BOOK VIII. THE NATURE OF THE TERRESTRIAL ANIMALS. (continued 2)

CHAP. 55. (37.)—THE MICE OF PONTUS AND OF THE ALPS.

The mice of Pontus also conceal themselves during the winter; but only the white ones.1852 I wonder how those authors, who have asserted that the sense of taste in these animals is very acute, found out that such is the fact. The Alpine mice, which are the same size as badgers, also conceal themselves;1853 but they first carry a store of provisions into their retreat. Some writers, indeed, say that the male and female, lying on their backs alternately, hold in their paws a bundle of gnawed herbs, and, the tail of each in its turn being seized by the teeth of the other, in this way, they are dragged into their hole; hence it is, that at this season their hair is found to be rubbed off their backs. There is a similar animal also in Egypt,1854 which sits, in the same way, upon its haunches, and walks on two feet, using the fore feet as hands.

CHAP. 56.—HEDGEHOGS.

Hedgehogs also lay up food for the winter; rolling themselves on apples as they lie on the ground, they pierce one with their quills, and then take up another in the mouth, and so carry them into the hollows of trees. These animals also, when they conceal themselves in their holes, afford a sure sign that the wind is about to change from north-east to south.1855 When they perceive the approach of the hunter, they draw in the head and feet, and all the lower part of the body, which is covered by a thin and defenceless down only, and then roll themselves up into the form of a ball, so that there is no way of taking hold of them but by their quills. When they are reduced to a state of desperation, they discharge a corrosive urine, which injures their skin and quills, as they are aware that it is for the sake of them that they are hunted. A skilful hunter, therefore, will only pursue them when they have just discharged their urine. In this case the skin retains its value; while in the other case, it becomes spoilt and easily torn, the quills rotting and falling off, even though the animal should escape with its life. For this reason it is that it never moistens itself with this poisonous fluid, except when reduced to the last stage of desperation; for it has a perfect hatred for its own venomous distillation, and so careful is the animal, so determined to wait till the very last moment, that it is generally caught before it has employed this means of defence.

They force it to unroll itself, by sprinkling warm water upon it, and then, suspended by one of its hind legs, it is left to die of hunger; for there is no other mode of destroying it, without doing injury to its skin. This animal is not, as many of us imagine, entirely useless to man. If it were not for the quills which it produces, the soft fleece of the sheep would have been given in vain to mankind; for it is by means of its skin, that our woollen cloth is dressed. From the monopoly of this article, great frauds and great profits have resulted;1856 there is no subject on which the senate has more frequently passed decrees, and there is not one of the Emperors, who has not received from the provinces complaints respecting it.1857

CHAP. 57. (38.)—THE LEONTOPHONUS, AND THE LYNX.1858

There are also two other animals, whose urine possesses very wonderful properties. We have heard speak of a small animal, to which the name of leontophonus1859 has been given, and which is said to exist only in those countries where the lion is produced; if its flesh is only tasted by the lion, so intensely venomous is its nature, that this lord of the other quadrupeds instantly expires. Hence it is, that the hunters of the lion burn its body to ashes, and sprinkle a piece of flesh with the powder, and so kill the lion by means of the ashes even—so fatal to it is this poison! The lion, therefore, not without good reason hates the leontophonus, and after destroying its sight, kills it without inflicting a bite: the animal, on the other hand, sprinkles the lion with its urine, being well aware that this too is fatal to it.

The urine of the lynx, in the countries1860 where that animal is produced, either becomes crystallized, or else hardens into a precious stone, resembling the carbuncle, and which shines like fire.1861 This is called lyncurium;1862 and hence it is, that many persons believe that this is the way in which amber is produced. The lynx, being well aware of this property, envies us the possession of its urine, and therefore buries it in the earth;1863 by this, however, it becomes solid all the sooner.

CHAP. 58.—BADGERS AND SQUIRRELS.

The badger, when alarmed, shows its fear by a different kind of artifice; inflating the skin, it distends it to such a degree, as to repel equally the blows of men and the bite of dogs.1864 The squirrel, also, has the power of foreseeing storms, and so, stopping up its hole at the side from which the wind blows, it leaves the other side open; besides which, the tail, which is furnished with longer hair than the rest of the body, serves as a covering for it. It appears, therefore,1865 that some animals lay up a store of food for the winter, while others pass the time in sleep, which serves them instead of food.

CHAP. 59. (39.)—VIPERS AND SNAILS.

It is said, that the viper is the only one among the serpents that conceals itself in the earth; the others lurking either in the hollows of trees or in holes in the rocks.1866 Provided they are not destroyed by cold, they can live there, without taking food, for a whole year.1867 During the time that they are asleep in their retreat, none of them are venomous.

A similar state of torpor exists also in snails. These animals again become dormant during the summer, adhering very powerfully to stones; and even, when turned up and pulled away from the stones, they will not leave their shells. In the Balearic isles, the snails which are known as the cave-snail,1868 do not leave their holes in the ground, nor do they feed upon any green thing, but adhere to each other like so many grapes. There is another less common species also, which is closed by an operculum that adheres to the shell.1869 These animals always burrow under the earth, and were formerly never found, except in the environs of the Maritime Alps: they have, however, of late been dug up in the territory of Liternum;1870 the most valued, however, of all, are those of the island of Astypalæa.1871

CHAP. 60.—LIZARDS.1872

It is said, that the lizard, the greatest enemy of all to the snail, never prolongs its life beyond six months. The lizards of Arabia are a cubit in length,1873 while those upon Nysa,1874 a mountain of India, are twenty-four feet long, their colour being either yellow, purple, or azure blue.

CHAP. 61. (40.)—THE QUALITIES OF THE DOG; EXAMPLES OF ITS ATTACHMENT TO ITS MASTER; NATIONS WHICH HAVE KEPT DOGS FOR THE PURPOSES OF WAR.

Among the animals, also, that are domesticated with mankind, there are many circumstances that are far from undeserving of being known: among these, there are more particularly that most faithful friend of man, the dog, and the horse. We have an account of a dog that fought against a band of robbers, in defending its master; and although it was pierced with wounds, still it would not leave the body, from which it drove away all birds and beasts. Another dog, again, in Epirus, recognized the murderer of its master, in the midst of an assemblage of people, and, by biting and barking at him, extorted from him a confession of his crime. A king of the Garamantes also was brought back from exile by two hundred dogs, which maintained the combat against all his opponents. The people of Colophon1875 and Castabala1876 kept troops of dogs, for the purposes of war; and these used to fight in the front rank, and never retreat; they were the most faithful of auxiliaries, and yet required no pay. After the defeat of the Cimbri, their dogs defended their moveable houses, which were carried upon waggons. Jason, the Lycian, having been slain, his dog refused to take food, and died of famine. A dog, to which Darius gives the name of Hyrcanus, upon the funeral pile of King Lysimachus being lighted, threw itself into the flames,1877 and the dog of King Hiero did the same. Philistus also gives a similar account of Pyrrhus, the dog of the tyrant Gelon: and it is said, also, that the dog of Nicomedes, king of Bithynia, tore Consingis,1878 the wife of that king, in consequence of her wanton behaviour, when toying with her husband.

