CHAP. 112. (51.)—THE DIFFERENT VOICES OF ANIMALS.
Aristotle
1 is of opinion that no animal has a voice which
does not respire, and that hence it is that there is no voice in
insects, but only a noise, through the circulation of the air in
the interior, and its resounding, by reason of its compression.
Some insects, again, he says, emit a sort of humming noise,
such as the bee, for instance; others a shrill, long-drawn note,
like the grasshopper, the two cavities beneath the thorax receiving the air, which, meeting a moveable membrane within,
emits a sound by the attrition.—Also that flies, bees, and
other insects of that nature, are only heard while they are
flying, and cease to be heard the moment they settle, and that
the sound which they emit proceeds from the friction and the
air within them, and not from any act of respiration. At all
events, it is generally believed that the locust emits a sound
by rubbing together the wings and thighs, and that among
the aquatic animals the scallop makes a certain noise as it
flies.
2 Mollusks, however, and the testaceous animals have no
voice and emit no sounds. As for the other fishes, although
they are destitute of lungs and the tracheal artery, they are
not entirely without the power of emitting certain sounds: it
is only a mere joke to say that the noise which they make is
produced by grating their teeth together. The fish, too, that
is found in the river Acheloüs, and is known as the boar-fish,
3
makes a grunting noise, as do some others which we have previously
4 mentioned. The oviparous animals hiss: in the
serpent this hissing is prolonged, in the tortoise it is short and
abrupt. Frogs make a peculiar noise of their own, as already
stated;
5 unless, indeed, this, too, is to be looked upon as a
matter of doubt; but their noise originates in the mouth, and
not in the thorax. Still, however, in reference to this subject,
the nature of the various localities exercises a very considerable
influence, for in Macedonia, it is said, the frogs are dumb, and
the same in reference to the wild boars there. Among birds,
the smaller ones chirp and twitter the most, and more especially about the time of pairing. Others, again, exercise their
voice while fighting, the quail, for instance; others before
they begin to fight, such as the partridge; and others when
they have gained the victory, the dunghill cock, for instance.
The males in these species have a peculiar note of their own,
while in others, the nightingale for example, the male has
the same note as the female.
Some birds sing all the year round, others only at certain
times of the year, as we have already mentioned when speaking of them individually. The elephant produces a noise
similar to that of sneezing, by the aid of the mouth, and in-
dependently of the nostrils; but by means of the nostrils it
emits a sound similar to the hoarse braving of a trumpet.
It is only in the bovine race that the voice of the female is the
deepest, it being in all other kinds of animals more shrill than
that of the male; it is the same also with the male of the
human race when castrated. The infant at its birth is never
heard to utter a cry before it has entirely left the uterus:
it begins to speak at the end of the first year. A son of
Crœsus,
6 however, spoke when only six months old, and, while
yet wielding the child's rattle, afforded portentous omens, for
it was at the same period that his father's empire fell. Those
children which begin to speak the soonest, begin to walk the
latest. The human voice acquires additional strength at the
fourteenth year; but in old age it becomes more shrill again,
and there is no living creature in which it is subject to more
frequent changes.
In addition to the preceding, there are still some singular
circumstances that deserve to be mentioned with reference to
the voice. If saw-dust or sand is thrown down in the orchestra of a theatre, or if the walls around are left in a rough
state, or empty casks are placed there, the voice is absorbed;
while, on the other hand. if the wall is quite straight, or if
built in a concave form, the voice will move along it, and will
convey words spoken in the slightest whisper from one
end
7 to the other, if there is no inequality in the surface to
impede its progress. The voice, in man, contributes in a great
degree to form his physiognomy, for we form a knowledge of
a man before we see him by hearing his voice, just as well
8
as if we had seen him with our eyes. There are as many
kinds of voices, too, as there are individuals in existence, and
each man has his own peculiar voice, just as much as his own
peculiar physiognomy. Hence it is, that arises that vast diversity of nations and languages throughout the whole earth:
in this, too, originate the many tunes, measures, and inflexions
that exist. But, before all other things, it is the voice that
serves to express our sentiments,
9 a power that distinguishes
us from the beasts; just as, in the same way, the various shades
and differences in language that exist among men have created
an equally marked difference between us and the brutes.