Note 156 — Chapter III · CONDUCT IN CAPTIVITY.

I have already noticed the striking effect produced on the captive elephants in the corral, by the harmonious notes of an ivory flute; and on looking to the graphic description which is given by Ælian of the exploits which he witnessed as performed by the elephants exhibited at Rome, it is remarkable how very large a share of their training appears to have been ascribed to the employment of music.

Phile, in the account which he has given of the elephant’s fondness for music, would almost seem to have versified the prose narrative of Ælian, as he describes its excitement at the more animated portions, its step being regulated to the time and movements of the harmony: the whole “surprising in a creature whose limbs are without joints!”

For an account of the training and performances of the elephants at Rome, as narrated by Ælian, see the appendix to this chapter.