,illustration  ,,our ,,friend ,,the     
,,dog  ,,by ,,maurice ,,maeterlinck     
,,author ,,of ,,the ,,life ,,of ,,the   
,,bee1 ,,etc4  ,,translated ,,by        
,,alexander ,,teixeira ,,de ,,mattos    
,,illustrated ,,by ,,cecil ,,alden      
,,new ,,york ,,dodd1 ,,mead  ,,company  
#aiac  ,,copyright1 #aijc1 ,,by ,,the   
,,century ,,co4 ,,copyright1 #aijd1 ,,by
 ,,dodd1 ,,mead  ,,company  ,published1 
,october1 #aiac     ,,our ,,friend ,,the
 ,,dog  ,i   ,i have lost1 within these 
last few days1 a little bull-dog4 ,he   
had just completed the sixth month of   
his brief existence4 ,he had no history4
 ,his intelligent eyes opened to look   
out upon the world1 to love mankind1    
then closed again on the cruel secrets  
of death4  ,the friend who presented me 
with him had given him1 perhaps by      
antiphrasis1 the startling name of      
,pellas4 ,why rechristen him8 ,for how  
can a poor dog1 loving1 devoted1        
faithful1 disgrace the name of a man or 
an imaginary hero8  ,pellas had a great 

bulging1 powerful forehead1 like that of
 ,socrates or ,verlaine2 and1 under a   
little black nose1 blunt as a churlish  
assent1 a pair of large hanging and     
symmetrical chops1 which made his head a
 sort of massive1 obstinate1 pensive and
 three-cornered menace4 ,he was         
beautiful after the manner of a         
beautiful1 natural monster that has     
complied strictly with the laws of its  
species4 ,and what a smile of attentive 
obligingness1 of incorruptible          
innocence1 of affectionate submission1  
of boundless gratitude and total        
self-abandonment lit up1 at the least   
caress1 that adorable mask of ugliness6 
,whence exactly did that smile emanate8 
,from the ingenuous and melting eyes8   
,from the ears pricked up to catch the  
words of man8 ,from the forehead that   
unwrinkled to appreciate and love1 or   
from the stump of a tail that wriggled  
at the other end to testify to the      
intimate and impassioned joy that filled
 his small being1 happy once more to    

encounter the hand or the glance of the 
god to whom he surrendered himself8     
,illustration  ,pellas was born in      
,paris1 and ,i had taken him to the     
country4 ,his bonny fat paws1 shapeless 
and not yet stiffened1 carried slackly  
through the unexplored pathways of his  
new existence his huge and serious head1
 flat-nosed and1 as it were1 rendered   
heavy with thought4  ,for this thankless
 and rather sad head1 like that of an   
overworked child1 was beginning the     
overwhelming work that oppresses every  
brain at the start of life4 ,he had1 in 
less than five or six weeks1 to get into
 his mind1 taking shape within it1 an   
image and a satisfactory conception of  
the universe4 ,man1 aided by all the    
knowledge of his own elders and his     
brothers1 takes thirty or forty years to
 outline that conception1 but the humble
 dog has to unravel it for himself in a 
few days3 and yet1 in the eyes of a god1
 who should know all things1 would it   
not have the same weight and the same   

value as our own8  ,it was a question1  
then1 of studying the ground1 which can 
be scratched and dug up and which       
sometimes reveals surprising things2 of 
casting at the sky1 which is            
uninteresting1 for there is nothing     
there to eat1 one glance that does away 
with it for good and all2 of discovering
 the grass1 the admirable and green     
grass1 the springy and cool grass1 a    
field for races and sports1 a friendly  
and boundless bed1 in which lies hidden 
the good and wholesome couch-grass4 ,it 
was a question1 also1 of taking         
promiscuously a thousand urgent and     
curious observations4 ,it was necessary1
 for instance1 with no other guide than 
pain1 to learn to calculate the height  
of objects from the top of which you can
 jump into space2 to convince yourself  
that it is vain to pursue birds who fly 
away and that you are unable to clamber 
up trees after the cats who defy you    
there2 to distinguish between the sunny 
spots where it is delicious to sleep and

