Had Cousin Benedict devoted himself to the study of the vertebrates,
mammals, birds, reptiles, and fishes?
No.
Was it to the mollusks, from the cephalopodes to the bryozoans, that he
had given his preference, and had malacology no more secrets for him?
Not at all.
Then it was on the radiates, echinoderms, acalephes, polypes,
entozoons, sponges, and infusoria, that he had for such a long time
burned the midnight oil?
It must, indeed, be confessed that it was not on the radiates.
Now, in zoology there only remains to be mentioned the division of the
articulates, so it must be that it was on this division that Cousin
Benedict's only passion was expended.
Yes, and still it is necessary to select.
This branch of the articulates counts six classes: insects, myriapodes,
arachnides, crustaceans, cirrhopodes, and annelides.
Now, Cousin Benedict, scientifically speaking, would not know how to
distinguish an earth-worm from a medicinal leech, a sand-fly from a
glans-marinus, a common spider from a false scorpion, a shrimp from a
frog, a gally-worm from a scolopendra.
But, then, what was Cousin Benedict? Simply an entomologist--nothing
more.
To that, doubtless, it may be said that in its etymological
acceptation, entomology is that part of the natural sciences which
includes all the articulates.
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