THE ELEPHANT. j s 



the fudden and repeated noife fometimes induces 

 them to turn back. It is not eafy to make them 

 feparate from each other ; for they generally act 

 in concert, whether they attack, march, or fly. 



When the females come in feafon, this attach- 

 ment to fociety yields to a ftronger paffion. The 

 troop feparates into pairs, which love had pre- 

 vioufly formed. They unite from choice, fteal 

 off in queft of retirement, and their march feems 

 to be preceded by love, and followed by mo- 

 dclty ; for all their pleafures are accompanied 

 with the profoundeft myftery. They have never 

 been detected in their amours. They anxioufly 

 avoid the prefence or infpeclion of their neigh- 

 bours ; and know, perhaps, better than the hu- 

 man race, how to enjoy pleafure in fecret a and to 

 be entirely occupied with a fmgle object. They 

 fearch for the deeper! folitudes of the woods 

 that they may give full vent, without distur- 

 bance or referve, to all the impulfes of Nature *, 

 which are lively and durable, in proportion to 

 the long interval of abftinence. The female goes 

 with young two years "J* : When impregnated, 

 the male abfiains j and his feafon of love returns 



but 



* Elephanti folitudines petunt colturi, et praecipue fecus 



Bumina ; Arijl. Rift. Anim. lib. 5. cap. 1. Pudore nunquam 



nifi in abdito coeunt ; Pli'n. lib. 8. cap. 5. 



7 Mas coitum triennio interpofitb repetlt. Quam gravi- 

 dam reddidit, eandem praeterea tangere nunquam patitur. 

 Uterum biennio gerit ; Arljl. H:f. Anhn. lib. 5. cap. 14. — Lle- 

 phantus biennio gellatur, propter exuperantiam magnitudinis ; 

 I Jem, dc Generat. Ar.ivu lib. 4. cap, 10. 



