ranted to whip a pig to death? Or, because à ferpent will bite a man by the heel; is a man to tread upon every harmless earthworm he fees wriggling upon the ground? No. If fome offen. five creatures do fometimes unprovokedly moleft us, let it be accounted but as a retaliation of the injuries we offer to thofe that are inoffenfive; (and thus even the dreadful hornet may be confidered but as the avenger of the fufferings of the feeble fly ;) for cruelty and cowardice are near of a kin; and we exert our power moftly upon thofe creatures who can neither do us an injury, nor return an injury done. But fuppofe we happen to meet with noxious animals, let us prudently get out of their path. But what if I cannot avoid them? Why then it is time enough to put myself in a pofture of defence; and for my own prefervation, I think it no more crime to defend myself from he beaft or ferpent, than from a yillanous man that fhould attack my perfon : and if, in the fray, I killed the beaft, I cannot charge myfelf with malice or any intentional cruelty, provided I dispatch him as inftantaneously as poffible. If a wafp or a hornet comes into my room, I dread his weapon; but I hate him not: he is a beautiful infect; and I make no doubt was created for fome ufeful purpofe. I am forry I am neceffitated to kill him; but I will not clip him in pieces with my fciffors, if I can crush him under my foot: but if I cannot mafter him, unless I clip him; having fo done; I dare not leave him in the pain of a lingering death for many hours together, but I finish the mortal work with all expedition. And in this, I hope, there is no cruelty; for cruelty in this cafe confifts in the unneceffary infliction and continuation of pain, and not in putting the creature to inftant death, which is the period of all pain. Self-prefervation there fore (whether as in the former cafe for the fupport of nature in the article of food; or in the prefent cafe for the avoidance of pain and deftruction from the attacks of obnoxious animals) though it may juftify a man in putting a brute to instant death, yet cannot warrant the leaft act of cruelty to any creature, however ferocious or favage it may be; much less can it justify the hunting out for fport and deftruction creatures of the tamer kind, whofe inability to defend themselves, whofe harmless nature, and whofe panting fears rather demand all our compaffion, and even our protection and attention.' Notwithstanding we perfectly agree with our author, with refpect to his general principle of humanity, yet we do not fee the neceflity of killing even a wasp, or a hornet; and there is fomething horrible in the idea of crufhing him under foot. Shakespeare very pathetically obferves, that "The poor beetle, that we tread upon, MEAS. for MEAS. iii. 1. What What neceffity is there for killing the poor wretch? He comes into your room. But probably he has loft his companions, and miffed his way; or he is not confcious of the impropriety of his vifit. He has no intention to moleft you. He is terrified at his mistake; and earnestly wishes to regain his liberty. Difmifs him then from his imprisonment. He will go about his bufinefs, and will trouble you no more. We will fuppofe another cafe, not applicable to this benevo lent advocate for the brutes; but to a man of an oppofite difpofition. The wasp enters your apartment; probably, he is invited by fomething which you have hung out to allure and enfnare him. Here you act the part of a traitor. You decoy him and his wandering brethren into your house; and all the advantage you gain is, the malignant pleasure of seeing them Struggling in the agonies of death. It is alledged, that there are fome brutes of prey, which wholly fubfift on the flesh of other brutes, and whose lives are one continued courfe of rapine and bloodshed. This likewife, fays our author, is true; and in the present ftate of nature, fubject to mifery and decay, it feems to be the wife and good appointment of the great Creator. Were there no beafts or birds of prey, we should every day be tormented with the fight of numbers of poor creatures dying by inches, (as we fay) and pining away through age or accidental infirmity. And, when dead upon the ground, (as men would hardly give themselves the trouble to bury them; or it would take up too much of our time to bury them all,) the unburied carcafes would by their stench create fuch a peftilence in the air, as would not only endanger our lives and health, but would likewife be extremely offenfive to us. To guard against thefe evils, it hath pleafed God to appoint that (in fome countries) lions, tygers, and eagles, (and, in other countries,) wolves, foxes, kites, ravens, and