Oh, the Humanity: An Analysis of Characteristics by Species in The Trial of an Ox and “The Ant, or Emmet” Anonymous College

How can we define humanity? The word “inhuman” is used to describe cruel and brutal actions. Thusly, a human’s perspective would dictate that humanity should be interpreted as the opposite, and entail dignity and goodness - but it is important to consider how humanity is defined through the lens of the natural world. The works The Trial of an ox for killing a man : with the examination of the witnesses before Judge Lion, at Quadruped Court, near Beast Park (henceforth referred to as The Trial of an Ox) and Isaac Watts’ “The Ant, or Emmet” explore humanity in contrast with animality through interactions between humans and animals.

In The Trial of an Ox, a man inflicts such cruelty on an ox he owns that an animal tribunal rules that the ox was driven to kill his tormentor out of madness. This work examines the motives and morals of humans and animals from an animal perspective, whereas Isaac Watts’ “The Ant, or Emmet” takes a human point of view to examine the minuscule world of ants as an example for human behaviour. Humanity is defined in these two works through an exploration of violence, ignorance, and free will. The use of violence and propensity for ignorance by humans differs slightly in each narrative, with direct cruelty...