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PROLOGUE There is perhaps nothing extraordinary in the fact that man is wise and just, takes great care to provide for his own children, shows due consideration for his parents, seeks sustenance for himself, protects himself against plots, and possesses all the other gifts of nature which are his. For man has been endowed with speech, of all things the most precious, and has been granted reason, which is of the greatest help and use. Moreover, he knows how to reverence and worship the gods. But that dumb animals should by nature possess some good quality and should have many of man's amazing excellences assigned to them along with man, is indeed a remarkable fact. And to know accurately the special characteristics of each, and how living creatures also have been a source of interest no less than man, demands a trained intelligence and much learning. Now I am well aware of the labour that others have expended on this subject, yet I have collected all the materials that I could; I have clothed them in untechnical language, and am persuaded that my achievement is a treasure far from negligible. So if anyone considers them profitable, let him make use of them; anyone who does not consider them so may give them to his father to keep and attend to. For not all things give pleasure to all men, nor do all men consider all subjects worthy of study. Although I was born later than many accomplished writers of an earlier day, the accident of date ought not to mulct me of praise, if I too produce a learned work whose ampler research and whose choice of language make it deserving of serious attention. | [] |
BOOK IThere is a certain island called Diomedea, and it is the home of many shearwaters. These, it is said, neither harm the barbarians nor go near them. If however a stranger from Greece puts in to port, the birds by some divine dispensation approach, extending their wings as though they were hands, to welcome and embrace the strangers. And if the Greeks stroke them, they do not fly away, but stay still and allow themselves to be touched; and if the men sit down, the birds fly on to their lap as though they had been invited to a meal. They are said to be the companions of Diomedes and to have taken part with him in the war against Ilium; though their original form was afterwards changed into that of birds, they nevertheless still preserve their Greek nature and their love of Greece. | [
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The Parrot Wrasse feeds upon seaweed and wrack, and is of all fishes the most lustful, and its insatiable desire for the female is the reason why it gets caught. Now skilful anglers are aware of this, and they set upon it in this way. Whenever they capture a female, they fasten a fine line of esparto to its lip and trail the fish alive through the sea, knowing as they do where the fish lie, their haunts, and where they assemble. They prepare a heavy lead sinker round in shape and three fingers in length; a cord is passed through both ends, and it trails the captured fish after it. One of the men in the boat attaches to the side a weel with a wide mouth; the weel is then turned towards the captured Wrasse and slightly weighted with a stone of appropriate size. Whereupon the male Wrasses, like young men who have caught sight of a pretty girl, go in pursuit, mad with desire, each trying to outstrip the other and to reach her side and rub against her, just as love-sick men strive to kiss or tickle (a girl) or to play some other amorous trick. So then the man who is towing the female gently and slowly and planning to entrap (his fish), draws the lovers (as you might call them) with the loved one straight towards the weel. As soon as they come level with the weel, the angler lets the lead weight drop into it, and as it falls in it drags the female down with it by the line. And as the male Wrasses swim in with her, they are captured and pay the penalty for their erotic impulse. | [] |
The Mullet is one of those fishes that live in pools and is believed to control its appetite and to lead a most temperate existence. For it never sets upon a living creature, but is naturally inclined to peaceful relations with all fish. If it comes across any dead fish, it makes its meal off that, but will not lay hold upon it until it has moved it with its tail: if the fish does not stir, it becomes the Mullet's prey; but if it moves, the Mullet withdraws. | [] |