hawks, fhould range the woods and fields in fearch of the unburied bodies, and thus become the living graves of the dead. And if, in the course of their range or flight, they espy a beaft or bird worn out with age, or with a leg or wing by accident broken, or forfaken by his dam, unable to help himfelf, or any way rendered incapable of getting his own food; God, the father of mercies, hath ordained beafts and birds of prey to do that diftreffed creature the kindness to relieve him from his mifery, by putting him to death.' The author concludes his anfwer to the foregoing objection with obferving, that when we make the ferocity of favage brutes a model for our imitation, we betray the weakness of our own understanding, and degrade ourselves from the rank we hold as men. He then proceeds to confirm what he has advanced advanced on the principles of nature, by the authority of the Scriptures. There are three inftances of regard, to which the creatures. who are intrufted to our care, in confideration of their fervice, have an undoubted right; these are, food, reft, and tender ufage. These three demands, he fays, the goodness of their Creator has been pleased to covenant for, on their behalf, and to enjoin and ratify in his written law. On the article of food, among other obfervations, he has the following. This is all the wages, which the labouring brutes expect or defire, for all their toil and drudgery in the fervice of man; and to deny them food is not only imprudent in the master on his own account, but it is barbarous, wicked, and unjutt. They afk only the grafs of your field, I mean the grafs of the field; for you have no property in nature. We are only temporary tenants, with leave to take to our ufe the fruits of the earth. The foil is the property of God, the lord paramount of the manor, who hath made the grafs to grow for the cattle. The grafs of the field therefore is no gift of your's to them; it is their right; their property; it was provided for them, and given to them, before man was created. And as man cannot eat grafs, and the beaft afks for that only, which man cannot eat, to with-hold or forbid it, is a robbery and a fin. Therefore if to gratify thine appetite or avarice, thou ploweft up one field, and to fave the fweat of thine own brow, instead of digging it with a fpade, makeft ufe of the labor and ftrength of thy cattle to plow it for thee; in the name of gratitude and juf tice, forget not thy benefactors, but allow them another field, or fomething equivalent to it, in lieu of that which you have taken from them. Muzzle not the oxen, that tread out thy corn. Confider well, if the corn you fow and reap is thy corn, not their corn; the grafs you dig up is their grafs, not your grafs. And when God appointed you to be mafter of the beast, and tenant of the field, he gave you no right to deprive your beaft of that food which God hath ordained for him: but as Lord of the manor he demands of you a quit-rent for the ufe of the beast that plows and labors for thee." That On the article of reft, the author remarks, that the goodnefs of the Creator condefcends to interfere, on the behalf of brutes, by feveral pofitive precepts; and that he has appointed a fabbath, or day of reft, for cattle, as well as men. the fabbath is to be fanctified by works of mercy even to brutes, he proves by our Lord's reply to the ruler of the fyna gogue, who had charged him with breaking the fabbath, by healing a diseased woman on that day: Doth not each one of you on the fabbath loose his ox or his afs, from the stall, and lead him away to watering? Luke xiii. 15, &c, In this question, fays Dr. Primatt, our Saviour infers one duty from another; and is fo far from blaming them for this work of mercy to an ox or an afs, that he highly approves it, by making it the ground-work of his own apology; and the inference and argument was fo humane, fo excellent, and strik-ing, that it is faid, all his adverfaries were ashamed.' The author proceeds to the third article, in which the brutes have a claim to our regard, namely, tender ufage. This point he has eftablished upon many appofite and ftriking paffages of Scripture. The following prohibition, Deut. xxii. 10. Thou shalt not plow with an ox and an afs together,' he very naturally explains, thou shalt not set a weak beast to keep pace with, or to do the work of a strong beaft; nor put him to any work, which he is incapable of performing.' This fubject leads the author to ftate and confider the celebrated ftory of Balaam and his afs. The limits of our Review will not allow us to extract his narrative at large; we. fhall therefore content ourselves with the following paffage. The Lord obferving