IT is Rational, from the Manifest Fitness of some things to Cosmical or Animal Ends or Vses, to Infer that they were Fram’d or Ordain’d in reference thereunto, by an Intelligent and Designing Agent.
Divers things have Incidentally been said in this Paper, especially in the first Section of it, and others may hereafter be Occasionally added, that may justly be imploy’d against that part of the Epicurean Hypothesis, which Ascribes the Origine of Things to Chance, and Rejects the Interest of a Deity, and the Designing of Ends, in the Production and Management of Natural things. But because I observe, not without grief, that of late years too many, otherwise perhaps Ingenious Men, have with the Innocent Opinions of Epicurus, embrac’d those Irreligious ones, wherein (as I was saying) the Deity and Providence are quite Excluded from having any Influence upon the Motions of Matter, all whose Productions are refer’d to the Casual Concourse of Atoms: For this Reason, I say, I thought it a part of my Duty, as well to the most Wise Author of Things, as to Their Excellent Contrivance, and Mutual Subserviency, to say Something, tho’ but briefly, yet distinctly and expresly, to shew, That, at least in the Structure and Nature of Animals, there are Things that argue a far Higher and Nobler Principle, than is Blind Chance. But, that I may do what I here intend, with as much brevity as I can, I will do little more than name some Particulars, that I have not observed to be so usually reflected on, to the Purpose for which I mention them. And I shall Confirm these Considerations but with One Instance, and That too, taken from a Sort of Parts that are as little Elaborate, and therefore seem to be as little Fit for my Purpose, as almost any in the Humane Body.
I will not now inculcate what has been delivered, and may be farther said, of that Exquisite Structure of the Bodies of Dead Animals, that is discoverable by the Knives of Anatomists; (tho’ I shall not Scrupulously forbear to touch lightly on a few things of that kind, that are requisite to my Purpose:) My present Design being, to set down very briefly a few Arguments, to Strengthen the Proposition lately delivered.
First then, I observe, That there seems to have been Care taken, that the Body of an Animal should be furnished, not only with all things that are Ordinarily Necessary and Convenient, but with some Superabundant Provision for Casualties. Thus, tho’ a Man may Live very well, and Propagate his Kind, (as many do,) tho’ he have but One Eye; yet Nature is wont to furnish Men with Two Eyes, that, if One be Destroyed or Diseased, the Other may suffice for Vision. And so, if One Ear grow Deaf, a Man may be Conversed with, by the help of the Other that remains Sound. In short, Nature has furnished Men with Double Parts of the same Kind, where that Duplicity may be highly Useful, and can be permitted without Incongruity to the rest of the Body. And this is the more Considerable, because in Other Parts Nature appears to Husband things, so, as to Shun doing things Superfluous: As within the Skull, some Vessels that would in other Parts of the Body have Double Coats like other Arteries, are much Thinner, almost like Veins; the Thickness of the Skull being ordinarily a sufficient Fence to them from External Injuries.
Another Argument, That divers Things that Nature does about Animals, are done with Design, may be taken from what Anatomists Observe of Those Parts of the Womb or the Foetus, that are to be found but at Certain Times, at which there is Need of them, and not at Others, when they would be Useless. Thus, when a Woman is with Child, the Vasa Vmbilicalia are produc’d, to be Channels either for the Blood or Alimental Juice and Spirits, that then ought to pass between the Womb and the Foetus; which is to be Nourished, either only or chiefly, by the Liquors derived to It through those Vessels, assisted by the Placenta, that Supply to it the want of Eating with the Mouth, which the Unborn Infant either does not at all, or does but very imperfectly, employ to Feed himself. And though, as long as he continues Imprison’d in the Womb-state, these Temporary Parts, (if I may so call them) continue with him; yet, as soon as he comes abroad into the World, these Umbilical Vessels, particularly the Two Arteries and the Vein, together with the Membranes they are wrapt up in, and Those (commonly call’d the Chorion and the Amnios,) that Involve the Foetus, are Thrown off, as Unnecessary to the Born Infant’s New State; and when It has quitted the Womb, are Expell’d after it, whence they are call’d the After-birth; there remaining only that Part of the Umbilical Vessels that lies within the Child’s Abdomen, between the Navel and the Liver, where its Use is Considerable, tho’ New; it Serving no more to convey Blood, or an Alimental Liquor, to and fro, but Degenerating into a Ligament.
To the same Purpose with this Contrivance, we may mention that other, wherein Nature employs the Foramen Ovale, that gives Passage to the Blood from the Right Ventricle of the Heart to the Left; that the Circulation of It may be maintain’d, tho’ It cannot in the Embryo, as it does in a Born Child, pass through the Vessels of the Lungs from One of the Ventricles to the Other. For this Formen Ovale being but (if I may so call it) an Expedient that Nature Employs, as long as that which is Intended to be an Infant, remains an Embryo; this Temporary Conformation is Obliterated, when the Child Breathing the free Air, is in a Condition to make the Blood Circulate through the Pulmonick Vessels, according to the Primary Intention of Nature. From which and the like Instances we may infer, That these Temporary Parts were Fram’d by a Forecasting, as well as a Designing, Agent, who Intended they should Serve for such a Turn, and then be laid Aside; it being utterly Improbable, that an Undesigning Agent should so Appositely and Exquisitely Frame Scaffolds for the future Buildings, if he did not before-hand Destinate both the One and the Other, to concur to the same ultimate Effect.
