ZOOLOGY, History of, the record of dis covery in the science of zoology. We have no evidence that the study of zoology was prose cuted to any considerable extent before the time of Aristotle. In his hands it became at once a science, and the foundations of a system of classification were laid. No artificial system of classification has ever been proposed in zoology, like the sexual system of Limnos in botany; but from the very first to the present day, a natural grouping of animals has always been attempted To this the widely-marked distinctions between the principal ps almost unavoidably led. Aristotle b t to bear on the subject the highest powers both of obser vation and of generalization, and some of the groups established by him retain their place in the most modern systems.
Aelian and Pliny show no capacity for the scientific treatment of the subject, and in their writings facts are largely mingled with fables. During the Middle Ages the greatest name in connection with the history of the science is that of Albertus Magnus; much of whose knowledge, however, was derived from Aristotle and other ancient authors. From his time, in the first half of the 13th century, to the beginning of the 16th, zoology made little ad vances; but the new activity of mind which then displayed itself soon sought this as well as other directions, and an especial impulse was given to zoology by the progress of geo graphical discovery. The names of Belon and Rondelet are the two greatest in this depart ment at this period, and by them zoology was enriched with many new facts, while attempts were made at a more perfect classification. Aldrovandi and Gesner soon followed, besides others who began to direct their attention more specially to particular branches of zoology; but it was not till after the middle of the 17th cen tury that any real progress was made in classi fication founded on a philosophical study and comparison of animals. The works of Ray are described by Cuvier as •che foundation of modern zoology.' The materials, however, were in great part prepared, and the first onthne of a system sketched by Willughby. From the days of Aristotle, zoology had never been prose cuted with such acuteness of observation, ac curacy of description and breadth of philosophi cal generalization as it was by Willughby and Ray. The progress of the science now became
very rapid. Buffon won for it, by his interest ing descriptions and brilliant style, the general attention of the educated portion of society in his own and in other countries. He was almost immediately followed by Linnearus, who, ex tending his studies from botany to zoology, not only enlarged the science by his own ob servations and discoveries, but rendered it far greater service 'by gathering together the facts by others, and by the improvement which he effected in Some of the larger groups established by Limusus have been retained by all subsequent naturalists with out essential modification of their characters, and even his smallest groups—genera — have been very generally retained, though now re garded as constituting tribes or families. Ac cording to the Linnaan system, the animal kingdom is divided into six great classes, fur ther brought together in groups of two each. His classes arc 1. Mantinaha, with the orders Primates, Bruta, Fern, Glares, Pecora. Belltue and Lete; II. Aver, with the orders Accipitres. Pine, Anseres, Grallte, Gallium and Passeres; III. Anstkibia, with the orders Reptila. Ser pentes and Nantes; IV. Pisces, with the orders Apodes, jugnlares, Thoracici and Abdotrinales: V. Iasecta, with the orders Coleoptera. Hamm tern, Lepidoptera, Nenroptera, Hymenoptera, Diptera and Aptera; VI. Kremer, with the or ders lutestina, Mollusc:a, Testacea, Litimbyta and Zoophyta. It was, however, in cossitutmg and defining the genera that Linnaeus showed in the highest degree his powers both of obser vation and ofarrangement The names of Pal las, Hunter and Blumenbath particularly an worthy of notice, but more than any other the name of Cuvier, who, like Linnsus, took a com prehensive view of the whole subject of zoology and carried forward the work of minute obser vation as well as of generalization. His system of clacsification is so vast an • on that of Linnaeus as to be almost fundamentally new, and has formed a new starting point for all further progress.