As loyal men and true fellow-soldiers come to one another's aid, so do the fish which men skilled in sea-fishing call Anthias; and their haunts are the sea. For instance, directly they are aware that a mate has been hooked, they swim up with all possible speed; then they set their back against him and by falling upon him and pushing with all their might try to stop him from being hauled in. Parrot Wrasses too are doughty champions of their own kin. At any rate they rush forward and make haste to bite through the line in order to rescue the one that has been caught. And many a time have they cut the line and set him free, and they ask for no reward for life-saving. Many a time however they have not contrived to do this, but have failed in spite of having done all they could with the utmost zeal. And it has even happened, they say, that, when a Parrot Wrasse has fallen into the weel and has left his tail-part projecting, the others that are swimming around uncaught have fixed their teeth in him and have dragged their comrade out. If however his head was projecting, one of those outside offered his tail, which the captive grasped and followed. This, my fellow-men, is what these creatures do: their love is not taught, it is inborn. | [] |
Of the fish known as the 'Gnawer' its name and, what is more, its mouth declare its nature. Its teeth grow in an unbroken line and are numerous and so strong as to bite through anything that comes their way. Therefore, when taken with a hook, it is the only fish that does not attempt to withdraw, but presses on in its eagerness to cut the line. Fishermen however counter this by a device: they have their hooks forged with a long shank. But the Gnawer, being a powerful jumper in its way, often leaps above the shank, and cutting the hair-line that is drawing it, swims away again to the places where fish haunt. It also gathers round it a shoal of its fellows and with them also makes an attack upon the Dolphins, and if one chance to get separated from the rest, the Gnawers surround it and then set upon the creature furiously, knowing as they do that the Dolphin is by no means insensible to their bites. For the Gnawers cling most tenaciously to it, while the Dolphin leaps upwards and plunges; and it shows how it is being tormented by the pain, for the Gnawers that have fastened upon it are lifted out of the water with it as it leaps. And while the Dolphin struggles to shake them loose and beat them off, they never relax their hold, but would eat it alive. Then however when each Gnawer has bitten away a piece, they go off with their mouthful, and the Dolphin is thankful to swim away after having fed its uninvited guests (if one may so call them) to its own pain. | [] |
I am told that a dog fell in love with Glauce the harpist. Some however assert that it was not a dog but a ram, while others say it was a goose. And at Soli in Cilicia a dog loved a boy of the name of Xenophon; at Sparta another boy in the prime of life by reason of his beauty caused a jackdaw to fall sick of love. | [
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Men say that the Jackal is most friendly disposed to man, and whenever it happens to encounter a man, it gets out of his way as though from deference; but when it sees a man being injured by some other animal, it at once comes to his help. | [] |
One Nicias unwittingly outdistanced his fellow huntsmen and fell into a charcoal-burners' furnace. But his hounds, which saw this happen, did not leave the spot, but at first remained whining and baying about the furnace, until at length, by just daring to bite the clothes of passers-by gently and cautiously, they tried to draw them to the scene of the mishap, as though the hounds were imploring the men to come to their master's help. One man at any rate seeing this, suspected what had occurred and followed. He found Nicias burned to death in the furnace, and from the remains he guessed the truth. | [] |
The Drone, which is born among bees, hides itself among the combs during the day, but at night, when it observes that the bees are asleep, it invades their work and makes havoc in the hives. When the bees realise this (most of them are asleep, being thoroughly tired, though a few are lying in wait for the thief), directly they catch him they beat him, not violently, and thrust him out and cast him forth into exile. Yet even so the Drone has not learnt his lesson, for he is naturally slothful and greedy — two bad qualities! So he secretes himself outside the combs and later, when the bees fly forth to their feeding-grounds, pushes his way in and does what is natural to him, cramming himself and plundering the bees' treasure of honey. But they on returning from their pasturage, directly they encounter him, no longer beat him with moderation nor merely put him to flight, but fall upon him vigorously and make an end of the thief. The punishment which he suffers none can censure: he pays for his gluttony and voracity with his life. This is what bee-keepers say, and they convince me. | [] |
Even among Bees there are some which are lazy, though they do not resemble drones in their habits, for they neither damage the combs nor have designs upon the honey, but feed themselves on the flowers, flying abroad and accompanying the others. But though they have no skill in the making and the gathering of honey, at any rate they are not completely inactive, for some fetch water for their king and for their elders, while the elders themselves attend upon the king and have been set apart to form his bodyguard. Meanwhile others of them have this for their task: they carry the dead bees out of the hive. For it is essential that their honeycombs should be clean, and they will not tolerate a dead bee in the hive. Others again keep watch by night, and their duty is to guard the fabric of honeycombs as though it were some tiny city. | [] |