Another Argument for our present purpose may be drawn, from the Consideration of those things that in Animals are commonly call’d Instincts; whereof Some more directly regard the Welfare of the Individuals they belong to, Others the Propagation of their Species, and Some again respect both. The Writers of Voyages, and those that professedly deliver Natural History, recount strange, and scarce credible, Instances, of the Instincts observable in certain Animals. But we need not lay the stress of our Argument upon dubious, or suspected Relations; since what I have met with in Authors of good Authority, or receiv’d from the mouths of Travellers of good Credit, may serve my present turn; especially if it be allow’d, (as I see not why it may not be,) to take the word Instinct in a latitude, so as to comprise those Untaught Shifts and Methods, that are made use of by some Animals, to shun or escape Dangers, or to provide for their future Necessities, or to catch their Preys.
Divers Strange Things are deliver’d, not only by Poets, but by more Credible Writers, about the wonderful Sagacity and Government of Bees, in point not only of Oeconomy, but of Politicks too. But tho’ I shall not build any thing upon the Authorities that I my self Suspect, yet, having had the Curiosity to keep for a good while in my Closet a Transparent Hive, whence there was a free passage into a neighbouring Garden; and having thereby had the opporunity to make frequent Observations of the Actions of these little Animals, and particularly to see them at work about making their Combs, and filling them with Honey: I confess I discover’d some things that I did not believe before, and was induc’d to look upon them as very fit Instances, of Creatures endow’d with natural Instincts and Providence. For ‘twere hard for a Mathematician, in contriving so many Cells, as They make in the Area of one of their Combs, to husband so little space more Skilfully, than They are wont to do. And not only They Carefully and Seasonably lay up their Honey, to serve them all the Winter, but Curiously close up the particular Cells with Covers of Wax, that keep the included Liquor from Spilling, and from External Injuries. I do not here mention the Prognostication of Weathers, that may be made in the morning by Their keeping within their Hives, or flying early abroad to furnish themselves with Wax or Honey, or by their unexpected Return before a Storm unforeseen by Men; because I suspect that these things may not be so much the Effects of Instincts, as of a Tenderness and Quickness of Sense, such as may be seen in a good Weather-glass, and found in divers Wounded and Crazy Persons, that are affected with such Beginnings of the Changes of the Air, as are not yet perceiv’d by other men. But among the Peculiarities to be observ’d in the Conduct of Bees, I cannot but take notice, that after a Fight, I have, not without some wonder, seen them take up the Dead that lay on the Ground, and fly away wirh them to I know not what distance from their Hive.
Another obvious Instance of the Instinct that Nature has given even to some despicable Insects, may be taken from Ants, to whom Solomon sends the Sluggard to School, to learn the Providence of making Seasonable Provision for the Future. For ‘tis known, that these little Creatures do in the Summer Hoard up Grains of Corn against the Winter. And their Sagacity is the more Considerable, if it be true, what divers learned Persons affirm, that they eat or bite off the Germens of the Grains of Corn they lay up, least the Moisture of the Earth expos’d to the Rains, should make it Sprout. But whatever become of this Tradition, these Insects do some other Actions, resembling Sagacity and Industry, that are not so contemptible as their Bulk, tho’ I must not stay to mention them particularly in this Place.
The Untaught Skill of Spiders, in Weaving their Curious Webs, that are so Fitly Contrived, both to Catch their Flying Prey, and give them immediate Notice of its being Caught, is a Thing, which, if it were not Familiar, would be look’d upon as Admirable. And this Skill is not, as Some Imagine, an Effect of Imitation of their Parents: For if the Eggs be taken away and enclos’d in a Glass, when they come to be Hatch’d by the Heat of the Sun, the little Creature will Immediately fall to Spinning in the Glass itself, as was related to me, by an Eminent Mathematician that made the Experiment. And I saw the less reason to Distrust it, because, having by an External Heat Hatch’d many Eggs of Silk-worms, in a Place where there had not been any of a long time before, nor probably ever till then, yet the Worms propuc’d by these Eggs, did in Autumn, of their own accord, Climb up to those convenient Places I had prepar’d for Them, and there Weave those Curious Oval Prisons in which they enclose themselves, and which are Unrevel’d into Silk, of whose extreme Fineness or Slenderness I have elsewhere given an Account.
Nor is the provident Industry of Animals confin’d to Insects, of whom the Poet, (if his words be taken in a Popular Sence,) truly saith; Ingentes Animos angusto in Pectore versant.
