ORDER PACHYDERMATA. 419 



the Nile with his clothes on, by way of purification. The 

 swine-herds formed an isolated class, the outcasts of so- 

 ciety. They were interdicted from entering the temples, 

 or intermarrying with any other families. This aversion 

 for swine has been transmitted to the modern Egyptians. 

 The Copts rear no Pigs, no more than the followers of Ma- 

 homet. — The Jews, who borrowed from the Egyptians their 

 horror of Pigs, as well as many other peculiarities, con- 

 tinue their abstinence from them in colder climates, where 

 they form one of the most useful articles of subsistence. 



We have seen that the species of the genus Rhinoceros 

 vary in regard to the leading character of dentition, both 

 in the number and form of the teeth. The incisors are 

 either altogether wanting, or are four in each jaw, two 

 very strong, and two small and weak, and the pairs varying 

 in their relative situation. They have, however, no canine 

 teeth : the cheek-teeth are seven in each jaw, on each side : 

 the upper teeth are square, with several convex lines ; the 

 lower have their crowns furnished with transverse promi- 

 nences. 



The teeth therefore afford no very good generic character. 

 Their distinct toes, while they separate these animals from 

 the swine /connect them as a group or family with Hyrax, or 

 Tapir, or the Common Pachydermata, without a proboscis ; 

 but the character which very properly and very strikingly 

 marks them as a genus, is that from which they are named, 

 Rhinoceros, Qiv Kspas,) or nasal horn. The species differ in 

 this respect, however, some having one, and others two 

 horns, but they agree in the very singular position of this 

 organ, or weapon, which is on the nose. 



The remaining characters we would here shortly refer to 

 as generic, are their heavy body, thick legs, head short, 

 with the occiput elevated, and the cerebral cavity small, 

 eyes small, ears moderate, tail short, round at the base, 



