But the most material thing in breeding all animals, and to which we pay the least regard, either in the race of men or Horses, is the choice of the female, who not only joins in the production of the foetus, but in the formation of it also. And that the female has even the greatest share in the production of the foetus, will be proved by this instance: if you take a dunghill cock and put to a game hen, and also put a brother of that game hen to a sister of the dunghill cock, those chickens bred from the game hen will be found much superior to those chickens bred from the dunghill hen.
And here I beg leave to be allowed (without the imputation2 of pedantry) one quotation3 from Virgil, who is supposed to have well understood the laws of nature. In his description of the choice of animals for procreation, in the third chapter of his Georgic's, and the 49th verse, you will find it thus written:
"Seu quis Olympiacea mieratus praemia palme,
"Pascit Equos, feu quis fortes4 ad aratra Juvencos,
"Corpora praecipue matrum legat."
But I should not escape the censure5 of the critics on this occasion, I expect the thanks of all the handsome well-made women in the kingdom, for this hint, who understand Latin; and where they do not, I hope their paramours will instill the meaning of it, as deeply as they can into them. But to return to the breeding of Horses.
We pay little regard to the mechanism6 of the female, or of the Horse to which we put her, but generally choose some particular Horse for the sake of the cross, or because he is called an Arabian; whereas, in fact, every Stallion will not be suited to every Mare7, but he who has a fine female, and judgment8 enough to adapt her shapes with propriety9 to a fine male, will always breed the best racer, let the sort of blood be what it will, always supposing it to be totally foreign. The truth of this will be confirmed by our observation, which shews us, that Horses do race, and do not race, of all families and all crosses.
We find also, that affinity10 of blood in the brute11 creation, if not continued too long in the same channel, is no impediment to the perfection of the animal, for experience teaches us, it will hold good many years in the breed of game cocks. Besides, we know that Childers, which was perhaps the best racer ever bred in this kingdom, had in his veins12 a consanguinity13 of blood; his pedigree informing us, that his great grandam was got by Spanker, the dam of which Mare was also the dam of the said Spanker.
If we inquire a little farther into the different species of the creation, we shall find this principle concerning perfection of shape still more verified. Amongst game cocks we shall find, that wheresoever power and propriety of shape prevails most, that side (condition alike) will generally prevail. We shall find also, that one cock perfectly14 made, will beat two or three of his own brothers imperfectly made. If any man should boast of the blood of his cocks, and say that the uncommon15 virtue16 of this animal, which we call game, is innate17, I answer no, for that all principles, and all ideas arise from sensation and reflection, and are therefore acquired.
We perceive this spirit of fighting in game chicken, which they exert occasionally from their infancy18; even so it is amongst dunghill chickens, though not carried to that degree of perseverance19.
When arrived at maturity20, we see these different birds will still continue to fight if they meet; if I should be asked why the perseverance of fighting in one does not continue to death, as in the other, I answer, that from a different texture21 of the organs of the body, different sensations will arise, and consequently different effects be produced; and this will be proved by instances from the best of those very cocks which are called game, who (it is well know) when they suffer a variation in their texture, or as cockers term it, become rotten, run away themselves, and their descendants also; which sensation of fear could not be produced by any alteration22 in the body, if this principle of game was innate.
Amongst men, do we not perceive agility23 and strength stand forth24 confessed in the fabric25 of their bodies? do not even the passions and pleasures of mankind greatly depend on the organs of their bodies? Amongst dogs, we shall find the foxhound prevailing26 over all others in speed and in bottom; but if not in speed, in bottom at least I hope it will be allowed. To what shall we impute27 this perfection in him? Shall we impute it to his blood, or to that elegance28 of form in which is found no unnecessary weight to oppress the muscles, or detract from his ability of perseverance? if to blood, from whence shall we deduce it? or from what origin is it derived29? Surely no man means more, when he talks of the blood of foxhounds, than to intimate that they are descended30 from such, whose ancestors have been eminent31 for their good qualifications, and have shone conspicuous32 in the front of the pack for many generations.
