been, and will be hereafter obfery'd. And further yet; With what Care and Neatnefs do moft, of thofe little fagacious Animals line those their Houses within, and feal them up, and fence them. without (t)! How artificially will others fold up the Leaves of Trees and Plants (u); others houfe themselves in Sticks and Straws; others glue light and floating Bodies together (w), and by that Artifice make themselves floating Houses in the Waters, as well as downward, after the Manner of Moles Feet; and they are very like them alfo in Figure. Somewhat of this Nature, Swammerdam obferves of the Worms of the Ephemeron. To this Purpofe, [to dig their Cells,] the wife Creator bath furnish'd them, (faith he,) with fit Members. For, befides that their two Fore-Legs are formed fomewhat like thofe of the ordinary Moles, or Gryllotalpa; he bath alfo furnish'd them with two toothy Cheeks, fomewhat like the Sheers of Lobsters, which ferve them more readily to bore the Clay. Swammerdam's Ephem. Vit. Publifh'd by Dr. Tyfon, Chap. 3. (t) See the before-cited Note (c). (u) They are for the moft Part, fome of the PhalanaTribe, which inhabit the tunnelled, convolved Leaves, that we meet with on Vegetables in the Spring and Summer. And it is a fomewhat wonderful Artifice, how so small and weak a Creature, as one of thofe newly-hatch'd Maggots, (for doubtless it is they, not the Parent-Animal, because the emits no Web, nor hath any tectrine Art,) can be able to convolve the ftubborn Leaf, and then bind it in that neat round Form, with the Thread or Web it weaves from its own Body; with which it commonly lines the convolved Leaf, and ftops up the two Ends, to prevent its own falling out; and Earwigs, and other noxious Animals getting in. (w) The feveral Sortt of Phryganea, or Cadews, in their Nympha, or Maggot-ftate, thus house themselves; one Sort in Straws, call'd from thence Straw-Worms; others in two or more Sticks, laid parallel to one another, creeping at the Bottom of Brooks; others with a fmall Bundle of Pieces of Rufhes, Duck-weed, Sticks, c. glu'd together, where-with they float on the Top, and can row themselves therein about the Waters, with the Help of their Feet: Both these are call'd Cob-bait, Divers other Sorts there are, which the Reader may fee a Summary of, from Mr. Willughby, in Raii Method. ters, to tranfport themfelves at Pleasure after their Food, or other neceffary Occafions of Life! And for a Clofe, let us take the fcriptural Inftance of the Spider, Prov. xxx. 28. which is one of the four little Things, which, y. 24. Agur fays, is exceeding Wife: The Spider taketh bold with her Hands, and is in Kings Palaces (x). I will not difpute the Truth of our English Tranflation of this Text, but fuppofing the Animal mention'd to be that which is meant; it is manifeft, that the Art of that Species of Creatures, in fpinning their various Webs, and the Furniture their Bodies afford to that Purpose, are an excellent Inftinct, and Provifion of Nature, fetting forth its glorious Author. And Infect. p. 12. together with a good, though very brief Def cription of the Papilionaceous Fly, that comes from the Codbait Cadew. It is a notable architectonick Faculty, which all the Variety of thefe Animals have, to gather fuch Bodies as are fitteft for their Purpose, and then to glue them together; fome to be heavier than Water, that the Animal may remain at the Bottom, where its Food is; (for which Purpose they ufe Stones, together with Sticks, Rufhes, &c.) and fome to be lighter than Water, to float on the Top, and gather its Food from thence. Thefe little Houfes look coarse and fhew no great Artifice outwardly; but are well tunnelled, and made within with a hard tough Pafte; into which the hinder Part of the Maggot is fo fix'd, that it can draw its Cell after it any where, without Danger of leaving it behind; as alfo thruft its Body out, to reach what it wanteth; or withdraw it into its Cell, to guard it against Harms. (x) Having mention'd the Spider, I fhall take this Occafion, (although it be out of the Way,) to give an Inftance of the Poyson of fome of them. Scaliger Exerc. 