182 MAMMALIA. 



proud and higli- spirited animal which shares with him the fatigues 

 of war and the glory of the fight. No less intrepid than his 

 master, the Horse sees danger and faces it. Accustoming himself 

 to the din of arms, he loves and seeks it, and is excited by a 

 warlike ardour. In the chase, the tournament, and the race- 

 course, he partakes of the pleasures ; brilliant and conscious of his 

 glory, he is as docile as he is courageous, and, mastering his fiery 

 eagerness, restrains his impetuosity. Not only will he yield" 

 readily to the hand which guides him, • but he seems even to 

 consult its wishes ; ever obedient to the impression which he 

 receives, he dashes on, slackens his speed, or stops, doing all at 

 his master's will. The Horse is a creature which seems to 

 renounce his own independent existence in order to submit to 

 another's will, which he is able even to anticipate. By the 

 promptitude and precision of his movements he expresses and 

 executes his master's purpose, feeling and showing his feelings 

 according to his master's desire. In all his unreserved submission 

 there is nothing he will refuse to do ; he will serve with all his 

 strength, and, going beyond it, will die in order to render a 

 perfect obedience." 



The subjection of the Horse to 3Ian may be traced back to the 

 most primitive date. Moses recommends the Hebrews to have 

 no dread, in war, of the Horses of their enemies. We read in the 

 Book of Kings (1 Kings iv. 26) that " Solomon had 40,000 stalls 

 for his horses, and 12,000 horsemen." 



According to the same book, these Horses were bought in Egypt 

 and brought into the country of the Hebrews. 



Homer, in his Iliad, speaks of the numerous studs of King 

 Priam. The bas-reliefs on the Assyrian monuments afford us a 

 loiowledge of the figure of the Horses of Asia Minor ; and the paint- 

 ings of ancient Egypt acquaint us with the fact that their Horses 

 from the valley of the Nile were no less worthy of admiration. 



The Greeks must have given preference to the Horses of Asia 

 Minor and Egj-pt, for the splendid remains of statues in the 

 Parthenon prove that, in the age of Pericles, the Athenians were 

 in possession of some magnificent specimens of that race. We 

 learn, indeed, from various ancient authors, that the Horses which 

 appeared in the Olympic Games were brought from Cappadocia 

 and the neighbouring countries. In fact, the inhabitants, or 



