 
 the eye, to a diameter less by at least one 
 third, and sometimes to half of its original 
 base. From thence its taper diminishing more 
 slow, its sides by degrees come into a perpen- 
 dicular, and for some height form a cylinder. 
 " After that, a preparation of more circum- 
 ference becomes necessary for the strong in- 
 sertion and establishment of the principal 
 boughs, which produces a swelling of its di- 
 ameter. Now we can hardly doubt but that 
 every section of the tree is nearly of an equal 
 strength in proportion to what it has to resist : 
 and were we to lop off its principal boughs, 
 and expose it in that state to a rapid current 
 of water, we should find it as much capable of 
 resisting the action of the heavier fluid, when 
 divested of the greatest part of its clothing, as 
 it was that of the lighter when all its spread- 
 ing ornaments were exposed to the fury of the 
 winds : and hence we may derive an idea of
 
 TO THE PHYSICAL CONDITION OF MAN. 167 
 
 " what the shape of a column of the greatest 
 " stability ought to be, to resist the action of ex- 
 " ternal violence, when the quantity of matter is 
 " given whereof it is to be composed." 
 
 But invention and composition do not consti- 
 tute the whole of the character of genius, in the 
 practical arts at least. Industry, both that which 
 resists the listlessness arising from continuity 
 and sameness of pursuit ; and, still more, that 
 which, though repeatedly repressed by unex- 
 pected impediments, as repeatedly recovers its 
 elasticity ; unconquerable and indefatigable in- 
 dustry, like that of the ant, is likewise requisite. 
 And such industry did Smeaton manifest : and 
 his industry has hitherto been completely crown- 
 ed with success. The Eddystone has withstood 
 the war of winds and waves through the greater 
 part of a century, unshaken in a single point : 
 and if of any human work we dare affirm as 
 much, we might affirm of this, " manet aeternum- 
 " que manebit." 
 
 We now turn to the efforts of genius, of an- 
 other, and, intrinsically, a higher order — to that 
 beautiful composition of Chantrey, to which al- 
 lusion has been already made. A different task 
 is here to be accomplished : it is not the storm 
 of the physical elements which is to be resisted, 
 but the poignant grief of the bereaved parent is 
 to be assuaged ; and that, not by any nepenthe 
 which may obliterate the memory of lost hap- 
 
 m 4
 
 168 ADAPTATION OF MINERALS 
 
 piness; but by, I had almost said, the living- 
 image of the very objects themselves from which 
 that happiness arose, and in which it centred. 
 Alone, and undistracted by the presence of sur- 
 rounding friends, the widowed mother approaches 
 in mournful silence the consecrated aisle ; where, 
 softly clasped in each other's arms, she sees her 
 beloved children resting in the repose of sleep 
 rather than of death : and gazing on them with 
 intense affection, she for a while forgets her sor- 
 row ; indulging in a dream which almost realizes 
 her past happiness. 
 
 SECT. ill. 
 Gems nnd precious Stones. 
 
 If it were the purpose of this treatise to point 
 out the adaptation of external nature to the 
 moral as well as to the physical condition of 
 man, it might be easily shewn, that, however an 
 undue degree of attention to outward ornaments 
 is blamable, a moderate degree of attention is 
 both allowable and right : otherwise, and it is 
 an instance that outweighs all others, it would 
 not have been observed in the decorations of the 
 temple of Solomon, nor in the original ordina- 
 tions respecting the dress of the Levitical priest- 
 hood. Those substances consequently, which 
 are capable of being applied to ornamental pur- 
 poses, become, in our mode of using them, a test 
 of virtue, in the same manner as our ordinary
 
 TO THE PHYSICAL CONDITION OF MAN. 169 
 
 clothing, and food, and sleep ; all of which, 
 though even necessary to our existence, may 
 be abused by a luxurious indulgence in them. 
 But at present I am no further concerned with 
 the moral part of the question, than to infer 
 that, if an attention to external ornament be not 
 only allowable, but right, we may antecedently 
 expect that materials for its exercise would be 
 provided by nature : and that is indeed the 
 fact a . 
 
 It would be difficult however to determine 
 which of the three kingdoms, the animal, vege- 
 table, or mineral, is the most prolific source of 
 those beautiful forms and colours which are prin- 
 cipally valued as objects of external ornament. 
 We do not indeed observe in any flower that 
 iridescent play of colours which characterises 
 some varieties of the opal and felspar, among 
 minerals ; and the plumage of certain birds, and 
 the scales of certain fish, among animals : but 
 in elegance and variety of form, and in splen- 
 dour and simplicity of colour, the vegetable world 
 will be found to yield neither to the animal nor 
 mineral. Mineral substances, however, from 
 their rarity as well as beauty, are more prized ; 
 and from the durability of their substance are 
 more permanently applicable to ornamental pur- 
 poses than those either of animal or vegetable 
 
 a " Wherefore did nature pour her bounties forth ?" &c. 
 
 Comus, line 726, &c. 

 
 170 ADAPTATION OF MINERALS 
 
 origin ; and therefore serve better to illustrate 
 the principle of this treatise. 
 
 From among those substances which in com- 
 mercial language are called precious stones, 
 though some so called are not really derived 
 from the mineral kingdom, it is proposed to 
 select the diamond as a preeminent example of 
 the whole class ; because, in addition to those 
 properties which render it valuable as an orna- 
 mental gem, there are some points in its history 
 which give it a peculiar worth. It will naturally 
 excite the surprise of those, who are unac- 
 quainted with the chemical history of this sub- 
 stance, to learn that the purest diamond does 
 not essentially differ from a particular variety of 
 common coal ; or from that mineral of which 
 drawing pencils are made, and which is usually, 
 though not with propriety, called plumbago and 
 black lead: and yet nothing has been more 
 clearly proved than that equal weights of these 
 several substances, if submitted to the process 
 of combustion, will produce nearly equal quan- 
 tities of carbonic acid gas ; which has already 
 been stated to be a chemical combination of 
 definite proportions of carbon and oxygen ; the 
 diamond, which is the purest form of carbon, 
 burning away without leaving any residuum ; 
 the other two leaving a very small proportion of 
 ashes, in consequence of their containing foreign 
 matter.
 
 TO THE PHYSICAL CONDITION OF MAN. 171 
 
 And here we can hardly fail to notice a very 
 remarkable instance of what may be called the 
 economical provisions of nature. How rarely, 
 and in what small quantities, are the diamond 
 and plumbago found ; and how abundantly does 
 coal predominate in many parts of the world ! 
 The Borrodale mine of plumbago in Cumber- 
 land is the most considerable source of that sub- 
 stance throughout Europe ; and the province of 
 Golconda almost alone supplies the whole world 
 with diamonds : and, probably, the accumu- 
 lated weight of all the plumbago and of all the 
 diamonds, which have ever been derived from 
 those and other sources, would not equal a hun- 
 dredth part of the weight of coal which is daily 
 quarried in Great Britain. Suppose now that 
 the case had been reversed ; and what would 
 have been the consequence ? diamond and plum- 
 bago, though really combustible substances, yet 
 from their slow combustibility could never have 
 answered, in the place of coal, as a fuel for ge- 
 neral purposes ; and, on the other hand, without 
 that large supply of coal which nature has pro- 
 vided, what would have become of the domestic 
 comforts and commercial speculations of the 
 greater part of Europe, during the two last cen- 
 turies. 
 
 The value of the diamond is not derived solely 
 from its transparency and lustre. Its remark- 
 able hardness is another and a most useful pro-
 
 172 ADAPTATION OF MINERALS 
 
 perty belonging to it : for, in consequence of 
 this property, it is capable of cutting and po- 
 lishing not only the hardest glass, but even the 
 hardest gems : and if we consider how useful a 
 substance glass is, how universally employed 
 as a means of at the same time admitting light 
 and excluding the air from the interior of our 
 houses ; but that in consequence of its hard- 
 ness and brittleness it would with great diffi- 
 culty be divided by any common mechanical 
 instrument, so as accurately to fit the frames in 
 which it is fixed for the above purposes, we at 
 once see the value of a substance which easily 
 and readily accomplishes that end. A small 
 diamond no larger than a mustard seed, fixed 
 in a convenient handle, enables the glazier to 
 cut a plate of glass into pieces of any shape 
 that he pleases : and the same instrument will 
 serve his daily use for many successive years. 
 Nor is it among the least of the glories of this 
 gem, that it gave occasion to that remarkable 
 conjecture of sir Isaac Newton respecting its 
 chemical nature. That philosopher having ob- 
 served, that the refractive power of transparent 
 substances is in general proportional to their 
 density ; but that, of substances of equal dens- 
 ity, those which are combustible possess the 
 refractive power in a higher degree than those 
 which are not, concluded from a comparison 
 of the density and refractive powers of the
 
 TO THE PHYSICAL CONDITION OF MAN. 173 
 
 diamond, that it contained an inflammable prin- 
 ciple ; which opinion was subsequently confirm- 
 ed by direct experiment. It will be remem- 
 bered by the chemical reader that on the same 
 ground he made the same conjecture with re- 
 spect to water, and with the same success. And 
 never, perhaps, did the eye of philosophy pene- 
 trate more unexpectedly the thick veil which 
 is so often found to hide the real character of 
 various forms of matter : for, imperishable as 
 from its name the adamant was supposed to be, 
 who would have antecedently expected that it 
 might be dissipated into air by the process of 
 combustion ? and, with respect to the other sub- 
 ject of his conjecture, if any principle was op- 
 posed to combustibility in the opinion of man- 
 kind, it was water — " Aquas contrarius ignis." 
 
 SECT. IV. 
 
 The Distribution and relative Proportions of Sea and 
 Land ; and the geological Arrangement and physical 
 Character of some of the superficial Strata of the Earth. 
 
 As it is clearly a just object of the present 
 treatise to select the most familiar and most ob- 
 vious instances of the principle intended to be 
 illustrated, I shall in entering upon the abstruse 
 department of geology, consider only those phe- 
 nomena which offer themselves to the eye in 
 every part of the world ; and which are either 
 at once intelligible, or easily demonstrable, to 
 the commonest observer.
 
 174 ADAPTATION OF MINERALS 
 
 Of such phenomena the most prominent are 
 the general distribution of the sea and the land; 
 and the relative proportions of their superficial 
 extent. With reference to the sea, although we 
 may never know all the ends which are answer- 
 ed by its saltness, and why its depth should be 
 greater in some parts than others ; and although 
 we can perhaps form no more than a conjecture 
 as to the advantages derivable from the tides ; 
 (the prevention, for instance, of a stagnant state 
 of the water ;) or from the accumulation of ice 
 near the poles ; (the cooling, probably, of the ge- 
 neral mass of the atmosphere, and the consequent 
 production of currents of air ;) yet of its mode of 
 distribution, and of the relative extent of its sur- 
 face, we readily apprehend the reason ; simply 
 in considering that all those forms of water which 
 contribute to the fertilization of the earth, or the 
 support of animal life, are ultimately derived from 
 the ocean. Were the superficial extent of this 
 therefore much less than it is, the quantity eva- 
 porated would not be sufficient for the intended 
 purposes ; or, were the distribution different from 
 what it is, were the sea, for instance, to occupy 
 one hemisphere and the land the other, the wa- 
 ter evaporated would not be so equally diffused 
 through the atmosphere as it is at present. 
 
 And, with respect to the land, how beautifully 
 do the particular arrangement and character of 
 its surface conspire with its general distribution,
 
 TO THE PHYSICAL CONDITION OF MAN. 175 
 
 to equalize the diffusion of the water that is dis- 
 charged upon it from the atmosphere ! The truth 
 of the proposition contained in those lines, 
 
 " Rusticus expectat dum defluat amnis, at ille 
 " Labitur, et labetur in omne volubilis aevum," 
 
 depends on the nature of the particular arrange- 
 ment and character, to which allusion has just 
 been made. On the one hand, the general sur- 
 face of the land ascending from the sea on all 
 sides towards some central ridge or district, 
 called the watershed of the country, all the rain 
 that does not sink beneath the surface is accu- 
 mulated into rivers ; which naturally descend 
 towards, and ultimately reach, the sea : and, on 
 the other hand, the superficial strata being in 
 general incapable of immediately absorbing the 
 rain which falls upon them, the descent of the 
 water is the necessary result of the inclination 
 of the surface. But if, from partial causes, such 
 an inclination of the land be either wanting, or 
 the course of rivers be impeded by the unre- 
 pressed growth of reeds and sedge, the adjoin- 
 ing district is overflowed, and at length con- 
 verted into a stagnant marsh. It is from such a 
 physical cause, that, at this moment, the ancient 
 site of Babylon attests the truth of prophecy ; 
 being still, as it has been for ages, " a possession 
 " for the bittern, and pools of water." 
 
 But that which is called the watershed of any 
 large tract of land is not simply the most elevated
 
 176 ADAPTATION OF MINERALS 
 
 portion of the whole surface : it consists also, in 
 a greater or less degree, of ranges of mountains; 
 down the highly inclined sides of which the 
 rain immediately descends in numerous torrents, 
 which by their gradual accumulation produce ri- 
 vers. And, as best calculated to secure the per- 
 manent effect, the substance of these mountains 
 is in general so hard, and impermeable to water, 
 that, with reference to the present system of the 
 earth, they may justly be characterised by the 
 epithet " everlasting." But if, instead of being 
 thus durable, they were of a soft or friable sub- 
 stance, they would soon cease to exist as moun- 
 tains ; and if they were porous, instead of com- 
 pact, they would absorb much of that rain which 
 now contributes to the formation of rivers. 
 
 From that portion of the rain which, in com- 
 paratively flat districts, sinks beneath the sur- 
 face of the earth, reservoirs of water are formed : 
 from which, either spontaneous springs arise, 
 or into which, artificial excavations called wells 
 are sunk : and of the utility of such reservoirs, 
 those beds of gravel which occur in every part 
 of the world afford upon the whole the best il- 
 lustration. 
 
 SECT. v. 
 Beds of Gravel. 
 
 Few subjects would at the first view appear 
 more barren of interest than a bed of gravel ; 
 consisting, as it usually does, of nothing but
 
 TO THE PHYSICAL CONDITION OF MAN. 177 
 
 fragments of broken pebbles and sand, heaped 
 together in apparently inextricable confusion. 
 Yet such beds, dispersed as they are very gene- 
 rally over the surface of the regular strata, ad- 
 minister materially to the wants of man ; in af- 
 fording him the means of supplying himself rea- 
 dily with that important necessary of life, water, 
 From the irregularity in the form and size of 
 the component parts of gravel, and from the 
 slight degree of cohesion by which they are 
 united, the whole mass is necessarily porous : 
 and hence, readily transmitting the rain which 
 falls on its surface, becomes charged with water 
 to an extent proportional to the quantity of rain 
 which has penetrated it; being enabled to retain 
 the water thus accumulated, in consequence of 
 its resting on some substratum, as clay, which is 
 impermeable to water : so that, if an excavation 
 sufficiently deep be made into any part of the 
 gravel, the water immediately drains into this 
 excavation, and rises at length to the level of 
 the general mass of water contained in the whole 
 bed ; by which easy process, in such instances 
 at least, those reservoirs, called wells, are form- 
 ed : and these reservoirs are never exhausted, 
 so long as the whole bed of gravel retains any 
 considerable proportion of water. A very ready 
 illustration of this fact is afforded by the fami- 
 liar instance of those excavations which children 
 are accustomed to make in the sand of the sea- 
 
 N
 
 178 ADAPTATION OF MINERALS 
 
 beach, while yet charged with moisture during 
 the ebbing of the tide. 
 
 The inhabitants of a town which, like Oxford, 
 is built partly on a comparatively shallow bed 
 of gravel, and partly on a deep stratum of clay, 
 can well appreciate the value of the former sub- 
 stratum of their habitations, with reference to 
 the facility of procuring water : for while they, 
 whose dwellings are built on the gravel, can 
 readily obtain water by sinking a well immedi- 
 ately on the spot ; they, whose dwellings are on 
 the clay, must either procure water from a dis- 
 tance, or incur a very serious, and finally per- 
 haps, useless expense, in attempting to perfo- 
 rate the clay b . With respect to its further uses, 
 gravel seems only to be employed in the repair- 
 ing of roads and walks ; in the composition of 
 some kinds of mortar ; and as a convenient oc- 
 casional ballast for sailing vessels : so that, if we 
 confine our view to the means afforded by gravel 
 beds of supplying the ordinary wants of man, 
 their history may be comprised in a few words. 
 Not so, if we view them with reference to their 
 origin, and the nature of their occasional con- 
 
 b From the observation of an analogous arrangement in the 
 general strata of the earth, namely, that those which are per- 
 vious to water alternate with those which are impervious to 
 water, Mr. William Smith, " the father of English geology," 
 became acquainted with the origin of springs, and the true prin- 
 ciples of draining.
 
 TO THE PHYSICAL CONDITION OF MAN. 179 
 
 tents : and little dreams any one, save the pro- 
 fessed geologist, what a mine lies hid, in those 
 confused heaps of ruin, for the exercise of man's 
 intellectual faculties. Few subjects indeed have 
 afforded ampler scope for philosophical reflec- 
 tion. In proof of which, I need do no more than 
 refer to the labours and ingenuity of Cuvier on 
 the continent, and of Professor Buckland in our 
 own country : of whom the one, by a scientific 
 examination of the organic remains of gravel 
 beds, in addition to those of some of the regular 
 strata, has brought to light not only numerous 
 individual species, but whole families of ani- 
 mals, which have ceased to exist ages and ages 
 since : and the other, with no less labour and 
 ingenuity, has all but exhibited some of these 
 animals to our view in the very act of devouring 
 and digesting their food. 
 
 How often, and with what intense interest, has 
 not the scientific geologist perused the original 
 essays of Cuvier ; in which, setting out from the 
 casual observation of a simple fragment of a fos- 
 sil bone belonging to some extinct species, he 
 has established not only the class and order, but 
 even the size and proportions of the individual 
 to which it belonged, and the general nature of 
 its food. And how often, in addition to professed 
 geologists, has not an attentive audience of aca- 
 demical students listened with admiration to the 
 clear and vivid eloquence of the other of tho&e 
 
 n 2
 
 180 ADAPTATION OF MINERALS 
 
 philosophers, the Geological Professor of Oxford, 
 while he unfolded that beautiful chain of facts 
 by which he traced his antediluvian animals to 
 their native caves ; and exposed to view, to the 
 mental eye at least, and almost to the corporeal, 
 their particular habits, and even the relics of 
 their last meal. And, lest there should be any 
 doubt as to the nature of this meal, he discover- 
 ed, by a most philosophical, for I will not say 
 fortunate conjecture, unequivocal proofs of the 
 actual remains of it ; not only in its original, but 
 also in its digested state. I here allude particu- 
 larly to his verification of the masses of digested 
 bone which he has most satisfactorily shewn to 
 have passed through the whole tract of the in- 
 testinal canal of his favourite hyenas; and which 
 are so nearly identical, in every character, with 
 the similar masses that daily traverse the same 
 organs of the living species, as to make it diffi- 
 cult even for an experienced eye to ascertain 
 the difference between them. 
 
 It is natural that I should feel a pleasure in 
 recording the well-earned fame of a friend with 
 whom I have lived in habits of intimacy for more 
 than twenty years ; and whom, in the commence- 
 ment of his career, I had the good fortune to lead 
 into that avenue of science, on which he has sub- 
 sequently thrown more light than perhaps any 
 other English geologist ; with the exception in- 
 deed of one, the reverend W. Conybeare, the ad-
 
 TO THE PHYSICAL CONDITION OF MAN. 181 
 
 miration of whose comprehensive and command- 
 ing views, as well in fossil as in general geology, 
 is not confined to his own countrymen ; the 
 members of the French Institute having attested 
 their sense of his preeminent talents by the high 
 honour of selecting him, a few years since, as 
 one of their Corresponding Members. 
 
 On one point, however, of Professor Buck! and 's 
 general theory of the organic remains met with 
 in gravel beds, and in certain natural caverns, 
 I not only differ from him, but think it right to 
 express the ground of that difference. Dr. Buck- 
 land's arguments in favour of his opinion that 
 the animals of the gravel beds, and the caverns, 
 habitually frequented the spots where these re- 
 mains are found, are not only ingenious, but are 
 occasionally supported by facts which almost 
 necessarily lead to that conclusion : and it is not 
 intended to attempt to invalidate them. They 
 do not indeed stand in the way of the objection 
 now to be advanced ; this objection being ap- 
 plicable to that part of the theory only which 
 considers the destruction of these animals as the 
 effect of the Mosaic deluge. Nor is the objec- 
 tion, in its origin, so much directed against the 
 insulated supposition that these organic remains 
 are immediate proofs of the Mosaic deluge ; as 
 against the principle of supporting the credibility 
 of the sacred Scriptures on any unascertained 
 interpretation of physical phenomena. Such a 
 
 N 3
 
 182 ADAPTATION OF MINERALS 
 
 support appears to be imprudent, as well as un- 
 necessary : unnecessary, because the moral evi- 
 dence of the credibility of the Scriptures is of it- 
 self fully sufficient ; imprudent, because we have 
 the strong ground of antecedent analogy, not 
 only in another but in this very branch of know- 
 ledge, for anticipating a period in the progress 
 of science, when particular phenomena may be 
 interpreted in a very different manner from that 
 in which they are interpreted at present. Thus 
 the explanation of the motions of our solar sys- 
 tem, which is now admitted very generally, with- 
 out any fear of weakening the authority of Scrip- 
 ture, was once as generally impugned on the 
 principle of that very fear. Time was also, and 
 indeed within the last century, when the shells 
 and other organic remains, which are imbedded 
 in the chalk and other solid strata, were con- 
 sidered to be the remains and proofs of the Mo- 
 saic deluge ; and yet, at the present day, without 
 any fear of injuring the credibility of the Scrip- 
 tures, they are admitted very generally to have 
 been deposited anteriorly to the Mosaic deluge. 
 And who will venture to say, in the infancy of 
 a science like geology, that the same change of 
 opinion may not happen with respect to the or- 
 ganic remains of the gravel beds and caverns ? 
 Nor indeed do I think, and I expressed this 
 opinion nearly twenty years since, that the or- 
 ganic remains of the gravel beds and the caverns
 
 TO THE PHYSICAL CONDITION OF MAN. 183 
 
 can be, on even mere philosophical grounds, ad- 
 duced as physical proofs of the Mosaic deluge. 
 For as according to the Mosaic record it was the 
 intention of the Deity on that occasion, in the 
 midst of a very general destruction of individuals 
 to preserve species, we should in reason expect, 
 among the organic remains of that catastrophe, 
 a preponderance, at least, of the remains of ex- 
 isting species : since, although some species may 
 have been lost subsequently to the deluge, these 
 naturally would be comparatively few. But the 
 fact is just the reverse : for by far the greater 
 number of the organic remains of the gravel, as 
 of the caverns, belong to species not known 
 now to exist. And with respect to those re- 
 mains which appear capable of being identi- 
 fied with living species, Cuvier allows that they 
 belong to orders of animals, the species of which 
 often differ only in colour, or in other points 
 of what may be called their external or super- 
 ficial anatomy ; and cannot therefore be satis- 
 factorily identified by the remains of their bones 
 alone. 
 
 I do not consider it right to enter into a more 
 extended examination of the question on the 
 present occasion : but, could it be proved that 
 visible traces of the Mosaic deluge must neces- 
 sarily exist, arguments might be adduced to 
 shew both where those traces ought to be ex- 
 pected, and that they do actually exist. But 
 
 n 4 

 
 184 ADAPTATION OF MINERALS 
 
 the deluge itself was evidently a miracle, or an 
 interference with the laws which usually regu- 
 late the operation of second causes : and who- 
 ever admits the force of the reasoning, contained 
 in Butler's Analogy of Natural and Revealed 
 Religion, will be disposed to allow that the visi- 
 ble evidence of the catastrophe may have been 
 purposely obscured, in order to exercise our faith 
 in an exclusive belief of the moral evidence. 
 
 I would not lay undue weight on the negative 
 proof arising from the absence of human re- 
 mains, although they have been in vain searched 
 for, even in parts of the world to which it may 
 fairly be presumed that the human race had 
 penetrated at the period of the Mosaic deluge : 
 but undoubtedly such a negative proof is not 
 without considerable weight ; especially when 
 taken in connexion with the theory of a conti- 
 nental geologist, M. de Beaumont, of whose 
 powers of philosophical generalization Professor 
 Sedgwick speaks in language the most expres- 
 sive. " I am using," he says, " no terms of 
 " exaggeration, when I say that, in reading the 
 " admirable researches of M. de Beaumont, I 
 " appeared to myself, page after page, to be 
 " acquiring a new geological sense, and a new 
 " faculty of induction ." 
 
 After having taken a general survey of M. de 
 
 e See Professor Sedgwick's address to the Geological Society, 
 1831, p. 29.
 
 TO THE PHYSICAL CONDITION OF MAN. 185 
 
 Beaumont's observations and views, Mr. Sedg- 
 wick alludes to an opinion which he himself had 
 expressed in the preceding year, that what is 
 commonly called diluvial gravel is probably not 
 the result of one but of many successive periods. 
 " But what I then stated," he adds, " as a pro- 
 " bable opinion, may, after the essays of M. de 
 " Beaumont, be now advanced with all the au- 
 " thority of established truth — we now connect 
 " the gravel of the plains with the elevation of 
 " the nearest system of mountains ; we believe 
 " that the Scandinavian boulders in the north of 
 " Germany are of an older date than the dilu- 
 " vium of the Danube : and we can prove that 
 " the great erratic blocks, derived from the 
 " granite of Mont Blanc, are of a more recent 
 " origin than the old gravel in the tributary 
 " valleys of the Rhone. That these statements 
 " militate against opinions, but a few years since 
 " held almost universally among us, cannot be 
 " denied. But, in retreating when we have ad- 
 " vanced too far, there is neither compromise 
 " of dignity, nor loss of strength ; for in doing 
 " this, we partake but of the common fortune of 
 " every one who enters on a field of investiga- 
 " tion like our own. All the noble generaliza- 
 " tions of Cuvier, and all the beautiful disco- 
 " veries of Buckland, as far as they are the 
 " results of fair induction, will ever remain un- 
 " shaken by the progress of discovery. It is
 
 186 ADAPTATION OF MINERALS 
 
 " only to theoretical opinions that my remarks 
 " have any application" (p. 33). 
 
 Mr. Sedgwick then proceeds to argue that, 
 different gravel beds having been formed at dif- 
 ferent periods, it may happen from the nature 
 of diluvial action, that mixtures of the materials 
 of different beds may occur ; and consequently 
 that " in the very same deposit we may find the 
 " remains of animals which have lived during 
 " different epochs in the history of the earth" 
 (p. 33). 
 
 He then shews how, from the double testi- 
 mony of the widely existing traces of diluvial 
 action, and the record of a general deluge con- 
 tained in the sacred Scriptures, the opinion was 
 naturally formed that all those traces were re- 
 ferable to one and the same action : though we 
 ought in philosophical caution to have hesitated 
 in adopting that opinion, because " among the 
 " remnants of a former world, entombed in these 
 " ancient deposits, we have not yet found a sin- 
 " gle trace of man, or of the works of his hands" 
 (p. 34). Lastly, he strenuously denies that the 
 facts of geological science are opposed to the 
 sacred records, or to the reality of an historic 
 deluge ; and for himself utterly rejects such an 
 inference : and argues justly, that there is an 
 accordance between the absence of human re- 
 mains in these diluvial beds of gravel, and the 
 supposed antiquity of their formation, inasmuch
 
 TO THE PHYSICAL CONDITION OF MAN. 187 
 
 as the phenomena of geology, and the testimony 
 of both sacred and profane history, " tell us in 
 " a language easily understood, though written 
 " in far different characters, that man is a re- 
 " cent sojourner on the surface of the earth" 
 (p. 35). 
 
 SECT. VI. 
 
 Metals. 
 
 The atmosphere, and the vegetable, and ani- 
 mal kingdoms, being three out of the four gene- 
 ral departments of the external world, are most 
 extensively necessary to the welfare, if not to 
 the very existence, of every individual : but even 
 communities of men, in an uncivilized state in- 
 deed, have existed, and in some parts of the 
 earth are still existing, without any further aid 
 from the mineral kingdom than that, which 
 the common soil affords to the growth of the 
 food which supports them. But a civilized state 
 of society is the natural destination of man ; 
 and such a state of society is incapable of aris- 
 ing or being maintained, without the aid of 
 mineral substances : and this assertion holds 
 more particularly with respect to the metallic 
 species. 
 
 In that department of civilized intercourse 
 which consists in the exchange of the commo- 
 dities of life, what other substance could be an 
 equivalent substitute for gold and silver, or even 
 copper, as a medium of that exchange ? In what
 
 188 ADAPTATION OF MINERALS 
 
 constant use, and of what immense importance, 
 are some of the commonest metals in agricul- 
 ture, and in the arts ; or for the various purposes 
 of domestic life ! Nor have any substances more 
 successfully exercised the powers of the mind, 
 in the discovery or improvement of physical 
 truths ; or more largely contributed to the be- 
 nefit of mankind by the practical application of 
 those truths. We owe it to the researches of 
 philosophy, not only that new and highly valu- 
 able metals have been discovered ; but that the 
 general value of the metals previously known, 
 has been advanced by extended and improved 
 applications of their inherent properties, or by 
 the invention of new metallic combinations or 
 alloys. 
 
 If a convincing and familiar proof of the ex- 
 tensive application of the metals to the common 
 purposes of life were required, we need only 
 refer to the case of many a common cottager, 
 who could not carry on his daily concerns and 
 occupations without the assistance of several of 
 the metals. He could not, for instance, make his 
 larger purchases, nor pay his rent, without sil- 
 ver, gold, and copper. Without iron he could nei- 
 ther dig, nor plough, nor reap ; and, with respect 
 to his habitation, there is scarcely a part of the 
 structure itself, or of the furniture contained in 
 it, which is not held together, to a greater or less 
 extent, by means of the same metal : and many
 
 TO THE PHYSICAL CONDITION OF MAN. 189 
 
 articles are either entirely of iron, or of iron 
 partially and superficially coated with tin. Zinc, 
 and copper, and antimony, and lead, and tin, 
 are component parts of his pewter and brazen 
 utensils. Quicksilver is a main ingredient in 
 the metallic coating of his humble mirror : co- 
 balt and platina, and metals perhaps more rare 
 and costly than these, as chrome, are employed 
 in the glazing of his drinking cups and jugs. 
 And if he be the possessor of a fowling-piece, 
 which commonly he would be, arsenic must be 
 added to the foregoing list, as an ingredient in 
 the shot with which he charges it ; for it is ar- 
 senic which enables the shot, during the pro- 
 cess of its granulation, to acquire that delicately 
 spherical form by which it is characterised. So. 
 that the whole number of metals made use of by 
 society at large for common purposes, amount- 
 ing to less than twenty, more than half of these 
 are either directly used by the mere peasant, or 
 enter into the composition of the furniture and 
 implements employed by him. 
 
 In estimating the value of those mineral sub- 
 stances which were considered in the preceding 
 chapter, as applicable to the common purposes 
 of life, their degree of hardness is the property 
 of principal consideration : but, in addition to 
 this, metallic bodies possess some peculiar pro- 
 perties which very greatly increase their value. 
 Thus, under a force acting perpendicularly on
 
 190 ADAPTATION OF MINERALS 
 
 their surface, as under repeated blows of the 
 hammer, or compression by rollers, many of 
 them are capable of being expanded to a greater 
 or less extent ; some of them to such an extent 
 as to become thinner than the thinnest paper ; 
 which property in its various degrees is express- 
 ed by the term malleability : others, though not 
 possessing any great degree of malleability, may 
 be drawn out into a wire, sometimes so fine as 
 scarcely to be visible by the naked eye ; which 
 property is expressed by the term ductility. All 
 of them are capable of being expanded or con- 
 tracted in every direction by an increase or de- 
 crease of their temperature ; the degree of this 
 expansibility, as of its opposite effect, depending 
 on the degree of the temperature. And lastly, 
 in connexion with certain points of tempera- 
 ture, all the metals are capable of existing either 
 in a solid or in a liquid state : and their pro- 
 perty of passing from a solid to a liquid state, 
 in consequence of the agency of heat, is called 
 their fusibility \ 
 
 Into the detail of the different degrees in 
 which these properties are possessed by differ- 
 ent metals, it belongs to the chemist to enter. 
 What we have at present to consider is, the ad- 
 vantage accruing to society from these proper- 
 ties themselves, and from their existence in that 
 particular degree in which they actually do ex- 
 ist in the different metals : to shew, for instance,
 
 TO THE PHYSICAL CONDITION OF MAN. 191 
 
 that those metals which possess malleability in 
 a greater ratio than ductility, or ductility in a 
 greater ratio than malleability, are of infinitely 
 greater value than if the converse were true : 
 and so with respect to the property of fusibility. 
 Thus gold, being comparatively scarce, and prin- 
 cipally valuable on account of its colour, its re- 
 splendency, and its remarkable power of resist- 
 ing the action of the air, and of various agents 
 which readily tarnish or rust the more common 
 metals, (all which properties reside on the mere 
 surface,) a given quantity of such a metal is 
 consequently more valuable in proportion to the 
 degree of its malleability ; because it may be 
 extended over a greater surface : and no metal 
 possesses this property in so high a degree as 
 gold ; so that, as far as the eye is the judge, the 
 most ordinary substance may be made to repre- 
 sent the most costly, at a comparatively trifling 
 expense : while in the degree of its ductility, 
 which in gold would be, for general purposes, of 
 little moment, it is inferior to most of the metals d . 
 
 d It should be kept in mind that this observation is applied to 
 unalloyed or pure gold ; for, when alloyed, this metal is capable 
 of being drawn out into a comparatively fine wire. Dr. Wollas- 
 ton indeed suggested a method of drawing out even pure gold 
 into an exceedingly fine wire, by enclosing it in amass of a highly 
 ductile metal, drawing out the mixed metal into fine wire, and 
 disengaging the gold from the metal in which it was enclosed, by 
 any acid which would dissolve the latter without affecting the 
 gold itself.
 
 192 ADAPTATION OF MINERALS 
 
 Iron, again, is malleable to a degree which 
 renders it most valuable as a material for fabri- 
 cating all kinds of instruments for mechanical, 
 domestic, or philosophical purposes ; and it is 
 capable of being hardened by well known pro- 
 cesses sufficiently for the numerous and import- 
 ant works of the carpenter and mason, and the 
 equally important purposes of war, agriculture, 
 and the arts. A greater degree of malleability, 
 in a metal employed for such purposes as those 
 for which iron is usually employed, especially 
 as this metal is very easily corroded by rust, 
 would clearly have added nothing to its prac- 
 tical value : while its degree of ductility, which 
 exceeds that of everv other metal, combined 
 with its capability of being hardened in various 
 degrees, occasionally confers a value on it greatly 
 superior to that of gold. 
 
 From the difference in the degree of fusibi- 
 lity of different metals, aided by the disposition 
 which they have to unite so as to form an alloy, 
 arises the possibility of covering one metal in a 
 solid state with a superficial coating of another 
 metal in a state of fusion. I am not aware that 
 this method is employed, at least to any extent, 
 in any other instances, than in the application of 
 tin to the surface of copper or of iron : but, were 
 there a hundred similar instances, they would 
 not lessen the value of this, as affording an illus- 
 tration of that principle which has been borne
 
 TO THE PHYSICAL CONDITION OF MAN. 1.93 
 
 in mind throughout this treatise. Consider only 
 the respective degree of abundance of each of 
 the three metals just mentioned, and the differ- 
 ence in some of their qualities with respect to 
 external agents, and we shall have ample reason 
 for being assured that, on this as on every other 
 occasion, we may say of the Creator of material 
 things — "In wisdom hast Thou made them all." 
 And not only is it true that 
 
 " The world by difference is in order found ;" 
 but the difference is so adjusted in every in- 
 stance, that, if it were varied, the value of the 
 substances in which the difference is observable 
 would be destroyed. Thus, of the three metals 
 now under consideration, iron and copper, from 
 the degree of their malleability, are easily formed 
 into those various vessels which are of daily use 
 for culinary and other purposes ; while tin pos- 
 sesses the property of malleability in compara- 
 tively a slight degree: and, correspondently with 
 the extent of their use, iron and copper are 
 found in great abundance and in almost every 
 part of the world; while tin is of very rare occur- 
 rence. Again, the two former metals are easily 
 rusted ; and, from the poisonous quality of the 
 rust of copper, fatal effects on human health and 
 life would be frequently occurring, used so ex- 
 tensively as that metal is for the construction of 
 vessels in which our food is prepared, were it not 
 defended by that superficial coating of tin, which 
 
 o
 
 194 ADAPTATION OF MINERALS 
 
 is commonly applied to the inner surface of such 
 vessels ; tin being neither easily rusted, nor ca- 
 pable of communicating any poisonous quality 
 to substances brought into contact with it. Let 
 us then suppose that the respective degree of 
 malleability, or of fusibility, were reversed in 
 these metals ; and observe the inconvenience 
 that would ensue. Let the tin have that degree 
 of malleability, for instance, which would render 
 it capable of supplying the place of the iron, or 
 the copper, in the construction of various eco- 
 nomical vessels and instruments ; yet, from the 
 small quantity in which it occurs in the world, 
 either the supply of it would soon be exhausted, 
 or its price would be so enhanced that it could 
 not be purchased except by the rich. And, 
 even if the supply were inexhaustible, yet, from 
 the softness of the metal, the vessels made of it 
 would be comparatively of little use ; and from 
 the low temperature at which it melts, it could 
 not be readily used for the generality of those 
 purposes to which copper and iron are commonly 
 applied. On the other hand, let the copper or 
 the iron be as fusible as tin ; and let the tin be 
 as refractory under the action of heat as iron 
 and copper are : in that case, how could the tin 
 be applied with any degree of economy to the 
 surface of either of the other two ; while they 
 themselves would be unfit, from their easy fusi- 
 bility, to withstand that degree of heat to which
 
 TO THE PHYSICAL CONDITION OF MAN. 195 
 
 they are necessarily exposed in many of the 
 economical uses to which they are applied ? 
 
 There remains to be considered one property 
 of metals with respect to their fusibility, which 
 is of the highest practical importance ; for on 
 this property depends the possibility of uniting 
 together portions of the same, or of different 
 metals, without fusion of the metals themselves. 
 If two metals be melted into one uniform mass, 
 the compound is called an alloy; and in the 
 greater number of instances, if not in all, the 
 alloy is more readily fusible than either of the 
 component metals : and hence it easily becomes 
 a bond of union between the two metals, or dif- 
 ferent portions of either of them. Such an al- 
 loy, when so employed, is called a solder. In 
 considering the present subject, we cannot over- 
 look a remarkable analogy between metallic 
 substances and building stones, with reference 
 to one mode in which they may respectively 
 be united to each other, so as to form one solid 
 mass; mortar being to stones what solder is to 
 metals. Thus, in uniting two metallic surfaces 
 by means of solder, it is requisite that the latter 
 should be in a fluid state, or melted ; and, in 
 uniting the surfaces of two bricks or stones by 
 means of mortar, the latter must be, if not in ab- 
 solutely a fluid, yet in a soft and yielding state : 
 and the final hardening of each is the efficient 
 cause of permanent union. The period indeed 
 
 o 2
 
 196 ADAPTATION OF MINERALS 
 
 requisite for the due consolidation of the uniting 
 medium is very different ; the solder becoming 
 fixed in a few seconds, the mortar requiring some 
 hours, perhaps days, for its consolidation : but, 
 in the end proposed, there is no essential differ- 
 ence ; for the mortar, if originally tempered well, 
 and well applied, as firmly unites the stones, as 
 solder the metals: so that mortar might be called 
 a slowly acting solder ; and solder, an extempo- 
 raneous or quickly acting mortar. 
 
 It would appear a paradox, if not an absurd- 
 ity, to affirm abruptly that a liability to rapid 
 decay is among the most valuable properties of 
 any substance in general use : and yet this may 
 be truly affirmed of iron. For though, in one 
 sense, its liability to rust diminishes the value 
 of this useful metal, because it is consequently 
 almost impossible to preserve it very long in 
 an entire state ; yet, indirectly, this property, 
 though detrimental to individuals, is beneficial 
 to the community : for, in the first place, the 
 presence of iron ore is so general, and its quan- 
 tity so abundant, that there is no probability of 
 any failure in its supply: and, in the next place, 
 numerous branches of trade are kept in con- 
 tinued employ, both in working the ore, and in 
 meeting the constantly renewed demand for im- 
 plements made of iron, owing to the rapid cor- 
 rosion of this metal. 
 
