350 



EAGLE. 



produced is of a much more inveterate and dangerous 

 character. This is, in fact, exactly a parallel to a 

 case which breaks down in the hands of an advocate 

 who is at once able and willing ; and the public, who 

 are the jury in this case, are sure to come to the same 

 decisions on its merits, as the empanneled jury do on 

 those of the other, that the case has no foundation. 



This is not only incidental to the natural history of any 

 one species, genus, or class of animals ; but it is of so 

 much more importance to the real happiness of men 

 than any thing connected with the details of natural 

 history, that we should not feel our duty discharged, 

 if we did not allude to it upon those occasions where 

 the imputation of modes and motives of action similar 

 to those of man, have been most frequently and gene- 

 rally imputed to the other animals. The kingship 

 which has been given to eagles, or rather the sup- 

 posed noble and honourable qualities which they have 

 been said to possess, in consequence of this imaginary 

 kingship, are of some use in throwing light upon the 

 progressive natural history of man himself. The only 

 attributes which could be observed in these animals, 

 are great strength or power, when the necessities of 

 the individual animal render it necessary. Other than 

 this, there could be nothing actually observed, for 

 other than this there is nothing to observe ; and the 

 additional and nobler qualities gratuitously given must 

 have been given in consequence of a disposition in 

 men in a rude state to attribute every virtue to those 

 who were powerful enough to destroy even though the 

 power was used for working destruction in the most cruel 

 and atrocious manner. Therefore, those royal animals 

 throw some light upon the characters of the kings of 

 early history, from their resemblance to whom they 

 got their titles to royalty ; and as we have the animals 

 still unchanged, we can, perhaps, better arrive at the 

 general characters of those early rulers by this means 

 than by any other. 



In tins, we must admit, there is at least some advan- 

 tage to be derived, from the fact of human qualities 

 and dispositions having been attributed to animals ; 

 for those qualities and dispositions could have been 

 attributed only from the circumstance of a felt an- 

 alogy between the simple action of the parties com- 

 pared, at a time when the diiference between acting 

 by reason and purpose, and acting by instinct, was but 

 imperfectly understood. Such being the case, when- 

 ever we are put in possession of the disposition and 

 character which were imputed to the animal, and then 

 find by observation what the real character of the 

 animal in a state of nature is ; we can take the latter 

 as a constant quantity, as the same in the same race, 

 at all stages of the world's history ; and from this 

 invariable standard, we can discover what must have 

 been the sentiments of the people who imputed the 

 qualities, in regard to the moral nature of human 

 actions ; and in this way, the study of animals, com- 

 pared with the ancient opinions of them would tell us 

 far more of the characters of the nations of antiquity 

 than are handed down to us even by the most correct 

 and philosophical historians of the human race. This 

 is an use to which the study of animated nature has not 

 hitherto been applied, although it is a very valuable 

 one. At the same time, however, it is one which 

 cannot be prosecuted with accuracy and success, un- 

 less we abandon as entirely fabulous or imaginary all 

 analogy of kind between man aud the animals. There 

 is no doubt, however, that this study would repay with 

 information, equally correct and curious, and at the 



same time highly valuable as an auxiliary in the study 

 of the human race, the labour of any one who would 

 enter upon it with the requisite degree of knowledge, 

 and work it out with due patience and impartiality. 



As it is new, we shall just mention two instances, 

 which may be taken as counterparts, of the noble 

 qualities which were so long ascribed by every body 

 to the lion and the eagle, and which are still in com- 

 mon circulation, and no doubt extensively credited 

 by those whose knowledge of natural history extends 

 no further than having read some of the books of 

 mere description. The ass and the goose are, by 

 universal consent, made the very emblems of stupidity 

 and folly ; so much so, that their very names have 

 become so closely linked with these unhappy con- 

 ditions that to apply any of them to a man would be 

 considered a violation of the rules of ordinary polite- 

 ness, even in society of not the most scrupulous de- 

 scription. But the ass, so far from being a stupid 

 animal, is a wonderfully sagacious one ; and though 

 i this country, where it is abandoned to the least 

 reputable part of society, and badly fed, and worse 

 treated, it is a comparatively slow and ometimes a 

 sullen animal, yet there is not perhaps one of the 

 domesticated mammalia which is so totally free from 

 vice. It is the most enduring, the most patient, the 

 most hard-working, the most temperate, and the most 

 inoffensive of all animals ; and as these qualities have 

 not been destroyed, even by cruel neglect and even 

 by more cruel treatment, we must conclude that they 

 are natural to the animal, that they form its disposition 

 as a race, and that they were its observed qualities at 

 the time when its name became the synonyme for 

 stupidity. Now, if an} 7 one will consider this list of 

 qualities, and reflect what the moral condition of man- 

 kind must have been when these were held as being 

 expressive of stupidity, which all mankind dislike in 

 the application to themselves, a conclusion will be 

 arrived at not very favourable to society, because the 

 opposite qualities, turbulence, wrangling, and all the 

 worst passions and their worst effects, must at that 

 time have been accounted the signs of wisdom. The 

 case of the goose is nearlv similar. The goose is a 

 vegetable feeder, and attacks no animal, however 

 weak, though it defends its young with some resolu- 

 tion ; and the goose, so far from being a stupid animal, 

 is perhaps the most intelligent and the most suscepti- 

 ble of sensation in the whole poultry yard. This is 

 not the place for entering upon details ; but there are 

 many instances recorded of more attachment on the 

 part of this bird than of almost any other of the fea- 

 thered race. The sum of its character may be said 

 to be mildness ; and when, in consequence of this cha- 

 racter, its name became a synonyme for folly, it re- 

 quires no argument or investigation to discover what 

 qualities and what conduct must have been held in 

 the highest estimation among the human race. 



We have deemed it necessary to premise these 

 few observations in order that, by detaching them 

 from all fancied analogy to man, we might be enabled 

 to view the eagles in their own natural character, and 

 as a most interesting and in some respects a most 

 wonderful branch of animated nature. When we 

 view them in this respect, they become as instructive 

 as they are delusive while mixed up with man ; and 

 thus, by freeing ourselves from absurdity and error, 

 we clear the ground for an instructive perusal of one 

 of the most striking pages in nature's volume ; and 

 we may add that there are many bright pages in that 



