The Lion

“ The Lion arose and followed the Wild Dog, and when they were come to where the hunter was, the hunter prepared himself: he had put on his forest garment, had sewn the bill of a long bird to his cap, and put it on his head, and he walked as a bird. The Wild Dog, seeing him, said to the Lion:
"Brother Lion, yonder is that black bird. Go and catch him, and when thou hast caught him, please give me one of his legs, for I want it for a charm." ”

“ When encountered in the daytime, the lion stands a second or two, gazing, then turns slowly round, and walks as slowly away for a dozen paces, looking over his shoulder; then begins to trot, and, when he thinks himself out of sight, bounds off like a greyhound. ”

“ A lion was standing, still as a carved beast, at the far end of that little clearing—he was the something else. Goodness and his kingly self alone knew how long he had been there, that great, heavy-jowled, deep-bellied, haughty-eyed brute. ”

“ As they move forward, the lion at first looks at them very calmly, and very often wags his tail as if in a playful humour; but when they approach nearer, he growls, as if to warn them off. Then, as they continue to approach, he gradually draws up his hind-legs under his body, ready for a spring at them as soon as they are within distance, and you see nothing of him except his bristling mane and his eyes glaring like fire ”

“ The Lion seems to delight in the tempests of wind and rain, so common in Southern Africa; his voice mingles with the thunder, and adds to the terror of the timid animals, on whom he then boldly advances. ”

“ And as when a bearded lion, a ravening lion on the hills, hears the bleating of a fawn afar off, and rushes forth from his lair to seize it, his readiest meal, even so the mighty Heracles, in longing for the lad, sped through the trackless briars, and ranged over much country. ”

“ The sands and suns that breed Lions, breed Men with Lion's hearts in them. The Lion is for himself noble, but blood of the Irrational in the veins of the Rational is a contradiction. The noblest moral nature and the hot blind rage of animal blood! ”

“ So, on the following morning, in the early dawn, the terrace around the lion's pit was crowded with people. For three days the grand lion had been deprived of food in order that he might be the more ferocious and terrible. His eyes shone like two balls of fire, and he incessantly lashed his flanks with his tail. At one moment he would madly roar, and, in the next, rub himself against the wall, vainly trying to find a chink between the stones in which to insert his claws. ”

“ THE LION.
There is, in the appearance of the lion, something both noble and imposing. Nature has given him wonderful strength and beauty.
His body, when full grown, is only about seven feet long and less than four feet high; but his large and shapely head, with its powerful jaws, his glaring eye, and long, flowing mane, give him an air of majesty that shows him worthy of the name—"King of Beasts."
Yet we are told that a lion will not willingly attack man, unless first attacked himself or driven by hunger to forget his habits. ”

“ THE MAN AND THE LION
ONCE upon a time a Man and a Lion were journeying together, and came at length to high words about which was the braver and stronger creature of the two. As the dispute waxed warmer they happened to pass by, on the road-side, a statue of a man strangling a lion. "See there," said the Man; "what more undeniable proof can you have of our superiority than that?" "That," said the Lion, "is your version of the story; let us be the sculptors, and for one lion under the feet of a man, you shall have twenty men under the paw of a lion. ”

“ But at this instant the dogs boldly flew in between us and the lion, and surrounding him, kept him at bay by their violent and resolute barking. The courage of these faithful animals was most admirable; they advanced up to the side of the huge beast, and stood making the greatest clamour in his face, without the least appearance of fear. The lion, conscious of his strength, remained unmoved at their noisy attempts, and kept his lead towards us. ”

“ Now the lion is an intellectual beast, at least he has that reputation; but what creature lives, that can take in, and hold, two ideas at one time? But, to have seventeen colors, hues, tints, and shades, moving before him, fairly scrambled the contents of the lion’s brain pan. ”

“ Lions are like cats in one respect: they do not kill at once, and put the poor creature out of his misery, any more than pussy does the poor frantic little mouse. The lion stands and looks the man in the eye, and makes believe he is going to eat him in about a half a minute, and when he has frightened the poor fellow almost to death, he gives him a great slap with his paw, or flaps his great bushy tail in his face, as if to say, how do you like that? ”