186. relates, That in Gascony, his Country, there are Spiders of that virutency, that if a Man treads upon them, to crush them, their Poyfon will pass through the very Soles of his shoe. Boyl. Subtil. of Effluv. c. 4. Mr. Leewenhoek put a Frog and a Spider together into a Glafs, and having made the Spider fting the Frog divers Times, the Frog dy'd in about an Hour's Time. Phil. Tranf. No. 272. In the fame Tranfaction, is a curious Account of the Manner how Spiders lay, and guard their Eggs, viz. they emit them And now from this fhort and tranfient View of the architectonick Faculty of Animals, especially the Irrationals; we may eafily perceive fome fuperiour and wife Being was certainly concern'd in their Creation or Original. For, how is it poffi ble that an irrational Creature fhould, with ordinary and coarfe, or indeed any Materials, be ever able to perform fuch Works, as exceed even the Imitation of a rational Creature? How could the Bodies of many of them, (particularly the laft mention'd,) be furnish'd with architective Materials? them not out of the hindermoft Part of the Body, but under the upper Part of her Belly, near the Hind-Legs, c. Alfo there is an Account of the Parts from which they emit their Webs, and divers other Things worth Obfervation, with Cuts illuftrating the Whole. But in Phil. Tranf. No. 22. Dr. Nath. Fairfax, from S. Redi, and his own Obfervations, thinks Spiders not venomous, feveral Perfons, as well as Birds, fwallowing them without Hurt: Which I my felf have known in a Perfon of Learn ing, who was advis'd to take them medicinally at firft, and would at any Time fwallow them, affirming them to be fweet, and well tafted: And not only innocuous, but they are very falutiferous too, in fome of the moft ftubborn Difeafes, if the pleafant Story in Mouffet be true; of a rich London Matron, cur'd of a defperate Tympany, by a certain Debauchee, that hearing of her Cafe, and that he was given over by the Doctors, went to her, pretending to be a Physician, and confidently affirming he would cure her; which the being willing to believe, agrees with him for fo much Money, one half to be paid down, the other upon Cure. Upon which be gives her a Spider, promifing her Cure in three Days. Upon which, (not doubting but that he had poifon'd her, and fearing he might be call'd to account for it,) he gets out of Town as faft as he could. But inftead of being poifon'd, the foon recover'd. After fome Months, the Quack gets privately to Town, when he thought the Buftle might be over; and enquiring how his Patient did, was inform'd of her Cure; and thereupon vifiting her, and making an Excufe for his Abfence, he receiv'd his Pay with great Applause and Thanks. Mouff. Infect. 1. 2. c. 15. Having faid fo much of Spiders, I might here add their Flight: But of this, fee Book VIII. Chap. 4. Note (e), How could they ever difcover them to be in their Bodies, or know what Ufe to make of them? We must therefore neceffarily conclude, That the Irrationals either have Reason and Judgment, not only Glimmerings thereof, but fome of its fuperiour Acts, as Wisdom and Forefight, Difcretion, Art and Care; or elfe, that they are only paffive in the Cafe, and act by Inftinct, or by the Reafon of fome fuperiour Being imprinted in their Nature, or fome Way or other, (be it how it will,) congenial with them. That they are Rational, or excel Man in Art and Wisdom, none furely will be fo foolish as to fay: And therefore we must conclude, That thofe excellent Ends they pursue, and that admirable Art they exert, is none of their own, but owing to that infinitely wife and excellent Be ing, of whom it may be faid, with reference to the irrational, as well as rational Creatures, as it is, Prov. ii. 6. The Lord giveth Wisdom, out of bis Mouth cometh Knowledge and Understanding. CHAP. Aving thus confider'd the Food, Cloathing, and Houses of Animals; let us in this Chapter take a Glance of another excellent Provifion, the wife Creator hath made for the Good of the animal World; and that is, the Methods which all Animals naturally take for their Self-Prefervation and Safety. And here it is remarkable, (as in the Cafes before,) that Man, who is endow'd with Reafon, is born without Armature, and is deftitute of many Powers, which irrational Creatures have in a much higher Degree than he, by Reafon he can make himself Arms to defend himfelf, can contrive Methods for his own Guard and Safety, can many Ways annoy his Enemy, and ftave off the Harms of noxious Creatures. But for others, who are deftitute of this fupereminent Faculty; they are fome Way or other provided with fufficient Guard (a), proportionate to their Place of Abode, the Dangers they are like to incur there (b); and in a Word, to their greatest Occa (a) Callent in hoc cuncta animalia, fciuntque non fua modò commoda, verùm & hoftium adverfa; nôrunt fua tela, nôrunt occafiones, partefque diffidentium imbelles. In ventre mollis eft tenuifque cutis Crocodilo: ideoque fe, ut territi, mergent Delphini, fubeuntefque alvum illa fecant fpina. Plin. Nat. Hift. 1. 8. c. 25. (b) Omnibus aptum eft Corpus Anima moribus & facultatibus: Equo fortibus ungulis & jubâ eft ornatum (etenim velox fuperbum & generofum eft animal.) Leoni autem, utpote animofo feroci, dentibus & unguibus validum. Ita autem & Tauro Apro; illi enim Cornua, huic exerti Dentes. — Cervo autem & Lepori (timida enim funt animalia) velox cor pus, |