CAT KIND. 403 



ment, one ought not to presume that the impres- 

 sions of education will always prevail ; so that it 

 would be dangerous in such circumstances to 

 suffer him to remain too long without food, or to 

 persist in irritating and abusing him : however, 

 numberless accounts assure us, that his anger is 

 noble, his courage magnanimous, and his disposi- 

 tion grateful. He has been often seen to des- 

 pise contemptible enemies, and pardon their in- 

 sults when it was in his power to punish them. 

 He has been seen to spare the lives of such as 

 were thrown to be devoured by him, to live 

 peaceably with them, to afford them a part of his 

 subsistence, and sometimes to want food himself 

 rather than deprive them of that life which his 

 generosity had spared. 



It may also be said that the lion is not cruel, 

 since he is so only from necessity, and never kills 

 more than he consumes. When satiated he is 

 perfectly gentle ; while the tiger, the wolf, and 

 all the inferior kinds, such as the fox, the pole- 

 cat, and the ferret, kill without remorse, are 

 fierce without cause, and, by their indiscriminate 

 slaughter, seem rather to satisfy their malignity 

 than their hunger. 



The outward form of the lion seems to speak 

 his internal generosity. His figure is striking, his 

 look confident and bold, his gait proud, and his 

 voice terrible. His stature is not overgrown, like 

 that of the elephant or rhinoceros j nor is his 

 shape clumsy, like that of the hippopotamus or 

 the ox. It is compact, well proportioned, and 

 sizeable ; a perfect model of strength joined with 



