50 THE ELEPHANT. 



ranee * which ftretches out on the upper fide in 

 the form of a finger, by means of which the 

 elephant performs all that we do with our fin- 

 gers. He lifts from the ground the fmalleft 

 piece of money ; he lelects the herbs and flowers, 

 and picks them up one by one ; he unties the 

 knots of ropes, opens and fhuts gates, by turn- 

 ing the keys, or pufliing back the bolts. He learns 

 to trace regular characters with an inftrument 

 as fmall as a quill "|\ It cannot be denied that 

 the elephant's hand has feveral advantages over 

 ours. It is equally flexible, and as dexterous 

 in touching or laying hold of objects. Thefe 

 operations are performed by means of the ap- 

 pendix or finger, fituated on the fuperior part 

 of the border, that furrounds the extremity of 

 the trunk, in the middle of which there is a 

 concavity in the form of a cup, and in the bottom 

 of the cup are the apertures of the two common 

 canals of fmelling and of refpiration. The ele- 

 phant, therefore, has his nofe in his hand, and 

 is enabled to combine the power of his lungs 

 w T ith the action of his fingers, and to attract 



fluids 



* Mem. pour fervir a I'liiftoire ties animaux, part. 3. p. 

 108. & 140.' 



f Mutianus ter Conful auclor eft, aliquem ex his et litte- 

 rarum duclus Graecarum didicifle, folitumque praefcribere 

 ejus linguae verbis : Ipfe ego haec fcripfi, Sec. ; Plin. Hijl. 



nat. lib. 8. cap. 3. Ego vero ipfe elephantum in tabula Iit- 



teras'Latinas promufcide atque ordine fcribentem vidi : Ve- 

 rumtamen docentis manus fubjiciebatur ad litterarum duel 11 m 

 et figuram eum inftituens ; dejectis autem et intentis oculis 

 erat cum fcriberet ; doclos et litterarum gnaros animantium 

 oculos efle dixifles j Mlian. de nat. Aninu lib. 2. cap. II. 



