THE AUTHOR OF NATURE. 235 



whole, is unheeded. The great wonder of nature's pro- 

 ductions is, that they are " made without hands ;" 

 that, though we see the work, the workman is always 

 invisible ; and no other operation of nature stands 

 still, in order that a violet may be perfumed, a tulip 

 painted, or a lark taught to sing. The works of nature 

 have all a mysterious connexion, so that the abundance 

 of one conduces to the abundance of others. If plants 

 are multiplied, so are animals ; and if animals, so are 

 plants. It has been observed, that those years, when 

 vegetation is nearly destroyed by caterpillars, are 

 usually followed by years in which vegetation is lux- 

 uriant and those spoilers are few. The early genera- 

 tions consume that which would have supported the 

 late ; and thus the over-production is the means of re- 

 ducing the whole as much below. Thus there is not 

 only in these creations the means of their own growth 

 and continuance, but there is also the means of regu- 

 lating the numbers, so that no one permanently en- 

 croaches upon the rest. 



Thus we cannot look rationally at the subject, with- 

 out perceiving not only that there has been a Creator, 

 but that there is a Preserver, One, in violation of 

 whose laws not even " a sparrow can fall to the 

 ground." It is not meant to be said that there is a 

 continual effort on the part of the Deity ; a sort of 

 special interference for the preservation of every indi- 

 vidual being and thing. That would be but the old 

 error of " making God after man's image," presented 

 in a new shape : alleging that he had made the 

 world in so imperfect a manner as that all the parts of 

 it stood in need of constant repairs, which would be re- 



