The Birds and Poets 45 



all strange that they prefer nesting and rearing 

 their little families among the May flowers. 

 Surely the beauties of nature were designed for 

 all creatures, as justly claimed by Christina 

 Rossetti : 



"Innocent eyes not ours 



Are made to look on flowers, 

 Eyes of small birds and insects small; 



Morn after summer morn 



The sweet rose on her thorn 

 Opens her bosom to them all. 



The last and least of things 



That soar on quivering wings, 

 Or crawl among the grass blades out of sight, 



Have just as clear a right 

 To their appointed portion of delight 



As queens or kings." 



Man has always assumed a vast superiority 

 over all other created things, and has attempted 

 to establish it as a fact by making it a part of his 

 religion. To the Roman, all others are barba- 

 rians. To the Christian, all others are heathen. 

 To man, all other animals are inferior, and living 

 simply for his use and entertainment. Who knows 

 what the great truths of nature may be? As we 

 live and move upon our own little planet, man 

 appears to our vision to be nature's crowning 

 work, and we are now looking forward to a super- 

 man who shall eventually bridge the span between 



