66 ANTIENT METAPHYSICS. Book II. 



ticularly the faculty of Speech, fhould think him an idiot, and 

 wanting even the capacity of acquiring underftanding. I knew an 

 officer of dragoons, a man of very good fenfe, who was quartered 

 where Peter then lived, for fome months, and faw him almoft every 

 day ; and he affured me, that he was not an idiot, but fhowed com- 

 mon underftanding, which was all that could be expeded from one 

 no better educated than he. 



La/}/y, Thofe, who have confidered what I have faid of the diffi- 

 culty of articulation *, will not be furprifed that a Man, who had li- 

 ved a favage for the firft fourteen or fifteen years of his life, (hould 

 have made fo little progrefs in that art. I cannot, however, have 

 the leaft doubt that, if he had been under the care of Mr Braid- 

 wood of Edinburgh, he would have learned to fpeak, though with 

 much more difficulty than a man who had been brought up tame 

 among people who had the ufe of fpeech, and who, confequently, 

 muft know the advantage of it. And I can have as little doubt 

 that Mr Braidwood could have tanght the Oran Outan in Sir Alhton 

 Lever's Colledion, who had learned to articulate a few words, to 

 ipeak plainly enough. 



I have heard of no objedlion of any weight to the credibility of the 

 fads related in the Newfpapers concerning Peter, except its being faid 

 that he fed in the woods upon the leaves and bark of trees : And it 

 is pretended by fome, that the anatomy of the human body de- 

 monftrates it to be impoffible that a man can fubfift upon fuch an 

 aliment. This I have never heard any man fay who was learned in 

 anatomy ; nor do I believe that an animal, who is more various in 

 his food than any other known, cannot fublift upon Vegetable Sub- 

 ftances of any kind. But, 2^///, The Newfpaper does not fay that 

 it was only upon thefe he fubfifted ; and it is very probable that he 

 lired, like the Oran Outan, or the Monkey of Bengal. cQ.\\ed Golok, of 



whom 



* Pages 40.— 43- 