Among ourselves, Volcatius, a man of rank, who instructed Cascellius in the civil law,1879 as he was riding on his Asturian jennet, towards evening, from his country-house, was attacked by a robber, and was only saved by his dog. The senator Cælius,1880 too, while lying sick at Placentia, was surprised by armed men, but received not a wound from them until they had first killed his dog. But a more extraordinary fact than all, is what took place in our own times, and is testified by the public register of the Roman people. In the consulship of Appius Junius and P. Silius, when Titius Sabinus1881 was put to death, together with his slaves, for the affair of Nero, the son of Germanicus, it was found impossible to drive away a dog which belonged to one of them from the prison; nor could it be forced away from the body, which had been cast down the Gemitorian steps;1882 but there it stood howling, in the presence of vast multitudes of people; and when some one threw a piece of bread to it, the animal carried it to the mouth of its master. Afterwards, when the body was thrown into the Tiber, the dog swam into the river, and endeavoured to raise it out of the water; quite a throng of people being collected to witness this instance of an animal’s fidelity.

Dogs are the only animals that are sure to know their masters; and if they suddenly meet him as a stranger, they will instantly recognize him. They are the only animals that will answer to their names, and recognize the voices of the family. They recollect a road along which they have passed, however long it may be. Next to man, there is no living creature whose memory is so retentive. By sitting down on the ground, we may arrest their most impetuous attack, even when prompted by the most violent rage.

In daily life we have discovered many other valuable qualities in this animal; but its intelligence and sagacity are more especially shown in the chase. It discovers and traces out the tracks of the animal, leading by the leash1883 the sportsman who accompanies it straight up to the prey; and as soon as ever it has perceived it, how silent it is, and how secret but significant is the indication which it gives, first by the tail and afterwards by the nose!1884 Hence it is, that even when worn out with old age, blind, and feeble, they are carried by the huntsman in his arms, being still able to point out the coverts where the game is concealed, by snuffing with their muzzles at the wind. The Indians raise a breed between the dog and the tiger,1885 and for this purpose tie up the females in the forests when in heat. The first two litters they look upon as too savage to be reared, but they bring up the third.

The Gauls do the same with the wolf and the dog;1886 and their packs of hounds have, each of them, one of these dogs, which acts as their guide and leader. This dog they follow in the chase, and him they carefully obey; for these animals have even a notion of subordination among themselves. It is asserted that the dogs keep running when they drink at the Nile, for fear of becoming a prey to the voracity of the crocodile.1887 When Alexander the Great was on his Indian expedition, he was presented by the king of Albania with a dog of unusual size; being greatly delighted with its noble appearance, he ordered bears, and after them wild boars, and then deer, to be let loose before it; but the dog lay down, and regarded them with a kind of immoveable contempt. The noble spirit of the general became irritated by the sluggishness thus manifested by an animal of such vast bulk, and he ordered it to be killed. The report of this reached the king, who accordingly sent another dog, and at the same time sent word that its powers were to be tried, not upon small animals, but upon the lion or the elephant; adding, that he had had originally but two, and that if this one were put to death, the race would be extinct. Alexander, without delay, procured a lion, which in his presence was instantly torn to pieces. He then ordered an elephant to be brought, and never was he more delighted with any spectacle; for the dog, bristling up its hair all over the body, began by thundering forth a loud barking, and then attacked the animal, leaping at it first on one side and then on the other, attacking it in the most skilful manner, and then again retreating at the opportune moment, until at last the elephant, being rendered quite giddy by turning round and round, fell to the earth, and made it quite re-echo with his fall.

CHAP. 62.—THE GENERATION OF THE DOG.1888

This animal brings forth twice in the year; it is capable of bearing young when a year old, and gestation continues for sixty days. The young ones are born blind, and the greater the supply of nourishment from the mother’s milk, the more slowly do they acquire their sight; still, however, this never takes place later than the twentieth day, or earlier than the seventh. It is said by some writers, that if only one is born, it is able to see on the ninth day; and that if there are two, they begin to see on the tenth, every additional one causing the power of seeing to come a day later. It is said, too, that the females which are produced by the mother in her first litter, are subject to the night-mare.1889 The best dog of the litter is the one which is last in obtaining its sight, or else the one which the mother carries first into her bed.

CHAP. 63.—REMEDIES AGAINST CANINE MADNESS.1890

Canine madness is fatal to man during the heat of Sirius,1891 and, as we have already said, it proves so in consequence of those who are bitten having a deadly horror of water.1892 For this reason, during the thirty days1893 that this star exerts its influence, we try to prevent the disease by mixing dung from the poultry-yard with the dog’s food; or else, if they are already attacked by the disease, by giving them hellebore.

(41.) We have a single remedy against the bite, which has been but lately discovered, by a kind of oracle, as it were—the root of the wild rose, which is called cynorrhodos,1894 or dog-rose. Columella informs us, that if, on the fortieth day after the birth of the pup, the last bone of the tail is bitten off, the sinew will follow with it; after which, the tail will not grow, and the dog will never become rabid.1895 It is mentioned, among the other prodigies, and this I take to be one indeed, that a dog once spoke;1896 and that when Tarquin was expelled from the kingdom, a serpent barked.

CHAP. 64. (42.)—THE NATURE OF THE HORSE.

King Alexander had also a very remarkable horse;1897 it was called Bucephalus, either on account of the fierceness of its aspect, or because it had the figure of a bull’s head marked on its shoulder. It is said, that he was struck with its beauty when he was only a boy, and that it was purchased from the stud of Philonicus, the Pharsalian, for thirteen talents.1898 When it was equipped with the royal trappings, it would suffer no one except Alexander to mount it, although at other times it would allow any one to do so. A memorable circumstance connected with it in battle is recorded of this horse; it is said that when it was wounded in the attack upon Thebes, it would not allow Alexander to mount any other horse. Many other circumstances, also, of a similar nature, occurred respecting it; so that when it died, the king duly performed its obsequies, and built around its tomb a city, which he named after it.1899

It is said, also, that Cæsar, the Dictator, had a horse, which would allow no one to mount but himself, and that its fore-feet were like those of a man; indeed it is thus represented in the statue before the temple of Venus Genetrix.1900 The late Emperor Augustus also erected a tomb to his horse; on which occasion Germanicus Cæsar1901 wrote a poem, which still exists. There are at Agrigentum many tombs of horses, in the form of pyramids.1902 Juba informs us, that Semiramis was so greatly enamoured of a horse, as to have had connection with it.1903 The Scythian horsemen make loud boasts of the fame of their cavalry. On one occasion, one of their chiefs having been slain in single combat, when the conqueror came to take the spoils of the enemy, he was set upon by the horse of his opponent, and trampled on and bitten to death. Another horse, upon the bandage being removed from his eyes, found that he had covered his mother, upon which he threw himself down a precipice, and was killed. We learn, also, that for a similar cause, a groom was torn to pieces, in the territory of Reate.1904 For these animals have a knowledge of the ties of consanguinity, and in a stud a mare will attend to its sister of the preceding year, even more carefully than its mother.

