History of Beasts

In Short

Published by Bailey & Noyes, this brevity-focused juvenile natural history pairs descriptions of familiar and exotic animals with explicit moral lessons and Biblical scriptural passages. Moving systematically from household companions like the cat and dog to farm animals, wild beasts, and arctic creatures, the text transforms physical attributes and instincts into spiritual allegories. Through simple prose tailored for young minds, the work functions simultaneously as an introductory primer on animal utility and a catechism designed to cultivate obedience, patience, and devotion to God.

The Story

The work opens by establishing a framework of domestic utility, beginning with the cat and dog. The text highlights how the cat diligently controls pests and lies quietly when treated with kindness, directly comparing her patient watching for prey to the quiet stillness expected of children studying their lessons. Moving to the dog, the narrative emphasizes his role as a faithful guardian of his master's property and his aptitude for obedience, particularly in the case of the shepherd's dog, who keeps sheep from going astray. This introduces the overarching thematic parallel: just as domestic beasts faithfully serve their earthly masters, children must remain dutifully obedient to their parents.

From household pets, the text expands its examination to farm animals that sustain human life, beginning with the cow. It details the extensive physical contributions of the cow, noting how her milk, meat, hide, horns, bones, and even hair serve human needs ranging from footwear to warm plaster for houses, framing this utility as evidence of God's wonderful provision for mankind. The focus then turns to more troublesome or wilder beasts like the fox and goat. The fox is characterized by his cunning, mischievous nature and his harassment of farmers, which prompts references to Christ's statement regarding foxes having holes while the Son of man has no place to lay his head. The goat is presented as useful when tamed, accompanied by warnings against teasing it and a scriptural reference to King Saul hunting David among the rocks where wild goats dwell.

As the text progresses into larger draft animals and sacrificial creatures, it deepens its devotional instruction. The noble horse embodies strength and activity, prompting a warning via the Psalmist not to place trust in earthly strength but in God alone. The ass is described as larger and stronger in eastern lands, serving as a patient beast when tamed; its untamed nature illustrates human inclination toward evil prior to the intervention of divine grace. The discussion of the lamb and sheep forms the spiritual core of the work, linking the sacrificial nature of lambs directly to Christ as the Lamb of God and framing the aimless wandering of sheep as a metaphor for human sinfulness that requires the guidance of Christ, the Good Shepherd.

The final phase turns toward formidable wild creatures, cold-climate beasts, and cosmic prophecy. Fierce predators like the lion and tiger illustrate both physical power and the dangers of sinful behavior; the lion recalls Daniel's divine rescue in the lions' den, while the furious tiger serves as a cautionary emblem against human anger and contention. An encounter with the serpent invokes the Genesis narrative of temptation and original sin, warning children that sinning makes them resemble the Devil. The journey concludes in the freezing northern climates with the reindeer, whose strength in pulling Lapland sledges demonstrates that God creates nothing in vain. The entire work culminates in an apocalyptic vision drawing from Isaiah, describing a future Millennium where wild and domestic beasts dwell peacefully together under the gentle guidance of a little child.

How It Unfolds

The hearth and farmstead The text introduces domestic companions such as the cat, dog, and cow to illustrate instinctual loyalty and material usefulness. These everyday animals provide immediate, understandable examples of how creatures fulfill their intended duties under human and divine care.

Wilder neighbors and Biblical landscapes Turning to the fox, goat, horse, and ass, the work contrasts wild instincts with tamed service while introducing explicit scriptural stories. The narrative weaves historical passages from Samuel, Job, and the Psalms directly into its descriptions of animal behavior.

Sacrificial lessons and spiritual guidance Focusing on the lamb and sheep, the text transitions from physical instruction to core Christian theology. It establishes the symbolic connection between lost livestock, human sin, and the redemptive role of Christ as the ultimate shepherd.

Predators, temptation, and the ultimate peace The final section examines lions, tigers, serpents, and reindeer to address human moral failings like anger and sin before concluding with prophetic hope. It uses Isaiah's vision of the Millennium to show the ultimate reconciliation of all living creation.

The People

Because this non-fiction work is an educational primer rather than a character-driven novel, its key figures consist of the primary animals, Biblical figures, and the implied young reader whose spiritual development drives the text.

• The Child Reader: Addressed directly as "little boys and girls," this figure is encouraged to learn moral discipline from the natural world. The text repeatedly calls on the child to emulate the patience of the cat, the faithfulness of the dog, and to avoid the fierce anger of the tiger or the deceit of the serpent.
• The Domestic Animals (Cat, Dog, Cow, Horse): Functioning as models of divine order, these creatures exist to serve human needs and demonstrate dutiful work. The cow provides endless resources for human comfort, the dog guards property, and the horse offers strength, altogether proving God's generous provision for humanity.
• The Biblical Figures (David, Daniel, John the Baptist): These historical individuals anchor the animal descriptions in scripture. King David hides among the wild goats during Saul's persecution, Daniel experiences divine protection within the lions' den, and John the Baptist identifies Christ through the metaphor of the sacrificial lamb.
• Jesus Christ: Presented as the central spiritual figure, Christ appears under multiple animal metaphors—most prominently as the sacrificial Lamb who takes away sin and the Good Shepherd who gathers lost sheep. His teachings and future Millennial reign provide the ultimate spiritual destination of the book's teachings.

In Its Own Voice

"It would be well if little boys and girls would sit as still while they are learning their lessons."

The author offers this quiet admonition after describing how patiently a cat sits for hours watching for prey.

"How wonderfully has God provided for the convenience of man."

This observation follows a detailed listing of how every part of the cow—from her milk and meat to her skin, horns, bones, and hair—is utilized for human comfort and survival.

"There is nothing made in vain."

The text delivers this straightforward statement of faith upon explaining how the reindeer provides transportation and warm clothing for the inhabitants of cold northern lands.

What It's Really About

At its core, the text is less about natural history and more about seeing the visible world as a classroom for spiritual truth. It uses animal behavior to argue that the entire physical universe is deliberately ordered by God for human benefit and moral instruction. Every creature, whether helpful like the cow or dangerous like the tiger, reflects a aspect of divine providence, a scriptural lesson, or a warning against human vice. The text continually pushes past simple biological observation to ask how young readers should govern their own actions, framing human salvation, obedience to parents, and personal self-control as the ultimate ends of understanding creation.

Why Read It Today

Modern readers will find this brief volume a fascinating artifact of nineteenth-century American children's literature and religious pedagogy. Published in Portland by Bailey & Noyes, it offers an unvarnished look at how early educators combined basic science, practical utility, and evangelical theology into a single pocket-sized lesson. Reading it feels like stepping directly into an early nineteenth-century schoolroom or household, where a child's reading practice was inseparable from moral discipline and scriptural memorization.

The brevity of the entries makes the book swift to navigate, though contemporary readers may be struck by its uncompromisingly direct moralizing and its utilitarian view of the animal kingdom—where creatures are evaluated almost entirely by how they serve human needs or illustrate human sins. There are no complex plot lines or extended character arcs to parse; instead, the value of the work rests in its stark historical clarity, showing how literature once sought to shape a child's character through the simple observation of the natural world.