224 NATUJIAL THEOLOaY. 



that becomes at once the ligament which binds the two 

 shells together, and the hijige upon which they open and 

 shut? 



IV. The shell of a lobster's tail, in its articulations and 

 overlappings, represents the jointed part of a coat of mail ; 

 or rather, which I believe to be the truth, a coat of mail is 

 an imitation of a lobster's shell. The same end is to be 

 answered by both ; the same properties, therefore, are re- 

 quired in both, namely, hardness and flexibility — a covering 

 which may guard the part without obstructing its motion 

 For this double purpose, the art of man, expressly exercised 

 upon the subject, has not been able to devise any thing bettei 

 than what nature presents to his observation. Is not this 

 therefore mechanism, which the mechanic, having a similar 

 purpose in view, adopts ? Is the structure of a coat of mail 

 to be referred to art ? Is the same structure of the lobster, 

 conducing to the same use, to be referred to any thing less 

 than art? 



Some who may acknowledge the imitation, and assent to 

 the inference which we draw from it in the instance before 

 us, may be disposed, possibly, to ask, why such imitations 

 are not more frequent than they are, if it be true, as we 

 allege, that the same principle of intelligence, design, and 

 mechanical contrivance was exerted in the formation of nat- 

 ural bodies as we employ in the making of the various instru- 

 ments by which our purposes are served ? The answers to 

 this question, are, first, that it seldom happens that precisely 

 the same purpose, and no other, is pursued in any works 

 which we compare of nature and of art ; secondly, that it 

 still more seldom happens that we ca7i imitate nature, if we 

 would. Our materials and our workmanship are equally 

 deficient. Springs and wires, and cork and leather, produce 

 a poor substitute for an arm or a hand. In the example 

 which we have selected, I mean a lobster's shell compared 

 with a coat of mail, these difficulties stand less in the way 

 than m almost any other that qan be assigned ; and the con 



