OF NATURAL HISTORY. s5 



in fifhes, and even in the turtle. The foot of the horfe, fo appa- 

 rently different from the hand of a man, is compofcd of fimilar 

 bones ; and, at the extremity of each finger, we have the fame fmall 

 bone, refembling the fhoe of a horfe, which bounds the foot of that 

 animal. Raife the fkeletons of quadrupeds, from the ape-kind to 

 the moufe, upon their hind-legs, and compare them with the fkele- 

 ton of a man, the mind will be inftantly ftruck with the uniformi- 

 ty of ftrudlure and defign obferved in the formation of the whole 

 group. This uniformity is fo conftant, and the gradations from one 

 fpecies to another are fo imperceptible, that to difcover the marks 

 of their dlfcrimination requires the moft minute attention. Even 

 the bones of the tail will make but a flight impreflion on the obfer- 

 ver. The tail is only a prolongation of the os coccygis^ or rump- 

 bone, which is ftiort in man. The orang outang, and true apes, 

 have no tail ; and, in the baboons, and feveral other quadrupeds, 

 the tail is exceedingly fhort. Thus, in the creation of animals, the 

 Supreme Being feems to have employed only one great idea, and, 

 at the- fame time, to have diverfified it in every poffible manner, 

 that men might have an opportunity of admiring equally the mag- 

 nificence of the execution and the fimplicity of the defign. 



In quadrupeds, as well as in man, the bones are connefted by ar- 

 ticulations and membranes ; and the different movements of thefe 

 bones are performed by the operation of mufcles. The number, 

 difpofition, and form of the mufcles, with a few exceptions arifing 

 from the figure and deftination of parts peculiar to particular ani- 

 mals, are nearly the fame in men and in quadrupeds. The circula- 

 tion of their blood, the fecretion of their fluids, and the procefs of 

 digeftion, are carried on by organs perfedly fimilar to thofe of the 

 human body. In the external covering, a fmall difference takes 

 place. Quadrupeds are furnifhed with a thick covering of hair, or 

 v/ool, to defend them from the injuries of the weather. Being 



deflitute 