But allowing this system of blood to exist in hounds and Horses, let us consider how inconsistently and differently we act with respect to each; with respect to hounds, if when arrived at maturity, we think them ill shaped and loosely made, we at once dispose of them without any trial, well knowing they will not answer our expectations: whereas, in Horses, let the shape be what it will, we are persuaded to train, because the jockey says thay are very HIGH-BRED. If we now compare the blood of Horses with that of dogs, shall not we find the case to be similar? will not the origin be as uncertain in Horses as in dogs? it is true, in some foreign countries they have long pedigrees of their Horses as well as we, but what proofs have they themselves of this excellence33 of the blood in one Horse more than another of the same country? I never heard they made any trial of their Horses in the racing34 way, but if they did, their decision would be as uncertain as ours with respect to the blood, because their decision must be determined35 by events alone, and therefore, by no means a proper foundation whereon to build a system, or establish a fact, which can be accounted for by causes.
The jockeys have an expression which, if this system be true, is the most senseless imaginable: I have heard it often said, Such a Horse has speed enough if his heart do but lie in the right place. In answer to this, let us consider a Horse as a piece of animated36 machinery37 (for it is in reality no other); let us set this piece of machinery going, and strain the works of it; if the works are are** not analogous38 to each other, will not the weakest give way? and when that happens, will not the whole be out of tune39? But if we suppose a piece of machinery, whose works bear a true proportion and analogy to each other, these will bear a greater stress, will act with greater force, more regularity40 and continuance of time. If it be objected, that foreign Horses seldom race themselves, and therefore it must be in the blood, I think nothing more easily answered; for we seldom see any of these Horses sent us from abroad, especially from Arabia, but what are more or less disproportioned, crooked41, and deformed42 in some part or other; and when we see this deformity of shape, can we any longer wonder at their inability of racing: add to this, many of them are perhaps full-aged before they arrive in this kingdom; whereas, it is generally understood, that a proper training from his youth is necessary to form a good racer.
But be this as it will, let us consider how it happens, that these awkward, cross-shaped, disproportioned Horses, seemingly contrary to the laws of nature, beget43 Horses of much finer shapes than themselves, as we daily see produced in this Kingdom. And here I acknowledge myself to have been long at a loss how to account for this seeming difficulty.
I have been often conversant44 with travelers, concerning the nature and breed of these Horses; few of whom could give any account of the matter, from having had no taste therein, or any delight in that animal: but, at length, I became acquainted with a gentleman of undoubted veracity45; whose word may be relied on, whose taste and judgment in Horses inferior to no man's.
He says, that having spent a considerable part of his life at Scanderoon and Alleppo**, he frequently made excursions amongst the Arabs; excited by curiosity, as well as to gratify his pleasures. (The Arabs, here meant, are subjects of the grand seignior**, and receive a stipend46 from that court, to keep the wild Arabs in awe47, who are a fierce banditti**, and live by plunder48.) He says also, that these stipendiary Arabs are a very worthy49 set of people, exactly resembling another worthy set of people we have in England called Lawyers; for that they receive fees from both parties; and when they can do it with impunity50, occasionally rob themselves. These Arabs encamp on the deserts together in large numbers, and with them moves all their houshold**; that these people keep numbers of greyhound, for the sake of coursing the game and procuring51 their subsistance: and that he has often been with parties for the sake of coursing amongst those people, and continued with them occasionally for a considerable space of time. That by them you are furnished with dogs and horses; for the use of which you give them a reward. He says they live all together; men, horses, dogs, colts, women, and children. That these colts, having no green herbage to feed upon when taken from the mare, are brought up by hand, and live as the children do; and that the older Horses have no other food, than straw and choped** barley52, which these Arabs procure53 from the villages most adjacent to their encampments. The colts, he says, run about with their dams on all expeditions, till weaned; for that it is the custom of the Arabs to ride their mares, as thinking them the fleetest, and not their horses; from whence we may infer, that the mare colts are best fed and taken care of. That if you ask one of these banditti to sell his mare, his answer is, that on her speed depends his own head. He says also, the stone colts are so little regarded, that it is difficult to find a Horse of any tolerable size and shape amongst them.
