No More Learning

But sometimes, beloved children, the birds of heaven are used as
the emblem of judgment: and though there is not the same pleasure
in referring to these passages, yet we must remember that both are
equally the word of God, and each most useful in its place.
No one thing is more strongly insisted on in the scriptures, next to
the fear and love of God, than the obedience of children to their
parents. It was embodied in the Ten Commandments, and written
by God himself on the tables of stone. " Honour thy father and thy
mother, that thy days may be long in the land which the Lord thy
God giveth thee. " (Exod. xx. 12. ) This is called, when reiterated by
the apostle Paul, the first commandment with promise. (Ephes. vi. 2. )
Therefore, with this solemn declaration of the Lord's will, one is not
surprised that the stubborn and rebellious son, the glutton, and the
drunkard, should, at God's command, have been stoned to death with
out the camp. (Deut . xxi. 18, 21. ) And the figure taken from this
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? 252
THE CREATION.
day is equally strong. It occurs in Proverbs xxx. 17,--"The eye
that mocketh at his father, and despiseth to obey his mother, the
ravens of the valley shall pluck it out, and the young eagles shall eat
it. " See also chap. xx. ver. 20. If these pages should meet the eye of
a disobedient child, may God in his infinite mercy, ere it be too late,
bring such a one back--the prodigal to his father's house. (Luke
xv. 21. )
Some children are very fond of money, and love to get little boxes,
and hoard it up; and many grown-up children have the same pro-
pensity: but the love of money is the root of all evil (1 Tim. vi. 10);
and covetousness is called idolatry (Eph. v. 5. ) How striking is the
word of Solomon, "Labour not to be rich; cease from thine own
wisdom. Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not ? for riches
certainly make to themselves wings, they fly away, as an eagle towards
heaven. "--This moment in possession, the next gone. The rich man
is a steward; and if faithful to his trust, he feeds the hungry, clothes
the naked, and sends portions to them for whom nothing is prepared.
His riches are a blessing to himself and to others. Learn, then, my
beloved children, to compassionate the poor,--help them with the
little you have; and show mercy with cheerfulness: and never speak
unkindly to the poorest person. A penny given with cheerfulness
and compassion is more welcome to the heart, than a much larger sum
given with chilling coldness.
In the terrible judgments on Edom, in the last days, all the most
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? LETTER X.
2o3
forbidding of the birds of prey are introduced as building their nests
in its ruins:--"But the cormorant and the bittern shall possess it;
the owl also and the raven shall dwell in it: and he shall stretch out
upon it the line of confusion, and the stones of emptiness. They shall
call the nobles thereof to the kingdom, but none shall be there, and all
her princes shall be nothing. And thorns shall come up in her
palaces, nettles and brambles in the fortresses thereof: and it shall be
a habitation of dragons, and a court for owls. The wild beasts of the
desert shall also meet with the wild beasts of the island, and the satyr
shall cry to his fellow; the screech owl also shall rest there, and find
for herself a place of rest. There shall the great owl make her nest,
and lay, and hatch, and gather under her shadow; there shall the
vultures also be gathered, every one with her mate. Seek ye out of
the book of the Lord, and read: no one of these shall fail, none shall
want her mate: for my mouth it hath commanded, and his spirit it
hath gathered them. " (Isaiah xxxiv. 11--16. )
How awful is this description; and one turns from it with delight
to the next chapter: for the same hour that brings judgment on Edom
is full of blessing to Israel. " The wilderness and the solitary place
shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice and blossom
as the rose. It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy
and singing. " But read the chapter throughout: it is full of triumph,
full of blessing.
I might, my beloved children, enlarge yet more; but you can search
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? 254
THE CREATION.
out yourselves other passages, where the creatures of this day's crea-
tion are used in illustration. Indeed, to the mind seeking for instruc-
tion, everything around ministers to it . May you be found among
the Israel of God; and then, when the Lord shall come in his glory,
you shall be caught up to meet him in the air, and so be ever with the
Lord. (1 Thess. iv. 17. ) This is the earnest prayer of
Your affectionate Father.
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? BAY.
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? THE CREATION.
