4I6 OF PLANTS AND ANIMALS. ment, gave himhearty thanks for his instructive lecture, and re- solved to remember these amazing scenes of the operations of nature, and the adorable wisdom of God his Maker. Nor shall I ever forget, said he, the strange and unsuspected dependence of man on all the meaner parts of the creation. I am convinced that pride was never made for man, when I see how much a-kin his body is to the fowls of the air and brutes of the earth. And I think, said he, I ammore indebted to my tenants than ever I could lìaveimagined, nor will I cast such a scornful eye again on the grazier and the farmer, since this flesh and blood of mine, as well as the furniture of my house, and the clothes I wear, were once growing in the fields or the woods under their care or culti- vation ; and I, find I am nearer a-kin to them, since this self of mine, with all the finery that covers it, was made originally of the same materials with them and their coarser coverings. SECT. VI.The similar Operations of Plants and Animals. IT is with admiration and pleasure we take notice of the regular actions of animals, even in their earliest hours of life, before they can possibly be taught any thing by remark or imagi- nation. Observe the young sparrows in the nest, see how the lit- tle naked creatures open their mouths wide to their dam, as though they were sensible oftheir dependenceon her care for food and nourishment : but the chicken just released from the prison of the shell, can pick up its food with its own bill, and therefore it doth not open its mouth to beg food of the.hen that hatched it. Yet the chicken seems to chew itsdependence too, for when the first danger appears, you see it run.and fly to the wing of its dam for protection ; as though it knew, that though it could feed itself, yet it was not able to defend itself, bit must trust to better secu- rity and a parent's wing. We admire these little creatures and their remarkable sagacity ; we are surprized to find that they dis- tinguish so happily, and pursue their proper interest ; that they are so soon acquaintedwith their abilities and their wants, and come to use their understanding so very early ; for it is evident, that the mere faculty of sense, that is, the passive reception of images or ideas, can never be sufficient to account for these wondrous imitations of reason ; sense has nothing to do but with the present impression, and includes no reflection or prospect of the past or the future, no contrivance of means to an end, nor any action in order to obtain it. But what shall we say, or how shall we account for it, ifwe are told, there are instances almost as admirable as these to be found in the vegetable world, where we never suspect sense or reason ? The vine, as though it were sensible of its own weak- ness, thrusts forth its long tendrils, which curl round thebranches ofany stronger treethat stands near, and thus it hangs its weighty
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