280 MAMMALIA — ELEPHANT. 



of his body he makes a breach in a wall ; that being terrible by his force, 

 he is invincible by the resistance only of his enormous mass, and by the 

 thickness of the leather which covers it ; that he can carry on his back a 

 tower armed in war, with a number of men ; that he alone moves machines, 

 and carries burthens, which six horses cannot move. To this prodigious 

 strength he joins courage, prudence, coolness, and an exact obedience. He 

 preserves moderation even in his most violent passion ; he is more con- 

 stant than impetuous in love ; in anger he does not forget his friends ; he 

 never attacks any but those who have given him offence ; he remembers 

 favors as long as injuries. Having no taste for flesh, and feeding chiefly 

 upon vegetables, he is not naturally an enemy to other animals ; he is belov- 

 ed by them all, since all of them respect him, and have no cause to fear him. 

 For these reasons, men have had at all times a veneration for this great, 

 this first of animals. The ancients considered the elephant as a prodigy, 

 a miracle of nature ; they have much exaggerated his natural faculties ; 

 they attribute to him, without hesitation, not only intellectual qualities, but 

 moral virtues. 



In a Avild state, the elephant is neither bloody nor ferocious ; his manners 

 are social ; he seldom wanders alone ; he commonly walks in company, the 

 oldest leads the herd, the next in age drives them, and forms the rear ; the 

 young and the weak are in the middle. The females carry their young, and 

 hold them close with their trunks. They only observe this order, however, 

 in perilous marches, when they go to feed on cultivated lands. They walk 

 or travel with less precaution in forests and solitary places, but still keeping 

 at such a moderate distance from each other, as to be able to give mutual 

 assistance, and seasonable warnings of danger. Some, however, straggle, 

 and remain behind the others ; none but these are attacked by hunters, for 

 a small army would be requisite to assail the whole herd, and they could 

 not conquer without a great loss of men. It is even dangerous to do them 

 the least injury ; they go straight to the offender, and, notwithstanding the 

 weight of their body, they walk so fast that they easily overtake the lightest 

 man in running ; they pierce him through with their tusks, or seize him 

 with their trunks, throw him against a stone, and tread him under their 

 feet ; but it is only when they have been provoked, that they become so 

 furious and so implacable. It is said, that when they have been once attack- 

 ed by men, or have fallen into a snare, they never forget it, and seek for 

 revenge on all occasions. As they have an exquisite sense of smell, 

 perhaps more perfect than any other animal, owing to the large extent 

 of their nose, they smell a man at a great distance, and could easily follow 

 him by the track. These animals are fond of the banks of rivers, deep 

 valleys, shady places, and marshy grounds ; they cannot subsist a long 

 while without water, and they make it thick and muddy before they drink. 

 They often fill their trunks with it, either to convey it to their mouth, or 

 only to cool their nose, and to amuse themselves in sprinkling it around 



