466 THE PHILOSOPHY 



man. His fize is augmented or diminiflied by obliging the 

 fmaller kinds to unite together, and by obferving the fame 

 conduct with the larger individuals. The fliortening of the 

 tail and ears proceeds alfo from the hand of man. Dogs who 

 have had their ears and tails cut for a few generations, tranf- 

 mit thefe defers, in a certain degree, to their defcendants. 

 Pendulous ears, the moft certain mark of domeftic fervitude 

 and of fear, are almoft univerfal. Of many races of dogs, a 

 few only have retained the primitive ftate of their ears. 

 Ere6l ears are now confined to the wolf-dog, the fhepherd*s 

 dog, and the dog of the North. 



The colour of animals is greatly variegated by domefti- 



cation. The dog, the ox, the fheep, the goat, the horfe, have 

 alTumed all kinds of colours and even mixtures of colours, in 

 the fame individuals. The hog has changed from black to white ; 

 and white, without the intermixture of fpots, is generally ac- 

 companied with efTential imperfe£tions. Men who are remark- 

 ably fair, and whofe hair is white, have generally a defe£l in 

 their hearing,and, at the fame time, weak and red eyes. Quad- 

 rupeds which are entirely white have likewife red eyes and a 

 duUnefs of hearing. The variations from the original colour 

 are moft remarkable in our domeflic fowls. In a brood of 

 chickens, though the eggs be laid by the fame hen, and 

 though the female be impregnated by the fame male, not 

 one of them has the fame colours with another. 



Domeftication not only changes the external appearances 

 of animals, but alters or modifies their natural difpolitions. 

 The dog, for example, when in a ftate of liberty, is a rapa- 

 cious quadruped, and hunts and devours the weaker fpecies : 

 But, after he has fubmitted to the dominion of man, he re- 

 linquifhes his natural ferocity, and is converted into a mean, 

 fervile, patient, and parafitical flave. 



