Asses and Apes. 133 



of its "poor dead ancestors," the long-eared one laughs 

 hugely. 



This resemblance, however, being postulated, the poets 

 run easily on to debit the ape and its cousins with every 

 human weakness that is especially contemptible. They are 

 "pert" and "vain" and "dapper" in a score of poets; 

 " coxcombs," " beaux," " lady-killers," in others. Now, 

 every one of these epithets connotes a purely artificial 

 character, and are all of them therefore inapplicable to the 

 animal world. 



It is the " monkey-beau," " the buffoon-ape " — 



" Long did the beau claim kindred with the ape, 

 And shone a monkey of sublimer shape ; 

 Skilful to flirt the hat, the cane, the glove, 

 And wear the pert grimace of monkey-love ; 

 Of words unmeaning poured a ceaseless flood, 

 While ladies looked as if they understood ; 

 So chats one monkey to his brother, 

 Chatters as if he understood the other. " — Leyden. 



"The mimic apes" "that love to practise what they 

 see." 



Yet, except in these very restricted phases, the poets have 

 seldom sought for metaphor or moral from these singularly 

 suggestive animals. Young finds an analogy between the 

 monkey grasping at the reflection in the glass and man 

 striving to find happiness in riches — 



** As monkeys at a mirror stand amazed — 

 They fail to find what they so plainly see ; 

 Thus men in shining riches see the face 

 Of happiness, nor know it is a shade. 

 But gaze, and touch, and peep and peep again, 

 And wish, and wonder it is absent still," 



The ape epithet is applied as liberally and promiscuously 

 as the asinine, and falls therefore on many of the same 

 classes and individuals. Mankind generally are apes as 



