“ OUR FRIENDS THE SPIDERS.” 
By REV. FORREST F. EMERSON* 
Oliver Wendell Holmes, in his recent life of Ralph Waldo 
Emerson describes the attempt of a professor of metaphysics to 
criticize one of Emerson’s essays. The failure of the logical 
scholar to penetrate the obscurity of Emerson’s style is likened 
to the fruitless efforts of a dog in trying to make the acquaintance 
of a tortoise. 
I thought of Dr. Holmes’ comparison as applying to a clergyman 
who undertakes to dabble in science. If my friend, Dr. Francis, 
can imagine what his feelings would be were he called upon to 
preach a sermon to-morrow on the “Subjective Nature of Human 
Depravity” he can imagine mine when invited by him to ad¬ 
dress a Natural History Society. The blame for this singular 
proceeding must be laid at his door. 
As to the choice of a theme, if it is said that the spider is a re¬ 
pulsive creature it may be said that many of the animals most 
disgusting in appearance are endowed with skill and intelligence 
as wonderful as others, and with organs and apparatus which are 
marvels of mechanism and of adaptation of means to ends. 
If it be said that the spider is ferocious and unchristian in dis¬ 
position, on the score that he “lives on fly” which he has first 
cruelly captured and killed, it may be replied that it is not more 
unchristian than Christians who “ live on lamb ” which they have 
first taken and killed. In fact the spider, repulsive as he is in 
appearance and savage as he is in disposition, is endowed with 
most remarkable intelligence and skill, and furnished with won¬ 
derful organs for the performance of wonderful work. The 
spider then is my theme. 
Making no pretensions to scientific knowledge and with no at¬ 
tempt at classification, I shall endeavor to present a few of the 
general characteristics of the spider, with special reference to the 
chief peculiarity wherein it may be regarded as a living machine, 
* lecture delivered before the Society February 3d, 1SS5. 
