"For that which befalleth the sons of men, befalleth beasts;
even one thing befalleth them; as the one dieth, so dieth the
other; YEA, THEY HAVE ALL ONE BREATH; SO THAT A MAN HATH NO
PRE-EMINENCE ABOVE A BEAST: for all is vanity.
"Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the
SPIRIT of the beast that goeth downward to the earth."
--Ecclesiastes iii., 19-21.
The surface of the earth, the air as high as we can study it, the
depths of the sea, swarm with animal life.
The earth rolls around the sun bathed in its warm light.
Millions of creatures die with every revolution of the little
planet which is their home. And man "going to and fro in the
earth, and walking up and down in it" rules the little animals
and the big ones and calls himself sole heir of immortality. He
says: "For ME this earth was made and balanced in its wonderful
journey; for ME alone the marvels of future life are reserved."
He digs up the strange creatures from the slimy depths of the
ocean, studies and labels them.
He dissects one animal to study his own diseases. He skins
another to cover his feet with leather. He eats one ox and
hitches its brother to the plough. He uses nature's explosive
forces to bring down the bird on the wing. He sweeps the rivers
with his nets.
The stomach of the well-fed man is the graveyard of the animal
kingdom.
When his dinner is finished, the man well fed strokes his stomach
contentedly and says to himself:
All is well. For I have a soul and THEY have none. They
have died to feed me. I am happy and they should be satisfied.
----
What is the nature of the spirit that directs our humble animal
brothers and sisters? They cover the earth as long as we let
them, give place to us as the human race increases, and, without
any thought of organized resistance, die that we may live.