Note 41 — Chapter VII

The classification of Agassiz, which is certainly not a little arbitrary and artificial, has been altered by Müller, a distinguished German anatomist, whose arrangement has been modified again by Professor Owen. See Owen's Lectures on Comparative Anatomy, vol. ii. p. 47. There is far from anything like unanimity on the subject. Every naturalist thinks himself at liberty to modify and restrict the groupings of his predecessors or contemporaries, sometimes without condescending to give synonyms or any clue by which one may compare the rival classifications. The geological student cannot engage in a more sickening task than that of ranging through these various arrangements, and he must possess some self-command who can refrain from throwing up the search in disgust. The best way of progressing is to select some standard work and keep to it, until the characteristics of the genera and families have been mastered, and as far as possible, verified from actual observation. After such preliminary training, the student will be more able to grope his way through the "chaos and dark night" of synonyms and systems.