We read that dominion was given
over the birds of the air, the fish of the sea, and the beast of the
forest, and yet no man in a state of nature scarcely is a match for
any one of these creatures; they don't minister to his wants, and he
can't tame them to his uses."
"I have often asked myself, Slick," said he, "the same question, for
nothing is made in vain, but it is a query not easy to answer. My own
opinion is, they were designed to enforce civilisation. Without these
terrors attending a sojourn in the wilderness, man would have wandered
off as they do, and lived alone; he would have made no home, dwelt
with no wife, and nurtured no children. His descendants would have
done the same. When he encountered another male, he would have given
him battle, perhaps killed and eat him. His very language would have
perished, if ever he had any, and he would have been no better than an
ourang-outang. The option was not given him. He was so constructed and
so situated, he could not live alone. Individual strength was
insufficient for independent existence. To preserve life he had to
herd with his kind. Thus tribes were first formed, and to preserve one
tribe from the violence of another, they again united and formed
nations. This combination laid the foundation of civilisation, and as
that extended, these beasts of prey retired to the confines of the
country, enforcing while they still remain the observance of that law
of nature which assigned to them this outpost duty.
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