Even the tegument of the Earthworms is made in the completest manner, for effecting a passage in the earth, wherever instinct directs their motions. Their bodies are composed of small rings, and have a curious apparatus of muscles, which enables them with great strength to extend or contract the whole body. Each ring is likewise armed with stiff, sharp prickles, which they can open or close at pleasure. And under their skins is a shining juice, which they emit, as occasion requires, to lubricate their bodies, and facilitate their passage into the earth. By all these means they are enabled, with ease and speed, to work themselves into the ground, which they could not do, if they were covered with hair, feathers, scales, or such clothing as any of the other creatures.—One of the most singular properties of the serpent tribe is that of casting their skins from time to time. The beauty and lustre of their colors are then highly augmented. The old skins have a tarnished and withered appearance, and are forced off by the growth of the new. When this takes place, so complete is the spoil or coat-skin, that even the external coat of the eyes themselves make a part of it.

Among creeping things, the Spider engaged the attention of Solomon who observes, that he is one of those “little things on the earth, that are exceeding wise.” This creature subsists on flies, wasps, and similar insects, without having wings to pursue them; a circumstance apparently of great difficulty, yet provided for by a resource, which no stratagem nor effort of his own could have produced, had not both the external and internal structure of this animal been specifically adapted to the operation. What surprising skill and sagacity does the Spider discover in weaving and spreading her nets to ensnare and entangle her prey! How wonderfully artificial is her web, or house! How astonishingly curious its architecture! With the fine and delicate threads she spins out of her bowels, how thin a web does she weave, constructed for the purpose of procuring food! It is fastened according to the rules of mathematics, for its lines are drawn exactly from the centre at parallel distances.172 When this net is spread, that she may the more effectually secure her prey, she cunningly conceals herself in her covert, to evade the discovery of flies. It is from the accuracy of this geometrical workmanship, that this cunning artist is immediately apprized of the approach of a fly, or any other insect of the like nature, when she sallies forth and seizes on her prey. She is furnished with a very sharp hooked forceps, placed near the mouth. With this weapon she seizes and pierces the flesh of such insects as entangle themselves in her web; and, at the same instant, by means of a small white proboscis, she infuses a deadly juice into the wound, which, in a moment, kills the animal. This poison must be very deleterious; for flies, and many other insects, may be mutilated by depriving them of their legs, wings, and even cutting their bodies through the very middle of their abdomen, and, in that condition, will survive several days.—The Centipeds, the Scorpion, and the Tarantula, are all provided with poisonous weapons.

Appendix to the Chapters on Plants, Fishes, Fowls and Quadrupeds.

[If we will attentively examine the fossil remains of fishes, animals, birds, and vegetables, so abundantly preserved entombed in the crust of our earth, we shall easily see the necessity of looking into the sepulchres of these primitive creatures if we would freely describe the “Mosaic Creation.” Many of their genera and species are now extinct: and those which remain seem to have dwindled down to mere dwarfs in comparison with their prototypes.

It is a matter of great satisfaction, that these interesting remains of the primordial world are so well preserved. They are called by one the medals of creation: they reveal the ancient condition of our earth; the successive events; and the attending organic appendages of sensitive beings: and it is a matter of great pleasure to the Christian, that what they disclose so clearly on this subject agrees expressly with the Bible.

The class of animated beings called pisces, or fishes, is not so well known in regard to their genera, and species, as the classes of quadrupeds and birds.

From the fossil remains of each, and their position in the crust of the earth, it is well ascertained, that their genera were created successively, and that the most ancient genera are extinct. The same is true in regard to vegetables. It is equally true, that, connected with the successive creation, was a successive improvement in the delicacy and complexity of their structure and parts. There was also a reduction in the size of fishes, and quadrupeds, and a great reduction in the amount of vegetation, as well as the size of many of the plants.

These periodic variations in all early organized bodies, were evidently owing to the variations of the state of the surface of our earth, and the surrounding atmosphere. The Divine Being appears to have created the different genera suited in constitution to the condition of the world at the time. The cause of their successive extinction appears to have been successive catastrophes, which altered the constitution of our earth and atmosphere.

All these facts taken together indicate, that, in the early periods of the earth, the soil, water, and air were better calculated to sustain the simply huge, and inconceivably powerful and fierce creatures of the animal kingdom, than the delicate and beautiful beings of the present period. The same is eminently true in regard to vegetables, specially their quantity. They were of trunks, and spreading branches so huge as to exceed belief, did we not see them well preserved in a fossil state. Their quantity also was immense; hence the amount of vegetable coal found in the earth.

These facts clearly indicate that, in the early periods of our earth, the surface was moist, perhaps, marshy for a long time, gradually drying, and passing to a habitable state: the air was very moist and gross, and the temperature of the earth was much higher than at present. Hence the huge and abundant vegetable productions. These general facts shall be confirmed by a few remarks in regard to each class.

Fishes.—Under this class is included, here, testaceous, and crustaceous creatures, as well as fishes commonly so called. The most ancient of this family seem to be entirely extinct, and their remains are found in great abundance in the lower transition rocks. There are many localities where fossil fish, of various kinds, are found abundantly. They are sometimes found in the heart of mountains, thousands of feet above the level of the sea. Their localities are so numerous they need not be mentioned. They are found in all possible positions, and in every degree of preservation—some are contorted, and crushed; indicating sudden violence. Others are inhumed in the very act of swallowing their prey, and in every easy and natural position; indicating that they expired without violence. Some of these, which are thus quietly buried, are of the most active species; thus proving the suddenness of the catastrophe.

So extensive are the depositions of shell-fish, that whole beds of rock, in some cases, appear to be composed of them; and, indeed, in some instances, mountains are composed principally of these rocks filled with organic remains.

From these facts, it is allowed by all, that the sea once covered these localities; and when it is recollected that some of the rock strata, composed of the exuviæ of these marine creatures, are hundreds of feet thick, the conclusion will be irresistible, that the sea covered them for a long time, and that these rocks which contain them were deposited at the bottom of the sea, which have since become dry, by the retiring of the waters, or by some subjacent force upheaving the bed of the sea, and of course these deposits which had been made at its bottom—when these fossil remains are found in mountain masses they have been upheaved—when in low lands, where the rocks lie in situ, the sea has exposed them by retiring.