A man may tell the age of Bees in the following way. Those born in the current year are glistening and are the colour of olive oil; the older ones are rough to the eye and to the touch and appear wrinkled with age. They have however greater experience and skill, time having instructed them in the art of making honey. They have too the faculty of divination, so that they know in advance when rain and frost are coming. And whenever they reckon that either or both are on their way, they do not extend their flight very far, but fly round about their hives as though they would be close to the door. It is from these signs that bee-keepers augur the approach of stormy weather and warn the farmers. And yet Bees are not so afraid of frost as they are of heavy rain and snow. Often they fly against the wind, carrying between their feet a small pebble of such size as is easy to carry when on the wing. This is a device which they use to ballast themselves against a contrary wind, and particularly so that the breeze may not deflect them from their path. | [] |
Even among fishes there are many kinds which know how strong is love, for that god, powerful as he is, has not ignored and disdained even the creatures that dwell below in the depths of the ocean. One at any rate that pays service to this god is the Mullet, but not every species, only that to which men who have observed the different species of fish have given a name derived from its sharp snout. These, I am told, are caught in great numbers round about the Gulf of Achaia, and there are various ways of catching them. But the following method of capture proves how madly amorous they are. A fisherman catches a female Mullet and fastens it to a long rod or a cord (this too must be long); as he walks slowly along the sea-shore he draws the fish, swimming and gasping, after him. In his footsteps there follows one with a net, and this net-fisherman watches diligently to see what is going to happen and where. So the female Mullet is towed along, and all the males that catch sight of her, like (one might say) licentious youths ogling a beautiful girl as she hurries by, come swimming up, mad with sexual desire. Thereupon the man with the net casts it and frequently has good luck, thanks to the urgent lust of the fish that approach. It is essential for the first fisherman's purpose that the captured female should be at her prime and well-fleshed, so that a greater number may be ardent after her and may take the bait which her enticing beauty offers. But should she be lean, most of them will scorn her and go away. Still, if any one of them is madly in love, he will not leave her, because he has been enslaved not by her beauty (that I will swear) but by his desire for sexual intercourse. | [
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It seems however that fish are also models of continence. At any rate when the Etna-fish as it is called, pairs with its mate as with a wife and achieves the married state, it does not touch another female; it needs no covenants to maintain its fidelity, no dowry; it even stands in no fear of an action for ill-usage, nor is Solon to it a name of dread. What noble laws, how worthy of veneration! — And man, the libertine, feels no scruple at disobeying them. | [] |
The Wrasse has its haunts and resorts among the rocks and near cavernous burrows. The males all have many wives and resign the hollow places, as though they were women's chambers, to their brides. This refinement in their mating, and the propensity which they enjoy for having many wives one might describe as characteristic of barbarians who luxuriate in the pleasures of the bed, and (if one may jest on serious subjects) as living like the Medes and Persians. It is of all fishes the most jealous at all times, but especially when its wives are producing their young. (If by excessive use of these expressions I make my discourse too wanton, the facts of nature permit me to do things of that sort.) So the females which are actually facing the strain of birth-pangs remain quiet in their homes, while the male, after the manner of a husband, stays about the entrance to prevent any mischief from outside, being anxious for his offspring. For it seems that he loves even those that are yet unborn, and it is his fatherly concern that causes him these early fears; he even spends the whole day without touching food: his care sustains him. But as the afternoon grows late, he relinquishes his forced watch and seeks for food, which he does not fail to find. But of course each of the females within, whether in the act of giving birth or after it, finds a quantity of seaweed in the hollow places and about the rocks, and this is their meal. | [
