Chap. I. ANTIENTMETAPHYSICS. 41 



age to Europe, and that his education will be taken care of ; for, 

 being of the large kind, and no more than feven feet high, I fuppofe 

 he is but young, and therefore may, with proper pains, be taught 

 to fpeak, which will convince the moft credulous of his humanity, 

 even thofe who believe that the facuky of fpeech is effential to Man. 

 But, even though he be young, as I fuppofe, it will require a great 

 deal of pains to teach him : For, if Peter the Wild Boy, (of him 

 I will fay a great deal more before I conclude this chapter), who 

 certainly is of parents that had the ufe of fpeech, has learned, 

 in fo many years, to articulate fo few words, what muft be the cafe 

 of a perfect favage, who is come of favage parents, through a defcent 

 of I don't know how many thoufand years ? Such an Animal 

 muft neceflarily be as indocile as any of the human fpecies can be. 



Another circumftance that I have learned concerning him fmce 

 publifhing the Origin and Progrefs of Language, is related in the 

 Second Volume of Antient Metaphyfics*, and is to this effect; That 

 one of them who ferved as a failor on board a Jamaica fhip trading 

 to the Slave Coaft, meffed with the failors,did the duty of a common 

 failor, and alfo ferved the Captain as a cabbin boy. Having one day 

 broken a China bowl, the Captain beat him ; which the Animal took 

 fo much to heart, that he abftained from food and died. This was 

 told me by a Jamaica gentleman, who had it from the Captain of 

 the fhip, and agrees fo exadily wiih the account that the Briftol mer- 

 chant gives in a letter of his that I have publifhed f , of an Oran 

 Outan, who had fuch a fenfe of honour, that he could not bear to 

 be expofed as a (how, that I cannot doubt of the truth of it. 



I will only add further, upon the fubjed of the Oran Outan, that, 

 if an Animal, who walks upright,— is of the human form, both out- 

 fide and infide, — ufes a weapon for defence and attack, — affociates 

 with his kind, — makes huts to defend himfelf from the weather, bet- 

 ter, I believe, than thofe of the New Hollanders, — is tame and 

 Vol. III. F gentle, 



* Page 145- 



t Vol. i. of the Origin and Progrefs of Language, p. a8i. Sv"cond Edition. 



