A Dissertation on Horses: Wherein It is Demonstrated, by Matters of Fact, as Well as from the Principles of Philosophy, That Innate Qualities Do Not Exist, and That the Excellence of This Animal is Altogether Mechanical and Not in the BloodOsmer, William
History
A Dissertation on Horses: Wherein It is Demonstrated, by Matters of Fact, as Well as from the Principles of Philosophy, That Innate Qualities Do Not Exist, and That the Excellence of This Animal is Altogether Mechanical and Not in the Blood
"Seu quis Olympiacea mieratus praemia palme,
"Pascit Equos, feu quis fortes ad aratra Juvencos,
"Corpora praecipue matrum legat."
But I should not escape the censure of the critics on this
occasion, I expect the thanks of all the handsome well-made women
in the kingdom, for this hint, who understand Latin; and where
they do not, I hope their paramours will instill the meaning of
it, as deeply as they can into them. But to return to the breeding
of Horses.
We pay little regard to the mechanism of the female, or of the
Horse to which we put her, but generally choose some particular
Horse for the sake of the cross, or because he is called an
Arabian; whereas, in fact, every Stallion will not be suited to
every Mare, but he who has a fine female, and judgment enough to
adapt her shapes with propriety to a fine male, will always breed
the best racer, let the sort of blood be what it will, always
supposing it to be totally foreign. The truth of this will be
confirmed by our observation, which shews us, that Horses do race,
and do not race, of all families and all crosses.
We find also, that affinity of blood in the brute creation, if not
continued too long in the same channel, is no impediment to the
perfection of the animal, for experience teaches us, it will hold
good many years in the breed of game cocks. Besides, we know that
Childers, which was perhaps the best racer ever bred in this
kingdom, had in his veins a consanguinity of blood; his pedigree
informing us, that his great grandam was got by Spanker, the dam
of which Mare was also the dam of the said Spanker.
If we inquire a little farther into the different species of the
creation, we shall find this principle concerning perfection of
shape still more verified. Amongst game cocks we shall find, that
wheresoever power and propriety of shape prevails most, that side
(condition alike) will generally prevail. We shall find also, that
one cock perfectly made, will beat two or three of his own
brothers imperfectly made. If any man should boast of the blood of
his cocks, and say that the uncommon virtue of this animal, which
we call game, is innate, I answer no, for that all principles, and
all ideas arise from sensation and reflection, and are therefore
acquired.
We perceive this spirit of fighting in game chicken, which they
exert occasionally from their infancy; even so it is amongst
dunghill chickens, though not carried to that degree of
perseverance.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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