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Her eyes behold afar off - The eagle was proverbial for her strong and clear sight. So Horace, lib. i., sat. iii., ver. 25: -
Cum tua pervideas oculis mala lippus inunctis,
Cur in amicorum vitas tam cernis acutum,
Quam aut aquila, aut serpens Epidaurius?
"For wherefore while you carelessly pass by
Your own worst vices with unheeding eye,
Why so sharp-sighted in another's fame,
Strong as an eagle's ken, or dragon's beam?"
Francis.
So Aelian, lib. i., cap. 42. And Homer, Iliad xvii., calls the eagle οξυτατον ὑπουρανιων πετεηνων, "The most quick-sighted of all fowls under heaven."
From, thence she seeketh the prey, and her eyes behold afar off - “When far aloft, and no longer discernible by the human eye, such is the wonderful acuteness of its sight, that from the same elevation it will mark a hare, or even a smaller animal, and dart down on it with unerring aim.” “Edin. Ency.” “Of all animals, the eagle has the quickest eye; but his sense of smelling is far inferior to that of the vulture. He never pursues, therefore, but in sight.” “Goldsmith.” This power of sight was early known, and is celebrated by the ancients. Thus, Homer, r‘ - . verse 674.
- ὥστ ̓ ἀιετός ὄν ῥά τε φασὶν
Ὀξύσατον δέρκεσθαι ὑπουρανίων πετεηνῶν.
- hōst' aietos on ra te fasin
Oxusaton derkesthai hupouraniōn peteēnōn the eagle of whom it is said that it enjoys the keenest vision of
All the fowls under heaven.”
So Aelian, II. L. i. 32. Also Horace “Serm.” L. i. Sat. 3:
- tam cernit acutum
Quam aut aquila, aut serpeus Epidaurus.
The Arabic writers say that the eagle can see “four hundred parasangs.” “Damir,” as quoted by Scheutzer. It is now ascertained that birds of prey search out or discern their food rather by the sight than the smell. No sooner does a camel fall and die on the plains of Arabia, than there may be seen in the far-distant sky apparently a black speck, which is soon discovered to be a vulture hastening to its prey. From that vast distance the bird, invisible to human eye, has seen the prey stretched upon the sand and immediately commences toward it its rapid flight.