If this then is the case, shall we be any longer at a loss to account for the deformity of an animal, who, from his infancy, is neglected, starved, and dried up, for want of juices? or shall we wonder that his offspring, produced in a land of plenty, of whom the greatest care is taken, who is defended from the extremity54 of heat and cold, whose food is never limited, and whose vessels55 are filled with the juices of the sweetest herbage, shall we wonder, I say, that his offspring, so brought up, should acquire a more perfect shape and size than his progenitor56? or if the Sire is not able to race, shall we wonder that the Son, whose shape is more perfect, should excel his Sire in all performances?
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1
entailed
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| 使…成为必要( entail的过去式和过去分词 )； 需要； 限定继承； 使必需 | |
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2
imputation
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| n.归罪，责难 | |
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3
quotation
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| n.引文，引语，语录；报价，牌价，行情 | |
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4
fortes
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| n.特长，专长，强项( forte的名词复数 )；强音( fortis的名词复数 ) | |
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5
censure
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| v./n.责备；非难；责难 | |
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mechanism
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| n.机械装置；机构，结构 | |
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7
mare
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| n.母马，母驴 | |
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8
judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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9
propriety
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| n.正当行为；正当；适当 | |
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10
affinity
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| n.亲和力，密切关系 | |
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11
brute
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| n.野兽，兽性 | |
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12
veins
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| n.纹理；矿脉( vein的名词复数 )；静脉；叶脉；纹理 | |
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13
consanguinity
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| n.血缘；亲族 | |
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14
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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15
uncommon
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| adj.罕见的，非凡的，不平常的 | |
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16
virtue
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| n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力 | |
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17
innate
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| adj.天生的，固有的，天赋的 | |
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18
infancy
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| n.婴儿期；幼年期；初期 | |
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19
perseverance
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| n.坚持不懈，不屈不挠 | |
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20
maturity
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| n.成熟；完成；(支票、债券等)到期 | |
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21
texture
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| n.(织物)质地；(材料)构造；结构；肌理 | |
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22
alteration
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| n.变更，改变；蚀变 | |
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23
agility
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| n.敏捷，活泼 | |
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24
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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25
fabric
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| n.织物，织品，布；构造，结构，组织 | |
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26
prevailing
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| adj.盛行的；占优势的；主要的 | |
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27
impute
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| v.归咎于 | |
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28
elegance
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| n.优雅；优美，雅致；精致，巧妙 | |
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29
derived
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| vi.起源；由来；衍生；导出v.得到( derive的过去式和过去分词 )；（从…中）得到获得；源于；（从…中）提取 | |
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30
descended
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| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
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31
eminent
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| adj.显赫的，杰出的，有名的，优良的 | |
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32
conspicuous
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| adj.明眼的，惹人注目的；炫耀的，摆阔气的 | |
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33
excellence
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| n.优秀，杰出，(pl.)优点，美德 | |
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34
racing
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| n.竞赛，赛马；adj.竞赛用的，赛马用的 | |
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35
determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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36
animated
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| adj.生气勃勃的，活跃的，愉快的 | |
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37
machinery
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| n.(总称)机械，机器；机构 | |
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38
analogous
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| adj.相似的；类似的 | |
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39
tune
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| n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整 | |
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40
regularity
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| n.规律性，规则性；匀称，整齐 | |
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41
crooked
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| adj.弯曲的；不诚实的，狡猾的，不正当的 | |
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42
deformed
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| adj.畸形的；变形的；丑的，破相了的 | |
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43
beget
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| v.引起；产生 | |
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44
conversant
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| adj.亲近的，有交情的，熟悉的 | |
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45
veracity
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| n.诚实 | |
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46
stipend
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| n.薪贴；奖学金；养老金 | |
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47
awe
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| n.敬畏，惊惧；vt.使敬畏，使惊惧 | |
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48
plunder
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| vt.劫掠财物，掠夺；n.劫掠物，赃物；劫掠 | |
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49
worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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50
impunity
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| n.(惩罚、损失、伤害等的)免除 | |
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51
procuring
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| v.（努力）取得， （设法）获得( procure的现在分词 )；拉皮条 | |
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52
barley
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| n.大麦，大麦粒 | |
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53
procure
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| vt.获得，取得，促成；vi.拉皮条 | |
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54
extremity
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| n.末端，尽头；尽力；终极；极度 | |
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55
vessels
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| n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人 | |
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56
progenitor
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| n.祖先，先驱 | |
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