Amphibious Creatures.—There are yet a few animals of this class; but they can scarcely be called the types of the ancient races, now extinct, whose remains have lately been discovered, and attracted so much attention in Europe. They are principally of the crocodile, and saurian (or lizard) families. Their size, and indicated power, ferocity, and fierceness, are astonishing beyond measure. Their structure clearly indicates their proper element was wet, marshy, and reedy places, such as the crocodile delights in at this time: thus indicating that they were in the earth as the ancient chaotic seas retired, and was leaving the earth dry.

If a single skeleton only, of any one of these creatures had been found, naturalists would have pronounced it a lusus naturæ. But many have been found, of different genera and species: only two or three shall be mentioned here.

One of the crocodile family, as is supposed, had a spine composed of 133 vertebræ, or joints, taken together 21½ feet in length. The head was nearly 4 feet. Its species are extinct; some refer even this huge animal to the lizard family.

The Megalosaurus. The skeleton of this huge creature has been satisfactorily examined, and ascertained to belong to the lizard family. Its thigh bone is 32 inches long. It is said some have been found 4 feet. At 32 inches, the animal must have been 48 feet in length. Dr. Buckland, from some fossil remains, calculates some of them were as high as our largest elephants, and sixty or seventy feet in length. And yet this was a lizard of the ancient world!

The Pterodactyle. This is a species of the saurian family as those above. Its distinctive character is the elongation of its fourth toe, so as to support a membrane for the purpose of flying: hence its name, wing-toed. It is indeed a curiosity. Its species is extinct.

The Ichthyosaurus. This is also a reptile of the lizard kind: but because it so much resembles a fish; it has this name, i.e. fish-lizard. It has a moderate tail—long pointed muzzel armed with sharp pointed teeth; two huge eyes; breathed air; swam in the water; crawled in marshy, reedy places, but could not walk or run on land, having flat fins, or bony paddles, somewhat like seals. The skeletons indicate some of them to have been 25 feet long.

The Plesiosaurus. This animal, as its name imports, was rather akin to lizards, than decidedly of the genus. Its very peculiar characteristic is the immoderate length of its neck, and the unexampled number of vertebræ of which it is composed. In other respects it approaches the ichthyosaurus. Its remains indicate an animal, according to Cuvier, at least 30 feet long.

The Iguanodon, was of the lizard genus, three or four times as large as the largest crocodile; having jaws equal in size to the incisors of the rhinoceros, and crested with horns. (Dr. Buckland.)

Many more creatures of the early periods of our earth might be mentioned, which would come expressly under the title of this volume; and the knowledge of which is durably preserved in the fossils of the earth, all of which would confirm the facts stated in the commencement of this paper, viz: that during the first and grossest periods of our earth previously to the creation of man, great numbers of genera and species of huge and misshapen animals existed, which are now extinct. For instance: the skeletons of animals of the frog and toad families, have been found so large, as to induce some naturalists at first to call them human remains. A tapir has been found the size of an elephant; and a species of the sloth tribe as long as a rhinoceros!!

These things will indeed appear incredible to the reader at first; but let him recollect that the evidences of these astonishing facts are contained in the solid crust of the earth, and cannot be deceptive. They may be seen, measured, weighed, and put up so as to form the whole animal, an object of inspection to thousands.

There are but few fossil remains of birds found in the earth, and these are principally in the upper tertiary strata, and in company with the fossil remains of such animals as are companionable and serviceable to man. The reason of this is obvious: the earth was not suitable for the habitation of birds until it had become comparatively dry, and the seas had retired in a great measure, and vegetation abundant. The aquatic genera appeared first, of which there are a few remains. Moreover this class of creatures could not be overtaken with any violent catastrophe, so as to bury them in a body, or in particular strata. It is, therefore, probable that birds, as a class, have preserved their genera and species from the first; and are now nearly the same in this respect, as well as in size, as in the earlier periods of the world.

Vegetables.—In the vegetable kingdom we are if possible, more astonished than in the animal, of the ancient periods of our earth. From their fossil remains, well and abundantly preserved, it is very evident that the vegetation of the first periods of our earth was abundant and heavy, beyond any thing which we can conceive at this time. It cannot be doubted but that the vegetative powers of the earth was very much greater than at this time, or within the memory of man. This is evident from the immense production of vegetable coal.

This statement may be rendered somewhat more credible when it is recollected, that the earth, in its first periods, was of a much higher temperature than now; and of course not only produced more abundantly, but all parts of the earth produced vegetation in abundance. This is evident from the fact, that within the arctic circle, where now reigns eternal winter, and no vegetation can be found, there was anciently successive products of heavy vegetation. (See appendix to our paper on volcanos.) This is proven by plants being found fossilized on the spot, and in the position in which they grew; as also the leaves and fruits of plants, which are known now to be tropical, so well preserved, and in such a natural, easy position as to prove clearly they grew on the spot on which they were fossilized.

The flora of the primordial world was expressly a part of the ‘Mosaic creation,’ and which is but little understood as yet. Some of the principal plants were of the fern and palm genera; but their size very far exceeded those now found growing. By closely examining these fossil plants, it will be found, that they increase in size and quantity as the period of their growth is distant from the time in which man was created: thus indicating an increasing temperature of the earth as we ascend in time. This also corresponds with the well known fact, that the size of these plants now increases progressively from the polar regions to the equator.

Our author has given a concise and edifying description of the principal families and individuals which now exist, and are found in the earth. The above remarks are intended to direct the attention to those which have long since passed away.]

The propriety of the distinction between clean and unclean beasts, mentioned in the Scripture, will appear on the first hearing of their names; for we find amongst the clean creatures, Oxen, Sheep, Goats, and Lambs: and on the other side, Lions, Tigers, Wolves, Foxes, Swine, Moles, and Serpents. It is evident that there is a wide difference between these two parties, with respect to their manners and ways of life.

Those only are admitted among clean animals, which “divide the hoof and chew the cud.” Animals which divide the hoof are more inoffensive with their feet, than the several tribes of wild beasts, whose paws are armed with sharp claws, to seize their prey. Quadrupeds with a divided hoof tread surer than those whose hoof is entire; there being a plain mechanical reason why a foot, which presents several angles and edges, should take faster hold on the ground. They are not only surer footed, but also more orderly and regular in their progress. Sheep have a natural tendency to follow each other’s steps. They approach the fold, or return from it, in a train; as well as traverse their pastures in the like order. Oxen tread in the very footsteps of their predecessors: so that a drove of them, on passing through a deep and narrow road, leave the surface divided into a regular succession of ridges and furrows, as if it were the work of art. If animals could reason and dispute as men can, this plodding practice of the Ox might possibly be ridiculed by the Ass; as the orthodox believer, who is content to tread in the steps of his forefathers, is scoffed at by the rambling freethinker, who uses it as the privilege of his nature, to deviate into by-ways, untrodden by those who were much wiser than himself. Sure footing is an image not improperly applied to elementary truth and science: whence it will not be unnatural to suppose, that this first character of the clean animals was intended to be expressive of rectitude and certainty of principle in moral agents. Error is various and changeable in its nature: but truth, being uniformly the same in all ages, will always be productive of sobriety and regularity in those who follow it.

