THK WOUJI. 4^15 



Still their vivacious principle remains, still every single part 

 becomes perfect in its kind, and, after a few days' existence, ex- 

 hibits all the arts and industry of its contemptible parent ! We 

 shall, therefore, divide zoophytes according to their several de- 

 grees of perfection, namely, into worms, star-tish, and polypi-, 

 contenting ourselves with a short review of those nauseous and 

 despicable creatures, that excite our curiosity chiefly by their 

 imperfections ; it must not be concealed, however, that much 

 has of late been written on this part of natural history. A new 

 mode of animal production, could not fail of exciting not only 

 the curiosity, but the astonishment of every philosopher : many 

 found their favourite systems totally overthrown by the dis- 

 covery ; and it was not without a wordy struggle, that they gave 

 up what had formerly been their pleasure and their pride. At 

 last, however, conviction became too strong for argument ; and 

 a question, which owed its general spread rather to its noveicy 

 than to its importance, was given up in favour of the new dis- 

 coverv. 



CHAP. II. 



OF WORMS. 



The first in the class of zoophytes, are animals of the worm 

 kind, which, being entirely destitute of feet, trail themselves along 

 upon the ground, and find themselves a retreat under the earth, 

 or in the water. As these, like serpents, have a creeping mo- 

 tion, so both, in general, go under the common appellation of 

 reptiles ; a loathsome, noxious, malignant tribe, to which man 

 by nature, as well as by religion, has the strongest antipathy. 

 But though worms, as well as serpents, are mostly without feet, 

 and have been doomed to creep along the earth on their bellies, 

 yet their motions are very difTerent. The serpent, as has been 

 said before, having a back-bone, which it is incapable of con- 

 tracting, bends its body into the form of a bow^ and then shoots 

 forward from the tail ; but it is very different with the worm, 

 which has a power of contracting or lengthening itself at will. 

 There is a spiral muscle, that runs rouiid its whole body, from 



IV. 2 M 



