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The temple of nature

or, the origin of society: a poem, with philosophical notes. By Erasmus Darwin
Darwin, Erasmus (1731-1802)

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THE TEMPLE OF NATURE;
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CANTO I. PRODUCTION OF LIFE.
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CANTO II. REPRODUCTION OF LIFE.
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CANTO III. PROGRESS OF THE MIND.
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CANTO IV. OF GOOD AND EVIL.
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“Thus the tall Oak, the giant of the wood,
Which bears Britannia's thunders on the flood;
The Whale, unmeasured monster of the main,
The lordly Lion, monarch of the plain,
The Eagle soaring in the realms of air,
Whose eye undazzled drinks the solar glare,
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Imperious man, who rules the bestial crowd,
Of language, reason, and reflection proud,
With brow erect who scorns this earthy sod,
And styles himself the image of his God;
Arose from rudiments of form and sense,
And embryon point, or microscopic ens!
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