 Among the metals there is one, the history of
 
 TO THE PHYSICAL CONDITION OF MAN. 197 
 
 which ought not to be overlooked on the pre- 
 sent occasion, from the very circumstance that 
 its value in a great measure depends on the ab- 
 sence of most of those properties which render 
 all other metals valuable. Quicksilver is the 
 metal in question : and what an anomaly does 
 it not present in the general history of metals; 
 existing, under all common variations of tem- 
 perature, in a fluid state, while all other metals, 
 with which we are familiar, are, under the same 
 variations, solid ; nor indeed are they capable 
 of becoming fluid, but by an elevation of tem- 
 perature to which they are hardly liable to be 
 exposed, unless designedly : lastly, in conse- 
 quence of its fluidity, destitute of malleability 
 and ductility ; which are among the most valu- 
 able properties of the metals taken collectively ? 
 This state of fluidity, however, is the very point 
 on which the value of this metal in a great mea- 
 sure turns : for hence it is successfully employed 
 for many purposes, to which, were it solid, it 
 would be inapplicable. How valuable is its use 
 in the construction of the common thermometer 
 and barometer; the value, in the case of the 
 former instrument, depending entirely on its 
 fluidity, and on the physical characters of the 
 fluid itself — the equable ratio, for instance, of 
 its contraction and expansion under widely va- 
 rying degrees of temperature ; and its property 
 of remaining fluid through a greater range of 
 
 o 3
 
 198 ADAPTATION OF MINERALS 
 
 temperature than any other known substance* 1 . 
 And, in the case of the barometer, what fluid is 
 there which could supply the place of quick- 
 silver, with any degree of convenience? since, 
 from the great specific gravity of this metal, a 
 column of the perpendicular height of about 
 thirty inches, sufficiently answers the intended 
 purpose ; which column in the case of almost 
 every other fluid, would amount to as many 
 feet. And as, in such a case, the column must 
 necessarily be contained in a glass tube, in order 
 to make the alterations in its height visible, how 
 would it be possible to render such an instru- 
 ment portable? and yet, if not portable, it would 
 often be of no use when most wanted. 
 
 In those numerous philosophical experiments 
 in which it is requisite to insulate portions of 
 various gaseous substances, for the purpose of 
 examining their properties, how could the ex- 
 perimentalist proceed without the use of the 
 metal now under consideration ; which by its 
 fluidity readily yields its place to the various 
 kinds of gas which are to be transferred to ves- 
 sels previously filled with the quicksilver ; and, 
 having no chemical affinity for the greater num- 
 
 d Quicksilver does not become solid till exposed to a tem- 
 perature about seventy degrees below the freezing point in the 
 scale of Fahrenheit ; nor does it pass rapidly into a state of va- 
 pour till exposed to a temperature ecpial to nearly three hun- 
 dred and seventy degrees above the boiling point of water, on 
 the same scale.
 
 TO THE PHYSICAL CONDITION OF MAN. 199 
 
 ber of gaseous substances, is calculated to retain 
 them in an insulated and unaltered state for 
 an indefinite length of time ? nor let us forget to 
 observe, how the properties of the metal, which 
 is necessarily in contact with the gaseous sub- 
 stances in question, conspire with the properties 
 of the glass vessels containing those gaseous sub- 
 stances, to facilitate the observations of the phi- 
 losopher : for, if the glass were not both a trans- 
 parent body, and equally devoid as the quicksil- 
 ver of any chemical affinity for the gas contained 
 in it, the metal itself would be of little use for the 
 purpose intended ; since we are not acquainted 
 with any other substance that could supply the 
 place of glass — with the exception perhaps of 
 rock crystal ; which however could only be pro- 
 cured in small quantity any where, and could 
 not be worked into a convenient form but at a 
 most enormous expense. 
 
 SECT. VII. 
 Common Salt, Sfc. 
 It does not appear that the mineral kingdom 
 contains a single species capable of being em- 
 ployed as food : but there is one mineral species, 
 which indirectly contributes to the nourishment 
 of many other animals as well as man ; and that 
 is common salt ; the flavour of which, to a cer- 
 tain extent, is not only grateful to the palate, 
 but, practically speaking, mankind could not 
 
 o 4
 
 200 ADAPTATION OF MINERALS 
 
 exist, or at least never have existed, without the 
 constant use of it. Thus, though employed in 
 very small quantities at a time by any indi- 
 vidual, and almost exclusively for the purpose 
 either of preserving or of rendering his food 
 more palatable, this substance may fairly be 
 classed among the principal necessaries of life : 
 and, correspondently with this statement, we 
 find that nature has supplied it in abundance, 
 indeed in profusion often, in various parts of 
 the globe : for, to say nothing of those appa- 
 rently inexhaustible masses which occur among 
 the solid strata of the earth, and which have 
 been constantly quarried through successive 
 ages from the earliest records of history, the 
 ocean itself is a never-failing source of this 
 valuable substance. In other instances salt 
 springs afford the means of a ready supply : and, 
 throughout a considerable part of the sandy dis- 
 tricts of Africa and Asia, the soil itself abounds 
 with it e . The abundant supply of common salt 
 
 e It does not belong to our present purpose to describe the 
 common processes by which the salt is obtained either from the 
 sea, or from any other liquid that may hold it in solution : but 
 the following account of a particular process, for this purpose, 
 so well illustrates the ingenuity of the human mind in taking 
 advantage of natural hints, if the expression may be permitted, 
 that no excuse can be necessary for its introduction. In Guiana 
 there is a very common species of palm, the flowers of which are 
 enveloped by a sheath capable of holding many pints of water ; 
 and the density and general nature of the sheath is such, that
 
 TO THE PHYSICAL CONDITION OF MAN. 201 
 
 coincides with its extensive utility. It is every 
 where indispensable to the comforts of man ; 
 and it is every where found, or easily obtained 
 by him. And, though not to the same extent, 
 the same observation holds with reference to 
 many other natural saline compounds. Thus 
 carbonate of potash, and natron or carbonate of 
 soda, alum, borax, sal ammoniac, and sulphate 
 of iron, or green vitriol, which are most exten- 
 sively useful salts in many processes of the arts, 
 are either found abundantly in various parts of 
 the world, or may be obtained by very easy 
 means : while a thousand other saline compounds, 
 which are rarely of any practical importance, 
 are scarcely known to exist in a native state. 
 And it is probable that that useful metal, copper, 
 in consequence of its frequent occurrence in a 
 native state, was employed long before the mode 
 of reducing iron from its ores had been disco- 
 vered ; as Werner (and Hesiod, and Lucretius, 
 ages before him f ) conjectured. 
 
 the water contained in it may be heated over a fire without de- 
 stroying its substance : and the Caraibs actually employ these 
 sheaths, in evaporating the sea-water for the purpose of obtain- 
 ing a quick supply of salt. (Diction. des Sciences Nat. tom.xxxvii. 
 p. 283, 4.) 
 
 f XaX»c<i 8' epya£ovTO, fj-ekas 8' ovk ecrKt (riSrjpos. 
 
 EPr. kai hm. line 151. 
 
 Posterius Ferri vis est, iErisque reperta. 
 
 Et prior iEris erat quam Ferri cognitus usus. 
 
 Lucret. V. 1285.
 
 202 ADAPTATION OF VEGETABLES 
 
 CHAP. VIII. 
 
 Adaptation of Vegetables to the Physical 
 Condition of Man. 
 
 SECT. I. 
 General Observations on the Vegetable Kingdom. 
 
 THE vegetable kingdom has this distinction 
 with reference to the subject of the present trea- 
 tise, that its productions are among the first ob- 
 jects that forcibly attract the attention of young 
 children ; becoming to them the source of grati- 
 fications, which are among the purest of which 
 our nature is capable ; and of which even the in- 
 distinct recollection imparts often a fleeting plea- 
 sure to the most cheerless moments of after-life. 
 
 Who does not look back with feelings, which 
 he would in vain attempt to describe, to the de- 
 lightful rambles which his native fields and mea- 
 dows afforded to his earliest years? Who does 
 not remember, or at least fancy that he remem- 
 bers, the eager activity with which he was used 
 to strip nature's carpet of its embroidery, nor 
 ceased to cull the scattered blossoms till his in- 
 fant hands were incapable of retaining the ac- 
 cumulated heap ? Who, on even seeing the first 
 violet of returning spring, much more on inhal- 
 ing its sweetness ; or in catching the breeze that 
 has passed over the blossom of the bean or of 
 the woodbine, does not again enjoy the very de- 
 lights of his early childhood?
 
 TO THE PHYSICAL CONDITION OF MAN. 203 
 
 It may be said indeed that the pleasure of 
 such recollections is for the most part of a moral 
 and intellectual nature ; and, so far, is foreign 
 to our present object: but the pleasure of the 
 original enjoyment appears to be principally of 
 a physical character ; and is no doubt intended 
 to produce, at the moment, a highly beneficial, 
 though merely physical effect : for while the 
 eye of the child is attracted by the unexpected 
 forms and colours of the plants and flowers pre- 
 sented to his view, and his mind is instigated to 
 gratify the eager desire of possessing them, he 
 necessarily subjects his limbs to that degree of 
 exercise and fatigue, which contributes to the 
 general health of his body. Nor let such plea- 
 sures be undervalued in their consequence : they 
 give that moderate stimulus to the whole sys- 
 tem, which even the early age of infancy re- 
 quires ; and, by shutting out the listlessness that 
 would arise from inactivity, they become event- 
 ually the source of moral and intellectual im- 
 provement. 
 
 With reference to the primary wants of man- 
 kind at large, the vegetable kingdom is of the 
 highest importance. Let the earth cease to pro- 
 duce its accustomed fruits, and every form of 
 animal life must be soon annihilated : for all 
 animals either derive their nourishment directly 
 from vegetable food, or feed on those animals 
 which have themselves fed on vegetables. And,
 
 204 ADAPTATION OF VEGETABLES 
 
 without the aid of the same productions, we 
 should be deprived of various substances which 
 are now employed for clothing, and fuel, and 
 the construction of our habitations. But the 
 adaptation of the vegetable kingdom to the arts 
 and conveniences of life is visible in numerous 
 other instances : and the principal difficulty, in 
 illustrating this point, is the selection of ap- 
 propriate examples, and the order of their ar- 
 rangement. 
 
 SECT. II. 
 The Cocoa-nut Tree^inchiding t he formation of Coral Reefs. 
 
 For the purpose of introducing in a more par- 
 ticular manner the general subject of this chap- 
 ter, and as an impressive example of the im- 
 portant ends which nature often accomplishes 
 by the simplest means, I propose to consider 
 the mode in which the cocoa-nut tree is sponta- 
 neously propagated in the coral islands of the 
 Indian Archipelago and elsewhere : nor will it be 
 an undue anticipation of a subsequent depart- 
 ment of this treatise, if I previously give a brief 
 description of the process by which those islands 
 have themselves been brought into existence. 
 The account of their origin indeed belongs more 
 strictly to the history of the animal than of the 
 vegetable world ; but the two subjects are so 
 naturally connected, that it would be injudi- 
 cious to separate them. 
 
 It may be collected from the observations of
 
 TO THE PHYSICAL CONDITION OF MAN. 20> 
 
 the French navigator, M. Peron, (Ann. du Mus. 
 torn. vi. p. 30, &c.) that almost all those count- 
 less islands of the Pacific Ocean, which are found 
 to the south of the equator between New Hol- 
 land and the western coast of America, are 
 either entirely or in part made up of coral : and 
 all the adjacent ocean abounds with coral reefs, 
 which, constantly augmenting, are constantly 
 changing the state of bays, and ports, and 
 gulfs ; so that new charts are continually re- 
 quired for the same coasts. From Barrow also 
 it appears, (Barrow's Cochin China, p. 167,) that 
 the formation of coral reefs or isles is very com- 
 mon in the tropical parts of the Eastern and Pa- 
 cific Ocean. And Captain Flinders says that the 
 quantity of coral reefs between New Holland and 
 New Caledonia and New Guinea, is such, that 
 this part of the ocean might be called the Co- 
 rallian Sea. (Flinders's Voyage, vol. ii. p. 314.) 
 
 Many more references might be made, to 
 others as well as the above-mentioned voy- 
 agers, in order to shew that the formation of 
 coral islands is effected by nature on a very ex- 
 tensive scale : but, for the present purpose, the 
 preceding references may be considered suffi- 
 cient. Let us now therefore describe the gene- 
 ral character and mode of formation of these 
 islands. 
 
 Forster sayss that the low islands of tropical 
 
 g Forster's Voyage round the World, p. 14, 15.
 
 206 ADAPTATION OF VEGETABLES 
 
 seas are commonly " narrow, low ledges of coral 
 " rock, including in the middle a kind of lagoon; 
 " and having here and there little sandy spots, 
 " somewhat elevated above the level of high 
 " water, on which cocoa-nuts thrive ;" corre- 
 spondent with which description is the account 
 given by captain Cook, on the occasion of dis- 
 covering one of these coral reefs ; which was at 
 first mistaken by him for land. "This proved to 
 " be, 1 ' he says, " another of those low or half- 
 " drowned islands, or rather a large coral shoal, 
 " of about twenty leagues in circuit. A very 
 " small part of it was land, which consisted of 
 " little islets ranged along the north side, and 
 " connected by sand-banks and breakers. These 
 " islets were clothed with wood, among which the 
 " cocoa-nut trees were only distinguishable. We 
 " ranged the south side of this shoal at the dis- 
 " tance of one or two miles from the coral bank, 
 " against which the sea broke in a dreadful surf. 
 " In the middle of the shoal was a large lake, or 
 " inland sea, in which was a canoe under sail." 
 (Cook's Voyage, 4to. 1777. vol. i. p. 141, 142.) 
 
 Coral, considered as an individual substance, 
 is a natural form of carbonate of lime, produced 
 by an animal of the polype kind. The particles 
 of carbonate of lime, however produced, are ce- 
 mented together so firmly by a glutinous secre- 
 tion of the same animal, as to acquire a de- 
 gree of consistence, which not only forms a safe
 
 TO THE PHYSICAL CONDITION OF MAN. 207 
 
 habitation for a race of animalcules, from their 
 soft texture most obnoxious to external injuries; 
 but which is calculated to resist the utmost ac- 
 tion of the sea, and in many instances to protect 
 the original surface of the earth itself from its 
 assaults. Thus almost all the tropical islands, 
 which Cook saw in the South Pacific Ocean, are 
 guarded from the sea to a greater or less extent, 
 by a reef of coral rocks, extending out from the 
 shore to the distance of six hundred feet and 
 farther ; and on this reef the force of the sea is 
 spent before it reaches the land : and thus na- 
 ture has effectually secured these islands from 
 the encroachments of the sea, though many of 
 them are mere points when compared with that 
 vast ocean h . 
 
 As the specific gravity of coral is greater than 
 that of sea-water, the structure of a coral reef 
 necessarily commences either from the natural 
 bed of the ocean, or from the surface of some 
 submarine rock ; and, as may be collected from 
 the nature of the soundings among coral reefs, 
 the whole structure is very frequently disposed 
 in the form of a crescent ; sometimes even ap- 
 proaching to a circle. This crescent is, on the 
 convex side, built up throughout in very nearly 
 a perpendicular direction ; so as to form a wall, 
 which is exposed to that quarter from whence a 
 stormy sea most frequently prevails. The in- 
 
 h Cook's Voyage, 1777, 4to. vol. i. p. 212.
 
 208 ADAPTATION OF VEGETABLES 
 
 terior of the structure seems gradually to shelve 
 off; so that about the centre of the inclosed, or 
 partially inclosed space, the sea is found of its 
 natural depth. Correspondently with such an 
 arrangement, it happens usually that the sound- 
 ings gradually lessen from the centre of the area 
 inclosed by a coral reef, towards the exterior 
 ridge ; and then suddenly sink to two hundred 
 fathoms or more. 
 
 To the foregoing observations I shall sub- 
 join the opinion of captain Flinders on the 
 process observed by nature in the formation of 
 coral reefs. "It seems to me," he says, "that 
 " when the animalcules, which form the coral 
 " at the bottom of the ocean, cease to live, their 
 " structures adhere to each other by virtue 
 " either of the glutinous remains within, or of 
 " some property in salt water; and the inter- 
 " stices being gradually filled up with sand and 
 " broken pieces of coral washed by the sea, 
 " which also adhere, a mass of rock is at length 
 " formed. Future races of these animalcules 
 " erect their habitations upon the rising bank, 
 " and die in their turn ; to increase, but princi- 
 " pally to elevate, this monument of their won- 
 " derful labours. The care taken to work per- 
 " pendicularly, in the early stages, would mark 
 " a surprising instinct in these diminutive crea- 
 " tures. Their wall of coral, for the most part 
 " in situations where the winds are constant,
 
 TO THE PHYSICAL CONDITION OF MAN. 209 
 
 being arrived at the surface, affords a shel- 
 ter ; to leeward of which their infant colonies 
 may be safely sent forth : and to this, their 
 instinctive foresight, it seems to be owing, that 
 the windward side of a reef, exposed to the 
 open sea, is generally, if not always, the high- 
 est part ; rising almost perpendicularly, some- 
 times from the depth of two hundred and per- 
 haps many more fathoms. To be constantly 
 covered with water seems necessary to the 
 existence of the animalcules ; for they do not 
 work, except in holes upon the reef, beyond 
 low-water mark : but the coral sand, and other 
 broken remnants thrown up by the sea, adhere 
 to the rock, and form a solid mass with it, as 
 high as the common tides reach. That ele- 
 vation surpassed, the future remnants, being 
 rarely covered, lose their adhesive property ; 
 and, remaining in a loose state, form what is 
 usually called a key upon the top of the reef. 
 The new bank is not long in being visited by 
 sea birds ; salt plants take root upon it, and a 
 soil begins to be formed ; a cocoa-nut, or the 
 drupe of a pandanus, is thrown on shore; land 
 birds visit it, and deposit the seeds of shrubs 
 and trees ; every high tide, and still more every 
 gale, adds something to the bank ; the form of 
 an island is gradually assumed ; and, last of 
 all, comes man to take possession 1 ." 
 
 1 Flinders's Voyage, vol. ii. p. 1 15, 116. 
 P
 
 210 ADAPTATION OF VEGETABLES 
 
 In the base of a coral island of the above 
 description, captain Flinders distinguished not 
 only the sand, coral, and shells, formerly thrown 
 up, in a more or less perfect state of cohesion ; 
 but also small pieces of wood, pumice-stone, and 
 other extraneous bodies, which chance had mix- 
 ed with the other substances when the cohesion 
 began, and which in some cases were still sepa- 
 rable from the rock without much force k . Such 
 sand-banks are found in different stages of pro- 
 gress ; some being overflowed with every return- 
 ing tide; some raised above high-water mark, 
 but destitute of vegetation ; some, lastly, habit- 
 able and abounding in trees. 
 
 Let us here pause for a moment to contem- 
 plate the wonderful effect produced by appa- 
 rently the most inadequate means. And won- 
 derful indeed is the effect, even if the process 
 above described were now to cease for ever; but 
 much more, if we look to its probable extension : 
 for, reasoning on what has already been accom- 
 plished, and on what is at this moment rapidly 
 advancing, it is evidently probable that a new 
 habitable surface of land may be eventually 
 produced, equal in extent to the whole of Eu- 
 rope, and produced by the agency of a tribe of 
 animals, which occupy very nearly the lowest 
 steps in the scale of animal creation, and which 
 
 k Flinders's Voyage, vol. ii. p. 110.
 
 TO THE PHYSICAL CONDITION OF MAN. 211 
 
 in every other respect are the most inefficient 
 and helpless of creatures. For, fixed as they 
 are, both individually and collectively, to a com- 
 pletely local habitation ; or, rather, buried as it 
 were in a strong mass of coral, their general ap- 
 pearance and mode of growth so little resemble 
 the animal character, that, for a long time, many 
 of the species were considered as of vegetable 
 origin ; and are, even now, very commonly call- 
 ed zoophytes, or animated plants. 
 
 Nor let us fail to observe, in the foregoing 
 account, the physical fitness for each other of 
 two very different departments of nature. The 
 same geographical climate which gives birth to 
 those animals, whose labours produce this previ- 
 ously unexpected habitable surface, gives birth 
 also to those vegetables, which, at the same time 
 that they are capable of growing on so loose 
 and poor a soil, are capable besides of supply- 
 ing its future inhabitants not only with nutri- 
 tious food, both in a liquid and a solid form, 
 but with materials for constructing their ha- 
 bitations, and for many other useful purposes. 
 And in the mean time the fowls of the air, and 
 the very winds and waves, are all employed in 
 administering to the beneficent intentions of 
 Providence. Of little use would be a new ha- 
 bitable surface, were it never to be tenanted by 
 human beings ; and in vain would man attempt 
 to colonize that surface, were it barren of ve- 
 
 p 2
 
 212 ADAPTATION OF VEGETABLES 
 
 getable productions : but the seeds of various 
 plants, as we have seen in the foregoing de- 
 scriptions, are either brought by birds, or drift- 
 ed by the wind and waves, to a soil calculated 
 to support them. 
 
 Among the vegetable productions of coral 
 islands, the cocoa-nut tree stands preeminent in 
 value ; containing in itself nearly all those im- 
 portant properties, which are found at large in 
 that natural family of plants, the palms : and 
 valuable indeed are those properties, if we may 
 rely on the accounts which have been given of 
 them by different authors ; and of the truth of 
 those accounts there is no sufficient reason to 
 doubt. Johnston 1 , speaking of the abundance 
 of the cocoa-nut tree in India, where he says 
 it occurs to a greater extent than the olive in 
 Spain, or the willow in Holland, affirms that 
 there is no part of the tree which is not applied 
 to some useful purpose. Not only the cabins of 
 the poorer natives, but large houses, are con- 
 structed entirely with materials afforded by this 
 tree ; the trunk, when split, supplying rafters, 
 &c. ; and the leaves, when plaited, making 
 roofs and walls, which are impervious to wind 
 and rain. The statement of Johnston is con- 
 firmed by captain Seely, in his account of El- 
 lora m , who says that " when he was stationed at 
 
 1 Johnstonus de Arboribus, p. 146, &c. 
 «» London, 1824, 8vo. p. 284.
 
 TO THE PHYSICAL CONDITION OF MAN. 213 
 
 " Goa, in 1809, he lived, as many others did, in 
 " a cocoa-nut-leaf house ; and that although the 
 " period was in the very height of the monsoon, 
 " and the house was on the sea-coast, it was 
 " comfortable and warm. He believes that not 
 " a nail was used in the whole building : the 
 " rafters and supporters, &c. were fastened on 
 " with string made of the fibrous envelope of 
 " the cocoa-nut shell ; the wood was the tree 
 " itself; the roof, walls, doors, and windows 
 " were the leaf." From the same authority we 
 learn that the fibres, enveloping the shell of 
 the nut, may be woven into a cable by which 
 ships of seventy-four guns have safely rode out 
 heavy gales of wind, when European cables 
 have parted. 
 
 In the Wernerian Memoirs, vol. v. p. 107, &c, 
 is a very interesting account of the cocoa tree ; 
 in which the author states that this tree will grow 
 on the sand of the sea-shore, where scarcely any 
 thing else will vegetate : which corresponds with 
 the account of an author above mentioned, who, 
 speaking of its growth, says, " radicem habet 
 " tenui spatio porrectam ; et qua? quasi contra 
 " fidem terras inhseret"." And these statements 
 are quite in accordance with the observations of 
 captain Flinders. 
 
 From other sources we learn that this tree 
 
 n Johnstonus de Arboribus, p. 145. 
 
 p 3 

 
 214 ADAPTATION OF VEGETABLES 
 
 bears fruit twice or thrice in the year ; that 
 the half-ripe nut contains sometimes three or 
 four pints of a clear aqueous fluid, fragrant, and 
 pleasant to the taste ; and that the nut itself, 
 from its highly nutritious qualities, is used as an 
 aliment in all inter-tropical countries p. In the 
 volume of the Wernerian Memoirs above men- 
 tioned, it is said that in 1813 the number of 
 cocoa trees cultivated in Ceylon, along a line 
 of coast of about 184 miles, was ten millions, 
 and that that number was increased in following 
 years ; that this tree is fruitful from its eighth 
 to its sixty-fourth year, and sometimes bears 
 from eighty to one hundred nuts annually ; that 
 elephants are fed on cocoa-nut leaves ; and that 
 the ashes of the tree contain so great a propor- 
 tion of potash, that the native washermen of 
 Ceylon use them instead of soap i. 
 
 In the Nouv. Diet. d'Hist. Nat. torn. vii. p. 297. 
 &c. it is stated, that, as in other palms, if the ex- 
 tremity of the sheath from whence the flowers of 
 the cocoa arise be cut oft' while young, a white 
 sweet liquor distils from it, which is used ex- 
 tensively as a beverage in India under the name 
 of palm wine ; that this liquor if concentrated 
 by boiling, deposits a sugar ; that if exposed to 
 the air it acquires vinous properties at the end 
 of twelve hours, and at the end of twenty-four 
 
 Nouv. Dictionn. d'Hist. Nat. torn. vii. p. 297, 298. 
 P Ibid. 'i Wern. Mem. vol. v. p. 110-127.
 
 TO THE PHYSICAL CONDITION OF MAN. 215 
 
 hours becomes vinegar ; that an oil may be ob- 
 tained from the nut, which is not inferior to 
 sweet almond oil, and which is used almost ex- 
 clusively in India ; and that the shell is formed 
 into cups and various other small articles. 
 
 Almost all that has been said of the cocoa tree 
 might be repeated of the date tree, making an 
 allowance for the specific differences of the two; 
 and with respect to the palms in general, Hum- 
 boldt says it would not be easy to enumerate the 
 various advantages derived from them. " They 
 " afford wine, vinegar, oil, farinaceous food, 
 " and sugar ; timber also, and ropes, and mats, 
 " and paper ; and," he adds, that " no trees are 
 " so abundant in fruit, even without the aid of 
 " cultivation ; and that the Franciscan monks, 
 " who live in the vicinity of palm plantations, 
 " near the banks of the Orinoco, observe that 
 " the native Indians give evidence of a fruitful 
 " palm year, by the corresponding improvement 
 " in their health and appearance r ." 
 
 I shall conclude this part of the subject with a 
 translation from the Flora Atlantica of Desfon- 
 taines ; for the introduction of which no apology, 
 I trust, is necessary. In describing the natural 
 scenery of groves of palm, the author concludes 
 with the following beautiful passage : " These 
 " palm-groves, being impervious to the sun's 
 " rays, afford a hospitable shade, both to man and 
 
 r Humboldt, Distrib. Geogr. Plant, p. 216-240. 
 
 p 4
 
 216 ADAPTATION OF VEGETABLES 
 
 " other animals, in a region which would other- 
 " wise be intolerable from the heat. And under 
 " this natural shelter, the orange, the lemon, the 
 " pomegranate, the olive, the almond, and the 
 " vine grow in wild luxuriance ; producing, not- 
 " withstanding they are so shaded, the most de- 
 " licious fruit. And here, while the eyes are fed 
 " with the endless variety of flowers which deck 
 " these sylvan scenes, the ears are at the same 
 " time ravished with the melodious notes of nu- 
 " merous birds, which are attracted to these 
 " groves by the shade, and the cool springs, and 
 " the food which they there find s ." 
 
 SECT. III. 
 Vegetables as a Source of Food. 
 
 It appears from various statements of au- 
 thority, that the species of vegetables already 
 known amount to about sixty thousand i : though 
 there is reason to believe the actual number is 
 above a hundred thousand 11 : and, from the ge- 
 neral analogy of nature, we may fairly conclude 
 
 s " Palmeta radiis solis impervia, umbram in regione calidissirna 
 " hospitalem incolis, viatoribus, aeque ac animantibus ministrant. 
 " Eorum denso sub tegmine, absque ordine crescunt aurantia, 
 " limones, punicse, oleae, amygdali, vites, quae cursu geniculate 
 " saepe truncos palmarum scandunt. Hae omnes fructus suavis- 
 " simos, licet oburnbratie, ferunt ; ibique mira florum et fructuum 
 " varietate pascuntur oculi ; simulque festivis avium cantilenis, 
 " quas umbra, aqua, victus alliciunt, recreantur aures." 
 
 Desfontaines, Flora Atlantica, torn. ii. Append, p. 439. 
 
 * Conversations on Vegetable Physiology, vol. ii. p. 108. 
 
 u Decandolle, Theorie Elem. de la Botanique, 8vo.l819, p. 25.
 
 TO THE PHYSICAL CONDITION OF MAN. 217 
 
 that no species exists without its use in the 
 economy of the earth. Of many indeed we 
 witness the direct use, either for the various 
 purposes of civilized society, or for the sus- 
 tenance of animal life : but for the present let 
 us confine our attention to the latter point in 
 their history; and, although whatever is adapted 
 to the sustenance of animal life in general, is in- 
 directly adapted in a great measure to the ac- 
 tual condition of man, and would therefore justly 
 come within the scope of this treatise ; yet, that 
 we may not extend the subject too far, let us 
 consider those species only which constitute the 
 direct food of man ; subject indeed frequently to 
 such culinary preparations as make our food not 
 only more palatable, but also more nutritious. 
 
 Among the numerous species of vegetables 
 which supply food to man, by far the greater 
 proportion consists of those which may be con- 
 sidered upon the whole as mere luxuries ; or at 
 most, as affording an agreeable and sometimes 
 useful variety. Of those species which afford 
 that kind of nutritive matter which is contained 
 in what has been emphatically called the staff 
 of life, or bread, the number is very small ; legu- 
 minous plants, and wheat, and rice, the fruit 
 and pith and other parts of some of the palms 
 and bananas, and such farinaceous roots as the 
 potato, &c. comprising nearly the whole amount. 
 
 It would be unnecessary to point out more 

 
 218 ADAPTATION OF VEGETABLES 
 
 particularly the importance of some of the fore- 
 going species, to any one at all conversant with 
 the general mode of life of Europeans as to 
 food : and a slight acquaintance with the his- 
 tory of the world is sufficient to shew us, that, 
 what wheat and the potato are to Europe, rice 
 is to a considerable portion of Asia, Africa, and 
 America ; and the products of the date and 
 cocoa, palms, &c. to the inter-tropical countries 
 of the whole earth. But there are some natural 
 analogies afforded by those species, with re- 
 ference to the animal kingdom, which are well 
 worthy of observation. 
 
 In the animal kingdom all those species which 
 serve extensively for food, as oxen and sheep and 
 swine among quadrupeds ; the turkey, the com- 
 mon fowl, and the duck, &c. among birds ; and 
 the salmon, cod, herring, &c. among fish, are 
 either naturally of a gregarious nature, or are 
 easily kept together, by human means, in large 
 bodies ; and therefore are much better adapted 
 to the purpose of supplying food to man, than if 
 they were either solitary, or scattered into small 
 groups. And so it is with respect to the vege- 
 table species above described : they are capable 
 of being cultivated gregariously as it were, with 
 comparatively little labour and attention. Thus 
 in our own, and other European countries, the 
 daily labourer, after his hours of hired work 
 for others, can cultivate his own private field of
 
 TO THE PHYSICAL CONDITION OF MAN. 219 
 
 wheat or of potatoes, with very little additional 
 expense of time or trouble. And as to the cul- 
 tivation of the tropical fruits, scarcely any labour 
 is required for that purpose : so that to the less 
 hardy natives of those climates the assertion of 
 the poet is strictly applicable, 
 
 " Fundit humo facilcm victura justissima tellus." 
 A further analogy is observable in the degree 
 of fertility of the respective vegetables and ani- 
 mals. Among the animals which are destined 
 for the food of man, the species are upon the 
 whole prolific in proportion as they are either 
 small in size, or inferior as to the nutritive qua- 
 lity of their flesh. The cow, which is a large 
 animal, produces one usually at a birth ; the 
 sheep very commonly two ; swine, several. 
 Poultry, which are comparatively small, are 
 capable of rearing a numerous brood ; and fish, 
 which are of a less nutritious nature, and gene- 
 rally smaller than quadrupeds, are still more 
 prolific. And, similarly, in the vegetable spe- 
 cies, which are destined for the food of man, the 
 numerical quantity of the product in a given 
 area is greater or less, in proportion to the indi- 
 vidual size of the fruit produced. Dates, which 
 are smaller than cocoa-nuts, are produced in 
 greater number than the latter ; and in a square 
 yard of soil, a much greater number of grains of 
 rice or wheat is produced than of roots of the 
 potato.
 
 220 ADAPTATION OF VEGETABLES 
 
 Lastly, another analogy may be observed with 
 reference to the palate. The taste of the flesh 
 of those species, which constitute to man the 
 staple as it were of animal food, is acceptable 
 to most palates : and is neither so rich as soon 
 to cloy the appetite on the one hand, or invite 
 it to luxurious indulgence on the other ; nor 
 so devoid of flavour, as to deter us from taking 
 a proper quantity. And is it not the same 
 with respect to those vegetable species, which 
 are among the most ordinary and most neces- 
 sary articles of our food? If corn, and the po- 
 tato, and the cocoa-nut, had the pungency of 
 euphorbium, the nauseating quality of ipeca- 
 cuan, the heat of pepper, or the lusciousness of 
 sugar, on the one hand, or the insipidity of 
 powdered chalk on the other ; what an under- 
 taking would it be to satisfy the craving of 
 hunger with any one of those vegetables x ! 
 
 It will be in vain to urge, in opposition to the 
 foregoing position, that custom in particular in- 
 stances renders many things tolerable, and even 
 pleasing to the taste, which at first were dis- 
 gusting ; for it would be found that in such in- 
 stances custom has usually arisen from necessity, 
 which often brings us acquainted with strange 
 
 * On many occasions, however, pungent, or aromatic sub- 
 stances, as garlic, mustard, and spices, added to food compara- 
 tively of little flavour, as rice, &c. make it more palatable, and 
 more easily digestible.
 
 TO THE PHYSICAL CONDITION OF MAN 221 
 
 companions ; or from a depraved taste. None 
 have ever consented voluntarily to feed on the 
 flesh of vultures or of ravens ; and caviare will 
 always be caviare to the multitude. 
 
 Next in importance to those vegetable species 
 which either afford the material of bread, or an 
 equivalent to it, may be classed those which 
 contribute partly to the nourishment of man, and 
 partly to his health and solace. The human sys- 
 tem certainly may be, and too often from neces- 
 sity absolutely is, supported solely on the nutri- 
 ment afforded by the former species : but if we 
 view the actual state of society, we find that 
 many vegetable species and products may now 
 properly be classed among the necessaries of 
 life, which for many ages remained either un- 
 discovered, or were only locally known, or 
 sparingly employed ; of which it will be quite 
 sufficient to mention tea> r , and sugar, and the 
 potato. The sugar cane has for such a length 
 of time usurped the prerogative of supplying the 
 world with sugar, that other sources have been 
 little considered : but even in cold climates there 
 are plants capable of affording it in considerable 
 quantities. There is, for instance, a species of 
 maple cultivated in North America for the sake 
 
 y During five years, beginning with 1826, about one hundred 
 and fifty million pounds of tea were sold at the East India 
 House, the average annual consumption being, according to the 
 preceding statement, thirty million pounds.
 
 222 ADAPTATION OF VEGETABLES 
 
 of the sugar obtained from its sap, which is 
 capable of returning a very great profit to its 
 cultivator ; of which the following document, 
 copied from a note by Dr. Hunter in his edition 
 of Evelyn's Silva, is a sufficient proof; there 
 being no reason to suspect any fraud 2 . It is 
 added in the same note, that a single family, 
 consisting of a man and his two sons, on the 
 maple sugar lands between the Delaware and 
 Susquehannah made 1800lbs of maple sugar in 
 one season. The whole note, consisting of eight 
 closely printed quarto pages, which appears to 
 have been furnished by Dr. Rush of Pennsyl- 
 vania university, is well worth the perusal a . 
 
 If we consider the subordinate wants of the 
 animal economy, we must in reason allow that 
 those succulent fruits and vegetables, which are 
 abundantly produced in almost all parts of the 
 world, are destined by Providence for an im- 
 portant end with reference to the food of man. 
 The very form and arrangement of our teeth, 
 
 z " Received, Cooper's Town, April 30, 1790, of W. Cooper, 
 " sixteen pounds, for 640 pounds of (maple) sugar, made with 
 " my own hands, without any assistance, in less than four weeks ; 
 " besides attending to the other business of my farm, as provid- 
 " ing fire- wood, taking care of the cattle, &c. 
 
 " Witness R. Smith." » John Nicholls." 
 
 Silva, 3d ed. by A. Hunter, York, 1801. vol. i. p. 190. 
 
 a The tree commonly called the sycamore, which is really a 
 species of maple, yields a sweet sap which has occasionally been 
 used to supply the place of malt in brewing. lb. p. 200.
 
 TO THE PHYSICAL CONDITION OF MAN. 223 
 
 and the structure of our stomach, shew, that our 
 system is naturally adapted to a mixed food : and 
 although those of our teeth, which resemble the 
 corresponding teeth of carnivorous animals, are 
 so little developed as to make it in that re- 
 spect doubtful whether nature intended us to 
 live on flesh ; yet our stomach, and the rest of 
 our apparatus of digestion, aided moreover by 
 culinary preparation, certainly approximate us 
 fully as much to the carnivorous as to the her- 
 bivorous classes. It is obvious, moreover, that 
 we have an ample array of teeth for cutting and 
 grinding vegetable matter. This then being the 
 case, we might antecedently expect that our na- 
 tural taste would lead us to enjoy the flavour of 
 vegetable, as well as animal food ; and that nature 
 would supply us with a variety of the one as well 
 as of the other ; for variety itself is salutary. 
 
 And on this as on every occasion, we have an 
 opportunity of seeing how Providence not only 
 meets all the wants of mankind, but meets them 
 in such a way as their local situation requires. 
 Thus wheat, which contains a more strengthen- 
 ing principle of nutrition than the product of 
 the palms and arrow-root, and is therefore better 
 calculated to support the hardier efforts of the 
 inhabitants of temperate or cold climates, will 
 not grow readily in inter-tropical climates b ; and, 
 reciprocally, the palms and cognate plants of 
 
 b Desfontaines, Flora Atlantica, torn. ii. Appendix, p. 438.
 
 224 ADAPTATION OF VEGETABLES 
 
 inter-tropical regions cease to be productive, if 
 cultivated much beyond the tropics . And the 
 orange, the lemon, the water-melon, the grape, 
 and the fig, which are easily cultivated in warm 
 climates d , by the abundance of their juice, are 
 enabled both to allay the sensation of present 
 heat and thirst, and to repair the loss of that 
 natural moisture of the body, which is continu- 
 ally passing from it in the form of either sen- 
 sible or insensible perspiration. Even in the 
 temperate climate of our own island, how many 
 days are there, during the summer, in which 
 such fruits are most refreshing : and to gratify 
 the desire of that refreshment we import such 
 species as are capable of bearing a long voy- 
 age ; among which the orange is a very princi- 
 pal article of import : nor would it be easy to 
 calculate the myriads of that fruit which are 
 annually consumed in this country. But the 
 
 c Wern. Mem. vol. v. p. 112. 
 
 d An interesting fact is related in the " Conversations on Vege- 
 " table Physiology" respecting an artificial mode of ripening the 
 fig. " In hot climates the fig-tree produces two crops of fruit : 
 " and the peasants in the isles of the Archipelago, where the fig- 
 " tree abounds, bring branches of wild fig-trees in the spring, 
 " which they spread over those that are cultivated. These wild 
 " branches serve as a vehicle to a prodigious number of small 
 " insects of the genus called cynips, which perforate the figs in 
 " order to make a nest for their eggs ; and the wound they in. 
 " flict accelerates the ripening of the fruit nearly three weeks ; 
 " thus leaving time for the second crop to come to maturity in 
 " due season." (vol. ii. p. 41, 42.)
 
 TO THE PHYSICAL CONDITION OF MAN. 225 
 
 cognate fruit, the lemon, at the same time that, 
 on account of the grateful and aromatic flavour 
 of its juice, it is occasionally as eagerly sought 
 as the orange, serves a still higher purpose : for 
 the acid contained in it has been successfully 
 employed, as an antidote and a remedy for one 
 of the most dreadful diseases to which mariners 
 are subject. Sea-scurvy in fact has all but dis- 
 appeared since the general adoption of this re- 
 medy e . 
 
 SECT. IV. 
 Vegetables as applicable to Medicine. 
 
 If vegetables are valuable on account of their 
 power of affording sustenance and keeping the 
 body in a state of health, they are also valua- 
 ble on account of their power of restoring health 
 where it has been impaired : for, however scep- 
 tical some minds may be as to the powers of me- 
 dicine in general, and however ignorant even the 
 most sagacious and experienced medical prac- 
 titioners may be as to the precise mode in which 
 any medicinal substance acts on the human con- 
 stitution ; yet this at least is certain, that, in by 
 far the greater number of instances, certain symp- 
 toms which indicate a disturbed state of the sys- 
 
 e It is probable that fresh vegetables of any kind are sufficient 
 to prevent or to remove scurvy : for it is stated in Sauer's ac- 
 count of Billings's expedition, that that disease disappeared, even 
 in so high a northern latitude as the Aleutan islands, as soon as 
 the new vegetation sprang up in April (p. 276) ; and many other 
 evidences of the same fact might be easily adduced. 
 
