Georges-Louis Leclerc de Buffon

“ On the countenance of a new born infant there appears no vestige of the passions, the features of the face not having acquired that consistence and form which are necessary for expressing the sentiments of the soul. All the other parts of its body are alike feeble and delicate; its motions are unsteady and uncertain; it is unable to stand upright; its legs and thighs are still bent, from the habit it contracted in the womb; it has not strength enough to stretch forth its arms or to grasp any thing with its hands ”

“ A female, which was five feet three inches long, weighed only one hundred and ninety-four pounds. They are of a dark ash colour, and have hairs scattered over their bodies, very long, and like bristles. The head is conical, and of a middling size, with respect to the bulk of the body. The eyes are round and very small; the iris is of a deep blue, and the pupil black. The muzzle is almost cylindrical; its cheeks are nearly of an equal breadth, and the lips are fleshy and very thick. The only teeth they have either in the upper or lower jaw are grinders. ”

“ Although the fœtus does not immediately adhere to the matrix, but is only attached to it by small external nipples, though it has no communication with the blood of its mother, but is as independant of her who bears it, in many respects, as the egg is of the hen that hatches it, yet it has been pretended, that all which affects the mother affects the fœtus; that the impressions of the one act on the brain of the other ”

“ When made angry he retires backwards, always facing his assailant, and shakes his head very forcibly. After having been confined for any length of time, on being let loose he is very sportive, leaps and pursues the deer, or other animals, and then carries his tail erect, which at other times is pendulous. He has a very strong odour, not disagreeable, yet I do not know any other smell with which it can be compared. He eats all sorts of grain; while bringing him over they fed him with maize, and as much fresh herbage as they could procure ”

“ Their liberty, therefore, has been preserved solely from the weakness of man, who has little or no power without the aid of society, upon which even the multiplication of his species depends. The immense territories of the new world were but thinly inhabited; and, I believe it may be asserted, that on its first discovery, it contained not more than half the number of people that may now be reckoned in Europe. This scarcity of men allowed every other animal to multiply in abundance; every thing was favourable to their increase, and the number of individuals of each species was immense ”

“ His size is not that of an ass, for he is much bigger than the largest horse, or buffalo; he has not a tail like that of the hog, but rather that of the tortoise, except being incomparably larger; his mouth or nose is not elevated, but resembles that of the buffalo, and is much larger; he has no mane like the horse, but only some short hairs; he does not neigh like the horse, but his voice is between the bellowing of the buffalo, and the neighing of the former. His teeth do not jut out of his mouth, for when it is shut, the teeth, although extremely large, are all hid under the lips. ”

“ The male and female go always together; they are white, spotted with red and black; their ears are about half an ell long, and their horns are perfectly straight: they neither fly at the sight of the human species nor do any injury, but only stare at them as they pass along." We have before mentioned, that the animal, called at Congo, empacassa, or pacassa, appeared to be the buffalo. It is, in fact, a kind of buffalo, but differs from it by the shape of the horns and the colour of the hair ”

“ Their eyes are large, expressive, and full of fire; their noses finely shaped, and their lips perfect vermilion; their mouths are small, and constantly expressive of smiles, and their chins form the termination of a perfect oval. Their necks and breasts are admirably formed; their stature is tall, and the shape of their body easy; their skin is white as snow, and their hair of the most beautiful black. They wear a little black stuff cap, over which is fastened a roller of the same colour ”

“ When the horse is impassioned with love he shews his teeth, and seems to laugh; he shews them also when he is angry, and would bite. He sometimes puts out his tongue to lick, but less frequently than the ox, who, notwithstanding, is less sensible to caresses. The horse remembers ill treatment much longer, and is sooner dispirited, than the ox. His natural spirit and courage induce him to make every effort, but when he finds more is expected [166] from him than he is able to perform, he grows angry, and will not endeavour at all ”

“ By the preceding chapter it appears, that there exists in Nature powers relative to the internal part of matter, and which have no relation with its external qualities. These powers, as already observed, will never come under our cognizance, because their action is made on the internal part of the body, whereas our senses cannot reach beyond what is external; it is therefore evident, that we shall never have a clear idea of the penetrating powers, nor of the manner by which they act; but it is not less certain that they exist, than that by their means most effects of Nature are produced ”

“ The natural disposition of wild horses is not ferocious, they are only high-spirited and wild. Though superior in strength to the greatest part of animals, they yet never attack them; and if attacked by others, they either disdain them as foes, and fly out of their way, or give a fatal blow with their heels. They unite themselves in troops, merely for the pleasure of being together, for they have no fear of, but an attachment for each other. As grass and vegetables are sufficient for their nourishment, they have quite enough to satisfy their appetites ”

“ It is commonly in narrow and deep roads, where he can hardly turn, that the negroes attack him, and cut off his tail, which they value as much as the whole animal. He cannot go down a steep declivity without much difficulty, he is then obliged to bend the hind legs, in order to keep the fore part of his body on a level with the hind, and that his own weight may not throw him down. ”

“ The upper part of its body is brown, but the hair having white points, it has the appearance of being a brownish grey; the throat and neck is a bright grey; its nose, and the lower part of its body and legs are black, which forms a singular contrast with its head and neck; it is about seven inches long, its head is large in proportion to its body; its ears are nearly a half circle, its eyes are large, it has strong teeth, five toes upon each foot, yellow claws, and a long tail which ends with a point. ”

