128 HABITS AND INSTINCTS OF ANIMALS. CHAP. V. 



of under this chapter, and we shall now consider each 

 of these subjects distinctly. 



(152.) For active defences, the most obvious in- 

 struments which have been furnished to animals are 

 horns or other protuberances, jaws armed with teeth, 

 or stings concealed in the body : but life is protected 

 and safety insured by other qualities and by other pro- 

 perties ; thus, many have the power of ejecting from 

 their bodies a volatile liquor, which is in the highest 

 degree offensive ; others, by their superior swiftness on 

 the ground, outstrip their pursuers : some tribes seek 

 safety by their faculty of climbing ; others, by diving 

 into water ; and others, again, by flying into the air. 

 There are, moreover, not a few, who, at the appearance 

 of danger, pretend to be deprived of life, and counter- 

 feit death with so much cunning, as to deceive even 

 man himself. All these, however, are active operations, 

 implying a perception of danger, and an instinct that 

 it is to be avoided by bodily exertion. Nevertheless, 

 we see that the first qualities may be employed both 

 offensively and defensively ; while those which regard 

 the safety of the individual by flight deserve, more 

 properly, to be discussed, in detail, when we inquire 

 into the motions of animals. 



(153.) QUADRUPEDS furnish us with some of the 

 most striking instances of that powerful defence which 

 the animal world is able to make, whether for self, 

 preservation or for offensive warfare. The whole 

 order of the Ferce, or carnivorous beasts, are pro- 

 vided with formidable teeth and acute claws ; with 

 these natural weapons they not only defend themselves, 

 but inflict death upon all other animals they are able 

 to cope with, and to conquer man himself: when to 

 these is added great muscular strength, and no ordinary 

 degree of swiftness, we at once perceive the highest 

 development of natural defensibility. A lion or a 

 tiger comes into the field like a warrior armed at all 

 points, before whom, man, in his natural state, would 

 flee in terror, while every beast of the field would shun 



