458 THE PHILOSOPHY 



the fame marks of refpe£t for all the men, women, and children, as 

 a dog does for thofe who live in his mafter's houfe. Thefe people 

 may, therefore, approach their cattle with the greateft fafety. But, 

 if a ftranger, and particularly an European, ftiould ufe the fame 

 freedom, without being accompanied with one of the Hottentots, 

 his life would be in imminent danger *. 



Notwlthftandlng the many furprifing aftions which different qua- 

 drupeds may be taught to perform, none of them, though their or- 

 gans are much more peife£l than thofe of birds, have ever been able 

 to pronounce articulate founds. But many birds, without much in- 

 ftrudion, learn to pronounce words, and even fentences. In par- 

 rots, the diftinguifliing accuracy of their ear, the acutenefs of their 

 attention, and their ftrong inftindUve propenfity to imitate founds of 

 every kind, have juftly procured them univerfal admiration. When 

 in a ftate of domeftication, the parrot learns to pronounce the com- 

 mon ftreet- calls, befide many words and phrafes occafionally em- 

 ployed by the family in which he refides. Though the limitation 

 of his mental powers does not permit him to learn any extent of 

 language, or the proper ufe and meaning of words, he not unfre- 

 quently difcovers.the affociation between the objedl and the found. 

 A woman every morning pafled the window, where a parrot's cage 

 was fixed, calling fait. The parrot foon learned to imitate the call. 

 But, before any found could be heard, he no fooner caft his eye 

 upon the woman than he uttered her ufual call. In this, and many 

 other fimilar cafes, the objeds and the founds are evidently connec- 

 ted in the mind of the animal. How far thefe affociations might 

 be carried by a patient and perfevering education, it is diflScult to 

 determine. In this manner, however, parrots might be taught a 

 confiderable vocabulary of fubftantive nouns, or the proper names 



Of 



• Voyage de Cap, par Kolbe, pag. 307. 



