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204 the wool and milk of the flocks and herds, we take no more than our due, and what they can very well spare, as they seem to have an over-abundance given them, that they may be able to return their obligations to us. "Some creatures have nothing to give us but their own bodies: these have been expressly destined by the Supreme Governor as food for mankind, and he has appointed an extraordinary increase of them for that very purpose, such an increase as would be very injurious to us if all were suffered to live. These we have an undoubted right to kill, but should make their short lives as comfortable as possible.

"Other creatures seem to be of no particular use to mankind, but as they serve to furnish our minds with contemplations on the wisdom, power, and goodness of God, and to exhilarate our spirits by their cheerfulness, they should not be wantonly killed, nor treated with the least degree of cruelty, but should be at full liberty to enjoy the blessings assigned them; unless they abound to such a degree as to become injurious, by devouring the food which is designed for man, or for animals more beneficial to him, whom it is his duty to protect. "Some animals, such as wild beasts, serpents, &c., are in their nature ferocious, noxious, or