[Three Hundred Animals Contents]
IS commonly covered with black hair, a little intermixed with yellow. He has a canine face, the lower parts of which are of a bright vermillion; the snout resembles that of a hog, and the nails are flat, but sharp and very strong. The ancient Egyptians, whose superstition is so well ridiculed by Juvenal in one of his satires, held these creatures in great veneration, and kept them in their temples. We are told that he follows goats and sheep in order to drink their milk; partakes considerably of the human dexterity in getting the kernels out of nuts, and loves to be covered with garments; he stands upright, and imitates with ease many human actions.