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affected by its influence . It returns good for evil , and rejoices in the felicity of all animated being's . One of our Saviour ' s peculiar blessings is pronounced on the merciful : ' Blessed are the merciful , for ( hey shall obtain mercy ? *¦ Blessed , ' also , ' are they who hunger and thirst after righteousness . ' But we have just seen , in . the declaration of Solomon , that lenity to brutes is a characteristic of righteousness . And , therefore , we come to the just logical conclusion , that they who practise humanity to brutes are by the Saviour ' s decision ' blessed . *"—Pp . 4—10 .
The subject is then argued in that powerful , luminous , interesting , and convincing style , of which Dr , Drummond is known to our readers to be master ; for this , and for the excellent practical admonitions founded on his reasonings , we must refer our readers to the Sermon itself . But our author has not left us here . He has added a number of notes on various collateral topics which , by the diversified entertainment and interest they produce , but always in harmony with the tendency of the discourse to which they are appended , cannot but very efficiently promote his beneficent purpose . Of these we must introduce some specimens . A French Jesuit thought that animals were animated by demons :
" See a work entitled , ' A Philosophical Amusement , concerning the Language of Birds and Beasts , ' written originally in French , by Father Bougeant , a learned Jesuit . " * Religion / says he * teaches us that the devils , from the very moment they had sinned , were reprobate , and that they were doomed to burn for ever in hell ,- but the church has not as yet determined whether they do actually endure the torments to which they are condemned ; it may be thought that
they do not yet suffer there , and that the execution of the verdict brought against them is reserved for the day of the final judgment . ' Hence he infers , that God , not to suffer so many legions of reprobate spirits to be of no use , has distributed them through the several spaces of the world to serve the designs of his providence . Some busy themselves in tempting , seducing , and tormenting men . * God with the others makes millions of beasts of all kinds , which serve for the several uses of man * • and what care we whether
it be a devil or any other creature that serves and amuses us ? The thought of it , far from shocking , pleases me mightily . I with gratitude admire the goodness of the Creator , who gave me so many little devils to serve and amuse me . If I am told that these poor devils are doomed to suffer eternal tortures , I admire God ' s decree , but 1 have no manner of share in this dreadful sentence ; I leave the execution of it to the sovereign Judge ; and , notwithstanding this , I live with my little devils as I do with a multitude of people , of whom religion informs me , that a great number shall be damned . ' " Hildrop , from whose works this passage is extracted , speaks of the hypothesis with just abhorrence . Surely it was undeserving a serious refutation . " —P . 34 . Most nations have their favourite animals :
It was a practice among ancient idolaters to sacrifice birds to the infernal gods , and to let others go free in honour of the gods above . Relics of this superstition are still extant . ' Superstitionis hujusce reliquias plebs hominum etiamnum retinet ; qui rubeculas et hirundines , casu captas , multa cum religione dimittere solent , ne aliter infortunii aliquid iis eveniret , et Deuin nescio quein Averruncum minus propitium experirentur . '—Spenckr , Lib . iii . p . 489 . * ' It is curious to find how , among almost every people , some animal is thus peculiarl y favoured . Oppian informs us , that to kill a dolphin was deemed impious by the fishers of his day . * ' * The dolphin ne ' er must bleed , Detesting heaven resents th' inhuman deed . '
Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), May 2, 1830, page 319, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2584/page/31/