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A fisherman who is skilled in angling a Wrasse fastens a heavy piece of lead to his hook, wraps round it a large prawn, and drops the bait. And then he moves the line a little, rousing and egging on his prey to take the food, while the prawn by its movement conveys the impression that it intends to enter the Wrasse's den. Now this the Wrasse greatly resents, and therefore, as soon as he observes it, he longs, such is his fury, to demolish the object of his abhorrence, for he is not thinking of his appetite at the moment; and when he has crushed it, he moves off, considering it more honourable and more important that the watchman should not be caught napping than that he should be fed. But when he intends to eat any other creature that comes his way, he crushes it lightly and then lets it lie. As soon as he sees that it is dead, then at length he nibbles at it. But the female Wrasses, so long as they see the male acting as their shield, so to say, 'remain within and with the care of their household' are occupied. If however the male disappears, they become distraught; their despondency leads them to venture forth, and then they are caught. What have the poets to say to this — our poets who are for ever extolling Evadne, the daughter of Iphis, and Alcestis, the daughter of Pelias? | [] |
Among fishes the 'Blue-grey' is a model father. He maintains a strenuous watch over his mate's offspring, to ensure that they are not attacked or injured. And all the while that they are swimming the sea happily and without fear he never relaxes his vigilance, and sometimes brings up the rear and sometimes does not, but swims by them now on this side now on that. And if any of his young is afraid, he opens his mouth and takes the baby in. Later, when its fear has passed, he disgorges the one that took refuge exactly as he received it, and it resumes its swimming. | [] |
Directly the Dog-fish has produced its young, it has them swimming by its side, and there is no delay. But if any one of them is afraid, it slips back into its mother's womb. Later, when its fear has passed, it emerges, as though it were being born again. | [] |
Men admire women for their devotion to their children, yet I observe that mothers whose sons or whose daughters have died, continued to live and in time forgot their sufferings, their grief having abated. But the female Dolphin far surpasses all creatures in its devotion to its offspring. It produces two. . . . And when a fisherman either wounds a young Dolphin with his harpoon or strikes it with his barb . . . The barb is pierced at the upper end, and a long line is fastened to it, while the barbs sink in and hold the fish. So long as the wounded Dolphin still has any strength, the fisherman leaves the line slack, so that the fish may not break it by its violence, and so that he himself may not incur a double misfortune through the Dolphin escaping with the barb and himself failing to catch anything. As soon as he perceives that the fish is tiring and is somewhat weakened by the wound, he gently brings his boat near and lands his catch. But the mother Dolphin is not scared by what has occurred nor restrained by fear, but by a mysterious instinct follows in her yearning for her child. And though one confront her with terrors never so great, she is still undismayed, and will not endure to desert her young one which has come to a bloody end; indeed, it is even possible to strike her with the hand, so close does she come to the hunters, as though she would beat them off. And so it comes about that she is caught along with her offspring, though she could save herself and escape. But if both her offspring are by her, and if she realises that one has been wounded and is being hauled in, as I said above, she pursues the one that is unscathed and drives it away, lashing her tail and biting her little one with her mouth; and she makes a blowing sound as best she can, indistinct, but giving the signal to flee, which saves it. So the young Dolphin escapes, while the mother remains until she is caught and dies along with the captive. | [] |
The Horned Ray is born in the mud, and though at the time of birth it is very small, it grows from that size to be enormous. Its belly beneath is white; its back, its head, and its sides are a deep black; its mouth however is small, and its teeth — when it opens its mouth, you cannot see them. Further, it is exceedingly long and flat. While on the one hand it feeds upon a great number of fish, yet its chief delight is to eat the flesh of man. It is conscious of its very small strength: only its great size gives it courage. Hence when it sees a man swimming or diving to catch something in the water, it rises and arching its body attacks him, pressing upon him from above with all its weight; and while causing terror to fasten upon him, the Ray extends all its body over the wretched man like a roof and prevents him from reaching the surface and breathing. When therefore his breathing is arrested, the man naturally dies, and the Ray falls upon him and in the feast which it most greedily desires reaps the reward of its persistence. | [] |
