Oliver Goldsmith (* 10. November 1728 in Smith-Hill House bei Elphin, Roscommon, Irland; † 4. April 1774 in London) war ein irischer Schriftsteller und Arzt, der für seinen Roman "Der Pfarrer von Wakefield" (1766), sein pastorales Gedicht "The Deserted Village" (1770) und seine Stücke "The Good-natur'd Man" (1768) und "She Stoops to Conquer" (1773) bekannt ist. Unter dem Einfluss von Buffon verfasste er eine umfangreiche Naturgeschichte: "A History of the Earth and Animated Nature", die postum 1774 erschien und bis Anfang des 20. Jahrhunderts mehrere Auflagen erfuhr.
Das achtbändige Werk erfuhr in England eine ähnliche Popularität wie Brehms Tierleben als "der Brehm" in Deutschland.de.wikipedia.com
The Penguin kind are but ill fitted for flight, and still less for walking. Every body must have seen the awkward manner in which a duck, either wild or tame, attempts to change place; they must recollect with what softness and ease a gull or a kite waves its pinions, and with what a coil and flutter the duck attempts to move them; how many strokes it is obliged to give; in order to gather a little air; and even when it is thus raised; how soon it is fatigued with the force of its exertions, and obliged to take rest again. But the duck is not, in its natural state, half so unwieldy an animal as the whole tribe of the penguin kind.
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The Penguin kind are but ill fitted for flight, and still less for walking. Every body must have seen the awkward manner in which a duck, either wild or tame, attempts to change place; they must recollect with what softness and ease a gull or a kite waves its pinions, and with what a coil and flutter the duck attempts to move them; how many strokes it is obliged to give; in order to gather a little air; and even when it is thus raised; how soon it is fatigued with the force of its exertions, and obliged to take rest again. But the duck is not, in its natural state, half so unwieldy an animal as the whole tribe of the penguin kind.
Their wings are much shorter, more scantily furnished with quills, and the whole pinion placed too forward to be usefully employed. For this reason, the largest of the penguin kind, that have a thick, heavy body to raise, cannot fly at all. Their wings serve them rather as paddles to help them forward, when they attempt to move swiftly; and in a manner walk along the surface of the water. Even the smaller kinds seldom fly by choice; they flutter their wings with the swiftest efforts without making way; and though they have but a small weight of body to sustain, yet they seldom venture to quit the water where they are provided with food and protection.
As the wings of the penguin tribe are unfitted for flight, their legs are still more awkwardly adapted for walking. …. to be continued
In: A HISTORY OF THE EARTH AND ANIMATED NATURE by OLIVER GOLDSMITH, ILLUSTRATED WITH COPPER PLATES, WITH CORRECTIONS AND ADDITIONS by W. TURTON MD, VOLUME IV, 1816.
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