255
LETTER XL
*' AND GOD SAID, LET THE EARTH BRING FORTH THE LIVING CREATURE AFTER HIS
KIND, CATTLE, AND CREEPING THING, AND BEAST OF THE EARTH AFTER HIS KIND:
AND IT WAS SO. AND GOD MADE THE BEAST OF THE EARTH AFTER HIS KIND, AND
CATTLE AFTER THEIR KIND, AND EVERY THING THAT CREEPETH UPON THE EARTH
AFTER HIS KIND : AND GOD SAW THAT IT WAS GOOD. AND GOD SAID, LET US
MAKE MAN IN OUR IMAGE, AFTER OUR LIKENESS : AND LET THEM HAVE DOMINION
OVER THE FISH OF THE SEA, AND OVER THE FOWL OF THE AIR, AND OVER THE
CATTLE, AND OVER ALL THE EARTH, AND OVER EVERY CREEPING THING THAT
CREEPETH UPON THE EARTH. "--Gcntsitl. 24--26.
My dear Children,
We have now arrived at the last day of Creation. The Lord had
called the world into being, and had shed his light upon it,--he had
also surrounded it with an atmosphere graciously adapted for the
beings he had destined to live upon it. --He had caused the dry land
to appear, and covered it with fertility and beauty. --He had made
the heavens to glow with the brightness of the sun by day, and to be
illumined with the gentle rays of the moon, and with innumerable
stars by night. --He had filled the air and sea with animated life. --
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? 256 THE CREATION.
And now, on this sixth day, he calls into existence a race of beings of
a superior order to the birds and fishes; but yet merely animal; and
all this being accomplished, there seems a pause in Creation.
--It is no
longer the simple fiat, or word of God, " Le^ it be;" but there is
counsel between the Holy Ones that bear record in heaven;* and the
all important word is, " Let tig make man in our image, after
our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea,
and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the
earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created
he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them,
and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the
earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and
over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon
the earth. And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb
bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree,
in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for
meat. And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air,
and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life,
I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so. And God
saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good.
And the evening and the morning were the sixth day. Thus the
* Compare Genesis iii. 22, xi. 7, Isaiah vi. 8, with Matt. xxviii. 19, 2 Cor. xiii.
14, 1 John v. 7.
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? LETTER XL?
257
heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And
on the seventh day God ended his. work which he had made; and he
rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And
God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he
had rested from all his work which God created and made. " (Gen. i.
26--31; ii. 1--3. )
I have quoted at large the order of the Creation of the sixth day;
and the institution of the primeval or first sabbath--the rest of God,
(Heb. iv. ;) and as I attentively perused the verses in copying them, one
thing forcibly struck me--the absence of death. Now, indeed, death
reigns on every side, as we have abundantly seen in the fish of the
deep and fowl of the air; but then all animated being subsisted on
the herb of the field. All was sinless--all was deathless: for had there
been no sin, there could have been no death; because death is the
effect of sin. There was no beast or bird of prey in Eden--the
leopard and the lamb lay down together, and the lion ate straw like
the ox; and nothing did hurt or destroy in all God's vast creation.
And in " the times of restitution of all things which God hath spoken
of by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began,"
(Acts iii. 21,) this shall again be the case, as is beautifully brought
before us in the 11th of Isaiah. But of this I will write more at large
in my next letter: but we will now consider the threefold character
of this day's Creation,--1st, the Quadrupeds; 2nd, the Serpents; 3rd,
the Insect family;--and having looked at these three separately in
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? 258
THE CREATION.
their various species, then we will meditate on a subject (altogether
distinct from what has gone before) on Man made in the image of God;
His appointed Vicegerent, or Governor, to rule over all the earth,
and to have dominion over all that liveth. (Gen. i. 26. )
The benefits of the sixth day's Creation to man, no language can
describe. On the third and fifth day, we saw, indeed, much of God's
goodness in providing us food and raiment; but now, combined also with
these two, we see the strongest, the fleetest, and the most patient animals
--all called by man into obedient servitude:--the elephant comes to
us, with his giant strength; the horse lends to us his swiftness ; the
ox his patient endurance; the camel and the dromedary their ceaseless
service; the rein-deer, as the Laplander would tell you, brings every
thing to him,--it draws his sledge, and supplies him with food and
raiment, and other things beside; and even the ass, though so ill
treated and abused, aids man in no ordinary degree. Other orders of
animals have become so domesticated with us, that their wild character
is entirely gone: thus the cow, though she mourns for a time over the
loss of her offspring, yet soon forgets it, and comes to be milked by
man, as if it was her very nature; and then the innumerable flocks of
sheep yield to us in the month of May their fleecy wool,--the gift
twice blest, both in the giver and receiver: for, as the summer ad-
vances, the coat so warm to them in the winter, would keep them in
perpetual misery; therefore the shearing time to them is positive
blessing; and the simple article of wool thus obtained, is of untold
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? LETTER XI.