Since ‘tis to be found in divers of the Greater Animals, particularly in Beavers; of whom tho’ Some things that are recounted by Authors and Travellers, are but Fabulous; yet what has been related to me by Sober and Judicious Persons, that were either Born or Liv’d in New England, where these Animals abounding, they had the Opportunity to observe Them; is sufficient to Confirm such Relations, as may give One just Cause of Wonder. For these Credible Persons affirm’d, That the Beavers with their sharp Teeth, (whose Shape and Strength I have Admir’d,) Cut pieces of Wood so as to make them Fit for their Purpose: That by Associating their Labours, they lay these together so as to Build themselves Strong Winter-houses, in which there is sometimes a kind of Second Story, for the Inhabitants to retire to, when the Water chances to Overflow: That for These Houses, they chuse a very Convenient Situation, just by some River, or other Water, that can furnish Them with Fish: And, That the Overture or Hole that belongs to each of these Houses, is plac’d just by the Water, that they may immediately Flounce into It, and so Save themselves when their Houses are Attaqu’d. And to Facilitate their Swimming away, and the Catching of their Prey in the Waters, Nature has furnish’d them, as I have Observ’d with pleasure in a Live Beaver, with two Feet not made like Those of Dogs, or Cats, or like their Own two Other Feet, but furnish’d with broad Membranes betwixt the Toes, like the Feet of Geese, Ducks, and other Aquatick Animals, that are to use them as Oars, to Thrust away the Water, and Facilitate their Motions upon It, and in It.
‘Twere easie to accumulate Instances of the Sagacity and Industry of Animals, for their own Preservation: But ‘tis more easie to find Notable Ones, among those Actions that concern the Propagation of their Species.
The various Arts employ’d by Animals of differing Kinds about the Materials, the Construction, and the Situation of their Nests, is usually Remarkable, and sometimes Wonderful. Of this Skill, we have divers Eminent Instances, some of which I have been delighted to See, but have not time to Recount. Yet One there is, whose Oddness will not suffer me to pretermit it. For in a Country that abounds with Apes and Monkeys, that are very Greedy of Birds Eggs, and oftentimes Climb Trees to come at Them; there is a Sort of Birds, whose Eggs they peculiarly affect, that do as it were Hang their Nests at or near the end of some long Flexible Branch or Wand, that grows Over the Water; by which means their Insidious Enemies, who do not Swim, cannot come at them Underneath; and by reason of the Yielding of the Flexible Branch or Twigs whereto the Nest is fastened, they are Frighted from venturing to pass on, for want of a Firm Support.
The Structure of the Nests of Wasps, which they often make under Ground to Secure them, I have observ’d to be very Curious and Artificial, especially when the Young Ones are Form’d in the little Cells, where they lye Hid and Shelter’d till they are ready to Fly away.
I might here multiply Examples of this Kind, but I think it fitter to proceed, by telling you, That the Instincts that Nature has Implanted in Animals to Preserve themselves, tho’ they would seem Admirable if they were less Familiar, are much Infetiour to That Providence that She has furnish’d Animals with, for the Propagation of their Species.
There are diverse Notable Things to be met with in the Nests of seve-Birds, both as to their Materials, their Structure, and the very Situations of the Places pitch’d upon to Build them in. I have seen some Nests, especially Indian Ones, which would make a Man Wonder, how the Birds that Built them, should seek and find such Odd, and yet, all Circumstances consider’d, Commodious Materials to Build with. Of which we have an Eminent Instance in the Nests of certain Eastern Birds, whose Names I remember not, that make their Nests of a White Substance, (which has been Presented me by some of our East-India Merchants,) that looks almost like Icthyocolla, in the Shops commonly call’d Isinglass, and is Dissoluble in Liquors, and so very well Tasted, that it makes the chief Sawce that they use in the Southern Parts of India at their Feasts. The Structure also of the Nests of divers Birds, both as to their Figure, their Capacity suitable to the Bulk of the Builders, and the Accommodations they are furnish’d with for Warmth and Softness, may deserve to be Applauded by Mathematicians themselves: especially if it be consider’d, that these little Untaught Architects had no Tools to make their Curious Buildings with, save their Beaks and their Feet. And yet much more of Providence and Foresight appears in the Situation of the Places, that some Birds make Choice of to Build their Nests in: As may be observ’d, not only in the Pendulous Nests of Swallows, and the Crafty Hidden Ones of some European Birds, but very conspicuously in the Hanging and Moveable Nests, that we lately mention’d to be so Oddly plac’d by some Birds, to secure their Eggs from Apes and Monkeys; and by the Situation of the well Tasted Nests I was newly speaking of, which are to be found only upon high and steep Rocks, and are so fastned to those Concave Parts of them that look downwards, and, for the most part, hang directly over the Sea, that there is no getting Them without much Trouble and Danger, by the help of Boats and Poles: Upon which Account, as well as That of their Deliciousness, they are very Dear in the East Indies themselves. The like Care to Contrive their Nests Advantageously, and make them in Secure Places, is taken by divers Infects themselves, as may be observ’d in the Subterraneal Nests of the Wasps formerly mentioned, and in the Eggs of Snails, which I have sometimes found Hid under Ground, and had the Curiosity to Hatch in Glasses furnish’d with the same Earth they were sound in.
If I should here reckon up and display the several Effects, and consequently Arguments, of the Wonderful Providence, that the most Wise Author of Nature exercises about the Propagation of Animals, by distinguishing them into Male and Female: By furnishing both Sexes with Mutual Appetites and Organs, exquisitely adapted to the Increase of their Kind: By the admirable Formation of the Foetus in the Womb, without the Females Knowledge How it is perform’d: By the strange Subtilties and Courage that Several of them, either Oviparous or Viviparous, have, to Hide and Defend their Young: By the full Provision that is made for the Nourishment of the Foetus, and the Welfare of the Female after She has brought It forth: And by divers other Ways that I must not now stay to specifie. If, I say, I should venture to do this, I might indeed, much enrich and adorn my Argument, but should make this Discourse too much exceed the Limits that my Design, and small Stock either of Ability or Leisure, would allow. And therefore, instead of pursuing a Speculation, that would lead me a great deal too far, I shall look back upon the Intimation I gave not long since, that even those Meaner Parts of Animals which seem to have been Fram’d with the least Care or Contrivance, are yet not Unworthy of their Author.