 the patches of shade in which you      
shiver2 to remark with stupefaction that
 the rain does not fall inside the      
houses1 that water is cold1             
uninhabitable and dangerous1 while fire 
is beneficent at a distance1 but        
terrible when you come too near2 to     
observe that the meadows1 the farm-yards
 and sometimes the roads are haunted by 
giant creatures with threatening horns1 
creatures good-natured1 perhaps1 and1 at
 any rate1 silent1 creatures who allow  
you to sniff at them a little curiously 
without taking offence1 but who keep    
their real thoughts to themselves4 ,it  
was necessary to learn1 as the result of
 painful and humiliating experiment1    
that you are not at liberty to obey all 
nature's laws without distinction in the
 dwelling of the gods2 to recognize that
 the kitchen is the privileged and most 
agreeable spot in that divine dwelling1 
although you are hardly allowed to abide
 in it because of the cook1 who is a    
considerable1 but jealous power2 to     

learn that doors are important and      
capricious volitions1 which sometimes   
lead to felicity1 but which most often1 
hermetically closed1 mute and stern1    
haughty and heartless1 remain deaf to   
all entreaties2 to admit1 once and for  
all1 that the essential good things of  
life1 the indisputable blessings1       
generally imprisoned in pots and        
stewpans1 are almost always             
inaccessible2 to know how to look at    
them with laboriously-acquired          
indifference and to practise to take no 
notice of them1 saying to yourself that 
here are objects which are probably     
sacred1 since merely to skim them with  
the tip of a respectful tongue is enough
 to let loose the unanimous anger of all
 the gods of the house4  ,illustration  
,and then1 what is one to think of the  
table on which so many things happen    
that cannot be guessed2 of the derisive 
chairs on which one is forbidden to     
sleep2 of the plates and dishes that are
 empty by the time that one can get at  

them2 of the lamp that drives away the  
dark8444 ,how many orders1 dangers1     
prohibitions1 problems1 enigmas has one 
not to classify in one's overburdened   
memory6444 ,and how to reconcile all    
this with other laws1 other enigmas1    
wider and more imperious1 which one     
bears within one's self1 within one's   
instinct1 which spring up and develop   
from one hour to the other1 which come  
from the depths of time and the race1   
invade the blood1 the muscles and the   
nerves and suddenly assert themselves   
more irresistibly and more powerfully   
than pain1 the word of the master       
himself1 or the fear of death8  ,thus1  
for instance1 to quote only one example1
 when the hour of sleep has struck for  
men1 you have retired to your hole1     
surrounded by the darkness1 the silence 
and the formidable solitude of the      
night4 ,all is sleep in the master's    
house4 ,you feel yourself very small and
 weak in the presence of the mystery4   
,you know that the gloom is peopled with

 foes who hover and lie in wait4 ,you   
suspect the trees1 the passing wind and 
the moonbeams4 ,you would like to hide1 
to suppress yourself by holding your    
breath4 ,but still the watch must be    
kept2 you must1 at the least sound1     
issue from your retreat1 face the       
invisible and bluntly disturb the       
imposing silence of the earth1 at the   
risk of bringing down the whispering    
evil or crime upon yourself alone4      
,whoever the enemy be1 even if he be    
man1 that is to say1 the very brother of
 the god whom it is your business to    
defend1 you must attack him blindly1 fly
 at his throat1 fasten your perhaps     
sacrilegious teeth into human flesh1    
disregard the spell of a hand and voice 
similar to those of your master1 never  
be silent1 never attempt to escape1     
never allow yourself to be tempted or   
bribed and1 lost in the night without   
help1 prolong the heroic alarm to your  
last breath4  ,there is the great       
ancestral duty1 the essential duty1     

stronger than death1 which not even     
man's will and anger are able to check4 
,all our humble history1 linked with    
that of the dog in our first struggles  
against every breathing thing1 tends to 
prevent his forgetting it4 ,and when1 in
 our safer dwelling-places of to-day1 we
 happen to punish him for his untimely  
zeal1 he throws us a glance of          
astonished reproach1 as though to point 
out to us that we are in the wrong and  
that1 if we lose sight of the main      
clause in the treaty of alliance which  
he made with us at the time when we     
lived in caves1 forests and fens1 he    
continues faithful to it in spite of us 
and remains nearer to the eternal truth 
of life1 which is full of snares and    
hostile forces4  ,but how much care and 
study are needed to succeed in          
fulfilling this duty6 ,and how          
complicated it has become since the days
 of the silent caverns and the great    
deserted lakes6 ,it was all so simple1  
then1 so easy and so clear4 ,the lonely 

