NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOG. 27 



of a bribe, and betrayed his trust. The watch-dogs, too, 

 of the Roman capitol once slept upon their post, thus, but 

 for the alarm given by the wakeful and clamorous geese, 

 surrendering devoted Rome to the ruthless arm of invading 

 Gaul. A similar failure of- duty is noticed in Scripture, as 

 occurring among the Jewish dogs : " His watchmen are 

 blind ; they are all ignorant ; they are all dumb dogs ; they 

 cannot bark sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber. Yea, 

 they are greedy dogs, which can never have enough." 

 Isaiah, Ivi. 10, 11. 



According to De La Vega, the Peruvians likewise former- 

 ly worshipped the dog, while, singularly enough, they also 

 ate his flesh at their festivals ; and, according to a modern 

 authority,* this animal is even yet worshipped by the Ja- 

 panese, under a form similar to that of the Egyptian Anubis, 

 and under the name of Amida. Nor are we to forget Virgil, 

 who notices this noble animal in many passages, among 

 which I cannot omit the following : 



" Nee tibi cura canum fucrit postrema : sed unft. 

 Veloccs Spartce Catulos acremque Molossum 

 Pasce aero Pingui: nunquarn custodibus illis 

 Nocturnum Stabulis furem, incursusque luporum, 

 Ant impacatos a tergo horrebis Iberos. 

 Snepe etiam cursu timidos agitabis onagros ; 

 Et canibus leporem, canibus venabere damas. 

 Ssepe voiutubris pulsos silvestribus apros 

 Latratu turbabis age us ; montesquo per altos 

 Ingentem clumore premes ad retia cervum." 



Georgic. Lib. III., Line 404. 



From the earliest periods the dog has commanded atten- 

 tion and respect in many instances, as I have shown, even 

 worship ; and in no instance do we find his name confounded 

 with that of the wolf, jackal, or fox : such has not only been 

 the result of my own inquiry, but I am happy to be able to 

 adduce the very high authority of Colonel Hamilton Smith, 

 who writes : " A thorough philological inquiry would most 

 assuredly show, that in no language and at no period did 

 man positively confound the wolf, the jackal, or the fox, with 

 a real dog." 



Further particulars relative to the early history of the dog, 

 will be elicited in the course of our description of the several 

 varieties. 



Kvmpfor. 



