22 
ANIMALS 
of a quadruped, except to that of the horse; the excep¬ 
tion is probably due to the fact of the horse being an 
unknown animal in Egypt when the decree was made. 
The phase adopted can readily be seen by watching a 
cow grazing until it reaches a stage of progress when, 
with all four feet on the ground, the right legs incline 
forward from their base and the left legs incline backward, 
the direction usually being from left to right. This phase 
of the walk was used by the Egyptians for asses, oxen, 
jackals, porcupines, and other animals, in endless repeti¬ 
tion, in their manuscripts and decorative paintings, and 
in the carvings on their temples and sarcophagi. The 
common Egyptian interpretation of the walk is represented 
by the photograph of the ass, p. 83. 
Although in Egyptian art the horse is far less skil¬ 
fully drawn than are other animals, the expression given 
to his walk is correct; the phase usually adopted resembles 
that of 2, series 1. Whether the Assyrians derived their 
art inspirations from the Egyptians, the Egyptians from 
the Chaldaeans, or whether they were all originally taught 
by a race of whom we have no remains or tradition, will 
probably never be determined. It is evident that there 
was much communication between the people of the 
second Assyrian empire and the Egyptians. There are 
strong points of resemblance in their interpretations of 
animal movements; the bent knee in the walk of the 
former, however, is not usually found on the Nile, except 
in illustrations of the horse. 
In Hamilton’s “ Early Greek Vases” appears a design 
of Diomedes and Ulysses, presenting to Nestor the horses 
MOTION. 
of Rhesus; the horses are apparently copied from some 
Egyptian design. 
In the perfection of their work, some of the later 
Greeks were inclined to represent the walk more, perhaps, 
as they thought it ought to be than as it really is. 
On the arch of Titus; the column of Trajan, and in 
many of their statues, the Romans seem to have been 
indifferent to their interpretation of this action. 
A certain phase of the trot has been very generally 
used by painters and sculptors of the horse to represent 
the action of walking. It is frequently difficult, both in 
ancient and modern art, to determine whether it is the 
intention of the designer to indicate a trot of ten miles 
an hour or a walk of one-third of that speed. 
The statue of Marcus Aurelius, at Rome, is a 
remarkable instance of the failure of a sculptor to 
express his obvious intention. The pose of the emperor, 
and other circumstances, point to a deliberate motion 
of the horse, which is not confirmed by its method of 
progress. 
Many of the equestrian statues of Europe and America 
are, virtually, reproductions of Marcus Aurelius, and 
represent the legs of the animal performing a lively trot 
of eight or ten miles an hour, while the rider sits with 
as calm a repose as if taking part in a solemn procession. 
The larger figure, p. 41, very closely reproduces the phase 
of motion, selected by the sculptor, for the horse on which 
the Roman emperor is seated. 
This apparent indifference, or lack of discrimination 
by the artist, was shown in the reliefs on the column 