Their docility, too, is so great, that we find it stated that the whole of the cavalry of the Sybarite army were accustomed to perform a kind of dance to the sound of musical instruments. These animals also foresee battles; they lament over their masters when they have lost them, and sometimes shed tears1905 of regret for them. When King Nicomedes was slain, his horse put an end to its life by fasting. Phylarchus relates, that Centaretus,1906 the Galatian, after he had slain Antiochus in battle, took possession of his horse, and mounted it in triumph; upon which the animal, inflamed with indignation, regardless of the rein and become quite ungovernable, threw itself headlong down a precipice, and they both perished together. Philistus relates, that Dionysius having left his horse stuck fast in a morass, the animal, as soon as it disengaged itself, followed the steps of its master, with a swarm of bees, which had settled on its mane; and that it was in consequence of this portent, that Dionysius gained possession of the kingdom.1907

CHAP. 65.—THE DISPOSITION OF THE HORSE; REMARKABLE FACTS CONCERNING CHARIOT HORSES.

These animals possess an intelligence which exceeds all description.1908 Those who have to use the javelin are well aware how the horse, by its exertions and the supple movements of its body, aids the rider in any difficulty he may have in throwing his weapon. They will even present to their master the weapons collected on the ground. The horses too, that are yoked to the chariots in the Circus, beyond a doubt, display remarkable proofs how sensible they are to encouragement and to glory. In the Secular games, which were celebrated in the Circus, under the Emperor Claudius, when the charioteer Corax, who belonged to the white party,1909 was thrown from his place at the starting-post, his horses took the lead and kept it, opposing the other chariots, overturning them, and doing every thing against the other competitors that could have been done, had they been guided by the most skilful charioteer; and while we quite blushed to behold the skill of man excelled by that of the horse, they arrived at the goal, after going over the whole of the prescribed course. Our ancestors considered it as a still more remarkable portent, that when a charioteer had been thrown from his place, in the plebeian games of the Circus,1910 the horses ran to the Capitol, just as if he had been standing in the car, and went three times round the temple there. But what is the greatest prodigy of all, is the fact that the horses of Ratumenna came from Veii to Rome, with the palm branch and chaplet, he himself having fallen from his chariot, after having gained the victory; from which circumstance the Ratumennian gate derived its name.1911

When the Sarmatæ are about to undertake a long journey, they prepare their horses for it, by making them fast the day before, during which they give them but little to drink; by these means they are enabled to travel on horseback, without stopping, for one hundred and fifty miles. Some horses are known to live fifty years; but the females are not so long-lived.1912 These last come to their full growth at the fifth year, the males a year later. The poet Virgil has very beautifully described the points which ought more especially to be looked for, as constituting the perfection of a horse;1913 I myself have also treated of the same subject, in my work1914 on the Use of the Javelin by Cavalry, and I find that pretty nearly all writers are agreed respecting them.1915 The points requisite for the Circus are somewhat different, however; and while horses are put in training for other purposes at only two years old, they are not admitted to the contests of the Circus before their fifth year.

CHAP. 66.—THE GENERATION OF THE HORSE.1916

The female of this animal carries her young for eleven months, and brings forth in the twelfth. The connection takes place at the vernal equinox, and generally in both sexes, at the age of two years; but the colt is much stronger when the parents are three years old. The males are capable of covering up to the thirty-third year, and it is not till after the twentieth that they are taken for this purpose from the Circus. At Opus,1917 it is said, a horse served as a stallion until his fortieth year; though he required some assistance in raising the fore part of the body. There are few animals, however, in which the generative powers are so limited, for which reason it is only admitted to the female at certain intervals;1918 indeed it cannot cover as many as fifteen times in the course of one year.1919 The sexual passion of the mare is extinguished by cropping her mane; she is capable of bearing every year up to the fortieth. We have an account of a horse having lived to its seventy-fifth year. The mare brings forth standing upright, and is attached, beyond all other animals, to her offspring. The horse is born with a poisonous substance on its forehead, known as hippomanes,1920 and used in love philtres; it is the size of a fig, and of a black colour; the mother devours it immediately on the birth of the foal, and until she has done so, she will not suckle it. When this substance can be rescued from the mother, it has the property of rendering the animal quite frantic by the smell. If a foal has lost its mother, the other mares in the herd that have young, will take charge of the orphan. It is said that the young of this animal cannot touch the earth with the mouth for the first three days after its birth. The more spirited a horse is, the deeper does it plunge its nose into the water while drinking. The Scythians prefer mares for the purposes of war, because they can pass their urine without stopping in their career.

CHAP. 67.—MARES IMPREGNATED BY THE WIND.

It is well known that in Lusitania, in the vicinity of the town of Olisipo1921 and the river Tagus, the mares, by turning their faces towards the west wind as it blows, become impregnated by its breezes,1922 and that the foals which are conceived in this way are remarkable for their extreme fleetness; but they never live beyond three years. Gallicia and Asturia are also countries of Spain; they produce a species of horse known to us as thieldones,1923 and when smaller, asturcones;1924 they have a peculiar and not common pace of their own, which is very easy, and arises from the two legs of the same side being moved together;1925 it is by studying the nature of this step that our horses have been taught the movement which we call ambling.1926 Horses have very nearly the same diseases as men;1927 besides which, they are subject to an irregular action of the bladder, as, indeed, is the case with all beasts of burden.1928

CHAP. 68. (45.)—THE ASS, ITS GENERATION.

M. Varro informs us that Quintus Axius, the senator, paid for an ass the sum of four hundred thousand sesterces;1929 I am not sure whether this did not exceed the price ever given for any other animal. It is certainly a species of animal singularly useful for labour and ploughing,1930 but more especially for the production of mules.1931 In these animals also, the country in which they are born is taken into consideration; in Greece, those from Arcadia1932 are the most valued; and in Italy, those of Reate.1933 The ass is an animal which is unable to endure cold,1934 for which reason it is that it is never produced in Pontus; nor is it allowed to cover at the vernal equinox, like other cattle, but at the summer solstice. The males are less proper for covering, when out of work. The earliest age at which the females are ever capable of bearing is the thirtieth month, but the usual time begins at the age of three years. The number to which it gives birth is the same as the mare, which it also resembles, in the length of its gestation, and in its mode of bringing forth; but the female will discharge the generative fluid from the womb, being unable to retain it, unless by blows she is forced to run immediately after being covered. They seldom bring forth two at one birth.1935 When the she-ass is about to bring forth, she shuns the light and seeks darkness, in order to escape the observation of man. Asses are capable of breeding throughout the whole of their life, which extends to thirty years. Their attachment to their young is great in the extreme, but their aversion to water is still greater. They will pass through fire to get at their foals, while the very same animal, if the smallest stream intervenes, will tremble, and not dare so much as to wet even its feet. Nor yet in their pastures will they ever drink at any but the usual watering-place, and they make it their care to find some dry path by which to get at it. They will not pass over a bridge either, when the water can be seen between the planks beneath.1936 Wonderful to relate, too, if their watering-places are changed, though they should be ever so thirsty, they will not drink without being either beaten or caressed. They ought always to have plenty of room for sleeping; for they are very subject to various diseases in their sleep, when they repeatedly throw out their feet, and would immediately lame themselves by coming in contact with any hard substance; so that it is necessary that they should be provided with an empty space. The profit which is derived from these animals exceeds that arising from the richest estate. It is a well-known fact, that in Celtiberia there are some she-asses which have produced to their owners as much as four hundred thousand sesterces.1937 In the rearing of she-mules it is said to be particularly necessary to attend to the colour of the hair of the ears and the eyelids, for, although the rest of the body be all of one colour, the mule that is produced will have all the colours that are found in those parts. Mæcenas was the first person who had the young of the ass served up at his table;1938 they were in those times much preferred to the onager or wild ass;1939 but, since his time, the taste has gone out of fashion. An ass, after witnessing the death of another ass, survives it but a very short time only.

