42 COMPARISONS OF STRUCTURE IN ANLVIALS. 



pended was placed between two beams along 

 with the pole, and there it remained, without 

 meat, drink, or sleep, forty days. At last, on 

 being taken down, a dog was most cruelly let 

 loose upon it. The sloth grappled with him, 

 and held him for four days, till he died of 

 hunger. 



Organized expressly in every part of its 

 structure for its peculiar mode of hfe, we shall 

 not be surprised at the awkwardness of the 

 sloth on the ground. There it can neither 

 stand nor walk, but lies sprawling, and drags 

 itself along by laying hold of whatever it can 

 apply its grappling -hooks to, as a stone, or a 

 tuft of grass, and so makes a tedious progress. 



So singular, so anomalous, is thfe general 

 structure of the sloth, that it has been deemed 

 by some a sort of failure, a piece of imperfec- 

 tion, in strong contrast with the beauty and 

 propriety of organization exhibited by other 

 animals. How it is possible that so great a 

 philosopher as Cuvier could have entertained 

 any such idea is surprising. It verifies the 

 old adage, " Nonnunquam dormitat Homerus,'^ 

 sometimes Homer sleeps — the greatest of men 

 are not always equal to themselves. So far is 

 the sloth from being a piece of 'imperfection in 