The other character of clean animals is that of “chewing the cud;” a faculty expressive of that act of the mind, by which it revolves, meditates, and discourses on what it has laid up in the memory; and the word ruminate has the same metaphorical meaning. An animal thus employed has the appearance of abstraction in its countenance, as if it were engaged in deep meditation; and it ruminates more particularly when lying in an horizontal position, for then the food is more easily recalled into the mouth from its temporary lodgment in the stomach. This character then, is expressive of devout thought and holy conversation: for the word of God is the food of the mind, which, being laid up in the heart, should be frequently revolved; so that being properly applied to the inward man, it may contribute to a daily increase in faith, purity, and goodness.

The clean animals were also sacred; that is, set apart by the law for the purpose of sacrifice. The propriety of which is evident: for if the worshipper, who offered an animal to God, meant by that act to devote himself, using the animal as his substitute or proxy; then certainly it was not fit that he should represent himself by an unclean creature, whose instincts and habits would convey an odious idea of his own person and character, and consequently make his devotion appear ridiculous. In order to make a sacrifice acceptable, it was requisite that the qualifications of the offerer should correspond with those of the offering. The innocent manners of a clean victim, were a tacit reflection on an unclean offerer. When the worshippers of the true God were corrupt in their principles or morals, their oblations were no longer either proper or acceptable: which was signified to them in those words of the prophet—“He that killeth an ox, as if he slew a man: he that sacrificeth a lamb, as if he cut off a dog’s neck: he that offereth an oblation, as if he offered swine’s blood.” The reason is added: “They have chosen their own ways, and their soul delighteth in their abominations.” But there is another sense in which the institution of sacrifice is to be understood: for every sacrifice had its prophetic use, and was prefigurative of the true sacrifice of Jesus Christ; with respect to whom it was necessary that every animal, preferred to this sacred application, should be recommended by every possible character of innocence, purity, and perfection: therefore the sacrifices were taken from the tribes of Sheep, Goats, and Oxen.

The diet of the Jews being thus immediately connected with the most solemn acts of religious adoration, the daily course of their living carried with it an exhortation to purity of mind and body, and directed their faith to its supreme object, the vicarious sacrifice of the Messiah. The moral necessities of man can only be supplied by the death and benefits of a propitiatory sacrifice, the common substitute of all mankind: whence God has mercifully ordained, as well by the present condition of creation itself, as by the appointment of revelation, that the life of his body should be sustained in like manner: thereby to remind us every day, that the life of man is in a state of forfeiture; and that there can be neither the preservation, nor the remission of sins, without the shedding of innocent blood. Thus does mankind conspire in offering up a daily sacrifice, and attesting the truth of the Christian doctrine, and many persons with the same insensibility that Caiaphas uttered a similar prophecy in its favor, “It is necessary that one man should die, that the whole people perish not.”

These clean and unclean animals, with respect to their several ways of life, are as opposite as their dispositions. Sheep, Oxen, Goats, Deer, &c., are formed into societies, they herd peaceably together, and are subject to the laws of government, as well for their own advantage as for the service of man. But beasts of prey roam by themselves in forests and deserts, incapable of entering into any friendly communion. They are so many single tyrants, who acknowledge no superior, but fight their way, and live in a state of hostility with the whole creation. If they ever unite in gangs, it is with the spirit of thieves and murderers, who are banded together only that they may plunder the innocent with greater security. And, like other depredators, they are all fond of darkness. When the sun goes down, the Lion stalks forth from his den: at which time the Sheep, under the direction of the shepherd, are retiring to their fold. And when the cattle are climbing up the mountains to their pasture, invited by the reviving rays of the rising sun, the tyrants of the night are warned back to their hiding-places.173

The blindness of the Mole, the petulance and immodesty of the Dog, the subtlety of the Fox, the poisonous teeth and double tongue of the Serpent, afford ample scope for reflection. The Egyptian hieroglyphics were certain visible representations of creatures, whose inclinations and actions led to the knowledge of those truths which they intended for instruction. A profane and voluptuous man was represented by a Swine, whose filthy disposition caused it to be hated by all the eastern people. A great hypocrite, or a notorious dissembler of wicked intentions, was expressed by a Leopard, because this animal acts craftily, concealing his head that he may with less difficulty catch his unwary prey; for the creatures are as much alarmed at his presence, as they are pleased with the agreeable scent of his body: when therefore they approach him, delighted with the perfume, he will cover his head with his paws, till they come within his reach. An incorrigible person was also expressed by a Leopard’s skin, because its spots no art can remove. A Chamelion likewise was the hieroglyphic of a hypocrite, who can accommodate himself to any religion that will serve his turn; for this animal can change its color. A stupid, ignorant person, an enemy to religion, was signified by an Ass; and one that was not acquainted with men and things, or knew not how to acquit himself with decency and propriety in the world, was painted with the head and ears of an Ass. The Egyptians were accustomed to put the heads of animals on the bodies of men, to express the dispositions and conduct of those persons they were intended to represent. A Tiger, being a most fierce animal, signified a savage, cruel, revengeful disposition, opposed to all goodness. A Fox is notorious for his craftiness; therefore he is an emblem of a subtile person, under the influence of wicked thoughts and intentions.174

Rams, and Bullocks of Bashan, Lions, or any animal of prey, are figures frequently used by the sacred writers for cruel and oppressive tyrants and conquerors. “Hear this word, ye kine of Bashan, which oppress the poor.” Bashan was a very fruitful place, a fine and fattening pasture, in which were the best fed and strongest cattle. To these, the prophet compares the great men among the Israelites, especially their judges and magistrates, who were proud, insolent, wanton and mischievous, like the bulls of Bashan; who oppressed the poor, as high fed cattle push and gore the weaker sort. “The Lion is come up from his thicket, and the destroyer of the Gentiles is on his way; he is gone forth from his place to make thy land desolate: and thy cities shall be laid waste without an inhabitant.” By this animal is meant Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, so termed on account of his great power and fierceness; and as the Lion is commonly in the forest among the thicket, so this terrible political ruler had his strong hold and principal seat at Babylon, which residence he left to commit awful desolation among the cities of Judah and Israel.

