Calendar: 1872-1873 Page 522

GENERAL LITERATURE AND SCIENCE 523 our country Men have come in this case as in many from believing that it ought to be so to persuade others and even to believe themselves that it is so Procopius relates that Abgarus came to Koine and gained the esteem and friendship of Augustus to such degree that this emperor could not resolve to let him return home that Abgarus brought several beasts which he had taken one day in hunting alive to Augustus that he placed in different parts of the circus some of the earth which belonged to the places where each of these animals had been caught that as soon as this was done and they were turned loose every one of them ran to the place where his earth lay that Augustus admiring their sentiment of love for their country which nature has graved in the hearts of beasts and struck by the evidence of the truth granted the request which Abgarus immediately pressed upon him and allowed him though with regret to return to Edessa Men indeed properly speaking are bred nowhere every one thinks the system as he speaks the language of his country at least there are few that think and none that act in any country according to the dictates of pure unbiassed reason Thus the far greatest part of mankind appears reduced to lower state than other animals in that very respect on account of which we claim so great superiority over them because instinct that has its due effect is preferable to reason that has not suppose in this place with philosophers and the vulgar that which am in no wise ready to affirm that other animals have no share of human reason for let me say by the way it is much more likely other animals should share the human which is denied than that man should share the Divine reason which is affirmed But supposing our monopoly of reason would not your lordship choose to walk upon four legs to wear long tail and to be called beast with the advantage of being determined by irresistible and unerring instinct to those truths that are necessary to your well-being rather than to walk on two legs to wear no tail and to be honoured with the title of man at the expense of deviating from them perpetually