Editorials from the Hearst Newspapers by Arthur Brisbane
page 29 of 366 (07%)
page 29 of 366 (07%)
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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 |
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