112 NATURAL THEOLOGY. 



1. Immortality upon this earth is out of the ques- 

 tion. Without death there could be no genera- 

 tion, no sexes, no parental relation, i. e. as things 

 are constituted, no animal happiness. The particu- 

 lar duration of life, assigned to different animals, 

 can form no part of the objection ; because, what- 

 ever that duration be, whilst it remains finite and 

 limited, it may always be asked, why it is no 

 longer. The natural age of diflferent animals va- 

 ries, from a single day to a century of yeaVs. No 

 account can be given of this ; nor could any be 

 given, whatever other proportion of life had ob- 

 tained amongst them. 



The term then of life in different animals being 

 the same as it is, the question is, what mode of 

 taking it away is the best even for the animal 

 itself. 



Now, according to the established order of na- 

 ture, (which we must suppose to prevail, or we 

 cannot reason at all upon the subject,) the three 

 methods by which life is usually put an end to 

 are acute diseases, decay, and violence. The 

 simple and natural life of brutes is not often visit- 

 ed by acute distempers ; nor could it be deemed 

 an improvement of their lot if they were. Let it 

 be considered, therefore, in what a condition of 

 suffering and misery a brute animal is placed 



to add that we are now, as througliout these notes, after the ex- 

 ample of the author, confining ourselves altogether to the intima- 

 tions received from natural reason and observation, unaided by 

 the light of revelation. 