“ On the contrary, the lion itself can scarcely give it points in roaring, while there is added to its utterance a curious something, between a bellow and a boom, which makes it one of the most remarkable and awe-inspiring in nature. ”

“ Even the sun fails to get it; both the photographer and the carver give you a dying lion, and that is all. The shape is right, the attitude is right, the proportions are right, but that indescribable something which makes the Lion of Lucerne the most mournful and moving piece of stone in the world, is wanting. ”

“ Sire, the lion is the king of the desert—but if he is in a cage—he listens to the voice of his keeper—thou knowest this hand, which hath fought for thee in many engagements—and thou knowest that whatever this hand seizeth it seizeth with a grasp of iron. ”

“ These fables, therefore, and a hundred others, are not written to dignify the royalty of the lion among the beasts, but to depreciate royalty among men under the symbol of a lion, — an animal that has a majestic aspect and noble antecedents, but is both tyrannical and mean, mutton-headed and stealthy. His friends are always the cunning, and his natural enemies the courageous. ”

“ Like everything great, the Lion has his share of critics and detractors. A few writers have asserted that because he does not stalk through his native forests with head proudly erect, like a drum-major on parade, he is mean-spirited and cowardly. ”

“ And, as I tell you, O reverend one abounding in virtues, this lion which still lives near Tabariat, was formerly a strong lion, a wonderful lion, a lion among lions! To-day, even, he can strike a camel dead with one blow of his paw, and then, plunging his fangs into the spine of the dead animal, toss it upon his shoulders with a single movement of his neck. But unfortunately, having one day brought down a goat in the chase by simply blowing upon it the breath of his nostrils, the lion was inflated with pride and cried: 'There is no god but God, but I am as strong as God. ”

“ There is something so noble and imposing in the presence of the lion, when seen walking with dignified self-possession, free and undaunted, on his native soil, that no description can convey an adequate idea of his striking appearance. The lion is exquisitely formed by nature for the predatory habits which he is destined to pursue. ”

“ Dublin University Magazine.
THE EPIC OF THE LION. ("Un lion avait pris un enfant.") {XIII.} A Lion in his jaws caught up a child— Not harming it—and to the woodland, wild With secret streams and lairs, bore off his prey— The beast, as one might cull a bud in May. It was a rosy boy, a king's own pride, A ten-year lad, with bright eyes shining wide, And save this son his majesty beside Had but one girl, two years of age, and so The monarch suffered, being old, much woe; His heir the monster's prey, while the whole land In dread both of the beast and king did stand ”

“ On the long road beyond there dwells a lion-king, alla if other beasts did not fear him they would ravage the whole country and let no one pass. The lion is a red transgressor, so when he comes rise and do him reverence; take a cloth and rub the dust and earth from his face, then set the game you have taken before him, well cleansed, and lay the hands of respect on your breast. When he wishes to eat, take your knife and cut pieces of the meat and set them before him with a bow. ”

“ It is only in the deserts and rocky hills of Asia and Africa that they are met with.
Those who have visited a menagerie, and have seen a lion within the limits of a narrow iron cage, can form no idea of the majesty of the brute when roaming about freely on his native soil.
The voice of the lion is loud and strong. It is likely to strike terror to the bravest heart. ”

“ Here come two noble beasts
in, a
man and a lion.
Enter LION and MOONSHINE
LION. You, ladies, you, whose gentle hearts do fear
The smallest monstrous mouse that creeps on floor,
May now, perchance, both quake and tremble here,
When lion rough in wildest rage doth roar.
Then know that I as Snug the joiner am
A lion fell, nor else no lion's dam;
For, if I should as lion come in strife
Into this place, 'twere pity on my life.
THESEUS. A very gentle beast, and of a good conscience.
DEMETRIUS. The very best at a beast, my lord, that e'er I saw. ”

“ The lion well typifies her people who are courageous, aggressive, persistent and, where her interests are involved, politic in an extreme degree. Ever with unclosed eyes, with but half sheathed claws, the lion waits and watches, waits and watches. ”

“ In appearance a full-maned, well-proportioned lion lying in peaceful repose in a European menagerie, gazing placidly and thoughtfully out of sleepy, brownish yellow eyes at the human crowd beyond the bars of its cage, is a truly dignified and majestic-looking animal ”

