ANIMAL FLIGHT 



103 



China and Japan, and also in England as shown on the reverse 

 of the British sovereign, the reptihan dragon with its bat-like 

 wings has preserved an astonishing constancy of form. But, 

 as has been pointed out, a curious transformation took place 

 in Asia Minor and the Mediterranean countries, from Baby- 

 lonia and Eg\pt through Assyria to Greece. The wings, which 

 at first had been associated 

 with the fore Umbs of the 

 t>T3ical dragon and had been 

 bat-like, became bird-like, and 

 then were placed on the shoul- 

 ders of the lion and of the 

 horse, and finally on man him- 

 self, as we see on the great 

 columns of the Greek temples 

 of Ephesus. But all these fly- 

 ing animals are historically 

 descended from the same com- 

 mon stock as the dragons of 

 China and Japan and St. 

 George's dragon of England 

 which still preserve the aspect 

 of reptiles. The Bishop of 

 Exeter regards the Hebrew 

 cherubim as probably orig- 

 inally dragons, and the figure 

 of the conventional angel is 

 merely the human form of the 

 dragon. 



Besides the eagles, bats and dragons there are many other 

 flying creatures of less, though still far-reaching, significance 

 as symbols. Such are the dove of peace, the rooster, Egypt's 

 sacred ibis, storks and swans, the "quetzal" of Guatemala, 

 and a host of other birds remarkable for their powers of flight 

 or for their beauty. In parts of South America the natives 

 tell you that the gorgeous butterflies called Morphos which 



Figs. 181-186. More Weevils. 



For explanations of the figures 

 see p. xvi. 



