'It is not possible for a free man to catch a glimpse of the great elephant herds roaming the vast spaces of Africa without taking an oath to do whatever is necessary to preserve for ever this living splendour.'

Romain Gary, Roots of Heaven, 1958

It is said that elephants talk to one another, mumbling with their mouths the speech of men. But to not all is the speech of the beasts audible, but only the men who tame them hear it.'

Oppian, Cynegetica, II, 529-555.

'A man can't spend hi life in Africa without acquiring something pretty close to a great affection for the elephants. Those herds are, after all, the last symbol of liberty left among us.'

Romain Gary, Roots of Heaven, 1958

'No animal in the world is so dangerous as an elephant in musth.'

Charles Darwin, The Descent of Man and Selection in Relation to Sex, 1890.

'Nature's great masterpiece, an Elephant, The onely harmlesse great thing….'

John Donne, Progress of the Soul, 1601

'The beast that passeth all others in wit and mind……and by its intelligence, it makes as near an approach to man as matter can approach spirit.'

Aristotle, De Rerum Natura, 4th Century BC

'There was still in Africa a marvelous, irresistible freedom. Only it belonged to the past, not the future. Soon it will go. There'll no longer be herds swirling against the forests and crushing them in their passage. The elephants were the last individuals.'

Romain Gary, Roots of Heaven, 1958

'There is not any creature so capable of understanding as an Elephant. They are apt to learne, remember, meditate, and conceive of such things as a man can hardly perform.'

Edward Topsell, The Historie of Foure-Footed Beasts, 1607

'I cannot omit their care, to bury and cover their dead carcasses of their companions, or any others of their kind; for finding them dead they pass not by them till they have lamented their common misery, by casting dust and earth on them, and also green boughs, in token of sacrifice, holding it execrable to do otherwise.'

Edward Topsell, The Historie of Foure-Footed Beasts, 1607

'This marvel also have I heard, that the mighty Elephants have a prophetic soul within their breasts…….'

Oppian, Cynegetica, II 529-555

'Thirty thousand elephants: three hundred tons of ivory, if that. And as the aim of good government in to increase production, I'm sure that this year we shall do better… With a little good will, we shall certainly manage, taking Africa as a whole, to kill a hundred thousand elephants a year, and so on till the ceiling is reached, if I may put it that way. It will then be necessary to pass on to other species. Ours, I suggest.'

Romain Gary, Roots of Heaven, 1958

'I took much curious delight in watching his [the elephant's] antics - yea, in striving to converse with him, for the understanding of these creatures is wonderfully lively.'

Michel de Montaigne, Essays, trans. Charles Cotton, London: T. Basset, 1693.

'He [the elephant] learns to remember such melodies as can only be remembered by people acquainted with music….'

Abu al-Fazl ibn Mubarak, Ain I Akbari, translated from the Persian by H. Blochmann and H.S. Jarrett, Calcutta, 1873.

'Ptolemy Philadelphus was presented with a young elephant which understood the Greek language of the district where it had been brought up. Hitherto it was believed that elephants understood only the language spoken by Indians.'

Aelian, De Natura Animalium, 3rd Century AD

'An elephant will not pass by a dead elephant without casting a branch or some dust on the body.'

Aelian, De Natura Animalium, 3rd Century AD

'For the present, I intend to speak of their sense of music and their readiness to obey, and their aptitude for learning things which are difficult even for mankind, to say nothing of so huge an animal and one hitherto so fierce to encounter. The movement of a chorus, the steps of a dance, how to march in time, how to enjoy the sound of flutes, how to distinguish different notes, when to slacken pace as permitted or when to quicken at command - all these things the elephant has learned and knows how to do and does accurately without making mistakes. Thus, while nature has created him to be the largest of animals, learning has rendered him the most gentle and docile.'

Aelian, De Natura Animalium, 3rd Century AD

'The elephant is nearest to man in intelligence: it understands the language of its country and obeys orders, remembers duties it has been taught, is pleased by affection and by marks of honour; nay more, it possesses virtues rare even in man, honest, wisdom, justice, also respect for the stars and reverence for the sun and moon.'

'Authorities state that in the forests of Mauretania, when the new moon is shining, herds of elephants go down to the river named Amilo, and there perform a ritual of purification, sprinkling themselves with water, and after paying their respects to the moon return to the woods carrying before them those of their calves that are tired.'

Pliny, the Roman Historian

'They never do any harm unless provoked, even though they go about in herds, being of all animals the least solitary in habit.'

Pliny the Elder, Historia Naturalis, AD 77

'….a subject in which moral virtues stand out, polity prevails, integrity is triumphant and torment and punishment the sole reward for vice.'

S. de Priezac, Histoire Des Elephants, 17 Century