we find it stated, that the oxen of india are of the height of camels, and that the extremities of their horns are four feet apart. in our part of the world the most valuable oxen are those of epirus, owing, it is said, to the attention paid to their breed by king pyrrhus. he brought them to a very large size, and descendants of this breed are to be seen at the present day. the ox is the only animal that walks backwards while it is feeding; among the garamantes, they feed 113 in no other manner.[114] cattle that are bred in the alps, although very small of body, give a great quantity of milk, and are capable of enduring much labor; they are yoked by the horns, and not by the neck. the oxen of syria have no dewlap, but have a hump on the back. those of caria in asia, are unsightly in appearance, having a hump hanging over the shoulders from the neck; and their horns are movable; they are said, however, to be excellent workers, though those which are either black or white are condemned as worthless for labor. oxen must be broken when they are three years old; after that it is too late, and before too early. the ox is most easily broken by yoking it with a trained animal. the ox is our closest companion, both in labor generally, and in the operations of agriculture. our ancestors considered it of so much value, that there is an instance cited of a man being brought before the roman people, on a day appointed, and condemned, for having killed an ox, in order to humor the whim of his wife, who said that she had never tasted tripe; and he was driven into exile, just as though he had killed one of his own peasants.
the bull has a proud air, a stern forehead, shaggy ears, and horns which appear always ready, and challenging to the combat; but it is by his fore feet that he manifests his threatening anger. as his rage increases, he stands, lashing back his tail every now and then, and throwing up the sand against his belly; being the only animal that excites himself by these means. we have seen them fight at the word of command, and shown as a public spectacle; these bulls whirled about and then fell upon their horns, and at once were up again; then, at other times, they would lie upon the ground and let themselves be lifted up; they would even stand in a two-horsed chariot, while moving at a rapid rate, like so many charioteers. the people of thessaly invented 114 a method of killing bulls, by means of a man on horseback, who would ride up to them, and seize one of the horns, and so twist their neck. c?sar the dictator was the first person who exhibited this spectacle at rome.
bulls are selected as the very choicest of victims, and are offered up as the most approved sacrifice for appeasing the gods. of all the animals that have long tails, this is the only one whose tail is not of proportionate length at birth; and in this animal alone it continues to grow until it reaches its heels. it is on this account, that in making choice of a calf for a victim, due care is taken that its tail reaches to the pastern joint; if it is shorter than this, the sacrifice is not deemed acceptable to the gods. this fact has also been remarked, that calves, which have been carried to the altar on men’s shoulders, are not generally acceptable to the gods, and also, if they are lame, or of a species which is not appropriate, or if they struggle to get away from the altar. it was a not uncommon prodigy among the ancients, for an ox to speak; upon such a fact being announced to the senate, they were in the habit of holding a meeting in the open air.
