It is true that the shepherd might agree with you, that the wolf is a
nuisance; equally true that the husband man may exclaim, What is the
good of thistles, and the various weeds which choke the soil? But, my
dear boy, if they are not, which I think they are, for the benefit of
man, at all events they are his doom for the first transgression.
`Cursed is the ground for thy sake - thorns and thistles shall it bring
forth to thee - and by the sweat of thy brow shalt thou eat bread,' was
the Almighty's sentence; and it is only by labour that the husbandman
can obtain his crops, and by watchfulness that the shepherd can guard
his flocks. Labour is in itself a benefit: without exercise there would
be no health, and without health there would be no enjoyment."
"I see now, papa. You have mentioned the animals which can live in all
climates; will you not tell us something about other animals?"
"There is but one remark to make, William, which is, that animals
indigenous to, that is, originally to be found in, any one portion of
the globe, invariably are so fashioned as to be most fit for that
country, and have the food also most proper for them growing or to be
obtained in that country.
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