The "Cycle of Life" is a history of experimental ecology. Ecology became a formal discipline only in the early 20th century, but the concepts and experimental methods on which it is founded have a long and curious history. In the 18th century, naturalists viewed nature as a harmonious economy that reflected God's wisdom.   Carl Linnaeus, Systema Naturae, 1735   William Paley, Natural theology, 1802.   Etienne Geoffroy, Principes de Philosophie Zoologique (Paris, 1830)