The prophet Isaiah, with a boldness and majesty becoming the herald of the Most High, begins his prophecy with calling on the whole creation to attend, when Jehovah speaks. “Hear, oh heavens; and give ear, oh earth; for the Lord hath spoken; I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me.” A charge of gross insensibility and ingratitude is then brought against the Jews; by contrasting their conduct with that of the Ox, and the Ass, which is the most stupid of animals. “The Ox knoweth his owner, and the Ass his master’s crib: but Israel doth not know, my people do not consider.” What a cutting reproof! what an indelible reproach! to have been favored with the best means of instruction, and yet to be exceeded by the herd of the stall! To perish for lack of knowledge, after having had the best means to acquire it, evinces the grossest inattention, and most censurable insensibility.

The prophet Jeremiah lamented the wickedness of the age in which he lived, and the vice and immorality that every where abounded. He saw with grief of heart the holy Sabbath profaned, the worship of God neglected, and his house and ordinances defiled. While a sorrowful witness to their gross abominations, he saw the punishments that awaited their immorality, and then wept over what he could not amend. He gave them faithful admonitions from God, but they disregarded them, and drank in iniquity like water, and drew sin as with a cart-rope: because they had been taught to do evil (for so the margin reads,) trained up in their evil ways, had learned to sin by precept and example, and were great proficients in vicious pursuits: from their youth their natural propensity to evil had increased by continued practice, till sinning was become habitual, and there was little hope left of amendment. Therefore he exclaims, “Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the Leopard his spots? then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil.” The Ethiopian’s skin is of so sable a hue, that no water can wash it white. A Leopard’s skin is beautifully spotted, which is not the result of accident, but nature, and cannot be defaced. By these two similes the prophet designs to represent, not only the natural impossibility without Divine aid, but also the extreme difficulty of habitual sinners learning to do well, after they have long accustomed themselves to do evil. The least sin is to be avoided, the least growth of sin to be prevented; for sin indulged in thought will beget desire, desire will break out into action, action will grow into custom, custom will settle into habit, and then, there is the utmost danger of both body and soul being irrecoverably lost.

When our Saviour sent forth his apostles to preach the Gospel, he informed them of the hardships, dangers, and discouragements they would have to encounter, in the faithful discharge of their ministry; especially after his resurrection, when they would be deprived of his personal presence; for we do not read of any great persecutions they endured while he was with them. These sufferings he foretold, that they might not be surprised at their approach; and that, by the accomplishment of this prediction, their faith might be confirmed. “Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of Wolves.” Here we have a prediction of their perilous condition; they were to be as Sheep in the midst of Wolves. And what situation more dangerous! What can sheep, that are feeble creatures, and destitute of natural armour to defend themselves, expect, in the midst of ravenous wolves, but to be rent and torn to pieces? So those, amongst whom the apostles were to be sent, would have as great an inclination, arising from their malicious dispositions, to destroy them, as wolves have from their nature to devour sheep. Wicked men are like wolves, whose nature it is to destroy and devour sheep; they are of a diabolical disposition towards the ministers of the Gospel.

Our Saviour also gave his apostles advice, how to conduct themselves in such very unpleasant and dangerous circumstances. “Be ye therefore wise as serpents,” not cunning as foxes, whose aim is to deceive others; but as serpents, whose policy is only to defend themselves, when they are in danger. A serpent’s wisdom appears in a care to guard and secure its head, that it may not be hurt; in stopping its ears against the voice of the charmer, which it does, says a certain naturalist, by laying one ear close to the ground, and stopping the other with its tail; and in sheltering itself in the clefts of a rock, when in danger. So should Christ’s ministers, in a time of peril, use all lawful means for their own safety and preservation; they should be wary and circumspect to keep themselves from harm, either of body or soul. “And harmless as doves.” Ministers should be meek, do no person any harm, bear no ill-will, be without gall, as is said of the dove; though their enemies should be fierce and savage, like wolves, yet they must not study how to revenge the injuries done them. It should be their continual care to be inoffensive, in word and deed: wisdom and innocence should dwell together. Ministers must not be altogether doves, lest they fall into danger; nor altogether serpents, lest they injure others; but they must be both serpents and doves, the one for wisdom, the other for innocence.

Our Saviour likewise cautions his followers against false teachers. “Beware of false prophets.” The term prophet in the Scripture, signifies one who foretells things to come; this is the most proper signification of the word. It also means one who expounds the predictions of the Old Testament. And sometimes we are to understand by it, one employed in the ministry of the Gospel; in this sense a prophet and a teacher are reciprocal terms. So that by prophet here our Saviour means false teachers, who, pretending authority from God, exercised themselves in the ministry, and published false doctrine, or at least represented truth in a corrupt manner, with a fraudulent intention, from base motives, and for vile ends; by whose doctrine persons were in no small danger of being seduced from their simplicity, and drawn away from the truth, sincerity, and power of godliness; into a dead and lifeless formality, and an empty show of religion and piety. Now against such men, Christ, in the days of his public ministry, warned his hearers, to prevent their deception, apprising them that they would “come in sheep’s clothing.” They disguised their dangerous principles and base intentions, under a show of external religion, and fair professions of love, that, thereby they might deceive others. “But inwardly they are ravening Wolves.” They were as dangerous to the souls of men, as ravenous Wolves are to Sheep, which watch for an opportunity to seize their prey, silently approach the sheep-fold to see whether the dogs be asleep, or the shepherd be absent: so false teachers with wretched hypocrisy and sophistry, counterfeit sincerity, humility, and sanctity; and were it not for this semblance of piety, their efforts to injure the church of God would be ineffectual. He compares these false teachers to Wolves, especially on account of their cruelty. These animals are not content to satisfy their hunger, but will destroy multitudes merely to gratify their voracious nature. So false teachers strive to injure the whole church of God, and thus destroy souls.

