286 NATURAL THEOLOGY. 



gullet, and escaping by the wound, was found in 

 any degree to quench his thirst. 



Thirst, then, like hunger, has relation to the 

 general condition of the animal system — to the 

 necessity for fluid in the circulation. For this rea- 

 son, a man dying from loss of blood suffers under 

 intolerable thirst. In both thirst and hunger, the 

 supply is obtained through the gratification of an 

 appetite ; and as to these appetites, it will be ac- 

 knowledged that the pleasures resulting from them 

 far exceed the pains. They gently solicit for the 

 wants of the body : they are the perpetual motive 

 and spring to action. 



Breathing, as we have seen, is even more di- 

 rectly necessary to life than food ; but to this we 

 are differently admonished. An appetite implies 

 inter\'als of satiety and indifference. The unin- 

 terrupted action of breathing could not be sup- 

 ported by a perpetual desire ; we cannot imagine 

 such a uniformity of sensation. The action of 

 breathing has been made instinctive, while pain 

 and the alarm of death are brought as the only 

 adequate agents to control the irregularities of a 

 function so necessary to life. Pain does here 

 what desire and the solicitation of pleasure could 

 not accomplish. 