All other songsters sing sweetly and use their tongue to utter, as men do, but Cicadas produce their incessant chatter from their loins. They feed upon dew, and from dawn until about midday remain silent. But when the sun enters upon his hottest period, they emit their characteristic clamour — industrious members of a chorus, you might call them — and from above the heads of shepherds and wayfarers and reapers their song descends. This love of singing Nature has bestowed upon the males, whereas the female Cicada is mute and appears as silent as some shamefast maiden. | [] |
Men say that it was the goddess Ergane who invented weaving and spinning, but it was Nature that trained the Spider to weave. The practice of its craft is not due to any imitation, nor does it obtain spinning matter from any external source, but produces the threads from its own belly and then contrives snares for flimsy winged creatures, spreading them like nets; and it derives its nourishment from the same material that it extracts from its belly and weaves. It is so extremely industrious that not even the most dexterous women, skilled at elaborating wrought yarn, can be compared to it: its web is thinner than hair. | [] |
Historians praise the Babylonians and Chaldaeans for their knowledge of the heavenly bodies. But Ants, though they neither look upwards to the sky nor are able to count the days of the month on their fingers, nevertheless have been endowed by Nature with an extraordinary gift. Thus, on the first day of the month they stay at home indoors, never quitting their nest but remaining quietly within. | [
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The fish known as the Sargue has its home among rocks and hollows, which however have in them narrow clefts so that the rays of the sun can penetrate within and fill these fissures with light. For Sargues like all the light there is, but have an even greater craving for the sunbeams. They live in great numbers in the same place, and their usual haunts are the shallows of the sea, and they particularly like to be near the land. For some reason they have a strong affection for goats. At any rate if the shadow of one or two goats feeding by the sea-shore fall upon the water, they swim in eagerly and spring up as though for joy, and in their desire to touch the goats they leap out of the water, though they are not in a general way given to leaping. And even when swimming below the waves they are sensible of the goats' smell, and for delight in it press in to be near them. Now since they are thus love-sick, the object of their love is the means of their capture. Thus, a fisherman wraps himself in a goatskin which how has been flayed with the horns. Stalking his prey, the hunter gets the sun behind him and then sprinkles on the water beneath which the aforesaid fish live, barley-groats soaked in broth of goats' flesh. And the Sargues, attracted by the aforesaid smell as though by some charm, approach and eat the barley-groats and are fascinated by the goatskin. And the man catches them in numbers with a stout hook and a line of white flax attached not to a reed but to a rod of cornel-wood. For it is essential to haul in the fish that has taken the bait very quickly so as to avoid disturbing the others. They are even to be caught by hand, if by gently stroking the spines, which they raise in self-protection, from the head downwards one can lay them, or by pressure draw the fish out of the rocks into which they thrust themselves to avoid being seen. | [] |
The male Viper couples with the female by wrapping himself round her. And she allows her mate to do this without resenting it at all.' When however they have finished their act of love, the bride in reward for his embraces repays her husband with a treacherous show of affection, for she fastens on his neck and bites it off, head and all. So he dies, while she conceives and becomes pregnant. But she produces not eggs but live young ones, which immediately act in accordance with their nature at its worst. At any rate they gnaw through their mother's belly and forthwith emerge and avenge their father. What then, my dramatist friends, have your Oresteses and your Alcmaeons to say to this? | [] |
Should you this year set eyes on a male Hyena, next year you will see the same creature as a female; conversely, if you see a female now, next time you will see a male. They share the attributes of both sexes and are both husband and wife, changing their sex year by year. So then it is not through extravagant tales but by actual facts that this animal has made Caeneus and Teiresias old-fashioned. | [] |
As men fight for beautiful women, so do animals fight for their females, goats with goats, bulls with bulls, and rams with their rivals in love for sheep. Even the Black Sea-bream wax wanton for their females. They are born in what men call rough places, and are jealous, and one may see them fighting vigorously for their females. And they do not contend for several, in the way that Sargues do, but each for its own mate, just as Menelaus fought for his wife with Paris. | [
