£§4 STUDIES OF NATURE. 



fheep ftray bleating amidft it's vaft folitudes. 

 Thefe flocks have neither overfeer nor (hepherd to 

 guide them through the defert, to the mufic of the 

 pipe ; but the expanfion of herbage which they 

 know, determines the moment of their departure, 

 and the limits of their progrefs. It is then that 

 each animal inhabits his natural fituation, and re- 

 pofes under the (hade of the vegetable of his fa- 

 thers. It is then that the chains of harmony ex- 

 ert all their force, and that all, being animated by 

 confonances, or by contrafts, the air, the waters, 

 the forefts, and the rocks, feem to be vocal, to be 

 jmpaflioned, to be tranfported with delight. 



But this vaft concert can be comprehended by 

 celeftial Intelligences only. To Man it is fuffi- 

 cient, in order to ftudy Nature with advantage, 

 that he limit his refearches to the ftudy of one 

 fingle vegetable. It would be neceifary, for this 

 purpofe, to make choice of an aged tree, in fome 

 folitary fituation. From the characters which 

 have been indicated, a judgment might eafily be 

 formed, whether it be in it's natural pofition; but 

 ftill better from it's beauty, and from the accef- 

 fories which Nature uniformly places in connec- 

 tion with it, where the hand of Man has not inter- 

 pofed to derange the operations. The ftudent 

 would firft obferve it's elementary relations, and 

 the ftriking characters which diftinguilh the diffe- 

 rent 



