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Insects are so called from a separation in the middle of their bodies,
seemingly cut into two parts, and joined together by a small ligature,
as we see in wasps and common flies.
However small and contemptible this class of beings may appear, at first
thought, yet, when we come to reflect, and carefully investigate, we
shall be struck with wonder and astonishment, and shall discover, that
the smallest gnat that buzzes in the meadow, is as much a subject of
admiration as the largest elephant that ranges the forest, or the
hugest whale which ploughs the deep; and when we consider the least
creature that we can imagine, myriads of which are too small to be
discovered without the help of glasses, and that each of their bodies is
made up of different organs or parts, by which they receive or retain
nourishment, &c. with the power of action, how natural the exclamation,
O "Lord, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all."
Under these considerations, that they are the work of the same great,
good, and Almighty hand that formed us, and that they are all capable of
feeling pleasure and pain, surely every little child, as well as older
person, ought carefully to avoid every kind of cruelty to any kind of
creature, great or small.
The supreme court of Judicature at Athens punished a boy for putting out
the eyes of a poor bird; and parents and masters should never overlook
an instance of cruelty to any thing that has life, however minute, and
seemingly contemptible the object may be.
"I would not enter on my list of friends
(Though grac'd with polish'd manners, and fine sense,
Yet wanting sensibility) the man
Who needlessly sets foot upon a worm."