For Proof of which, I shall now observe, That tho’ the Teeth be some of the least Elaborate Parts of the Humane Body; yet even These afford more Observations appliable to our present Purpose, than my Intended Brevity will permit me to take Notice of. And therefore I shall only, and that little more than transiently, consider a few of Them here; and some of the Others elsewhere, on those particular Occasions, on which it will be more Proper to bring them in.
I. And First, ‘Tis considerable, That whereas, when a Man is come to his full Stature, all the Other Bones of the Body cease to Grow, the Teeth continue to Grow in Length, during a Man’s whole Life.
This Growth of the Teeth appears, not only by their Continuing so many Years of the Same Length, but by the Unsightly Length of One Tooth, when That which was opposite to It in the other Jaw happening to Fall out or be Pulld out, the Tooth we speak of has liberty, to Grow into the Gap made by the Removal of the Other. Of this Difference in point of Growth betwixt the Teeth and other Bones, What Reason can be so probably given, as, That ‘tis design’d to repair the Waste that is daily made of the Substance of the Teeth, by the frequent Atritions that are made, between the upper and lower Tyre, in Mastication?
II. Whereas the Other Bones of the Body (some sew Small Ones excepted) are Invested with a very thin and sensible Membrane, which, for its close adhesion to the Bone, is by Anatomists call’d the Periosteum: That Part of each Tooth which is not cover’d by the Gums, has none of this Membrane, which would be subject to frequent and very painful Compressions and Lacerations.
III. To enable the Teeth to Break, and make Comminutions of the more Solid kind of Aliments, Nature has providently Fram’d them of a Closer and Harder Substance, than almost any other Bones of the whole Body; tho’ these be so Numerous, that Anatomists reckon above Three Hundred of them. And I have met with Relations in Authors of good Credit, That Some Men’s Teeth have been so Hard, as, when struck with another Fit Body, to produce Sparks of Fire.
IV. That These Bones, whose Use (to Prepare Aliments for Nutrition) is so Great, and almost Necessary, may themselves be continually Fed and Cherish’d, tho’ they Grow in Other Bones; the Allwise Author of Things has admirably Contriv’d an Unseen Cavity in each side of the Jaw-bone, in which Greater Channel are lodg’d an Artery, a Vein, and a Nerve, which thorough Lesser Cavities, or as it were Gutters, send their Twigs to each particular Tooth; which by These little Vessels that reach to It, receives a continual Supply of Nourishment and Strength.
V. In regard that Babes are, according to Nature’s Institution, to Feed for a considerable time on Milk, for which there is no need of Teeth, and which would also Hurt the Nipples of Her that gives them Suck: Nature forbears for many Months to produce Teeth in Humane Infants: whereas the Foetus’s of divers Brute Animals, that are oftentimes reduc’d Early to seek out Aliments that are not Fluid, nor very Soft, are Born with Teeth already Form’d in their Jaws.
VI. The Bony Substance appointed for the Comminution of Aliments, ought not for several Reasons, (which for Brevity’s sake I here omit,) to be in either Jaw Entire, or all of one Piece: And therefore Nature has providently made for that Use, a competent Number of distinct Bones in either Jaw. And, because Men may often have Occasion, to feed upon very differing Sorts of Aliments, and usually the Same Aliment may require Differing Preparations in the Mouth, to Facilitate the Digestion of It in the Stomach: Nature has provided Men with Two Rows or Sets of Teeth, equal for the most part in Number, (each Jaw in Men usually having Sixteen, and in Women Fourteen or Fifteen,) and answering to each other, but yet of differing Shapes, for differing Uses. For Some, as the Fore-teeth, are Broader, and with a kind of Edge, to Cut the more Yielding Sort of Aliments; whence these Teeth are called Incisorii. Others are Stronger, and more fitly Shap’d to Tear the more Tough and Resisting Sort of Aliments: These are They that by the Vulgar are in English call’d Eye-Teeth, and which, for their Resemblance to Those of Dogs, are by Anatomists calld Canini. And then there is a Third Sort, whose principal Office is to Grind the Aliments that are Cut or Torn by the Others; and for this Purpose they are made much Broader, and somewhat Flattish, but yet with their Upper Surfaces Uneven and Rugged, that by their Knobs and little Cavities, they may the better Retain, Grind and Commixe the Aliments, that are to be Chew’d by Them: And for this Reason they are call’d Molares.
