278 
BRAMBLES AND BAY LEAVES. 
advance, historically or individually. Fido is a clevet 
dog; but 1 am satisfied that the dog that kept Abel's 
sheep was quite as clever. Much of the advancement of 
man in civilization is the result of his superiority of 
intellect; but it is the moral faculty which has sustained 
him in the constant desire to overpass old boundaries, 
and attain to something better and higher. We talk of 
“ progress," and we do injustice to ourselves in not at 
once attributing all progress to the power of that prin¬ 
ciple within us, which is impulsive in its nature, and 
independent in its action, both of sequence and sense. 
This is the true line of demarcation between man and 
animals. By mind he is related to the brute, even as by 
the flesh he is related to the dust. But above that, superior 
to it, and independent of it, is the moral life—the pole- 
star of his spiritual firmament, shining on the borders of 
both worlds; by that he is related to God. 
Thus the study of the life of the brute is essential to 
a fair apprehension of the life of man; and, in some 
measure, it becomes an aid to faith. Man consists of 
three elements—a body to feel, a mind to think, a spirit 
to love, fear, and worship. The aims of the spirit are 
above the earth, and beyond the life, it vindicates the 
moral justice that presides in this world, and explains 
the moral perfection that reigns in heaven. As the 
brute is threefold—body, soul, and instinct, so is man 
threefold—body, soul, and spirit; and the harmony of 
creation with the God who ordained it is established by 
the aid of a concession which appeared to be fraught 
with disastrous consequences* 
As to the future life of animals, we know nothing. 
