The republic. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1849-1853, 1850-06-08

SIDNEY SniTH's PosTHuMous woRK.-The fol-
lowing extracts from posthumous work Of Sidney
Smith, which is about TO be published, are in the
peculiar vein of that author:
81 confess treat on this subject with some degree
Of apprehension and reluctance; because I should
be very sorry 70 do injustice 10 the poor brues who
have professors 10 revenge their cause by lee
turing on oar faculties; and at the same time
know there IL very strong anthropical party, who
view all eulogiums on the brute creation with
very considerable degree Of suspicion, and look
upon every compliment which is paid 10 the ape
as high treason 10 the dignity of man.
"Thcro may, perhaps, be more Of rashncss and
I'LL fated security in my opinion, than Of magnan-
unity or libcrality; but confess feel myself 80
much at my about the superiority of mankind;
have such marked and decided contempt for
The understanding Of every baboon have yet seen;
4 feel 40 that the blue ape without a tail
will never rival us in poetry, painting, and music
that sec no reason whatever why Justice may
be done 10 the few fragments of soul and tatters
Of understanding which they may really possess
have sometimes, perhaps, felt little uneasy at
Exeter Change, from contrasting the monkeys
with the prentice boys who teazing them; but
few pages Of Locke or few lines of Milton, have
always restored me 10 tranquility and convinced
me that the superiority Of man had nothing TO fear
IAN the wonderful instincts Of animals which, in
my humble opinion, are proved beyond doubt,
and tho belief in which has not decreased with the
increase Of science and invcstgaton-all these in
stincts given them only for the combination or
preservation Of their species. II they had not these
ltlhIHCNh Ntl WOuiu bNtpb VI Iio I'D an IN
slant. This bee, that understands architecture so
we'll, is as stupid pebble-stonc out of his own
particular business Of making honey; and with all
his talents, he only exists that boys may eat his la
bors and poets sing about thcm-'ut pueris plsceas
ct dcclamatio fas.'
"a peasant girl OF ten years old puts the whole
public 10 death with little smoke; their palaces
are turned into candles, and every clergymau's
wife makes mead wine Of the honey; and there is
an end the glory and wisdom of the bees. Where
as, man has talents that have sort Of reference
10 his existence, and without which his species
might remain upon earth in the same safety rs If
they had them not The bee works that particular
angle which saves most time and labor; and the
boasted cdiice nc is constructing is only for his
egg; but Somerset House, and Benhsm, and the
Louvre, have nothing TO do with breeding. Epic
Poems, and Apollo Belvideres, and Venus dc Mcdi-
els, have nothing to do with living and eating. We
might have discovered pignuts without the Royal
Society, aud gathered acorns without reasoning
about curves the ninth order The immense SUI
periuity Of talent given to man, which has no
bearing upon animal life, which has nothing to do
with the preservation Of existence ia one very
distinguishing circumstance in this comparison
There is other animal but 10 whom mind
appears to be given for any other purpose than the
preservation Of the body"