[76]Among the Jews and other nations of antiquity, it was considered an essential point for the priests to be without blemish, perfect and free from disease. [77]Some of these are given by Valerius Maximus. It is very doubtful, however, if Greece did not greatly excel Rome in this respect. [78]This remark is not found in any of Cæsar’s works now extant. [79]Cuvier remarks, that this account of the elephant’s superior intelligence is exaggerated, it being no greater than that of the dog, if, indeed, equal to it. The opinion may perhaps have arisen from the dexterity with which the animal uses its trunk; but this is to be ascribed not to its own intelligence, but to the mechanical construction of the part. The Indians, from whom we presume that Pliny derived his account, have always regarded the elephant with a kind of superstitious veneration. [80]Plutarch informs us, that Pompey had resolved to have his chariot drawn by four elephants, but, finding the gate too narrow, he was obliged to use horses. [81]However ill adapted the elephant may appear, from its size and form, for this feat, we have the testimony of Seneca, Suetonius, Dion Cassius, and Ælian, to the truth of the fact. Suetonius tells us that a horseman ascended a tight rope on an elephant’s back. [82]Plutarch, in his treatise on the Shrewdness of Animals, tells us that this wonderful circumstance happened at Rome. But it would be curious to know in what way the elephant showed that he was “conning” over his lesson. [83]Ælian informs us, that he had seen an elephant write Latin characters. Hardouin remarks, that the Greek would be Αὐτὸς ἐγὼ τάδ ἐγραψα, λαφυρά τε Κελτὰ ἀνὲθηκα. [84]Probably the great quantity of fossil ivory which has been found may have given rise to this tale. [85]Tables and bedsteads were not only covered or veneered with ivory among the Romans, but, in the later times, made of the solid material, as we learn from Ælian and Athenæus. [86]It is scarcely necessary to remark, that these statements respecting the sagacity of the elephant in connection with their teeth, are without foundation. [87]There are coins extant struck to commemorate this victory, in which there is the figure of an elephant. [88]This remark is incorrect; when the water is sufficiently deep, they swim with ease; and if the end of the trunk remains exposed to the atmosphere, they can dive below the surface, or swim with the body immersed. [89]Although these stories of the generosity and clemency of the lion are in a great measure fabulous, still the accounts of those who have had the best opportunity of becoming acquainted with the character of different animals, agree in ascribing to the lion less ferocity and brutality, in proportion to its size and strength, than to other animals of the same family.