Our Saviour exhorted his auditory to the exercise of Christian prudence, in the dispensing of spiritual things. “Give not that which is holy unto the Dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before Swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.” The deep things of God, relating to doctrines, are not to be divulged to those who are wallowing in sin; neither are the great things he has done in his people to be declared to profane, furious persecutors: but both classes of wicked men may be reproved on proper occasions. By Dogs, our Saviour means froward, perverse, malicious, revengeful, boisterous, incorrigible, and irreclaimable sinners, who scorn holy institutions, mock at every thing sacred, scoff at religion, deride the word of God, and all serious reproofs and admonitions, whether given by parents, masters, ministers, governors, and others; who are ready to persecute those who preach the Gospel, and endeavor to promote their salvation. By Swine, he means such sinners as are profane and sensual, and like Swine wallow in the mud of sin and wickedness; to whom it is as pleasant to live in their beastly lusts, as it is for Swine to wallow in the mire; and to disregard, abuse, and trample on holy things.

St. Peter, in showing what all men are in the sight of God, before they receive his grace, and what those are who turn apostates from the truth, alludes to two offensive actions of Dogs and Swine. “It has befallen to them according to the true proverb, the Dog is turned to his vomit, and the Sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.” Blackwall says, this proverb, with great propriety and strength, marks out the sottishness and odious manners of persons enslaved to sensual appetites and carnal lusts; and the extreme difficulty of reforming vicious and inveterate habits. As a Dog, observe Bishop Patrick, when he has vomited up his meat which made him sick, is no sooner well but he returns to it, and eats it up again, forgetting how ill it agreed with him; so an imprudent person commits the same error over again, for which he formerly smarted. The evil nature remaining, and at last gaining the ascendency, in a man, who had through grace reformed his life, renders him like the loathsome and detestable Sow, as Dr. Doddridge remarks; for the Sow that was washed from the filthiness she had before contracted, having still the same unclean nature prevailing, is returned to wallow in the mire, and so makes herself as filthy as she had ever been before. And, adds Dr. Whitby, these two proverbs are expressive of the folly of those men who return to those vices they had formerly renounced.

Section II.—Man.

Body: — Its Creator — Formation — Vitality — Blood — Heart — Arteries and Veins — Digestion — Respiration — Glands — Absorbents — Nervous System — Organs of Sense — Bones — Sinovia — Muscles — Tendons — Cellular Membrane — Skin. Soul: — Its Immateriality — Freedom — Immortality — Moral Image — Adam’s Dominion over the Creatures — Woman — Paradise.

All things necessary, convenient, and delightful, being prepared for the accommodation of Man: light, that he might see; air, that he might hear and breathe; dry land, on which he might walk; herbs and fruit-trees, for his gratification and sustenance; fish, fowl, cattle, and creeping things, for his service: then God proceeded to make him, as the last and greatest display of his wisdom and power, the master-piece of all sublunary creatures, whose creation alone is represented in the sacred History, as an effect resulting from a divine consultation. “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.” It appears from the ingenious Parable of Protagoras in Plato, it was a very ancient opinion that man was last created after the other living creatures.

In all the former works, God only said, Let such and such things be, and they were; he spake the word, and it was done. But now, when Man was to be made, God is spoken of as calling a council, “Let us make man, in our image, after our likeness.” This imports that Man was to be a creature different from all that had been produced, and far more excellent and wonderful in his constitution; a compound of flesh and spirit, heaven and earth, put together, the visible image of the Divine glory, and dedicated and devoted to his Creator’s service. Man was the work of Elohim, the Divine Plurality, marked here more distinctly by the plural pronouns us and our; all the Three Subsistencies in the Godhead are represented as united in counsel and effort to bring into existence this astonishing creature.

Aben Ezra, a Jewish Rabbi, imagined that the souls of all men were made on the first day of the creation, and that God consulted them to obtain their consent before he would assign them bodies of flesh, hereafter to be created. This is a groundless hypothesis, derived from the Platonic philosophy; for God says, “Let us make man in our image,” which shows that Adam’s soul had then no existence, for in that case, it doubtless would have been in the image of God.

Some other Jewish Doctors, as Manasseh ben Israel, ridiculously conceived that God spake to the elements. But this is more absurd than the former; for the expression, “Let us make man,” implies capacity of consultation in those spoken to, and real efficiency. But the elements are not intelligent beings, neither efficient, but only material parts of man.

Nor does God here speak to the angels, as the authority of the Paraphrase, which is called Jonathan’s, suggests. The words of the Paraphrase are these: “God said to the angels, which ministered before him, Let us make man.” It is a noted saying of the Jewish Rabbis, that God does nothing without consulting his family above: they mean, his holy angels. Several heretics, in the first and second centuries of Christianity, were of opinion, that this lower world was made by angels. This notion is likewise erroneous: God here speaks to those in whose image man was to be formed, but he was not made in the image of angels.

It is pretended by those who are enemies to the orthodox doctrine of the Trinity, that this is a figurative way of speaking, only to express the dignity of God, not to denote any plurality in him; that he here speaks in the plural number after the manner of princes, who say, We will and require, or, It is our pleasure. But this is only a far-fetched invention, to evade the doctrine of the Trinity, by persons in latter times, and no way agreeable to the first ages of the world, or the Hebrew style. Melchizedeck, Abimelech, Pharoah, and Balak, all speak in the singular number. The kings of Israel used the same style, as did Saul, David, and even Solomon in all his glory. And also the Eastern monarchs: “I (Darius) make a decree. I, even I, Artaxerxes the king, do make a decree.” Nor is there in the Scriptures one example to the contrary.

Beside, how absurd it is to suppose that God would borrow his mode of speaking from a practice which did not exist! And even granting this possible, yet the cases are not parallel. For though a King, or Governor, may say us and we, there is certainly no figure of speech that will allow a single person to say, one of us, when he speaks of himself. It is a phrase that can have no meaning, unless there be more persons than one concerned. Yet in addition to US and OUR, this we find is the style in which God has spoken of himself.

There are some persons who maintain, in opposition to the clear light of revelation, that there is but one Subsistence in the Divine Nature. This was the opinion of the Sabellians, a denomination which arose in the third century; and, certain persons, in modern times, have embraced the same. These contend that God here speaks to himself, as consulting with himself, to create man, and that, though the words be plural, yet the sense is singular, as if he had said, Let me make man.

One of the Persons, or Subsistencies in the Godhead, here speaks to the other Two, and who more likely than the Father, who is first in the order of arrangement, as given by the sacred Writers. The Father, not the Son, is the first; the Son, not the Holy Spirit, is the second; and the Holy Spirit, not the Father, is the third. Hence, the Father, when he said, “Let us make man,” addressed himself to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, who were therein joint and equal Creators with him. “None saith, Where is God my Maker?” in the Hebrew, Makers, is the language used in the Book of Job, implying a Plurality of Persons in a Unity of Essence: a phraseology like that of Solomon, “Remember thy Creator,” in the original, Creators. The prophet Isaiah adopts the same style, “Thy Maker is thine husband,” in the Hebrew, thy Makers are thy Husbands. Thus it evidently appears, that this consultation was among the Persons in the Godhead; that all the Three, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, were concerned in man’s creation; and were therein joint Creators, equal in nature, power, and efficiency.

