144 LIFE IN NATUEE. 



same thing is done. The forces which are freely 

 circulating through material things are seized by 

 man, and limited. They are bound up, and retained, 

 to be used for certain purposes alone. A " principle 

 of individuation " is brought into play ; and an in- 

 strument, or " organ " is the result. " Individuate " 

 the forces of nature, and we have an instrument. 

 The chief of instruments, the living body, presented 

 ready to each one of us to preserve and use, is 

 constituted thus. 



It adds greatly to the interest with which the animal 

 creation may be contemplated, to look upon it with 

 this thought in our minds. To feel the subtle links 

 that tie together the diverse forms of Nature's 

 energy, and recognize, in the sportive youth or 

 vigorous maturity of bird and beast, tokens of the 

 same powers that make firm the earth beneath their 

 tread, give fluency to the waves, and cunningest che- 

 mistry to the all-embracing, all-purifying air, opens 

 to the lover of the animated tribes a new delight. 

 Not aliens are they to the earth on which they dwell, 

 not strangers seeking temporary lodgment and con- 

 venience, but in truest sense earth's children, with 



