Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- THE BODIES OF SPACE—THEIR ARRANGEMENTS AND FORMATION
- CONSTITUENT MATERIALS OF THE EARTH, AND OF THE OTHER BODIES OF SPACE
- THE EARTH FORMED—ERA OF THE PRIMARY ROCKS
- COMMENCEMENT OF ORGANIC LIFE—SEA PLANTS, CORALS, ETC
- ERA OF THE OLD RED SANDSTONE—FISHES ABUNDANT
- SECONDARY ROCKS—ERA OF THE CARBONIFEROUS FORMATION—COMMENCEMENT OF LAND PLANTS
- ERA OF THE NEW RED SANDSTONE—TERRESTRIAL ZOOLOGY COMMENCES WITH REPTILES—FIRST TRACES OF BIRDS
- ERA OF THE OOLITE—COMMENCEMENT OF MAMMALIA
- ERA OF THE CRETACEOUS FORMATION
- ERA OF THE TERTIARY FORMATION — MAMMALIA ABUNDANT
- ERA OF THE SUPERFICIAL FORMATIONS—COMMENCEMENT OF PRESENT SPECIES
- GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS RESPECTING THE ORIGIN OF THE ANIMATED TRIBES
- PARTICULAR CONSIDERATIONS RESPECTING THE ORIGIN OF THE ANIMATED TRIBES
- HYPOTHESIS OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE VEGETABLE AND ANIMAL KINGDOMS
- AFFINITIES AND GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF ORGANISMS
- EARLY HISTORY OF MANKIND
- MENTAL CONSTITUTION OF ANIMALS
- PURPOSE AND GENERAL CONDITION OF THE ANIMATED CREATION
- NOTE CONCLUSORY
- APPENDIX
AFFINITIES AND GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF ORGANISMS
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 August 2011
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- THE BODIES OF SPACE—THEIR ARRANGEMENTS AND FORMATION
- CONSTITUENT MATERIALS OF THE EARTH, AND OF THE OTHER BODIES OF SPACE
- THE EARTH FORMED—ERA OF THE PRIMARY ROCKS
- COMMENCEMENT OF ORGANIC LIFE—SEA PLANTS, CORALS, ETC
- ERA OF THE OLD RED SANDSTONE—FISHES ABUNDANT
- SECONDARY ROCKS—ERA OF THE CARBONIFEROUS FORMATION—COMMENCEMENT OF LAND PLANTS
- ERA OF THE NEW RED SANDSTONE—TERRESTRIAL ZOOLOGY COMMENCES WITH REPTILES—FIRST TRACES OF BIRDS
- ERA OF THE OOLITE—COMMENCEMENT OF MAMMALIA
- ERA OF THE CRETACEOUS FORMATION
- ERA OF THE TERTIARY FORMATION — MAMMALIA ABUNDANT
- ERA OF THE SUPERFICIAL FORMATIONS—COMMENCEMENT OF PRESENT SPECIES
- GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS RESPECTING THE ORIGIN OF THE ANIMATED TRIBES
- PARTICULAR CONSIDERATIONS RESPECTING THE ORIGIN OF THE ANIMATED TRIBES
- HYPOTHESIS OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE VEGETABLE AND ANIMAL KINGDOMS
- AFFINITIES AND GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF ORGANISMS
- EARLY HISTORY OF MANKIND
- MENTAL CONSTITUTION OF ANIMALS
- PURPOSE AND GENERAL CONDITION OF THE ANIMATED CREATION
- NOTE CONCLUSORY
- APPENDIX
Summary
Plaints and animals are classed into families, orders, classes, and sub-kingdoms, according as they agree in a smaller or greater number of characters, and take rank in compositeness or complexity of organization. The first difficulty of naturalists is to attain to a natural mode of classification, for there ever is a tendency to proceed upon certain formal, artificial ideas of our own, as presuming that the Divine Author of nature has acted upon some plan involving merely human ideas of regularity. Other difficulties arise when we inquire by what properties various organisms should be classed, many of these being identical or parallel in plants or animals, which in other respects are very different. It cannot be said that, in either kingdom, a satisfactorily natural system has been attained, nor, I venture to say, will any such system ever be formed, until there shall be a general consent to take a natural origin of organisms as partly our guide.
It is in the meantime seen with sufficient clearness, that the families of the vegetable and animal kingdoms can be arranged in grades from the highest forms in both instances to certain humble and simple types, amongst which it is hardly possible to discern any difference. In other words, both kingdoms start from certain humble and almost common forms, and advance to types of high organization in their respective departments.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Vestiges of the Natural History of CreationTogether with Explanations: A Sequel, pp. 240 - 293Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2009First published in: 1844