FINAL CAUSES. 9 



M'lio have received from the bounteous hand of their 

 Creator the gift of existence and the means of en- 

 joyment. Our curiosity is powerfully excited by 

 phenomena in which our own welfare is so inti- 

 mately concerned, as are all those that relate to 

 animal life ; and we cannot but take a lively and 

 sympathetic interest in the history of beings in so 

 many respects analogous to ourselves ; like us, pos- 

 sessing powers of spontaneous action, impelled by 

 passions and desires, and endowed with capacities 

 of enjoyment and of suffering. Can there be a 

 more gratifying spectacle than to see an animal in 

 the full vigour of health, and the free exercise of 

 its powers, disporting in its native element, revel- 

 ling in the bliss of existence, and testifying by its 

 incessant gambols the exuberance of its joy? 



We cannot take even a cursory survey of the 

 host of living beings profusely spread over every 

 portion of the globe without a feeling of profound 

 astonishment at the inconceivable variety of forms 

 and constructions to wdiicli animation has been 

 imparted by creative power. What can be more 

 calculated to excite our wonder than the diversity 

 exhibited among insects, all of which, amidst end- 

 less .modifications of shape, still preserve their con- 

 formity to one general plan of construction ? The 

 number of distinct species of insects already known 

 and described cannot be estimated at less than 

 100,000 ; and every day is adding to the catalogue.* 

 Of the comparatively large animals which live on 



* Four-fifths of the insects at present known have been discovered 

 within the last ninety years: for in 1743, Ray estimated the total 

 number of species at 20,000 only. See his work on " The Wisdom 

 of God as manifested in the Creation," p. 24. 



