LIFE-FORM IN AliT. 



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Section VI. The Dragon. The myths which have been grouped under the 

 name of " dragon," are of such diverse chai'acter, and have been through so many 

 ages associated with popular fancies, that we have thought it of interest to give some 

 account of its possible origin and meaning. 



The Asiatic dragon is evidently a very different form from the European. At 

 least the " fabulous animal " of Chinese and Japanese ornament, is based apparently 

 on the salamander type of body, with bird-like feet. This is well shown in recent 

 examples of this design upon Japanese bronzes. The heads are more nondescript, 

 and are furnished with some piscine characters, such as barbels, and an outline sug- 

 gesting the catfish-like fishes found in the waters about Ja]3an. The early form of 

 the European dragon, according to Aldrovandus {I. c), is probably based upon the 

 lizard type. It is scaled, and has a well-marked lacertilian body, and, it may be a 

 mammalian head. The tail and neck are often those of a serpent. The artistic 

 interpretation of the dragon varies fi'om the realistic forms of Durer, who, in his St. 

 George, favors us with a very fair zoological figure of a lizard, through the humanized 

 bat-winged outlines of Griotto, to. the curious compound of owl and serpent of Lucas v. 

 Ley den, and the equally odd combination of man and insect of Martin Schoen. There 

 is no doubt that much of this kind of work is purely whimsical. It is quite impossi- 

 ble to surmise with any nearness to truth what the models were like from which they 

 sprung. The combination of parts sometimes suggests that rapacity was always in- 

 tended ; and at least in the latter forms of the myth it has been the symbol of oppres- 

 sion and cruelty. 



In a very curious pamphlet* preserved in the library of the Academy of jSTatural 

 Sciences of Philadelphia, an elaborate effort is made to prove that the dragon was 

 extant at the latter part of the last century. From a vast amount of evidence the 

 author favors us with the following description of this animal : " The dragon is from 

 eight to nine feet long, rarely more. Its color varies ; commonly red, it is at times of 

 a black or ash color. The heads of some individuals are crested, and the jaws are 

 furnished with sharp teeth. The mouth can be opened to an extraordinary extent. 

 The wings, which are Avithout feathers and resemble those of a bat, maintain flight 

 with some difficulty. The body is covered with scales of such strength that they 

 have resisted balls. The strength of the dragon is such it can engage the eagle and 

 the elephant to advantage. The tail is no less feared than its mortal bite. It is used 

 with success in squeezing the prey, or striking it when thrown to the ground." 



The congruity of parts expressed in such a creature, which is " neither fish, flesh, 

 fowl, nor good red herring," was probably prominent with those who have a lingering 



* On IVe History of (lie Dragon. C. I . M. Uorfeuille. 