 Q
 
 2*26 ADAPTATION OF VEGETABLES 
 
 tern are mitigated and finally subdued, in con- 
 sequence of the exhibition, to use a technical 
 term, of certain reputed remedies. And it is 
 open to the observation of almost every one, that 
 the vegetable kingdom is the most fertile source, 
 not only of the commonest and least efficient, 
 but of some of the most powerful medicines with 
 which we are acquainted. Nor can we doubt, 
 when we see similar effects resulting from the 
 use of the same medicines in individuals of very 
 different constitutions, that the peculiar quali- 
 ties of those substances, with respect to the ef- 
 fects they produce in the human system, were 
 imparted to them by nature with a view to their 
 application to those ends. 
 
 It may have happened to any one in the course 
 of the last few years, during which intermittent 
 fever or ague has prevailed very generally in 
 this country, to witness the severe nature of some 
 symptoms of that disease ; paroxysms of dread- 
 ful rigor or shivering ; nausea ; intense head- 
 ach, with delirium ; paralytic affections of the 
 limbs ; and burning heat of the whole body, ter- 
 minating in profuse perspiration : and whoever 
 has witnessed such symptoms, recurring in the 
 same individual at stated intervals, has probably 
 seen their return at once arrested by a few doses 
 of Peruvian bark, in the state of powder ; the 
 effect of which remedy, in subduing a violent 
 disease, compared with the small quantity of it
 
 TO THE PHYSICAL CONDITION OF MAN. 227 
 
 employed for that purpose, has been not inele- 
 gantly though playfully illustrated by that pas- 
 sage of the Georgics, in which the husbandman 
 is taught to allay the occasional contests and 
 agitations of the bees, by scattering a handful 
 of dust among them. 
 
 " Hi motus atque haec certamina tanta 
 
 " Pulveris exigui jactu compressa quiescent."" 
 
 And, if the vegetable kingdom had failed to 
 afford any other medicinal substance than this, 
 mankind would have still had ample cause for 
 thankfulness. 
 
 But, even in the instances of those remedies 
 from which nothing beyond a present or tem- 
 porary alleviation is expected, the benefit usu- 
 ally accruing cannot easily be estimated at too 
 high a rate : and one remedy there is, of this 
 nature, for which mankind is indebted to the 
 vegetable kingdom exclusively. How often has 
 not opium lulled the most excruciating agonies 
 of pain ? how often has it not restored the balm 
 of sleep to the almost exhausted body ; or quiet- 
 ed those nervous agitations of the whole system, 
 the terrors of which none perhaps can duly ap- 
 preciate but those who have experienced them? 
 There are however diseased or unnatural states 
 of the body, in which no direct remedy can be 
 applied, and all soothing means would not only 
 be ineffectual, but fatal : in such states those 
 substances, which are directly opposed in qua- 
 
 Q 2
 
 228 ADAPTATION OF VEGETABLES 
 
 lity to opium, and irritate instead of soothing 
 the surfaces to which they are applied, are va- 
 luable precisely on that account : they rouse the 
 system, for instance, from a state of lethargy, 
 which otherwise would probably terminate in 
 death ; or they stimulate the stomach to reject 
 any substance of a poisonous nature, which may 
 have been either intentionally or accidentally in- 
 troduced into it, and they thus contribute to the 
 preservation of life. Remedies of this character, 
 though not exclusively belonging to the vegeta- 
 ble kingdom, are frequently afforded by it. 
 
 But, in enumerating the medicinal auxiliaries 
 which mankind derive from the vegetable king- 
 dom, let me not omit the restorative virtue of 
 that gift of Heaven, which, though by its abuse 
 it may intoxicate the mental faculties and un- 
 dermine the general health of the body, is cal- 
 culated most assuredly, when rightly used, not 
 only to revive the drooping energies, but to re- 
 kindle the almost expiring spark of life. Survey 
 the wretched subject of what is called typhus, 
 while oppressed by those symptoms which justify 
 the use of this restorative ; when the glazed eye 
 and squalid skin, the feeble circulation and mut- 
 tering delirium, announce the near approach of 
 death, unless the proper medicine be interposed ; 
 and then watch the beneficial effect of this di- 
 vine remedy. They who have witnessed the pro- 
 gress of typhus fever in some of its forms, and
 
 TO THE PHYSICAL CONDITION OF MAN. 229 
 
 in individuals who have lived in crowded and 
 ill-ventilated habitations, will acknowledge that 
 in very many instances wine alone has, humanly 
 speaking, rescued the patient from the grave. 
 
 Nor will it be irrelevant to the general subject 
 of this treatise to consider the natural origin of 
 wine : by which I mean, not the mode or time 
 of its discovery : either of which it would be as 
 useless as vain to attempt to investigate, since 
 this liquid was in common use at a period long 
 antecedent to history : but by its natural origin 
 I mean the circumstances under which it is 
 usually produced. There is a law in nature, by 
 which organized bodies, vegetables as well as 
 animals, are disposed to undergo spontaneous 
 decomposition very soon after they have ceased 
 to live ; the ultimate result of which is, a resolu- 
 tion into their elementary principles : in other 
 words, they putrefy and perish. But even in 
 this state, in which they are deprived of all their 
 former properties, they administer to the good 
 of man : and, under the name of manure, are 
 known as the principal means of fertilizing the 
 ground ; from whence all his food is ultimately 
 obtained. The circumstances, however, which 
 accompany this change in vegetables, differ very 
 much from those which attend the corresponding 
 change in animals : and may be well illustrated 
 by a reference to the process of making any 
 common wine. 
 
 q 3
 
 230 ADAPTATION OF VEGETABLES 
 
 If a sufficient quantity of the juice of ripe 
 grapes, or of any other saccharine fluid, be ex- 
 posed to a moderately warm temperature, an in- 
 ternal movement of its particles soon begins to 
 take place ; which is technically called fermen- 
 tation: and during the period when this is going 
 on, the sugar of the liquor is, in part, converted 
 into wine. If the fermentation be now arrested 
 by the proper means, the whole mass of the li- 
 quid may be preserved in nearly the same state 
 for a longer or shorter period, in proportion to 
 the quantity of wine contained in it : but if, after 
 the vinous fermentation, as it is called, has been 
 completed, the temperature be to a certain de- 
 gree increased, the wine is converted into vi- 
 negar by a continuance of the process of fer- 
 mentation : and, ultimately, the acid taste and 
 odour of the vinegar are lost ; and the whole 
 mass of the liquor becomes first vapid, and then 
 putrid. 
 
 That such a process as putrefaction should 
 take place in organized bodies after their death, 
 might in reasoning be antecedently expected ; for 
 the purpose of administering to the growth of 
 their successive generations in the case of vegeta- 
 bles^ and to prevent the indefinite accumulation 
 
 f " Haud igitur penitus pereunt queecunque videntur : 
 " Quando alid ex alio reficit Natura, nee ullam 
 " Rem gigni patitur, nisi morte adjutam aliena." 
 
 Lucret. I. 263-5.
 
 TO THE PHYSICAL CONDITION OF MAN. 231 
 
 of so much dead and useless matter in the case 
 of animals : but we could not have anticipated, 
 that while animal matter at once passes into a 
 state of putrefaction, vegetable matter should 
 previously pass through two intermediate states : 
 accompanied with products which in their na- 
 ture differ both from each other, and from the 
 source from which they were derived : both, 
 however, as we might very reasonably expect 
 from the known wisdom and beneficence of the 
 Creator, of the highest importance to mankind. 
 From wine, to say nothing of the advantages 
 resulting from its proper use in its common 
 state, is derived that useful fluid called alcohol, 
 or spirit of wine : among the most valuable pro- 
 perties of which, may be ranked its power of 
 dissolving resin, and other vegetable principles ; 
 and of preserving organized matter from the 
 putrefactive process. In consequence of the for- 
 mer power, it is employed to extract from va- 
 rious vegetables some of those parts in which 
 their medicinal virtues reside ; and to preserve 
 them in a convenient form for immediate use, 
 at any moment, under the technical name of 
 tinctures. And with respect to its importance 
 as a preservative of animal and vegetable mat- 
 ter, but particularly of the former, I need only 
 point out any one of those collections of anato- 
 mical preparations contained in the museums 
 of every medical school in Europe. But if any 
 
 q 4
 
 232 ADAPTATION OF VEGETABLES 
 
 single instance of its application to this pur- 
 pose be demanded, who can hesitate to name 
 that astonishing proof of the genius and in- 
 dustry of the great English physiologist, John 
 Hunter, the Collection preserved in the Royal 
 College of Surgeons ? on the pedestal of whose 
 bust, placed within the walls of the museum 
 of that college, might well be inscribed, as I 
 believe has been often suggested, those appro- 
 priate words, 
 
 " Cuius monumentum si quaeras, circum spice." 
 
 SECT. V. 
 
 Vegetables as applicable to the Arts, fyc. 
 
 In considering the application of natural sub- 
 stances to the various purposes of life, it is often 
 interesting to compare the simplicity of the ori- 
 ginal contrivance with the complicated mani- 
 pulations of the process by which, at the pre- 
 sent day, a material, destined for a specific use, 
 is brought into a fit state for that use. Let 
 fine writing-paper be taken as an instance ; and 
 let us compare the history of a piece of such 
 paper with that of the simple material on which 
 many Oriental manuscripts are written — the mere 
 leaf of a tree, probably some species of palm — 
 which after having been cut into the requisite 
 size and form, seems to have undergone no other 
 preparation than simple pressure ; partly with 
 the view of forcing out its natural moisture, and
 
 TO THE PHYSICAL CONDITION OF MAN. 233 
 
 partly of smoothing its surface. How different 
 the history of the paper that is daily fabricated 
 in any of the large manufactories of this country; 
 and how little would its origin and numerous 
 changes of state be conjectured from its present 
 appearance ! Heaps of linen rags of every co- 
 lour, when indeed that colour can be distin- 
 guished through the dirt which adheres to them, 
 are brought from almost every quarter of Eu- 
 rope ; each rag having probably been part of 
 some article of dress, which, as it grew viler by 
 use, passed from a more to a less respectable 
 possessor ; till it at length became the tattered 
 and threadbare covering of the poorest men- 
 dicant. 
 
 From such a material is the finest paper 
 made : and, in the commencement of the pro- 
 cess, each individual rag undergoes an examina- 
 tion with respect to its size, and is cut into two 
 or more pieces according to that size. Separate 
 heaps are then mechanically shaken together, 
 and sifted, in order to clear them from adhering 
 dust : they are subsequently washed, mechani- 
 cally divided into small shreds, bleached, then 
 thrown into vats of water, and there reduced to 
 a fine pulp by the application of powerful ma- 
 chinery. This pulp, by very delicate yet simple 
 means, is kept in a state of close and equable 
 diffusion over an even surface, and is made to 
 pass between successive pairs of smooth metallic
 
 234 ADAPTATION OF VEGETABLES 
 
 cylinders ; all of which, by pressing out the 
 moisture of the pulp, bring its particles more 
 closely together, and thus tend to give it the 
 requisite degree of firmness and cohesion ; the 
 last pair being heated sufficiently to dry the 
 paper during its passage between them. 
 
 Such are the numerous and elaborate pro- 
 cesses, by which a heap of sordid rags is con- 
 verted into the beautiful material of which we 
 have been speaking. And if, to the accumu- 
 lated processes to which each rag is submitted 
 during its fabrication into paper, be added its 
 previous history, as the cultivation and subse- 
 quent dressing of the flax of which it was made, 
 the formation of the fibre of the flax into thread, 
 the weaving of the thread into linen, and, in the 
 majority of instances, the dyeing of the linen ; 
 if all these points be collectively considered, 
 what food for a reflecting mind does not the 
 minutest particle of the resulting paper af- 
 ford ! 
 
 Many plants are capable of yielding a co- 
 louring matter, which by chemical means may 
 be readily made to combine with various sub- 
 stances, as linen, woollen, silk, and leather. This 
 property, which sometimes resides in the stem 
 and branches, sometimes in the leaves and 
 flowers, may be classed among those properties 
 of plants, which, if we consider the actual state 
 of society in all the civilized parts of the world,
 
 TO THE PHYSICAL CONDITION OF MAN. 235 
 
 are productive of the greatest advantage to 
 mankind. Hence, for instance, has arisen an 
 art, the art of dyeing, which not only opens a 
 wide field of employment to a numerous class 
 of workmen, in every large city; but gives a 
 degree of activity to general commerce, which 
 cannot but surprise the mind of any one pre- 
 viously ignorant of the circumstance. Thus the 
 quantity of indigo, accumulated in the exten- 
 sive repositories of the East-India company, is 
 frequently so great as to make the occasional 
 observer wonder that it should ever find a mar- 
 ket : and the following statement will shew how 
 important this single substance is as an article 
 of commerce. The quantity of indigo imported 
 into London during the last five years amounts 
 to at least one hundred and twenty thousand 
 chests ; the average weight of the contents of 
 each chest equalling 270lbs, and the average 
 price of each pound being five shillings. The 
 estimated value therefore of the indigo con- 
 tained in the 120,000 chests would be rather 
 more than eight millions sterling. 
 
 If I am correct in supposing that blue, red, 
 and yellow, are the colours most abundantly 
 supplied by vegetables, it cannot fail to strike 
 a mind of the least reflection, that these are 
 precisely the elementary colours which a dyer 
 would have antecedently selected, in order to be 
 enabled to practise his art to the greatest ad-
 
 236 ADAPTATION OF VEGETABLES 
 
 vantage ; since from these three, all other co- 
 lours or tints may be obtained. And with re- 
 spect to black, which must practically be con- 
 sidered as a distinct colour, though not ad- 
 mitted as such theoretically, it is worthy of ob- 
 servation, that, although scarcely any vegetable 
 substance yields it directly ; yet, by the inter- 
 vention of almost any form of iron, and this 
 metal is in some shape or other present every- 
 where, it may readily be produced from a very 
 numerous class of vegetable substances. In al- 
 most every instance where a vegetable sub- 
 stance has an austere and bitter taste, it will 
 with iron give a dye of a black colour. Thus 
 the bark of the oak, and of many other trees, 
 and that vegetable excrescence called the gall- 
 nut, produce an ink by the addition of any sa- 
 line form of iron. 
 
 From the earliest and least civilized times, 
 and through every intermediate stage of society 
 to the present period of refinement, the produc- 
 tions of the vegetable world have been in con- 
 stant request for the most common purposes of 
 life. The simplest dwellings not only of the 
 uninstructed savage, but of the peasantry of 
 many parts of modern Europe, are constructed 
 almost entirely of wood ; the simplest imple- 
 ments of husbandry, the plough, the spade, and 
 the hoe, could hardly be employed without the 
 aid of a wooden frame-work or handle : and the
 
 TO THE PHYSICAL CONDITION OF MAN. 237 
 
 same observation holds good with reference to 
 the tools of the most necessary arts of life. How 
 great would be the inconvenience, and how in- 
 creased would be the labour of the carpenter, 
 or the smith, or the mason, if, instead of wood, 
 the handles of his implements were of iron ! Nor 
 are substances of vegetable origin of less im- 
 portance, or less generally employed, in many 
 of the higher arts of life. Examine the struc- 
 ture of a man of war — its hulk, of oak ; its masts, 
 of fir ; its sails and ropes, of flax ; its caulking, 
 of tow and of tar. All is of vegetable origin from 
 the top-mast head to the keel itself. With the 
 exception indeed of the iron which is occa- 
 sionally used in the construction, no metallic 
 substance is necessarily employed ; for the cop- 
 per sheathing, though highly useful, is certainly 
 not necessary. 
 
 It would require volumes to describe all the 
 economical uses to which vegetables are ap- 
 plied. How many important trades arise from 
 this source. How many families, now existing 
 in opulence, originally derived their surnames 
 from their occupation, and that occupation con- 
 nected with vegetable materials ; for instance, 
 Cooper, Carpenter, Dyer, Tanner, Turner, 
 Wheeler, Weaver, Barker, Hayward, Gardener, 
 Cartwright, Miller, Fletcher, Bowyer ! 
 
 And then, to answer the various purposes to 
 which they are to be applied, how widely do
 
 238 ADAPTATION OF VEGETABLES 
 
 the qualities of different vegetable productions 
 differ from each other ! How well the rigid 
 fibre and compact texture of the oak enable 
 the bulky vessel to resist the buffeting of the 
 waves ! The ash, the beech, the fir, the yew, 
 each has those appropriate qualities which make 
 it individually preferable to the rest. The flexi- 
 bility of hemp and flax renders them capable 
 of being woven and formed into sails and cord- 
 age ; and, exposed as the sails and rigging are 
 to the vicissitudes of the weather, how well are 
 they protected by being covered over with tar, 
 itself of vegetable origin ! 
 
 Some woods very readily split with that regu- 
 larity of surface which we observe in common 
 laths ; and of the utility of that kind of material 
 in almost every kind of building no one can well 
 be ignorant. Other woods, as the willow, very 
 readily bend, with a considerable degree of elas- 
 ticity, in every direction ; and hence are of value 
 in the fabrication of what is known under the 
 general name of wicker- work s. 
 
 S The art of making wicker-work is often successfully culti- 
 vated at a very early period of civilization. Thus, in the neigh- 
 bourhood of California, some of Captain Beechey's officers were 
 supplied with " water brought to them in baskets, which the 
 " Indians weave so close, that, when wet, they become excellent 
 " substitutes for bowls." (Beechey's Voyage, p. 885.) And we 
 know that, not long after the conquest of Britain by Caesar, the 
 ornamental wicker-work of the natives was highly prized at 
 Rome.
 
 TO THE PHYSICAL CONDITION OF MAN. 239 
 
 In this department, again, though not to the 
 same extent as in the case of some of the metals, 
 is seen the effect of human labour in advancing 
 the value of the original material. Compare, 
 for instance, the mercantile value of a piece of 
 fine lace with the original value of the material 
 of which it is made. 
 
 There are many plants, which, though they 
 neither produce fruit of any value nor are ca- 
 pable of being applied to any of the common 
 purposes of the arts, are yet of the highest value 
 as a natural defence to cultivated lands against 
 the incursions of cattle ; and sometimes even 
 against the attacks of disciplined troops. 
 
 The quickest of our common hedges is an in- 
 stance of the former application ; and of its uti- 
 lity in this country no one can doubt, unless he 
 happen to live exclusively in those districts, as 
 in certain parts of the Cotswold and similar 
 ranges of hills, where stone supplies a more 
 ready material for a fence. Of the extent of 
 its application, it would not be easy to make 
 a correct estimate : but, when we consider how 
 many public roads, and how many private enclo- 
 sures are bounded by a fence of quickset, it be- 
 comes probable that the linear extent of hedges 
 of this kind is, in England alone, equal to many 
 times the circumference of the whole earth. In 
 describing one of the most important fortresses 
 in the Deccan, captain Seely, in his account of
 
 240 ADAPTATION OF VEGETABLES 
 
 the temples of Ellora, states that the town, 
 which stands about 1020 yards from the fort, 
 is surrounded by a hedge of prickly pear, nearly 
 eighteen feet high, and thick in proportion. 
 This natural defence around towns and villages 
 on the western side of India is very common ; 
 and it offers to a predatory body of horse or foot 
 a formidable barrier : for the sharp and long 
 thorns, which project from the stem and leaf, 
 not only act as an immediate defence ; but, if 
 broken off, they exude a liquid which often pro- 
 duces severe inflammation 1 '. 
 
 In a part of Normandy, lying between Caen 
 and Falaise, is a district called " Le Bocage" 
 (petit bois), which " derives its name from the 
 " high and bushy hedges with which it abounds: 
 " and which are designed to afford shelter from 
 " the stormy winds of the Atlantic. There are 
 " but few trees in those parts ; but the hedges, 
 " being from eight to ten feet in height, are suf- 
 " ficient to protect the crops from the boisterous 
 " sea-breezes : and they thence bear the name of 
 " brise-venfi." 
 
 The last point in the history of vegetables 
 which I propose to consider is their application 
 as fuel; and many nations entirely derive their 
 supply of fuel, for culinary and other domestic 
 purposes, from the vegetable kingdom alone : 
 
 l' P. 522. 
 
 1 Conversations on Vegetable Physiology, vol. ii. p. 232.
 
 TO THE PHYSICAL CONDITION OF MAN. 241 
 
 and even where such a supply is in a great 
 measure needless, on account of the abundance 
 of coal, yet, for many purposes, various forms of 
 wood, either in a recent or in a charred state, 
 are preferred, on account of the injurious ef- 
 fects arising from the sulphur with which coal is 
 usually contaminated ; in the heating of bakers' 
 ovens, for instance, in the drying of malt, and 
 in numerous processes of the arts. Around the 
 shores of the Arctic Ocean, where scarcely any 
 traces of native vegetation are observable, the 
 inhabitants are amply supplied by drift-wood, 
 (Sauer's Account of Billings's Expedition, p. 
 104-259.) And captain Beechey says, that drift- 
 wood is to the Esquimaux what forests are to 
 us ; being in such abundance and variety, that 
 the inhabitants have the choice of several sorts 
 of trees. All this drift-wood about the mouths 
 of rivers, on the north coast of America, appears 
 to be brought down by those rivers from the in- 
 terior of America : but from the occurrence of 
 many floating trees to the southward of Kam- 
 chatka, and from other circumstances, it is pro- 
 bable that much of the drift-wood, found at a 
 distance from the mouths of rivers, comes very 
 far from the southward (p. 575-580). 
 
 Nor does the benefit, arising from vegetable 
 forms of fuel, terminate with their consumption. 
 The residuary ashes are useful, as a manure 
 for the land, on account of the alkaline matter 
 
 it
 
 242 ADAPTATION OF VEGETABLES &C. 
 
 which they contain : and that alkaline matter is 
 also to many a poor peasant a substitute for soap ; 
 the lixivium, or ley, which may be obtained by 
 filtering water through the ashes, owing its de- 
 tergent quality to the alkali which it has dis- 
 solved in its passage. In those parts of the 
 world indeed, as in North America, for instance, 
 where it is requisite to clear the land of wood, 
 for the purpose of bringing it into cultivation, 
 the ashes of the forests, which are necessarily 
 burned for this purpose, afford an enormous 
 quantity of alkaline residuum ; and this is the 
 source of much of that alkali of commerce, 
 which, from having been obtained by evapora- 
 tion of its solution in iron pans or pots, is com- 
 monly known under the name of potash. 
 
 That other alkali of commerce, called soda, is 
 derived from a similar, though indeed a much 
 more humble source ; for, in this case, the alkali 
 does not result from the combustion of stately 
 and aboriginal forests, but from the combustion 
 of heaps of sea-weed ; which, in various parts of 
 the coast of Europe, has been collected from the 
 surfaces of the adjoining rocks k . 
 
 k In some instances loose stones are intentionally placed on 
 the sea-beach for the purpose of affording a substratum for the 
 growth of various sea-plants, which attach themselves to the 
 stones so placed.
 
 ADAPTATION OF ANIMALS &C. 243 
 
 CHAP. IX. 
 
 Adaptation of Animals to the Physical Condition 
 
 of Mart. 
 
 SECT. I. 
 
 General Observations on the Animal Kingdom. 
 
 THE same remark may be made with regard 
 to the general utility of animals, which has been 
 made in the case of vegetables : for we have 
 sufficient reason for believing, that, among the 
 myriads of species of animals which exist upon 
 the face of the earth, there is not one which 
 does not act an important part in the economy 
 of nature 1 . And yet, if it be correctly stated 
 that out of about a hundred thousand species 
 of animals, the number supposed to have been 
 hitherto discovered, eighty thousand are of the 
 class of insects" 1 , it will be evident that the 
 mass of mankind is ignorant of the very exist- 
 ence of nearly four fifths of the whole animal 
 kingdom : for, with the exception of the fly, 
 
 1 It is the opinion of Mr. Scoresby, (Account of the Arctic 
 Regions, vol. i. p. 179, 180.) that the olive-green colour of the 
 water, observable in many parts of the Greenland sea, is owing 
 to the presence of numberless quantities of very small medusae 
 and other minute animals. " These small animals," he says, 
 " apparently afford nourishment to the sepise, actiniae, and other 
 '.' mollusca which constitute the food of the whale : thus pro- 
 " ducing a dependent chain of animal life, one particular link of 
 " which being destroyed, the whole must necessarily perish." 
 
 m The number is probably greater. 
 
 R 2
 
 244 ADAPTATION OF ANIMALS 
 
 the bee, the wasp, the ant, and perhaps ten 
 or twelve more species, few but professed na- 
 turalists are acquainted with the specific dif- 
 ferences of this class of animals ; so small are 
 they in size, and so apparently insignificant to 
 a common observer. But, if we have reason for 
 believing that not a single animal species exists 
 without its use in the general economy of na- 
 ture, we have a certainty that there are many, 
 the absence of which would be almost incom- 
 patible with the continuance of the existence 
 of the human race. If, for instance, the duties 
 of the shepherd and herdsman could no longer 
 be exercised, in consequence of the extinction 
 of the two species of which they have now re- 
 spectively the care, into what misery would not 
 the population of a great part of the world be 
 plunged, cut off at once from some of the most 
 substantial forms of animal food, and the most 
 general and effectual sources of clothing ! 
 
 And, if we consider the subject in another 
 point of view, how fitly are the natures of these 
 species, from the individuals of which such im- 
 mense advantage accrues to man, accommodated 
 to that end? If, for instance, the sheep and the 
 ox were carnivorous, instead of herbivorous, how 
 could the species be preserved : or, supposing 
 for a moment that a sufficient quantity of ani- 
 mal food could be procured for them, under 
 that supposition how could it be conveniently
 
 TO THE PHYSICAL CONDITION OF MAN. 245 
 
 distributed to the flocks and herds scattered 
 over a thousand hills ; which now, without any 
 consequent trouble to the shepherd or the herds- 
 man, leisurely crop the grass, as they slowly 
 traverse the surface from their morning to their 
 evening range of pasture. 
 
 Let us suppose, again, that the horse were to 
 become extinct. In that event how greatly 
 would be in a moment altered the condition of 
 the whole civilized world ? for by what other 
 means could there be kept up that general com- 
 munication between distant parts of the same 
 empire, the rapidity and facility of which contri- 
 bute at the same time to national prosperity, 
 and to individual wealth and comfort; since 
 that recent invention, the steam carriage, though 
 capable of supplying the place of horses along 
 the course of regular roads, would be inappli- 
 cable in most other situations? Consider, again, 
 the position of contending armies, whose fate 
 often is determined by the evolutions of united 
 squadrons of this noblest of all the inferior ani- 
 mals ; and sometimes even by the speed of the 
 individual charger whose rider conveys the 
 command which is to determine those evolutions: 
 or, to descend into the less important though 
 not less interesting scenes of domestic life, let 
 us imagine, what we may perhaps have wit- 
 nessed, the ecstasy of an afflicted parent, who 
 has been enabled by the speed of this all but 
 
 r 3
 
 246 ADAPTATION OF ANIMALS 
 
 friend of man to reach the conch, and to re- 
 ceive the dying embraces of a beloved child ; 
 or to obtain those means of human aid, which 
 haply may have averted the stroke of impend- 
 ing death. 
 
 But in this, as in many similar instances, we 
 can at once perceive (what we may always in 
 reasoning presume) that an alteration in the 
 constitution of any department of nature would 
 be incompatible with that harmony of the whole, 
 the existence of which is evident to all those 
 who are capable of observing and interrogating 
 philosophically the phenomena of creation. And 
 if it should be said that some species of animals 
 have actually become extinct, and others are 
 gradually becoming more and more rare; yet, 
 in such instances, we shall find the fact to be 
 either the result of a providential adjustment, if 
 the expression may be permitted ; or, of the ori- 
 ginal rarity of the species themselves, as in the 
 case of that uncouth bird the dodo" ; or, as might 
 
 n It is not without reason that the epithet uncouth has heen 
 applied to the dodo ; for two distinguished naturalists, in their 
 day, maintained for many years that such a form had never ex- 
 isted, but in the imagination of the painter. One of these in- 
 dividuals however at length had an opportunity of inspecting 
 the well-known, specimen of the head of the dodo, which is pre- 
 served in the Ashmolean Museum at Oxford ; and was then con- 
 vinced that such a bird had existed. But so far was he from 
 producing the same conviction in the mind of his friend, by the 
 description of the specimen, that he incurred the charge of an
 
 TO THE PHYSICAL CONDITION OF MAN. 247 
 
 possibly happen, with respect to that still more 
 remarkable animal of New Holland, the orni- 
 thorhynchus paradoxus : in each of which in- 
 stances the locality of the species appears to 
 have been always extremely limited. 
 
 On the other hand there are species of ani- 
 mals, which, though so minute, and so far re- 
 moved from common observation, as to be 
 scarcely known to mankind at large, much less 
 employed for any useful purpose, would yet be 
 productive of great inconvenience were they 
 permitted to increase indefinitely : and hence, 
 although they may perhaps previously accom- 
 plish some important end in the scheme of na- 
 ture, they are destined to be the food of other 
 animals, which, being much larger than them- 
 selves, necessarily consume them in great quan- 
 tity. There is hardly a bird, or a reptile, or a 
 fish, the contents of whose stomach would not 
 bear witness to the truth of the assertion just 
 made : and even among quadrupeds there are 
 many species, as the mole, the hedgehog, the 
 manis, and the ant-eater, which, from the na- 
 ture of their food, are grouped into a distinct 
 family, called insectivorous. 
 
 intentional deception ; and the result was, that an interminable 
 feud arose between them : for though they were attached to the 
 same institution, and lived within its walls, (not indeed without 
 other companions, or absolutely under the same roof, as their 
 prototypes in the Eddystone lighthouse,) they never again 
 spoke to each other. 
 
 R 4
 
 248 ADAPTATION OF ANIMALS 
 
 SECT. II. 
 
 Geographical Distribution of Animals. 
 
 Among the strongest evidences of an inten- 
 tional adaptation of the external world to the 
 physical condition of man, may be classed the 
 geographical distribution of animals, taken in 
 connexion with certain points in their general 
 history. Thus the elephant, which lives ex- 
 clusively on vegetable food, is found naturally 
 in those climates only, where vegetation is so 
 luxuriantly abundant as easily to meet the large 
 supply, which numerous individuals of such 
 enormous bulk require : and then the tracta- 
 bility and docility of the animal are such, that 
 its amazing strength may be easily directed to 
 forward the purposes of man ; and often is so 
 directed, in the conduct of military operations, 
 as well as on various ordinary occasions : and 
 lastly, the increase of the species advances 
 slowly ; for, in by far the greater number of in- 
 stances, only one individual is produced at a 
 birth. Now had the elephant been equally 
 , adapted to colder climates, where vegetation is 
 comparatively scant, the difficulty of supporting 
 the individual animals in such climates would 
 have diminished the value of the species : or, 
 were elephants as intractable and indocile, as 
 they are the reverse, what destruction would 
 they not be continually dealing around them ;
 
 TO THE PHYSICAL CONDITION OF MAN. 249 
 
 witness the scene which took place a few years 
 since in a public menagerie of London ; where 
 a company of musketeers was introduced, in or- 
 der to subdue a single individual of this species, 
 which had become infuriated from accidental 
 circumstances ! Or, lastly, had the elephant 
 been as prolific as the swine, (and it should be 
 observed that they are branches of the same 
 natural order,) how could the increased num- 
 bers of individuals have been maintained, in 
 the case of a species which is not naturally ca- 
 pable of emigrating to a different climate ? 
 
 SECT. III. 
 The Camel. 
 Of all animals, the camel perhaps is most 
 exactly adapted both to those peculiar regions 
 of the earth in which it is principally, if not 
 exclusively, found ; and to those purposes for 
 which it is usually employed by man : to whose 
 wants indeed it is so completely accommodated, 
 and apparently so incapable of existing without 
 his superintendence, that while on the one hand 
 we find the camel described in the earliest re- 
 cords of history, and in every subsequent pe- 
 riod, as in a state of subjugation to man, and 
 employed for precisely the same purposes as at 
 the present day ; on the other hand, it is doubt- 
 ful whether the species has ever existed in a 
 wild or independent state.
 
 250 ADAPTATION OF ANIMALS 
 
 With scarcely any natural means of defence, 
 and nearly useless in the scheme of creation, 
 (as far as we can judge,) unless as the slave of 
 man, it forms a remarkable parallel to the sheep, 
 the ox, and other of the ruminating species ; 
 which are also rarely, if ever, found, but under 
 the protection of man, and to that protection 
 alone are indebted, indeed, for their existence 
 as a distinct species. Let us compare then the 
 form, and structure, and moral qualities of the 
 camel, with the local character of the regions 
 in which it is principally found ; and with the 
 nature of the services exacted of it by man. 
 
 The sandy deserts of Arabia are the classical 
 country of the camel ; but it is also extensively 
 employed in various other parts of Asia, and in 
 the north of Africa : and the constant commu- 
 nication that exists between the tribes which 
 border on the intervening sea of sand, could 
 only be maintained by an animal possessing 
 such qualities as characterise the camel — " the 
 " ship of the desert," as it has emphatically 
 been called. Laden with the various kinds of 
 merchandise which are the object of commerce 
 in that region of the world, and of which a part 
 often passes from the most easterly countries of 
 Asia to the extreme limits of western Europe, 
 and from thence even across the Atlantic to 
 America, this extraordinary animal pursues its 
 steady course over burning sands during many
 
 TO THE PHYSICAL CONDITION OF MAN. 251 
 
 successive weeks. And not only is it satisfied 
 with the scanty herbage which it gathers by 
 the way ; but often passes many days without 
 meeting with a single spring of water in which 
 to slake its thirst. 
 
 In explanation of its fitness as a beast of bur- 
 den, for such desert tracts of sand, its feet and 
 its stomach are the points in its structure which 
 are principally calculated to arrest our atten- 
 tion : and its feet are not less remarkably ac- 
 commodated to the road over which it travels, 
 than is the structure of its stomach to the 
 drought of the region through which that road 
 passes. The foot of the camel, in fact, is so 
 formed that the animal would be incapable of 
 travelling, with any ease or steadiness, over 
 either a rough or a stony surface ; and equally 
 incapable is it of travelling for any long con- 
 tinuance over moist ground, in consequence of 
 the inflammation produced in its limbs from 
 the effect of moisture. It is observed, by Cu- 
 vier, that these circumstances in its physical 
 history, and not the incapability of bearing a 
 colder temperature, account for the fact, that, 
 while the sheep, the ox, the dog, the horse, and 
 some other species, hate accompanied the mi- 
 grations of man, from his aboriginal seat in cen- 
 tral Asia to every habitable part of the globe, 
 the camel still adheres to the desert. 
 
 And now observe how its interior structure
 
 252 ADAPTATION OF ANIMALS 
 
 meets the difficulty of a region, where water is 
 rarely found. As in the case of all other ani- 
 mals which ruminate or chew the cud, the sto- 
 mach of the camel consists of several compart- 
 ments ; of which one is divided into numerous 
 distinct cells, capable of collectively containing 
 such a quantity of water, as is sufficient for 
 the ordinary consumption of the animal during 
 many days. And, as opportunities occur, the 
 camel instinctively replenishes this reservoir ; 
 and is thus enabled to sustain a degree of ex- 
 ternal drought, which would be destructive to 
 all other animals but such as have a similar 
 structure : nor is any other animal of the old 
 world known to possess this peculiar structure. 
 But if we pass to the inhabited regions of the 
 Andes in the new world, we there meet with 
 several species of animals, as the lama, the 
 vigogna, and the alpaca, which, though much 
 smaller than the camel, correspond generally 
 in their anatomy with that animal, and parti- 
 cularly with reference to the structure of the 
 stomach : they resemble also the camel in do- 
 cility ; and, to complete the parallel, they were 
 employed by the aboriginal inhabitants in the 
 new world for the same* purposes as the camel 
 in the old. 
 
 Of the two species of camel, the Bactrian 
 and Arabian, the latter is that with the history 
 of which we are best acquainted; and though
 
 TO THE PHYSICAL CONDITION OF MAN. 253 
 
 there is reason to believe, that, whatever is said 
 of the qualities of the one might with truth be 
 affirmed of the other also, on the present occa- 
 sion whatever is said is referable to the Arabian 
 species . The camel, then, not only consumes 
 less food than the horse, but can sustain more 
 fatigue. A large camel is capable of carrying 
 from seven to twelve hundred weight, and tra- 
 velling with that weight on its back, at the rate 
 of above ten leagues in each day. The small 
 courier camel, carrying no weight, will travel 
 thirty leagues in each day, provided the ground 
 be dry and level. Individuals of each variety 
 will subsist for eight or ten successive days on 
 dry thorny plants ; but after this period require 
 more nutritious food, which is usually supplied 
 in the form of dates and various artificial pre- 
 parations : though, if not so supplied, the camel 
 will patiently continue its course, till nearly 
 the whole of the fat, of which the boss on its 
 
 The Bactrian species, which has two bosses on its back, is 
 more peculiar to Tartary and northern Asia. The Arabian, 
 which has only one boss, is not confined to the country from 
 which it is named, but is the same species with that which pre- 
 vails in northern Africa. As in the case of all domesticated 
 animals the varieties of these two species are numerous : and it 
 is a variety of the Arabian species, of a small height, to which 
 the ancients gave the name of dromedary, from its employment 
 as a courier; but in the magnificent work of St. Hilaire and 
 Cuvier, (Hist. Nat. des Mammiferes,) the term dromedary is 
 adopted, in a specific sense, for all the varieties of the Arabian 
 camel.
 
 254 ADAPTATION OF ANIMALS 
 
 back consists, is absorbed ; whereby that pro- 
 tuberance becomes, as it were, obliterated. 
 
 The camel is equally patient of thirst as of 
 hunger : and this happens, no doubt, in conse- 
 quence of the supply of fluid which it is capable 
 of obtaining from the peculiar reservoir con- 
 tained in its stomach. It possesses moreover a 
 power and delicacy in the sense of smell, (to that 
 sense at least such a power is most naturally 
 referable,) by which, after having thirsted for 
 seven or eight days, it perceives the existence 
 of water at a very considerable distance : and it 
 manifests this power by running directly to the 
 point where the water exists. It is obvious that 
 this faculty is exerted as much to the benefit of 
 their drivers, and the whole suit of the caravan, 
 as of the camels themselves. 
 
 Such are some of the leading advantages de- 
 rived to man from the physical structure and 
 powers of this animal : nor are those advantages 
 of slight moment which are derived from its 
 docile and patient disposition. It is no slight 
 advantage, for instance, considering the great 
 height of the animal, which usually exceeds six 
 or seven feet, that the camel is easily taught to 
 bend down its body on its limbs, in order to be 
 laden : and, indeed, if the weight to be placed 
 on its back be previously so distributed, as to 
 be balanced on an intervening yoke of a con- 
 venient form, it will spontaneously direct its
 
 TO THE PHYSICAL CONDITION OF MAN. 255 
 
 neck under the yoke, and afterwards transfer 
 the weight to its back. St. Hilaire and Cuvier, 
 from whom the substance of much of the pre- 
 ceding account is taken, assert, that, if after 
 having laid down and received the intended 
 freight, the camel should find it inconveniently 
 heavy, it will not rise till a part has been taken 
 off; and that, when fatigued by long travel, it 
 will proceed more readily and easily if the 
 driver sing some familiar tune. This however 
 is a quality not peculiar to the camel. 
 
 Considered only thus far in its history, the 
 camel easily stands preeminent, as the most 
 useful, among all the species of ruminating ani- 
 mals, in the bodily or mechanical services which 
 it renders to man : it is almost indeed the rival 
 of the horse, even when compared in a general 
 point of view ; but more than its rival in its par- 
 ticular arena, the desert. The reindeer assists 
 the individual wants of the Laplander by con- 
 veying his sledge over the frozen surface of the 
 snow : and the ox, on a more enlarged scale of 
 labour, is employed in some countries in plough- 
 ing, or in the draught of heavy weights : but 
 the camel was from time immemorial, up to a 
 comparatively recent period, almost the sole in- 
 termedium of the principal part of the commerce 
 of the whole world. Thus the spices and other 
 rich merchandise of the East, being brought to 
 the confines of Arabia, were conveyed on the
 
 25(3 ADAPTATION OF ANIMALS 
 
 backs of camels across the desert, and thence 
 finding their way to the trading cities of Phe- 
 nicia, while they yet flourished — and subse- 
 quently, after their destruction or decay, to 
 Alexandria — they were distributed over the con- 
 tinent of Europe ; enriching whole nations by 
 the profits of the mere transfer : for thus Venice 
 became not only the mistress of the Adriatic 
 and Mediterranean, but in a measure the arbi- 
 tress of the whole world — 
 
 " And such she was ; — her daughters had their dowers 
 
 " From spoils of nations, and the exhaustless East 
 
 " Pourcl in her lap all gems in sparkling showers. 
 
 " In purple was she robed, and of her feast 
 
 " Monarchs partook, and deemM their dignity increased P." 
 
