96 ANIMAL REPUTATION. 



of the dove is neither so good as represented by poets nor 

 so bad as depicted by certain other perhaps cynical 

 writers. 



The eagle figures as the emblem of all that is majestic 

 on the national coats of arms of America, Russia, Austria, 

 Prussia, and other nations ; it was an emblem of dignity 

 also among the Romans ; and no doubt it has frequently, 

 in confinement, a certain dignity of mere look ; but, like 

 the lion, it is far from being the brave, bold bird it is gene- 

 rally supposed to be. Franklin himself points out that the 

 real characteristics of the American eagle are cowardice, dis- 

 honesty, injustice, sharping and robbery, or other forms of 

 bad morals. Other authors regard eagles, like ravens, as 

 'types of all that is violent, dark, and cunning.' But here 

 again their moral character is not altogether bad, for we 

 are told that eagles are really paragons of ' as sincere con- 

 jugal love [or fidelity] as [is to be found] among mono- 

 gamous mankind ' (Wood). 



The beautiful peacock is the emblem of man's consequen- 

 tially and self-complacency, vanity or pride, using these 

 terms in their contemptuous or worst sense ; but we have 

 no proof that its peculiar strut, or the spread of its gor- 

 geous tail, arises from what Darwin calls ' conscious vanity.' 

 That it does so arise is merely man's interpretation of the 

 phenomenon ; and man is particularly liable to error in the 

 construction he puts upon the motives of action in other 

 animals, or even in other individuals than himself. As is 

 pointed out in the chapter on ( Courtship and Marriage,' the 

 peacock is one of many male birds that possess personal 

 charms, that have a knowledge of this possession and its 

 advantage in the eyes of the female, and that display these 

 charms to the greatest advantage. But all this does not 

 involve pride or vanity in the offensive sense in which man 

 so frequently applies these terms for instance, to frivolous 

 woman. 



Few animals have been so highly esteemed by man as 

 the ' little busy lee ' of Dr. Watts. The supposed perfection 

 of its c instinct ' we never dream of connecting with ideas 

 of possible error, stupidity, confusion, temper, or idleness. 



