power we have discovered; let us apply fire to this burthensome load of vegetables, and to those decaying forests which are already half destroyed; let us complete the work by destroying with iron what cannot be removed by fire; and then instead of coarse reeds and water-lilies, from which the toad is said to extract his poison, we shall soon behold the ranunculus, truffles, and other mild and salutary herbs spring up; that land, which was formerly impassable, will become a flourishing pasture for flocks of cattle, where they will find plenty of food, and where, by the excellence of their sustenance, they will increase and multiply, and thus reward us for our labours and the protection we have given them. Let us go still further, and subject the ox to the yoke; let his strength and weight of body be employed to plough the ground, which acquires fresh vigour from culture. Thus will the operations of Nature be assisted, and acquire double strength and splendor from the skill and industry of man." How beautiful is cultivated Nature! How lovely does she appear when decorated by the hand of man! He is himself her chief ornament, her noblest production, and by multiplying his own species he increases the most precious of her works. She even seems to multiply in proportion to his attention, for by his art he developes all that she has concealed in her bosom. What a source of unknown treasures has been brought to light! flowers, fruits and grains, matured to perfection, and multiplied to infinity; the usual species of animals transported, propagated and increased, without number; the noxious and destructive kinds diminished and driven from the habitations of men; gold, and iron a more useful metal, extracted from the bowels of the earth; torrents restrained, rivers directed in their courses and confined within their banks, and even the ocean itself subdued, investigated and traversed from one hemisphere to the other; the earth rendered active, fertile, and accesible, in every part; the vallies and plains changed into blooming meadows, rich pastures, and cultivated fields; the hills surrounded with vines and fruits, and their summits crowned with useful trees; the desarts converted into populous cities, whose inhabitants spread from its centre to its utmost extremities; roads and communications opened, established, and frequented, as so many proofs of the union and strength of society. There are besides a thousand other monuments of power and _glory_, which clearly demonstrate that man is the lord of the earth; that he has changed and improved its surface; and that from the earliest periods of time he alone has divided the empire of the world between him and Nature.