"The Buried Classic" from Ancient Greece, and the roots of the Western World .... The Life of Apollonius of Tyana Philostratus {220 AD} On the Order of Wild Elephants In the Crossing of the River ...
Web Publication by Mountain Man Graphics, Australia in the Southern Spring of 1995

Of the Order of Wild Elephants crossing the River ...

"Why certainly," he replied, "we did say so, Damis; for if intelligence did not govern this animal, neither would it subsist, nor the populations among which it lived."

"Why then," said Damis, "do they conduct their passage over the river in a way so stupid and inconvenient to themselves? For as you see, the smallest one is leading the way, and he is followed by a slightly larger one, then comes another still larger than he, and the biggest ones come last of all. But surely they ought to travel in the opposite fashion, and make the biggest ones a wall and rampart in front of themselves."

"But," replied Apollonius, "in the first place they appear to running away from men who are pursuing them, and whom we shall doubtless come across, as they follow the animals' tracks; and they must and ought to use their best strength to fortify their rear against attack, as is done in war; so that you may regard the elephant as the best tactician to be found among animals.

Secondly, as they are crossing a river, if their biggest ones went first, that would not enable the rest of the herd to judge whether the water is shallow enough for all to pass; for the tallest ones would find the passage practicable and easy, but the others would find it dangerous and difficult, because they would not rise above the level of the stream.

But the fact that the smallest is able to get across is a sign in itself to the rest that there is no difficultry. And morever, if the bigger ones went in first, they would deepen the river for the small ones, for the mud is forced to settle down into ruts and trenches, owing to the heaviness of the animal and the thickness of his feet; whereas the larger ones are in no way prejudiced by the smaller ones, crossing in front, because they sink in less deeply."

[Index of Apollonius Resources] [Index - Apollonius by Philostratus] [Previous] [Next]

"The Buried Classic" from Ancient Greece, and the roots of the Western World .... The Life of Apollonius of Tyana Philostratus {220 AD} On the Order of Wild Elephants In the Crossing of the River ...
Web Publication by Mountain Man Graphics, Australia in the Southern Spring of 1995