CHAP. 69. (44.)—THE NATURE OF MULES,1940 AND OF OTHER BEASTS OF BURDEN.

From the union of the male ass and the mare a mule is produced in the thirteenth month, an animal remarkable for its strength in laborious work. We are told that, for this purpose, the mare ought not to be less than four years old, nor more than ten. It is said also that these two species will repulse each other, unless the male has been brought up, in its infancy, upon the milk of the other species; for which reason they take the foals away from the mare, in the dark, and substitute for them the male colts of the ass. A mule may also be produced from a horse and a female ass; but it can never be properly broken in, and is incorrigibly sluggish,1941 being in all respects as slow as an old animal. If a mare has conceived by a horse, and is afterwards covered by an ass, the first conception is abortive; but this is not the case when the horse comes after the ass. It has been observed, that the female is in the best state for receiving the male in the seventh day after parturition, and that the males are best adapted for the purpose when they are fatigued.1942 A female ass, which has not conceived before shedding what are called the milk-teeth, is considered to be barren; which is also looked upon as the case when a she-ass does not become pregnant after the first covering. The male which is produced from a horse and a female ass, was called by the ancients “hinnulus,” and that from an ass and a mare “mulus.”1943 It has been observed that the animal which is thus produced by the union of the two species is of a third species, and does not resemble either of the parents; and that all animals produced in this way, of whatever kind they may be, are incapable of reproduction; she-mules are therefore barren. It is said, indeed, in our Annals, that they have frequently brought forth;1944 but such cases must be looked upon only as prodigies.1945 Theophrastus says that they commonly bring forth in Cappadocia; but that the animal of that country is of a peculiar species.1946 The mule is prevented from kicking by frequently giving it wine to drink.1947 It is said in the works of many of the Greek writers, that from the union of a mule with a mare, the dwarf mule is produced, which they call “ginnus.” From the union of the mare and the wild ass, when it has been domesticated, a mule is produced which is remarkably swift in running, and has extremely hard feet, and a thin body, while it has a spirit that is quite indomitable. The very best stallion of all, however, for this purpose, is one produced from a union of the wild ass and the female domesticated ass. The best wild asses are those of Phrygia and Lycaonia. Africa glories in the wild foals which she produces, as excelling all others in flavour; these are called “lalisiones.”1948 It appears from some Athenian records, that a mule once lived to the age of eighty years. The people were greatly delighted with this animal, because on one occasion, when, on the building of a temple in the citadel,1949 it had been left behind on account of its age, it persisted in promoting the work by accompanying and assisting them; in consequence of which a decree was passed, that the dealers in corn were not to drive it away from their sieves.1950

CHAP. 70. (45.)—OXEN; THEIR GENERATION.

We find it stated, that the oxen of India are of the height of camels, and that the extremity of their horns are four feet asunder. In our part of the world the most valuable oxen are those of Epirus, owing, it is said, to the attention paid to their breed by King Pyrrhus.1951 This perfection was acquired by not permitting them to breed until after their fourth year. By these means he brought them to a very large size, and descendants of this breed are still to be seen at the present day. But in our times, we set heifers to breed in their first year, or, at the latest, in their second. Bulls are fit for breeding in their fourth year; one being sufficient, it is said, for ten cows during the whole year. If the bull, after covering, goes to the right side, the produce will be a male; if to the left, a female.1952 Conception takes place after a single union; but if, by any accident, it should not have taken place, the cow seeks the male again, at the end of twenty days. She brings forth in the tenth month; whatever may be produced before that time cannot be reared. Some writers say, that the birth takes place the very day on which the tenth month is completed. This animal but rarely produces twins. The time of covering begins at the rising of the Dolphin, the day before the nones of January,1953 and continues for the space of thirty days. Sometimes it takes place in the autumn; and among those nations which live upon milk, they manage so as to have a supply of it at all times of the year. Bulls never cover more than twice in the same day. The ox is the only animal that walks backwards while it is feeding; among the Garamantes, they feed in no other manner.1954 The females live fifteen years at the longest, and the males twenty; they arrive at their full vigour in their fifth year. It is said that they are made fat by being washed in warm water, or by having the entrails inflated with air by means of a reed, introduced through an incision in the skin. We must not look upon those kinds as having degenerated, the appearance of which is not so favourable. Those that are bred in the Alps, although very small of body, give a great quantity of milk, and are capable of enduring much labour; they are yoked by the horns, and not by the neck. The oxen of Syria have no dewlap, but they have a hump on the back. Those of Caria also, which is in Asia, are unsightly1955 in appearance, having a hump hanging over the shoulders from the neck; and their horns are moveable;1956 they are said, however, to be excellent workers, though those which are either black or white are condemned as worthless for labour.1957 The horns of the bull are shorter and thinner than those of the ox. Oxen must be broken in when they are three years old; after that time it is too late, and before that time too early. The ox is most easily broken in by yoking it with one that has already been trained.1958 This animal is our especial companion, both in labour generally, and in the operations of agriculture. Our ancestors considered it of so much value, that there is an instance cited of a man being brought before the Roman people, on a day appointed, and condemned, for having killed an ox, in order to humour an impudent concubine of his, who said that she had never tasted tripe; and he was driven into exile, just as though he had killed one of his own peasants.1959

The bull has a proud air, a stern forehead, shaggy ears, and horns which appear always ready, and challenging to the combat; but it is by his fore feet that he manifests his threatening anger. As his rage increases, he stands, lashing back his tail1960 every now and then, and throwing up the sand against his belly; being the only animal that excites himself by these means. We have seen them fight at the word of command, and shown as a public spectacle; these bulls whirled about and then fell upon their horns, and at once were up again; then, at other times, they would lie upon the ground and let themselves be lifted up; they would even stand in a two-horsed chariot, while moving at a rapid rate, like so many charioteers.1961 The people of Thessaly invented a method of killing bulls, by means of a man on horseback, who would ride up to them, and seize one of the horns, and so twist their neck. Cæsar the Dictator was the first person who exhibited this spectacle at Rome.

Bulls are selected as the very choicest of victims, and are offered up as the most approved sacrifice for appeasing the gods.1962 Of all the animals that have long tails, this is the only one whose tail is not of proportionate length at the moment of birth; and in this animal alone it continues to grow until it reaches its heels. It is on this account, that in making choice of a calf for a victim, due care is taken that its tail reaches to the pastern joint; if it is shorter than this, the sacrifice is not deemed acceptable to the gods. This fact has also been remarked, that calves, which have been carried to the altar on men’s shoulders, are not generally acceptable to the gods; and also, if they are lame, or of a species which is not appropriate,1963 or if they struggle to get away from the altar. It was a not uncommon prodigy among the ancients, for an ox to speak;1964 upon such a fact being announced to the senate, they were in the habit of holding a meeting in the open air.

