Anything could be found in figures if the search were long enough and hard enough and if the proper pieces of information were ignored or overlooked. - Isaac Asimov

Ever since Alexander went to India, Greek kings used elephants in war, mainly for prestige. They were rarely any use. Unlike horses, they were far too intelligent to risk injury merely at a man's urging. It was easy to panic elephants to hastily retreat, trampling their own army.

Concerning the blindness and bigotry of people, the pleasures of hatred rise superior even to the instinct of self-preservation.

He was going mad and knew it, and
somewhere deep inside a bit of sanity was screaming, struggling to fight off
the hopeless flood of black terror. It was very horrible to go mad and know
that you were going mad — to know that in a little minute you would be here
physically and yet all the real essence would be dead and drowned in the
black madness. For this was the Dark — the Dark and the Cold and the Doom.