“Soon the sagacious brute, his curling tail
Flourished in air, low bending, plies around
His busy nose, the steaming vapor snuffs
Inquisitive, nor leaves one turf untried,
Till, conscious of the recent stains, his heart
Beats quick; his snuffing nose, his active tail
Attest his joy: then with deep, opening mouth,
That makes the welkin tremble, he proclaims
Th’ audacious felon: foot by foot he marks
His winding way, while all the listening crowd
Applaud his reasonings, o’er the watery ford,
Dry sandy heaths, and stony, barren hills;
O’er beaten paths, with men and beasts disdained,
Unerring he pursues, till at the cot
Arrived, and seizing by his guilty throat
The caitiff vile, redeems the captive prey.”
BOOK FOURTH.
I.
Animals eat that they may live. Man eats, not only that he may live, but that he may gather strength, and fulfil his high destiny on earth.
When God gave form and animation to the dust of the earth, and man appeared, he did not intend that the sustenance of life should be left to chance or to careless selection. This intent of the Creator is revealed in the study of the organic world, where wonderful varieties and productions are offered to the appetite of man, in order that the “force of the universe may glow within his veins,” and that the faculties of his mind may so expand that he may behold and comprehend the works and designs of his Maker.
Food, next to the purity of the air, determines the degree of the physical well-being; it gives the beauty of contour to the form; it builds up the marvellous structure of the brain; the ravishing smile of the features, the sublimity of thought, depend alike in great measure upon the benign influence of food.
It not only gives to nations their characteristics of strength and solidity, but it bestows upon society more of grace and refinement than philosophy is willing to allow.