Note 240 — Chapter II · SCULPTURE. (continued 2)
Walter Armstrong translation
In page 3 of his Introduction, Mr. Pinches speaks of a “crocodile and a young hippopotamus.” I do not think that either of those animals can ever have lived in the cold waters of Lake Van, which receives, in the spring, such a large quantity of melted snow.
On the other hand, the argument applied by M. Perrot to architectural forms (see vol. i. pp. 139 (note 2) and 395), may here be invoked by Mr. Pinches. It is more likely that the artist introduced such animals as were to be found in the rivers and meres of Mesopotamia, than that he ascertained how Lake Van was peopled before he began his work.—Ed.