ON THE STUDY OP NATUREo 3 



tlie wise men to hear the wonders of the Moon de- 

 scribed ; but all they could say, for it was all they 

 knew, was, that the ground was covered with green, 

 intermixed with flowers ; and that the birds sung 

 delightfully among the trees ; bur what was the na- 

 ture of the flowers they saw, or of the birds they 

 had heard, they were entirely ignorant. — On which 

 they were every where treated with the utmost con- 

 tempt."* 



This fable was^ applied with extreme propriety by 

 our great master, Linnasus, to mankind in general. 

 In youth we are, in every respect, too feeble to ex- 

 amine the great objects around us t all that season, 

 therefore, is lost amidst indolence, luxury, and a- 

 musement. Little better are we in manhood : set- 

 tling ourselves in life ; marrying; bustling through 

 the world ; overwhelmed, at length, with business, 

 cares, and perplexities, we suifer those years also to 

 glide away. Old age succeeds : yet still some em- 

 ployments intervene, till at last we are passed 

 through the world, without scarcely a single recur- 

 rence to the admirable works of our Creator ; and, in 

 many instances, even without having at all consider- 

 ed the end for which we were brought into it. — This 

 is, with a few exceptions, the progress of man through 

 life. It is true that every person takes some notice 

 of nature. All can remark the beautiful verdure of 



* In the Lectures of Linn.'ens on the subject of Natural Histor)-, 

 he freqviciUly made use of some apt similitudeby way of exciting the 

 at'jention of lii^ audience. The present ful)lc wa? one that he adopteJ 

 in his Lecture on Insects. 



B 2 



