NATURAL THEOLOGY. 141 



forty-six muscles which are employed, may be 

 attended with grievous inconvenicncy. There is 

 piety and good sense in the following observation 

 taken out of the "Religious Philosopher :" " With 

 much compassion," says this writer, " as well as 

 astonishment at the goodness of our loving Crea- 

 tor, have I considered the sad state of a certain 

 gentleman, who, as to the rest, was in pretty good 

 health, but only wanted the use of these two little 

 muscles that serve to lift up the eyelids, and so 

 had almost lost the use of his sight, being forced, 

 as long as this defect lasted, to shove up his eye- 

 lids every moment with his own hands !" In 

 general we may remark in how small a degree 

 those who enjoy the perfect use of their organs 

 know the comprehensiveness of the blessing, the 

 variety of their obligation. They perceive a result, 

 but they think little of the multitude of concur- 

 rences and rectitudes which go to form it. 



Besides these observations, which belong to the 

 muscular organ as such, we may notice some ad- 

 vantages of structure which are more conspicuous 

 in muscles of a certain class or description than in 

 others. Thus : 



I. The variety, quickness, and precision of 

 which muscular motion is capable are seen, I 

 think, in no part so remarkably as in the tongue. 

 It is worth any man's while to watch the agility 

 of his tongue, the wonderful promptitude with 

 which it executes changes of position, and the 



