CHAPTER II 



ON ANIMAL LIFE 



THERE is no species of animal or plant which 

 would not well repay, I will not say merely 

 the study of a day, but even the devotion of 

 a lifetime. Their form and structure, develop- 

 ment and habits, geographical distribution, 

 relation to other living beings, and past 

 history, constitute an inexhaustible study. 



When we consider how much we owe to 

 the Dog, Man's faithful friend, to the noble 

 Horse, the patient Ox, the Cow, the Sheep, 

 and our other domestic animals, we cannot 

 be too grateful to them ; and if we cannot, 

 like some ancient nations, actually worship 

 them, we have perhaps fallen into the other 

 extreme, underrate the sacredness of animal 

 life, and treat them too much like mere 

 machines. 



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