Dr. Waterland says, that this text, Let us make man, has been understood of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, or at least of Father and Son, by the whole succession of Christian writers, from the times of the apostles; which is a circumstance of considerable importance, and will impress the minds of sincere and impartial men. That the Christian Fathers were unanimous in their judgment, that these words were spoken by the Father to the Son, or Spirit, or both, appears in their works, from which we shall adduce a few proofs.

Barnabas says:—“And for this the Lord was contented to suffer for our souls, though he be the Lord of the world; to whom God said, the day before the formation of the world, Let us make man after our image and similitude.”175

Hermas:—“He was present in counsel with his Father for the forming of the creature.”176

Theophilus of Antioch:—“He directed these words, Let us make man, to none other than his own Word and his own Wisdom.”177

Irenæus:—“His Word and Wisdom, his Son and Spirit, are always present with him, to whom also he spake, saying, Let us make man, &c.”178 Again:—“Man was fashioned after the image and likeness of the uncreated God, the Father willing his creation, the Son ministering and forming him, the Holy Ghost nourishing and increasing him.”179

Tertullian:—“Nay, because his Son is ever present with him, the second person, his Word; and the third, the Spirit in the Word; therefore he spake in the plural, Let us make man in our image.”180

Novatian:—“Who does not acknowledge the Son to be the second person after the Father, when he reads that it was said to the Son by the Father, Let us make man.”181

Origen:—“To him also spake he (the Father,) Let us make man after our image.”182

Athanasius:—“Who is this that God converses with here? To whom are these notifications and determinations of his pleasure directed? Not to any of the creatures already made; much less to those things which were not yet created; but, undoubtedly to some person, who was then present with the Father, to whom he communicated his councils, and of whose agency he made use in the creation of them. And who could this be but his eternal Word? With whom can we conceive the Father holding his conference, but with his Son, the divine LOGOS, that Wisdom of God, that was present with him, and acted with him, in the creation of the world, who was in the beginning with God, and was God? and who saith of himself, When he prepared the heavens, I was there; when he appointed the foundations of the earth, then was I by him, as one brought up with him.”

St. Augustine:—“Had God said no more than, Let us make man, it might, with some color, be understood as spoken to the angels, whom the Jews pretend he employed in framing the body of man, and other creatures; but seeing it immediately follows, after our image, it is highly profane to believe, that man was made after the similitude of angels; and that the similitude of God and angels is one and the same.”

St. Ambrose speaks to the same purpose:—“God would not speak thus to his servants, because it is not to be thought, that servants were partners with their Lord, in his works of creation; or the works with their Author. And, supposing this should be admitted, that the work was common to God and angels, yet the image was not common.”

Nay, the second Council of Sirmium, which was held in 351, pronounced an anathema on all those who denied this. The words of the Council are these:—“If any say, that the Father did not speak to the Son, when he said, Let us make man, but that he spake to himself, let him be accursed.”183

Epiphanius:—“This is the language of God to his Word, and Only-begotten, as all the faithful believe.”184 And again he says, “Adam was formed by the hand of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost.”185

I observe more at large from Irenæus, that he rejects the notion of the Jews and Heretics, who supposed God spake to his angels. For disputing against Heretics, who attributed the creation of the world to angels, and powers separate from the one true God, he says thus:—“Angels did not make us, nor did they form us; neither was it in their power to make the image of God: none but the Logos could do this; no powers distinct from the Father of all things: for God did not want their assistance in making the things which he had ordained. For his Word and his Wisdom, the Son and the Holy Ghost, are always with him; by whom and with whom, he made all things freely, and of his own accord; to whom also he spake in these words, Let us make man in our image and likeness.”186

The testimony of Dr. Kennicott will be respected by those who are lovers of the truth. “God, says he, being about to create man, is introduced saying—Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; in consequence of which the historian tells us—so God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him. It is evident then, that God created man in his own image; this is mentioned thrice by way of emphasis, and to prevent, if possible, all possibility of misconstruction. Now what God did, was certainly what he proposed to do; God created man in his own image, that is, in the image of the Godhead, and therefore God proposed to create him in the image of the Godhead. But if God proposed to create him in the image of the Godhead, the proposal must have been made to the Godhead; because the words are—Let us make man in our image. And if the proposal be here made by God to the Godhead, it is absurd to suppose it made to the same Person that makes it; and consequently reasonable to think it made to the other two persons in the Unity of the Godhead.”187

The creature now to be made is man.188 And God said, Let us make man. It is evident that God, by introducing the creation of man with this peculiar phraseology, intends to impress the mind with a sense of something extraordinary in his formation. The word אדם Adam, which is translated man, is intended to designate the species of animal, which is vastly superior to all the rest. Though the same kind of organization may be found in Man, as appears in the lower animals, yet, as one observes, there is a variety and complication in the parts, a delicacy of structure, a nice arrangement, a judicious adaptation of the various members to their great offices and different functions, a dignity of mien, and perfection of the whole, which are sought for in vain in all other creatures.

Man is a compound creature, consisting of two distinct essential parts, body and soul. The union of these constitutes man, for neither of them when separated can be so denominated. The body was made before the soul, and formed out of the earth, or, as עפר âpher implies, the dust. “The Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground.” He afterwards pronounced, Dust thou art. This led Solomon to affirm, “All are of the dust.” The Apostle adds, “The first man was of the earth, dusty,” as Ainsworth renders it. And we are said to “dwell in houses of clay,” and to have our “foundation in the dust.” Of the soul it is said, “God breathed into his nostrils the breath of life:” רוח חיים ruach chayim, the breath of lives; i.e. animal, intellectual, and spiritual. While this breath of God expanded the lungs, and set them to play, his inspiration gave both spirit, understanding, and felicity. Thus we see that the soul and the body are not the same thing; the one is of the earth, the other is from God. The Rabbins say, “The form of the soul is not compounded of the elements, &c., but is of the Lord from heaven. Therefore when the material body, which is compounded of the elements, is separated, and the breath perishes because it is not found, but with the body, and is needful for the body in all its actions; this form (i.e. the soul) is not destroyed, &c., but continues for ever. This is that which Solomon by his wisdom said, ‘Then shall the dust return unto the earth as it was; and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.’”

