Carl
Linnaeus, Systema Naturae,1735.
In the mid-18th century, Linnaeus
described nature as a Divinely-inspired harmonious
system in which every organism fulfills a specific
role to maintain the general balance. Linnaeus
combined the age-old concept of the Great Chain
of Being with the then prevalent idea of the
Economy of Nature:
“Everything
the Almighty Creator has instituted on our globe occurs in such
a wonderful order, that no thing subsists without the support
of something else: The Globe itself, with all its Stones, Ore,
and Gravel, is nourished and sustained by the Elements: Plants,
Trees, Herbs, Grasses, and Mosses grow out of the Globe, and
Animals eventually grow out of the plants. All of these are
finally transformed back into their primary substances, the
Earth feeding the Plant, the Plant the Worm, the Worm the Bird,
and often the Bird the Beast of Prey; Then finally the Beast
of Prey is consumed the Bird of Prey, the Bird of Prey by the
Worm, the Worm by the Herb, the Herb by the Earth: Man indeed,
who turns everything to his needs, is often consumed by the
Beast, the Bird, or the Fish which preys on him, by the Worm
or the Earth. It is thus that everything circulates.” |