VII. And because the Operations to be perform’d by the Teeth, oftentimes require a considerable Firmness and Strength, partly in the Teeth themselves, and partly in the Instruments that Move the Jaw wherein the Lower Set of them is fix’d: Nature has provided the Lower Jaw, (which alone is Moveable, unless, as Some affirm, in Crocodiles,) with Strong Muscles, to make it bear forcibly against the Upper Jaw: And has not only Plac’d each Tooth in a distinct Cavity of the Jaw bone, as it were in a Close, Strong, and Deep Socket, but has furnish’d the several Sorts of Teeth with Hold-fasts, suitable to the Stress, that, by reason of their Differing Offices, they are to be put to. And therefore, whereas the Other Teeth (the Cutters and the Dog-teeth) have usually but One Root, (which in these last nam’d is wont to be very Long;) the Grinders, that on many Occasions are employed to Crack Nuts, Bones, or Other Hard Bodies, before they can be Ground; are furnish’d with Three Roots, and oftentimes with Four, in the Upper Jaw, whose Substance is somewhat Softer, and whose Grinders Serve as so many little Anvils, for Those of the Lower to Strike or Press against. On which Account, as hath been already Intimated, the Lower Jaw, (for the Other belongs to the Immoveable Part of the Skull,) is furnish’d with a strong Muscle on either side, capable of Moving It, and consequently the Teeth in It, with great Force against the Upper Jaw.
If some Favourer of Epicurus’s Doctrine shall here Object, that, tho’ Man indeed be Advantagiously furnish’d with Teeth, yet there are many Other Animals, and even Quadrupeds, whereof some have not near so Many Teeth as Man, nor so Commodiously Shap’d and Plac’d as His; and Others are not furnish’d with any Teeth at all: And that likewise there are many Other Animals, that have some of their Other Parts less Convenient in their Kind, or otherwise are not near so well provided for, as they would be, if they were not rather Casual Productions, than those of an Intelligent and Designing Opificer: If These things, I say, be Objected, I must own myself of a very differing Opinion from the Objector. And I think I could add much about the Final Causes of Things Corporeal, as the Consideration of them leads to a high Veneration of their Divine Author, and as it tends to manifest, that, when His Providence is Deny’d or Condemn’d, ‘tis for want of Its having been sufficiently Understood, and duely Consider’d. But, besides that this Third Proposition ought to be but One Part of our Discourse of Final Causes; I have in great Part prevented myself already, by what I have formerly said, to Obviate or Answer some Exceptions, relating to the Eyes of Man, and Differing Animals. For Most of the Considerations, if not All, that have been Alledg’d on the Occasion of those Organs of Sight, may well be, Mutatis Mutandis, applied to the Varieties that are to be found in the Teeth, and other Parts, of differing Kinds of Animals. For I may justly represent, That the Reason why This or That Organical Part of This or That Species of Living Creatures, has not such a Structure, or is not so Plac’d, as We might think most convenient, may often be, That in this Case it would be less proper for Other Ends, of more Importance to the Welfare of the Animal, than such a Fabrick and Situation of the Part as We Prefer, would be. And there are also many Cases, wherein the Thing that We make bold to think Wanting or Amiss, is provided for by Other Contrivances in the Same Animal; by which Provision, the Part under Consideration is made more Serviceable and Symmetrical to the rest of the Body: And so, performing Other Offices beside the Main, is, upon the whole Matter, more Useful to the Animal, than Otherwise it would be.
‘Tis known that Oxen and Sheep, and many Other Ruminating Beasts, are not furnish’d with near so many Teeth as Men are, and as are to be found in Dogs, Cats, Horses, and many other Quadrupeds. But for the Paucity of Teeth Amends is made, in most of those Animals, partly, by the Power and Instinct They have to Chew the Cud, and thereby make a Second Attrition of their already much Softned Aliments; and partly, by the Successive Cavities or Stomachs, (distinguish’d by the Names of Primus, Venter, Reticulum, Omasus and Abomasus,) through which the Aliment is Transmitted, and more and more Elaborated, to make it Fit for further Uses. The Mouths (especially the Inward Parts of them,) of the Beaver, the Tortoise, the Bee, the Humming Bird that Feeds on Flowers, whose Exudations with his long little Bill He Sucks like the Bee: These, I say, and many Other Animals, (to omit the Elephant himself,) have their Mouth, and their Ways of Preparing their Aliments for the Stomach, very Different from what is observ’d in Men, and yet very Convenient for them respectively, all Circumstances consider’d.
These and the like, whether Compensations or Expedients, are in many Animals such, that there is no Cause to tax the Author of Nature, for not having given Some Animals, all the same Parts that Others are furnish’d with: But rather the Thrifty Providence, (if I may so speak,) and Designing Wisdom of God, in the Contrivance of his Visible Works, may be as well discover’d by the seeming Omission of This or That Part, that is Useful to Other Animals, but is not Necessary to Those wherin it is not found, as, by Granting Those Parts to the Animals, to whose Compleatness or Welfare they are Necessary, or highly Conducive. On which account ‘tis not to be thought Strange, that He has not to Men, as to Frogs, and many sorts of Birds, given such Tough, Transparent, and Moveable Membranes, as these Animals are provided of to Cover their Eyes, from Harms that Those of Men are not usually expos’d to. And ‘tis not an Omission, not to have given Girls Swelling Breasts, before they are capable of Generation, more than ‘tis, not to continue to them, after their being grown Mothers, the Placenta Vterina, when they are not with Child.