hollow opened upon the side of the hill1
 and all that approached1 all that moved
 on the horizon of the plains or woods1 
was the unmistakable enemy4444 ,but     
to-day you can no longer tell4444 ,you  
have to acquaint yourself with a        
civilization of which you disapprove1 to
 appear to understand a thousand        
incomprehensible things4444 ,thus1 it   
seems evident that henceforth the whole 
world no longer belongs to the master1  
that his property conforms to           
unintelligible limits4444 ,it becomes   
necessary1 therefore1 first of all to   
know exactly where the sacred domain    
begins and ends4 ,whom are you to       
suffer1 whom to stop8444 ,there is the  
road by which every one1 even the poor1 
has the right to pass4 ,why8 ,you do not
 know2 it is a fact which you deplore1  
but which you are bound to accept4      
,fortunately1 on the other hand1 here is
 the fair path which none may tread4    
,this path is faithful to the sound     
traditions2 it is not to be lost sight  

of2 for by it enter into your daily     
existence the difficult problems of     
life4  ,would you have an example8 ,you 
are sleeping peacefully in a ray of the 
sun that covers the threshold of the    
kitchen with pearls4 ,the earthenware   
pots are amusing themselves by elbowing 
and nudging one another on the edge of  
the shelves trimmed with paper          
lace-work4 ,the copper stewpans play at 
scattering spots of light over the      
smooth white walls4 ,the motherly stove 
hums a soft tune and dandles three      
saucepans blissfully dancing2 and1 from 
the little hole that lights up its      
inside1 defies the good dog who cannot  
approach1 by constantly putting out at  
him its fiery tongue4 ,the clock1 bored 
in its oak case1 before striking the    
august hour of meal time1 swings its    
great gilt navel to and fro2 and the    
cunning flies tease your ears4 ,on the  
glittering table lie a chicken1 a hare1 
three partridges1 besides other things  
which are called fruits--peaches1       

melons1 grapes--and which are all good  
for nothing4 ,the cook guts a big silver
 fish and throws the entrails 7instead  
of giving them to you67 into the        
dust-bin4 ,ah1 the dust-bin6            
,inexhaustible treasury1 receptacle of  
windfalls1 the jewel of the house6 ,you 
shall have your share of it1 an         
exquisite and surreptitious share2 but  
it does not do to seem to know where it 
is4 ,you are strictly forbidden to      
rummage in it4 ,man in this way         
prohibits many pleasant things1 and life
 would be dull indeed and your days     
empty if you had to obey all the orders 
of the pantry1 the cellar and the       
dining-room4 ,luckily1 he is            
absent-minded and does not long remember
 the instructions which he lavishes4 ,he
 is easily deceived4 ,you achieve your  
ends and do as you please1 provided you 
have the patience to await the hour4    
,you are subject to man1 and he is the  
one god2 but you none the less have your
 own personal1 exact and imperturbable  

morality1 which proclaims aloud that    
illicit acts become most lawful through 
the very fact that they are performed   
without the master's knowledge4         
,therefore1 let us close the watchful   
eye that has seen4 ,let us pretend to   
sleep and to dream of the moon4444      
,hark6 ,a gentle tapping at the blue    
window that looks out on the garden6    
,what is it8 ,nothing2 a bough of       
hawthorn that has come to see what we   
are doing in the cool kitchen4 ,trees   
are inquisitive and often excited2 but  
they do not count1 one has nothing to   
say to them1 they are irresponsible1    
they obey the wind1 which has no        
principles4444 ,but what is that8 ,i    
hear steps6444 ,up1 ears open2 nose on  
the alert6444 ,it is the baker coming up
 to the rails1 while the postman is     
opening a little gate in the hedge of   
lime-trees4 ,they are friends2 it is    
well2 they bring something3 you can     
greet them and wag your tail discreetly 
twice or thrice1 with a patronizing     

