and keep them in perpetual terror and anxiety.
The weaker too, in their turn, often prey upon
the stronger, and vex and molest them without
relaxation. Consider that innumerable race of
insects, which either are bred on the body of each
animal, or flying about infix their stings in him.
These insects have others still less than themselves,
which torment them. And thus on each hand,
before and behind, above and below, every ani|mal
is surrounded with enemies, which incessantly
seek his misery and destruction.
Man alone, said DEMEA, seems to be, in part,
an exception to this rule. For by combination in
society, he can easily master lions, tygers, and
bears, whose greater strength and agility natural|ly
enable them to prey upon him.
On the contrary, it is here chiefly, cried PHI|LO,
that the uniform and equal maxims of Na|ture
are most apparent. Man, it is true, can, by
combination, surmount all his real enemies, and
become master of the whole animal creation: but
does he not immediately raise up to himself ima|ginary
enemies, the daemons of his fancy, who
haunt him with superstitious terrors, and blast e|very
enjoyment of life? His pleasure, as he
imagines, becomes, in their eyes, a crime: his
food and repose give them umbrage and offence:
his very sleep and dreams furnish new materials
to anxious fear: and even death, his refuge
from every other ill, presents only the dread of
endless and innumerable woes. Nor does the