25! )
benefit to us. Indeed, so valuable did our forefathers think this gift,
that they made the seat of the Lord Chancellor, who always, by office,
presides in the House of Lords, (the highest legislative body of the
state) the woolsack. When we consider the sheep, in its separate
family, I will enumerate some of the many articles we derive from it.
Among other benefits derived from quadrupeds, the services of the
dog must not be forgotten. *--He guards our houses for us, and is a
pattern of faithful attachment, from the great St. Bernard breed,
which seem to have an instinctive pity for man in his sorrow, to the
* Whilst on the subject of the benefit of the animal creation to man, I would
most affectionately warn all parents against a most cruel custom, called " Vive-
section," which prevails in the French Schools of Anatomy, and now, alas! is
creeping into England. The meaning of the word " Vivesection," is literally " to
divide or cut up the living. " Yes ; living animal*, made by God, and capable, as we
have seen, of affection that oftentimes might put man to shame, are forcibly held
or fastened down, and are cut up alive! No language can sufficiently expose or
reprobate so wicked a practice. Man is accountable to God for the life he takes.
True, indeed, the Lord has for the present given it to him for food; but not for
torture: and at the day of account, their erg will not be forgotten in His ears, who
in his tender mercies over Nineveh, could remember the lives of the cattle, as well
as of those who could not discern between their right hand and left. (Jonah
iv. 2,11. ) Some of the highest and most learned of the medical profession of this
country, and among them the late Sir Charles Bell, have written most pungently
against this barbarous vice: and let every one that pities the poor dumb animal,
who can only tell his tale in shrieks of anguish, " let him open his mouth for the
dumb;" and the cruel custom of " Viveiection," without legal enactment, shall be
driven from our land. Let not any Christian parent or guardian, even for a day,
suffer his children to attend schools, where God the Creator is so dishonoured, in
the torture of the animal he has created. If a more enlarged knowledge of Phy-
siology cannot be obtained without this price being paid, the sum is too much,--we
may not do evil, that good may come. See Appendix.
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? 200
THE CREATION.
pretty little faithful spaniel, which Cowper so sweetly tells of. When
we come to this family apart, I will copy his verses for you. And
even that most useful and valuable animal, the cat, must not be for-
gotten : for though not esteemed, either as being so faithful or grateful
as the dog; yet instances are not wanting of their attachment to man,
proving that they have feelings which all do not give them credit for.
The second class of animals of this dfiy's Creation, i. e. the Serpent
family, are doubtless of use to man, though we know but little of
them.
But the third class, or Insect tribes, though apparently so insigni-
ficant, yet have families among them of the utmost benefit to us, for
raiment, food, and medicine; and I suppose, if you could at this
moment gather all the yards of silk together that are in the whole
world, it would be millions on millions; and yet it was a little worm,
not larger than our common caterpillar, that, from its own bowels,
spun it all. So also the quantity of honey, perhaps, could not be cal-
culated: and yet it was the industrious Bee, that, from numberless
flowers, sipped the nectar, and then concocted that delicious amalgam,
called honey; and having prepared beautiful little houses, built after
a most geometrical order, of the wax they had also produced in their
bodies, they deposited their treasure
" Till the rich hive was laden with the spoil,
Of all the flowers that deck sweet nature's soil. "
And last of all, though not the least, how many valuable lives have
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? LETTER XL
261
been spared, simply by the application of the Cantharis, or Spanish Fly,
that sports in the sun-beam in Italy by millions, and medically forms
the blister so valuable in the hands of skilful men: and even the little
cochineal insect may not be forgotten, supplying us at the same time
with a valuable medicine * and beautiful dye.