CHAP. 71. (46.)—THE EGYPTIAN APIS.1965

In Egypt an ox is even worshipped as a deity; they call it Apis. It is distinguished by a conspicuous white spot on the right side, in the form of a crescent. There is a knot also under the tongue, which is called “cantharus.”1966 This ox is not allowed to live beyond a certain number of years; it is then destroyed by being drowned in the fountain of the priests. They then go, amid general mourning, and seek another ox to replace it; and the mourning is continued, with their heads shaved, until such time as they have found one; it is not long, however, at any time, before they meet with a successor. When one has been found, it is brought by the priests to Memphis. There are two temples appropriated to it, which are called thalami,1967 and to these the people resort to learn the auguries. According as the ox enters the one or the other of these places, the augury is deemed favourable or unfavourable. It gives answers to individuals, by taking food from the hand of those who consult it. It turned away from the hand of Germanicus Cæsar, and not long after he died.1968 In general it lives in secret; but, when it comes forth in public, the multitudes make way for it, and it is attended by a crowd of boys, singing hymns in honour of it; it appears to be sensible of the adoration thus paid to it, and to court it. These crowds, too, suddenly become inspired, and predict future events. Once in the year a female is presented to the ox, which likewise has her appropriate marks, although different from those on the male; and it is said that she is always killed the very same day that they find her. There is a spot in the Nile, near Memphis, which, from its figure, they call Phiala;1969 here they throw into the water a dish of gold, and another of silver, every year upon the days on which they celebrate the birth of Apis.1970 These days are seven in number, and it is a remarkable thing, that during this time, no one is ever attacked by the crocodile; on the eighth day, however, after the sixth hour, these beasts resume all their former ferocity.

CHAP. 72. (47.)—SHEEP, AND THEIR PROPAGATION.1971

Many thanks, too, do we owe to the sheep, both for appeasing the gods, and for giving us the use of its fleece. As oxen cultivate the fields which yield food for man, so to sheep are we indebted for the defence of our bodies. The generative power lasts in both sexes from the second to the ninth year, sometimes to the tenth.1972 The lambs produced at the first birth are but small. The season for coupling, in all of them, is from the setting of Arcturus, that is to say, the third day before the ides of May,1973 to the setting of Aquila, the tenth day before the calends of August.1974 The period of gestation is one hundred and fifty days. The lambs that are produced after this time are feeble; the ancients called those that were born after it, cordi.1975 Many persons prefer the lambs that are born in the winter to those of the spring, because it is of much more consequence that they should have gained strength before the summer solstice than before the winter one; consequently, the sheep is the only animal that is benefitted by being born in the middle of winter. It is the nature of the ram to reject the young and prefer the old ones, and he himself is more serviceable when old,1976 and when deprived of his horns.1977 He is also rendered less violent by having one horn pierced towards the ear. If the right testicle is tied up, the ram will generate females, and if the left, males.1978 The noise of thunder produces abortion in sheep, if they are left alone; to prevent such accidents, they are brought together into flocks, that they may be rendered less timid by being in company. When the north-east wind blows, males are said to be conceived; and when the south wind, females. In this kind of animal, the mouth of the ram is especially looked to, for whatever may be the colour of the veins under the tongue, the wool of the young one will be of a similar colour.1979 If these veins are many in number, it will be mottled. Any change, too, in their water or drink, will render them mottled.1980

There are two principal kinds of sheep, the covered1981 and the colonic,1982 or common sheep; the former is the more tender animal, but the latter is more nice about its pastures, for the covered sheep will feed on brambles even. The best coverings for sheep are brought from Arabia.1983

CHAP. 73. (43.)—THE DIFFERENT KINDS OF WOOL, AND THEIR COLOURS.1984

The most esteemed wool of all is that of Apulia, and that which in Italy is called Grecian wool, in other countries Italian. The fleeces of Miletus hold the third rank.1985 The Apulian wool is shorter in the hair, and only owes its high character to the cloaks1986 that are made of it. That which comes from the vicinity of Tarentum and Canusium is the most celebrated; and there is a wool from Laodicea, in Asia, of a similar quality.1987 There is no white wool superior to that of the countries bordering on the Padus,1988 nor up to the present day has any wool exceeded the price of one hundred sesterces per pound.1989 The sheep are not shorn in all countries; in some places it is still the custom to pull off the wool.1990 There are various colours of wool; so much so, indeed, that we want terms to express them all. Several kinds, which are called native,1991 are found in Spain; Pollentia, in the vicinity of the Alps,1992 produces black fleeces of the best quality; Asia, as well as Bætica,1993 the red fleeces, which are called Erythræan; those of Canusium are of a tawny colour;1994 and those of Tarentum have their peculiar dark tint.1995 All kinds of wool, when not freed from the grease,1996 possess certain medicinal properties. The wool of Istria is much more like hair than wool, and is not suitable for the fabrication of stuffs that have a long nap;1997 so too is that which Salacia,1998 in Lusitania, finds the most useful for making its chequered cloths. There is a similar wool, too, found about Piscenæ,1999 in the province of Narbonensis, as also in Egypt; a garment, when it has been worn for some time, is often embroidered with this wool, and will last for a considerable time.

The thick, flocky wool has been esteemed for the manufacture of carpets from the very earliest times; it is quite clear, from what we read in Homer, that they were in use in his time.2000 The Gauls embroider them in a different manner from that which is practised by the Parthians.2001 Wool is compressed also for making a felt,2002 which, if soaked in vinegar,2003 is capable of resisting iron even; and, what is still more, after having gone through the last process,2004 wool will even resist fire; the refuse, too, when taken out of the vat of the scourer, is used for making mattresses,2005 an invention, I fancy, of the Gauls. At all events, it is by Gallic names that we distinguish the different sort of mattresses2006 at the present day; but I am not well able to say at what period wool began to be employed for this purpose. Our ancestors made use of straw2007 for the purpose of sleeping upon, just as they do at present when in camp. The gausapa2008 has been brought into use in my father’s memory, and I myself recollect the amphimalla2009 and the long shaggy apron2010 being introduced; but at the present day, the laticlave tunic2011 is beginning to be manufactured, in imitation of the gausapa.2012 Black wool will take no colour. I shall describe the mode of dyeing the other kinds of wool when speaking of the sea-purple,2013 or of the nature of various plants.2014

CHAP. 74.—DIFFERENT KINDS OF CLOTHS.

