The action of man upon the world without him, is threefold. His first action upon them is, that of the mind to contemplate them, so as to gain a knowledge of their forms and structure of their habits and instincts-of their meaning and uses. His second action upon them, having studied their natures, and discovered how they may be made profitable to him, is to collect and multiply such species as he finds will, in any way, answer his purpose. His third action upon them is to diminish and keep within due limits those species that experience teaches him are noxious and prejudicial either to himself, or those animals that he has taken into alliance with him, which are principal sources of wealth to him, and minister to his daily use, comfort, and enjoyment.

If we consider the predaceous animals, we shall find in them a greater tendency to multiply than in those that content themselves with grazing the herbage; they generally produce more young at a birth; and their period of gestation is often shorter, so as to admit of more than one litter in the year; so that, unless some means were used to reduce their numbers within a certain limit, the whole race of herbivorous- animals must perish. Hence arose the first kind of war. Man armed himself to destroy such of his subjects as had rejected his dominion, and even contended with him for the possession of the earth,

and to have license to devour at will its more peaceful inhabitants. A similar cause generated the other and more fearful kind of war, of man with man. Whence come wars and fightings amongst you, saith the Apostle;' come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members?

The highest view that we can take of man is that which looks upon him as belonging to a spiritual as well as a material world. The end of the creation of the earth, says the father and founder of Natural History, is the glory of God, from the works of nature, by man only. And, as the same pious author observes, "How contemptible is man," if he does not aim at this end of his creation, if he does not strive to raise himself above the low pursuits that usually occupy his mind! The heavens indeed declare the glory of God, and the firmament sheweth the work of his hands. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge. The beasts of the field honour him, and all creatures that he hath made glorify him. But man must study the book open before him; and the more he studies it, the more audible to him will be the general voice to his spiritual ear,

James, iv. 1.

2 Finis creationis telluris est gloria Dei exopere naturæ per hominem solum. Linn. Syst. Nat. i. Introit. i.

O quam contempta res est home nisi supra humana se erexerit. Ibid.

'Ps. xix. 1, 2.

and he will clearly perceive that every created thing glorifies God in its place, by fulfilling his will, and the great purpose of his providence ; but that he himself alone can give a tongue to every creature, and pronounce for all a general doxology.

But further, in contemplating them, he will not only behold the glory of the Godhead reflected, but, from their several instincts and characters, he may derive much spiritual instruction. Whoever surveys the three kingdoms of nature with any attention, will discover in every department objects that, without any affinity, appear to represent each other. Thus we have minerals that, under certain circumstances, as it were, vegetate, and shoot into various forms, representing trees and plants: there are plants that represent insects, and, vice versa, insects that simulate plants; and the Zoophytes have received their name from this resemblance.' And as we ascend the scale, every where a series of references of one thing to another may be traced, so as to render it very probable that every created thing has its representative somewhere in nature. Nor is this resemblance confined to forms; it extends also to character. If we begin at the bottom of the scale, and ascend up to man, we shall find two descriptions in almost every class, and even tribe of animals: one,

'VOL. I. p. 149, 156, 169.

ferocious in their aspect, often rapid in their motions, predaceous in their habits, preying upon their fellows, and living by rapine and bloodshed ; while the other is quiet and harmless, making no attacks, shedding no blood, and subsisting mostly on a vegetable diet.

The

Since God created nothing in vain, we may rest assured that this system of representation was established with a particular view. most common mode of instruction is placing certain signs or symbols before the eye of the learner, which represent sounds or ideas; and so the great Instructor of man placed this world before him as an open though mystical book, in which the different objects were the letters and words of a language, from the study of which he might gain wisdom of various kinds, and be instructed in such truths relating to that spiritual world, to which his soul belonged, as God saw fit thus to reveal to him. In the first place, by observing that one object in nature represented another, he would be taught that all things are significant, as well as intended to act a certain part in the general drama; and further, as he proceeded to trace the analogies of character, in its two great branches just alluded to upwards, he would be led to the knowledge of the doctrine thus symbolically revealed-that in the invisible world there are two classes of spirits-one benevolent and beneficent, and the other malevolent

and mischievous; characters which, after his fall, he would find even exemplified in individuals of his own species.

But after the unhappy fall of man, this mode of instruction by natural and other objects used symbolically, though it pervades the whole law of Moses, and the writings of the prophets, as well as several parts of the New Testament, gradually gave place to the clearer light of a Revelation, not by symbols, but by the words and language of man, which he that runs may often read; yet still it is a very useful and interesting study, and belongs to man as the principal inhabitant of a world stored with symbols, to ascertain what God intended to signify by the objects that he has created and placed before him, as well as to know their natures and uses. When we recollect what the Apostle tells us, that the invisible things of God from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made,' and that spiritual truths are reflected as by a mirror, and shewn, as it were, enigmatically, we shall be convinced that, in this view, the study of nature, if properly conducted, may be made of the first importance.

In this enumeration and history of the prin

1 Rom. i. 20.

21 Cor. xiii. 12.