smile4444  ,another alarm6 ,what is it  
now8 ,a carriage pulls up in front of   
the steps4 ,the problem is a complex    
one4 ,before all1 it is of consequence  
to heap copious insults on the horses1  
great1 proud beasts1 who make no reply4 
,meantime1 you examine out of the corner
 of your eye the persons alighting4     
,they are well-clad and seem full of    
confidence4 ,they are probably going to 
sit at the table of the gods4 ,the      
proper thing is to bark without         
acrimony1 with a shade of respect1 so as
 to show that you are doing your duty1  
but that you are doing it with          
intelligence4 ,nevertheless1 you cherish
 a lurking suspicion and1 behind the    
guests' backs1 stealthily1 you sniff the
 air persistently and in a knowing way1 
in order to discern any hidden          
intentions4  ,but halting footsteps     
resound outside the kitchen4 ,this time 
it is the poor man dragging his crutch1 
the unmistakable enemy1 the hereditary  
enemy1 the direct descendant of him who 

roamed outside the bone-cramped cave    
which you suddenly see again in your    
racial memory4 ,drunk with indignation1 
your bark broken1 your teeth multiplied 
with hatred and rage1 you are about to  
seize their reconcilable adversary by   
the breeches1 when the cook1 armed with 
her broom1 the ancillary and forsworn   
sceptre1 comes to protect the traitor1  
and you are obliged to go back to your  
hole1 where1 with eyes filled with      
impotent and slanting flames1 you growl 
out frightful1 but futile curses1       
thinking within yourself that this is   
the end of all things1 and that the     
human species has lost its notion of    
justice and injustice4444  ,is that all8
 ,not yet2 for the smallest life is made
 up of innumerous duties1 and it is a   
long work to organize a happy existence 
upon the borderland of two such         
different worlds as the world of beasts 
and the world of men4 ,how should we    
fare if we had to serve1 while remaining
 within our own sphere1 a divinity1 not 

an imaginary one1 like to ourselves1    
because the offspring of our own brain1 
but a god actually visible1 ever        
present1 ever active and as foreign1 as 
superior to our being as we are to the  
dog8  ,illustration  ,we now1 to return 
to ,pellas1 know pretty well what to do 
and how to behave on the master's       
premises4 ,but the world does not end at
 the house-door1 and1 beyond the walls  
and beyond the hedge1 there is a        
universe of which one has not the       
custody1 where one is no longer at home1
 where relations are changed4 ,how are  
we to stand in the street1 in the       
fields1 in the market-place1 in the     
shops8 ,in consequence of difficult and 
delicate observations1 we understand    
that we must take no notice of          
passers-by2 obey no calls but the       
master's2 be polite1 with indifference1 
to strangers who pet us4 ,next1 we must 
conscientiously fulfil certain          
obligations of mysterious courtesy      
toward our brothers the other dogs2     

respect chickens and ducks2 not appear  
to remark the cakes at the              
pastry-cook's1 which spread themselves  
insolently within reach of the tongue2  
show to the cats1 who1 on the steps of  
the houses1 provoke us by hideous       
grimaces1 a silent contempt1 but one    
that will not forget2 and remember that 
it is lawful and even commendable to    
chase and strangle mice1 rats1 wild     
rabbits and1 generally speaking1 all    
animals 7we learn to know them by secret
 marks7 that have not yet made their    
peace with mankind4  ,all this and so   
much more6444 ,was it surprising that   
,pellas often appeared pensive in the   
face of those numberless problems1 and  
that his humble and gentle look was     
often so profound and grave1 laden with 
cares and full of unreadable questions8 
,illustration  ,alas1 he did not have   
time to finish the long and heavy task  
which nature lays upon the instinct that
 rises in order to approach a brighter  
region4444 ,an ill of a mysterious      