Varro informs us, he himself having been an eye-witness, that in the temple of Sancus,2015 the wool was still preserved on the distaff and spindle of Tanaquil,2016 who was also called Caia Cæcilia; and he says that the royal waved2017 toga, formerly worn by Servius Tullius, and now in the temple of Fortune, was made by her. Hence was derived the custom, on the marriage of a young woman, of carrying in the procession a dressed distaff and a spindle, with the thread arranged upon it. Tanaquil was the first who wove the straight tunic,2018 such as our young people wear with the white toga;2019 newly-married women also. Waved garments were at first the most esteemed of all: after which those composed of various colours2020 came into vogue. Fenestella informs us, that togas with a smooth surface, as well as the Phryxian togas,2021 began to be used in the latter part of the reign of Augustus. Thick stuffs, in the preparation of which the poppy2022 was used, are of more ancient date, being mentioned by the poet Lucilius, in his lines on Torquatus. The prætexta2023 had its origin among the Etrurians. I find that the trabea2024 was first worn by the kings; embroidered garments are mentioned by Homer,2025 and in this class originated the triumphal robes.2026 The Phrygians first used the needle for this purpose,2027 and hence this kind of garment obtained the name of Phrygionian. King Attalus, who also lived in Asia, invented the art of embroidering with gold, from which these garments have been called Attalic.2028 Babylon was very famous for making embroidery in different colours, and hence stuffs of this kind have obtained the name of Babylonian.2029 The method of weaving cloth with more than two threads was invented at Alexandria; these cloths are called polymita;2030 it was in Gaul that they were first divided into chequers.2031 Metellus Scipio, in the accusation which he brought against Cato,2032 stated that even in his time Babylonian covers for couches were selling for eight hundred thousand sesterces, and these of late, in the time of the Emperor Nero, had risen to four millions.2033 The prætextæ of Servius Tullius, with which the statue of Fortune, dedicated by him, was covered,2034 lasted until the death of Sejanus; and it is a remarkable fact, that, during a period of five hundred and sixty years, they had never become tattered,2035 or received injury from moths. I myself have seen the fleece upon the living animal dyed purple, scarlet, and violet,—a pound and a half2036 of dye being used for each,—just as though they had been produced by Nature in this form, to meet the demands of luxury.

CHAP. 75.—THE DIFFERENT SHAPES OF SHEEP; THE MUSMON.

In the sheep, it is considered a proof of its being of a very fair breed, when the legs are short, and the belly is covered with wool; when this part is bare, they used to be called apicæ, and were looked upon as worthless.2037 The tail of the Syrian sheep is a cubit in length,2038 and it is upon that part that most of the wool is found. It is considered too early to castrate lambs before they are five months old.

(49.) There is in Spain, and more especially in Corsica, a peculiar kind of animal called the musmon,2039 not very unlike a sheep, but with a fleece which more resembles the hair of the goat than the wool of the sheep. The ancients gave the name of umbri2040 to the breed between this animal and the sheep. The head of the sheep is the weakest part of all, on which account it is obliged, when it feeds, to turn away from the sun.2041 The animals which are covered with wool are the most stupid of all.2042 When they are afraid to enter any place, if one is only dragged into it by the horns, all the rest will follow. The longest duration of their life is ten years; but in Æthiopia it is thirteen. Goats live in that country eleven years, but in other parts of the world mostly eight years only. Both of these animals require to be covered not more than four times to ensure conception.

CHAP. 76. (50.)—GOATS AND THEIR PROPAGATION.

The goat occasionally brings forth as many as four at a birth; but this is rarely the case.2043 It is pregnant five months, like the sheep. Goats become barren when very fat. There is little advantage to be derived from their bringing forth before their third year, or after the fourth, when they begin to grow old.2044 They are capable of generating in the seventh month, and while they are still sucking. In both sexes those that have no horns are considered the most valuable.2045 A single coupling in the day is not sufficient; the second and the following ones are more effectual. They conceive in the month of November, so as to bring forth in the month of March, when the buds are bursting; this is sometimes the case with them when only one year old, and always with those of the second year; but the produce of those which are three years old is the most valuable.2046 They continue to bring forth for a period of eight years. Cold produces abortion. When their eyes are surcharged, the female discharges the blood from the eye by pricking it with the point of a bulrush, and the male with the thorn of a bramble.

Mutianus relates an instance of the intelligence of this animal, of which he himself was an eye-witness. Two goats, coming from opposite directions, met on a very narrow bridge, which would not admit of either of them turning round, and in consequence of its great length, they could not safely go backwards, there being no sure footing on account of its narrowness, while at the same time an impetuous torrent was rapidly rushing beneath; accordingly, one of the animals lay down flat, while the other walked over it.

Among the males, those are the most esteemed which have flat noses and long hanging ears,2047 the shoulders being covered with very thick shaggy hair; the mark of the most valuable among the females is the having two folds2048 hanging down the body from under the neck. Some of these animals have no horns; but where there are horns, the age of the animal is denoted by the number of knots on them. Those that have no horns give the most milk.2049 According to Archelaus,2050 they breathe, not through the nose, but the ears,2051 and they are never entirely free from fever,2052 from which circumstance it is, probably, that they are more animated than sheep, more ardent, and have stronger sexual passions. It is said also, that they have the power of seeing by night as well as in the day, for which reason those persons who are called Nyctalopes,2053 recover the power of seeing in the evening, by eating the liver of the he-goat. In Cilicia, and in the vicinity of the Syrtes, the inhabitants shear the goat for the purpose of clothing themselves.2054 It is said that the she-goats in the pastures will never look at each other at sun-set, but lie with their backs towards one another,2055 while at other times of the day they lie facing each other and in family groups. They all have long hair hanging down from the chin, which is called by us aruncus.2056 If any one of the flock is taken hold of and dragged by this hair, all the rest gaze on in stupid astonishment; and the same happens when any one of them has eaten of a certain herb.2057 Their bite is very destructive to trees, and they make the olive barren by licking it;2058 for which reason they are not sacrificed to Minerva.2059

CHAP. 77. (51.)—THE HOG.2060

The period for coupling the hog lasts from the return of the west wind to the vernal equinox; the proper age commences in the eighth month, indeed, in some places, in the fourth even, and continues until the eighth year.2061 They bring forth twice in the year, the time of gestation being four months; the number at a birth amounts to twenty even, but they cannot rear so large a number.2062 Nigidius informs us, that those which are produced within ten days of the winter solstice are born with teeth. One coupling is sufficient, but it is repeated, on account of their extreme liability to abortion; the remedy for which is not to allow coupling the first time the female is in heat, nor until its ears are flaccid and pendant. The males do not generate after they are three years old. When the females become feeble from old age, they receive the males lying down.2063 It is not looked upon as anything portentous when they eat their young. The young of the hog is considered in a state of purity for sacrifice when five days old,2064 the lamb on the seventh day, and the calf on the thirtieth. Coruncanius asserts, that ruminant animals are not proper for victims until they have two teeth.2065 It has been supposed, that when a pig has lost one eye, it will not live long;2066 otherwise, these animals generally live up to fifteen, or sometimes twenty years. They sometimes become mad; besides which, they are liable to other diseases, especially to quinsy2067 and to scrofula.2068 It is an indication that the hog is diseased, when blood is found at the root of a bristle pulled from its back, and when it holds its head on one side while walking. When the female becomes too fat, she has a deficiency of milk; the first litter is always the least numerous. Animals of this kind delight in rolling in the mud.2069 The tail is curled, and it has also been remarked, that those are a more acceptable offering to the gods, whose tail is turned to the right than those which have it turned to the left. They may be fattened in sixty days, and more especially if they have been kept without food for three days before fattening. The swine is by far the most brutish of all the animals, and it has been said, and not unaptly, that life has been given them in place of salt.2070 And yet it has been known, that these animals, when carried away by thieves, have recognized the voice of their keeper; and when a vessel has been under water through the inclination of one of its sides, they have had the sense to go over to the other side. The leader of the herd will even learn to go to market, and to different houses in the city. In the wild state also, they have the sense to pass their urine in plashy places, that they may destroy all traces of them, and so lighten themselves for flight.2071 The female is spayed, just as is done with the camel; after they have fasted two days, they are suspended by the hind feet, and the orifice of the womb is cut; after this operation, they fatten more quickly.2072

