MORE IIANDOM THOUGHTS. 63 



It is now only that we begin to reap the benefit of the 

 wisdom of former ages ; now is 



" The dawn of mind, which, upwards on a pinion 

 Borne, swift as sunrise far illumines space, 

 And clasps this barren world in its own bright embrace." 



For, compared with the extent of space to be explored, what 

 do we know of nature or of nature's laws ? We gaze with 

 wonder at the discoveries of Newton, and are astonished at the 

 giant mind that could grasp a world, and hold it till he had 

 measured the extent of its orbit ; and yet he was so impressed 

 with his own ignorance, that he said he was but a child gather- 

 ing pebbles on the shore of the ocean. And if he were a child, 

 what are we? 



But it will be asked, What has all this to do with Entomology ? 

 And truly I must plead guilty to having wandered from it, as in 

 a fine country one is often tempted, by the beauty of a pro- 

 spect or the elegance of a flower, to turn aside from the straight 

 path. Yet, though this paper may not be very closely con- 

 nected with Entomology, and that science may hold a high place 

 in our esteem, we should not forget that insects form but a part 

 of a whole system, and that the other parts are worthy of some 

 attention. For if attention be exclusively confined to one 

 object, one portion only of the mind being employed, the other 

 faculties remain idle, and the individual will be, in fact, an 

 ignorant man. To its Creator, a world may not be of more 

 importance than an insect, and the one was as easily formed 

 as the other ; yet between the two there is no chasm, no gap 

 left to create a marked division, or to give us cause to prefer 

 one object at the expense of another. The gradations of 

 nature's work are so gentle and minute, that every class of 

 mind may find its appropriate employment ; — and the distribu- 

 tion of mental qualities is as varied as that of the material 

 world. It is pleasing also to observe, that he who has merely 

 the power to note the outward appearances of nature, is 

 happier if he use that power, than if he allow it to remain idle. 

 For it is wisely ordered, that in proportion to a man's powers, 

 mental or physical, and in proportion to the exercise they 

 receive, is his feeling of happiness. How great then are the 

 pleasures of the natural philosopher, he who can inquire into 



