156 HUMBLE CREATURES. 



associates with man the more fully does he partake 

 of his nature. 



These moral features, then, that are imperfectly 

 and artificially developed ia the lower animals, — this 

 restricted sense of right and wrong, this veneration 

 for the higher nature of man, — find their analogies in 

 our own character ; they are the natural instincts of 

 the human being, and in him they assume the form 

 of moral respoQsibility and veneration for the Divine 

 nature. 



And if the dog becomes by education and asso- 

 ciation with man the reflex of its master, do not we 

 in like manner resemble Him the nearer we approach 

 Him, and the more intimate we endeavour to make 

 our relations with Him by communion and imita- 

 tion? Just as our humble companions draw their 

 moral excellence fi:om us, do not we derive strength, 

 wisdom, love, and hope from the Source of all these 

 qualities? and does not the last-named attribute of" 

 our nature, hope, spur us on to the fulfilment of all 

 that is high and noble*? Do not we learn through 

 this medium, that, just as the humble associates of our 

 earthly existence become more useful to us in pro- 

 portion as they are trained for their work, we, too, 

 most perfectly fulfil the objects of our existence, the 

 more we exercise our moral and intellectual facilities ; 

 and that the better we train and school ourselves, the 



* Free-will and tlie inventive capacity are also striking 

 attributes that form a connecting link between man and his 

 Maker. 



