154 HUMBLE CKEATURES. 



tellect whicli cannot outstep certain boimds, but 

 which in the human being enables him through his 

 free will and self-educability to develope those moral 

 and spiritual properties that constitute the perfect man. 



Here we again find an example of the close re- 

 semblance between the perfect nature of the lower 

 creature and the imperfectly developed stage in the 

 higher, and if we were to investigate those baser 

 qualities which, either in the child or in the adult, 

 are not brought under the controlling iafluence of 

 reason, such as cunning, avarice, deceit, treachery, &c., 

 we should find that they form the characteristic fea- 

 ture in the completely developed nature of one or 

 other of the untutored brutes; thus further illus- 

 trating the accuracy of the foregoing proposition. 



But does this unity terminate here ? Is the only 

 bond that connects man with the universal realm 

 of mind to be found in his vices and imperfections ? 

 Are there no traits discernible in his character that, 

 whilst they show him to possess an animal nature, 

 prove also that he is linked with a Higher as well as 

 with the lower intelligences ? 



Some men might dread to push this inquiry further, 

 lest they should shock their preconceived ideas, in- 

 herited or otherwise, concerning their own nature; 

 but if the subject be approached with due reverence 

 and difiidence, no such result need be anticipated. 



There is nothing unworthy in the character of the 

 lower animals ; and it is only when we find moral, 

 reasoning man, who was created for a higher end 



