262 Human Understanding. 



depth in newly turned up earth, it 

 there revive, and send up shoots, which 

 in due* time w ; li fiord abundance of his 

 favov.vjt;- food. This kind of reasoning, 

 thouga it be the most obvious to all man- 

 kind, is far beyond the limited faculties 

 of the brute creation. It is man alone 

 who, by comparing facts that fall under 

 his cognizance, and reasoning upon them, 

 has been enabled to subject all nature to 

 his sv/ny. Nor is it alone from the facts 

 that fall under his own observation that 

 he derives this kind of knowledge ; by 

 the gift of language he has it communi- 

 cated to him by others, or transmitted to 

 him from the experience of former ages. 

 "While then the different species of ani- 

 mals universally have the same powers 

 and propensities at this moment that they 

 had at the earliest period they were 

 known, the human species are advancing 

 from age to age, and the power of man, 

 of course, gradually extending as his 

 knowledge increases. 



Thus is man by the faculties of his 

 mind pre-eminently distinguished from 

 all other animals ; hut as he comes into 

 the world without any idea or principle^ 



