Mammifcrmis Animah. S93 



some and foreign to others, which might be regarded as essen- 

 tial to domesticity ; for, witliout a particular disposition which 

 would second our efforts, and prevent our empire over animals 

 from being merely accidental and transitory, it is imjwssible to 

 conceive how we should have succeeded in domesticating ani- 

 mals, had all of them resembled the wolf, the fox, and the 

 hyena, which constantly seek seclusion, and even flee the pre- 

 sence of other individuals of their own species* Perhaps, by 

 means of perseverance and labour, we might be able to form 

 among these animals races familiarized in a certain degree to 

 man, so as to become habituated to his neighbourhood, and 

 even to prefer it, from the advantages which they would derive 

 from it, as has been done in the case of the cat, which lives 

 among us ; but between this and domestication there is a wide 

 difference. Besides, to attain an object it is necessary to knoW 

 it, and how could the first men, who associated themselves with 

 animals, have known this object ? And had they conceived it 

 hypothetically, would not their patience have been exhausted in 

 vain efforts, from the innumerable attempts they would have 

 had to make, and the great number of generations on which 

 they would have to act, in order, after all, to arrive only at im- 

 perfect results. Thus, the more we examine the question, the 

 more evident does it become, that a high degree of intellect) 

 great mildness of character, the fear of chastisement or the ac- 

 knowledgment of benefits, are insufficient of themselves to ren- 

 der an animal susceptible of domestication ; ^nd that a particu- 

 lar disposition is indispensable to make animals submit and at- 

 tach themselves to the human species, and to render its protec- 

 tion necessary to them. 



This disposition can only be the social instinct carried to a 

 very high degree, and accompanied with qualities calculated to 

 aid its influence and developement ; for all the social animals are 

 not susceptible of domestication. But all our domestic animals 

 which are known in their natural state, whose species still re- 

 mmn in part wild, or of which some of the races have acciden- 

 tally returned to their original condition, form more or less nu- 

 merous herds ; while no solitary species, however easy it may 

 be to tame it, has afforded domestic races. In fact, it is suffi- 

 cient to examine this disposition, to see that domesticity is but a 



JANUARY— MARCH 1828. U 