character1 which seems specially to     
punish the only animal that succeeds in 
leaving the circle in which it is born2 
an indefinite ill that carries off      
hundreds of intelligent little dogs1    
came to put an end to the destiny and   
the happy education of ,pellas4 ,and now
 all those efforts to achieve a little  
more light2 all that ardour in loving1  
that courage in understanding2 all that 
affectionate gaiety and innocent        
fawning2 all those kind and devoted     
looks1 which turned to man to ask for   
his assistance against unjust death2 all
 those flickering gleams which came from
 the profound abyss of a world that is  
no longer ours2 all those nearly human  
little habits lie sadly in the cold     
ground1 under a flowering elder-tree1 in
 a corner of the garden4     ,,ii   ,man
 loves the dog1 but how much more ought 
he to love it if he considered1 in the  
inflexible harmony of the laws of       
nature1 the sole exception1 which is    
that love of a being that succeeds in   

piercing1 in order to draw closer to us1
 the partitions1 every elsewhere        
impermeable1 that separate the species6 
,we are alone1 absolutely alone on this 
chance planet2 and amid all the forms of
 life that surround us1 not one1        
excepting the dog1 has made an alliance 
with us4 ,a few creatures fear us1 most 
are unaware of us1 and not one loves us4
 ,in the world of plants1 we have dumb  
and motionless slaves2 but they serve us
 in spite of themselves4 ,they simply   
endure our laws and our yoke4 ,they are 
impotent prisoners1 victims incapable of
 escaping1 but silently rebellious2 and1
 so soon as we lose sight of them1 they 
hasten to betray us and return to their 
former wild and mischievous liberty4    
,the rose and the corn1 had they wings1 
would fly at our approach like the      
birds4  ,among the animals1 we number a 
few servants who have submitted only    
through indifference1 cowardice or      
stupidity3 the uncertain and craven     
horse1 who responds only to pain and is 

attached to nothing2 the passive and    
dejected ass1 who stays with us only    
because he knows not what to do nor     
where to go1 but who nevertheless1 under
 the cudgel and the pack-saddle1 retains
 the idea that lurks behind his ears2   
the cow and the ox1 happy so long as    
they are eating1 and docile because1 for
 centuries1 they have not had a thought 
of their own2 the affrighted sheep1 who 
knows no other master than terror2 the  
hen1 who is faithful to the poultry-yard
 because she finds more maize and wheat 
there than in the neighbouring forest4  
,i do not speak of the cat1 to whom we  
are nothing more than a too large and   
uneatable prey3 the ferocious cat1 whose
 sidelong contempt tolerates us only as 
encumbering parasites in our own homes4 
,she1 at least1 curses us in her        
mysterious heart2 but all the others    
live beside us as they might live beside
 a rock or a tree4 ,they do not love us1
 do not know us1 scarcely notice us4    
,they are unaware of our life1 our      

death1 our departure1 our return1 our   
sadness1 our joy1 our smile4 ,they do   
not even hear the sound of our voice1 so
 soon as it no longer threatens them2   
and1 when they look at us1 it is with   
the distrustful bewilderment of the     
horse1 in whose eye still hovers the    
infatuation of the elk or gazelle that  
sees us for the first time1 or with the 
dull stupor of the ruminants1 who look  
upon us as a momentary and useless      
accident of the pasture4  ,for thousands
 of years1 they have been living at our 
side1 as foreign to our thoughts1 our   
affections1 our habits as though the    
least fraternal of the stars had dropped
 them but yesterday on our globe4 ,in   
the boundless interval that separates   
man from all the other creatures1 we    
have succeeded only1 by dint of         
patience1 in making them take two or    
three illusory steps4 ,and if1          
to-morrow1 leaving their feelings toward
 us untouched1 nature were to give them 
the intelligence and the weapons        

wherewith to conquer us1 ,i confess that
 ,i should distrust the hasty vengeance 
of the horse1 the obstinate reprisals of
 the ass and the maddened meekness of   
the sheep4 ,i should shun the cat as ,i 
should shun the tiger2 and even the good
 cow1 solemn and somnolent1 would       
inspire me with but a wary confidence4  
,as for the hen1 with her round1 quick  
eye1 as when discovering a slug or a    
worm1 ,i am sure that she would devour  
me without a thought4     ,,iii   ,now1 
in this indifference and this total want
 of comprehension in which everything   
that surrounds us lives2 in this        
incommunicable world1 where everything  
has its object hermetically contained   
within itself1 where every destiny is   
self-circumscribed1 where there exist   
among the creatures no other relations  
than those of executioners and victims1 
eaters and eaten1 where nothing is able 
to leave its steel-bound sphere1 where  
death alone establishes cruel relations 
of cause and effect between neighbouring

