THE Elephant, the human species excepted, is the most considerable animal of this world; he surpasses all terrestrial beings in size, and approaches near to man in understanding, as much, at least, as matter can approach to mind. The elephant, dog, beaver, and ape, of all the animated beings, have the most admirable instinct; but this instinct, which is only the product of all the interior and exterior faculties of the animal, manifests itself very differently in every one of these species. The dog is naturally as cruel and bloody as the wolf; but his ferocious nature is to be conquered by gentleness: he only differs from the other animals of prey, by possessing a degree of sensibility, which makes him susceptible of affection, and capable of attachment. He has from nature this disposition, which man has cultivated and improved by a constant and ancient society with this animal. The dog alone was worthy of this attention, as he is more capable than any other quadruped of foreign impressions, his social nature has improved all his relative faculties. His sensibility, tractable temper, courage, talents, and even his manners, are modified by the example and qualities of his matter. He has not then, from nature, all those qualifications he appears to possess, but has acquired them from his intercourse with men; he is only more susceptible of tuition than other animals; far from having, like most of them, a disgust for man, his inclination leads him to seek their society: actuated by a desire of pleasing, his tractability, fidelity, constant submission, and that attention necessary to act in consequence of man’s orders, are the result of this natural sentiment.
The ape, on the contrary, is untractable and eccentric; his nature is perverse; he has no relative sensibility, no gratitude for good treatment, and no remembrance of favours; he is naturally averse from the society of man, he hates constraint, is mischievous by nature, and inclined to do every thing hurtful and disagreeable. But these real faults are compensated by seeming perfections. His exterior conformation resembles that of man, he has arms, hands, and fingers. The use of these parts alone, makes him superior in dexterity to other animals; and the affinities to us which he then possesses by a similarity of motions, and the conformity of his actions, please and deceive us, and induce us to attribute to interior qualities, what depends merely on the formation of his members.
The beaver, who seems inferior to the dog and ape, by his individual faculties, has nevertheless received from Nature a gift almost equivalent to that of speech; he makes himself so well understood by those of his own species, as to bring them together; to act in concert, and to undertake and execute extensive and continued labours in common; and this social love, as well as the product of their reciprocal understanding, have better claims to our admiration, than the dexterity of the ape, or the faithfulness of the dog.
Thus the dog’s genius is only borrowed; the ape has but the appearance of sagacity, and the beaver is only sensible in regard to himself, and those of his species. The elephant is superior to them all three, for in him are united all their most eminent qualities. The hand is the principal organ of the ape’s dexterity; the elephant is equally so with his trunk, which serves him instead of arms and hands, by it he can lift up, and seize small as well as large objects, carry them to his mouth, place them on his back, hold them fast, or throw them to a distance; he has at the same time the docility of the dog; he is, like him, susceptible of gratitude, capable of a strong attachment, attends upon man without reluctance, and submits to him, not so much by force as good treatment; serves him with zeal, intelligence, and fidelity; in fine, the elephant, the same as the beaver, likes the society of his own species, and by whom he is understood. They are often seen to assemble together, disperse, and act in concert, and if they do not carry on any work in common, it is, perhaps, only for want of room and tranquillity; for men have been very anciently multiplied in all the regions inhabited by the elephant; he consequently lives in fear and anxiety, and is no where a peaceful possessor of a space large and free enough to establish a secure habitation. We have seen that all these advantages are requisite to manifest the talents of the beaver, and that wherever men are settled, he loses his industry, and ceases to build. Every being has its relative value in Nature. To judge of the elephant, we must allow him to possess the sagacity of the beaver, the dexterity of the ape, the sentiment of the dog with the peculiar advantages of strength, bigness, and longevity. We must not forget his arms, or tusks, with which he can pierce through and conquer the lion. We should also recollect that he shakes the ground at every step; that with his trunk he roots out trees; that with the strength of his body, he makes a breach in the wall; that though tremendous by his strength, he is more invincible by the resistance of his bulky massiveness, and the thickness of his skin; that he can carry on his back an armed tower filled with many men; and that he alone moves machines, and carries burthens, which six horses cannot move. To this prodigious strength, he joins courage, prudence, coolness, and an exact obedience; he preserves moderation even in his most violent passions; he is more constant than impetuous in love: in anger he does not forget his friends; he never attacks any but those who have given him some offence; and he remembers favours as long as injuries. Having no taste for flesh, and feeding chiefly upon vegetables, he is not naturally an enemy to any living creature; he is beloved by them all, since all of them respect, and no one has cause to fear him. For these reasons, men at all times have had a sort of veneration for this first of animals. The ancients considered the elephant as a prodigy, a miracle of Nature, and he is in reality her greatest effort; they have attributed to him without hesitation, intellectual qualities and moral virtues.
Pliny, Ælian, Solinus, Plutarch, and other more modern authors, have even given to this animal rational faculties, a natural innate religion, the observation of a daily worship, such as that of the sun and moon, the use of ablution before adoration, a spirit of divination, piety towards heaven and their fellow creatures whom they assist at their deaths; and after their decease, express their regret by tears, and cover them with earth. The Indians, prepossessed with the opinion of the metempsychosis, are to this day persuaded, that a body so majestic as that of the elephant cannot be animated but by the soul of a great man, or a king. They respect at Siam,[AE] Laos, and Pegu, white elephants as the living manes of the emperors of India. They have each of them a palace, a number of servants, golden vessels, exquisite dainties, magnificent trappings, and are absolved from all labour and obedience; the living emperor is the only one before whom they kneel down, and the monarch returns the salute. These flattering attentions, this respect, these offerings flatter them but do not inspire them with vanity; they have not consequently a human soul, and this circumstance should be sufficient to prove it to the Indians.
[AE] The white elephant, so much respected in India, and who has been the cause of so many wars, is very small and wrinkled with age. He is attended by several mandarins who are appointed to take care of him, and his victuals is presented to him in large golden vessels; his apartment is very magnificent, and gilt all round. At about a league from the country-house belonging to the king, is another white elephant, kept as a successor to the former, whom they say is 300 years old. He is also attended by mandarins, and his mother and aunt are kept with him out of respect. Premier Voyage du P. Tachard.
Without adopting the credulities of antiquity, and the puerile fictions of superstition, the elephant is an animal still worth the attention of a philosopher, who ought to consider him as a being of the first distinction. He deserves to be known, and to be observed; we shall therefore write his history with impartiality; we shall consider him at first in his state of nature when he is free and independent, and afterwards in his servile condition, when the will of his master becomes the cause of his actions.