 And when, in consequence of the discovery 
 of the Cape of Good Hope, Alexandria ceased 
 to be the main emporium of India and Europe, 
 Venice declined in its riches and power ; and 
 the Portuguese, the Dutch, and lastly the Eng- 
 lish, acquired the political influence which Ve- 
 nice had lost : so true is the observation of sir 
 William Temple, that whatever nation is in pos- 
 session of the commerce of India must neces- 
 sarily have a preponderating influence in the 
 affairs of the whole worlds 
 
 But, although the route by the Cape has in a 
 
 P Childe Harold, Canto IV. Stanza 2. 
 
 *1 For an account of the traffick between India and Europe 
 see Niebuhr, Descript. de l'Arabie, p. 246, &c.
 
 TO THE PHYSICAL CONDITION OF MAN. 2.57 
 
 great measure superseded that by Alexandria, 
 the commercial intercourse carried on by means 
 of the camel between opposite confines of the 
 African and Asiatic deserts is still sufficiently 
 extensive to make the importance of that ani- 
 mal very considerable : so that even now, as 
 ages and ages since, the riches of an individual 
 are estimated by the number of camels he may 
 possess : and he still uses his camels either in 
 war, or for the transport of merchandise, or for 
 the purpose of selling them 1 '. 
 
 But it would be found, upon pursuing the 
 history of the camel, that, while under the point 
 of view which has been just considered, this 
 animal contributes more largely to the advan- 
 tages of mankind than any other species of the 
 ruminating order, it scarcely is inferior to any 
 one of those species with respect to those other 
 advantages on account of which they are princi- 
 
 r It cannot be considered an irrelevant, and certainly not in 
 itself an uninteresting digression, here to observe, that there 
 was a period in the commercial history of England, within the 
 last century even, when the horse served the purpose in this 
 island, which the camel serves in Arabia and other parts of 
 the world : and a distinct trade then existed, that of the packer ; 
 the occupation of which was to make up bales of goods in a 
 form convenient for carriage on the back of the pack-horse ; 
 and the trace of that mode of conveyance is still to be recog- 
 nised in the sign of many inns in those parts of England 
 where that mode of conveyance was prevalent. The same mode 
 of conveyance is still very extensively employed in the north* 
 eastern parts of the Russian dominions. 
 
 S
 
 258 ADAPTATION OF ANIMALS 
 
 pally valuable. Thus the Arab obtains from 
 the camel not only milk and cheese and butter, 
 but he ordinarily also eats its flesh, and fabri- 
 cates its hair into clothing of various kinds. 
 The very refuse indeed of the digested food of 
 the animal is the principal fuel of the desert ; 
 and from the smoke of this fuel is obtained the 
 well-known substance called sal ammoniac, which 
 is very extensively employed in the arts ; and 
 of which indeed, formerly, the greater part met 
 with in commerce was obtained from this source 
 alone, as may be implied from its very name 8 . 
 
 SECT. IV. 
 Domestication of Animals. 
 
 Nature has implanted a disposition in almost 
 all animals to be domesticated by man ; and 
 also a capability of becoming adapted to the 
 various climates into which they accompany 
 him ; and this disposition and adaptation neces- 
 sarily extend the utility of these animals. There 
 is, moreover, a consequent effect of domestica- 
 tion which is obvious to the commonest ob- 
 server; and which extends still further the 
 benefits arising from the practice. In a state 
 of nature, almost all the individuals of the same 
 species of animals have, at any given period of 
 
 8 Amnion, an ancient name of a part of the African desert 
 situate to the west of Egypt, supplied formerly much of the 
 sal ammoniac of commerce.
 
 TO THE PHYSICAL CONDITION OF MAN. 259 
 
 their life, so close a resemblance to each other 
 in form, size, and colour, that it is difficult to 
 distinguish them at a little distance : but when- 
 ever any species has been long domesticated, or 
 subjugated to the dominion of man, we usually 
 find a proportional variety in those points. In 
 proof of the foregoing assertion it will be suffi- 
 cient to make a comparison between wild and 
 tame rabbits ; or between the domestic and wild 
 cat ; and to refer to the differences observable 
 in all those animals which are constantly under 
 the care of man, as the horse, the dog, and 
 the ox. 
 
 The alteration which is produced in such 
 cases, and which depends partly on climate 
 and food and general regimen, but still more on 
 the intermixture of the breed, is in many in- 
 stances of the highest utility to man. Suppose 
 for a moment that, in the case of the horse, any 
 one of the existing varieties, the dray-horse for 
 instance, or the Shetland pony, were from hence- 
 forth to determine the permanent character of 
 the species ; and observe what would be the 
 consequence. What a waste of power, and what 
 an inconvenient increase of trouble and ex- 
 pense, both with respect to stable-room and 
 food, would there be in using the dray-horse, 
 where the Shetland pony would be sufficient; 
 and, on the other hand, how ill would the Shet- 
 land pony supply the place of the dray-horse, 
 
 s 2
 
 260 ADAPTATION OF ANIMALS 
 
 where enormous weights were to be set in 
 motion ! 
 
 Again, in the case of the dog, were all other 
 varieties of this most useful animal to be anni- 
 hilated, and only one form to prevail, its value 
 would be proportionally lessened. If no variety 
 of the dog existed but the small spaniel or the 
 terrier, the miserable inhabitant of the north 
 could no longer travel over his native tracts of 
 frozen snow : nor could the victim of Alpine 
 frost in Switzerland be hereafter rescued from a 
 premature death, as he often now is, by the sa- 
 gacity and strength of the mastiffs of that region. 
 And, in another element, how many a life, which 
 must have been otherwise lost, has been saved 
 from a watery grave by the joint sagacity and 
 powerful strength of the Newfoundland dog! 
 What would the shepherd do without the assist- 
 ance which he now derives from his faithful 
 companion? Instead of that compact phalanx 
 which we have often seen advancing over the 
 distant downs, under the direction of the shep- 
 herd's dog; and from time to time, in obedience 
 to its intelligent commander, still altering its di- 
 rection in advancing, as steadily as a ship in 
 sail obeys the helm ; we should see a confused 
 and scattered multitude, which all the shepherd's 
 skill and activity could hardly restore to order. 
 
 Nor let me be accused of inhumanity if I here 
 instance the assistance which is given to man
 
 TO THE PHYSICAL CONDITION OF MAN. 261 
 
 by those varieties of the dog which are princi- 
 pally used in the chase. Those feelings, which 
 would spare the inferior animals unnecessary 
 pain, are ever to be respected in others and 
 cherished in ourselves ; as those feelings which 
 delight in cruelty are to be abhorred : but un- 
 doubtedly the desire of inflicting pain is not the 
 incentive to the pleasures of the chase ; and 
 therefore, with reference to himself, the hunter 
 is free from the charge of cruelty. With respect 
 to the animal which is the object of the chase, 
 the charge of cruelty is reasonably obviated by 
 this highly probable consideration, that man 
 can hardly inflict on the weaker animals a 
 more cruel death than that, to which they are 
 obnoxious by the very law of nature : for, ulti- 
 mately, they will almost necessarily be hunted 
 and destroyed by beasts of prey ; or, if you sup- 
 pose them to die either of disease or of old age, 
 what misery must they not undergo in enduring 
 this latter period of their life! In fact, unless in 
 the case of acute disease, the occurrence of which 
 in wild animals there is reason to think is ex- 
 tremely rare, they must, through mere helpless- 
 ness, perish by hunger. 
 
 An ethical discussion is to be avoided on the 
 present occasion ; and I shall only therefore ob- 
 serve, that, with respect to the infliction of pain 
 on the inferior animals, in the particular case 
 now under consideration, the grand question is 
 
 s 3
 
 262 ADAPTATION OF ANIMALS 
 
 the consequent effect on our own moral feelings 1 . 
 If we are conscious that we are inflicting pain, 
 we shall do right to abstain from what otherwise 
 would be an innocent amusement ; for such ab- 
 stinence will be a legitimate extension of the 
 scriptural precept, " A righteous man regardeth 
 " the life of his beast:" and if, by neglecting 
 the suggestions of our original feelings, we have 
 blunted the edge of the moral sense, doubtless 
 we are culpable in a high degree. And this 
 probably was the case in the gladiatorial exhi- 
 bitions of antiquity ; and is equally the case in 
 the disgusting exhibitions of the bull fight in 
 Spain, and the more vulgar and not less dis- 
 gusting spectacle of pugilistic engagements, or 
 baiting of the bull, in our own country. But, 
 omitting such palpably indefensible sports, it 
 doubtless may be affirmed as a general truth, 
 that the amusements of hunting or of fishing 
 are not accompanied by any consciousness of a 
 wanton infliction of pain. And, although the 
 occasionally concomitant habits of such sports 
 may eventually blunt the benevolent feelings of 
 our nature, we have not the least evidence that 
 
 1 The same observation is applicable to philosophical experi- 
 ments on living animals ; respecting experiments of ;yhich na- 
 ture Shakspeare justly observes, 
 
 " Your highness 
 " Shall from this practice but make hard your heart." 
 
 Cymbkl. Act I. Sc. 6.
 
 TO THE PHYSICAL CONDITION OF MAN. 263 
 
 there is a necessary tendency in those amuse- 
 ments to produce that lamentable effect. There 
 then remains, in support of the propriety of such 
 amusements, the argument from the healthiness 
 of the stimulus which they communicate to the 
 mind as well as to the body ; thus invigorating 
 both : while they act as a present recreation, 
 which in some shape or other is required by all. 
 But if the pursuit of smaller and weaker animals 
 should appear objectionable to any one, there 
 still remain, in other countries at least if not in 
 this, the wolf, the wild boar, and the tiger : and 
 in subduing these, to which no one will probably 
 object, the dog lends most effectual assistance 
 to man. He is indeed of all animals the most 
 undaunted and courageous. Mr. Burchell, who 
 during his long residence in southern Africa had 
 frequent opportunities of witnessing the charac- 
 ter of this faithful guardian of man, has asserted 
 to the author of this treatise, that he has, again 
 and again, seen the fiercest and strongest ani- 
 mals shrink from the defiance of the dog ; but 
 he never saw the dog shrink from the defiance 
 of any other animal 11 . 
 
 u Linnaeus, in enumerating the characters of the lion, makes, 
 by implication, a somewhat similar observation with respect to 
 the dog. " Leo esuriens praedatur equis et aliis majorihus 
 " animalibus ; — canibus coercelur." (Linn. System. Gmelin. 
 torn. i. p. 7^0 
 
 s 4
 
 — 
 
 104 ADAPTATION OF ANIMALS 
 
 SECT. V. 
 
 Animals as a. Source of Food. 
 
 Although the inhabitants of very warm cli- 
 mates live principally and often entirely on vege- 
 tables; in the colder climates animal food usually 
 makes a part of the daily sustenance of all who 
 are not oppressed by poverty : and nature has 
 not only provided amply for this want, but has 
 afforded the easiest means of supplying it. The 
 disposition of those animals, which afford the 
 great bulk of the supply that is required, as the 
 sheep, the ox, and the swine, is such, that they 
 are not only disposed to live gregariously, but 
 are readily brought under obedience, so as to be 
 inoffensive either to the person or property of 
 man : and their docility in this respect is parti- 
 cularly worthy of our attention, because, from 
 the observations of M. Frederic Cuvier, (Mem. 
 du Mus. torn. xiii. p. 419, 420,) it appears that 
 herbivorous animals are not, as is generally sup- 
 posed, naturally more mild and tractable than 
 the carnivorous ; in fact they are by nature less 
 mild and tractable. 
 
 The flesh of all those species, which have been 
 above mentioned, is, generally speaking, accept- 
 able to the human palate ; and is in a great 
 measure necessary to the support of those who 
 are habitually exposed to great exertions and fa- 
 tigue : but there are many occasions on which 
 such food could not with any convenience be ob-
 
 TO THE PHYSICAL CONDITION OF MAN. '2('h"i 
 
 tained, even by those to whom the expense is 
 not a matter of any consideration. In situations 
 for instance which are far removed from any 
 town, there are very few, with the exception of 
 the possessors of extensive landed property, who 
 can be conveniently supplied with animal food 
 from their own flocks and herds : and in the 
 case of the crews of ships, which are accustomed 
 to make long voyages, it would be utterly impos- 
 sible to find room in any vessel for such a num- 
 ber of live animals, together with the food which 
 those animals would require, as would be com- 
 petent to supply the daily consumption of all on 
 board. But in all these instances the difficulty 
 is obviated by the preservative quality of com- 
 mon salt : for we know that, by the aid of salted 
 provisions, guarded by the regular use of vege- 
 table acids, a ship's crew may be maintained in 
 good health for an indefinite length of time. 
 
 And then, with reference to the general ques- 
 tion, there are almost all the herbivorous species 
 of birds, together with the auxiliary supply of 
 their eggs ; and those numerous species both of 
 river and of sea fish, which contribute very large- 
 ly to the support of the human race, not solely 
 by affording food, but by affording a lucrative 
 employment to the fisherman. I omit the consi- 
 deration of the turtle, the lobster, the prawn, the 
 oyster, and a few other species; because the 
 aggregate consumption of such kind of food is
 
 26b' ADAPTATION OF ANIMALS 
 
 comparatively small ; and those animals, as ar- 
 ticles of food, may be considered rather as luxu- 
 ries than necessaries. 
 
 Of the animals which supply us with food, 
 the flesh or muscular fibre is that part which is 
 most acceptable to the palate : and it is worthy 
 of consideration that the flesh of those animals, 
 of whose living services we stand hourly in need, 
 is in general so little acceptable that, unless 
 under extraordinary circumstances, we are not 
 tempted to eat them. Many individuals how- 
 ever, through poverty, are content, and some by 
 peculiarity of taste are inclined, to feed on the 
 lungs or liver, or other of the viscera of animals. 
 And modern researches and experiments have 
 taught us that even the bones may be rendered 
 digestible, either by the effect of long boiling 
 under a high degree of artificial pressure, as in 
 the apparatus called Papms Digester, or in con- 
 sequence of the removal of their earthy basis by 
 means of any convenient acid ; and we have also 
 learnt, from similar sources, that common saw- 
 dust, by certain chemical processes, may be 
 made nutritious : but we may fairly argue, from 
 the provisional care of nature, that mankind will 
 never be generally reduced to such circuitous 
 means of obtaining their necessary food. In the 
 mean time we may console ourselves with the 
 reflection, that in the event of any temporary 
 or local difficulty, we may find a supply of food
 
 TO THE PHYSICAL CONDITION OF MAN. 2(>7 
 
 where antecedently to the researches above men- 
 tioned we should never have dreamed of looking- 
 for it. Vitruvius mentions, in speaking of the 
 construction of garden walks, that the fragments 
 of charcoal, which were a common substratum 
 of such walks, had occasionally afforded a most 
 important magazine of fuel in a protracted siege : 
 and in such an emergency the bones of animals 
 might continue a supply of food, after the flesh 
 had been eaten. 
 
 SECT. VI. 
 
 Manufacture of Sal Ammoniac. 
 
 Even in the present abundance of animal food 
 the refuse is not wasted ; and all that is thrown 
 aside, as unpalatable or indigestible, is subse- 
 quently collected, for the purpose of obtaining 
 a material, very extensively employed and of 
 considerable value in the arts, known familiarly 
 under the name of sal ammoniac. Perhaps in 
 the whole circle of the arts there is scarcely any 
 process more interesting, if all the attendant cir- 
 cumstances be considered, than the fabrication 
 of this substance : and the interest principally 
 arises from this peculiarity in the nature of 
 the process, that, among the numerous products 
 which are evolved in its different stages, there 
 is scarcely one which is not sufficiently useful 
 to prevent the necessity of its being thrown 
 away.
 
 268 ADAPTATION OF ANIMALS 
 
 Any one, who is in the habit of walking much 
 in the streets of London, will frequently see 
 some half-clothed wretched individual stooping 
 down and holding open an apron, into which 
 he throws from time to time pieces of broken 
 bone and other offal, which he has disengaged 
 from the interstices of the stones that form the 
 carriage pavement. The unsightly load thus 
 obtained is conveyed to the sal ammoniac ma- 
 nufactory ; and when a sufficient mass of bones 
 has been accumulated from this and other 
 sources, they are thrown into a caldron of wa- 
 ter, and are boiled for the purpose of clearing 
 them of the grease with which they are en- 
 veloped : which grease, subsequently collected 
 from the surface of the water on which it floats, 
 is employed in the composition of soap. 
 
 The bones thus cleaned are thrown into large 
 retorts, surrounded by burning fuel, and sub- 
 mitted to the process called destructive distilla- 
 tion: whereby, in consequence of the applica- 
 tion of a sufficient degree of heat, the matter 
 of the bone is resolved into its constituent ele- 
 ments, from which new compounds are formed. 
 Of these, some pass off in the state of vapour 
 or gas, while the fixed principles remain in the 
 retort. 
 
 Among the more remarkable products which 
 pass off are carbonic acid gas, commonly known 
 by the name of fixed air ; and various combina-
 
 TO THE PHYSICAL CONDITION OF MAN. 269 
 
 tions of hydrogen and carbon, forming different 
 kinds of inflammable air ; together with water 
 holding carbonate of ammonia (salt of hartshorn) 
 in solution ; and a peculiar oil. Of these pro- 
 ducts, the fixed air and inflammable air are 
 disregarded, and suffered to escape. The oil 
 is employed to feed lamps placed in small 
 chambers, the sides of which become incrusted 
 with the smoke arising from the combustion : 
 which smoke being collected, becomes an ar- 
 ticle of sale under the name of lamp black ; a 
 substance of considerable importance as the 
 basis of printing ink, &c. 
 
 It would be tedious, and uninteresting to the 
 general reader, to describe all the intermediate 
 steps of the process : and it is sufficient for the 
 present purpose to state that, towards the con- 
 clusion of it, two new compounds are formed, 
 namely, muriate of ammonia and sulphate of 
 soda : of which the sulphate of soda is separated 
 by the process of crystallization, and is sold to 
 the druggists under the common name of Glau- 
 ber s salt; and the muriate of ammonia, (sal am- 
 moniac,) the great object of the whole manu- 
 facture, is finally obtained in a separate state 
 by the process called sublimation. 
 
 The form of the bones, submitted to destruc- 
 tive distillation in this process, is not altered ; 
 and the unvolatilized mass, remaining in the re- 
 torts, consists of the earthy and saline matter of
 
 270 ADAPTATION OF ANIMALS 
 
 these bones, blackened by the carbon which is 
 evolved from their animal matter. Exposure to 
 an open fire drives off this carbon, and leaves 
 the bones still unaltered in form, but nearly 
 blanched : and these bones, subsequently re- 
 duced to powder, and mixed with a sufficient 
 quantity of water to give them the requisite 
 degree of consistence, are formed into vessels, 
 which are employed in the process of refining 
 gold and silver. 
 
 It was stated that, during the destructive dis- 
 tillation of bone, the carbonic acid and inflam- 
 mable gases are suffered to escape : but of these 
 the latter might be employed in supplying light 
 to gas burners ; and then, out of the numerous 
 products of the complicated process which I 
 have been describing, the carbonic acid would 
 be the only substance not employed for some 
 useful purpose. 
 
 SECT. VII. 
 
 Animals as a Source of Clothing, 8fc. 
 
 The utility of many of those animals which 
 supply us with food does not terminate in merely 
 that adaptation of them to human wants. From 
 the same animals we are supplied with clothing 
 also (but this service, indeed, they render to us 
 in common with various other animals which 
 are unfit for food); and, according to the dif- 
 ferent states of civilization in which mankind
 
 TO THE PHYSICAL CONDITION OF MAN. 271 
 
 exists, that clothing is more or less artificially 
 prepared. Thus while the African or Australian 
 savage scarcely protects his body from exposure 
 by a partial covering of leaves, or the inner 
 bark of trees ; and the Esquimaux envelopes 
 his body in the undressed skin of the seal which 
 he has recently killed, supplying also the sepa- 
 rate coverings of his head and feet and hands 
 from the same source ; the poorest peasant of 
 any civilized part of Europe derives his clothing 
 not only from one but many different species 
 of animals ; to say nothing of those occasional 
 parts of his dress which are obtained from the 
 vegetable and mineral kingdom. The ox, the 
 dog, the sheep, the beaver or the rabbit, and 
 the silk-worm, in almost every instance contri- 
 bute their direct contingent to the apparel of 
 the humblest individual of Europe : and, with 
 reference to the dress and ornamental append- 
 ages of individuals of more elevated rank, to 
 the animals already mentioned may be added 
 the deer, the goat, the camel, the elephant, the 
 ermine, and numerous others which supply the 
 various and rich furs of commerce ; the ostrich, 
 and many other birds : and even the tortoise, 
 the oyster, and the puny architect of the more 
 beautiful species of coral. 
 
 Nor are the advantages which mankind derive 
 from the animal kingdom, with reference to ge- 
 neral commerce and the arts and economical
 
 272 ADAPTATION OF ANIMALS 
 
 purposes of life, of less importance than the 
 foregoing. How many different substances, as 
 leather, and parchment, and glue ; and what 
 various instruments, either for common use, or 
 ornament or amusement, are manufactured from 
 skin and horn, and bone and ivory! With re- 
 spect to the last mentioned of which substances 
 indeed, it is a highly interesting fact, that the 
 world has not been supplied with it solely from 
 the two still existing species of elephant, but 
 also, and in a very large proportion, from the 
 extinct and fossil species. Under the name of 
 licorne fossile, the tusks of the extinct species 
 have for ages been an object of commerce in 
 the Russian dominions : and M. Pallas describes 
 the abundance of these fossil tusks to be such, 
 that they are found in every direction through- 
 out the greater part of north-eastern Russia. 
 
 If we only consider the amount of the con- 
 sumption of wax and honey, of what importance 
 is not that little insect the bee : and the same 
 observation may be made with reference to the 
 silkworm and cochineal ! 
 
 Lastly, for it is necessary to bring the present 
 subject to a close, what immense advantages 
 accrue to commerce and navigation from the 
 traffick in even a very few species of fish, as the 
 whale, the cod, the herring, and the pilchard! so 
 great indeed are those advantages, that the ques- 
 tion of the right of fishery on a particular coast
 
 TO THE PHYSICAL CONDITION OF MAN. 273 
 
 has sometimes been the occasion of involving 
 the most powerful nations in expensive wars : 
 for these fisheries, at the same time that they 
 are a source of immense riches to individuals, 
 constitute as it were a nursery for the hardiest 
 race of sailors ; and thus become of the highest 
 importance in a national point of view. 
 
 CHAP. X. 
 
 Adaptation of the external World to the Exercise 
 of the Intellectual Faculties of Man. 
 
 SECT. I. 
 
 On the Rise and Progress of Human Knowledge. 
 
 IN the preceding part of this treatise the phy- 
 sical character and condition of man were first 
 considered ; and, afterwards, the adaptation of 
 external nature to the supply of his bodily wants. 
 It remains for us to consider the adaptation of 
 the various objects of the material world to the 
 exercise of his intellectual faculties. 
 
 But, in contemplating the connexion which 
 exists between the external world and the exer- 
 cise of the mind of man, who shall attempt to 
 describe the nature and boundaries of that yet 
 unmeasured plain of knowledge, in which man 
 is constantly either intellectually expatiating, or 
 practically exerting himself! who, without wan- 
 dering into the mazes of metaphysical specula- 
 tion — always amusing in the pursuit, but never, 
 
 T
 
 274 EXERCISE OF THE 
 
 perhaps, satisfactory in the result — who shall de- 
 velope the obscure steps by which science first 
 finds access to the mind? In reflecting indeed 
 on the state of civilized society during its earlier 
 periods, there is nothing more wonderful in the 
 intellectual history of mankind, than the skilful 
 management of many processes in the arts, the 
 true nature of which was not understood till ages 
 and ages afterwards. Thus, although zinc was 
 scarcely known as a distinct metal till about a 
 century since ; and, almost within the same pe- 
 riod, one of its commonest ores, calamine, was 
 held in so little estimation in Great Britain that 
 it was frequently used merely as ballast for ship- 
 ping (Watson's Essays, vol. iv. p. 6.) ; yet that 
 same ore was used before the time of Aristotle 
 for the purpose of making brass, and to that pur- 
 pose is principally applied at the present day. 
 The process also of making wine was known in 
 the earliest periods of history; although the prin- 
 ciples "on which it is produced were not well un- 
 derstood till a few years since. 
 
 Another remarkable fact in the history of 
 human science, which, though frequently ob- 
 served, has not yet been explained, is the oc- 
 casional arrest of its progress at a point imme- 
 diately bordering on discoveries which did not 
 take place till many ages subsequently 1 '. This 
 
 u The substance of the following note, though not directly il- 
 lustrative of the subject now under consideration, is not irrele-
 
 INTELLECTUAL FACULTIES. 275 
 
 may be affirmed, in a certain sense at least, with 
 respect to glass : for this substance, though very 
 early discovered, hardly came into general use 
 for ordinary purposes till comparatively a very 
 late period. But a more remarkable instance 
 occurs with respect to the art of printing : and 
 whoever looks at the stereotype stamps, as they 
 may be called, which have been discovered at 
 Herculaneum, and other places, will be disposed 
 to allow that the embryo of the art of printing 
 died, as it were, in the birth x . 
 
 vant to it ; and is sufficiently curious in itself to justify its in- 
 troduction to the notice of the reader. 
 
 In Dr. Thomson's Annals of Philosophy for 181/, p. 149, is 
 an account of a paper read at the Royal Society, relative to some 
 experiments made on torpedoes at Rochelle, in which it is stated 
 that, where torpedoes abound, boys are in the habit of playing 
 the following trick to those who are not in the secret. They 
 persuade the ignorant boy to pour water in a continued stream 
 upon the torpedo ; and the consequence is, that an electrical 
 shock is conveyed, along the stream, to the body of the boy. 
 
 Plutarch notices the same fact in almost the same terms. " It 
 " is affirmed by those," he says, " who have often made the ex- 
 •' periment, that, in pouring water on a live torpedo, the hand of 
 " the person who is pouring the water will be sensible of a shock, 
 " which has apparently been conveyed through the water to his 
 " hand." ''Eviot 8e l&Topovai, ire'ipav avTrjs eVt7rAeoi> Xapfidvovres, 
 av fKTTtcrri ^axra (vdpKrj, the torpedo), KdTCKTKehavvvvTes v8ap ava>6fv, 
 alcr&dveo-dai rod irddovs avarpe^ovTos eVt ttju X el P a > Kal T *l v a(f>T]v dp- 
 fiXvvovros, o>? eoiKe, bid tov idaros rpeiropevov Kai 7rpone7rov06Tos. 
 Plut. Moralia, Oxon. 4to, 1797, torn. iv. p. 643, 644. 
 
 x A very interesting conjectural account of the origin and 
 progress of the arts, and of social life, occurs in the last part of 
 the fifth book of Lucretius. 
 
 T 2
 
 276 EXERCISE OF THE 
 
 In order that the external world may he fit- 
 ted to the just exercise of our intellectual facul- 
 ties, it is evidently necessary that its phenomena 
 should be presented to our senses with a certain 
 degree of regularity. This is a condition so ob- 
 vious to a mind capable of reflection, that we 
 find it inculcated, almost in the same terms, by 
 two writers of the most opposite views as to the 
 causes of those phenomena. Thus Lucretius 
 asserts, that the sun and moon, by the constant 
 returns of their light and by the regularity of 
 their course, afford to mankind an assurance 
 that day and night, and the various seasons of 
 the year, will recur not only in a definite order, 
 but also for definite periods of duration y. And 
 thus also, but in language and imagery more 
 elevated, and with a sublime acknowledgment 
 of the cause, as well as a declaration of the fact, 
 the author of the 19th Psalm affirms, that " the 
 " heavens declare the glory of God, and the fir- 
 " mament sheweth his handy work. Day unto 
 " day uttereth speech, and night unto night 
 " sheweth knowledge." 
 
 But it is also necessary to the just exercise of 
 our intellectual faculties, that the senses of men 
 in general should be similarly affected, when 
 acted on by the same causes : for otherwise 
 there would be no stability in our knowledge, 
 as derived from these its most fertile sources. 
 y Lib. V. 971-979, and 1435-1438.
 
 INTELLECTUAL FACULTIES. 277 
 
 And though, from a peculiarity in original con- 
 stitution, or from the effect of disease, the sen- 
 sations of particular individuals may differ, not 
 only in degree but in kind, from those of the 
 world at large ; the error is of no moment, since 
 it may at once be corrected by a reference to 
 the common sense of mankind. 
 
 If any one should too curiously object that 
 there can be no direct proof of a similarity of 
 impression, from the same object, on the senses 
 of men in general ; it might be answered, that 
 neither is there any direct proof to the contrary: 
 while we have many antecedent reasons for be- 
 lieving that there really is such a similarity of 
 impression. The structure for instance of the 
 several organs, of taste, smell, hearing, and 
 sight, is essentially the same in all individuals; 
 and the functions of those organs may therefore 
 be presumed to be the same : and from the si- 
 milarity of the natural expression of disgust, 
 which peculiar odours and flavours usually ex- 
 cite in numerous individuals, it cannot be rea- 
 sonably doubted that their respective senses are 
 similarly affected by those agents. 
 
 If, again, any one should further object that 
 we can have no absolutely firm ground for a re- 
 liance on the senses themselves, it might fairly 
 be answered, that although, from the time of 
 Pyrrho to that of Berkeley, there have been 
 always speculative sceptics with respect to the 
 
 t 3
 
 278 
 
 EXERCISE OF THE 
 
 testimony of the senses, there probably has 
 never been a practical sceptic on that point. 
 It is stated in the life of Pyrrho by Diogenes 
 Laertius, that though that philosopher asserted 
 the nonexistence of matter, and pretended there- 
 fore to universal indifference, he was sometimes 
 overcome by his feelings, and would then act as 
 other men act on such occasions; and, when 
 reminded of the inconsistency of his conduct 
 with reference to his doctrine, he would excuse 
 himself by asserting, that it is difficult entirely 
 
 to put off human nature (co? yaXa-nbv en? oXo<7X € pu$ 
 
 exlvvai avQpwrov) : and it must be confessed that, in 
 this apology, he offered the best comment on the 
 character of his doctrine. And most philosophi- 
 cally does Lucretius z argue, in noticing the ap- 
 parent modifications of form which bodies un- 
 dergo, in consequence of being viewed at dif- 
 ferent distances, that, although no satisfactory 
 reason can be given of the real cause of the il- 
 lusion, it is preferable to assign a false reason, 
 rather than, by a consequent want of reliance 
 on our senses, to overturn those foundations of 
 all belief, on which our safety and life depend. 
 
 We have seen, in the course of the foregoing 
 inquiry, how extensively the various objects of 
 the material world are applicable to the wants 
 and conveniences of man in every stage of so- 
 ciety ; and we cannot reasonably doubt that 
 
 * Lib. IV. 502-512.
 
 INTELLECTURAL FACULTIES. 279 
 
 they were created for that, as a main purpose, 
 among others to which they are subservient. 
 Such at least was the conclusion of one of the 
 greatest philosophers of antiquity ; though un-' 
 aided by the direct light of revelation. " For 
 " what purpose," asks Cicero, " was the great 
 " fabric of the universe constructed ? was it 
 " merely for the purpose of perpetuating the 
 " various species of trees and herbs, which are 
 " not endued even with sensation? — the suppo- 
 " sition is absurd. Or was it for the exclusive 
 " use of the inferior animals? — it is not at all 
 " more probable that the Deity would have pro- 
 " duced so magnificent a structure for the sake 
 " of beings, which, although endued with sensa- 
 " tion, possess neither speech nor intelligence. 
 " For whom then was the world produced? — 
 " doubtless for those beings who are alone en- 
 " dued with reason." (" Sin quserat quispiam, 
 " cujusnam causa tantarum rerum molitio facta 
 " sit : arborumne et herbaruin? quae, quanquam 
 " sine sensu sunt, tamen a natura sustinentur ; 
 " at id quidem absurdum est. An bestiarum? 
 " nihilo probabilius, Deos mutarum et nihil in- 
 " telligentium causa tan turn laborasse. Quorum 
 " igitur causa quis dixerit effectum esse mun- 
 " dum? Eorum scilicet animantium quae ratione 
 " utuntur a .") Whether the earliest steps in the 
 discovery of the arts of life depend on the effect 
 
 a Cic. de Nat. Deor. lib. II. c. 53. 
 T 4
 
 280 EXERCISE OF THE 
 
 of divine inspiration, of which the subject of 
 that inspiration is unconscious — to which sup- 
 position there does not appear any reasonable 
 objection — or whether they result from the im- 
 pulse of unassisted reason ; it would be fruitless 
 to inquire : but it is interesting to contemplate 
 the similarity of principle which seems to regu- 
 late the discoveries of the useful properties of 
 material substances 13 . Man does not appear to 
 
 b The following passages, one from Vitruvius, the other from 
 Cicero, are applicable on the present occasion. " The Deity has 
 " provided an abundant supply in every part of the world for 
 " the necessary wants of man ; and has ordained that that sup- 
 " ply shall be easily attainable : whereas those things which are 
 " to be considered in the light of luxuries, as gold and precious 
 " stones, are rarely met with, and are procured with difficulty." 
 (" Igitur divina mens, quae proprie necessaria essent gentibus, 
 " non constituit difficilia et cara ; uti sunt margaritae, ceeteraque 
 " quae nee corpus nee natura desiderat : sed sine quibus morta- 
 " Hum vita non potest esse tuta, effudit ad manum parata per 
 " omnem mundum." Vitruv. Praefat. ad lib. viii.) " In vain 
 " had nature created gold and silver, and copper and iron, un- 
 " less she had at the same time instructed mankind how to dis- 
 " cover the repositories of those metals. And, again, in vain 
 " had the material been adapted to our wants, unless we under- 
 " stood the method of obtaining it in a separate and perfect 
 " state." (" Aurum et argentum, aes, ferrum frustra natura di- 
 " vina genuisset, nisi eadem docuisset quemadmodum ad eorum 
 " venas perveniretur — materia deinde quid juvaret, nisi confec- 
 " tionis ejus fabricam haberemus ?" Cicero de Divinat. lib. i. 
 c. 51.) The following passage from Isaiah gives authority to 
 the preceding opinion : " Doth the plowman plow all day to 
 " sow ? doth he open and break the clods of his ground ? When 
 " he hath made plain the face thereof, doth he not cast abroad 
 " the fitches, and scatter the cummin, and cast in the principal
 
 INTELLECTUAL FACULTIES. 281 
 
 possess that kind of instinct which leads him to 
 the selection of a specific sort of material for 
 his nourishment or clothing, or for the construc- 
 tion of his habitation : but, in proportion as he 
 feels new wants, he meditates on the means 
 of gratifying them ; and usually perceives, with 
 a quick eye, those qualities in external bodies, 
 which make them capable of being fitted to the 
 end he has in view. This power of perception 
 is peculiarly characteristic of the intellectual fa- 
 culties of man : and although the inferior ani- 
 mals have, to a certain extent, the same power, 
 with reference to their specific instincts, yet in 
 them it is very limited. The nest of the same 
 bird may be composed, in different years, of 
 somewhat different materials, according to the 
 latitude of her choice ; but, with the exception 
 of such a modification, she never varies from or 
 improves upon the original plan : the compa- 
 ratively unsheltered hovel of the rook, for in- 
 stance, is never improved into the comfortable 
 cottage of the swallow. 
 
 It is probably owing to the exercise of the 
 
 " wheat and the appointed barley and the rie in their place ? 
 " For his God doth instruct him to discretion, and doth teach 
 " him." Ch. xxviii. 24-26. And so, when Dr. Thomson con- 
 siders it as " remarkable that almost all those metals which were 
 " known to the ancients possess malleability," (Thomson's Che- 
 mistry, sixth edit. vol. i. p. 325.) it may with propriety be ob- 
 served that those are exactly the metals, without which society 
 could not have existed.
 
 282 EXERCISE OF THE 
 
 above mentioned power of perception in the 
 human mind, that the instruments and arts of 
 uncivilized life, observable at all periods of his- 
 tory and in all parts of the world, have such 
 a general resemblance ; although, in the con- 
 struction of the one, or the exercise of the other, 
 there cannot have been any communication of 
 knowledge. Compare, for instance, the stone 
 arrow-heads and axes of the ancient Celtic na- 
 tions, with the similar instruments of the inha- 
 bitants of those islands of the Pacific Ocean 
 which were not discovered till the last century. 
 The following fact, and accompanying remark, 
 may be mentioned, in illustration of the present 
 part of the subject. Captain Beechey, in de- 
 scribing a dead whale which had been wounded 
 by an Esquimaux harpoon, having " a drag at- 
 " tached, made of an inflated seal skin, which 
 " had no doubt worried the animal to death," 
 adds this pertinent observation : " Thus, with 
 " knowledge just proportioned to their wants, 
 " do these untutored barbarians, with their slen- 
 " der boats and limited means, contrive to take 
 " the largest animal of the creation." Voyage to 
 the Pacific, p. 270 c. 
 
 c The same author observes, in a short sketch of Upper Cali- 
 fornia, that the natives cultivate no land, but subsist entirely 
 " by the chase and upon the spontaneous produce of the earth ; 
 " acorns, of which there is a great abundance in the country, 
 " constituting their principal vegetable food. Of these acorns 
 " they procure a supply in the proper season ; and, after having
 
 INTELLECTUAL FACULTIES. 283 
 
 It is probable, then, that there is an in- 
 stinctive tendency in man to meditate on the 
 nature and properties of those material objects 
 and phenomena which are frequently presented 
 to his view ; and subsequently to derive from 
 this meditation the means of applying those 
 objects and phenomena to his wants, whether 
 of a necessary or an artificial character. Thus 
 astronomy was originally cultivated with most 
 success by those who lived in a climate in which 
 
 " baked them, they bruise them between two stones into a 
 " paste which will keep unto the following season. The paste, 
 " before it is dried, is subjected to several washings in a sieve ; 
 " which process, they say, deprives it of the bitter taste com- 
 '• mon to the acorn. We cannot but remark the great resem- 
 " blance this custom bears to the method adopted by the South - 
 " sea islanders to keep their bread-fruit : nor ought we to fail to 
 " notice the manner in which Providence points out to different 
 " tribes the same wise means of preserving their food, and pro- 
 '• viding against a season of scarcity." (p. 399.) A similar re- 
 flection will naturally occur to the reader with respect to the 
 mode, employed bv the aboriginal inhabitants of North America, 
 of decoying deer and ducks : their plan, in the latter instance, 
 differing very little from our own ; in the former, being con- 
 ducted on the principle of the stalking horse, (p. 399, 400. See 
 also De Bry, vol. i. pi. 25. Descript. of Florida.) 
 
 On one occasion, in alluding to the structure of the bow 
 among uncivilized nations, Captain Beechey forcibly reminds 
 the classical reader of a line in the first book of the Iliad : 
 8(ivi] be Kkayyrj yevtr' apyvpeoio /3toto : for, after having said that 
 the Californians string their bows much as we do (p. 402), he 
 states that the Esquimaux leave the string in contact with about 
 a foot of the wood at each end; while the Californians muffle 
 that part with fur, in order to prevent the twang, which would 
 betray them, when fighting in ambush, (p. 575.)
 
 284 EXERCISE OF THE 
 
 an unclouded sky prevailed ; navigation, by 
 those who lived on the borders of the ocean ; 
 and the general arts of life, by those who in- 
 habited regions characterised by the fertility of 
 their soil, and the abundance and variety of 
 their mineral productions. Of these positions, 
 ancient Egypt, Phenicia, and India are re- 
 spectively instances : though it is not intended 
 to affirm that an unclouded sky is alone suffi- 
 cient to produce a tendency towards the culti- 
 vation, much less a national superiority in the 
 science of astronomy ; nor a vicinity to the sea, 
 an excellence in nautical skill ; nor, lastly, a 
 fertile soil and abundance and variety of mi- 
 neral riches, a correspondent skill in the general 
 arts of life. In every instance it may be pre- 
 sumed that civilization must have advanced 
 sufficiently to have produced many artificial 
 wants, before individuals feel that powerful 
 stimulus which prompts them to take the full 
 advantage of those resources which nature has 
 placed within their reach. The miserable na- 
 tives of New Holland, though inhabiting a coun- 
 try as extensive, and in parts as fertile as Eu- 
 rope, have afforded no indications of an ap- 
 proach towards that degree of civilization which 
 would lead them to discover and apply its re- 
 sources. 
 