Thus the sixth day's Creation comes to man in boundless variety,
laden with blessing: and what the Christian is called to is this, to
receive all with gratitude and thankfulness--to use the world and not
abuse it: and whether he has little or much, as a faithful steward, to
dispense it with kindness; and to be merciful, even as his Father in
heaven is merciful. (Luke vi. 35, 36. )
Having thus, however briefly, looked at the animal creation of this
day, as adapted to the wants of man, we will now consider each of the
three before mentioned classes separately; and, first,
THE QUADRUPEDS.
This diversified family take their name from the number of their
feet: and though one species alone goes erect, like man; yet, with
this exception, it is descriptive of the whole order, who, with their
? See an interesting article in the Medical Gazette, January, 1844, showing the
value of cochineal as a specific for hooping-cough.
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? 262
THE CREATION.
body parallel with the earth, thus run or walk. Quadrupeds rank
above the other parts of the animal creation in three particulars:--
They are viviparous; respire by means of lungs; and have red blood:
and, in addition to this, almost in all cases, they are covered with hair.
As in Fishes and Birds, so in the Quadrupeds, their form, covering, &c. ,
are all most minutely adapted to the country they live in, and the food
they subsist on;--the mouth is so situated, that with a slight incli-
nation of the neck, they reach their food. The beasts of prey devour
their food at once ; but the ruminating animals, as the Cow, &c. , take
in a good stock, and put it in keeping, like the Pelican ; and then lie
down, and bring out at leisure their supply--and chew their cud.
Linnaeus has arranged this great family into six orders, under the
general name of Mammalia, distinguished principally by the number,
situation, and structure of their teeth. He has also added a seventh,
comprising the Whale family, but this last we considered on the fifth
day. These six orders he has divided into forty-four genera, and
subdivided into upwards of eight hundred species. The names of the
respective orders are all taken from the Latin, and are strikingly
significant of their character. I subjoin them, with the English
names opposite:--
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? LETTER XI.
263
MAMMALIA. *
LATIN NAME.
Primates
Brutse
Ferse
Glires
Pecora
Belluae
ENGLISH NAME.
The First
The Brute
The Wild Beast
The Dormouse. .
The Cattle
Great Beasts . . .
PROPERTIES.
Princ. Gramin.
All Graminiv.
All Carnivor.
Princ. Graniv.
Granivorous .
Granivorous .
4
8
10
10
B
3
Many.
Ditto.
Ditto.
Ditto.
Ditto.
Few.
PRIMATES.
THREE GENERA. --MANY SPECIES.
This Order, according to Linnaeus's arrangement, has four genera;
Man the first: but as the first of Genesis is our guide, Man will be
spoken of as altogether distinct from the irrational part of the animal
creation.
This Order comprises, the Ape, the Lemur, and the Bat.
The Ourang is a native of the Molucca Islands, Borneo, Madagas-
car, Africa, and India. Hunting them is the cruel but favourite
amusement in some of these countries.
In stature this animal reaches at times six feet; but, perhaps, com-
paring the accounts of travellers, his stature varies as ours does. The
visage of the Ourang is very like the human face, only the eyes are
sunk very deep in the head, and the whole body is covered lightly
From Mamma, a breast; including all animals that suckle their young.
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? 264
THE CREATION.
with hair. He is fond of society, and possesses so little fear, that
when the natives have a fire in the woods, if the weather is wet or
cold, he will, during their absence, come and warm himself at it.
Various are the tales related of him; some of which are well
authenticated. Buffon, the great naturalist, says he was acquainted
with one of this family, who would sit at table; and whatever he saw
others do, he would imitate,--he would pour out his tea, put sugar
and milk in it, then let it cool, and drink it afterwards as we do. His
deportment was grave, tinctured with melancholy. Still, all he did
was imitative; and thus he soon reached his bounds of knowledge.
The Long-armed Ape. This animal is most expressively named;
for its arms, when it stands erect, or rather stooping, literally touch
the ground. It is much smaller than the Ourang, though, with the
exception of its long arms, it is much like it.
The Pigmy Ape. This curious little animal is not larger than a
cat: it is found in numbers in Ethiopia. They are fond of eggs;
and hence the legendary tales of " the Pigmies," who were represented
as a nation, residing near the fountains of the Nile, annually levying
war against the cranes, to steal their eggs.
The Barbary Ape. This singular creature seems to link the Ape
with the Baboon. It has something like a tail, and a face more like
the quadruped family at large. It is more vicious and mischievous
than any of the Ape family.