Though Batts be look’d upon as a Contemptible sort of Creatures, yet I think they may afford Us no Contemptible Argument to Our present Purpose. For in this Heteroclite Animal, you may discern the Foecundity of the Divine Artificers Skill, which has in this Form’d an Animal that Flies like Birds, and yet is not only Unfurnish’d with Feathers, but is of a Fabrick quite differing from that of Other Birds. And in this little Animal We may also observe, both the Compensation that is made for Parts, that seem either Deficient, or less Advantag’d than Those of the same Denomination in Other Birds: and the Regard, which the Divine Artist appears to have to the Symmetry of Parts, in His Animated Works, and to their Fitness for the Places they are to Live in or Frequent. For the Batt, being to act sometimes like a Bird, that Flies freely to and fro in the Air, and on some Occasions like a Terrestrial Animal, such as is that little Quadruped a Mouse; ought to be furnish’d with Parts suitable to such Differing Destinations. And therefore, to fit him to Answer the First of These, the want of Feathers in the Wings is supply’d by a broad Membranous Expansion, and a kind of Toes furnish’d with Articulations, that make up the Wings: And, because this Animal was to be able, like Other Birds, to forbear Settling on the Ground, otherwise than his Occasions requir’d: Each of his Wings is furnish’d with a strong Crook, like the Claw of a Bird’s Foot, by the Help of which he can fasten himself to Trees, Walls, and divers Other Erected Bodies, and keep himself Suspended in the Air, and continue at what Distances he pleases from the Ground. And because he is furnisht with Teeth, which other Birds want, to Chew his Food, and thereby prepare it for Digestion: He needs not have a Crop, or such a Strong and Muscular Stomach, as is usually found in Birds: And (in short) to Omit the peculiar Structure of Other Internal Parts, wherein the Batt differs from Other Birds: Since the Female was not, like Them, to be Oviparous, but, like Mice and Other Quadrupeds, that bring forth their Young Ones alive: She is not only furnish’d with an Vterus fitted for that Purpose, but, in regard She does not, like Birds that lay Eggs, Exclude, together with the Faetus, a competent Stock of Aliment to Nourish It, till it can Shift for Itself: The Batt is furnish’d with Dugs, to give Suck to her Young Ones: And by Zoographers ‘tis observ’d, That, as she has but Two Teats, so she brings forth but Two Young Ones at a Birth; whereas Mice are much more Proliffick.
The Writings of Zoographers, and the Relations of Travellers, afford divers other Instances of the Various, and yet Excellent, Contrivances, that are to be sound in several Animals that differ from Man, (who is an Animal endow’d with numerous Teeth,) in the Fabrick of the Mouth, and Other Parts inservient to the Reception of Aliments, and their Preparation for Digestion.
But passing by the Mouths of Tortoises, Camelions, and Other Animals, the Hardness of whose Gums, in reference to their Ordinary Aliments, suffices to make Amends for their Want of Teeth. There is one American Beast, which I think, I ought not to forbear mentioning here, as a Notable Instance, to manifest how the Wise Architect can Compensate the Want of Teeth, by the rare Structure of the Mouth and Tongue, and Their Fitness to Seize on and make Use of those Aliments, which, tho’ Uncommon for a Beast of His Bulk, He seems to have been destinated to Live upon. The Animals of this Kind are by Hernandus, who retains their American Names, call’d Achoas and Tamendoas; and of These, and particularly of the Parts they are provided of to Eat with, he gives us this Account. Offenduntur apud Yucatenses Quadrupedes quidam,1 dorso praeduro & fulvi, agnorum magnitudine, sed qui ventre circiter Terram attingant, dentium omnino expertes sint, & solo formicarum venatu vivant, quarum cumulos duobus magnis unguibus quibus singuli anteriores pedes armantur, excavant turbantque; ac dein exerta lingua, quae dotranto longior est, scabra tores ac pennam anserinam orassa, formicas eam conscendentes ac densantes suscipiunt, eademque contracta, & in os, quod mirum in modum angustum ac parvum est, recepta, gratum sibi pabulum capiunt, & innocentium Animalium praeda potiuntur. Of the same sort of Beasts, the Ingenious Piso, in his Hist. of Brasile, (where he Practis’d Physick) mentions Two kinds, the Greater and the Less, which He, like Hernandus, calls Tamanduas, but adds the new coin’d Name of Myrmecophaga; and of Both gives this Account.2 Vtraeque (says he) sunt noctambulae pabuli causa; Cicuratae carne quoque vescuntur, sed minutim concisa quia non solum capite, promuscide, sed & ore sunt angusto, accuminato, edentuloque, lingua denique, instar chrassior is Chordae, tereti adeoque longa praesertim: in Tamandua majori, ut duorum pedum longitudinem excedat, atque proinde duplicata (quod notatu sane dignum) quasi canali incumbit inter inferiores genas, quam esuriens madidam exerit, & arborum truncis diu imponit, mox formicis opertam repente retrahit. Si alte fodiendo latebrae earum detegi postulant, Vnguibus id praestat commode, quibus pedes posteriores instructi sunt satis validis & longis numero quinque, anteriores quatuor, iisque recurvis duobus in medio maximis.
‘Tis also to be consider’d, That Divers Things may be Useful in an Organical Part, besides That whereby its Function is primarily and mainly exercis’d: As, tho’ the Eye-lids and their Motions, together with the little Glandules that belong to them (most of which lye conceal’d under the Edges) are not at all necessary to the Act of Vision, (no more than Curtains are to a Window;) yet they are to the Compleatness and Welfare of the Eye, which is the necessary Organ of Vision: As is manifest by the Pain and Prejudice the Eye receives, if the Eye-lids, which are subject to more than One Distemper, be considerably Disaffected.