“ The lion, whose voracious jaw opens like the door of an oven, so that the tamers of wild beasts have no scruple in thrusting in their whole heads, a mouthful a good deal larger than an apple; the lion, who has no doctors, would often be liable to this accident—an irremediable one in his case—if nature had not made a special provision for him. ”

“ Although the lion is known to be rather a skulking brute than otherwise, there is such a suggestion of latent power combined with careless grace in its carriage, that it compels one’s admiration and causes lion-shooting to appear an eminently desirable method of passing one’s time. ”

“ How strong we are, and how we prevail over even the king of beasts." The Lion replied: "That statue was made by one of you men. If we Lions knew how to erect statues, you would see the Man placed under the paw of the Lion." ”

“ When the King sent for his twelve huntsmen next morning they walked through the ante-room without even casting a glance at the spinning-wheels.’
Then the King said once more to the Lion: ‘You have deceived me again; they are men, for they never once looked at the spinning-wheels.’
The Lion replied: ‘They knew they were being tried, and they did violence to their feelings.’ But the King declined to believe in the Lion any longer. ”

“ Then the lion called a meeting of all the creatures, wild and tame; for you know the lion is king of beasts and when he calls they all must come. You know, too, that before and during and after these animal congresses there is a royal peace. The lamb can come to the meeting and sit down by the wolf, and the wolf dare not touch him; the dove may perch on the bough between the hawk and the owl and neither will harm him, when the great king of beasts has summoned them all together [Pg 151] to take counsel. ”

“ The Lion thus retorts:—"Savage I am, but no Creature can be called Cruel but what either by Malice or Insensibility extinguishes his natural Pity: The Lion was born without Compassion; we follow the instinct of our Nature; the Gods have appointed us to live upon the waste and spoil of other Animals, and as long as we can meet with dead ones, we never hunt after the Living. 'Tis only Man, mischievous Man, that can make Death a sport. ”

“ At all these consultations the keeper assisted; and, in short, the lion was the sole and single subject of discussion till they sat him down to whist, and then the people relapsed into their old topics of conversation--themselves and each other.
We must confess that we looked forward with no slight impatience to the announcement of supper; for if you wish to see a tame lion under particularly favourable circumstances, feeding-time is the period of all others to pitch upon. ”

“ There are many causes to affect the courage and ferocity of the lion. His age—the state of his stomach—the season of the year—the hour of the day—but, above all, the sort of hunters that belong to the district he inhabits.
This last fact appears quite natural to those who believe in the intellect of animals, which of course I do. It is perfectly natural that the lion, as well as other animals, should soon learn the character of his enemy, and fear him or not, as the case may be. ”

“ IV. LION FABLES.
[Contents]
22. THE FLYING LION.
(The original, in the Hottentot language, is in Sir G. Grey’s Library, G. Krönlein’s Manuscript, pp. 3, 4.)
The Lion, it is said, used once to fly, and at that time nothing could live before him. As he was unwilling that the bones of what he caught should be broken into pieces, he made a pair of White Crows watch the bones, leaving them behind at the kraal whilst he went a-hunting. But one day the great Frog came there, broke the bones in pieces, and said, “Why can men and animals live no longer?” ”

“ At this kindness on the part of the great creature, Una bent her head and wept grievously. ‘He, my lion and my noble lord, how does he find it in his cruel heart to hate her that him loved?’ she moaned sadly, and the lion again looked pityingly at her, and at last the maiden checked her sobs and bade her ass go on, the lion walking by her side during the day, and sleeping at her feet by night.
[102] They had travelled far and for many days, through a wilderness untrodden by either man or beast, when at the foot of a mountain they spied a damsel bearing on her shoulder a pot of water. ”

“ In which the Lion, that used at Pleasure to lay the Pastures waste, is represented as not daring to touch the Lilies, or murmur at their Growth: The Lion, it is true, is one of the Supporters, of the Arms of England, and may therefore figure our Countrymen, who have in ancient Times made France a Desert. But can it be said, that the Lion dares not murmur or rage (for fremere may import both) when it is evident, that for many Years this whole Kingdom has murmured? ”