48o 
ON BREEDING. 
-By Mr. Karkeek, Truro. 
To choose a youthful steed with courage fired, 
To breed him, break him, back him, are required 
> Experienc’d masters, and in sundry ways, 
Their labour equal, and alike their praise. 
Dryden’s translation of Virgil. 
FEW animals have afforded a greater field to the poet for dis¬ 
playing his imaginative flights, or have better deserved the uni¬ 
versal and just applause which have been paid him, than the 
horse. I shall not attempt to write any laboured encomiums of 
my own, for it would be as “ wasteful and ridiculous ” 
“ To gild refined gold, to paint the lily, 
To throw a perfume on the violet," 
as to endeavour, with my feeble powers, to set forth his perfec¬ 
tions, when poets in all ages have delighted 
“ The swift-heel’d horse to praise, and sing Ills rapid flight." 
Amongst the many authors who have distinguished themselves 
in describing the qualities of this noble animal, Virgil stands pre¬ 
eminent. From his knowledge of rural affairs, and of natural his¬ 
tory, which he was master of in so eminent a degree, we need not 
wonder that his lofty genius inspired him to laud the actions of 
“ The generous horse, that, nobly wild, 
Neighs on the hills, and dares the angry lion;" 
and having, when young, cultivated the science of medicine, he 
’ was able to discourse on their diseases, and well “to sing” 
“ Morborum quoque te causas, et signa doccbo." 
The art of training and breeding horses, and rendering them 
subservient to the use of man, was once in such high repute, that 
“iTTroJapusc,” or horse-breaker, was thought to be a title worthy 
of kings and heroes. iEschylus introduces Prometheus boast¬ 
ing that, amongst other useful inventions, he had taught mortals 
how to render horses obedient— 
“ I3y me the harness’d steed was train’d to whirl 
The rapid car, and grace the pride of wealth." 
The Muse has ever varied her theme, by “singing sometimes 
the hero, sometimes tl;e horseand in such high estimation were 
they held by the ancients, as to be considered worthy of a situa¬ 
tion even in the “ Elysian fields,” where Ovid describes them as 
“ living on ambrosia ;” 
R 
