Εικόνες σελίδας
PDF
Ηλεκτρ. έκδοση

and, finally, with their flesh: subjecting, also, the juices of vegetables to the process of fermentation; and extracting from them liquors which recruit his exhausted strength; but which, when indulged in to excess, intoxicate and deprive him of reason. He exhibits to us the duration of life, diminishing in proportion as he created to himself new wants."

CHAPTER II.

INFERENCES FROM THE ORIGINAL INNOCENCE OF MAN.

30. HAVING adduced all the evidence I have been able to find, in sacred and profane history, respecting the primitive diet of man, I shall now proceed to shew that the state of innocence in which man was created, is a strong argument in favour of vegetable diet. We are told that "God created man in His own image; in the image of God created He him." (Genesis i. 27.) Now, where shall we find this divine image, except in that state of innocence and moral perfection in which man originally existed? Wise in mind, holy in heart, and righteous in action; the very thoughts of killing or of cruelty could find no place in him. At peace with the whole animated creation, his presence would excite neither the fears of the timid, nor the resentment or ferocity of the strong. The dominion he held over every living thing would be regulated by benevolence and kindness; mercy would restrain him from doing injury to any one of the animals by which he was surrounded; pity would move him to relieve every appearance of distress or pain; a universal sympathy would characterise all his actions; and his

supreme pleasure and enjoyment would consist in serving his God, and in rendering all creatures endowed with life and sensation happy and contented. The delicious fruits of Paradise would abundantly satisfy every craving of appetite; and no motive could exist in his pure mind for shedding blood or inflicting pain. "Before the deluge," says Bossuet, the nourishment which men derived from fruits and herbs, was doubtless a remnant of the primitive innocence and gentleness in which we were formed."

66

66

31. Let us picture to ourselves the primeval pair, dressed in the robe of innocence and purity, loving and beloved by each other, and by all around them;-listening with delight to the music of the feathered songsters, tuning their harmonious praises to the great Creator;-watching the sportive gambols of the lamb and its associates ;— rejoicing in the general peace, harmony, and delight, which reign predominant throughout the whole animated creation; and let us imagine, if we can, the first mother of our race thus addressing the partner of her joys:Adam, I am becoming weary of these insipid fruits that are so common; kill for me that little lamb, which skips so gaily and looks so innocent; disrobe it of its woolly coat; tear asunder its gory limbs; and let me satiate my appetite with its flesh and blood; nor let its painful struggles, or its plaintive cries, disappoint the gratification of my desires." Or let us suppose her, if we can, thus addressing the dove that nestles in her bosom :-" My peaceful bird, I admire your plumage and your faithful attachment; but appetite prompts me to deprive you of the life that appears to you so sweet, in order that I may

feast upon your little limbs, and assuage the cravings of hunger." Few, I think, will believe that such cruel thoughts and perverted longings, could enter the mind of one so recently formed in the image of her Maker; they would be revolting to her very nature, and so painful to her better feelings, as not to be entertained a single instant. No! "Though we read of her coveting forbidden fruit, for the sake of the wisdom and knowledge she promised herself from it; yet we never read that she coveted forbidden flesh." (Henry.)

32. Even in our degenerate state, the man of cultivated moral feelings shrinks from the task of taking the life of the higher grade of animals, and abhors the thought of inflicting pain and shedding blood; how much more, then, would purer minds and more feeling hearts, be moved by the agonies and quivering limbs of creatures slaughtered for their appetite! While the state of innocence continued, the dominion of man over the animated creation was regulated by love and kindness; but when he had lost the image in which he was created ;-when a perverted appetite and a selfish principle prevailed against the dictates of reason and benevolence ;-when blood had stained his hands, and guilt had hardened his heart ;— when repeated acts of cruelty to dumb animals had blunted his feelings, and feasting on their flesh and blood had inflamed his passions ;-in short, when immorality and violence had deluged the earth, then was he permitted to rule with a rod of iron, where before he had swayed the sceptre of peace; and the language of Deity was"The fear of you, and the dread of you, shall be upon

every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, and upon all that moveth upon the earth." (Genesis ix. 2.)

33. But I need not dwell longer on this part of the subject; as, I believe, all whose feelings have not been greatly corrupted by habit, will conclude that the taking of life would have been highly revolting to the minds of the first race of mankind; and as our feelings are a part of our better nature, and the impress of divine power and wisdom, we may rest assured, that an all-wise Creator would not have rendered a diet necessary to our health and happiness, which must be obtained by doing such incessant violence to our sympathies.

34. Some there are who doubt or deny, that man was created in this state of high moral perfection; and who believe that his condition has been progressive in mental and moral qualifications, from rude barbarism to the highest refinement of civilized life. With such, of course, the arguments I have hitherto advanced will have little weight, as they will reject the authorities to which I have referred; and my hope of producing conviction in such minds must depend upon the evidence hereafter to be adduced Few scientific and candid inquirers, however, will refuse to admit a preponderance of evidence in favour of man's having been originally produced in the warmer regions of our globe, where fruits would be most abundant; and though the first race of mankind might, according to our present views, be deemed rude and uncultivated, it is highly improbable that they would be savage, ferocious, or immoral: these debasing qualities are the offspring of scarcity and selfishness-the fruitful

« ΠροηγούμενηΣυνέχεια »