 But, though it would be a vain and useless 
 speculation to inquire in what way the arts and
 
 INTELLECTUAL FACULTIES. 285 
 
 sciences actually arose, or how it has happened 
 that they were more or less successfully culti- 
 vated by different nations, it cannot be either 
 uninteresting or uninstructive to compare the 
 progress which natural science had made in 
 Europe, at a period shortly antecedent to the 
 Christian era, with the state in which it now 
 exists: and such a comparison is in strict ac- 
 cordance with the original intention of this 
 treatise. The materials for this comparison, 
 which will be attempted only on a plan the 
 most general, have been principally derived 
 from Lucretius, and from that work of Aristotle 
 which is entitled, Ylepl Z&xan 'liToplag. It should be 
 remembered, however, that there is a broad line 
 of distinction between the mode in which na- 
 tural science was cultivated by the ancients, 
 and that which has been adopted by the mo- 
 derns. The ancients, though on many occasions 
 as accurate observers of the obvious phenomena 
 of nature as the moderns, were too hasty in 
 coining to conclusions as to the character and 
 cause of those phenomena ; and hence the crude 
 opinions and theories with which their philoso- 
 phy abounded. But, if we justly consider the 
 precept of Thales, " Know thyself," as a pre- 
 cept of the highest wisdom for our moral con- 
 duct, we must, on equally strong grounds, con- 
 sider it as the highest prerogative of reason, 
 or our intellectual nature, to know the actual
 
 286 EXERCISE OF THE 
 
 extent of its own powers : and it is one of the 
 glories of the philosophy of the present day, 
 that, instead of being ashamed of its own limi- 
 tations, and consequently prone to hurry into 
 unfounded assumptions for the purpose of hid- 
 ing its ignorance, it explicitly, and at once, 
 acknowledges the point which for the present 
 must be considered as a barrier to further pro- 
 gress ; still however looking forward to the pe- 
 riod when the increased accumulation of new 
 facts shall enable it to remove that barrier. 
 
 SECT. II. 
 
 Opinions of Lucretius on the Constitution of Matter in 
 general ; and on the Nature of Light, Heat, Water, 
 and Air. 
 In attempting to explain the constitution of 
 the universe, and the general phenomena of na- 
 ture, Lucretius assumes that matter in its pri- 
 mary form consists of very small and impene- 
 trable particles, which, from their supposed in- 
 capability of further division, are called atoms; 
 that, from the fortuitous concourse of these atoms, 
 all natural bodies were originally produced; and 
 that into these they are again resolved by those 
 common processes which we are constantly wit- 
 nessing, as the death and consequent decom- 
 position of vegetables and animals, and the 
 wearing away of the most solid bodies by the 
 effect of exposure to the air, or by the insensible 
 attrition of other bodies ; and, lastly, he main-
 
 INTELLECTUAL FACULTIES. 287 
 
 tains that these atoms existed from eternity, and 
 are in their essence indestructible. 
 
 He asserts as untenable, in fair reasoning, the 
 opinion that there is no term to the divisibility 
 of matter; since, on that supposition, the smallest 
 bodies would consist of an infinite number of 
 parts : and he consequently concludes that those 
 indivisible bodies or atoms must be perfectly 
 solid' 1 . He impugns, as opposed to common 
 sense, the doctrine of Heraclitus that all things 
 are formed from fire e , and also the doctrine of 
 others, that all things are formed from fire or 
 air, or water or earth f ; or from binary combina- 
 tions of them, as of air and fire, or of earth and 
 water ; and, lastly, he rejects also the doctrine of 
 Empedocles, that all natural substances are pro- 
 duced from the joint union of fire, earth, air, 
 and waters And Lucretius himself supposes 
 that the original atoms of matter may, by a mere 
 variation in the modes of combination, produce 
 all the objects of nature, whether animate or 
 inanimate; illustrating his argument ingeniously 
 by a reference to the fact, that an endless va- 
 riety of words, of the most different meaning 
 and sound, is produced by various combinations 
 of the same letters 11 . 
 
 It is not necessary, on the present occasion, 
 to comment on the obviously atheistical charac- 
 
 " Lucret. lib. I. passim. e Lib. I. 636-639, and 691-700. 
 f Lib. I. 706-712. & Lib. I. 713-717- h Lib. 1. 817-829.
 
 288 EXERCISE OF THE 
 
 ter of some of the opinions of Lucretius : but it 
 may safely be affirmed that, although he strains 
 the application of his general argument so as to 
 support a belief in the eternity of matter, deny- 
 ing equally its creation and destructibility; yet 
 the basis of his argument, if confined, as it ought 
 to have been, to the existing constitution of the 
 earth, rests on a legitimate induction from the 
 phenomena of nature : for, certainly, there is no 
 reason for believing that a particle of matter has 
 either been lost or added to the earth or to the 
 atmosphere, since their creation. And, in rea- 
 soning from the mere phenomena, Lucretius 
 justly asks, if every thing which disappears, in 
 consequence of age and apparent decay, is ac- 
 tually destroyed, whence is there a renewal of 
 animal or vegetable life? how do rivers continue 
 to flow'? concluding with one of those beautiful 
 illustrations, in which his poem abounds. " It 
 " may be said perhaps, that the showers, which 
 " sink into the earth and are lost to our sight, 
 " apparently perish : but then, from their fer- 
 " tilizing effects on the soil, and their subse- 
 " quent incorporation with the growing seed, 
 " the harvest rises, and the vine and fig-tree 
 " flourish. Hence, moreover, animal life in ge- 
 " neral derives its support ; the sportive lamb 
 " hence draws its nutriment from its full-fed 
 " mother, and wantons round the meads and 
 
 i Lib. I. 226-232.
 
 INTELLECTUAL FACULTIES. '2H!) 
 
 " woods ; and hence those woods themselves 
 " yearly resound with the melody of their na- 
 " tive tenants. Nor does the effect stop here : 
 " for we ourselves ultimately derive our support 
 " from the same source ; and cities are eventu- 
 " ally peopled from the nutriment produced by 
 " the very rain which we had fondly supposed 
 " to perish. But nothing really perishes ; na- 
 " ture producing new forms of matter, from the 
 " materials of those which have apparently been 
 " destroyed k ." 
 
 It would appear, from a very remarkable pas- 
 sage in Lucretius, that some of the philosophers 
 of his day entertained an opinion, which he him- 
 self however opposes, that there exists a univer- 
 sal law of gravitation, by which all bodies tend 
 towards the earth as the centre of the universe ; 
 that, in consequence of this law, the bodies of 
 those animals which inhabit the opposite, or, as 
 it were, the inferior surface of the earth, are 
 no more capable of falling into the sky which 
 surrounds them, than the animals inhabiting 
 our own, or, the relatively upper surface of the 
 earth, are capable of rising into the sky which is 
 placed above them. And, correspondently with 
 the spherical form of the earth, which almost 
 necessarily follows as a corollary from such an 
 exposition of the law of gravitation, the same 
 philosophers argued that, at the same moment 
 
 k Lib. I. 2ol-2f>f». 
 V
 
 290 EXERCISE OF THE 
 
 when on the opposite surface it is day, with us 
 it is night 1 . 
 
 Although Lucretius, when speaking in gene- 
 ral terms of the tendency of all heavy bodies to 
 fall towards the earth, and of the acceleration of 
 motion and increase of force which they acquire 
 in falling, offers such an account of the facts as 
 we might expect from his confused doctrine of 
 atoms, and shews his ignorance of the real cha- 
 racter of positive gravity ; yet of the nature of 
 relative or specific gravity, that is, of the cause 
 why equal bulks of different bodies are of dif- 
 ferent weights, he gives the true explanation, by 
 asserting that the heaviest bodies contain most 
 matter, and consequently have fewest pores 111 . 
 That such pores exist not only in wool, and bo- 
 dies of a similar texture, but even in those which 
 are hard and compact, is proved, he affirms, 
 by the percolation of water through the roofs of 
 caverns ; and from the transmission of the food 
 both of animals and plants into their extreme 
 limbs and branches' 1 . 
 
 Lucretius considers light as a very subtle 
 kind of matter, which, from its tenuity, is capa- 
 ble of inconceivably swift motion ; the rapidity 
 of which motion he instances in its nearly in- 
 stantaneous diffusion through the whole hea- 
 
 i Lib. I. 1051-1065. 
 
 m Lib. VI. 334-346, and lib. I. :$59-370. 
 
 " Lib. I. 347-354.
 
 INTELLECTUAL FACULTIES. 201 
 
 veil . With respect to the connexion of light 
 and colour, he not only affirms that the latter 
 cannot exist without the former; but that the 
 particular colour observable in different bodies 
 is not inherent in those bodies, and that in 
 every instance it is produced by the direction, 
 or other circumstances, under which light im- 
 pinges either on them, or on the eye of the be- 
 holder : and he gives as examples the plumage 
 of the neck of the pigeon, and of the tail of the 
 peacock' 1 . And thus, he adds, the countenances 
 of the audience, and the whole interior of a 
 theatre, closed in with coloured curtains, are 
 tinged with the colour of those curtains f i. He 
 instances the foregoing position by a reference 
 to the colour of the sea ; which, when viewed 
 in the mass, is blue or green ; but, when con- 
 verted into mere spray, is white r . And he ar- 
 gues that colour does not belong to the ultimate 
 constituent parts of bodies, on this ground — that 
 if coloured bodies be reduced to minute parti- 
 cles, the colour vanishes 8 . 
 
 Occasionally he employs terms which, even 
 at the present day, correctly express the fact of 
 the equality of the angle of incidence and of re- 
 flexion : and he graphically describes the effect 
 of refraction in altering the line of direction of 
 
 o Lib. IV. 184-190, and 200-202. 
 i' Lib. II. 794-808. f i Lib- IV. 70-78. 
 
 • Lib. II. 736-772. s Lib- II. 825-832. 
 
 u 2
 
 292 EXERCISE OF THE 
 
 the rays of light 1 . But, in alluding to the phe- 
 nomenon of the rainbow, he briefly states some 
 of the circumstances under which it appears ; 
 without attempting to account for the mode in 
 which the effect is produced". 
 
 Lucretius supposes heat to be a material sub- 
 stance, because it excites a specific sensation in 
 animal bodies x : and, notwithstanding the ob- 
 vious alliance between heal and light, which is 
 observable in many common phenomena and 
 operations, he conjectures, what has been most 
 unexpectedly ascertained by the experiments of 
 the late Dr. Herschel, that there are rays of heat 
 emitted from the sun, which are distinct from the 
 rays of light emitted from the same source?. 
 
 In speaking of the natural sources of heat, he 
 observes, that it is generally produced by rapid 
 motion ; and gives as an instance the heating 
 and even the liquefaction of a leaden bullet, 
 which has been projected through the air with 
 great force and rapidity 55 . He also notices fric- 
 tion as a source of heat ; instancing the fire 
 which is produced by the mutual attrition of 
 branches of trees a . In speaking of compression, 
 as another source of heat, he not only gives the 
 more obvious and probable illustration of light- 
 ning, expressed or forced out from a condensed 
 
 t Lib. IV. 319-324, and 438-444. 
 
 « Lib. VI. 524-526. * Lib. I. 299-304. 
 
 y Lib. V. 609-612. * Lib. VI. 170, 177. and 305-307. 
 
 a Lib, V. 1095-1099.
 
 INTELLECTUAL FACULTIES. '2l>: } > 
 
 cloud b : but, in mentioning a spring of water 
 observed to be periodically warmer in the night 
 and colder in the day, he almost anticipates the 
 views of modern chemistry respecting the dif- 
 ferent capacities of bodies for heat ; when, in 
 accounting for the fact, he supposes the heat to 
 be forced by compression, occasioned by dimi- 
 nution of temperature, from the surrounding 
 earth into the water . His interpretation in- 
 deed of the phenomenon is not correct ; but 
 this error does not interfere with the ingenuity 
 of the illustration, or its coincidence with mo- 
 dern hypothesis : and it is remarkable that, 
 even after the lapse of twenty centuries, the 
 real nature of heat is still questionable. We 
 now know that, in such instances as that just 
 mentioned, the apparent difference of tempe- 
 rature depends upon the relative temperature 
 of the surrounding air ; water, which has been 
 recently drawn up from the well, feeling cold in 
 the heat of summer; but warm, during a frost. 
 The fact is, that, being really of a mean tempe- 
 rature throughout the year, it will be greatly 
 beneath the temperature of the air of summer, 
 and therefore will then appear cold ; and it will 
 be on the other hand above the temperature of 
 the air of winter, and will therefore at that sea- 
 son appear warm' 1 . 
 
 b Lib. VI. 270-275. » Lib. VI. 861-873. 
 
 (1 Aristotle, in his history of animals, mentions as a fact, with- 
 out however offering any explanation of it, that during the night 
 
 v .3
 
 294 EXERCISE OF THE 
 
 From various phenomena, as from the drying 
 of linen, or from its becoming damp without a 
 visible accession or exhalation of particles of 
 moisture, Lucretius argues that ivaler is capable 
 of existing in the state of an invisible vapour e . 
 He asserts also that its constant exhalation from 
 the sea is proved by the corrosion of walls built 
 near the sea-shore, and from the salt taste per- 
 ceptible in our mouths while walking near the 
 sea f ; and that, although this exhalation takes 
 place in a small quantity only, at any given 
 moment and from a given surface, the aggre- 
 gate quantity, which is the ultimate result, is 
 very great ; and, lastly, that in consequence of 
 this exhalation, the sea does not increase in 
 quantity notwithstanding the constant influx of 
 rivers, and the rain that falls into its. He no- 
 tices moreover and accounts for the equality of 
 the balance, between the quantity that falls into 
 the sea from rain and rivers, and the quantity 
 that is evaporated from the surface of it h . 
 
 In speaking of atmospherical air, Lucretius 
 maintains that, although in its nature invisible, 
 and to all common perception intangible, from 
 various phenomena it may be reasonably in- 
 
 the water is warmer than the air ; for in stating that crocodiles 
 commonly remain on the land during the day, hut in the water 
 during the night, he adds us a reason, that during the night the 
 water is warmer than the air, (nXeeivuTepov yap eVrj rrjs alBpias. 
 Ed. Bekkbr. p. :*7.) 
 e Lib. I. 306-311. ' Lib. IV. 21D-227. 
 
 Lib. VI. <i07-(I3<>. »' Lib. V. 381-394.
 
 INTELLECTUAL FACULTIES. 295 
 
 ferred, that it is really a tangible, in other words 
 a material substance. " Thus," he says, " when 
 " we observe that the winds, which are evidently 
 " nothing more than currents of air, not only 
 " drive the clouds in various directions, but vio- 
 " lently agitate the ocean ; and even occasion 
 " the wreck of the largest ships, by dashing 
 " them against the rocks : or when, in the form 
 " of a hurricane, they snap asunder the state- 
 " liest oaks, and lay prostrate in their course 
 " the honours of the mountain forest ; we can- 
 " not doubt that in their mode of action, as well 
 " as in the destructive character of their effects, 
 " they resemble the inundation of a rapid river ; 
 " like which, they sweep before them every ob- 
 " stacle, or carry up the heaviest bodies into 
 " the atmosphere, in their invisible eddies, with 
 " no less ease than the eddies of a rapid stream 
 " ingulf whatever comes within their vortex 1 ." 
 He also shews, by a still more refined argument, 
 that the air must be a material substance, be- 
 cause it offers resistance to falling bodies ; prov- 
 ing this resistance by the difference in the ve- 
 locity of falling bodies of different weights : for, 
 were there no resistance in the air, he asserts, 
 and the fact is experimentally shewn in modern 
 lectures, that unequal weights, meeting with no 
 impediment or support, would fall with equal 
 velocity k . 
 
 i Lib. I. 272-2S):>. k Lib. II. 230-239. 
 
 U 4
 
 296 EXEKCISE OF THE 
 
 Lucretius distinctly notices the physical office 
 of the air as a receptacle, and medium of con- 
 veyance for sound 1 and odours 111 , and the va- 
 rious exhalations continually arising from the 
 surface of the earth n . But, though he is right 
 in asserting that the skin of animals and the 
 bark of trees are a protection against the action 
 of the air, he is wrong in supposing them to be 
 a protection against the mechanical action of that 
 element". The science of chemistry, which had 
 not then arisen, has taught us that such external 
 coverings are a protection against the chemical 
 action of the air. 
 
 It appears probable, from the preceding state- 
 ment, that in the age of Lucretius philosophers 
 had formed some reasonable conjectures re- 
 specting the nature of light and heat ; and that 
 several of the physical phenomena of water and 
 of atmospherical air had been accurately ob- 
 served, and upon the whole correctly explained 
 by them. And even in a subject of a much 
 more subtle nature, the mutual attraction of the 
 magnet and iron, the explanation of the pheno- 
 menon was attempted with a degree of inge- 
 nuity quite equal to that, which lias marked the 
 reasonings of some of the philosophers of the 
 last and present century, on subjects of a simi- 
 larly abstruse nature. 
 i Lib. IV. 561-563, and 572, 573. 
 
 "> Lib. IV. 219-222, and 228-230. " Li v. V. 276, 277- 
 u Lib. IV. 930-934.
 
 INTELLECTUAL FACULTIES. 297 
 
 In proceeding to account for the attraction of 
 iron by the magnet, Lucretius first describes 
 the well known experiment of a short chain of 
 iron rings, the several links of which are held 
 together merely by the force of magnetism ; the 
 attractive power of which is communicated con- 
 tinuously from the first to the last in the series. 
 He then claims the particular attention of his 
 reader to his proposed explanation of so difficult 
 a subject, by reminding him that, in facts of this 
 kind, many points must be laboriously investi- 
 gated and established, before a rational solution 
 can be given. Thence, assuming that from all 
 bodies minute particles are constantly radiating, 
 of which, those from some bodies are disposed 
 to affect one sense ; from others, another sense ; 
 and that all bodies are porous to a greater or less 
 extent, and are severally indued with their spe- 
 cific qualities, affecting or being affected by dif- 
 ferent bodies differently ; he argues that, from 
 the magnet as from all other bodies, such mi- 
 nute and specific particles are constantly ema- 
 nating; that this emanation dissipates the air 
 from the space intermediate to the magnet and 
 iron ; and that, a partial vacuum being thus 
 formed, the ring is immediately propelled, by 
 the air on the other side of it, towards the mag- 
 net, to which it subsequently adheres by an in- 
 visible bond of union ; and so, in succession, all 
 the other rings are impelled : the adhesion tak-
 
 298 EXERCISE OF THE 
 
 ing place by some process as insensible as that 
 which unites glue to wood ; mortar to stone ; 
 or the colouring particles of the purple dye, to 
 wooli'. 
 
 The observations of Lucretius which relate to 
 the mineral and vegetable kingdoms are too few, 
 and of too general a nature, to justify even a 
 cursory comparison of them with the present 
 state of science in those departments : and 
 though Pliny dedicates a considerable propor- 
 tion of his Natural History both to minerals 
 and vegetables, there is nothing sufficiently 
 systematic in his method, or approximating to 
 the present state of science, to be of any avail 
 for that purpose. The same remark holds good 
 even with respect to Theophrastus, not only in 
 the case of minerals, but of vegetables also. The 
 ancients had a glimpse indeed of the sexual 
 system of Linnaeus, with reference to the palms; 
 but shew no tendency to a generalization of the 
 observation. 
 
 SECT. ill. 
 Opinions of the Ancients on the Organization and Classi- 
 fication of Animals. 
 
 It appears from what has been said in the 
 preceding section, that in mineralogy and bo- 
 tany we scarcely find among the ancients the 
 slightest indications of those comprehensive sys- 
 tems, in the construction of which the last and 
 
 P Lib. VI. !)0(;-l(W8.
 
 INTELLECTUAL FACULTIES. '29U 
 
 present centuries have been principally instru- 
 mental. 
 
 Not so in the animal kingdom. In this branch 
 of science the true principles of classification 
 seem to have been almost as clearly understood 
 in the age of Aristotle, as at the present day: 
 and, in order to enable the reader to judge of 
 the truth of this assertion, I propose to offer a 
 short and cursory analysis of that work of Ari- 
 stotle which is entitled Hep) Zw&v 'lo-Topiagi ; com- 
 paring it at the same time with similar mo- 
 dern works, and particularly with that of Cuvier 
 entitled, " Le Regne Animal, distribute d'apres 
 " son Organisation/' which was published in 
 Paris in the year 1817, in four octavo volumes 1 *. 
 
 I shall not stop to inquire whether the work of 
 Aristotle is to be considered as containing the 
 result of his own observations only, or whether 
 he has collected into one body all that had been 
 observed by others as well as himself; which 
 last supposition, however, is probably the true 
 state of the case. But in order to illustrate the 
 magnitude of such an undertaking, and the diffi- 
 
 Q It will be convenient here to state, that the edition to which 
 references will be made in the following pages is that of Bekker, 
 Berlin, 1829, 8vo. 
 
 r A new edition of this work was published in 1821), but the 
 preface of the first is retained without any important alteration, 
 and indeed with scarcely any alteration at all. Nor arc the al- 
 terations, or additions, which have been made in the body of the 
 work, of such a nature as to affect the present comparison.
 
 300 EXERCISE OF THE 
 
 culties attendant on it, even in the present splen- 
 did era of philosophical discovery, I need only 
 refer to the following acknowledgment of Cu- 
 vier, Aristotle's great rival in this department 
 of natural science, contained in the Preface of 
 the " Regne Animal." He there at once con- 
 fesses, with reference to his own work, that it 
 would have been utterly impossible for any in- 
 sulated individual, however long his life, and 
 however great his leisure, to complete a sys- 
 tematic classification of animals on the prin- 
 ciple of conformity of structure (which, it should 
 be observed, is Aristotle's leading principle as 
 well as his own) ; that he should not even have 
 been enabled to offer the present simple sketch, 
 had not the advantages of his situation com- 
 pensated for his want of time and talent. Sur- 
 rounded as he was by so many accomplished 
 Naturalists; deriving information from their 
 works at the moment of their publication ; and 
 having as free access to their collections as to 
 his own ; a great part of his labour necessarily 
 consisted, he affirms, in the application of so 
 many and such rich materials to his present 
 essay. 
 
 He accordingly acknowledges his obligations 
 to Geoffroy, Levaillant, Oppel and Blainville, 
 Lacepede, and Lamarck, in the respective de- 
 partments of quadrupeds, birds, reptiles, fish, 
 and testaceous animals ; all which classes of
 
 INTELLECTUAL FACULTIES. 301 
 
 animals are described in the two first volumes 
 of his work. And he particularly expresses 
 his obligations to Latreille, who furnished him 
 with the entire third volume of the " Regne Ani- 
 " mal," containing the arrangement of crusta- 
 ceous animals {lobsters, &c.) ; the arachnida 
 (spiders, &c.) and insects s . Of his fourth and 
 last volume he speaks in such brief terms as 
 the nature of its contents requires : for, inas- 
 much as it only contains a compressed account 
 of those animals whose history is very obscure, 
 either from the minuteness of their size, or from 
 our ignorance of their habits and modes of life, 
 it is necessarily very short in itself, and concise 
 in its details*. 
 
 It is clearly immaterial, on the present occa- 
 sion, whether the work of Aristotle, which we 
 are about to examine, be entirely his own, or 
 only a systematic exposition of the opinions and 
 knowledge of others ; for, on either supposition, 
 it is evidently a representation, on the authority 
 of which we may fairly rely, of the general 
 amount of knowledge accessible to the contem- 
 poraries of Aristotle, in that department of na- 
 tural science : and as, with even still greater 
 confidence, we may rely on Cuvier's work, as a 
 similar representation of the existing state of 
 knowledge in the same department, I may safely 
 refer to it as a standard of comparison with 
 
 s Preface, p. ix, x. t Pref. p. xi.
 
 302 EXERCISE OF THE 
 
 reference to the knowledge and opinions of the 
 moderns. 
 
 In attempting to give an account of Aristotle's 
 views, it is prudent to state that it has been col- 
 lected from numerous and various notices dis- 
 tributed very irregularly thoughout the body of 
 his work ; so that it is scarcely possible to be 
 confident of having given the correct reference 
 in every instance. It is prudent to make this 
 statement, lest any of my readers should be led, 
 in consequence of an incorrect reference, to 
 doubt the fidelity of the representation here 
 given, from the difficulty of meeting with the 
 original passage. This difficulty is perhaps 
 greater in the case of Aristotle, at least with 
 respect to the work in question, than in the 
 case of most other authors, in consequence of 
 what may be called his Pindaric style of di- 
 gression ; which is occasionally so abrupt as 
 to be at first view ludicrous. Thus, in com- 
 paring the kidney of the turtle with that of 
 the ox, he suddenly illustrates his subject by 
 observing that the viscera of the bonassus also 
 (an animal not very like a turtle) resemble those 
 
 of the OX. ( E%e* &e koli o fiovaaos to. Ivto^ anavra o/xoia 
 
 pot. p. 45.) And, again, in the midst of a whole 
 page descriptive of snakes, when speaking of 
 their cloven tongue, he abruptly says that the 
 seal (an animal not more like a snake, than the 
 bonassus the turtle) also has a cloven tongue.
 
 INTELLECTUAL FACULTIES. 303 
 
 ( ^ J X fl °* Kai V (p^KYj easier jxevvjv ryv yX&TTav. p. 48.) 
 
 It may however be presumed that, in these, as 
 in many other instances, not only of this but of 
 many other of his works, the text has been vi- 
 tiated or interpolated. Indeed some of the 
 opinions expressed in the work are so opposed 
 to the acknowledged physiological acuteness 
 of its author, that they cannot be consistently 
 admitted to have originated with him : and 
 such, assuredly, is the solution offered in ex- 
 planation of the physical phenomenon to which 
 allusion is made in the proverb, ae) Ai/3v^ (pepei n 
 Kaivov : respecting which he says " that, in conse- 
 " quence of the want of rain in Libya, animals 
 " of all kinds congregate wherever there is 
 " water ; and that, being rendered tame by 
 " thirst, all those individuals which, though 
 " of different species, are nearly of the same 
 " size, and which go with young for nearly the 
 " same period, breed together and produce new 
 
 " forms." (HoXvpopcpoTaTa &e (to. £coa) h rvj Ai(3vyj — §ia 
 yap tvjv dvofj-flpiav fxiayeaOai Ooxei aTravravTa irpog to. vOana, 
 kou to. fxrj 0ij.0(f>vXa, Kai eK<pepeiv av 01 %povoi 01 rrjg KvvjGeag 
 ol avxoi Kai to. fxeyedv] fj)q ttoXv an aXhYjXeov' npog aXXrjXa oe 
 7>pavv6Tai §ia tvjv tov ttotov y^peiav. p. 248.) 
 
 With reference to animal life in general, 
 Aristotle notices the gradual advances made 
 by nature from the state of inanimate matter 
 to that of living beings ; whence there arises a 
 difficulty in ascertaining the common boundary
 
 304 EXERCISE OF THE 
 
 of the two divisions. And he then observes that, 
 in the scale of material existence, plants imme- 
 diately succeed to lifeless forms of matter ; and 
 that although among plants the degree of the 
 living power is " various, some being indued 
 ' with a greater portion of it than others ; yet, 
 ' considered collectively, plants represent as it 
 ' were a middle term between animals and all 
 ' other bodies : appearing as indued with life, 
 ' in comparison with all other forms of matter, 
 ' but devoid of life in comparison with animals. 
 ' The change from the vegetable to the animal 
 ' nature is as gradual, as from inanimate to 
 ' vegetable matter : for there are some marine 
 ' productions, of which it is difficult to affirm 
 ' whether they are animal or vegetable ; since 
 ' they permanently adhere to the spot where 
 ' they are found, and cannot be separated from 
 ' it without perishing ; and they manifest very 
 ' obscure, if any, signs of sensation. Indeed the 
 ' whole class of testaceous animals can scarcely 
 ' be considered as superior to plants, when com- 
 ' pared with those animals which are indued 
 ' with the power of moving from place to 
 
 ' place.' (Ovtco S' In to>v axpu-fc&v elg to. %xa fj.era(3aiv(.i 
 Kara piKpov rj (frvatg, oiare ttj crvveyjia \av6aveiv to fj.t$opiov 
 avriov kcci to pneaov 7roTepoov €(ttiv' [A€to. yap to tcvv aipv^cov 
 yivog to tuv (frvT&v TTpunov €<ttiv' k<xi tovtcov €Tepov iipog ere- 
 pov §ia(f>(pei tco fj.a\\ov boxeiv [xeTeyeiv fyrjg, okov Qe to yevog 
 Ttpog fxev TaAAa cru^aTa (fiaiveToct v-^e'Sov uaitip ffjj^vyov, itpog
 
 INTELLECTUAL FACULTIES. 305 
 
 he to tuv %'xvv a^v/ov. rj he fxeTafiao-ig ff avrxv eig ra %'Za 
 avveyvjg 6<jtiv — evta yap txv ev rjj Qa.ka.TTt} hiaitopr^eiev av 
 Tig itoxepov %xov eo~Tiv v\ <f>vTO^' Trpoo-Tte<pvxe yap, xai yxpi^o- 
 [xeva 7roXXa hia<f)6eipeTai txv toiovtxv — oXxg he irav to yevog 
 
 TO TXV OaTpaKGOepfX&V (f)VTo7g <E01K€ TtpOi T« TTOpeVTlKO. TXV t'XXV. 
 
 xai irepi aiaQvjo-exg, Ta jxev avTxv ovheev o-v^kaiveTai. p. 212, 
 213.) 
 
 "Again, if we regard the substance of the lower 
 " species of marine bodies, though in some in- 
 " stances, as in sea-nettles, it approaches to the 
 " character of flesh ; in others, as in sponge, it 
 " closely resembles a vegetable matter. And, 
 " lastly, as different bodies appear to partake, 
 " in different degrees, of life itself; so do they 
 " differ with respect to the degrees of activity 
 " in the functions of life. Plants, for instance, 
 " seem to be incapable of effecting much be- 
 " yond their individual nutrition, and the con- 
 " tinuation of their species : and the same ob- 
 " servation holds with respect to the lowest 
 " species of animals. By the addition of sensi- 
 " bility in different degrees, the pleasure and 
 " activity of life are increased ; first in the gra- 
 " tification arising from mutual intercourse ; and 
 " further, in the natural affection which the pa- 
 " rent feels for its offspring, and in the care of 
 " providing food for it" ('H he tov o-x^aTog evlx. 
 
 aapKxhvjg e<TTt (frvaig, olov to. t€ Ka\ov[xeya Trfiva nai to txv 
 aKaXvjcpxv yevog' o he o-noyyog TtavreXxg eoixe Tolg cpvTotg. 
 aei he KaTa fxiKpav hia<f>opav eTepa irpo eTepxv yhv} (poiveTat 
 
 X
 
 .306 EXERCISE OF THE 
 
 [xaXXov tyyv eyovra Kai kivyjctiv. Kai Kara rag rov (3iov he 
 upa^eig rov avrov e^ei rpoitov. rav re yap (frvrav epyov ovoev 
 aXXo (paivtrai irXrjv olov avro 7roir)crai iraXiv erepov, oaa yiverai 
 %ta cnrepfxarog' Ojxoiwg &e Kai rav £coo>v eviwv napa tvjv yeveviv 
 ovd'ev eari vaXXo Xa(3e7v epyov — 7rpoaovarjg § aioSyaecos yj^yj, 
 
 7T€pi T€ TYjV OyeiaV § lO. TYjV Y^OVYjV ha(f>€pOV(TlV avr'CiV 01 filOl, 
 
 Kai Ttep) rovg roKovg Kai rag er<rpo(f>ag rccv reKvcov. p. 213.) 
 
 " Some animals, then, merely extend their 
 " species, after the manner of plants, at stated 
 " seasons ; and take no care of the individuals 
 " produced by them. And even of those ani- 
 " mals which provide nourishment for their ofF- 
 " spring, the greater number exercise their care 
 " for a definite period only ; that is, till their 
 " young are capable of providing for them- 
 " selves : after which, they forsake or have no 
 " further communication with them. Some in- 
 " deed, apparently indued with a higher degree 
 " of intelligence, enter into a social communion, 
 " and establish a kind of polity with their off- 
 
 " Spring." (Ta fxev ovv airXocg, ucnrep cpvra, Kara rag 
 copag a.7roreXei ryv oiKeiav yeveaiv' to. &e Kai irepi rag rpocpag 
 (Kitovurai rccv reKvav, orav d aiioreXeaY], yupi^ovrai Ka l 
 Koivwviav ovdefxiav en noiovvrai' ra be avverarepa Kai KOivcti- 
 vovvra fxvrjfxyjg eixi itXeov Kai TroXiriKcorepov ^pxvrai rolg ano- 
 yovoig. p. 213.) And he makes a distinction in 
 another part of his treatise between such ani- 
 mals, and those which are simply gregarious ; 
 the former being characterised by the disposi- 
 tion to contribute collectively to the completion
 
 INTELLECTUAL FACULTIES. 307 
 
 of some one work ; as man, the bee, the ant, &c. 
 
 (jros.niKa o eariv wv ev ri kcci koivov ytverai navTwv to ea-yov 
 oirep ov Tiavra notei to. ayeXaia. eiri £e toiovtov avOpamoc, 
 iXfXiTTa, <7(pv)i, fj.vpfxr^. p. 4.) 
 
 With the exception of the opinion that in- 
 animate matter graduates into life, nothing ad- 
 vanced by Aristotle in the foregoing observa- 
 tions, if considered in the light of a general 
 statement, is contradicted or set aside by our 
 present knowledge. For no opinion perhaps is 
 more prevalent among those who are capable 
 of fairly investigating the characters of natural 
 objects and phenomena, than that there are 
 gradations of excellence in the various forms of 
 matter ; although the limits of distinction are 
 often obscure. Who, for instance, that has com- 
 pared the respective structures and qualities of 
 the bodies, can doubt that the most splendid 
 mineral indicates, humanly speaking, an infi- 
 nitely less effort of creative and superintending 
 power than the most simple vegetable ? In the 
 mineral we find a perfect similarity, or rather 
 sameness, of character, pervading all the inte- 
 grant particles of the mass ; the order of their 
 union being the result of a mere external force, 
 which, having once brought them together, ceases 
 to have any further effect. In the vegetable we 
 find a most curiously arranged system of inter- 
 nal tubes or pores, which attract and separate 
 the elementary principles of the soil and of the 
 
 x 2
 
 308 EXERCISE OF THE 
 
 atmosphere in which the plant is placed ; giving 
 rise to structures the most wonderful, and, if we 
 contemplate different individuals of the vege- 
 table kingdom, more variegated than the mind 
 could have imagined — the bark, the wood, the 
 leaves, and lastly the flowers, fragrant with a 
 thousand odours, and emulating the brightest 
 colours of the rainbow. Or, again, if we com- 
 pare the character of the vegetable, fixed to its 
 native soil, without any inherent power of mov- 
 ing itself, either totally or partially ; insensible 
 to the influence of those agents which beget a 
 succession of new feelings and emotions in ani- 
 mals ; how contracted in its sphere of relations 
 must we consider the former body, when com- 
 pared with the latter ; and how incalculably a 
 greater power of creation do the phenomena of 
 animal organization indicate ! Gorgeous as are 
 the lilies of the field, so that even Solomon in all 
 his glory was not arrayed like one of these, yet 
 what are they in the effect they produce on the 
 human mind, compared with the lightning of 
 the eagle's eye, or the fire-breathing nostril of 
 the horse? Most assuredly, in our estimation of 
 excellence, the intellectual and moral image will 
 always bear the preeminence ; and, whether or 
 not the physical conformation may eventually 
 be found to correspond, philosophers have actu- 
 ally classed animals in such an order, that those 
 which manifest the higher degree of intelligence,
 
 INTELLECTUAL FACULTIES. 309 
 
 and of moral feeling, are comparatively higher 
 in the scale. 
 
 As instances of the equivocal character of 
 those particular forms of organized matter to 
 which Aristotle alludes, when speaking of the 
 obscure boundary that separates animals from 
 vegetables, corallines and substances of that 
 kind may be adduced among animals ; and, 
 among vegetables, those green, and in appear- 
 ance gelatinous confervce which are found in 
 abundance in stagnant ditches during the sum- 
 mer. And these, and similar examples, seem 
 to shew that, after the lapse of more than 
 twenty centuries, the difficulty of defining the 
 boundary between animal and vegetable organ- 
 ization still exists ; a difficulty which is fully 
 admitted by the principal physiologists of the 
 present day u . 
 
 In examining, however, more particularly the 
 preceding opinions of Aristotle, there is one 
 which does not accurately agree with the pre- 
 sent state of our knowledge: there is not, namely, 
 that continuity of gradation which he expresses 
 by the term eri/ve%«a x . There is probably no 
 
 11 See Macleay's Horae Entomologies?, p. 191. 
 
 x A modern parallel to this opinion maybe found in the geo- 
 logical hypothesis that the simplest forms of animal life occur 
 only in the older strata ; more and more complicated forms ap- 
 pearing in the more recent formations. The progress of geology 
 has shewn that this is not really the case. See Prof. Sedgwick's 
 Address to the Geol. Soc. p. 2. 
 
 x 3
 
 310 EXERCISE OF THE 
 
 living philosopher who advocates the opinion 
 that gradual advances may be traced from the 
 state of inanimate matter to that of life : for 
 even Lamarck, who entertains the opinion of a 
 gradation in structure among animals to a very 
 extraordinary extent, considers that the differ- 
 ence between organized and unorganized mat- 
 ter, in other words between living and lifeless 
 matter, is extreme ; so that they cannot possibly 
 be ranged in the same line. And he also be- 
 lieves that, however remarkable may be the ap- 
 parent affinity between plants and animals, they 
 may always be distinguished y. 
 
 But a regular gradation of form cannot even 
 be traced in one and the same kingdom of na- 
 ture : for, with reference to animals, Cuvier dis- 
 claims any attempt to class them so as to form 
 a single series descending gradually from the 
 higher to the lower classes. Such an attempt 
 he thinks absurd ; and is far from supposing 
 that, even in a separate class, the last in order 
 are the lowest in the degree of their organiza- 
 tion ; and still farther is he from supposing that 
 the last of a higher class are more highly ad- 
 vanced than the first of the class immediately 
 succeeding. He merely allows that a regularly 
 graduated scale is occasionally observable to a 
 certain extent ; and maintains that the universal 
 
 y Lamarck, Philosoph. Zoolog. torn. i. p. 377, 384 ; and 398, 
 in note 1 .
 
 INTELLECTUAL FACULTIES. .311 
 
 application of such a principle is inadmissible 
 on any philosophical grounds 2 . And Lamarck 
 himself agrees with Cuvier in this opinion. 
 
 The only formal terms of classification em- 
 ployed by Aristotle are «8o? and yevog, of the 
 lirst of which he gives a remarkably precise de- 
 finition. That definition is really, though not 
 in literal order, as follows : — " an animal species 
 " is an assemblage of individual animals, in 
 " which not only the whole form of any one re- 
 " sembles the whole form of any other, but each 
 " part in any one resembles the corresponding 
 " part in any other. Thus every horse not only 
 " resembles every other horse generally, but the 
 " eye or the hoof of every horse resembles the 
 " eye or the hoof of every other horse. And the 
 " same statement is applicable to man and other 
 " animals. They are therefore the same in the 
 " character of their individual parts." ("E%e< &e 
 
 t«v %<jcxv evia fxtv iravra ra fxopia ravra aXXrjXoig, 'evia o 
 erepa. Laura oe ra fxev eibei tcov txopiwv ecrnv, oiov avvpumov 
 pig Kai o(p8a\fj.og av8pa>7rov pivi Kai 0(p9aX[xx, nai aapKi crap% 
 Kai oVtco ogtovv' tov avrov Oe rpoTiov Kai ntisov Kai rav aX- 
 Xwv £cocdv, oaa tco elSfi ravra Xfyofxev eauroTg' opuoiccg yap 
 loantp to oXov e^ei Ttpog ro oXov, Kai rxv [xopiav e^ei eKaarov 
 upog eKacrTov. p. 1.) 
 
 In comparing the preceding definition of Ari- 
 stotle with the corresponding definition of Cu- 
 vier, we find that there is no essential difference. 
 
 z Regne Animal, pref. p. xx, xxi. 
 
 x 4
 
 312 EXERCISE OF THE 
 
 Cuvier says, " every organized body has, exclu- 
 " sively of the common qualities of its tissue, a 
 " peculiar or proper form ; not only generally 
 " and externally, but even in the detail of the 
 " structure of each of its parts a . And all the 
 " individuals belonging to one of these defined 
 " forms constitute what is called a species^." 
 
 Aristotle thus defines the term yivog. " A gemis 
 " is an assemblage of individuals, in which any 
 " one bears, upon the whole, an obviously per- 
 " ceptible resemblance to any other. Thus birds 
 " and fish constitute two distinct genera ; each 
 " comprehending several species. But the cor- 
 " responding parts, in the different species of the 
 " same genus, usually differ in colour, form, 
 " number, size, or proportion. In different ge- 
 " nera, indeed, the difference of corresponding 
 " parts occasionally proceeds still farther ; the 
 " only resemblance being that of analogy, as 
 " between a scale and a feather ; a scale being 
 " to a fish, what a feather is to a bird." (T« Te 
 
 Tavra [xev eariv, Siacpepei £e Kaff v7r(poyy]v kou eKXeii^iv, oacov 
 to yevo<; ear/ tccvtov. Xeya §e yevo$ olov opviQa kcu lydvv' 
 tovtccv yap tKarepw e^i oia<popav Kara, to yevog, Ka\ eariv 
 
 a Chaque corps organise, outre les qualites communes de son 
 tissu, a une forme propre, non-seulement en general et a. l'ex- 
 terieur, mais jusque dans le detail de la structure de chacune de 
 ses parties. Tom. i. p. 16. 
 
 b Et tous les etres appartenans a l'une de ces formes consti- 
 tuent ce que Ton appelle une espece. Tom. i. p. 19.
 
