THE DOG KIND. 



3Q9 



interest in coming to his assistance; however, 

 when he has conquered, he quietly reposes 

 upon the spoil, and abstains from what he has 

 deterred others from abusing ; giving thus at 

 once a 'lesson of courage, temperance, and 

 fidelity. 



From hence we see of what importance 

 this animal is to us in a state of nature. Sup- 

 posing, for a moment, that the species had 

 not existed, how could man, without the as- 

 sistance of the dog, have been able to con- 

 quer, tame, and reduce to servitude, every 

 other animal? How could he discover, chase, 

 and destroy, those that were noxious to him? 

 In order to be secure, and to become master 

 of all Animated Nature, it was necessary for 

 him to begin by making a friend of a part of 

 them ; to attach such of them to himself, by 

 kindness and caresses, as seem fittest for obe- 

 dience and active pursuit. Thus the first art 

 employed by man, was in conciliating the fa- 

 vour of the dog; and the fruits of this art 

 were, the conquest and peaceable possession 

 of the earth. 



The generality of animals have greater 

 agility, greater swiftness, and more formidable 

 arms, from nature, than man ; their senses, 

 and particularly that of smelling, are far more 

 perfect : they having gained, therefore, a new 

 assistant, particularly one whose scent is so 

 exquisite as that of the dog, was the gaining a 

 new sense, a new faculty, which before was 

 wanting. The machines and instruments 

 which we have imagined for perfecting the 

 rest of the senses, do not approach to that 

 already prepared by nature, by which we are 

 enabled to find out every animal, though un- 

 seen, and thus destroy the noxious, and use 

 the serviceable. 



The dog, thus useful in himself, taken into 

 a participation of empire, exerts a degree of 

 superiority over all animals that require human 

 protection. The flock and the herd obey his 

 voice more readily even than that of the shep- 

 herd or the herdsman; he conducts them, 

 guards them, keeps them from capriciously 

 seeking danger, and their enemies he considers 

 as his own. Nor is he less useful in the pur- 

 suit ; when the sound of the horn, or the voice 

 of the huntsman calls him to the field, he tes- 

 tifies his pleasure by every little art, and pur- 

 sues with perseverance those animals, which, 



when taken, he must not expect to divide. 

 The desire of hunting is indeed natural to him, 

 as well as to his master, since war and the 

 chase are the only employment of savages. 

 All animals that live upon flesh hunt by na- 

 ture ; the lion and the tiger, whose force is so 

 great that they are sure to conquer, hunt 

 alone and without art ; the wolf, the fox, and 

 the wild-dog, hunt in packs, assists each 

 other, and partake the spoil. But when edu- 

 cation has perfected this talent in the domes- 

 tic dog; when he has been taught by man 

 to repress his ardour, to measure his motions, 

 and not to exhaust his force by too sudden 

 an exertion of it, he then hunts with method, 

 and always with success. 



"Although the wild dog, such as he was 

 before he came under the protection of man- 

 kind, is at present utterly unknown, no such 

 animal being now to be found in any part of 

 the world ; yet there are many that, from a 

 domestic state, have turned savage, and en- 

 tirely pursue the dictates of nature." In those 

 deserted and uncultivated countries where the 

 dog is found wild, they seem entirely to par- 

 take of the disposition of the wolf; they unite 

 in large bodies, and attack the most formidable 

 animals of the forest, the cougar, the panther, 

 and the bison. In America, where they were 

 originally brought by the Europeans, and aban- 

 doned by their masters, they have multiplied 

 to such a degree, that they spread in packs 

 over the whole country, attack all other ani- 

 mals, and even man himself does not pass with- 

 out insult. They are there treated in the 

 same manner as all other carnivorous animals, 

 and killed wherever they happen to come : 

 however, they are easily tamed : when taken 

 home, and treated with kindness and lenity, 

 they quickly become submissive and familiar, 

 and continue faithfully attached to their mas- 

 ters. Different in this from the wolf or the 

 fox, who, though taken never soyoung, are gen- 

 tle only while cubs, and, as they grow older, 

 give themselves up to their natural appetites 

 of rapine and cruelty. In short, it may be as- 

 serted, that the dog is the only animal whose 

 fidelity is unshaken ; the only one who knows 

 his master, and the friends of the family ; the 

 only one who instantly distinguishes a stranger; 

 the only one who knows his name, and answers 

 to the domestic call ; the only one who seems 

 3C* 



