sense too, for you have precisely such
as is most useful to you; for every other kind of knowledge will make
you appear foolish.

Nature has given you nails, which men unpolitely call claws; they are
admirably constructed, and well jointed in a membrane, which is extended
or drawn up like the fingers of a glove; and at pleasure it becomes a
terrific claw, or a paw of velvet.

You understand the _physical laws of good and evil_. A cat who strangles
another will not be more culpable than a man who kills his fellow men.
My dear Cat, the great Hobbes never reasoned more clearly than you do!

You forget the past--you dream not of the future; but you turn the
present to account. Time flies not with you, but stands still, and all
your moments appear but as one. You know that your muscles will give
action to your limbs, and you know no other cause of your existence,
than existence itself. My dear Cat, you are a profound _materialist_!

You flatter the master who caresses you, you lick the hand that feeds
you, you fly from a larger animal than yourself, whilst you unsparingly
prey on the smaller ones. My dear Cat, you are a profound _politician_!

You live peaceably with the dog, who is your messmate; in gratitude to
me, you regulate your reception, good or bad, of all the animals under
my roof; thus, you raise your claw against such as you imagine mine
enemies, while you prick up your tail at the sight of my friends. My
dear Cat, you are a profound _moralist_!

When you promenade your graceful limbs upon a roof, on the edge of a
casement, or in some situation equally perilous, you show your dexterity
in opposing the bulk of your body to the danger. Your muscles extend or
relax themselves with judgment, and you enjoy security where other
animals would be petrified with fear. My dear Cat, you perfectly
understand the _laws of gravity_!

If through inadvertence, blundering, or haste, you lose your support or
hold, then you are admirable; you bend yourself in raising your back,
and carry the centre of gravity towards the umbilical region, by which
means you fall on your feet. My dear Cat, you are an excellent _natural
philosopher_!

If you travel in darkness, you expand the pupil of your eye, which, in
forming a perfect circle, describes a larger surface, and collects the
greater part of the luminous rays which are scattered in the atmosphere.
When you appear in daylight, your pupil takes an elliptic form,
diminishes, and