38d THE f>HlLOSOPHlf 



fagaclty and addrefs he has been enabled to domefticate ma- 

 ny of the more prolific and delicious fpecies, as turkies, geefe, 

 and the various kinds of poultry. Thefe he multiplies with- 

 out end, and devours at pleafure. 



Neither do the inhabitants of the waters efcape the rapaci- 

 ty of man. Rivers, lakes, and even the ocean itfelf, feel the 

 power of his empire, and are forced to fupply him with pro- 

 vilions. Neither air nor water can defend againft the inge- 

 nuity, the art, and the defi:ru6tive induftry of the human 

 fpecies. Man may be faid even to have domefticated fome 

 fiihes. In artificial ponds, he feeds and rears carp, tench, 

 perch, trout, and other fpecies, and with them occafionally 

 furnifhes his table. 



It might have been expedled, that infe£ls and reptiles, 

 fome of which have a moft difgufting afpecSt, would not have 

 excited the human appetite. But we learn from experi- 

 ence, that, in every region of the earth, many infe6ls which 

 inhabit both the earth and the waters, are efteemed as deli* 

 cate articles of luxury. Even the viper, though its venom 

 be deleterious, efcapes not the all-devouring jaws of man. 



Thus man holds, and too often exercifes, a tyrannical do** 

 minion over almoft the whole brute creation, not becaufe he 

 is the ftrongefl: of all animals, but becaufe his intelledl, though 

 of a fimilar nature, is vaftly fuperior to that of the moft faga- 

 tious of the lefs favoured tribes. He reigns over the other 

 animals, becaufe, like them, he is not only endowed with fen- 

 timent, but becaufe the powers of his mind are more exten- 

 five. He overcomes force by ingenuity, and fwiftnefs by art 

 and perfevering induflry. But the empire of man over the 

 brute creation is not abfolute. Some fpecies elude his pow- 

 er by the rapidity of their flight, by the fwiftnefs of their 

 courfe, by the obfcurity of their retreats, and by the element 

 in which they live. Others efcape him by the minutenefs of 

 their bodies j and, inftead of acknowledging their fovereign, 



