The Thirty-Ninth Reply - Six Years Prior

Dearest Sonia, splendid and honoring, 

I have been pondering the circumstances and purposes of rodents; rats, to be specific. This is not an entirely unprompted line of study, I have just come to the conclusion of a most peculiar case, that of a man who trained a rodent to deliver poison into the kitchens of a rival family, enlisting the little creatures into the great and unusual sport of murder. He believed, perhaps without due warranting, that by enlisting the aid of such creatures and foisting the culpability on a common vermin he could not be considered culpable in their terrific crimes. Not so. 

In particular, I have been considering the classification of some of the less favorable creatures on this Earth, the brainchild of some unfathomable God, to be sure. What is it that denotes such rank? It occurred to me swiftly that I was unaware of what makes something either a rodent or a vermin, and consulted a hobbyist taxidermist I’d met amongst my investigation. According to him, if he is to be a credible source, rodents are a particular classification of biology. ‘Vermin’ is to be considered a sociological query, a pontification of society. 

They’re not horrid creatures up close, I discovered, never having minded them with much seriousness before. In some passing moments, it’s even possible to cultivate an affection within yourself for rats and mice and other small creatures of the ground. They are quite handsome as they participate in their own grooming, swift and decisive in their movements, and more intelligent than one might suspect. 

This has left me with a particular question in mind: whyever should we scorn them so? Or, put quite differently, to what extent must we, as learned and cultured people, put aside our own preconceptions and look more closely at those objects which others might treat with disdain. Indeed, should reputation have preceded me too greatly when we began our correspondence, you likely would have had to perform a similar act to find me to be acceptable company. But rather than give into the biases and isolations of an over-eager social engine, you have tolerated my idiosyncrasies enough to find me worthy of your correspondence. A feat I am, as I shall ever be, grateful of. 

Your dear friend, 

Cordelia