I may hereafter have occasion to take notice, that, besides those Ules of the Parts of a Human Body, which I venture to call Anatomical, because they are such as Anatomists have discover’d by meer Dissections; there may be of several Parts Other Uses, which I call Chymical, because These Parts do Elaborate Spirits of several Sorts, and perhaps Exercise some other Spagyrical Functions of great Importance, if not of Necessity to the Welfare of a Living Man.
And, besides, the Anatomical and Chymical Uses, there may be others very fit to be consider’d in some parts of a Human Body; as the Mechanical Advantages, for which the Various Shapes and Structures of differing Muscles, and the seeming Irregular, and as it ‘twere Casual Fabrick of the Bones, and especially of the Processes and Protuberances, are admirably Fitted. And there are also in some Parts, as the Eyes, Optical Reasons to be consider’d, before One can otherwise than Rashly Censure, what the Author of Nature has done about them: As, tho’ the figure of the Chrystalline Humour be much more Globous in most Fishes, than in Men and Terestrial Animals, yet he that understands the Doctrine of Refractions, and considers that Fishes under Water are to see Objects through a far thicker Medium than Air, will readily acknowledge, that this Difference between the Eyes of Fishes and those of Men, is not an Imperfection in the former; but whilst those Creatures are in their own Element, a great Advantage. And, to be short, I think there are so many Sciences, and other Parts of Knowledge, some of them perhaps scarce yet Discover’d, that may be required to warrant a man, to Censure the Ends of God in the Bodies of Animals, that very Few have Knowledge enough to be capable of Condemning them without Rashness: And they that have Knowledge enough to Judge aright, will not be forward to Condemn them, but Admire them. But, tho’ this Consideration be not here display’d, yet the now mention’d Intimation of it may afford us this Reflexion, That Men may easily be too Rash, if they think a part Bunglingly Fram’d, upon Supposition that, by the Anatomical Inspection of it, they know all the Uses that the Skill of the Divine Opificer could Design it for.
Nor will it necessarily follow, that, because in some Particular Bird, or Beast, or Fish, we may not be able to give an account, Why this or that Part is not to be found, or Why it is otherwise Fram’d or Situated than that which is Analogous to it in Man; it must therefore be Casually or Improvidently Fram’d or Plac’d: Since we cannot expect from Brute Animals, Answers to those proper Questions about their own Bodies, which we can receive from Men about their Human Ones. And yet, notwithstanding the great Assiduity, with which the more curious Physicians are oblig’d to Cultivate Anatomy, and the frequent Opportunities they have to do it, and to ask Living Men Questions about what they find, when the Natural Use of their Parts is Hindred or Perverted: Our Sagacious Moderns are to this day at a Loss, as to the True Uses of the Visible Parts of the Body; to say nothing of the Invisible, such as Spirits, Salts, &c. So that it ought to be no Wonder, if in Animals, whose Fabrick we have much less Concern to Inquire into, and and much less Opportunity to Examine, we sometimes find Parts, of whose Uses and their Fitness for them, Men are not yet able to give a satisfactory Account. For I consider, that even in Man himself, tho’ there be numerous Valves found in his Veins, yet for those many Ages that the True Uses of them lay Hid, an Asclepiades, or some Other bold Epicurean Physician, might have thought himself well grounded, to look upon them as Superfluous Parts: Which, now that the Circulation of the Blood is discover’d, they are acknowledg’d to be far from being.
On this Occasion it may help us if it be consider’d, That, since God is both a most Free and a most Wise Agent, it need not seem Strange that He should Adorn some Animals, with Parts or Qualities that are not Necessary to their Welfare, but seem’d Design’d for their Beauty: Such as are the Disposition of the Camelion to Change Colours; and the lovely Greens, Blews, Yellows, and Other Vivid Colours, that Adorn some sorts of Pigeons, and of Parrots, and divers Lesser Birds, as Gold-finches, Canary-Birds, and especially those admirably little Winged Creatures Humming Birds. And on the Other side, sometimes God’s Wisdom seems to be as it were Thrifty, and Solicitous not to bestow on an Animal, or a Part of it, more than is Necessary for the Use for which ‘tis Design’d. As the Veins are by Anatomists observ’d to have but One Coat or Membrane, and usually to lye more Expos’d than the Arteries that accompany them; These having Stronger and Double Coats, because they are to convey a more Important Liquor, (the Arterial Blood,) which besides that ‘tis more Agitated and Spirituous, is forcibly impell’d into Those Vessels by the Muscular Contraction, or Strong Impulse of the Heart. And to the same purpose it may be observ’d. That the Arteries within the Skull are far more Thinly Coated than elsewhere; the Solidity of that Bony Part being a Fence to the Vessels that it covers. And to add That on This Occasion, we may observe, That, tho’ the Nerves usually lye Deep in the Parts, to be kept both Safe and Warm, being very lyable to be offended both by Cold, and the Contact of External Bodies; yet, it being necessary that the Optick Nerve should Expand itself into the Eye, the Membranes that Invest the Nerve and Other Coats of the Eye, (except the Retina, which seems to consist of the Medullar Fibres,) are made by great Odds more Firm than the Dura and the Pia Mater, whence they proceed; and tho’ Expos’d to the Free Air, are less sensible of the Cold than most Parts of the Body, and will bear, without Danger, divers Liquors, and Other Offensive Things, whose Pungency would put Other Nerves of the Body into Convulsive, and perhaps very Dangerous Motions. This (Conduct) looks as if God, like an Excellent Writing-Master, did, in the great Volume of his Creatures, Intend to bestow on some of These, Things rather Ornamental than Necessary, as Flourishes on the Capital Letters of the Alphabet of Nature; and sometimes, to Imploy Characters, and divers of them very differingly Shap’d, (as the Latin are from those of the Greek, the Hebrew, the Saxon, &c.) to Express the Same Letter; and sometimes also, to Imply Abbreviations, as a Stroke or a Dash, instead of a Letter or a Syllable, to Express Compendiously that which might be very Justifiable, had it been more Fully set down or Delineated.