 INTELLECTUAL FACULTIES. 313 
 
 e't^rj itkeia i^(6vav Kai opviQxv. Aia<pepei &e ayeftov to. irXe'idra 
 T'2v [xopixv ev avroTg iiapa rag twv itaBri^aTuv evavriaceig, olov 
 ^pxfxaTog Kai ay^fjiarog, tco ra [xev fxaXXov avra TteirovQevai ra 
 %e vjttov, en §e TrX-rjOei Kai oXiyojYjTi Kai ueyeOei Kai c-fxtfcpo- 
 tyjti Kai oXcog virepoyri Kai eXXeixpti. p. 1. 'AAA wg enreiv ra 
 irXuGTa Kai e| iv fxepxv o nag oyKog avvecrrrjKev, yj ravTa ea- 
 tiv 7] ^tacpepei To7g evavriotg Kai Ka6 vnepoyr\v Kai eXXeiipiv. — 
 c.via be Tcov £o;a>v ovre eioei t« [xopia iavta eyei ovre Kao 
 'vnepoyv\v Kai eXXeii^iv, aAAa Kar avaXoyiav, oiov ireitovQev 
 — izpog VTtpov Xemg' o yap ev opviSt irrepov y rovro ev iyOvi 
 eari Xemg. p. 2. 
 
 Bat although Aristotle uses the term yevog, in 
 its primary sense, as applicable to an assem- 
 blage of different species having a general re- 
 semblance to each other ; he extends it indefi- 
 nitely, so that it is practically applicable to the 
 modern and more comprehensive terms of tribe, 
 family, order, or even class: for, as we have just 
 now seen, he distinctly applies it to the class of 
 fish, and of birds. And it is remarkable that he 
 sometimes uses the term yevog as synonymous 
 with eJtiog, or even a still lower denomination ; 
 implying, that is, merely an accidental variation 
 in a species. 
 
 The following are instances of an undefined use 
 of the term yevog. Having spoken of red-blood- 
 ed and vertebrated animals, he adds, t« &e \oma 
 
 yevrj twv %wwv 'eari fxev lerrapa Siyprjjxeva eig yevvj : (p. 104.) 
 
 in which passage yevog is first equivalent either 
 to the species or to the genus ; and afterwards to
 
 'J 14 EXERCISE OF THE 
 
 the order, or to the class, of modern zoologists. In 
 another passage he says, eta) £e yevr] t»v ^KiTTm 
 wAe/» (p. 287) ; where yivog is evidently used as eftto?. 
 
 Aristotle was quite aware of the necessary con- 
 nexion between the blood, or a fluid analogous 
 to it, and the life of an animal. " Every animal," 
 he says, "possesses a vital fluid, the loss of which 
 "occasions its death:" (e%e; Ve kcu vyph^ra nav 
 £m&v vis <TTepio-KO[A€vov — (.pOsiperat. p. 7.) and as the 
 colour of this fluid in the higher classes of ani- 
 mals is always red, (e<m £e tvjv <pvaiv to aljxa — e^cv — 
 to xpu^a. epvQpo'v. p. 75.) hence, for the purpose of 
 distinctive description, he assumes the colour 
 as an essential quality ; and calls those ani- 
 mals which have red blood waifxa, and those 
 which have not red blood avm^a. And thus he 
 establishes a fundamental natural division, an- 
 swering to the red-blooded and white-blooded 
 animals of modern zoology : and it is of great 
 importance, with reference to his principle of 
 classification, to bear in mind that he places 
 the cvatfjM, or red-blooded animals, in the upper 
 part of his scale. 
 
 Aristotle was also aware that there is a na- 
 tural connexion between the existence of red 
 blood, and of a spine or back-bone, made up of 
 several distinct portions called vertebras ; {vavra 
 
 oe t<x ^M, oaa evai^xa (<ttiv, cyei payj.v, p. oo. avyxeiTai o 
 
 y pa-^ig U acpovUxav. p. 65.) and he saw, conse- 
 quently, the coincidence of these two conditions
 
 INTELLECTUAL FACULTIES. 315 
 
 in the classification of animals : and hence we 
 find vertebrated animals occupying the first di- 
 vision in his scale, as well as in the scale of 
 modern naturalists ; though, in consequence of 
 his desultory method of treating the subject, it 
 requires some care to ascertain the order of his 
 arrangement. 
 
 Aristotle begins his work with some observa- 
 tions on the characters of the different com- 
 ponent parts of the bodies of animals, (and these 
 are subsequently repeated in a more detailed 
 form,) which forcibly remind us of the tissues 
 of modern anatomy : " of the component parts 
 " of animals," he says, " some are of the same 
 " texture throughout : of which the most general 
 " are the blood, and the blood-vessels — the flesh — 
 " bone — skin — membranes — hair — fat," &c. (T»v 
 
 (v Toiy tyaig fxopiujv xa [xev eanv aTuvBera, o<ja §iaipeiTai e<V 
 oixoiofjieprj, p.l. Twv d OfxaofJLepwv koivotcxtov juev €<tti to 
 
 c Anticipations of modern physiological opinions are occa- 
 sionally observable in Galen also. Thus the following passage 
 clearly contains the germ of Bichat's doctrine of organic sensi- 
 bility. " In vegetables there is a peculiar power of sensation, 
 " by which, though incapable of sight, or hearing, &c. they are 
 " capable of distinguishing between those particles of matter 
 " which will nourish them, and those that will not ; attracting 
 " the one, and rejecting the other." (^TLrepov ecrri yevos alad^a-ecos 
 iv rots (pVTois — ovre yap tcov Sparcov, ovre tcov clkovcttikcov k. t. X. 
 e'^ei didyvoocriu, aWa povov tcov Tpecpeiv rj pr) rpecpeiv bvvapevcov' ra pev 
 yap rpe(f)(iv Svvdpeva irpbs eavrr/v eXicovcra k. t. X. /xera/3dXXa npos to 
 olKelov rrjs rpecpopivrjs ovcrias, tci 8e pi) tvvapeva Tpecpeiv ov TrpoaUrai— 
 Galeni Op. Kiihn, vol. iv. p. 7^4.)
 
 316 EXERCISE OF THE 
 
 alfxa — kqu to fxopiov ev o> 7re<pvKev eyyiveadai (tovto te Kakti- 
 tou (pkexp), — Kai r, erupt, — o<ttovv — fieppa, vjxyjv — T / J '% ef — %l ~ 
 (AtAy. p. 55. 
 
 He then distributes the several classes of ani- 
 mals into those which have blood, and those 
 which have not blood : and though in the first 
 instance his distribution is very confused, yet, 
 when adjusted by subsequent statements, the 
 order of arrangement is as follows. Among 
 those which have blood, are man, viviparous and 
 oviparous quadrupeds, birds, fish, cetaceous ani- 
 mals, and serpents. (Ta fxb evaifxa — 'avQpwirog tc kou ra 
 tyoroKa rav TtTpanotav, en &e Ka\ to, cootoko. tccv reTpaito- 
 Oxv Kai opvig kou lyfivs Kai KrjTog, Ka) — ocf>ig. p. 42.) 
 
 Among those which have not blood, are animals 
 naturally divisible into segments, as insects; ani- 
 mals of a soft substance throughout, as cuttle- 
 fish, &c. ; animals having comparatively a soft 
 shell, as lobsters, &c. ; and those which have a 
 hard shell, as oysters, &c. ("AAAo le ybo$ tar) to t«v 
 
 otTTpaKooepfxccv, o Kukehai ocrrpeov' akko to rav [xakaKoo-Tpd- 
 kwv — olov Kapa(3oi Kai yevr, iiva KapKivxv Kai aaraKw' akko 
 to t»v [xakaKiccv, oiov — <rvj7riaf trepov to twv evrofxav. 'Vavra 
 Oe -navTa fj.ev eariv dvaijxa. p. 10.) 
 
 He proceeds then to say, that " after having 
 " considered the common attributes and actual 
 " differences of animals, we must endeavour to 
 " find out the causes of these ; for only by a 
 " demonstration and comparison of the pecu- 
 " liarities of individuals can we hope to arrive
 
 INTELLECTUAL FACULTIES. 317 
 
 '* at a natural method of classification. " {Uparcv 
 
 Tag vTrapyovuag ^lacpopag Kai xa av{Af3e.(3r]K0Ta iraui kdftafAdv. 
 MeTa £e tovto Tag ahiag rovrccv ireipaTtov eupeTv. ovtco yap 
 Kara (pvaiv 1<tt\ 7rciua6ai tyjv [xeSo^ov, virapyov(jY}g Tr)g ktto- 
 piag ryg ire pi eWrrov. p. 11.) "And, first, we must 
 " compare together the several component mem- 
 " bers of animals ; for the chief differences 
 " among animals will be found in the presence 
 " or absence of particular members, and in their 
 " order or position ; or in their form, proportion, 
 " the analogy of their uses, or the peculiarities 
 
 " of their colour," &C. (A*prreo> &e TrpcoTov ra pepy tS>v 
 £c0Ct>y e% tbv avvedTYjKev. Kara yap ravra paAiaTa Kai 7rpa>Ta 
 oiacpepei Kai ra oAa, yj tx ra [xev e^eiv ra oe (ay) e^e/v, yj tyj 
 Staei Kai tt) Ta%ei, yj Kai Kara Tag eiprj/xevag Trporepov $ia<fio- 
 pas eioei Kai virepo^q Kai avaAoyia Kai rwv iraoYj^aTOiv evav- 
 
 TlOTYjTl. p. 11.) 
 
 In the same philosophical spirit, and in terms 
 not essentially different, Cuvier affirms that, in 
 the attempt to establish a natural classification, 
 *' he examined one by one all the species that 
 " he could procure ; and then classed together 
 " as a subordinate generic group all those which, 
 " resembling each other in the more important 
 " parts of their structure, differed only in size, 
 " or in colour, or in other points of little im- 
 " portance." (J'ai examine une a une toutes les 
 especes que j'ai pu me procurer en nature ; j'ai 
 rapproche celles qui ne differaient l'une de l'au- 
 tre que par la taille, la couleur, ou le nombre de
 
 318 EXERCISE OF THE 
 
 quelques parties peu important.es, et j'en ai fait 
 ce que j'ai nomine un sous-genre. Pref. p. xii.) 
 
 In the examination of the component mem- 
 bers of animals in general, Aristotle selects man 
 as a standard of comparison : alleging as a rea- 
 son, that, as merchants estimate the value of 
 foreign coin by a comparison with that of their 
 own country, because best known to them ; so 
 in making a classification of animals we natu- 
 rally employ man as a standard, because we are 
 more familiar with the human form than with 
 that of any other animal. (Ylpwrov §e to, tou avSpunov 
 
 fj.ep-/j XyrtTtov' coairep yap to. vofUGfACtra irpog to axiTolg 
 €Ka<TT0i yvapifMoorarov ^OKifxa'^ovcriv, ovtco Oyj ko,i ev Totg aX- 
 Xoig' o 8' avQpwnog tcov %cfiw yvupifj-WTarov vjfxh e| avdyfcyg 
 
 lattv. p. 11.) And, man being admitted as the 
 standard of comparison, it necessarily follows 
 that, as a general rule, viviparous animals, birds, 
 reptiles, and fish, would respectively come next 
 in succession : and that order, as we have just 
 seen, Aristotle actually observes. In one in- 
 stance, indeed, he for a specific reason inverts 
 the order of arrangement ; and, commencing 
 with those animals which least resemble man 
 in their organization ; and proceeding with those 
 which bear a nearer and nearer resemblance to 
 him ; he terminates his description with man, as 
 having the most complicated structure of all 
 
 animals. ('E^e) &e ^rfjpvjTai t« yevvj TipwTov, tov avTov Tpo- 
 irov Kai vvv 7rapaT(ov TroteiTQxi Tf\v Oecoptav' tiXyjv tote fxev
 
 INTELLECTUAL FACULTIES. 319 
 
 rfjv apyrp eiroiovfJitOa o-KoirovvTtg ntpi rwv (jLepwv oai avQpwirov, 
 vvv oe nepi tovtov TeXevTaTov XexTeov §ia to 7iXeiaTYjV f^etv 
 
 TTpayixareiav. p. 112.) And he then enumerates 
 the several classes in the following order ; " ani- 
 " mals having a hard shell ; animals having a 
 " soft shell ; mollusca, or animals of a soft sub- 
 " stance throughout ; insects ; fish ; birds ; ovi- 
 " parous and viviparous quadrupeds ; and man" 
 — by inverting which order we arrive at a correct 
 view of his original arrangement. (Ylp&Tov V ap- 
 
 KTeov alto tu)v ouTpaKo^epfxcov, fxera &e ravra irepi twv fxa- 
 XaKOUTpaKccv, Kai to. aXXa §e tovtov tov Tponov e(f>e^<;' \<jti &e 
 to. T€ jj.aXa.Kta xai Ta evTOfxa, xai fxera TaXna to tqv lyQvuv 
 yevog, to t€ Zuotokov Kai to qotokov avTccv, eha to tccv opviQw 
 juera oe Tavra Ttf.pi tcov 7re£a>v XeKTtov, oca tc ^oooTOKa nai oaa 
 cpOTOxa. ^ccoTOxa h ear/ t£v TeTpa7ro$oov 'evia, Kai av6pa7ro$ 
 tcov $nro$(cv [xovov. p. 112.) 
 
 It is remarkable that, from the age of Ari- 
 stotle to nearly that of Linnaeus, no systematic 
 classification of animals was attempted ; none, 
 at least, was generally adopted. Soon after the 
 commencement of the last century Linnaeus di- 
 rected his attention to the subject; and distri- 
 buted the whole animal kingdom into six class- 
 es, mammalia, birds, reptiles, fish, insects, and 
 worms : in which distribution Lamarck observes 
 that he improved on Aristotle, first, by using 
 the more distinctive term mammalia, and plac- 
 ing the cetacea in that class ; and, next, by mak- 
 ing a distinct class of reptiles, and arranging
 
 320 EXERCISE OF THE 
 
 them between birds and fish. If this alteration, 
 which has been subsequently adopted by all 
 other zoologists, be made, Aristotle's arrange- 
 ment of vertebrated animals agrees with that of 
 the present day. And in distributing all other 
 animals into four classes, which Linnaeus distri- 
 butes into tivo only, Aristotle must be considered 
 as having proceeded upon the more philosophical 
 principle ; because the species of these animals, 
 taken collectively, are much more numerous, and 
 much more diversified in their form and struc- 
 ture, than the species of vertebrated animals. 
 
 Lamarck's objection to Aristotle's arrange- 
 ment, on the ground of its commencing with 
 animals of a more complicated instead of those 
 of a more simple structure, is, for more than 
 one reason, of little weight : for, in asserting 
 that such an arrangement is contrary to the 
 order of nature, he makes a peculiar hypothesis 
 of his own the basis of that assertion ; and, 
 with the exception of Lamarck himself, almost 
 if not all modern naturalists, including Cuvier, 
 adopt the same principle of arrangement as that 
 of Aristotle. 
 
 Lamarck objects with more justice to the 
 terms haifxa and avai^*, as also to the supposed 
 improvement of some modern naturalists by the 
 substitution of the equivalent terms, red-blooded 
 and white-blooded; because in the second of 
 those two divisions some species are included, as
 
 INTELLECTUAL FACULTIES. 321 
 
 worms, &c. which have red blood. On this ground 
 Lamarck proposed to divide all animals into those 
 which have, and those which have not, vertebrae ; 
 or into vertebral and invertebral animals d . And 
 he extended the two invertebral classes of Lin- 
 naeus to Jive, and subsequently to ten e . 
 
 With reference to the classification of AristOr 
 tie, as expressed in his first book, it has been 
 occasionally observed by literary men, who were 
 not familiar with the details of his history, that 
 quadrupeds in general and reptiles are excluded. 
 ' The most comprehensive groups into which 
 ' the greater number of animals may be dis- 
 ' tributed," he says, " are these : one, of birds ; 
 ' one, of fish ; one, of whales and other ce- 
 ' taceous animals; all of which have blood. 
 ' There is another group of the oTToa/coMputx ; an- 
 ' other, of the pakaKoo-TpaKa ; another, of the px- 
 ' Aa^/a ; and another, of the hropa ; all of which 
 ' are without blood. Of those animals which do 
 ' not come within the foregoing arrangement, 
 ' there are no comprehensive groups ; for no 
 ' individual type comprehends many species : 
 ' and there is one type which is unique, afford - 
 ' ing only a single species, namely, man. Some 
 ' types afford different species without a differ- 
 ' ence of specific denomination : thus there are 
 ' red-blooded quadrupeds, of which some are 
 * viviparous, and others oviparous." (Tev>7 £e /xe- 
 
 '1 Philos. Zooi. torn. i. p. 116. &c'. e Ibid. p. 121, 122. 
 
 Y
 
 3*22 EXERCISE OF THE 
 
 yicrra tmv £cocc>v, e/£ a br/jprjTai TaXXa £coa, rad ecmv, ev fxev 
 opvivuv, ev Q fxpvav, aXXo be Krjrovg. lavTa fj.ev ovv iravxa evai- 
 fxd ecrTtv. aXXo be yevoq ecrn to twv oo-TpaKO^epfxwv — aAAo to 
 tuv fj.aXaKCio-Tpa.Kwv — aXXo to tu>v fxaXaKiav — 'eTepov to twv 
 evTOfxxv. Taina $e ndvTa fxev ecmv avaifxa — T£v $e Xomtov 
 %(i)ccv ovkcti to. yevy fj.eyo.Xa' ov yap Trepie^ei noXXa eibrj ev 
 eibog, aXXa. to fxev Icttiv dnXovv avTO ovk ey^ov biacpopdv to 
 e/oo$-, <5<ov avupcoirtf, t« o e%e/ /xev, aAA avccvv/xa Ta eiby. h,aTi 
 yap t« TeTpdnoOa Kai fj.vj mep^d evaifxa fxev irdvTa, aXXa to. 
 fxev tyoTOKa Ta ?>' aoTOKa avTwv. p. 10.) "And though 
 
 " there are many species of viviparous quadru- 
 " peds, yet they have no collective denoniina- 
 " tion ; but each is distinguished, as in the case 
 " of the human species, by its proper name ; as 
 " the lion, deer, horse, &c; on which account we 
 " cannot describe them collectively, but must 
 " consider the individual nature and character 
 
 01 each. (Toy be yevovg tov twv T€Tpa7ro$cov %xav Ka\ 
 fyoTOKUv etlrj fxev ecm 7roAAa, dvdovvfxa &e" aXXa Kaff eKacrTov 
 avTcov cue enreh, wcnrep avQpw-noq e'lpyjTai, Xeccv, eXafag, iimog 
 — Aio Kai yw? l $ ^a.fj.(BdvovTag dvdyK-q 8eape7v eKacrTov ttjv <f>v- 
 aiv avTwv. p. 10.) 
 
 It is interesting to observe that evenJCuvier 
 occasionally experiences a similar difficulty in 
 his classification ; and expresses himself, with 
 reference to the difficulty, in nearly the same 
 terms as Aristotle. Thus, in introducing his 
 third order of the mammalia, called carnivora, 
 he says, " The forms of the different genera of 
 " this order are so various, that it is impossible
 
 INTELLECTUAL FACULTIES. 323 
 
 " to range them in the same series: they are 
 " therefore divided into several families*." And 
 of one of these families, the marsupialia, to which 
 the opossum and kanguroo belong, he observes, 
 that " the genera of that family might form a 
 " distinct order, so very peculiar is their struc- 
 " tureC And on another occasion he adds, with 
 respect to this same family, that " although the 
 " various species so closely resemble each other 
 " in many points as for a long time to have been 
 " classed in one genus only ; they yet differ so 
 " widely in their feet, and teeth, and organs of 
 " digestion, that, considered with reference to 
 " those parts, they might be distributed, not 
 " into one but several orders^; — and might con- 
 " stitute even a separate and parallel class of 
 " mammalia 1 ." 
 
 f " Les Carnassiers. — Leurs formes et les details de leur or- 
 " ganisation varient beaucoup — au point qu'il est impossible de 
 " ranger leurs genres sur une meme Hgne, et que Ton est oblige 
 " d'en former plusieurs families qui se lient diversement entre 
 " elles par des rapports multiplies." torn. i. p. 121. 
 
 g " Les Marsupiaux — pourraient presque former un ordre a 
 " part, tant ils offrent de singularites dans leur economic" torn. i. 
 p. 169. 
 
 h " Malgre une ressemblance gene>ale de leurs especes entre 
 " elles, tellement frappante, que Ton n'en a fait long-temps 
 " qu'un seul genre, elles different si fort par les dents, par les 
 " organes de la digestion, et paries pieds, que si Ton s'en tenait 
 " rigoureusement a ces caracteres, il faudrait les r^partir entre 
 " divers ordres." p. ] 70. 
 
 1 " On dirait, en un mot, que les marsupiaux forment une classe 
 " distincte, parallele a celle des quadrupedes ordinaires." p. 171. 
 
 Y 2
 
 324 EXERCISE OF THE 
 
 In addition to the natural groups, enumerated 
 in the distribution above described, Aristotle re- 
 fers to a few marine animals, which principally 
 belong to the zoophytes of Cuvier, without com- 
 prehending them under a distinct name. Of 
 that extensive class of animals, called at the 
 present day polypes, which are the fabricators 
 and inhabitants of every variety of coral, he 
 says nothing : and of that still more extensive 
 class, if the term class be not too confined, the 
 animalia infusoria, he was almost necessarily ig- 
 norant ; most of the species being microscopic. 
 
 It appears, from a few scattered notices, that 
 Aristotle had a faint idea that the specific cha- 
 racters and dispositions of animals might be 
 altered, from the effect of food and other cir- 
 cumstances : (twv %w-j)v twv Terpano^cov 7toXXyjv al yjvptxi 
 7roiovai Oioufiopav ov fxovov irpog tvjv aXXrjv rov aafxarog 
 evypeptav aXXa kou irpog to 7rXeova.Kig oyeveaQou kou yevvav. 
 p. 122. Oca fxev ovv [xaXaKag e%ei rag rplyag, €v/3oo-ia 
 Xpwfxeva aKkYiporlpag <o"%e<, oaa &e erKXypag, [xaXaKarepag 
 kou eXaTTovg. Aicccpepovvi &e kou Kara rovg roirovg rovg 8ep- 
 poTepovg kou xjyv^p ore pong, p. 68. 'Eviore yiverai rwv (jlovo- 
 Xpow €K {JLtXdvwv re kou peXavTepuv XevKa — Ik le tccv Xev- 
 kuv yevxv ovk uhitou e/j [J.eXav [X€rapdXXov. p. 71.) And 
 
 he mentions particularly one instance of this 
 kind, though his reasoning on the occasion is 
 not admissible in the present state of physiolo- 
 gical knowledge. In observing that, " as the 
 " actions of animals are determined by their na-
 
 INTELLECTUAL FACULTIES. 325 
 
 " tural affections and physical powers, so their 
 " moral habits, and even some of their physical 
 " characters, are capable of being altered by 
 " their actions ;" he says, that " the common 
 " hen, if she have fought with and vanquished 
 " the cock, will begin to crow, and to imitate 
 " the cock in various ways ; and her comb will 
 " increase, and her plumage alter to such a de- 
 " gree as to make it difficult to determine whe- 
 " ther she be really a hen : even spurs, though 
 " small, will sometimes grow on her legs." 
 
 ( f/ Qo-7rep Se rac, TtpaE,eig Kara, to. iraQy crv[x(3aivei noieTaOai 
 Tvavi rolg faoig, ovrco itakiv Kai ra rfir\ fxera^aXXouai Kara 
 rag irpa^eig, noXXaKig ^e Kai tS>v [xopicov evia, o'tov eni twv 
 opvtOav avfAfiaivei. At re yap aXeKropi^eg orav viKYjcraai rovg 
 appevag, kokkv^ovo-i re [Jiifj.ovft.evat rovg appevag Kai oyeveiv 
 tmyjupovei, Kai to Te KaXXaiov e^aiperai avraig Kai to ovpo- 
 nvyiov, a><7T€ fj.r] patiiag av eiriyvccvai on ByXeiai eiaiv' eviaig 
 ^e Kai 7iXvjKTpd riva [xiKpa. eTtaveoTYj. p. 302.) 
 
 The fact is nearly as Aristotle states it ; and, 
 to a certain extent, similar facts are observable 
 in the human species as well as in other ani- 
 mals ; namely, that the peculiar characters of 
 the female are occasionally obscured, with re- 
 spect both to the physical form and the moral 
 habits. But, in reasoning on the phenomena, 
 Aristotle mistakes the effect for the cause. The 
 circumstance of having fought with the cock is 
 not the determining cause of the change in the 
 external form of the hen : but the alteration it- 
 
 y 3
 
 3*26 EXERCISE OF THE 
 
 self in the external form is dependent on, or 
 at least coincident with an imperfect dev elope- 
 ment, or a subsequent alteration, of the inter- 
 nal structure ; which imperfect developement or 
 subsequent alteration determines that degree of 
 masculine courage which prompts the hen to 
 fight, and to imitate the male in other actions. 
 
 And so it sometimes happens that, in fe- 
 males of the human species, the feminine form 
 is either never originally developed, or, by age 
 or other causes, becomes so much altered as to 
 
 lose its USlial characters; (yvvvj $e rag em tco yeveicp 
 ov (pvei Toiyag' 7rA>;v cviaig yiyvcvrai oXtyai, orav ra Kaaa- 
 
 fxvjvta axy. p. 70.) and, correspondently with these 
 exterior traces of virility, there is often in such 
 cases a masculine temperament of the mind, 
 which marks the character of the virago. And, 
 on the other hand, from analogous causes ana- 
 logous changes are found to take place in the 
 male of our own species, or of any species 
 nearly resembling our own : for, in such in- 
 stances, the tone of the voice and the general 
 form of the body acquire a feminine character ; 
 and that firmness and resolution, which belong 
 naturally to the male, subside to a greater or less 
 degree into a feminine gentleness. 
 
 Aristotle, then, had no philosophical notion of 
 the laws which regulate the occasional variation 
 in the specific form of animals ; much less of 
 the limits of that variation : for the accurate de-
 
 INTELLECTUAL FACULTIES. 327 
 
 velopement of which, the scientific world, and 
 more than the scientific world, are deeply in- 
 debted to the skilful researches and correct 
 reasonings of Cuvier ; whose fame will rest se- 
 curely on this natural and imperishable basis, 
 when his own and all other artificial systems of 
 classification, for artificial we can see them to 
 be even in the present state of our knowledge, 
 will probably have been overturned by the force 
 of those new views of nature, which must neces- 
 sarily result from the contemplation of the nu- 
 merous and varied phenomena which are ra- 
 pidly accumulating in this department of know- 
 ledge. The field, indeed, in which Cuvier has 
 laboured, with such advantage to science as 
 well as honour to himself, is the investigation of 
 the conditions which accompany the develope- 
 ment of individual and specific form : and the 
 result of his labours has afforded a splendid in- 
 stance of the wonderful effect which the powers 
 of the human mind are capable of producing, in 
 a subject apparently of the least intrinsic in- 
 terest and of the most unpromising aspect. The 
 explanation of his views which I shall now at- 
 tempt to offer, while it may tend to make known 
 the particular merits of this philosopher to a 
 class of readers, who at present are acquainted 
 with little more of him than his great name, will 
 certainly accord with the general object of this 
 treatise. 
 
 y 4
 
 328 EXERCISE OF THE 
 
 In the preliminary discourse of his work en- 
 titled " Ossemens Fossiles,' 1 he states that the 
 great principle in the study of comparative ana- 
 tomy is this — that in every animal the several 
 parts have such a mutual relation, both in form 
 and function, that if any part were to undergo 
 an alteration, in even a slight degree, it would 
 be rendered incompatible with the rest ; so that 
 if any part were to be changed, all the other 
 parts must undergo a corresponding change: 
 and thus any part, taken separately, is an in- 
 dex of the character of all the rest. This law 
 of the co-relation of parts is indeed so defined, 
 that even a portion of a bone may often serve 
 to verify the species of the animal to which it 
 belonged, (p. xlv.) 
 
 We know how successfully Cuvier has applied 
 the foregoing principle in establishing the true 
 character of fossil species, of which the imper- 
 fect remains, or fragments of remains, are both 
 few and of rare occurrence. The permanency 
 however of specific character does not hold in 
 every part of the organization : and hence there 
 is an occasional impediment to the application 
 of the principle : but the variation never proceeds 
 beyond certain limits; and therefore no more 
 interferes, eventually, with the uniformity of the 
 specific character of animals, than the periodical 
 oscillations of the celestial bodies counteract the 
 general regularity of their motions.
 
 INTELLECTUAL FACULTIES. 329 
 
 We are now therefore to consider the nature 
 of the disturbing cause, if I may borrow that ex- 
 pression for a moment, which occasionally inter- 
 feres with the uniformity of specific character. 
 And, with respect to specific forms, it may be re- 
 marked, that, although it is to a certain extent 
 true that all organized bodies have the power of 
 producing beings resembling themselves, yet cir- 
 cumstances of temperature, and of quantity or 
 quality of food, and other causes, have usually 
 some influence in the developement of the body 
 of each individual ; thereby producing some cor- 
 responding variation in the form : and, conse- 
 quently, the resemblance between the parent 
 and offspring is never perfect. But — and this 
 is a fact of the highest importance — there is no 
 ground for believing that such variations pro- 
 ceed beyond certain limits ; no ground therefore 
 for believing that any of the above mentioned 
 circumstances could have produced all the dif- 
 ferences perceptible in organized bodies ; could 
 have advanced for instance, by a gradual alter- 
 ation of structure, a lower to a higher species. 
 Experience, on the contrary, founded on an ex- 
 amination of the records of remote antiquity, 
 seems to shew that the limits of variation were 
 ever the same that they are now. It appears 
 for instance from the mummies of Egypt k , that 
 
 k Vicl. Cuvier, Oss. Foss. i. Disc. Prelim, p. 7^, 80.
 
 330 EXERCISE OF THE 
 
 the general form, and size, and proportions were 
 the same three thousand years since, that they 
 are at present ; as well in various other animals 
 as in man ; and in all physiological probability 
 therefore were the same three thousand years 
 before that period : so that we cannot refuse to 
 admit, that certain forms have, without exceed- 
 ing the limits above described, been perpetuated 
 from the creation. 
 
 From various circumstances, however, as has 
 been already stated, the offspring never exactly 
 resembles the parent ; and by the extension of 
 those causes which occasion a difference of cha- 
 racter, the variation from the common parent 
 may possibly become so great, and so perma- 
 nent in individuals of the same species, as to ex- 
 ceed in some respects the difference observable 
 in individuals of different species. Such ap- 
 pears to be the fact, when, in the dog species, 
 we compare the greyhound with the turnspit; 
 or the Newfoundland-dog with the Blenheim 
 spaniel : and yet, even in such instances, which 
 perhaps may be considered as comprising the 
 extreme limits of variation, the specific charac- 
 ter is never so far obscured, but that a child 
 who had been accustomed to see a variety of 
 dogs, and also of other animals, would recognise 
 the character of the dog in each individual of 
 that species. 
 
 It is true, indeed, that it would be difficult not
 
 INTELLECTUAL FACULTIES. 331 
 
 only for a child, but even for the most experi- 
 enced observer, to define those characters by 
 which the specific resemblance is recognised 
 upon a transient view of the animal. Yet, al- 
 though not obvious on a superficial examina- 
 tion, nature has not left this point undefinable : 
 for, in almost every instance, the form and 
 number of the bones are so accurately pre- 
 served, that, however the colour, or the size 
 and the general form of the body may be al- 
 tered, we have satisfactory criteria of the spe- 
 cies in the points just mentioned. But, of all 
 the constituent parts of the body, this obser- 
 vation holds most eminently with respect to 
 the teeth : and in the case of quadrupeds, 
 which principally constitute the highest class 
 of the animal kingdom, and in which class 
 alone any considerable degree of variation is 
 likely to be observed, we have almost always 
 a ready mode of judging of the identity of 
 specific character by an examination of the 
 teeth ; for they in almost every instance have 
 teeth, which are entirely wanting throughout the 
 whole class of birds, and often in reptiles and 
 in fish. 
 
 In investigating the remote causes of specific 
 variation, we find that domestication is the most 
 general and extensive ; and that the effects are 
 produced principally by the joint operation of 
 the following means, namely, diet, general regi- 

 
 332 EXERCISE OF THE 
 
 men, and the due selection of individuals for the 
 purpose of breeding 111 . 
 
 While animals exist in a state of nature, it 
 does not appear that the circumstances in which 
 they are placed give rise to much variation, 
 even in their external and fugitive characters. 
 A uniformity of size and colour is usually ob- 
 servable in the several individuals of the same 
 species ; as in the instances of the wild cat and 
 rabbit. Nor is the character liable to be changed 
 by intercourse among individuals of different 
 species. Although, for instance, the hare and 
 rabbit are so nearly allied in form and size and 
 colour, we never meet with a hybrid or mule of 
 those species. 
 
 In domesticated species a variation first in 
 colour, and then in size, usually takes place, to 
 an extent proportional to the degree of domes- 
 tication. Cats, which are less subjugated to 
 man than horses or dogs, vary little more than 
 in colour ; scarcely at all in size. And in horses, 
 
 m Burckhardt observes, in his notes on the Bedouins, p. Ill, 
 and 139, that in barren parts of the desert of Arabia, or in sea- 
 sons of scarcity, camels and sheep do not multiply so extensively 
 as in fertile plains and seasons. A similar observation would 
 probably hold good with respect to the ratio of increase among 
 the Tchutzki and other tribes of north-eastern Russia, and the 
 inhabitants of New Holland or any other part of the world 
 where the supply of food is scanty. 
 
 See, on this subject, a letter, published by sir John Sebright 
 in 1809, on the art of improving the breeds of domestic animals.
 
 INTELLECTUAL FACULTIES. 333 
 
 on the same principle, there is a less degree of 
 variation than in dogs. In the dog, which is of 
 all species the most domesticated, the variation 
 extends to the production of an additional toe, 
 and corresponding metatarsal bone in the hind 
 foot n . And in the human species, in the indi- 
 viduals of which, from their varied intercourse 
 and modes of living, the limits of variation may 
 antecedently be expected to have the widest 
 range, there are families having six fingers. 
 
 In concluding this part of the subject, I 
 would observe that the principle, which we have 
 just now been examining, is of very great im- 
 portance as the basis of a physiological argu- 
 ment with reference to the identity of the hu- 
 man species throughout the world. For, inas- 
 much as all the variations in colour, form, and 
 size, of the different nations of mankind, come 
 within the acknowledged limits of specific va- 
 riation in the animal kingdom, we have hence 
 satisfactory physiological proof that all the va- 
 rieties of the human race may have proceeded 
 from one common parent. Of the truth of the 
 general position indeed, of which the human 
 species is a particular instance, the work of 
 Aristotle now under consideration is in itself a 
 strong argument : for, notwithstanding the lapse 
 of ages which has taken place since it was writ- 
 ten, the description of many species is so accu- 
 
 a Ann. du Mus. torn, xviii. p. 342. pi. 19. 

 
 334 EXERCISE OF THE 
 
 rate, as to leave no doubt of the identity of those 
 described by Aristotle with those to which the 
 description is applicable at the present day°. 
 
 SECT. IV. 
 Qji those Animal Forms called Monsters, or Lusus Natures. 
 
 The subject of the present section is naturally 
 connected with that of the latter part of the pre- 
 ceding : and, although the occasion neither re- 
 quires nor would justify even a brief examination 
 of the laws which regulate the formation of mon- 
 sters, or lusus natures, as they are often called, 
 especially as they have been lately illustrated 
 by that ardent French physiologist Geoff roy St. 
 
 ° It can hardly escape observation, or fail to excite surprise, 
 that in the work now under consideration, Aristotle usually 
 contents himself with stating facts : he very rarely reasons on 
 their final causes ; thus omitting what Cuvier calls one of the 
 most beautiful and useful points in natural history. The follow- 
 ing are, I believe, the only instances in which he deviates from 
 mere description. He observes, when speaking of fish, that a 
 great proportion of the spawn of those animals is destroyed in 
 various ways ; and that if this were not the case the species 
 
 WOIlld become too numerous. (Ta p.iv 7roXXa coa oi cippeves dva- 
 KunTovcri, Ta S aTroWvTai ev tc?> vypco. oo~a 8' av eKTtKcoaiv ei? rovs 
 ronovs els ovs (KTiKTOvai, Tcivra au>^erai' et yap navra eerwfiero, TTapn\r)- 
 6ts av to yevos rjv (Kdenav. p. 169.) On another occasion he ob- 
 serves, that though the spring is the general season for propaga- 
 tion, yet occasionally the rule is set aside ; where, for instance, 
 the preservation of the offspring is the result. ('Op/^rtKcorara p.tv 
 
 ovv cos eiri to nav flwe'iv npos ttjv outlay Ttjv eapivrjv cSpav ecrriV ov prjv 
 Ta iravTa ye 7roietrai t6v axirov Kaipbv ttjs o^eias, aXXa npot ttjv (KTpo- 
 cpfjv twv tckviov iv to'is KaBrjKovtTi xaipois. p. 181.)
 
 INTELLECTUAL FACULTIES. 335 
 
 Hilaire ; it will not be perhaps considered im- 
 pertinent to make a few observations on those 
 remarkable productions, considered with respect 
 to one of the probable final causes of their ex- 
 istence. 
 
 The term lusus naturce is applied to those na- 
 tural productions, which vary in any remarkable 
 degree, with respect to form, colour, structure, 
 size, &c. from the general character of the indi- 
 viduals of the same species. The term, literally 
 taken, implies a sportive effort of the creative 
 power of Nature ; and for the purpose of general 
 description there is no objection to this term, 
 being, as it now is, familiarized by long con- 
 tinued use. But as we have no ground for sup- 
 posing that nature, or, to use the more proper 
 expression, that the providence of the Creator 
 ever acts without some wise and beneficent pur- 
 pose, we must consider the term in a philoso- 
 phical point of view, as expressing an effect, of 
 the natural cause of which we are ignorant. 
 
 What, then, is the real character of those un- 
 usual productions which are denominated lusus 
 natures j or monsters ; or, in other words, for what 
 end has Providence ordained that such produc- 
 tions should be formed, and subjected to our 
 observation? And here, as has been observed 
 in another part of this treatise, it will be found, 
 upon even a cursory examination, that in a lusus 
 naturae the character of the species, however
 
 336 EXERCISE OF THE 
 
 obscured, is never lost. There is no ground, in 
 short, for supposing that nature has ever pro- 
 duced such an individual as a chimera or cen- 
 taur. And Lucretius's scepticism in this point 
 is justified on truly philosophical principles ; on 
 the difference namely of the physical constitu- 
 tion of the horse and of man : the horse at the 
 end of his third year being full-grown, while 
 man is yet almost an infant ; and the horse 
 being decrepit in his twenty-fifth or thirtieth 
 year, when man is in his full vigour p. 
 
 In pursuing this investigation, it would be ob- 
 vious to ask, what are the limits which separate 
 a lusus natures from the ordinary individuals of 
 the same species ? and we shall soon find that 
 these limits are, in the majority of instances, un- 
 definable. 
 
 If, indeed, in comparing the several organs, 
 agreement with respect to number be the crite- 
 rion, the limits are for the most part fixed. 
 Thus the human hand so very generally con- 
 sists of five fingers, that an instance of an indi- 
 vidual having more or less than five fingers 
 would be justly esteemed an instance of a lusus 
 natures. But even number is not always an ac- 
 
 P Sed neque Centauri fuerunt, neque tempore in ullo 
 Esse queat duplici natura, et corpore bino 
 Ex alienigenis membris compacta potestas — 
 Principio, eircum tribus actis impiger annis 
 
 Floret equus, puer haudquaquam. &c. 
 
 Lib. V. 876-889.
 
 INTELLECTUAL FACULTIES. .337 
 
 knowledged criterion ; for, with respect to the 
 teeth, though thirty-two is the usual number in 
 the human subject, yet the instances of persons 
 having only twenty-eight are so frequent, that 
 we can scarcely class them as deviations from 
 the common law. 
 
 But if size, or colour, or form be made the 
 criterion, we evidently cannot then fix the limits ; 
 for in all these points there is an endless variety 
 in individuals of the same species : so that it 
 might perhaps be truly asserted, that out of the 
 countless myriads of human beings that inhabit 
 the earth, nay even out of all that have existed 
 since the creation, no two individuals would be 
 found to resemble each other, exactly, in even 
 any one of those points. And in this wonderful 
 diversity the infinite power of the Deity is dis- 
 tinctly manifested ; for, in the exercise of human 
 skill, the most accomplished artist, as soon as 
 he ceases to copy an actual individual, falls 
 into that general similarity of outline by which 
 we are enabled to ascertain his style upon the 
 first view. 
 
