188 CONCLUDING REFLECTIONS. 



can be no doubt that the happiness of the creatures themselves 

 constituted a principal object in the view of the Author of Na- 

 ture. It must, however, be acknowledged, that many animals 

 exist of which we cannot perceive the utility. Many of them 

 appear useless, and some of them noxious to man. Some of 

 them likewise seem destitute of enjoyment, and incapable of hap- 

 piness. But, are we able to penetrate into the secret recesses of 

 Nature, to investigate the actions of every creature, to examine 

 their consequences, and calculate how far they may be, if not 

 directly and immediately, at least indirectly and ultimately, bene- 

 ficial to our species ? Or, are we able exactly to estimate the 

 felicity of animals, or to explore the whole circle of their plea- 

 sures ? Hither our inquiries cannot reach. 



" Here the cloud 



So with eternal Providence, sits deep. 

 Enough for us to know that this dark state, 

 In wayward passions lost, and vain pursuits, 

 This infancy of being, cannot prove 

 The final issue of the works of God." 



In this present state of existence, the limitation of our facul- 

 ties prevents us from fully comprehending the wonders of the 

 creation; this grand prerogative, this sublime enjoyment, is cer- 

 tainly reserved for rational beings, in a future and more happy 

 state, when the mind, invigorated and expanded, having all its 

 powers renovated and improved, shall be capable of boundless 

 excursions, and of seeing the image of the Deity clearly re- 

 flected from his works. 



In our present state of being, in which we see the mysteries 

 of Nature and of Providence, as it were, but dimly through the veil 

 that hangs before our eyes, Reason, that inestimable gift of the 

 Divinity, is sufficiently illuminating to convince us, that we can 

 only see by parts, and those parts but imperfectly; while the 

 Supreme Intellect embraces in one comprehensive view the whole 

 system of creation, and that whatever is the work of Infinite 

 Wisdom, is destined to some useful and beneficial end. The 

 lion and the tiger, which seem made only for annoyance, may 

 have parts to act in the universal system highly beneficial to the 

 whole, but of which we are totally ignorant ; and the mole, con- 

 demned to a life of subterraneous darkness, apparently destitute 

 of every source of enjoyment, may experience a degree of hap- 

 piness suited to its nature, and of which we cannot form any 

 conception. If we examine a complex piece of mechanism, and 

 observe the regularity of its operations and movements, although 

 we may not perhaps comprehend the utility of each part, and 

 the particular action of each wheel or spring, yet in considering 



