But what atonement could I offer to thee, Marcus Tullius Cicero, were I to be silent respecting thy name? or on what ground am I to pronounce thee especially preëminent? On what, indeed, that can be more convincing than the most abundant testimony that was offered in thy favor by the whole Roman people? Thou speakest, and the tribes surrender the Agrarian law, or, in other words, their very subsistence; thou advisest them to do so, and they pardon Roscius, the author of the law for the regulation of the theatres, and, without any feelings of resentment, allow a mark to be put upon themselves by allotting them an inferior seat; thou entreatest, and the sons of proscribed men blush at having canvassed for public honors: before thy genius Catiline took to flight, and it was thou who didst proscribe Marcus Antonius. Hail, then, to thee, who wast the first of all to receive the title of Father of thy country, who wast the first of all, while wearing the toga, to merit a triumph, and who didst obtain the laurel for oratory. Great father, thou, of eloquence and of Latin literature! as the Dictator Cæsar, once thy enemy, wrote in testimony of thee,[78] thou didst require a laurel superior to every triumph! How far greater and more glorious to have enlarged so immeasurably the boundaries of the Roman genius, than those of its sway!
Book IV. THE NATURE OF TERRESTRIAL ANIMALS.
The elephant is the largest of all the land animals, and in intelligence approaches the nearest to man. He understands the language of his country, obeys commands, and remembers all the duties which he has been taught. He is sensible alike of the pleasures of love and glory, and, to a degree that is rare among men even, possesses notions of honesty, prudence, and equity; he has a religious respect also for the stars, and a veneration for the sun and the moon.[79] It is said by some authors, that, at the first appearance of the new moon, herds of these animals come down from the forests of Mauritania to a river, the name of which is Amilo; and that they there purify themselves in solemn form by sprinkling their bodies with water; after which, having thus saluted the heavenly body, they return to the woods, carrying before them the young ones which are fatigued. They are supposed to have a notion, too, of the differences of religion; and when about to cross the sea, they cannot be prevailed upon to go on board the ship until their keeper has promised upon oath that they shall return home again. They have been seen, too, when worn out by disease, lying on their backs and throwing the grass up into the air, as if deputing the earth to intercede for them with its prayers. As a proof of their extreme docility, they pay homage to the king, fall upon their knees, and offer him the crown.