 If, in the pursuit of our inquiry, we appeal to 
 the distribution of the internal organs of the 
 body, we shall find, that though with respect to 
 many the position is determinable with con- 
 siderable precision, yet with respect to others, 
 the smaller veins and arteries, for instance, the 
 variation is endless. But — and this most highly 
 
 z 

 
 .338 ON THE INTELLECTUAL FACULTIES. 
 
 deserves our attention — if we consider the uses 
 of the parts with reference to the precision of 
 their position, we shall find, that the position of 
 those is most constant, the uses of which are 
 most important ; while the distribution of those 
 parts, the position of which may differ to a con- 
 siderable extent without inconvenience to the 
 individual, is found to be continually varying. 
 
 Now as this law of deviation from the usual 
 structure does not seem at all to depend on the 
 construction of the parts themselves ; and as 
 the result is necessarily connected with the well- 
 being, and even the life, possibly, of the indivi- 
 dual ; we cannot consider this result as the ef- 
 fect of chance, or want of design : for, if chance 
 could be admissible as the cause, why should 
 one class of phenomena be so much more fre- 
 quent than the other ? And with equal or still 
 greater force we may apply the argument to 
 the existence of those productions emphatically 
 called monsters. Probably then, or rather as- 
 suredly, these anomalous productions may, in 
 addition to other ends, be considered as proofs 
 of a particular or constantly superintending 
 Providence ; and, like the storms which occa- 
 sionally ravage the surface of the earth, may 
 awfully recall to our minds the power of the 
 Deity, while they at the same time convince us, 
 by the rarity of their occurrence, of the merci- 
 ful beneficence of his nature.
 
 CONCLUSION. 339 
 
 (HAP. XL 
 Conclusion. 
 
 IT has been the immediate object of the pre- 
 ceding treatise to demonstrate the adaptation of 
 the external world to the physical condition of 
 man : and, either in considering him merely as 
 an individual, or as a component member of 
 any stage of society, it may be freely admitted 
 that every step in the investigation has tended 
 to confirm this general conclusion, that — whether 
 from chance, (if any philosophical mind acknow- 
 ledge the existence of such an agent as chance,) 
 or from deliberate design — a mutual harmony 
 does really exist between the corporeal powers 
 and intellectual faculties of man, and the pro- 
 perties of the various forms of matter which 
 surround him ; the material constituents of all 
 nature being as evidently adapted to the supply 
 of the wants of his body, as the contemplation 
 of their causes and relations to the exercise of 
 his mind. 
 
 We have seen that from the surrounding 
 atmosphere he is constantly supplied with that 
 respirable part of the air, which alone can sup- 
 port the breath of life ; and which is demanded 
 for that purpose during almost every moment of 
 his existence. We have seen that from the same 
 source are derived those universal and important 
 agents, water and heat and light, which are 
 
 z 2
 
 340 CONCLUSION. 
 
 equally though not so immediately necessary, as 
 air, to the wants of man. We have seen again, 
 that the mineral kingdom, though it does not 
 directly contribute to the support of life, yet in 
 the form of natural soils sustains the growth of 
 every kind of vegetable ; and that on the nu- 
 triment derived from this source all animal life 
 essentially depends : we have seen that the 
 same source also supplies those various metallic 
 and earthy bodies, the uses of which are most 
 extensive and important in promoting many of 
 the arts of civilized society. And, lastly, that 
 the advantages derivable from the vegetable 
 and animal kingdoms are, eventually, neither 
 of less extent and importance, nor their adapta- 
 tion to the physical condition of man less ob- 
 vious, than those of the mineral and atmo- 
 spherical. 
 
 It would have been easy to demonstrate that 
 an equally obvious but infinitely more import- 
 ant harmony exists between the external world, 
 and the moral condition of man, as between 
 that world and his physical condition : but this 
 province had been assigned to others ; and all 
 systematic reference to that harmony has there- 
 fore been studiously avoided — though the con- 
 stantly recurring difficulty has been to abstain 
 from such a demonstration. 
 
 But, it may possibly be observed, both the 
 physical and moral relations of man are in-
 
 CONCLUSION. 341 
 
 evitably soon cut short by death : and though, in 
 many instances, societies continue to be bene- 
 fited through successive ages in consequence of 
 the efforts of individuals, who have long since 
 ceased to live, yet in many instances, on the 
 other hand, the memorial not only of indivi- 
 duals, but of nations also, entirely perishes ; 
 and all things apparently proceed, as if those 
 individuals and nations had never existed. 
 
 Shall we then, in concluding this treatise, 
 simply admit the existence of that harmony, 
 the illustration of which was its professed ob- 
 ject; and in admitting that existence shall we 
 at the same time express our gratitude to that 
 Power, which has thus amply provided for the 
 physical wants of man, and for the develope- 
 ment of his intellectual faculties! That indeed 
 would have been incumbent on us under any 
 circumstances ; and without any qualification 
 arising from the partial occurrence either of 
 disease, or famine, or any other form of phy- 
 sical evil. 
 
 But, since they, to whom this treatise is prin- 
 cipally addressed, are conscious that some ulte- 
 rior cause exists for the adaptation of the exter- 
 nal world to the nature of man, beyond the trans- 
 ient supply of his physical wants, or even the 
 exercise of his intellectual faculties ; to have ex- 
 hibited the bare fact of that adaptation, without 
 some reference to its final cause, would have been 
 
 z3
 
 342 CONCLUSION. 
 
 to leave the whole argument without its just con- 
 clusion. 
 
 Avoiding however the presumption of specu- 
 lating on the nature of a future state of exist- 
 ence, we may, without any impropriety, assert, 
 on the authority of revelation, that the happi- 
 ness or misery of that state will depend much 
 on the use we have made of that external world 
 which surrounds us ; and will coincide with the 
 prevailing character of those habits which we 
 have contracted in this life. 
 
 This then is the sum of the whole argument. 
 The Creator has so adapted the external world 
 to the moral as well as the physical condition of 
 man, and those two conditions act so constantly 
 and reciprocally on each other, that in a compre- 
 hensive view of the relation between the exter- 
 nal world and man, we cannot easily lose sight 
 of that most important connexion. And, if we 
 extend our views to a future life, we are taught 
 that the moral state, which has been induced by 
 our prevailing animal or intellectual habits in 
 this life, will be continued and perpetuated eter- 
 nally in the next — " that in the place where the 
 " tree falleth, there it shall be" — that " it is ap- 
 " pointed unto men once to die ; but after this, 
 " the judgment." 
 
 Have we then, to refer first to our animal 
 wants and desires, have we indulged without 
 restraint in the pleasures of sense; shrinking
 
 CONCLUSION. 343 
 
 from every breath of heaven, unless previously 
 tempered with luxurious warmth, and impreg- 
 nated with the perfumes of the east? Have we 
 weakened our intellectual faculties, and brutal- 
 ized our moral feelings, by habitual inebriation ; 
 abusing that gift of Heaven, which was intended 
 as a restorative of exhausted nature 1 Instead of 
 simply satisfying the calls of hunger by plain 
 and moderate diet, have we provoked and pam- 
 pered the appetite by all the luxuries which 
 the animal and vegetable kingdoms can supply, 
 till at length all appetite has been destroyed ; 
 pain and disease have been induced ; the human 
 form and feature have been lost under a mass of 
 loathsomeness and corruption ; and death, long 
 wished for, yet dreaded, has arrived at last? 
 we shall awake hereafter in another world, but 
 in unaltered misery ; without the hope of any 
 second offer of release from the impurity and 
 everlasting punishment of sin. 
 
 Or, to refer to the intellectual part of our na- 
 ture, in contemplating for instance the starry 
 firmament, and in calculating the unerring mo- 
 tions of the heavenly bodies, have we been con- 
 tent to characterize the certainty and regularity 
 of those motions as the result of necessity, or of 
 the laws of an undefined agent called nature? 
 And in thus failing to acknowledge explicitly 
 the Author of those laws, though not indeed 
 formally denying his existence, have we, like 
 
 z 4
 
 344 CONCLUSION. 
 
 the nations of old, worshipped the creature, 
 rather than the Creator ; and bowed down our 
 knee, as it were, to the host of heaven? — we 
 may in that case hereafter suffer the penalty of 
 our intellectual pride, in a mode severely just. 
 The mind, which in this life failed to exercise 
 its highest functions by adoring the Deity in 
 the contemplation of his works, may be for- 
 bidden to extend the exercise of those functions 
 in the next; and, while it looks back with un- 
 utterable torment to the forfeited pleasures of 
 its former state, may be condemned, with tor- 
 ment infinitely increased, to expatiate eternally 
 through new fields of knowledge, without the 
 capability of even putting the sickle to the 
 boundless harvest which they present. 
 
 But if, happily, we have pursued a wiser 
 course ; if, with Newton, we have delighted to 
 deduce from the contemplation of the mechan- 
 ism of the heavenly bodies the power of Him 
 who made them, and who alone sustains and 
 directs their motions ; we may, and with facul- 
 ties infinitely expanded, cultivate with him the 
 same pure pleasures, which even on earth ab- 
 stracted his desires from earthly wants ; and, 
 enraptured with the harmonious movements of 
 those endless systems, which neither our pre- 
 sent organs can see, nor our present faculties 
 apprehend, we may continue to be constantly 
 acquiring new knowledge, constantly absorbed
 
 CONCLUSION. 345 
 
 in new wonder and adoration of that Power, from 
 whom, both in this world, and in that which is 
 to come, all knowledge, and every other good 
 and perfect gift are alone derived.
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 -HAVING considered in the preceding pages the general 
 opinions of Aristotle respecting the physiology and classifi- 
 cation of animals, I propose in this Appendix to make 
 a selection from his descriptions of some natural groups 
 and individual species of animals, for the purpose of com- 
 paring them with the corresponding descriptions of Cuvier; 
 confining myself, however, exclusively to the mammalia, 
 which constitute the first class of vertebrated animals. And, 
 as an introduction to that selection, I shall prefix a compa- 
 rative view of the observations of the same two authors on 
 some points connected with the general physiology of ani- 
 mals ; presenting the whole in the form of two parallel 
 columns, as the most convenient mode of exhibiting the 
 comparison. In each column I shall endeavour to give a 
 free but faithful translation of the original passages, fol- 
 lowed by the original passages themselves a . 
 
 However extensive may have been the information of the 
 ancients in that department of natural science which is now 
 under consideration ; and however capable a mind like that 
 of Aristotle must have been of deducing general conclusions 
 from a systematic examination of facts, (sufficiently numerous 
 and various,) for the purpose of effecting a natural classifi- 
 cation of animals, it could not reasonably be expected that, 
 antecedently to the knowledge of the circulation of the 
 blood, and of the true character of respiration, and also of 
 
 a In order to abridge as much as possible the number and length of the ex- 
 tracts, J hare occasionally merely stated a conclusion, drawn from several se- 
 parate paragraphs. In such instances I must claim credit for having rightly 
 understood, and fairly represented, the context.
 
 348 APPENDIX. 
 
 the physiology of the absorbent and nervous systems, a na- 
 tural classification could have been accomplished on prin- 
 ciples so satisfactory as at the present day. And those in- 
 dividuals pay a very absurd homage to antiquity, who, on 
 occasions like the present, would place the pretensions of 
 the ancients upon an equality with those of the moderns : 
 for the question does not regard the original powers of the 
 mind, but the amount of accumulated knowledge on which 
 those powers are to be exercised ; and it would indeed be- 
 extraordinary, if, inverting the analogy of individuals, the 
 world should not be wiser in its old age, than it was in its 
 infancy. 
 
 In comparing, then, the zoology of Aristotle with that of 
 the moderns, it has not been my intention to prove that the 
 classification of the one is built upon equally clear and exten- 
 sive demonstrations as that of the other ? but to shew, as in 
 harmony with the general object of this treatise, that, even 
 in the very dawn of science, there is frequently sufficient light 
 to guide the mind to at least an approximation to the truth 
 — to a much nearer approximation, indeed, than could have 
 been antecedently expected by those who are not accustomed 
 to reflect philosophically on the uniformity of the laws of 
 nature. Thus, as has been already mentioned, the advance- 
 ment of science has shewn the existence of such a general 
 coincidence and harmony of relation between the several 
 component parts of an individual animal, that even a 
 partial acquaintance with the details of its structure will 
 frequently enable the inquirer to ascertain its true place 
 in the scale of organization. And hence, although Ari- 
 stotle knew nothing of the circulation of the blood, or of the 
 general physiology of the nervous system, and even compa- 
 ratively little of the osteology of animals, yet subsequent 
 discoveries have scarcely disturbed the order of his arrange- 
 ment. He placed the whale, for instance, in the same na- 
 tural division with common quadrupeds, because he saw 
 that like them it is viviparous, and suckles its young, and 
 respires by lungs and not by gills ; and with viviparous
 
 ARISTOTLE AND CUVIEB COMPARED- 349 
 
 quadrupeds it is still classed: the circulation of its blood, 
 as well as the arrangement of its nervous system, being es- 
 sentially the same as in that class of animals. And, not- 
 withstanding the difference of its form, its osteology, which 
 holds an analogy throughout with that of quadrupeds, is 
 the same actually in a part where it would be least expected : 
 for, with the remarkable exception of the sloth, all vivipa- 
 rous quadrupeds have exactly seven cervical vertebrae, and 
 so has the whale; whereas fish, to the general form of which 
 the whale closely approximates, having no neck, have no 
 cervical vertebrae; and the deficiency of the neck in fish was 
 recognised by Aristotle b . 
 
 GENERAL PHYSIOLOGY. 
 
 Aristotle. Ci/vier, torn. I. 
 
 In some animals there is a Every organized body has 
 
 mutual resemblance in all their its peculiar form ; not only ge- 
 
 parts ; as the eve of any one nerally and exteriorly, but even 
 
 man resembles the eye of every in the detail of the structure 
 
 other man : and it is the same of each of its parts ; and all 
 
 with respect to the constituent the individuals which agree in 
 
 parts of the horse, or of any the detail of their structure 
 
 other animals which are said to are of the same species. 
 be of the same species : for in 
 individuals of the same species 
 each part resembles its corre- 
 spondent part as much as the 
 whole resembles the whole. 
 
 "E^e t 8e rcbv §u>a)v evia pev Trdvra Chaque corps organise a une 
 
 ra fiopia ravra aWrp\ois, evia 5' forme propre, non-seulement 
 
 erepa. tcivto. 8e to. pev e'ldei rcov en general et a l'exterieur, mais 
 
 fxopicov early, oiov dvdpcoirov pis jusque dans le detail de la 
 
 Kal dcpdaXpbs dv6pu>TTov pivl iccil structure de chacune de ses 
 
 d(p8akpa, Kal aapKi <rap£ Kal oar<» parties, p. 1 6. et tous les etres 
 
 ocrrovv' tov avrov 8e rponov Kal appartenans a Tune de ces 
 
 Iitttov Kal Twv oXXcov (<i<£>v , ocra ra formes constituent ce que Ton 
 
 e'ldei Tavrci Xeyopev eavrols' opolas appelle une espece. p. 19. 
 b hvxeva 5' ovSels ex fl *X^ S - P- 40.
 
 350 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 Aristotle, 
 yap ao-rrep to bXov ex el T>pbs to 
 
 OKOV, KClt TlOV pOpiCOV f^ft fKaO~TOV 
 
 irpbs €KacrTov. p. I . 
 
 Cuvier, torn. I. 
 
 All animals have certain 
 common organs, by means of 
 some of which they lay hold 
 of, and into others of which 
 they convey, their food. The 
 organ by which they lay hold 
 of their food is called the 
 mouth ; that, into which thev 
 convey it, the stomach : but 
 the other parts are called by 
 various names. The form and 
 relative proportions, structure, 
 and position of these parts, are 
 the same in the same species, 
 but vary in different species of 
 animals. 
 
 TldvTCdv 8 ecrrt twv £cooov Koiva 
 popta, a> Several ttjv Tpofprjv <a\ 
 els o Several" — KaXetrat 8' r) 
 pev Xapfidvet, aropa, els b 8e 8e- 
 X*Tai, KOLkia' to 8e \onrbv tto- 
 \vatvvp6v io~Tiv. — Taura 8 itrA 
 Tavra Kai erepa Kara, tovs elpr]- 
 ■pevovs Tponovs, rj Kar ei8os rj Kaff 
 virfpoxrjV rj /car' dvciKoylav f) t[/ 
 6eo-(i 8ta(pepovTa. p 6. 
 
 The leading character of 
 animals is derived from the 
 existence of a reservoir for 
 their food, that is, an intesti- 
 nal canal, the organization of 
 which varies according to cir- 
 cumstances. 
 
 In addition to the mouth 
 and stomach, most animals 
 have other common parts by 
 which they exclude the refuse 
 of their food : but in some ani- 
 mals these parts are wanting. 
 
 Merti 8f TavTa aWa koivci pupui 
 
 De la (le reservoir d'ali- 
 mens) derive le premier carac- 
 tere des animaux, ou leur ca- 
 vite intestinale. — reorganisa- 
 tion de cette cavite et de ses ap- 
 partenances a du varier selon la 
 nature des alimens. p. 21, 22. 
 
 The lowest animals have no 
 other outlet for the refuse of 
 their food, than that bv which 
 thev admit the food itself. 
 
 II n'v a que les derniers des
 
 ARISTOTLE AND CUVIKR COMPARED. 
 
 351 
 
 Aristotle. Cuvier, torn. 1. 
 
 <?xei th 7rXe7crra rmv £aW 7rpos animaux ou les excremens res- 
 
 rovrois, 77 d(pir)cn to TrepiTTapa sortent par la bouche, et dont 
 
 rr/s Tpo<prjs — ov yap Tracriv vwdp. l'intestin ait la forme d'un sac 
 
 X« tovto. p. 6. sans issue, p. 41. 
 
 There are fibres of a peculiar 
 kind in the blood : bv the re- 
 moval of which that fluid is 
 prevented from coagulating : 
 but if they are not removed, it 
 does coagulate. And through 
 defect of these fibres the blood 
 of the deer and of some other 
 animals does not coagulate. 
 
 v Eoti 8e Kai aXKo yevos lva>v, 6 
 ■ytWrni pe v iv aipari' — a>v i^aipov- 
 pivav ix. tov aiparos ov Trrjyvvrai to 
 aipa, idv Se prj i£aipeda>o~i, Trrjyvv- 
 rai. p. f!4. 'El* pev oiiv TO> tg>v 7rXei- 
 trrwp a'ipari £a>cov '£vtio~iv, iv be rw 
 rrji iXdqbov <a\ npoKos Kai fiovfta- 
 Xi8os (cat uXXciw tivwv ovk eveicriv 
 iv<s' hib Ka\ ov TrrjyvvTai a\iTu>v to 
 aipa opoicoi to'ls a'XXotf, aXXa to 
 pev tu>v iXdcpav 7rapaTr\r]0~ia)s rc5 
 T(ov 8aavTrd8(t>v c . p. 65. 
 
 The blood contains a prin- 
 ciple called fibrine ; which, 
 within a short time after the 
 blood has been withdrawn from 
 the body, manifests itself in 
 the form of membranes or fila- 
 ments. 
 
 (Le fluide nourricier, ou Ie 
 sang) — contient la fibrine et 
 la gelatine presque toutes dis- 
 posers a se contracter et a 
 prendre les formes de mem- 
 branes ou de filamens qui leur 
 sont propres, du moins suffit-il 
 d'un peu de repos pour qu'elles 
 s'y manifestent. p. 27- 
 
 The particular senses are The most general external 
 
 five in number, sight, hearing, sense is that of touch ; its seat 
 smell, taste, and touch. Of is the surface of the whole 
 
 c It is deserving of notice, that the animals whose blood is said not to coa- 
 gulate are such as are usually killed in hunting; and it is understood by phy- 
 siologists in general, that excessive exercise and violent mental emotions, both 
 which occur in hunted animals, prevent the blood from coagulating. Two of 
 the species here mentioned by Aristotle (wp&£ and Saainrovs or Aayaibs) are 
 mentioned by Homer as commonly hunted : 
 
 — ayivfiTKOV veoi &vSpes 
 Alyas eV ayporepas, r/5e irpj/ccts, r)8e \aymovs. Odvss. P. 295.
 
 352 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 Aristotle. 
 these the sense of touch is 
 alone common to all animals; 
 and is so generally diffused 
 over the whole body, that it is 
 not said to reside in any spe- 
 cific part. All animals do not 
 possess all the senses ; some 
 possess only a part of them. 
 But no animal is without the 
 fifth sense, that of touch. 
 
 Etcrl 8' al (alo~6r)crei<;) 7rXetarot, 
 teal Trap as ovbep'ia (palvercu iStos 
 4rtpa, TTivre tov dpiBpbv, b\jsis, 
 ukoi), ocrcpprjo-is, yevais, d(prj. p. 
 100. Udcri 8e Tois £coois aiadrjais 
 pla VTrdpxei <oivi] povrj rj dcprj, 
 (Scrre koi iv w avrrj popica ylvecdai 
 -rri^VKev, avcovvpov eariv. p. /. 
 Ov yap opo'uos Tvaaiv v7tap\ovcriv 
 (alcrdrjcreis), aXXa to7s pev Tvacrai 
 toIs 8' iXdrrovs. p. 100. Tfjv 8e 
 TTepnrrjv a"cr6r](Tiv ttjv ucptjv Ka\ov- 
 pevrjv — iravT e^et £a>a. p. 101. 
 
 All animals which draw in 
 and breathe out the air have 
 lungs. Those animals which 
 employ water, analogously to 
 aii-, in respiration, have gills. 
 
 "OXais 8e Travra o<ra rov aepa 
 ^e^o/^em dvawvel Ka\ iKnvci, ttcivt 
 t'xei irvevpova. p. 43. Ta pev ovv 
 ava\oyov t;/ dvanvof] \pu>p(va ro 
 vypa> fipayxia e%a. p. 215. 
 
 Cuvier, torn. I. 
 body. Many animals are with- 
 out the sense of hearing, and 
 of smell, and of sight. Some 
 have none of the senses except 
 that of touch, which is never 
 w r anting. 
 
 Le sens exterieur le plus ge- 
 neral est le toucher ; son siege 
 est a la peau, membrane enve- 
 loppant le corps entier. p. 36. 
 Beaucoup d'animaux manquent 
 d'oreilles et de narines ; plu- 
 sieurs d'yeux : d y en a qui 
 sont reduits aii toucher, lequel 
 ne manque jamais, p, 37- 
 
 When the element subser- 
 vient to the process of respira- 
 tion is the air, the organ of re- 
 spiration is the lungs : when 
 water, the gills. 
 
 Quand cet element est de 
 l'air, la surface est creuse, et 
 se nomme poumon ; quand c'est 
 de l'eau, elle est sadlante, et 
 s'appelle branchie. p. 43. 
 
 Animals in general appear Even the most perfect ani- 
 
 to have a certain degree of in- mals are infinitely inferior to 
 tellectual power, and some are man in the intellectual facid-
 
 ARISTOTLE AND CUVIER COMPARED. 
 
 353 
 
 Aristotle. 
 capable of instruction. Some 
 animals are cautious ; some 
 are cunning. Man alone is 
 capable of meditation and re- 
 flection. Many animals pos- 
 sess memory : no animal but 
 man is capable of recollection. 
 
 tyalvovrai yap (to. fwa) e'^ovTa 
 Tiva bvvupiv — Trepi re <ppovr]aiv 
 Kal evr]6eiav — evia 8e Koivatvd. tlvos 
 apa Kal pa6r]crea>s Kal SiSacnca- 
 At'as. p. 25 ! . Ta pev (ppuvipa — 
 ra 8 €77i/3ovXa - — BovXevriicou 8e 
 povov avdpwnos e'oTi ra>i> §d><t>v. 
 Kal pvr/prjs pii> Kal fitSa^^? 7roXXa 
 KOivavtl, 6vapipvr)crKea6aL 8i ovdiv 
 clXKo dvvarai 7rX?)i/ avdpomos. p. 6. 
 
 In the greater number of 
 animals there are traces of the 
 moral affections of man ; for 
 some are mild and some are 
 fierce. And the same thing 
 mav be very readily discerned 
 in children, for in them we 
 
 Cuvier, torn. I. 
 ties ; although it is certain that 
 their intelligence performs si- 
 milar operations to those of the 
 human mind : and they are ca- 
 pable of instruction. Man has 
 the faculty of associating his 
 general ideas with particular 
 images of a more or less arbi- 
 trary character, but easily im- 
 printed on his memory, which 
 serve to recall to him the ge- 
 neral ideas which they repre- 
 sent. 
 
 Les animaux les plus par- 
 faits sont infiniment au-dessous 
 de l'homme pour les facultes 
 intellectuelles, et il est cepen- 
 dant certain que leur intelli- 
 gence execute des operations 
 du merae genre — ils acquie- 
 rent par l'experience une cer- 
 taine connaissance des choses. 
 p. 51, 52. L'homme a la 
 faculte d'associer ses idees ge- 
 nerates a des images particu- 
 heres et plus ou moins arbi- 
 trages, aisees a graver dans la 
 memoire, et qui lui servent a 
 rappeler les idees generates 
 qu'elles representent. p. 50. 
 
 Animals are susceptible of 
 emulation and jealousy, &c. 
 In short, we may observe in 
 the higher animals a certain 
 degree of the reasoning faculty, 
 which appears nearly the same 
 with that of infants before 
 
 a a
 
 354 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 Aristotle. 
 may perceive the germs of 
 their future habits ; and in- 
 deed the dispositions of human 
 beings at that early period of 
 life do not differ from those of 
 the inferior animals. 
 
 "Kveuri yap iv rols TrXeicrrois 
 Kai Tcov aKXav fopo)!/ tx vr ) T " >v 
 irep\ rfjv i\rv)(r)v rpoTrav, anep iirl 
 toov dvOpcmrcov ex el (pave pare pas 
 ras 8iarf>opas. p. 212. Ta pev 
 yap earn npaa — Ta 8e dvpwh'r). p. 
 6. $avepa>rarov 8 io~Ti to toiov- 
 rov eVi tt)v tu>v naiBcov rjXiiciav 
 ^\e\j/ao'iV iv tovtois yap rSav pev 
 varepov e'tjecov iaopevaiv e<TTiv idelv 
 olov 'l-X vr l Kal o-TTeppara, 8ia(pepei 
 S' oidev a>s elnelv rj ^/vx^] rr/s rwv 
 6rjpia>v yjsvxTJs Kara rbv xpovov tov- 
 tov. p. 212. 
 
 Cuvier, torn. I. 
 they have acquired the power 
 of speech. 
 
 lis sont susceptibles d'6mu- 
 lation et de jalousie — en un 
 mot, on apercoit dans les ani- 
 maux superieurs un certain 
 degre de raisonnement avec 
 tous ses effets bons et mauvais, 
 et qui parait etre a peu pres le 
 meme que celui des enfans 
 lorsqu'ils n'ont pas encore ap- 
 pris a parler. p. 52. 
 
 As man possesses contriv- 
 ance, and wisdom, and com- 
 prehension ; so some animals 
 possess a certain natural power, 
 which, though not the same as, 
 in some respects resembles, 
 those faculties. 
 
 'Qt yap iv dvdpwTrcp rex vr ) Kai 
 o~o<pia Kai avveo'is, ovrcus iviois 
 t5>v £e6a>v io~ri tis erepa roiavrr] 
 <pvo~iKT] ovvapis. p. 212. 
 
 In a great number of animals 
 there exists a faculty, different 
 from intelligence, which is 
 called instinct. 
 
 II existe dans un grand 
 nombre d'animaux une faculte 
 differente de l'intelligence ; c'est 
 celle qu'on nomme instinct, p. 
 53. 
 
 All animals which have red 
 blood have a spine or back- 
 bone : but the other parts of 
 the bony system are wanting 
 
 The first general division of 
 animals includes all those which 
 have a spine or back-bone con- 
 sisting of separate portions
 
 ARISTOTLE AND CUVIER COMPARED. 
 
 355 
 
 Aristotle. 
 in some species, and present in 
 others. The spine is the base 
 or origin of the bony system : 
 it is composed of vertebrae, 
 which are all perforated ; and 
 extends from the head to the 
 hips : and the cranium is a con- 
 tinuation of its upper or ante- 
 rior extremity. 
 
 Yldvra Se tcl (ma ocra i'vaipd 
 
 ((TTIV, €X el P a X LV T<1 " OAAa fJLO- 
 
 pia Tcov ocrrav ivioLs pev icmv, 
 eviois 8' ovk ecTTiv. p. 66. '&px*] 
 8e rj pdx is *&t\v iv irdcri rols e^ov- 
 ijiv Sard. crvyKtirat. d' tj pd%is e* 
 acpovSvXaiv, reiVet S' diro rrjs ne- 
 (paXrjs p^XP 1 n P® s r o l<r)(ia. ol pev 
 ovv cr(p6v8v\oi TrdvTfs Terprjpevoi 
 elcrlv, av<o de to ttjs Ke<fia\rjs octtovv 
 cruj/e^e? ecrri rois ecr^aroty a(pov- 
 SvXoty, 6 KaXdrai Kpavlov. p. 65. 
 
 Cavier, torn. I. 
 called vertebrae. The animals 
 of this division are called ver- 
 tebrated. They have all of 
 them red blood : their body is 
 composed of a head, trunk, and 
 members : the spine, which is 
 composed of vertebrae, having 
 each an annular perforation, 
 and movable on each other, 
 commences at its upper or an- 
 terior extremity from the head ; 
 the lower or posterior extre- 
 mity usually terminating in a 
 tail. 
 
 Dans la premiere de ces 
 formes [generates] , qui est celle 
 de l'homme et des animaux qui 
 lui ressemblent le plus, le cer- 
 veau, &c. sont renfermes dans 
 une enveloppe osseuse, qui se 
 compose du crane et des verte- 
 bres. p. 57- Nous appelerons 
 les animaux de cette forme 
 les animaux vertebres. p. 58. 
 Leur sang est toujours rouge, 
 p. 63. Leur corps se compose 
 toujours de la tete, du tronc 
 et des membres. L'epine est 
 composee de vertebres mobiles 
 les unes sur les autres, dont 
 la premiere porte la tete, et 
 qui ont toutes une partie an- 
 nulare, p. 62, 63. Le plus 
 souvent l'epine se prolonge en 
 une queue, p. 63. 
 
 Red-blooded animals when Their extremities never ex- 
 
 in their perfect state have ceed two pair in number : 
 
 a a 2
 
 356 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 Aristotle. 
 either no extremities, or they 
 have one or two pair. Those 
 animals which have more than 
 two pair are not red-blooded. 
 
 Cuvier, torn. I. 
 sometimes one pair is wanting, 
 sometimes both. 
 
 In some animals the corre- 
 sponding limbs are different in 
 form, but analogous in use. 
 Thus the anterior extremities 
 of birds are neither hands nor 
 feet, but wings. Fish have no 
 limbs, but appendages, called 
 fins, commonly four in number, 
 sometimes two. 
 
 Ta pev evaipa Tvyxdvei ovra — 
 ocra 17 dwo8d eari reXea ovra (aivovv 
 8e (pvcrei earlv evaipov ire^ov to 
 Tail/ ocpecov yevos, p. 10.) T) 8i7ro8a 
 rj TtTpdiToha. ra 8' avaipa — ■ndvff 
 bcra nXeiov? nobas e^ei reTTaptov. 
 p. 7- *Evta 8e tcou §(pa>v ovre ei'Sei 
 to. popia TcivTa e'xei ovre Kaff vnep- 
 c>xr]v Kai eXKa^/iv, dWa kot 
 dvakoyiav. p. 2. Xeipas 8' ov8e 
 n68as Tvpoadiovs e^ei (ot opviOes), 
 ciAXa Trrepvyas 1810V npbs to. o'XXa 
 £wn. p. 38. Avxeua 8" ov8e\s e\ el 
 
 l)(dvs, ov8e KmXov ovdev \810v 8' 
 
 exovo~i — ret TTTepvyia, 01 pev 7rXet- 
 trrot TeTTapa, 01 8e npoprjKtis 8vo. 
 
 p. 40. 
 
 The red-blooded animals are 
 man, viviparous and oviparous 
 quadrupeds, birds, fish, ceta- 
 ceous animals, and snakes, &c. 
 
 The form of the extremities 
 varies according to the uses to 
 which they are to be applied ; 
 the anterior extremities being 
 hands, or feet, or wings, or fins ; 
 the posterior, feet or fins. 
 
 II n'y a jamais plus de deux 
 paires de membres ; mais elles 
 manquent quelquefois l'une ou 
 l'autre, ou toutes les deux, et 
 prennent des formes relatives 
 aux mouvemens qu'elles doivent 
 executer. Les membres ante- 
 rieurs peuvent etre faits en 
 mains, en pieds, en ailes ou en 
 nageoires ; les posterieurs, en 
 pieds ou en nageoires. p. 63. 
 
 The division of vertebrated 
 animals includes man, the 
 mammalia consisting of vivi- 
 parous quadrupeds and the ce- 
 tacea, birds, reptiles of all 
 kinds, many of which, though
 
 ARISTOTLE AND CUVIER COMPARED. 
 
 357 
 
 Aristotle. 
 
 "E(tti 8e ravra (fcoa evaipa) av- 
 Opanros re Kai ra faoroica ra>v re- 
 Tpan68a>v, en 8e (cat tci word(ca tgsv 
 T(Tpair68a>v Kai opvis koi 1%6vs ko\ 
 Ktjros Kai — Septs, p. 42, 43. 
 
 Animals of the largest size 
 are found among those which 
 are red-blooded. All animals 
 which have colourless blood 
 are smaller in size than those 
 which have red blood ; with the 
 exception of a few marine ani- 
 mals, as some of the sepise d . 
 
 Touro) 8ia(pepet ra peytara yivrj 
 7rpos ra Xonra rcov aXXav §a>a>v, rut 
 tci pkv evatp.a ra 8' avaip-a civat. 
 p. 42. TlaPTa 8e ra avaipa e'Xdrro) 
 ra peye'dr) eo-ri rcov evaipcov £a>a>v' 
 likrjv oXiya iv rfj OaXaTTrj pei^ova 
 avaipa icrriv, oiov tcov paXaiciaiv 
 evia. p. 9. 
 
 All red-blooded animals have 
 the five senses. 
 
 "AvdpcoTros ptv ovv — Ka\ Sera ev- 
 aipa Ka\ ^cooTona, ixdvra (paiverai 
 k\ovTa ravras iracras (alcrdr}creis} . 
 
 p. 100. 
 
 Cuvier, torn. I. 
 oviparous, are quadrupeds, and 
 fish. 
 
 Subdivision des animaux 
 vertebres. L'homme — les sin- 
 ges, &c. — les cetaces — les oi- 
 seaux — tortues — serpens — 
 poissons. Tom. i. 67 — ii. 35 1 . 
 
 Vertebrated animals, all of 
 which have red blood, attain 
 to a much larger size than 
 those whose blood is colour- 
 less. 
 
 C'est parmi eux (les ani- 
 maux vertebres) que se trou- 
 vent les plus grands des ani- 
 maux. p. 62. Le sang est 
 toujours rouge, p. 63. 
 
 Vertebrated animals have 
 always two eyes, two ears, two 
 nostrils, the integuments of the 
 tongue and those of the whole 
 body. 
 
 Les sens exterieurs sont tou- 
 jours deux yeux, deux oreilles, 
 deux narines, les tegumens de 
 la langue, et ceux de la tota- 
 lite du corps, p. 64. 
 
 d See a curious engraving in Montfort, Hist. Nat. des Mollusques, torn. ii. 
 p. 256, representing a gigantic sepia grasping a ship and its rigging. 
 
 A a 3
 
 358 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 Aristotle. 
 No animal which is not vi- 
 viparous has breasts : and even 
 of viviparous animals those 
 only have them which produce 
 their young alive at once, 
 
 MAMMALIA. 
 
 Cuvier, torn. I. 
 The animals of the class 
 mammalia wee essentially vivi- 
 parous ; inasmuch as a direct 
 communication is established 
 between the embryo and the 
 
 cea. 
 
 without the intervention of an parent immediately after con- 
 egg, ception. 
 
 The milk is not, as the The new-born offspring is 
 blood is, a fluid which animals nourished for a time by milk, 
 possess from their birth, but a which is a special and tempo- 
 subsequent secretion ; and is rary secretion from the mam- 
 contained in the breasts. And mee ; organs, so exclusively 
 all those animals have breasts peculiar to this class, as to 
 which are essentially or di- have determined the distinctive 
 rectly viviparous ; as man, and appellation mammalia. This 
 such quadrupeds as are covered class includes all the com- 
 with hair ; and also cetaceous mon viviparous quadrupeds ; 
 animals, as the dolphin, the together with the seal, and 
 seal, and the whale. the dolphin, and other ceta- 
 
 OvBeV TCOV (IT) £(pOTOKOVVT00V 
 
 (e\ei pao~Tobs), ovbe to. geporo- 
 
 Kovvra "iravTa, dXA ocra evvvv ev 
 
 avTols (aoTOKel Kai prj aoroKel 
 
 irp&Tov. p. 40. Taii/ be o<peoov 6 la conception, descend dans la 
 
 pev e'xis gcooToicd e£oo, ev avrco matrice, enferme dans ses en- 
 
 TrpSiTov cooTOKTjaas. p. 151. hipa 
 
 vypov o~vp(f>VT6v eari rols £<oots* 
 
 varepoyeves be Kai cmoKeKpipevov 
 
 anauiv, orav evfj, eveo-ri, ro yaka' 
 
 — eyei be, ocra e^ei to yaAa, ev 
 
 toIs paaro'is. paarovs 6° e\ei ocra 
 
 gcooToice'i Kai ev aiirols kcu e£co, oiov 
 
 ocra re Tpi'^as e\ei, d>o~nep avdpa- 
 
 7ros Kai Itttvos, Kai ra ktjtt), o'lop 
 
 8e~\(pls Kai (pa>KT) Kai (paXaiva' Kai 
 
 La generation dans tous les 
 mammiferes est essentielle- 
 ment vivipare ; e'est-a-dire que 
 le foetus, imm^diatement apres 
 
 veloppes — qui etablissent entre 
 lui et sa mere une communica- 
 tion, d'ou il tire sa nourriture. 
 
 p. 75, 76. 
 
 Les petits se nourrissent pen- 
 dant quelque temps, apres leur 
 naissance, d'une liqueur parti- 
 culiere a cette classe (le lait), 
 laquelle est produite par les 
 mammelles — qui ont valu a
 
 ARISTOTLE AND CUVIER COMPARED. 
 
 359 
 
 Aristotle, 
 yap ravra fiaarovs e^ft Kai yaka. 
 
 P- 77- 
 
 Cuvier, torn. I. 
 cette classe son nom de raara- 
 miferes, attendu que lui etant 
 exclusivement propres, elles la 
 distinguent mieux qu'aucun 
 autre caractere exterieur. p. 
 76. De la classe des mammi- 
 feres sont l'homme — les singes 
 — le cheval — les phoques — le 
 dauphin — les baleines, &c. p. 
 79—284. 
 
 MAN. 
 
 All animals which have limbs 
 resembling those of man, have 
 their legs and thighs and hips 
 sparingly covered with flesh ; 
 whereas in man these parts are 
 more fleshy than any other. 
 
 Of all animals man has, in 
 proportion to his size, the larg- 
 est brain ; and the smallest in- 
 terval between his eyes ; and 
 the most delicate sense of 
 touch and of taste. 
 
 No animal but man has its 
 breasts in the front of the 
 chest ; the elephant, like the 
 human female, has two breasts, 
 but they are placed on the 
 side. 
 
 No animal but man has the 
 faculty of articulate speech ; 
 
 The muscles which extend 
 the foot and thigh of man are 
 more powerful than those of 
 any other animal : and hence 
 the calf of the leg is particu- 
 larly prominent. The part 
 called the pelvis, situate be- 
 tween the hips, is altogether 
 proportionally larger in man 
 than in any other animal. 
 
 No quadruped has so large 
 a brain as man. His eyes are 
 so placed as to be necessarily 
 directed only forwards. In 
 the delicacy of the sense of 
 taste and touch man excels all 
 other animals. 
 
 The female breasts are placed 
 in front of the chest. 
 
 He possesses an advantage 
 peculiar to himself in the or- 
 a a 4
 
 360 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 Aristotle. 
 which consists of vowels pro- 
 nounced by means of the la- 
 rynx, and of consonants form-- 
 ed by the tongue and lips : the 
 dolphin, therefore, which has 
 a voice in consequence of its 
 possessing lungs, and a larynx, 
 cannot articulate, because its 
 tongue is not readily movable, 
 and it has no lips. 
 
 Udvra 8e to. Terpcnvoha ocrrcoS^ 
 to. (TKiKrj e^ei — koi acrapica — eurt 
 8e Kal avl(T\ia. — 6 8e avflpconos tov- 
 vavrioV crapKahr] yap e^ei cr^eSoi/ 
 paXiara tov (roiparos ra lax^a koi 
 tovs prjpovs Kal tcls KVrjpas. p. 29. 
 