M. Apicius2073 made the discovery, that we may employ the same artificial method of increasing the size of the liver of the sow, as of that of the goose;2074 it consists in cramming them with dried figs, and when they are fat enough, they are drenched with wine mixed with honey, and immediately killed. There is no animal that affords a greater variety to the palate of the epicure; all the others have their own peculiar flavour, but the flesh of the hog has nearly fifty different flavours. Hence it is, that there are whole pages of regulations made by the censors, forbidding the serving up at banquets of the belly, the kernels,2075 the testicles, the womb, and the cheeks. However, notwithstanding all this, the poet Publius,2076 the author of the Mimes, when he ceased to be a slave, is said to have given no entertainment without serving up the belly of a sow, to which he also gave the name of “sumen.”

CHAP. 78.—THE WILD BOAR; WHO WAS THE FIRST TO ESTABLISH PARKS FOR WILD ANIMALS.

The flesh of the wild boar is also much esteemed. Cato, the Censor, in his orations, strongly declaimed against the use of the brawn of the wild boar.2077 The animal used to be divided into three portions, the middle part of which was laid by,2078 and is called boar’s chine. P. Servilius Rullus was the first Roman who served up a whole boar at a banquet; the father of that Rullus, who, in the consulship of Cicero, proposed the Agrarian law. So recent is the introduction of a thing which is now in daily use. The Annalists have taken notice of such a fact as this, clearly as a hint to us to mend our manners; seeing that now-a-days two or three boars are consumed, not at one entertainment, but as forming the first course only.

(52.) Fulvius Lupinus was the first Roman who formed parks2079 for the reception of these and other wild animals: he first fed them in the territory of Tarquinii: it was not long, however, that imitators were found in L. Lucullus and Q. Hortensius.2080 The wild sow brings forth once only in the year. The males are very fierce during the rutting time; they fight with each other, having first hardened their sides by rubbing them against the trees, and covered themselves with mud. The females, as is the case with animals of every kind, become more fierce just after they have brought forth. The wild boar is not capable of generating before the first year. The wild boar of India2081 has two curved teeth, projecting from beneath the muzzle, a cubit in length; and the same number projecting from the forehead, like the horns of the young bull. The hair of these animals, in a wild state, is the colour of copper, the others are black. No species whatever of the swine is found in Arabia.

CHAP. 79. (53.)—ANIMALS IN A HALF-WILD STATE.

In no species is the union with the wild animal so easy as in that of the swine; the produce of such unions was called by the ancients hybrid,2082 or half savage; which appellation has also been transferred to the human race, as it was to C. Antonius, the colleague of Cicero in his consulship. Not only, however, with respect to the hog, but all other animals as well, wherever there is a tame species, there is a corresponding wild one as well; a fact which is equally true with reference to man himself, as is proved by the many races of wild men of which we have already spoken.2083 There is no kind of animal, however, that is divided into a greater number of varieties than the goat. There are the capræa,2084 the rupicapra or rock-goat, and the ibex, an animal of wonderful swiftness, although its head is loaded with immense horns, which bear a strong resemblance to the sheath of a sword.2085 By means of these horns the animal balances itself, when it darts along the rocks, as though it had been hurled from a sling;2086 more especially when it wishes to leap from one eminence to another. There are the oryges also,2087 which are said to be the only animals that have the hair the contrary way, the points being turned towards the head. There are the dama also,2088 the pygargus,2089 and the strepsiceros,2090 besides many others which strongly resemble them. The first mentioned of these animals,2091 however, dwell in the Alps; all the others are sent to us from the parts beyond sea.

CHAP. 80. (54.)—APES.

The different kinds of apes, which approach the nearest to the human figure, are distinguished from each other by the tail.2092 Their shrewdness is quite wonderful. It is said that, imitating the hunters, they will besmear themselves with bird-lime, and put their feet into the shoes, which, as so many snares, have been prepared for them.2093 Mucianus says, that they have even played at chess, having, by practice, learned to distinguish the different pieces, which are made of wax.2094 He says that the species which have tails become quite melancholy when the moon is on the wane, and that they leap for joy at the time of the new moon, and adore it. Other quadrupeds also are terrified at the eclipses of the heavenly bodies. All the species of apes manifest remarkable affection for their offspring. Females, which have been domesticated, and have had young ones, carry them about and shew them to all comers, shew great delight when they are caressed, and appear to understand the kindness thus shewn them. Hence it is, that they very often stifle their young with their embraces. The dog’s-headed ape2095 is of a much fiercer nature, as is the case with the satyr. The callitriche2096 has almost a totally different aspect; it has a beard on the face, and a tail, which in the first part of it is very bushy. It is said that this animal cannot live except in the climate of Æthiopia, which is its native place.

CHAP. 81. (55.)—THE DIFFERENT SPECIES OF HARES.

There are also numerous species of hares. Those in the Alps are white,2097 and it is believed that, during the winter, they live upon snow for food; at all events, every year, as the snow melts, they acquire a reddish colour; it is, moreover, an animal which is capable of existing in the most severe climates. There is also a species of hare, in Spain, which is called the rabbit;2098 it is extremely prolific, and produces famine in the Balearic islands, by destroying the harvests. The young ones, either when cut from out of the body of the mother, or taken from the breast, without having the entrails removed, are considered a most delicate food; they are then called laurices.2099 It is a well-known fact, that the inhabitants of the Balearic islands begged of the late Emperor Augustus the aid of a number of soldiers, to prevent the too rapid increase of these animals. The ferret2100 is greatly esteemed for its skill in catching them. It is thrown into the burrows, with their numerous outlets, which the rabbits form, and from which circumstance they derive their name,2101 and as it drives them out, they are taken above. Archelaus informs us, that in the hare, the number of cavernous receptacles in the body for the excrements always equals that of its years;2102 but still the numbers are sometimes found to differ. He says also, that the same individual possesses the characteristics of the two sexes, and that it becomes pregnant just as well without the aid of the male. It is a kind provision of Nature, in making animals which are both harmless and good for food, thus prolific. The hare, which is preyed upon by all other animals, is the only one, except the dasypus,2103 which is capable of superfœtation;2104 while the mother is suckling one of her young, she has another in the womb covered with hair, another without any covering at all, and another which is just beginning to be formed. Attempts have been made to form a kind of stuff of the hair of these animals; but it is not so soft as when attached to the skin, and, in consequence of the shortness of the hairs, soon falls to pieces.

CHAP. 82. (56.)—ANIMALS WHICH ARE TAMED IN PART ONLY.

Hares are seldom tamed, and yet they cannot properly be called wild animals; indeed, there are many species of them which are neither tame nor wild, but of a sort of intermediate nature; of the same kind there are among the winged animals, swallows and bees, and among the sea animals, the dolphin.

