Sketches of the history of man Author:Henry Home Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: As many animals, befide man, are focial, it ap. peared to me probable, that the focial laws by which fuch animals are governed, might open views into the focial ... more »nature of man. But here I met with a fecond difappointment; for after perufing books without end, I found very little fatisfacYion'; tho the laws of animal fociety make the moft inftruftive and mod entertaining part of natural hiftory. A few dry faftSj, collected occafionally, enabled me to form the embryo of a plan, which I here prefent to the reader: if his curiofity be excited, 'tis well; for I am far from expecting that it will be gratified. Animals of prey have no appetite for fociety, if the momentary aft of copulation be not excepted. Wolves make not an exception, even where hunger makes them join to attack a village: as fear prevents them fmgly from an attempt fo hazardous, their ca- fual union is prompted by appetite for food, not by appetite for fociety. So little of the focial is there in wolves, that if one happen to be wounded, he is put to death and devoured by tliofe of his own kind. Vultures have the fame difpofitipn. Their ordinary food is a deadcarcafe ; and they never venture, but in a body, to attack any living creature that appears formidable. Upon fociety happinefs fo much depends, that we do not willingly admit a lion, a tiger, a bear, or a wolf, to have any appetite for fociety. And in with-holding it from fuch animals, the good- nefs of Providence to its favourite man, is confpicu- ous : their ftrength, agility, and voracity, make them fmgly not a little formidable: I mould tremble for the human race, were they difpofed to make war in company . The care of Providence In protecting the human race from animals of prey, is equally vifible in other particulars. I can difcover no fairs to make me...« less