DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.18825#0279
1Q0 PROPORTIONS OF THE FIGURE. [lEC. VIII<
wail the necessity which impels them to such rapid
motion. Equally various are the talents of creatures;
shall I call mental talents, those by which some ani-
mals construct their dwellings, provide their food,
regulate their social connexions, command, or obey
the commands of others, with such regularity, dili-
gence, and fidelity, as should instruct the sons of
men ? " Go to the Ant, thou sluggard, consider her
ways., and be wise t go to the Bee, and learn indus-
try ; to the Beaver, and observe his dam ; or let the
birds of the air advise thee, whose dwellings are mo-
dels of inventive ingenuity and foresight, whose pa-
rental affections are examples for imitation ; " the
Eagle exciting her nestlings, broodeth over her
young, expandeth her wings, taketh them, and sup-
porteth them on her pinions," training them up to
celerity and courage.
What then is Man ? whose superior faculties sub-
due to his constant service not a few of his fellow-
creatures, and occasionally manifest his dominion over
every species of animals. By his strength does he
vanquish the strong; by his speed surpass the swift ?
:—not in such competition appears our pre-emi-
nence, but in the exertion of those mental, those spi-
ritual endowments, whereby we investigate the Laws
of Nature, and study the appointments of providen-
tial wisdom ; Set a New'ton as an instance of what
Humanity is capable.
And is no trace of these faculties apparent in his
figure ? have his mental abilities no harbinger in his
person ? I confess myself inclined to assert, that exi-
dent tokens of man s superior rank in the creation are
1 not
wail the necessity which impels them to such rapid
motion. Equally various are the talents of creatures;
shall I call mental talents, those by which some ani-
mals construct their dwellings, provide their food,
regulate their social connexions, command, or obey
the commands of others, with such regularity, dili-
gence, and fidelity, as should instruct the sons of
men ? " Go to the Ant, thou sluggard, consider her
ways., and be wise t go to the Bee, and learn indus-
try ; to the Beaver, and observe his dam ; or let the
birds of the air advise thee, whose dwellings are mo-
dels of inventive ingenuity and foresight, whose pa-
rental affections are examples for imitation ; " the
Eagle exciting her nestlings, broodeth over her
young, expandeth her wings, taketh them, and sup-
porteth them on her pinions," training them up to
celerity and courage.
What then is Man ? whose superior faculties sub-
due to his constant service not a few of his fellow-
creatures, and occasionally manifest his dominion over
every species of animals. By his strength does he
vanquish the strong; by his speed surpass the swift ?
:—not in such competition appears our pre-emi-
nence, but in the exertion of those mental, those spi-
ritual endowments, whereby we investigate the Laws
of Nature, and study the appointments of providen-
tial wisdom ; Set a New'ton as an instance of what
Humanity is capable.
And is no trace of these faculties apparent in his
figure ? have his mental abilities no harbinger in his
person ? I confess myself inclined to assert, that exi-
dent tokens of man s superior rank in the creation are
1 not