(57.) Many persons have placed that inhabitant of our houses, the mouse, in this class also; an animal which is not to be despised, for the portents which it has afforded, even in relation to public events. By gnawing the silver shields at Lanuvium,2105 mice prognosticated the Marsian war; and the death of our general, Carbo, at Clusium,2106 by gnawing the latchets with which he fastened his shoes.2107 There are many species of this animal in the territory of Cyrenaica; some of them with a wide, others with a projecting, forehead, and some again with bristling hair, like the hedgehog.2108 We are informed by Theophrastus, that after the mice had driven the inhabitants of Gyara2109 from their island, they even gnawed the iron; which they also do, by a kind of natural instinct, in the iron forges among the Chalybes. In gold mines, too, their stomachs are opened for this purpose, and some of the metal is always to be found there, which they have pilfered,2110 so great a delight do they take in stealing! We learn from our Annals, also, that at the siege of Casilinum,2111 by Hannibal, a mouse was sold for two hundred denarii,2112 and that the person who sold it perished with hunger, while the purchaser survived. To be visited by white mice is considered as indicative of a fortunate event; but our Annals are full of instances in which the singing2113 of a mouse has interrupted the auspices.2114 Nigidius informs us, that the field-mouse conceals itself during winter: this is also said to be the case with the dormouse, which the regulations of the censors, and of M. Scaurus, the chief of the senate, when he was consul,2115 have banished from our tables,2116 no less than shell-fish and birds, which are brought from a foreign country. The dormouse is also a half-wild animal, and the same person2117 made warrens for them in large casks, who first formed parks for wild boars. In relation to this subject, it has been remarked that dormice will not mate, unless they happen to be natives of the same forest; and that if those are put together that are brought from different rivers or mountains, they will fight and destroy each other. These animals nourish their parents, when worn out with old age, with a singular degree of affection. This old age of theirs is put an end to by their winter’s rest, when they conceal themselves and sleep; they are young again by the summer. The field-mouse2118 also enjoys a similar repose.

CHAP. 83. (58.)—PLACES IN WHICH CERTAIN ANIMALS ARE NOT TO BE FOUND.

It is a remarkable fact, that nature has not only assigned different countries to different animals, but that even in the same country, it has denied certain species to peculiar localities.2119 In Italy the dormouse is found in one part only, the Messian forest.2120 In Lycia the gazelle never passes beyond the mountains which border upon Syria;2121 nor does the wild ass in that vicinity pass over those which divide Cappadocia from Cilicia. On the banks of the Hellespont, the stags never pass into a strange territory, and about Arginussa2122 they never go beyond Mount Elaphus; those upon that mountain, too, have cloven ears. In the island of Poroselene,2123 the weasels will not so much as cross a certain road. In Bœotia, the moles, which were introduced at Lebadea, fly from the very soil of that country, while in the neighbourhood, at Orchomenus, the very same animals tear up all the fields. We have seen coverlets for beds made of the skins of these creatures, so that our sense of religion does not prevent us from employing these ominous animals for the purposes of luxury. When hares have been brought to Ithaca, they die as soon as ever they touch the shore, and the same is the case with rabbits, on the shores of the island of Ebusus;2124 while they abound in the vicinity, Spain namely, and the Balearic isles. In Cyrene, the frogs were formerly dumb, and this species still exists, although croaking ones were carried over there from the continent. At the present day, even, the frogs in the island of Seriphos are dumb; but when they are carried to other places, they croak; the same thing is also said to have taken place at Sicandrus, a lake of Thessaly.2125 In Italy, the bite of the shrew-mouse2126 is venomous; an animal which is not to be found in any region beyond the Apennines. In whatever country it exists, it always dies immediately if it goes across the rut made by a wheel. Upon Olympus, a mountain of Macedonia, there are no wolves, nor yet in the isle of Crete.2127 In this island there are neither foxes, nor bears, nor, indeed, any kind of baneful animal,2128 with the exception of the phalangium, a species of spider, of which I shall speak in its appropriate place.2129 It is a thing still more remarkable, that in this island there are no stags, except in the district of Cydon;2130 the same is the case with the wild boar, the woodcock,2131 and the hedgehog. In Africa, there are neither wild boars, stags, deer, nor bears.

CHAP. 84. (59.)—ANIMALS WHICH INJURE STRANGERS ONLY, AS ALSO ANIMALS WHICH INJURE THE NATIVES OF THE COUNTRY ONLY, AND WHERE THEY ARE FOUND.

Besides this, there are certain animals, which are harmless to the natives of the country, but destroy strangers; such are the little serpents at Tirynthus,2132 which are said to spring from out of the earth. In Syria, also, and especially on the banks of the Euphrates, the serpents never attack the Syrians when they are asleep, and even if they happen to bite a native who treads upon them, their venom is not felt; but to persons of any other country they are extremely hostile, and fiercely attack them, causing a death attended with great torture. On this account, the Syrians never kill them. On the contrary, on Latmos, a mountain2133 of Caria, as Aristotle tells us, strangers are not injured by the scorpions, while the natives are killed by them. But I must now give an account of other animals as well, and of the productions of the earth.2134

Summary.—Remarkable events, narratives, and observations, seven hundred and eighty-seven.

Roman authors quoted.—Mucianus,2135 Procilius,2136 Verrius Flaccus,2137 L. Piso,2138 Cornelius Valerianus,2139 Cato the Censor,2140 Fenestella,2141 Trogus,2142 the Register of the Triumphs,2143 Columella,2144 Virgil,2145 Varro,2146 Lucilius,2147 Metellus Scipio,2148 Cornelius Celsus,2149 Nigidius,2150 Trebius Niger,2151 Pomponius Mela,2152 Mamilius Sura.2153

Foreign authors quoted.—King Juba,2154 Polybius,2155 Herodotus,2156 Antipater,2157 Aristotle,2158 Demetrius2159 the physician, Democritus,2160 Theophrastus,2161 Euanthes,2162 Agriopas,2163 who wrote the “Olympionicæ,” King Hiero,2164 King Attalus,2165 Philometor, Ctesias,2166 Duris,2167 Philistus,2168 Archytas,2169 Phylarchus,2170 Amphilochus2171 of Athens, Anaxapolis2172 the Thasian, Apollodorus2173 of Lemnos, Aristophanes2174 the Milesian, Antigonus2175 the Cumæan, Agathocles2176 of Chios, Apollonius2177 of Pergamus, Aristander2178 of Athens, Bacchius2179 of Miletus, Bion2180 of Soli, Chæreas2181 the Athenian, Diodorus2182 of Priene, Dion2183 the Colophonian, Epigenes2184 the Rhodian, Euagon2185 of Thasos, Euphronius2186 of Athens, Hegesias2187 of Maronea, the Menanders2188 of Priene and of Heraclea, Menecrates2189 the poet, Androtion2190 who wrote on Agriculture, Æschrion2191 who wrote on Agriculture, Lysimachus2192 who wrote on Agriculture, Dionysius2193 who translated Mago, Diophanes2194 who made an epitome of the work of Dionysius, King Archelaus,2195 Nicander.2196