 lives1 where not the smallest sympathy 
has ever made a conscious leap from one 
species to another1 one animal alone1   
among all that breathes upon the earth1 
has succeeded in breaking through the   
prophetic circle1 in escaping from      
itself to come bounding toward us1      
definitely to cross the enormous zone of
 darkness1 ice and silence that isolates
 each category of existence in nature's 
unintelligible plan4 ,this animal1 our  
good familiar dog1 simple and           
unsurprising as may to-day appear to us 
what he has done1 in thus perceptibly   
drawing nearer to a world in which he   
was not born and for which he was not   
destined1 has nevertheless performed one
 of the most unusual and improbable acts
 that we can find in the general history
 of life4 ,when was this recognition of 
man by beast1 this extraordinary passage
 from darkness to light1 effected8 ,did 
we seek out the poodle1 the collie1 or  
the mastiff from among the wolves and   
the jackals1 or did he come             

spontaneously to us8 ,we cannot tell4   
,so far as our human annals stretch1 he 
is at our side1 as at present2 but what 
are human annals in comparison with the 
times of which we have no witness8 ,the 
fact remains that he is there in our    
houses1 as ancient1 as rightly placed1  
as perfectly adapted to our habits as   
though he had appeared on this earth1   
such as he now is1 at the same time as  
ourselves4 ,we have not to gain his     
confidence or his friendship3 he is born
 our friend2 while his eyes are still   
closed1 already he believes in us3 even 
before his birth1 he has given himself  
to man4 ,but the word friend does not   
exactly depict his affectionate worship4
 ,he loves us and reveres us as though  
we had drawn him out of nothing4 ,he is1
 before all1 our creature full of       
gratitude and more devoted than the     
apple of our eye4 ,he is our intimate   
and impassioned slave1 whom nothing     
discourages1 whom nothing repels1 whose 
ardent trust and love nothing can       

impair4 ,he has solved1 in an admirable 
and touching manner1 the terrifying     
problem which human wisdom would have to
 solve if a divine race came to occupy  
our globe4 ,he has loyally1 religiously1
 irrevocably recognized man's           
superiority and has surrendered himself 
to him body and soul1 without           
after-thought1 without any intention to 
go back1 reserving of his independence1 
his instinct and his character only the 
small part indispensable to the         
continuation of the life prescribed by  
nature4 ,with an unquestioning          
certainty1 an unconstraint and a        
simplicity that surprise us a little1   
deeming us better and more powerful than
 all that exists1 he betrays1 for our   
benefit1 the whole of the animal kingdom
 to which he belongs and1 without       
scruple1 denies his race1 his kin1 his  
mother and his young4  ,illustration    
,but he loves us not only in his        
consciousness and his intelligence3 the 
very instinct of his race1 the entire   

unconsciousness of his species1 it      
appears1 think only of us1 dream only of
 being useful to us4 ,to serve us       
better1 to adapt himself better to our  
different needs1 he has adopted every   
shape and been able infinitely to vary  
the faculties1 the aptitudes which he   
places at our disposal4 ,is he to aid us
 in the pursuit of game in the plains8  
,his legs lengthen inordinately1 his    
muzzle tapers1 his lungs widen1 he      
becomes swifter than the deer4 ,does our
 prey hide under wood8 ,the docile      
genius of the species1 forestalling our 
desires1 presents us with the basset1 a 
sort of almost footless serpent1 which  
steals into the closest thickets4 ,do we
 ask that he should drive our flocks8   
,the same compliant genius grants him   
the requisite size1 intelligence1 energy
 and vigilance4 ,do we intend him to    
watch and defend our house8 ,his head   
becomes round and monstrous1 in order   
that his jaws may be more powerful1 more
 formidable and more tenacious4 ,are we 

