Chap. XVIII. ANT IE NT METAPHYSICS. 267 



And this leads me to fpcak of the ufe we have made of that do- 

 minion, which it has plcafed God to give us over the animals of 

 this earth, as well as over the filli of the ^e^.. Aa to the animals of 

 the earth, we have not only fubdued and tamed the ox, and made 

 him mod; ufeful to us both in the practice of the necelTary art of 

 agriculture, and for the purpofe of food, but alfo the horfe, the 

 fineft animal that we have in Europe, both for ufe and for Ihew ; 

 fo that I do not wonder that Homer has dignified his heroes with 

 the title of 'cz'zo^afji.og, or borfe-fubduer. Antient hiftory informs 

 us, that horfes were firft employed only to draw the chariots in 

 which men fought : But afterwards they were mounted ; and in 

 that way was formed the greatefl; military force, that ever was em- 

 ployed by men, when to the fwiftnefs of the horfe they could join 

 the ufe of the bow, of the fpear, and of the fword. Of this kind 

 were the armies of the Parthians, fo formidable to the Romans ; 

 and in later times thofe of Genchis Chan and Tamerlane, by which 

 they overran and fubdued fuch vaft tracks of country. 



But not only have we tamed and domellicated the horfe, and made 

 him of the greatefl: ufe as well as ornament to us, but we have alfo 

 fubdued and tamed the largeft animal of the earth, exceeding every 

 other of the brute kind, not only in fize and ftrength, but in fagacity; 

 I mean the elephant ; and have made him ufeful, not only in war, but 

 in domeftic offices : Of him however I Ihall fpeak at more length in 

 the next Book. And as God has given us dominion over the lilh of 

 the fea, as well as over the animals of the earth *, the whale, the 

 largeft animal in the water, we have contrived to kill, and have 

 made his carcafe ufeful for certain purpofes. The fifli both in the 

 feas and rivers we have invented fevcral ways of catching ; fo that 

 they make a confiderable part of our food in Europe, and I think 

 the fuieft of our food ; and there are lome barbarouo nauoas t.hat 



L 1 2 live 



• Gencfis, Chap. I. v. 28. 