If That be admitted, which We have formerly propos’d as very Likely, that God Design’d, by the great Variety of His Works, to Display to their Intelligent Considerers, the Faecundity (if I may so speak) of His Wisdom; One may readily conceive, that a great part of the Variety Observable in the Analogous Parts of Animals, as their Eyes, their Mouths, &c. may be very Conducive to so Reaching and Comprehensive a Design; to which the Beauty of some Creatures and Parts, as well as their more Necessary or Convenient Structure, may be subservient; especially if the Innocent Delight of Man be also Intended, as it may seem to be in the Curious Colours and Shapes of divers Flowers, and in the Melodious Musick of Singing Birds, and in the Vivid and Curiously Variegated Colours of the Feathers of several Winged Animals, particularly those that make up the Peacocks Train.
We are not near so Competent Judges of Wisdom, as we are of Justice and Veracity: For These last named are to be Estimated by Eternal and Fixed Bounds or Rules, which are very Intelligible to a Moderate Understanding. But as for Wisdom; the more Profound it is, the less we are able to Look through it, and penetrating to the bottom of that, to Judge knowingly of its Actions. And therefore, tho’ we may safely Conclude that God Acts Wisely, when he does something that has an Admirable Tendency to those Ends we justly suppose him to have Design’d; yet we cannot safely conclude in a Negative way, That this or that is Unwise, because we cannot Discern in it such a Tendency. For so Wise an Agent may have Other Designs than we know of, and further Aims than we can Discern, or perhaps Suspect: And may have at hand, or furnish himself with, such Means to compass his Ends, and that even by the Co-operation of those Means we think Useless or Improper, as are far above the reach of our Conjectures, and without the knowledge of which we but Rashly Censure the Wisdom of his Proceedings.
In the Double Horizontal Dial formerly mention’d, it would be Rashly done of those, who should Condemn or Despise the various Lines they find trac’d upon that useful Instrument, because they see that they are not necessary to shew the Hour of the day; since the Mathematician that drew those Lines so curiously, may be well suppos’d to have had more Ends than One or Two in making the Instrument, and not to have drawn them by Chance or Unskilfully; tho’ the Inconsiderate Censurers do not know, for what Other or Further Purposes the Artist may have Design’d them.
Suppose some Indian Fisherman, unacquainted with European Arts and Affairs, should happen to come aboard a Man of War under Sail: Tho’ he would quickly perceive by the use that was made of the Ropes, Pulley, &c. that this. Floating Building was very artificially Contriv’d: Yet if he should fix his Eyes upon one of the Guns, and the Anchors, and perceive that no use was made nor like to be made of them in Sailing, He would be strongly tempted to think, that those heavy Masses were useless Clogs and Burdens to the Vessel. But if he were told the Necessity and Usefulness of the Guns for Defence, and of the Anchors to stay the Ship in Convenient Places in Storms; he would easily Alter his mind, and Confess, that he Blam’d the Builders and Furnishers of the Ship, for That which nothing but his Ignorance kept him from highly Commending.
I have dwelt much longer than I intended on this Third Proposition, because I think it a Duty our Reason owes to its Author, to endeavour to Vindicate his manifold Wisdom, in this Libertine Age; wherein too many Men, that have more Wit than Philosophy or Piety, have upon Epicurean, and some also even upon Cartesian, Principles, labour’d to Depreciate the Wisdom of God, and some of them presum’d to Censure the Contrivances of these living Automata, that (in their Protoplasts) were Originally His. And it was not only the Seasonableness of saying, about so Important a Subject, somethings that possibly have not yet been met with, or at least duly Consider’d, That has made me thus Prolix; but a Desire, that my Reader should not barely observe the Wisdom of God, but be in some measure Affectively Convinc’d of it. To which purpose in my Opinion, ‘tis very Conducive, if not Necessary, besides General Notions, to observe with Attention some Particular Instances of the Divine Skill, wherein it is Conspicuously Display’d. ‘Tis true, that in the Idea of a Being Infinitely Perfect, Boundless Wisdom is One of the Attributes that is Included. But for my part, I shall take leave to think, that this General and Indefinite Idea of the Divine Wisdom, will not give us so great a Wonder and Veneration for it, as may be produc’d in our minds, by Knowing and Considering the Admirable Contrivance of the Particular Productions of that Immense Wisdom, and their Exquisite Fitness for those Ends and Uses, to which they appear to have been Destinated.
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