INFELICITY OF ANIMALS 20"] 



ten tot, we see a religion in the dog which approxi- 

 mates nearer the Christian religion than that of the 

 savage. The dog worships a living, intelligent be- 

 ing, possessed of a soul, while the savage worships 

 objects without life or sensation, such as wood or 

 stone. Thus when we compare the moral sense of 

 the most intelligent and kind animals, such as the 

 horse, dog, elephant, and other of like good disposi- 

 tion, to the low and degraded types of man, there 

 is no question that the lower animals practice a 

 superior form of religion. We often see lower 

 animals rising to a higher grandeur than man. 

 " Love your enemies " was one of the most beauti- 

 ful lessons taught by Christ, and yet we see it 

 practiced in the lower animals to an extent never 

 attempted by man. 



The birds praise God as they "sing among the 

 branches." And as St. Francis says : " There 

 is no degradation in the dignity of human nature 

 in claiming kinship with creatures so beautiful, 

 so wonderful, who praise God in the forest even as 

 the angels praise Him in heaven." There are 

 animals which would sooner starve than pilfer 

 or steal under the greatest temptations, there are 

 some invariably true to their attachments, that 



