156 HISTORY OF 



and fitted for pounding. In the carnivorous kinds 

 they are sharp before, and fitted rather for hold- 

 ing than dividing. In the one the teeth serve as 

 grindstones, in the other as weapons of defence ; 

 in both, however, the surface of those teeth which 

 serve for grinding are unequal, the cavities and 

 risings fitting those of the opposite, so as to tally 

 exactly when the jaws are brought together. 

 These inequalities better serve for comminuting 

 the food ; but they become smooth with age ; 

 and for this reason old animals take a longer time 

 to chew their food than such as are in the vigour 

 of life. 



Their legs are not better fitted than their teeth 

 to their respective wants or enjoyments. In some 

 they are made for strength only, and to support 

 a vast unwieldy frame, without much flexibility 

 or beautiful proportion. Thus the legs of the 

 elephant, the rhinoceros, and the sea-horse, re- 

 semble pillars : were they made smaller, they 

 would be unfit to support the body ; were they 

 endowed with greater flexibility or swiftness, it 

 would be useless, as they do not pursue other 

 animals for food, and, conscious of their own 

 superior strength, there are none that they deign 

 to avoid. Deers, hares, and other creatures, 

 that are to find safety only in flight, have their 

 legs made entirely for speed ; they are slender 

 and nervous. Were it not for this advantage, 

 every carnivorous animal would soon make them 

 a prey, and their races would be entirely extin- 

 guished. But in the present state of nature, the 

 means of safety are rather superior to those of 



