314 THE ASS IN ANTIQUITY 



fusing the heaviest of burdens, even twice in proportion 

 that of the camel? To whom shall we award the palm? 

 Unreasoning master, it is thine own turgid soul that is 

 burdened with the vices thou imputest to thy humble, dili- 

 gent, uncomplaining servant ! Talk not of thy Ten Com- 

 mandments, miserable man ! Thy ass heedeth thy law as 

 thou never obeyest the Decalogue ! 



Every one remembers the curious, protesting cry of the 

 ass-driver in Italy. Its tone "A ah !" is a constant re- 

 proach : " Do, for Heaven's sake, go faster, you poky, lazy 

 beast !" when the brave little fellow is struggling on with 

 a load under which no other animal God ever made could 

 possibly stagger. That for ages untold the ass has been 

 thus under the ban is oddly shown in the tomb of Ti, in 

 ancient Memphis. In one of the queer but curiously nat- 

 ural processions of the servants of Ti, which are cut on 

 the walls of the funeral chamber, is a man with uplifted 

 stick driving a donkey. The hieroglyphs make him say, 

 no doubt with the same protesting tone : u Men love those 

 who go swiftly, but they beat the lazy ; If thou couldst 

 but see thine own conduct!" The tone of the modern 

 Egyptian is, however, not so protesting as that of the 

 Italian, though he has the same cry, " Aah !" to hurry on 

 his beast. One now and then hears our cluck in lieu of 

 the " A-ah !" 



It is truly a marvel how this tiny creature can perform 

 such labor. I have studied him carefully. It is well 

 known that a man can outlast, outwork, and outcarry a 

 horse. But the ass can do more than man, the most en- 

 during of living creatures. He is able to carry his own 

 weight and work all day. What man can stagger an 

 hour under from one hundred and fifty to two hundred 

 pounds ? 



They have some queer habits with the donkeys in Egypt. 



