Goats, then? Bears or turtles? Wolves, whales, crows? Each ha
brains and pride, and would have been glad to rule the world if
they could; but each had their defects, and their weaknesses for
such a position.

The elephant? Ah! Evolution has had its tragedies, hasn't it, as
well as its triumphs; and well should the elephant know it. He had
the best chance of all. Wiser even than the lion, or the wisest of
apes, his wisdom furthermore was benign where theirs was sinister.
Consider his dignity, his poise and skill. He was plastic, too. He
had learned to eat many foods and endure many climates. Once, some
say, this race explored the globe. Their bones are found everywhere,
in South America even; so the elephants' Columbus may have found some
road here before ours. They are cosmopolitans, these suave and
well-bred beings. They have rich emotional natures, long memories,
loyalty; they are steady and sure; and not narrow, not self-absorbed,
for they seem interested in everything. What was it then, that put
them out of the race?

Could it have been a quite natural belief that they had already won?

And when they saw that they hadn't, and that the monkey-men were
getting ahead, were they too great-minded and decent to exterminate
their puny rivals?

It may have been their tolerance and patience that betrayed them.
They wait too long before they resent an imposition or insult.
Just as ants are too energetic and cats too shrewd for their own
highest good, so the elephants suffer from too much patience. Their
exhibitions of it may seem superb,--such power and such restraint,