27G NATURAL THEOLOGY. 



XII. 



OF THE MOUTH. 



Our author has said that every thing in the 

 structure of the mouth is mechanical, and he has 

 given a very attractive view of the varieties of the 

 mechanism in the mouths and bills of animals. 

 But so far from exhausting the subject, he has left 

 some of the most interesting particulars untouch- 

 ed. In man, the mouth is not flat because he has 

 hands, but because it is a part of that apparatus, 

 which is the most curious and important of all the 

 bodily structures, — the instrument of speech. In 

 that light we shall presently take it up separately, 

 not doubting that it will reward the reader's at- 

 tention. 



Let us, in the meantime, consider some of the 

 common properties of the mouth ; and first, of the 

 most obvious parts, the lips. Nothing serves bet- 

 ter to make us appreciate the blessings we enjoy, 

 than examining the organization of a part which, 

 from its familiarity, and the absolute pertectiun of 

 its action, we neglect or think meanly of. The 

 lips receive the food, and aid in mastication ; they 

 are a principal part of the organ of speech : they 

 are expressive of emotion ; they are the most 



