134 NATURAL THEOLOGY. 



my. Let us see, therefore, how a danger so serious, and yet 

 80 natural to the length, narrowness, and tubular form of the 

 part, is provided against. The expedient is admirable, and 

 it is this. The intestinal canal, throughout its whole pro- 

 cess, is knit to the edge of a broad fat membrane called the 

 mesentery. It forms the margin of this mesentery, being 

 stitched and fastened to it like the edging of a ruffle ; being 

 four times as long as the mesentery itself, it is what a seam- 

 stress would call "puckered or gathered on" to it. This is 

 the nature of the connection of the gut with the mesentery : 

 and being thus joined to, or rather made a part of the mes- 

 entery, it is folded and wrapped up together with it. Now 

 the mesentery having a considerable dimension in breadth, 

 being in its substance withal both thick and suety, is capa- 

 ble of a close and safe folding, in comparison of what the 

 intestinal tube would admit of, if it had remained loose. The 

 mesentery likewise not only keeps the intestinal canal in its 

 proper place and position under all the turns and windings 

 of its course, but sustains the numberless small vessels, the 

 arteries, the veins, the lympheducts, and above all, the lac- 

 teals, which lead from or to almost every point of its coats 

 and cavity. This membrane, which appears to be the great 

 support and security of the alimentary apparatus, is itself 

 strongly tied to the first three vertebrse of the loins. ^ 



III. A third general property of animal forms is btatt- 

 ty, I do not mean relative beauty, or that of one indi- 

 vidual above another of the same species, or of one species 

 compared with another species ; but I mean, generally, 

 the provision which is made in the body of almost every 

 animal to adapt its appearance to the perception of the ani- 

 mals with which it converses. In our own species, for ex- 

 ample, only consider what the parts and materials are of 

 which the fairest body is composed ; and no further observa- 

 tion will be necessary to show how well these things are 

 wTapped up, so as to form a mass which shall be capable of 

 * Keill's Anatomy, p. 45. 



