Chap. VII. ANTIENT METAPHYSICS. 141 



perfoft in his natural ftate as man is, more imperfedt of his kind than 

 any other animal we know; and 1 maintain that he cannot be brought 

 to any degree of perfedlion without civil fociety, in which, as Homer 

 has told us, he is the mod niiferable of all animals upon this earth. 

 And not only from the attributes of Q06, which I have mentioned, 

 is it proved that there muft have been a change in his nature fince 

 he was created, but, 1 think, ii is evident from the hiftory of man, 

 compared with the hiftory of other animals upon this earth. For all 

 thefe animals, when they come to full growth and the maturity of 

 their age, are as perfect as by their natures they can be: Whereas 

 man, though come to his full growth, is, in his natural ftate, with- 

 out arts and civility, a moft imperfedt animal of his kind ; fo im- 

 perfe(S, that he cannot be called an intelligent animal, that is a mar;. 

 That he is fuch in his folitary Hate is evident; and even in the 

 herding ftate, though he uiay praftice fome neccflary arts for procur- 

 ing his fuftenance, and defending himfelf againft the injuries of the 

 w.eather, fuch as the Qfang Outangs praQice*, yet he cannot be call- 

 ed an intelligent animal, any more than fome brutes, which herd 

 together and provide very much better for themfelves all the necef- 

 faries of life, fuch as bees and ants. Now how can we fuppofe 

 that the nobleft animal upon this earth, and the only intelligent ani- 

 mal, fhould have come out of the hands of his Cre*or with a mind 

 much more imperfect than thofe brutes I have mentioned. I there- 

 fore hold the fall of man to be, as I have faid, a truth of philofophy 

 as well as of religion ; and that otherwife it is impoffible to account 

 for the nobleft animal here below being in his natural ftate, without 

 the culture of civility and arts, the moft imperfect of the animal race 

 on this earth. 



The next thing to be confidered in this inquiry is, whether this 

 fall of man was not neceflary, and could not have been prevented 



without 

 * See Vol. IV. p. 26. 



