That Beasts know one another voyce.
* 1.1BEasts know one another by their voyce, so that they may seem to talk and to laugh toother, whilst fluttering with their ears, they pluck in their noses with a pleasant aspect of their eyes; and as speech is given to men, so Birds have their natural voyce, which is of the same use to them, as speech is to us. For all Birds of the same species, as men of the same countrey, chant and chirp to one another, when men understand not the speech of other men, unless of the same Nation.* 1.2 Wherefore the Scythian tongue is no more profitable to one living in Egypt, than if he were dumb; nor the Aegyptians understand it no more than if they were deaf. Wherefore an Aegyptian is dumb and deaf to a Scythian. This those which travail well understand, how many dangers, how many troubles they undergo, because they cannot express their minds, and re∣quire things necessary for life. Wherefore to the assistance of this unprofitable tongue, we are compelled to call the rest of the members, and to abuse the gestures of the head, eys, hands, and feet. Truly the condition of bruce beasts is not so miserable, seeing that all of the same kind wheresoever they be, may answer each other with a known voyce. Truly, if any should hear a German, Briton, Spaniard, English man, Polonian, and Greek, speaking amongst themselves in their native tongues, not understanding any of them, he could scarce discern, and certainly judg, whe∣ther he heard the voyce of men, or of beasts.