the malicious rage of the man, blinded with fury, and hardened in his wickedness, inftead of being reformed by the miracle, was pleafed at length, as he had before pened the mouth of the afs, now to open the eyes of Balaam, who fees an angel of the Lord ftanding in the way. He had wifhed for a fword in his own hand to kill the afs, and now he beholds the angel of the Lord with a drawn fword in his hand ready to kill him. He called for a fword, and a fword immediately appears. And the man, who had cruelly treated his beaft for ftartling and ftumbling to avoid the fword of the avenger, now boweth down his own head, and falls flat on his face. The cafe of the man and the brute is now the fame in point of fear: the appearance of the angel was no lefs terrifying to the mafter, than to the beaft that carried him; and justly might the angel have requited Balaam in kind for his cruelty. But as God is more merciful to finful men, than men are to unfinning brutes; the angel of the Lord was pleased to sheath his fword: and though he came to Balaam with a meffage from the Lord of very great importance, yet he poftpones the delivery of his errand, till he had first reproved and convinced Balaam of his wickedness and cruelty in fmiting the afs, which was a fin deferving his notice and reproof. And that the reproof might be more friking to Balaam, the angel makes ufe of the very words which the afs bad fpoken before: What have I done unto thee, faid the afs, that thou haft fmitten me thefe three times ?" And the angel faid unto Balaam, "Wherefore haft thou fmitten thine afs these three times ?" To the queftion of the afs Balaam had replied, "Because thou haft mocked me, and, I would there were a fword in my hand, for now would I kill thee." But when when the angel afked him the very fame queftion, his tone was changed; and we hear not a word about mocking, or wishing for a fword to kill her; but a confeffion of fin, and an apology of ignorance. His ftout and ftubborn heart trembled; the consciousness of his guilt, and the fenfe of his folly and injustice in fmiting the innocent beaft, touched him to the quick; and, in fpite of his pride, paffion, and cruelty, extorted from him this frank confeffion," I have finned." "And Balaam faid unto the angel of the Lord, I have finned." -I do not fay, that the angel was fent on purpose to rebuke Balaam for this fin: it is plain he was not for the angel was prefent, and the afs faw him, before her mafter fmote her the first time; but it difpleafed the angel fo much, that he withdrew himself for a feafon. He would have appeared the fecond time, but the fame cause produced the fame effect. But now at the third time, the juft indignation of the heavenly meffenger was kindled at the foolish paffion and cruelty of Balaam. He could no longer contain: and yet, as if he deemed the man unworthy to hear his voice, he opens the mouth of the injured afs, that he might plead her own caufe with human voice; and by the ftrangeness of the miracle convince her mafter of his folly and injuftice. But when the miracle had no effect upon the infatuated man, then did the angel exhibit himself in the posture of vengeance; and waves his important meffage, till he had firft corrected Balaam for his cruelty. And as this hiftory was to be handed down to us in record, he would not let flip this opportunity of teaching mankind by divine interpofition the duty of mercy, and the fin of cruelty to brute animals. And the more miraculous this hiftory is, it is the more ftriking, and deferving our notice and remembrance.' On this part of his hiftory, the author makes thefe and the like humane reflections: Did you never whip, or fpur, or ill-treat your horfe, when at any time he has ftarted or fumbled? Was your paffion never. excited thereby? and did you not almost wish there had been a fword in your hand to kill him? Pardon me, reader, for putting the queftion home to you, I hope you can answer in the negative; but it is an inftance common every day. If you are innocent as to this point, well for thee; and I turn myfelf to another that will plead guilty. And to the former question, I afk him further; Did you, when your paffion was over, lay your hand upon your breaft, and fay in the words of Balaam, "I have finned ?" I fear not. Then give me leave to tell you; you have fo many fins ftill unrepented of: you have erred, with Balaam, but not repented with him; and the fword of the' angel is fill drawn against thee. But repent in time, that he may fheath it. And whenever it fo happens for the future, that' your horfe either ftumbles, or ftarts, I intreat thee to call this to mind. Know that your beaft is not to blame. He no more |