As the formation of man’s body was effected previously to the infusion of his soul, we shall attend to the same order, in attempting to elucidate this important and very interesting subject. The word ייצר jitzer, rendered he formed, observes Mr. Benson, is not used concerning any other creature, and implies a gradual process in the work, with great accuracy and exactness. It is properly used of potters forming vessels on the wheel; and Rabbi D. Kimchi says, that, when used concerning the creation of man, it signifies the formation of his members. Bishop Patrick intimates, that the body of man was made not of dry, but moist dust; and that this agrees with the Hebrew Jitzer, formed, which is used concerning potters, who make their vessels of clay, not of dry earth. Diodorus Siculus says, “Man was made out of the slime, or mud, of the Nile.” The word of the Lord once came to Jeremiah, saying, “Arise, and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will cause thee to hear my words. Then I went down to the potter’s house, and, behold, he wrought a work on the wheel. And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, Behold, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are ye in mine hand!” A scene like this is presented to our imagination by the words of Moses; the Lord God formed, moulded, or modelled man, as a potter does; we see the work, observes Bishop Horne, as it were upon the wheel, rising and growing under the hands of the Divine Artificer!

But, to give the thing a stronger impression on the mind, we will suppose, says Judge Hale, that this figure rises by degrees, and is finished part by part, in some succession of time; and that, when the whole is completed, the veins and arteries bored, the sinews and tendons laid, the joints fitted, and liquor (transmutable in blood and juices) lodged in the ventricles of the heart, God infuses into it a vital principle, whereupon the liquor in the heart begins to descend, and thrill along the veins, and a heavenly blush arises in the countenance, such as scorns the help of art, and is above the power of imitation. The image moves, it walks, it speaks; it moves with such a majesty, as proclaims it the lord of the creation, and talks with such an accent and sublimity, as makes every ear attentive, and even its great Creator enter into converse with it: were we to see all this transacted before our eyes, I say, we could not but stand astonished at the thing; and yet this is the exact emblem of man’s formation.

The human body is an excellent piece of workmanship, the shape and contexture of it admirable, evidently superior to that of all other animals, and the brightest visible display of the wisdom of the Divine Architect. The erect posture, figure, stature, use of every part, and symmetry of the whole, cannot but excite admiration. The fabric of the eye, the texture of the brain, the configuration of the muscles, the disposition of the nerves, the construction of the bones; the veins and arteries, spread throughout the system, the former to return the blood to the heart, and keep that mysterious engine playing, which throws the vital fluid through the latter with prodigious force, to animate and invigorate every part; and many other important particulars, which we shall now proceed to mention and illustrate, are not only manifest proofs of the great excellence of this system, but also of the skill, contrivance, and consummate wisdom of God.

When we take a general view of the animal world, we find the numerous individuals which compose it, differing considerably in the phenomena which their economy exhibits. Man, and the higher orders of animals, are characterized by the constant performance of many complex and active functions; as respiration, digestion, circulation, &c. Torpid or hibernating animals display this singular peculiarity, that these functions are performed for several months, and suspended for several months, alternately. In another modification of animated matter, namely the egg, the evidences of vitality would not be exhibited, were not certain agents applied to evolve them, and, when thus called forth, they cannot be resumed after long suspension.

Although we are ignorant of the nature of the cause which regulates the uniform performance of this series of phenomena, thus more or less extensively displayed in the economy of different animals, we are nevertheless convinced that such a cause must exist, and are hence naturally led to distinguish the phenomena by some appropriate term. Thus observing that the human body, and the bodies of animals which bear it resemblance, possess locomotive powers, can regulate their actions, and are capable not only of resisting the laws which govern inanimate substances, but are enabled to act upon these substances in direct opposition to these laws, we employ the terms life, vitality, and vital power, to express the phenomena which thus distinguish animate from inanimate matter; and in order simply to determine the import of those terms, we may take a general view of those powers which a living animal body possesses, and which cease with its existence.

When we compare the living with the dead body, the most striking circumstance we observe is, that the former was surrounded by the same chemical agents which are capable of producing the decomposition and destruction of its soft parts after death; hence it becomes evident, that its component elements must have been sustained and preserved by some superior power, which ceases to act at the moment of its dissolution.

Of all the phenomena which enter into the general idea of life, this power of self-preservation, or the capability of resisting the laws which govern inanimate matter, appears the most essential. Without this principle we can form no conception of life, since it evidently exists without interruption till the moment of dissolution. It is this principle which, communicated to an egg, enables it to resist for a certain period the powers of heat, cold, and putrefaction; a principle of which the addle or barren egg is entirely devoid. Thus we find from Mr. J. Hunter’s experiments, that an impregnated egg is longer in freezing than an addle egg, and every one knows that the former remains sweet or free from putrefaction much longer. This principle, which we may consider the most simple state of existence, is limited in its duration; and for its maintenance, the performance of no active function is necessary. Hence it continues in the egg either quiescent for a certain time, and is gradually destroyed; or, by the agency or stimulus of heat, it acquires the accession of the power of action, which assimilates inanimate matter into a living form, and, at length, exhibits in the chick all the phenomena of a more perfect state of existence, which may be distinguished by the term active life. In this state, many other phenomena of vitality are exhibited. Besides the power of self-preservation, an internal principle of support and reparation, and the power of performing the important actions of circulation, respiration, digestion, &c., which are subservient to this principle, is given to animals. These form the features of what we call life, as it appears in man, and the higher orders of animals, and certainly constitute its most useful, though not most essential part. For how little superior is an egg, or a torpid animal, to vegetable or inanimate matter, till the former contain a living chick, the latter become an active animal? Thus, though life may subsist under the quiescent form of self-preservation, it requires the accession of certain principles, and a power of performing various important actions, to display its chief characters. The economy then of an egg, and of a perfect animal, such as man, may be considered as examples of the most simple and extensive phenomena of vitality. These, however, are more or less perfectly exhibited in the different orders of animals. It belongs, for instance, to the economy of certain animals, which at one time of the year perform active functions, to become torpid at the approach of winter. In these creatures, respiration, digestion, and every function which characterizes active life, is suspended; as in the egg, the principle of self-preservation, that latent spark of vitality, alone remains, by which we distinguish torpidity from death. This condition, however, is not of long continuance; at the approach of summer’s warmth, the power of action is again called forth, active functions are superadded to the principle of self-preservation, and life, before quiescent and obscure, now resumes its most perfect form; or, in other words, the animal just now inert and motionless, respires again; its heart beats, its blood circulates, its muscles resume their accustomed motions, and it leaves its winter quarters in search of food. Having now assumed the nature of an active animal, the performance of the functions characteristic of that state (which we shall now proceed to describe) becomes requisite; and, first, the circulation of a fluid which we call blood.189

