370 OUR HUMBLE HELPERS 



ties it goes hungry without letting its fast diminish 

 in the least its good will. It is a philosophical beast, 

 neither imiliated by bearing the poor man's pack- 

 saddle nor puffed up by the rich man's elegant hous- 

 ings, and anxious only to do its duty everywhere 

 and always. 



"The ass has good eyes, keen scent, and excellent 

 ears. From the quickness of its hearing and the 

 length of its ears the inference is drawn that the 

 animal is timid. I am willing to assent to this, the 

 ass never having earned a reputation for prowess 

 or daring. Moreover, its quickness of hearing and 

 length of ears are shared by many other animals that 

 do not surpass it in courage, as, for example, the 

 hare and the rabbit, which are even more richly en- 

 dowed than the ass in respect to length of ears. 

 Their weakness and defenselessness expose them 

 to a thousand dangers and make their life a contin- 

 ual state of alarm. To be warned in time of peril 

 and save themselves by speedy flight, their surest 

 dependence is the excellence of their hearing, which 

 is partly due to the enormous size of the external 

 ear, movable in every direction so as to receive 

 sounds from all sides. 



"Merely because the ass has the long ears indica- 

 tive of timidity shall we charge the animal with 

 poltroonery! That would be unfair, for if it does 

 not court danger it at least knows how to face it 

 when peaceful means of safety are out of the ques- 

 tion. The horse is warlike, the ass prefers the gen- 

 tle ways of peace and consents to the arbitrament of 