 "Ex« 8e (eyKtCpaKov) anavra 
 oaa e^et aipa — Kara peyedos 8' 
 opoltas e'xei clvdpconos TrXe'icrrov ey- 
 Kecpakov. p. 19. Ta S' oppara 
 i\a\i{TTOv Kara peyfdos diecrrrjicev 
 av6pu>TT(o rwv gcaaiv. f'xf 8 a/cpi- 
 /3ecrrarjjf avdpa>Tros ra>v alcrdrjo-eav 
 rrjv acprjv, 8(vrepav 8e ttjv yevaiv. 
 
 p. 18, 19. 
 
 Cuvier, torn. I. 
 gans of voice ; for he alone is 
 capable of uttering articulate 
 sounds ; a power which appa- 
 rently depends on the form of 
 his mouth, and the great flexi- 
 bility of his lips. 
 
 Maarovs 8' ovk e'xti ovdev iv tw 
 npoaOev «XX' rj avdpci>7r<>s' 6 8' 
 (Xi(pas f'xti pev paarovs 8vo, dXX' 
 
 Les muscles qui retiennent 
 le pied et la cuisse (de l'homme) 
 dans l'etat d'extension sont 
 plus vigoureux (que ceux d'au- 
 cun mammifere) ; d'ou resulte 
 la saillie du mollet et de la 
 fesse — le bassin est plus large, 
 p. 82. 
 
 Aucun quadrupede n'ap- 
 proche de lui pour la grandeur 
 et les replis des hemispheres 
 du cerveau. p. 84. Ses deux 
 yeux sont diriges en avant ; il 
 ne voit point de deux cotes a 
 la fois comme beaucoup de 
 quadrupedes. La delicatesse 
 de l'odorat doit influer sur 
 celle du gout, et l'homme doit 
 d'ailleurs avoir de l'avantage, 
 a cet egard, au moins sur les 
 animaux dont la langue est re- 
 vetue d'ecailles ; enfm, la fi- 
 nesse de son toucher resulte, 
 et de celle de ses tegumens, 
 &c. p. 85. 
 
 Ses mammelles, au nombre 
 de deux seulement, sont situees 
 sur la poitrine. p. 88.
 
 ARISTOTLE AND CUVIER COMPARED. 
 
 361 
 
 Aristotle. 
 ovk iv ro) <TTr]$ei dXXa irpbs reS 
 (TTTjdei. p. 26. 
 
 Ta 8e ^(ooroKa na\ rerpaTroSa 
 £wa aXXo aXk-qv d(pit]0~i (pwvrjis, 
 SidXeKTOv §' oi8ev *X €l > oXX' 'l8iov 
 tovt' dvOpmnov eariV (p. 107.) 
 StaXfKTO? S' 17 t?js (ficovris earl rrj 
 y\6)TTjj 8idpdp(oo~is. ra p.kv oiiv 
 <fia>VT)€VTa rj (pcovrj Kal 6 \dpvy£ 
 d(piT](riv, ra 8' acpcuva f) yXarra 
 Kal ra. X 6 '^ 7 ?' £ '£ ^ v V bidXeKros 
 itrriv. p. 105. 'A(f>tTj(ri 8i Kal 6 
 8e\<p\s rptypov teal pvgei — ecrrt yap 
 tovto) (pcovr) — dXXa ttjv ykcoTTav 
 ovk aTTokiKvpivrjv (e'x^O ovbe X € '^ T ] 
 &<TT€ apdpov ti ttjs (pcovrjs Troieiv. 
 
 p. 106. 
 
 Cuvier, torn. I. 
 
 L'homme a une preeminence 
 particuliere dans les organes 
 de sa voix ; il peut seul arti- 
 culer des sons ; la forme de sa 
 bouche et la grande mobilite 
 de ses levres en sont probable- 
 ment les causes, p. 86. 
 
 APES, &c. 
 
 The feet of apes are pecu- 
 liar, and resemble large hands, 
 the toes being like fingers, and 
 the under surface of the hind 
 foot like the palm of the hand, 
 but terminating in a badly 
 shaped heel. Hence they often 
 use their feet as hands. Their 
 arms resemble those of man, 
 as also their hands, and fingers, 
 and nails ; and they bend their 
 extremities in the same direc- 
 tion as man does e . The upper 
 part of their body being larger 
 than the lower part, as is the 
 case with decided quadrupeds ; 
 and their feet partaking of the 
 
 e The same is true of quadrupeds in general : in most of which, however, 
 Aristotle mistook the joint at the heel and wrist, for that of the knee and elbow. 
 
 The hind feet of the quad- 
 rumana (to which order apes 
 belong) have a thumb capable 
 of being opposed to the other 
 toes, which are as long and as 
 flexible as the fingers ; whence 
 they are capable of climbing 
 well : but they do not easily 
 walk, or support themselves in 
 an erect position, because their 
 pelvis is narrow, and the plane 
 of the under surface of their 
 feet is not horizontal.
 
 362 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 Aristotle. 
 character of hands ; their pel- 
 vis moreover being small ; they 
 are from these joint causes in- 
 capable of continuing long in 
 an erect position. 
 
 Like man they have two 
 mammae on the chest ; and 
 their internal anatomy resem- 
 bles the human. 
 
 Cuvier, torn. I. 
 
 Some of the apes (rrUhjitoi) 
 
 resemble man in many points, 
 as to their face : for they have 
 nostrils and ears ; and both 
 their front and back teeth not 
 much unlike those of man. 
 
 Ot de nidrjKoi — Idlovs tovs tto- 
 8at (e\ov<Ti)' fieri yap oiov X e 'P es 
 peyakai, Kal o'l 8o.ktvXoi Scrrrep ot 
 to>v x(ip£>v, 6 pecros p-aKporaros, 
 Kal to Kara) tov ttoDos X ei P l opoiov, 
 
 7Tkr)V eVt TO pjJKOS TO Ttjs X eL P os 
 
 or! to ecrx aTa tcivov, Kaddnfp 6i- 
 vap' tovto 8e eV cinpov CTKkrjpoTe- 
 pov, KaK&s kcu dpvbpus pipovpevop 
 TTTepvrjv. KexP T ) Tal °*e toTs "irocrlv 
 in ap(pa>, Kal 6>s X e P°~ l Kal ™ s 
 7roo-i, Kal crvyKapTTTei Sanep ^ei- 
 pas. — "Ex el °^ Ka ' @paxiovas 
 aicrnep avOpatiros, tt\t)v dacrels' 
 
 KOI KUpTTTCl Kal T0VTOVS KCU TO. 
 
 o-kcXt] aenrfp avdpamos — npos Se 
 tovtois x f tp as K(U SciktvXovs Kal 
 ovvxas opoiovs nV#pa>7ra>, ir\r)v 
 iravra Tavra eVt to 0T)pia>8ecrTepoi>. 
 
 In the character of their in- 
 testines, in the direction of 
 their eyes, and in the position 
 of their breasts, they resemble 
 man ; and the structure of their 
 fore-arms and hands enables 
 them to imitate us in many of 
 their gestures and actions. 
 
 The higher species of apes 
 have flat nails ; and teeth 
 very much resembling the hu- 
 man both in number and ar- 
 rangement, and also in form : 
 and they have no tail. 
 
 Les quadrumanes different 
 de notre espece par le caractere 
 tres-sensible, que ses pieds de 
 derriere ont les pouces libres 
 et opposables aux autres doigts, 
 et que les doigts des pieds sont 
 longs et flexibles comme ceux 
 de la main ; aussi toutes les 
 especes grimpent-elles aux ar- 
 bres avec facilite, tandis qu'elles 
 ne se tiennent et ne marchent 
 debout qu'avec peine, leur pied 
 ne se posant alors que sur le 
 tranchant exterieur, et leur bas- 
 sin etroit ne favorisant point 
 l'equilibre. p. 100.
 
 ARISTOTLE AND CUVIER COMPARED. 
 
 363 
 
 Aristotle. 
 Ta 8 avco tov Kara) ttoKv pei^ova 
 e^et, axrirep ra rerpairoba — na\ 
 8id re Tavra koi 8ia to tovs 
 
 nodas %x €LV opolovs X f P°"' — ^ ta ~ 
 TfXet tov 7rXet'a) \povov Ttrpdnovv 
 ov pdWov r] opdov' K.al ovr tcr^ta 
 e^ei cos Terpdnovv ov. p. 35, 36. 
 
 Ta 8' ivrbs 8iaip(6evra opoia 
 e)(ov<Tiv avOpconw irdvra ra Toiavra. 
 p. 36. v Ex« 8' iv ra o-TTjdei 8vo 
 6rf\as paaruv piKpwv. p. 35. 
 
 Cuvier, torn. I. 
 
 To 8e 7rp6o-a>TTOV e\ei noWas 
 6poiorr]Tas too tov dvdpccnrov' kcu 
 yap p.VKT?)pa.s Kal cora napanXTjo-La 
 f^et, Kal 686vras ao-jrtp 6 av0pa>- 
 
 TtOS, KCU TOVS TTpOO~6LoVS Kal TOVS 
 
 yop<piovs. p. 35. 
 
 THE HEDGEHOG 
 
 Porcupines and land-echini, 
 or hedgehogs, are covered with 
 spines, which are properly to 
 be considered in these animals 
 as a kind of rigid and indu- 
 rated hair ; for these spines do 
 not serve the purpose of feet, 
 as they do in sea- echini. 
 
 Tpi%oDV ydp Tt ei8os dereov Kal 
 Tas aKav8w8(is rpixas, otas oi %ep- 
 
 Elles ont toutes des intestins 
 assez semblables aux notres, 
 les yeux diriges en avant, les 
 mammelles sur la poitrine. p. 
 100. La liberte de leurs avant- 
 bras et la complication de leurs 
 mains leur permettent a toutes 
 beaucoup d'actions et de gestes 
 semblables a ceux de l'homme. 
 p. 101. 
 
 Les singes — ont a chaque 
 machoire quatre dents incisives 
 droites, et a tous les doigts 
 des ongles plats ; deux carac- 
 teres qui les rapprochent de 
 l'homme plus que les genres 
 suivans ; leurs molaires n'ont 
 aussi, comme les notres, que 
 des tubercules mousses, p. 101. 
 
 AND PORCUPINE. 
 
 Hedgehogs have their bodies 
 covered with quills instead of 
 hair ; and so have porcupines. 
 
 Les herissons et les pore- 
 epics ont le corps couvert de
 
 364 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 Aristotle. 
 
 aaioi exovaiv e^'ivoi ko\ ol vo~Tpi- 
 \es' rpixos yap %peiav napf^ovo'iv , 
 aXX ov ivohwv, a>o~ivcp ol toiv 6a- 
 XarTicop. p. 10. 
 
 Cuvier, torn. I. 
 piquans au lieu de poils. p. 132 
 et 208. 
 
 THE MOLE. 
 
 All viviparous animals have 
 eyes, except the mole ; and even 
 this animal, although it has 
 neither the faculty of sight, 
 nor eyes readily visible, can- 
 not be said to be altogether 
 without eyes ; for if its skin be 
 taken off, you may distinguish 
 not only the natural situation 
 of the eyes, but that black cen- 
 tral part of the eye itself in 
 which the pupil is contained ; 
 as if these organs had been im- 
 perfectly developed, and the 
 skin had grown over them. If 
 the skin, which is thick, be 
 stripped off from the head, 
 you may perceive on its inner 
 surface, and in the usual re- 
 gion, distinct eyes ; which, 
 though small and shrunk, as it 
 were, have all the essential 
 parts of those organs, namely, 
 a pupil placed in the centre of 
 the black part of the eye, and 
 that black part surrounded by 
 the white •". 
 
 ZaoroKa TYavra (e^ei o(pda\povs) Son ceil est si petit, et telle- 
 
 itXtjv do-TrdXaKos. tovtov 8e Tponov ment cache par le poil, qu'on 
 
 f KvkAwttiov (p. 101.) is evidently synonymous with \evK6u. (p. 12.) 
 g By an examination of Aristotle's description it is evident that the ancients 
 knew the true state of the case, namely, that the mole has eyes. 
 
 The eye of the mole is so 
 small, and so concealed by the 
 skin, that for a long time this 
 animal was supposed to be 
 without eyes. The blind rat- 
 mole has no visible trace of ex- 
 ternal eyes ; but in taking off 
 the skin, a very small black 
 point is observable, which ap- 
 pears to have the organization 
 of an eye, without the possibi- 
 lity of being employed as such, 
 because the skin passes over it 
 not only in an entire state, but 
 as thick and as closely covered 
 with hair as in any other part 
 of the face. This may pro- 
 bably be the animal which, ac- 
 cording to M. Olivier, gave the 
 idea to the ancients of describ- 
 ing the mole as totally blinds.
 
 ARISTOTLE AND CUVIER COMPARED. 
 
 365 
 
 Aristotle, 
 piv riv ex elv av $ e "? Tls > oX<«>$ 8' 
 ovk ex £iv - oX^f p* v yap o u0' opa 
 ovt <?X el fls T0 ( p ave P 0V S'jX-of s 
 o<pdaXpovs' atpaipedtvros 8e tov 
 SepfACiTOS e^fi ttjv re x^>p nv tu>v op- 
 paTcov Kai Tav o(p6aXpoov tci peXava 
 Kara tov tottov <a\ ttjv x^P av T, ) v 
 (pvcrei rots ocpdaXpots vTrapxovo~av 
 iv ra eKTos, a>s iv rfj yevicrei irr)- 
 povpevav na\ iirMpvopivov tov hep- 
 paTos. p. 13. 'AcpaipedevTos he 
 tov 8epparos ovtos Tra\eos and ttjs 
 KftpaXfjs koto. tt)v x^P av T h v *£ m 
 tS>v oppaToav 'io~a>6iv elacv ol 6(j>- 
 daXpol 8ie<fi6appevoi, iravT e'xovTes 
 Tavra to. peprj toIs dXrjdivo'ls' 
 exovai yap to re piXav Kal to eu- 
 ros tov peXavos, ttjv KaXovpevrjv 
 Koprjv, /cat to kv<Xu>ttiov. p. 100, 
 
 101. 
 
 Cnvier, torn. I. 
 en a nie long-temps l'existence. 
 p. 137. Le rat-taupe aveugle 
 — n'a meme point du tout d'oeil 
 visible au dehors ; mais quand 
 on enleve sa peau, on trouve 
 un tres-petit point noir qui pa- 
 rait organise comme un ceil, 
 sans pouvoir servir a la vision, 
 puisque la peau passe dessus 
 sans s'ouvrir ni s'amincir, et 
 sans y avoir moins de poils 
 qu' autre part. — II se pourrait, 
 comme le dit M. Olivier, qu'il 
 eut donne aux anciens l'idee de 
 faire la taupe tout-a-fait aveu- 
 gle. p. 201. 
 
 THE BEAR. 
 
 The bear is an omnivorous 
 animal, living on various fruits, 
 on honey, on ants, and on flesh ; 
 attacking not only the smaller 
 animals, but even wild boars 
 and bulls h . The feet of the 
 bear resemble hands ; and for 
 a short time this animal can 
 walk erect on its two hind 
 feet. 
 
 'H 8' apKTOs Trap(payov iari. 
 
 The bear, though so power- 
 ful an animal, is not disposed 
 to feed on flesh, unless when 
 compelled by want of other 
 food. Bears walk on the whole 
 sole of the foot, and are thus 
 enabled to raise themselves 
 with comparative ease in an 
 erect position on their hind 
 feet. 
 
 Les ours — malgre leur ex- 
 
 h Its mode of engaging with the bull is thus described by Aristotle: " In 
 " engaging the bull, the bear throws itself on its back ; and, while the bull 
 " is attempting to toss it, the bear takes the bull's horns between its paws } 
 " and thus overthrows its adversary."
 
 366 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 Aristotle. 
 Koi yap napTvbv i<r6iet — Kai pe\i 
 — Kai pvpp.r)Kas, Kai aapicotyaya.. 
 8ia yap rfjv lo-x vv iiririOerai ov 
 povov toi? eXdtpois d\Xa Ka\ rols 
 ayplois va-\v — ku\ rols ravpois' 
 opoae xcoprjcraaa yap ra ravpui 
 Kara irp6cra>7rov iirria Kara7ri7rrei, 
 Kai rov ravpov rvirreiv iinx ei p 0VVm 
 tos rols pev fipaxloart ra aepara 
 nepiXap^dvei, r<o be aropart rfjv 
 tiKpapiav baKOiioa KarafSdWei rov 
 ravpov. /3a8i'£e' °"' «" Tiva XP° V0V 
 6\iyov <a\ ro'iv bvolv irobo'iv opdr). 
 
 p. 224. 
 
 Cuvier, torn. I. 
 treme force, ne mangent-ils 
 guere de chair que par neces- 
 sity, lis marchent sur la plante 
 entiere, ce qui leur donne plus 
 de facility pour se dresser sur 
 leurs pieds de derriere. p. 14). 
 
 THE SEAL. 
 
 The seal brings forth its 
 young on shore, but passes 
 most of its time in the sea, and 
 derives its nourishment from 
 thence. With respect to its 
 extremities, it may be consi- 
 dered as an imperfect quadru- 
 ped : for immediately in suc- 
 cession to its shoulder blades 
 it has feet resembling hands* ; 
 and on each foot are five toes, 
 and each toe has three joints : 
 the hind feet in their shape 
 resemble the tail of a fish. All 
 the teeth of the seal are sharp 
 and pointed, as indicating the 
 approximation of their nature 
 to fish ; almost all fish having 
 teeth of that character. The 
 seal has a cloven tongue. 
 
 ' From the shortness of the arm 
 overlooked these parts- 
 
 The feet of the seal are so 
 short, and so enveloped in the 
 skin, that on land they only 
 serve them for crawling; but, 
 as the interstices of the toes 
 are filled up with membrane, 
 they act as excellent oars ; and 
 hence these animals pass the 
 greater part of their life in the 
 sea, only coming to land for 
 the purpose of basking in the 
 sun and suckling their cubs. 
 They have five toes on each of 
 their feet : and on the hind 
 feet the outermost and inner- 
 most are longest, the interme- 
 diate being shortest. All their 
 teeth have either pointed or 
 cutting edges. Their tongue 
 is indented at the extremity, 
 and fore-arra in this animal, Aristotle
 
 ARISTOTLE AND CUVIER COMPARED. 
 
 367 
 
 Aristotle. 
 
 'H 8e (paKrj — TtKret iv rf) yfj 
 fitv — 8iarp[(3ei 8e tov xpovov tov 
 irdkvv Kai Tpefarai e/c rrjs daXdr- 
 tt)s- p. 167, 168. *H 8e 0a>K7? 
 mcnrep Treirrjpaifievov earn rerpd- 
 ttovv' evdvs yap e\fi perd ttju 
 mpoTrXdrrjv rovs irodas opoiovs 
 \fpaiv — TTeuradaKrvkoi yap eld, 
 Kai eKaaros rav 8aKTv\cov nap-nds 
 e\ei rpels — ol 8' onlaOioi — rSt 
 o~Xr)pari irapaTT\r]cnoi rals t<ov l%- 
 6va>v ovpa'is elai. p. 27- Kap^a- 
 p68ovv eorl Trdcri rois d8ovo~iv, 
 a>s eTTaWdrTovaa tu yevei touv 
 l\6vu>v' ol yap l%dves ndvres cr^e- 
 86v Kap)(ap68ovTts elaiv. p. 33. 
 ' E^ei 8e — io~xio~p.evrjv rfjv yXcorrav. 
 
 p. 48. 
 
 Cuvier, torn. I. 
 Leurs pieds sont si courts, et 
 tellement enveloppes dans la 
 peau, qu'ils ne peuvent, sur 
 terre, leur server qu'a raraper ; 
 mais comme les intervalles des 
 doigts y sont remplis par des 
 membranes, ce sont des rames 
 excellentes ; aussi ces animaux 
 passent-ils la plus grande partie 
 de leur vie dans la mer, et ne 
 viennent a terre que pour se 
 reposer au soleil, et allaiter 
 leurs petits. p. 163, 164. Les 
 phoques ont — cinq doigts a 
 tous les pieds — au pieds de 
 derriere, le pouce et le petit 
 doigt sont les plus longs, et les 
 intermediaires les plus courts. 
 Toutes les dents sont tranchan- 
 tes ou coniques. p. 164. Leur 
 langue est lisse, et echancree 
 au bout. p. 1 65. 
 
 THE ELEPHANT. 
 
 The elephant has five toes 
 on each foot ; though the joints 
 of these are not very distinct. 
 It has four teeth on each side 
 of its mouth, with which it tri- 
 turates its food, and makes it 
 as smooth as bran : and besides 
 these it has two very large 
 teeth. It has a long and power- 
 ful proboscis, which it uses as a 
 hand; for with this organ it 
 takes up and conveys to its 
 mouth both solid and liquid 
 food. Its intestines have ap- 
 
 Elephants have on each foot 
 five toes, very well defined in 
 the skeleton, but so imbedded 
 in the callous skin enveloping 
 the foot that they can only be 
 recognised externally by their 
 nails, which are attached to the 
 edge of this hoof as it were. 
 They have two tusks, which 
 sometimes grow to an enor- 
 mous size ; and either four or 
 eight grinding teeth on each 
 side, according to the periods 
 of their developement. The
 
 368 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 Aristotle. 
 pendages, presenting the ap- 
 pearance of four stomachs : and 
 it has two mammae placed hy 
 the side of the chest, near the 
 axillae The cub of the elephant 
 sucks with its mouth, and not 
 with its proboscis. 
 
 "Eort Se TTiVTahaKTvkov (6 e\e- 
 <pas) — to. re nrepl tovs 8aKTv\ovs 
 dbiapOpotTOTepa ex el T ^> v noba>v. 
 p. 25. 'O S' e~\e(pas obovras pev 
 e^ei Terrapas e(ji eKarepa, ois Kar- 
 epyd^eTai rrjv rpocprju (Xeaivei 8 
 uxnvep Kpipvci), X a P ls ^* TOVTCOV 
 iiWovs 8vo tovs peydXovs. p. 34. 
 Tols he e\e<pao-iv 6 pvKTtjp yiverai 
 paxpos Kot laxypos, Kal xprjrai av- 
 tw wcrnep X €l P'-' TrpoadyeTai re 
 yap Kal \apfidvei. Tovra Kal els to 
 (rropa Trpoacpeptrai tt)V rpo(prjv, ko.1 
 Trjv vypdv Kal rr\v fyjpdv, povov 
 Tav £<aa)J/. p. 1-1. 'O 8' e\e(pas 
 evrepov e'xei avpcpvaeLS ex ov i ( ^°" re 
 (paive<r6ai Terrapas Koikias e'xeiv. 
 p. 47- J 'Ex et &* tovs paaTovs 
 dvo irepl Tas pacrxdXas — ovk ev rw 
 o-Tt)6ei dXXd irpos tco o-TX)6ei, p. 
 30. et 26. 'O he CKvpvos otov 
 yevrjTai, 6rj\d^ei to oto/xoti Kal ov 
 
 TO) pVKTTjpi. p. 191. 
 
 Cuvier, torn. I. 
 proboscis, terminating in an 
 appendage like a finger, gives 
 to the elephant a degree of ad- 
 dress equal to that which the 
 hand of the ape imparts to 
 that animal. The elephant 
 uses this proboscis for the pur- 
 pose of conveying solid food 
 or pumping up liquids into its 
 mouth. The intestines of the 
 elephant are voluminous ; it 
 has two mammae placed under 
 the breast, and its cub sucks 
 with the mouth, and not with 
 the trunk. 
 
 (Les elephans) ont cinq 
 doigts a tous les pieds, bien 
 complets dans le squelette, 
 mais tellement encroutes dans 
 la peau calleuse qui entoure le 
 pied, qu'ils n'apparaissent au 
 dehors que par les ongles at- 
 taches sur le bord de cette espece 
 de sabot, p. 228, 229. Deux 
 defenses qui sortent de la 
 bouche et prennent souvent 
 un accroissement enorme. p. 
 229. Tantot une, tantot deux 
 machelieres de chaque cote\ 
 quatre ou huit en tout, selon 
 les epoques. p. 231. Une 
 trompe cylindrique — terminee 
 par un appendice en forme 
 de doigt — donne a l'elephant 
 presque autant d'adresse que 
 la perfection de la main peut 
 en donner au singe. II s'en 
 sert pour saisir tout ce qu'il
 
 ARISTOTLE AND CUVIER COMPARED. 
 
 369 
 
 Aristotle. 
 Camper says that in almost 
 all points the anatomy of the 
 elephant is correctly repre- 
 sented by Aristotle ; the ap- 
 parent inconsistencies arising 
 from his having dissected a 
 young elephant. Tom. ii. p. 
 205, &c. 
 
 Cuvier, torn. I. 
 veut porter a sa bouche et 
 pour pomper sa boisson. p. 
 229. Les intestins sont tres- 
 volumineux — les mamelles, au 
 nombre de deux seulement, 
 placees sous la poitrine. Le 
 petit tette avec la bouche, et 
 non avec la trompe. p. 230. 
 
 RUMINATING ANIMALS. 
 
 All viviparous quadrupeds 
 which have horns are without 
 the front teeth in the upper 
 jaw ; and some indeed which 
 have no horns have the same 
 defect with respect to the teeth, 
 as the camel. 
 
 Of viviparous quadrupeds 
 some are cloven-footed and 
 have hoofs instead of claws, as 
 the ox, sheep, goat, and deer. 
 The same animals have four 
 stomachs, and are said to ru- 
 minate. 
 
 With the exception of the 
 deer, all ruminating animals 
 have horns which are partly 
 hollow, and partly solid ; the 
 hollow part grows out of the 
 skin, of which it is indeed a 
 continuation ; but that part 
 round which this hollow is 
 fitted is solid, and grows out 
 of the bone ; as in oxen. 
 
 The horns of most animals 
 
 With the exception of the 
 camel and the musk, all the 
 animals of this order have 
 horns ; and all are without 
 front teeth in the upper jaw. 
 
 The feet terminate in two 
 toes, each of which is covered 
 with a separate hoof, and is 
 opposed to its fellow by a flat 
 surface ; from whence they are 
 called cloven-footed. The ani- 
 mals of this order are called 
 ruminating ; and have always 
 four stomachs. 
 
 The structure of the horns 
 differs in different species. In 
 some the solid osseous part 
 which projects from the frontal 
 bone is covered with a hollow 
 case, which grows over it from 
 the skin, as in oxen, sheep, 
 and goats. 
 
 b b
 
 370 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 Aristotle. 
 are, in their form, simple, and 
 are hollow, except at their ex- 
 tremity ; the horns of the deer 
 alone are in their form arbo- 
 rescent ; and, in their sub- 
 stance, solid throughout. 
 
 The deer alone, from the 
 age of two years, sheds its 
 horns annually ; the horns of 
 other animals are permanent, 
 unless separated by violence. 
 Deer at the age of one year 
 have merely the rudiments of 
 horns, short sprouts, as it were, 
 covered with downv skin. At 
 the age of two years they 
 develope straight horns like 
 wooden pegs ; and are hence 
 called at that period 7rarraAt'at. 
 
 At three years their horns 
 have two branches ; at four 
 years, more ; and in this way 
 the number of branches in- 
 creases till the animal is six 
 years old ; after which the 
 number is not increased. 
 
 The horn at first grows as 
 it were in the skin, and has a 
 soft villous covering ; and after 
 it has attained its full growth, 
 the animal exposes itself to the 
 sun, in order to ripen and dry 
 up this covering. 
 
 Ttrpunoha i'paifia Kal £g>ot6kci 
 — ocra pev ecrri K€paro(j)6pa, ovk 
 <ifjL(pu>8ovTu (cttiV oil yap (\ (l T °vs 
 irpocroiovs fVi Ttjs <iva> criayovos. 
 
 Cuvier, torn. I. 
 
 In the various species of 
 deer the osseous projections are 
 covered, during their growth, 
 with skin resembling that of 
 the rest of the head. This skin 
 subsequently perishes, leaving 
 the osseous horn uncovered ; 
 and, after a time, the horns 
 themselves are shed ; and are 
 succeeded by others which are 
 usually larger than the preced- 
 ing ; and these again are shed 
 in their turn and replaced by 
 others. 
 
 The figure of the horn in 
 deer varies according to the 
 age and species of the animal. 
 
 Les ruminans — ont l'air d'etre 
 presque tous construits sur le 
 meme modele, et les chameaux 
 seuls presentent quelques pe-
 
 AEISTOTLE AND CUVIER COMPARED. 
 
 371 
 
 Aristotle. 
 
 (<tti 8 evia ovk dp<poo8ovTa Kai 
 aKepara, oiov KaprjXos. p. 32. 
 
 Tav 8e T(Tpa7r68a>v Kai iva.lfj.aiv 
 
 Kai £o>ot6k(0v Ta pev ecrrt 8t(T^i8rj, 
 
 Kai avri tcov ovv)(a)v \rj\as fX €l > 
 a>cnrep Trpofiarov ko.1 a$£ Kai e\a(pos 
 Kai (Bovs. p. 29. 
 
 Kai rerrapas e^ei dvopoias koi- 
 Ataf a 8r) Kai Xeyerai prjpvKa^eiv. 
 
 p. 46. 
 
 Taiv 8 e'^oVrcoj/ K€pas 8i okov 
 ptv e^et a-Tfptov povov eXa(pos, to. 
 8 aWa KoiXa p^XP 1 fivbs, to 8' 
 ea^arov arepeov. to pev ovv koI- 
 \ov sk tov 8eppaTos irifpvKe pak- 
 Xov' nepl 8i [6] > tovto irtpirjp- 
 poaTat to o~Tepedv €K twv ootcoi/, 
 oiov to. Kepara tg>v [3oa>v. p. 30. 
 Tfflc 8e KepciTcov ra pev TrXelcrra 
 
 Cuvier, torn. I. 
 tites exceptions aux caracteres 
 communs. Le premier de ces 
 caracteres est de n'avoir d'inci- 
 sives qu'a la machoire infe- 
 rieure. p. 246. Tout le reste 
 des ruminans (excepte les cha- 
 meaux, &c.) a, au moins dans 
 le sexe male, deux comes, 
 c'est-a-dire, deux proeminen- 
 ces plus ou moins longues des 
 os frontaux. p. 252. 
 
 Les quatre pieds sont ter- 
 mines par deux doigts et par 
 deux sabots, qui se regardent 
 par une face aplatie, en sorte 
 qu'ils ont l'air d'un sabot 
 unique, qui aurait ete fendu. 
 p. 246. 
 
 Le nom de ruminans indique 
 la propriete singuliere de ces 
 animaux, de macher une se- 
 conde fois les alimens — pro- 
 priete qui tient a la structure 
 de leurs estomacs. lis en ont 
 toujours quatre. p. 247- 
 
 Dans le genre des bceufs, &c. 
 les comes sont revetues d'un 
 etui — on donne en particulier 
 le nom de come a la substance 
 de cet etui, et lui-meme porte 
 celui de come creuse. p. 252. 
 Dans le genre des cerfs, les pro- 
 eminences couvertes pendant un 
 temps d'une peau velue comme 
 
 i There can be no doubt from the structure of the horns of oxen, &c. that 
 the relative (o) ought to be retained ; and the t5 ko7\ov ck tov Sep^oros is evi- 
 dently opposed to the t2> aTepebv 4k twv ogtSiv. But the question is quite settled 
 by the following passage from page C7, twv Be Kepdruiv, k. t. A. 
 
 B b 2
 
 572 
 
 APPENDIX- 
 
 Aristotle. Cuvier, torn. I. 
 KolXd iarnv cnrb ttjs ivpocnpvo-e(os celle du reste de la tete, ont a 
 7rep\ to €pt6s eK7recpvK6s sk ttjs ks- leur base un anneau de tuber- 
 <pa\rjs oo-rovv, eV aKpov S' eyei to cules, osseux, qui, en grossis- 
 o~Tepebv, koL eo~Tiv aTrXa" tu Se sant, compriment et obliterent 
 TcoveXdcpav p.6va8i o\ov o-TepeciKal les vaisseaux nourrissiers de 
 noKvo-x^n- p- 67, 68. 'A7ro/3dXXfi cette peau. Elle se desseche 
 Se to. KtpaTa. povov e'Xacpos kcit et est enlevee ; la preeminence 
 Ztos, dpfjdpevos d-rro Sutovs, Kal osseuse mise a nu, se separe 
 irakiv cpvei' to. S' dXXa avvexoos au bout de quelque temps du 
 cx«, iav pi] ti ftia nqpaBj). p. 30. crane auquel elle tenait ; elle 
 Ol pep ovv eviavcrioi ou cpvovo-i Ke- tombe, et l'animal demeure 
 para, 7tXjji> uxnvep a-qpelov x^P lv sans armes. Mais il lui en re- 
 ap;^ Tivw tovto S' e'ort ftpaxv pousse bientot de nouvelles, 
 Kal 8aav. (pvovai Se Stereiy Trp£>Tov d'ordinaire plus grandes que 
 tci Kepcna tiidea, Ka&direp ivaTTa- les precedentes, et destinees a 
 Xovr Sto Kal KaXovai tot€ naTTa- subir les memes revolutions. 
 Xlas avTovs. T<3 Se rptrw eVet Ces comes, purement osseuses, 
 8iKpovp (pvovai, rw Se reraprw et sujettes a des changemens 
 TpaxvTepov Kal tovtop top rponop periodiques, portent le nom de 
 del eViSiSdao-t pexP 1 *£ (Tap. dno bois. p. 253. La figure de ce 
 tovtov Se opoia del dpa(pvovo-ip. bois varie beaucoup — selon 
 p. 258. Tu Se KepaTa (pveTai l'age. p. 254. 
 wcrnep ev beppari to irpaiTOV, Kal 
 yipopTai Sacre'o' otup S avi-r]6a>cnp, 
 t]Xid£ovTai, iv eKneyjraai Kal £rjpd- 
 pcoai to Kepas. p. 259. 
 
 CETACEOUS ANIMALS. 
 
 The dolphin and whale and 
 other cetaceous animals, which 
 have not gills, but a tube for 
 conveying away the sea-water 
 received into their mouth, are 
 viviparous ; and they respire 
 air, for they have lungs : and 
 hence, if caught in a net, and 
 uiuible to come to the surface 
 
 Cetaceous animals remain 
 constantly in the water ; but, 
 as they respire by means of 
 lungs, they are obliged to come 
 often to the surface for air. p. 
 272. The ordinary cetacea 
 possess a remarkable appara- 
 tus, from which they are called 
 blowers, by means of which
 
 ARISTOTLE AXD CUVIER COMPARED. 
 
 373 
 
 Aristotle. 
 for the purpose of breathing, 
 they are suffocated. 
 
 The dolphin utters a kind 
 of murmur when it is in the 
 air ; for it has a voice, inas- 
 much as it has lungs, and an 
 air-tube leading to them ; but 
 having no lips, and its tongue 
 being not sufficiently movable, 
 it is unable to utter an articu- 
 late sound. 
 
 The dolphin has mamma?, 
 not placed in the anterior part 
 of the body, but near the vent. 
 
 The mildness and docility of 
 the dolphin are remarkable. 
 
 These fish swim in large 
 flocks, and their swiftness is 
 so remarkable that they have 
 been known to spring over the 
 masts (decks ?) of ships. 
 
 The cetaceous animal called 
 mysticetus has no teeth, but 
 hairs instead, like hogs' bris- 
 tles. 
 
 &e\(p\s Se Kai (fadkcuva nai tu 
 (iK\a ktjtt], o<ra /xtj e^fi (ipdyx^a 
 aWa (f)v<T7)Tr)pa, (aoroKovaiv. 'Ai/- 
 
 Cuvier, torn. I. 
 they discharge through their 
 nostrils a large volume of water 
 which they take into their 
 mouth with their food. p. 
 275. 
 
 They have no prominent 
 laminae in their glottis ; and 
 hence their voice is nothing 
 more than a simple lowing, 
 p. 276. 
 
 Their mamma? are placed 
 near the vent. p. 276. 
 
 The general organization of 
 the dolphin's brain shews that 
 it possesses the docility usually 
 attributed to it. p. 278. 
 
 The common dolphin, which 
 is found in large flocks in every 
 sea, and is remarkable for its 
 swiftness of motion, so that it 
 occasionally darts over the 
 decks of ships, appears evi- 
 dently to be the dolphin of 
 the ancients, p. 278. 
 
 The upper jaw of the babense 
 is furnished with thin trans- 
 verse lamina? closely set, form- 
 ed of a kind of fibrous horn 
 terminating in a bristly fringe 
 at the border, p. 284. 
 
 Les cetaces se tiennent con- 
 stamment dans les eaux ; mais 
 comme ils respirent par des
 
 374 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 Aristotle. 
 am/ei 8e iravra oaa e\e i (pva7]Tr/pa, 
 Kai Several tov aepa' 7rkfvpova 
 yap ex&viriv. p. 167. &io KaL Aaju- 
 ftavopevos 6 SeA^u? iv tois 8iktvois 
 aTTOTrviycrai ra^ecos 8ia to firj dva- 
 nveiv. p. 215. 
 
 'A^t^cri Se Ka\ 6 8e\(fns Tpiypov 
 Kai pv^ei, orav igiXdy, iv tw dipt 
 — eari yap tovtco (ptovr)' e^et yap 
 Ka\ 7r\evpova ko.1 aprrfplav, aXAa 
 ttjv yXmrrav ovk a7ro\e\vp.evr)V 
 ov8e X^^V < Z°~ Te apdpov ti ttjs <pa>- 
 vrjs TToielv. p. 106. 
 
 'O 8e\(pls e^ei pao~Tovs 8vo, ovk 
 aveo 8' dXka Trk-qalov tcov apdpcov. 
 
 p. 40. 
 
 Tcov 8e 6a\ao~o~i(ov nXe'iara Xe- 
 yerai o-rjpeia Trepi tovs 8e\(j)ivas 
 npaoTriTos Kai r]pepoTr]Tos. p. 301. 
 
 "hSj? 8' (onrai 8e\(piva>v fie- 
 yd\a>v dyeXrj ap.a Kai fiiKpcov. 
 Ae'yerai 8e Kai nepl raxvTrjTos 
 ("nuo~Ta rov ftoov" andvTtov yap 
 ftoKfi eivai £a>eov Tax l0 ~ T0V > Kal T <° v 
 ivv8pa>v Kai to>v xepo~aia>v, Kai 
 
 Cuvier, torn. I. 
 poumons, ils sont obliges de 
 revenir souvent a la surface 
 pour y prendre de l'air. p. 272. 
 Les cetaces ordinaires se dis- 
 tinguent par l'appareil singu- 
 lier qui leur a valu le nom 
 commun de souffleurs. C'est 
 qu'engloutissant, avec leur 
 proie, de grands volumes 
 d'eau, il leur fallait une voie 
 pour s'en debarrasser ; elle 
 s'amasse dans un sac place a 
 l'orifice exterieur de la cavite 
 du nez, d'oii elle est chassee 
 avec violence — au travers d'une 
 ouverture percee au-dessus de 
 la tete. p. 275, 276. 
 
 II n'y a point de lames sail- 
 lantes dans leur glotte, et leur 
 voix doit se reduire a de sim- 
 ples mugissemens. p. 276. 
 
 Leurs mamelles sont pres 
 de l'anus. p. 276. 
 
 Toute l'organisation de son 
 cerveau annonce que le dau- 
 phin ne doit pas etre depourvu 
 de la docilite que les anciens 
 lui attribuaient. p. 278. 
 
 Cet animal, repandu en 
 grandes troupes dans toutes 
 les mers, et celebre par la ve- 
 locite de son mouvement, qui 
 le fait s'elancer quelquefois sur 
 le tillac des navires, parait r£-
 
 ARISTOTLE AND CUVIER COMPARED. 
 
 375 
 
 Aristotle. 
 vTrepaKkovrai Se 7r\oia>v fj.eya\a>v 
 larovs. (licpia ;) p. 302. 
 
 "Eti 8e Kai 6 fivs to ktjtos 686v- 
 ras [lev iv ra> crrd/icm ovk e'xti, 
 Tp't\as 8e Sfxoiat velais. p. /2. 
 
 Cuvier, torn. I. 
 ellement avoir 6te le dauphin 
 des anciens. p. 278. 
 
 La machoire superieure — a 
 ses deux cotes garnis de lame? 
 transverses minces et serrees, 
 — formees d'une espece de 
 corne fibreuse, effilees a leur 
 bord. p. 284. 
 
 From the preceding comparison it appears that, with re- 
 spect to those points in the history of animals, the knowledge 
 of which was equally accessible to both writers, the descrip- 
 tions of Aristotle are hardly inferior in accuracy to those of 
 Cuvier. Nor does this observation hold with reference to 
 the more common animals only : it is equally remarkable 
 with reference to those which are of comparative rarity; in 
 support of which assertion I would refer, among other in- 
 stances, to the description of the sepia, and of the chameleon, 
 and of the evolution of the egg of the bird during incuba- 
 tion. But I have perhaps already extended this compa- 
 rison too far, and will therefore here conclude.
 
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