FISHES. 339 



are all pred'aceous : the larger devour the smaller, 

 snd the smallest of all support themselves by the spawn 

 which the others produce. For the supply of this 

 continual demand, Nature has rendered the finny 

 tribes extremely prolific, so that, among them propa- 

 gation and destruction keep as nearly as possible an 

 equal pace, and counterbalance each other. 



By this wonderful arrangement, which, on strict 

 examination, will appear both wise and beneficent, 

 myriads of creatures which could not otherwise hav$ 

 had a place -in the scale -of existence, enjoy for a 

 season their portion of life with a degree, of happiness 

 suited to their faculties, and then serve for the support 

 of others; and in this manner the blessings of exist- 

 ence i* {Iferpetnated in the deep recesses, of the ocean, 

 which, without this wise regulation, must have afford- 

 ed no means of subsistence to any kind of living in- 

 habitants. Thils, my dear Sir, you will perceive, that 

 a disposition which seems, on a superficial view, 'in- 

 compatible with our confined ideas of the" goodness of 

 the Author of Nature, appears, after a more accurate 

 examination, to be nothing less than a grand display 

 of his infinite wisdom and extensive beneficence. 



Creative wisdom has endowed every creature with 

 faculties suitable to its place in the scale of being, 

 and fishes undoubtedly possess a share of happiness 

 corresponding with their nature and situation. They 

 appear, it is true, inferior to beasts and birds, in acute- 

 ness of sensation etiul instinctive sagacity; and their 

 brain is found to be exceedingly small in pro- 

 portion to their '" size, when compared with the 

 same organ in the two former classes of animal life. 

 These deficiencies are, however, in some degree cora- 

 , pensated by their astonishing longevity, several spe- . 

 cies being known to live more than a hundred years; 

 and if the inhabitants of the ocean be capable of 

 tower enjoyments than those of the earth arid the air, 

 they arc, by residing in an element that is liable to little 

 variation, far less exposed to the inconveniences re- 

 sulting from the 'changes of the atmosphere,, and the> 

 Inclemencies of the weather. 



