376 
WILD BEASTS AND THEIR WA YS 
CHAP. 
laws, I am not one of those who regard them as 
perfection : it is an irresistible law of force, by 
which the strong predominate, and the weak must 
suffer. In every direction we see a struggle for 
existence ; the empty stomach must be filled, 
therefore one species devours the other. It is a 
system of terrorism from the beginning to the end. 
The fowl destroys the worm, the hawk destroys the 
fowl, the cat destroys the hawk, the dog kills the 
cat, the leopard kills the dog, the lion kills the 
leopard, and the lion is slain by man. Man appears 
upon the scene of general destruction as the greatest 
of all destroyers, as he alone in creation, wars against 
his own species. We hear of love, and pity, and 
Christian charity; we see torpedoes and hellish 
inventions of incredible power to destroy our fellow- 
creatures. The inventors of these horrible engines 
of destruction receive titles and the highest honours, 
while those who have worked in progressive science 
for the welfare of mankind are forgotten in the 
obscure laboratory, although the saving light which 
they invented is gleaming above the hidden rock, 
for the benefit of all, to expose the danger of the 
sea. Thus with one hand we save, with the other 
we destroy. 
This has been the principle since the original 
creation. The civilised world boasts of its progress 
in civilisation, and of the modern triumphs of 
knowledge, science, and general education ; but 
those countries which command respect in the 
councils of the world are the possessors of the 
