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END OF PHILOSOPHICAL INQUIRY. 25
shapeless stone, the blade of grass, the buzzing insect, and the grazing quadruped,—in each and all, there arc conclusive proofs of contrivance, proceeding from One who acts according to a settled plan, and regulates his various works by universal and immutable principles.
Now it is one of the great objects of all philosophy, as well that of every-day life as that of the more abstruse student, to discover the design of the Creator in his various works, or, in other words, to discover the laws of nature. If the gardener desires success in the cultivation of a plant, he endeavors to find out the climate which is most genial to it, the soil in which it thrives best, and the positions which it seems to choose; that is to say, he seeks to understand its nature, and, having made himself acquainted with this, he adapts his cultivation to it. He does not attempt to change its nature, for experience has taught him that this would be ridiculous and vain. Having once ascertained the design of its Maker, he follows out that design, and attempts in no other way to bring the object of his care to perfection.
Thus, in the treatment of animals, our object being to raise them to the highest state of improvement, we consult the design of the Creator in their formation; in other words, we endeavor 3 |
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