264 DOCILITY OF ANIMALS. 



soon learn to perform with alacrity the various labors assigned 

 to them. The domestication of the horse is perhaps the 

 noblest acquisition from the animal world, which has ever 

 been made by the genius, the art, and the industry of man. 

 He is taught to partake of the dangers and fatigues of war, 

 and seems to enjoy the glory of victory. He encounters 

 death with ardor and with magnanimity. He delights in the 

 tumult of arms, and attacks the enemy with resolution and 

 alacrity. It is not in perils and conflicts alone that the horse 

 cooperates with the dispositions of his master. He even 

 seems to participate of human pleasures and amusements. 

 He delights in the chase and the tournament, and his eyes 

 sparkle with emulation in the course. Though bold and in' 

 trepid, however, he does not allow himself to be hurried on 

 by a furious ardor. On proper occasions, he represses his 

 movements, and knows how to check the natural fire of his 

 temper. He not only yields to the hand, but seems to consult 

 the inclination, of his rider. Always obedient to the impres- 

 sions he receives, he flies or stops, and regulates his motions 

 solely by the will of his master. 



Mr. Ray, who wrote about the end of the seventeenth cen- 

 tury, informs us, that he had seen a horse who danced to 

 music, who, at the command of his master, affected to be 

 lame, who simulated death, lay motionless with his limbs ex- 

 tended, and allowed himself to be dragged about, till some 

 words were pronounced, when he instantly sprung up on his 

 feet. Facts of this kind would scarcely receive credit, if 

 every person were not now acquainted with the wonderful 

 docility of the horses educated by public exhibitors of horse- 

 manship. In exhibitions of this kind, the docility and prompt 

 obedience of the animals deserve more admiration than the 

 dexterous feats of the men. 



Animals of the ox kind, in a domestic state, are dull and 

 phlegmatic. Their sensibility and talents seem to be ver^ 

 limited. But we should not pronounce rashly concerning 

 the genius and powers of animals in a country where their 

 education is totally neglected. In all the southern provinces 

 of Africa and Asia, there are many wild bisons, or bunchec 1 

 oxen, which are caught young and tamed. They are soon 

 taught to submit, without resistance, to all kinds of domestic 

 labor. They become so tractable, that they are managed 

 with as much ease as our horses. The voice of their master 

 is alone sufficient to make them obey, and to direct their 

 course. They are shod, curried, caressed, and supplied 