This fluid differs in its appearance in the different orders of animals, though, in its essential properties there is little variety; the appearance of the blood in man, and the more perfect animals, is that of a red fluid, having a certain degree of viscidity, not being limpid like common water. Though it appears to be a homogenous fluid whilst circulating, or at the moment it escapes from its vessels, it is composed of three parts, essentially differing from each other; of particles, upon which the color of the blood depends; of coagulating lymph, which has the property of becoming spontaneously solid under certain circumstances, and from which various structures in the body are formed; and of a limpid fluid called serum, which dilutes the coagulating lymph, and fits it for circulating through blood vessels of a very minute size. In some of the lower orders of animals, however, the color of the particles of the blood is green, in others white, corresponding with the color of the animal; in others there is no color whatever in the blood, so that it is either void of particles, or they are transparent, so as not to be seen. But this deficiency must be considered as making no great difference in the blood itself, as its particles do not appear to be its most essential part. Many microscopical observations have been made to determine the size of a single particle of the blood, and according to the observations of several philosophers, the diameter of a single particle in man has been computed at the 3,000th part of an inch. The size of the particles in red blooded animals, is found not to correspond with the size of the animal. They are as large in the mouse as the elephant, larger in some insects than in man, smaller in the ox. They are in prodigious numbers, so as to give color to the blood, and of all its parts appear to be renewed the most slowly; thus when animals are frequently bled, the flesh becomes paler and paler.190

The next part of the blood, or coagulating lymph, is of the greatest importance. This constituent part becomes apparent, when blood is drawn from a vein into a cup, from its power of spontaneously coagulating into a solid mass, which appears red from a mixture of red particles: the color of the lymph however is transparent. This coagulation of the blood differs very essentially from the coagulation of inanimate substances, and is considered by many physiologists to be the last exertion of a living principle, which the blood is supposed to possess. This opinion, although not capable of absolute proof, is rendered extremely probable from a variety of facts, and by none more than the analogy between the coagulation of the blood, and the contraction of the muscles at death. These two actions appear to be influenced in some degree by the same causes. Thus, sudden death from lightning, or a blow upon the stomach, prevents the muscles from becoming rigid after death, and prevents also the coagulation of the blood. Under these circumstances it remains fluid. Besides violent death, several circumstances influence its tendency to coagulate and become solid, such as a great loss of blood—inflammation—pregnancy in females, and other causes.191

The third important part of the blood is the serum. This is limpid like water, and remains permanently fluid, unless certain substances are employed to coagulate it, such as alcohol, alum, or a certain degree of heat. It dilutes the other parts of the blood, so as to reduce the whole to a proper state of fluidity. It is secreted, or naturally separated from the blood, and poured out by exhalent vessels in various cavities and parts of the body, as the chest, abdomen, cellular membrane, &c. It facilitates the easy motion of the various organs upon each other, and, when accumulated in large quantities, forms the fluid of dropsies.

Besides these constituent parts, a quantity of water always circulates with the blood, varying according to the quantity of fluids taken in, and regulated in its proportion by the kidneys. Thus if a large quantity of water is taken into the stomach, particularly if it contain a little spirit in the form of punch, the kidneys are stimulated to an increased action, so as to separate from the blood the redundant quantity. A variety of other substances also are occasionally introduced into the blood, along with the aliment, alkaline substances producing their effect upon the nature of the urine, rhubarb on bile giving it a yellow color, and turpentine or asparagus altering its odor; all these substances, before passing off by urine, must have been mixed with the blood, from whence the urine is formed, being in fact its excrementitious part.192

It is necessary for the blood thus formed, to pass to every part of the body, that it may be converted into the nature of these parts, and thus become subservient to their growth; that fluids, serving important purposes in animal bodies, may be separated or secreted from it; and that the temperature of the body may be equably maintained. The blood, however, has no power of motion in itself; if it be not propelled by certain parts of the body, it remains quiescent like any extraneous fluid.

In two very numerous classes of animals, insects and zoophites, the motion of the blood is very simple; they are nourished like vegetables, by the absorption of the fluid, which is prepared in their alimentary canal, and have no circulation properly so called.

But in man, and the higher orders of animals, a complex apparatus for the motion of the blood becomes necessary, consisting of an heart, arteries, and veins. The heart may be considered as the chief agent in circulation, the general reservoir, and source from whence the blood flows. It is composed of two principles, one a principle of reception, the other a principle of propulsion. That cavity of the heart, which is called its auricle, receives the blood from the veins; the cavity called its ventricle, propels it through the arteries.

Although the heart in all animals is formed on the same general principle, and for the same purpose, yet the economy of some animals admits of a greater simplicity in the conformation of this organ, than others. The most simple kind of heart is composed of one cavity, with a tube entering into it, by which it receives the blood, and another passing out of it, by which the blood is conveyed over the body. The next simple heart is composed of two cavities, an auricle, which receives the blood, and propels it into a ventricle, which diffuses it over the body. Another kind of heart is composed of three cavities; two auricles, and one ventricle; one auricle receiving the blood from the lungs, the other from the body generally; the blood from these two sources is mixed together in a single ventricle. This structure we find in some amphibious animals, in which it is not necessary that the blood should circulate with so much influence from the oxygenous part of the atmosphere, as in other animals. Accordingly we find the heart adapted to transmit only one half of the blood through the lungs at each circulation, whilst in more perfect animals the whole mass passes by this route. The last kind of heart is formed of four cavities, two auricles and two ventricles, and is the most perfect apparatus as it is found in man, and quadrupeds generally.—It must, however, be considered as composed of two distinct parts, or two simple hearts adhering together, and performing distinct parts of the circulation; and one part intended to receive the blood from the body, and circulate it through the lungs; the other part to receive the blood from the lungs, and propel it over the rest of the body. It is better suited to the economy of some animals, as the cuttle fish, that these parts should be separated to a considerable distance from each other. The reason why the heart is formed of two parts in most animals is, that it is necessary that the blood should receive the impulse of the heart twice, first to propel it through the lungs, next to propel it over the rest of the body.