“ He may be said to have subdued the elements: by a single ray of his intellect he produced the element of fire, which before did not exist on the surface of the earth: he has cloathed, sheltered, and lodged himself, thus providing against every external attack: he has compensated by his reason for every deficiency; and although not so strong, so large, nor so robust, as many animals, yet he has found means to conquer, subdue, enslave, and deprive them of those spaces which Nature seems to have resigned for their use. ”

“ When they see a man they give a loud cry, turn themselves about, and throw up their legs, then stop, and do not attempt to fly till he comes very near them: [203] they are taken in snares made with ropes, go in troops to pasture, and their flesh is also eaten. There were, in the time of Marmol, wild asses in Sardinia, but they were less than those of Africa; Pietro della Valle says he saw a wild ass at Bassora, whose figure differed in no respect from a domestic one, only of a lighter colour, and had from the head to tail a stripe of white ”

“ The flesh of the young buffaloes, though killed during the sucking time, is not a bit better. The hide alone is of more value than all the rest of the animal, whose tongue is the only part that is fit to eat: this hide is firm, pretty light, and almost impenetrable. As these animals are larger and stronger than oxen they are very serviceable; they make them draw, and not carry burdens; they lead them by the means of a ring passed through their nose. Two buffaloes harnessed, or rather chained, to a carriage, will draw as much as four strong horses. ”

“ In his Theory of the Earth he has displayed a wonderful ingenuity, and shewn the general order of Nature with a masterly hand, although he may be subject to some objections for preferring physical reasonings on general [vii] causes, rather than allowing aught to have arisen from supernatural agency, or the will of the Almighty. In this he has followed the example of all great philosophers, who seem unwilling to admit that the formation of any part of the Universe is beyond their comprehension. ”

“ Nor can I doubt, that in the generation of animals, and particularly in that of man, that the male and female particles mix in the formation of the fœtus, since we see infants which resemble both father and mother; and what confirms this conclusion is, that those parts, common to both sexes, mix promiscuously; whereas those never mix which represent the sexual parts. For we every day see children with eyes like the father, and the forehead and mouth like the mother; but we never find a like mixture of the sexual parts ”

“ It had a circle of white hair all round the face, which gave it a very remarkable appearance: its eyes are large but sunk deep in the head; its face is flat nearly resembling that of a man, and of a tawny colour, and its ears, though well proportioned, are naked. This animal, next to the orang-outang and the pithecos, would approach the nearest to the human form, were it not deformed by the excessive length of its arms: for man in a state of nature would have a strange appearance ”

“ Their noses and lips are thick, and their mouths large. They pull out, it would seem, the two front teeth of the upper jaw; for in neither sex, nor at any age, are they ever found to possess these teeth. They have no beard; their visage is long, nor does it contain one pleasing feature. Their hair is short, black, and frizly, like that of the negroes; and their skin is as black as those of Guinea. Their whole cloathing consists of a bit of the bark of a tree fastened round the middle. They have no houses, and they sleep on the bare ground, without any covering. ”

“ Thither he retires alone, and passes part of the winter without eating or ever stirring abroad. He is not, [276] however, deprived of sensation, like the dormouse or marmot, but being exceedingly fat towards the end of autumn, which is the time he retires, he seems rather to subsist on the exuberance of his former flesh, and does not quit his retreat until he is nearly wasted. We are told that the male quits his den towards the expiration of forty days, but that the female remains four months, by which time she has brought forth her young ”

“ It often sits upon its hind-legs, and more often darts like an arrow upon its prey; its eyes are lively and full of fire; its physiognomy is beautiful, its body very agile, legs short, tail thick and very long, and its hair rough, and sometimes curled. Both male and female have a remarkable orifice, independent of the natural passages; a kind of pouch, in which an odoriferous liquor is secreted; and some have asserted that the ichneumon opens this pouch to refresh itself when too hot. Its nose is very sharp, and its mouth narrow, which prevents it from seizing any thing very large ”

“ The mares of all countries may, nevertheless, produce handsome horses, provided they are themselves well made, of a good breed, and have proper stallions; for if they are engendered from a bad horse the foals which they produce will frequently prove defective. In this species of animals, as well as in the human race, the young frequently resemble their male or female ancestors; only it appears, that in horses the female does not contribute so much to generation as in the human species, where the son oftener resembles the [125] mother than the foal does the mare ”

“ While the rational faculties reign, we are calmly occupied with ourselves, our friends, and affairs. But when the material principle prevails, we devote ourselves with ardour to dissipation, to all the pursuits and passions it creates; and are hardly capable of reflecting upon the very objects by which we are so engrossed. In both these states we are happy; in the former we command with satisfaction, and in the latter, we are still more pleased to obey. As only one of these principles is then in action, and acts without opposition from the other, we feel no internal contrariety ”

“ When, however, he has killed a large animal, as a horse, or buffalo, he does not devour it on the spot, for fear of being disturbed, but drags it off to the forest, which he does with such ease, that the swiftness of his course seems scarcely retarded by the enormous load which he trails after him. ”

“ To the bonasus, bubalus, urus, and bison, have been added, the catopleba, the thur, the bubalus of Belon, the bisons of Scotland and America, and all our naturalists have made as many different species as they have found names. The truth is here so obscured by clouds, and so surrounded with errors, that it will be difficult to clear up this part of Natural History, which the contradiction of reports, the variety of descriptions, the multiplicity of names, the diversity of places, the difference of languages, and the obscurity of the times, seems to have condemned to perpetual darkness. ”