taking him to the south8 ,his hair grows
 shorter and lighter1 so that he may    
faithfully accompany us under the rays  
of a hotter sun4 ,are we going up to the
 north8 ,his feet grow larger1 the      
better to tread the snow2 his fur       
thickens1 in order that the cold may not
 compel him to abandon us4 ,is he       
intended only for us to play with1 to   
amuse the leisure of our eyes1 to adorn 
or enliven the home8 ,he clothes himself
 in a sovereign grace and elegance1 he  
makes himself smaller than a doll to    
sleep on our knees by the fireside1 or  
even consents1 should our fancy demand  
it1 to appear a little ridiculous to    
please us4  ,you shall not find1 in     
nature's immense crucible1 a single     
living being that has shown a like      
suppleness1 a similar abundance of      
forms1 the same prodigious faculty of   
accommodation to our wishes4 ,this is   
because1 in the world which we know1    
among the different and primitive       
geniuses that preside over the evolution

 of the several species1 there exists   
not one1 excepting that of the dog1 that
 ever gave a thought to the presence of 
man4  ,it will1 perhaps1 be said that we
 have been able to transform almost as  
profoundly some of our domestic animals3
 our hens1 our pigeons1 our ducks1 our  
cats1 our horses1 our rabbits1 for      
instance4 ,yes1 perhaps2 although such  
transformations are not comparable with 
those undergone by the dog and although 
the kind of service which these animals 
render us remains1 so to speak1         
invariable4 ,in any case1 whether this  
impression be purely imaginary or       
correspond with a reality1 it does not  
appear that we feel in these            
transformations the same unfailing and  
preventing good will1 the same sagacious
 and exclusive love4 ,for the rest1 it  
is quite possible that the dog1 or      
rather the inaccessible genius of his   
race1 troubles scarcely at all about us 
and that we have merely known how to    
make use of various aptitudes offered by

 the abundant chances of life4 ,it      
matters not3 as we know nothing of the  
substance of things1 we must needs cling
 to appearances2 and it is sweet to     
establish that1 at least in appearance1 
there is on the planet where1 like      
unacknowledged kings1 we live in        
solitary state1 a being that loves us4  
,however the case may stand with these  
appearances1 it is none the less certain
 that1 in the aggregate of intelligent  
creatures that have rights1 duties1 a   
mission and a destiny1 the dog is a     
really privileged animal4 ,he occupies  
in this world a pre-eminent position    
enviable among all4 ,he is the only     
living being that has found and         
recognizes an indubitable1 tangible1    
unexceptionable and definite god4 ,he   
knows to what to devote the best part of
 himself4 ,he knows to whom above him to
 give himself4 ,he has not to seek for a
 perfect1 superior and infinite power in
 the darkness1 amid successive lies1    
hypotheses and dreams4 ,that power is   

there1 before him1 and he moves in its  
light4 ,he knows the supreme duties     
which we all do not know4 ,he has a     
morality which surpasses all that he is 
able to discover in himself and which he
 can practise without scruple and       
without fear4 ,he possesses truth in its
 fulness4 ,he has a certain and infinite
 ideal4     ,,iv   ,and it was thus     
that1 the other day1 before his illness1
 ,i saw my little ,pellas sitting at the
 foot of my writing-table1 his tail     
carefully folded under his paws1 his    
head a little on one side1 the better to
 question me1 at once attentive and     
tranquil1 as a saint should be in the   
presence of ,god4 ,he was happy with the
 happiness which we1 perhaps1 shall     
never know1 since it sprang from the    
smile and the approval of a life        
incomparably higher than his own4 ,he   
was there1 studying1 drinking in all my 
looks2 and he replied to them gravely1  
as from equal to equal1 to inform me1 no
 doubt1 that1 at least through the eyes 

the most immaterial organ that          
transformed into affectionate           
intelligence the light which we enjoyed1
 he knew that he was saying to me all   
that love should say4 ,and1 when ,i saw 
him thus1 young1 ardent and believing1  
bringing me1 in some wise1 from the     
depths of unwearied nature1 quite fresh 
news of life and trusting and           
wonderstruck1 as though he had been the 
first of his race that came to          
inaugurate the earth and as though we   
were still in the first days of the     
world's existence1 ,i envied the        
gladness of his certainty1 compared it  
with the destiny of man1 still plunging 
on every side into darkness1 and said to
 myself that the dog who meets with a   
good master is the happier of the two4