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The Octopus feeds first on one thing and then on another, for it is terribly greedy and for ever plotting some evil, the reason being that it is the most omnivorous of all sea-animals. The proof of this is that, should it fail to catch anything, it eats its own tentacles, and by filling its stomach so, finds a remedy for the lack of prey. Later it renews its missing limb, Nature seeming to provide this as a ready meal in times of famine. | [] |
A horse's carcase is the breeding-place of Wasps. For as the carcase rots, these creatures fly out of the marrow: the swiftest of animals begets winged offspring: the horse, Wasps. | [] |
The Owl is a wily creature and resembles a witch. And when captured, it begins by capturing its hunters. And so they carry it about like a pet or (I declare) like a charm on their shoulders. By night it keeps watch for them and with its call that sounds like some incantation it diffuses a subtle, soothing enchantment, thereby attracting birds to settle near it. And even in the daytime it dangles before the birds another kind of lure to make fools of them, putting on a different expression at different times; and all the birds are spell-bound and remain stupefied and seized with terror, and a mighty terror too, at these transformations. | [] |
The Basse is a victim of the Prawn and is inclined to be (if I may be allowed the jest) the greatest gourmet among fish. So being lake-dwellers they lie in wait for the lake Prawns. These are of three kinds: the first are such as I have already mentioned; the second subsist on seaweed, while the third kind live on the rocks. Being incapable of self-defence against the Basse, they prefer to die along with it. And I shall not hesitate to use the word 'stratagem' of them. For instance, directly they realise that they are being caught, these precious creatures adroitly turn outwards the projecting portion of their head, which resembles the beak of a trireme and is exceedingly sharp and has moreover notches in it like a saw, and spring and leap lightly and nimbly about. But the Basse opens its mouth wide, and the flesh of its throat is tender. So the Basse seizes the exhausted Prawn and fancies that, it is going to make a meal of it. The Prawn however in this ample space gambols about and dances in triumph, so to say, over the Basse's throat. Then it plants its spikes in its unfortunate pursuer, whose inward parts are thereby lacerated, so that they swell up and discharge much blood and choke the Basse, until in most novel fashion the slayer is himself slain. | [] |
Strength of claws and sharpness of fangs make bears, wolves, leopards, and lions bold, whereas the Porcupine, which (I am told) has not these advantages, none the less has not been left by Nature destitute of weapons wherewith to defend itself. For instance, against those who would attack it with intent to harm it discharges the hairs on its body, like javelins, and raising the bristles on its back, frequently makes a good shot. And these hairs leap forth as though sped from a bowstring. | [] |
Enmity and inborn hate are a truly terrible affliction and a cruel disease when once they have sunk deep into the heart even of brute beasts, and nothing can purge them away. For instance, the Moray loathes the Octopus, and the Octopus is the enemy of the Crayfish, and to the Moray the Cray-fish is most hostile. The Moray with its sharp teeth cuts through the tentacles of the Octopus, and then boring into its stomach does the same thing — and very properly, for the Moray swims, while the Octopus is like some creeping thing. And even though it changes its colour to that of the rocks, even this artifice seems to avail it nothing, for the Moray is quick to perceive the creature's stratagem. As to the Crayfish, the Octopuses strangle them with their grip, and when they have succeeded in killing them, they suck out their flesh. But against the Moray the Crayfish raises its horns and with fury in them challenges it. Thereupon the Moray imprudently tries to bite the prickles which its adversary has thrust forward in self-defence. But the Crayfish reaches out its claws like two hands, and clinging firmly to the Moray's throat on either side, never relaxes its hold, while the Moray in its distress writhes and transfixes itself on the points of the Crayfish's shell; and as these are planted in it, it grows numb and gives up the struggle, finally sinking in exhaustion. And the Crayfish makes a meal off its adversary. | [] |
The fish known as the Moray lives in the sea, and when the net encircles it, it swims hither and thither, seeking with great cleverness some weak mesh or some rent in the net. And when it has found such a place, it slips through and swims free once again. And if one of them has this good fortune, all the others of its kind that have been caught along with it escape in the same way, as though taking their direction from a leader. | [] |
Whenever fishermen who are skilled in these matters plan to catch a Cuttlefish, the fish on realising this emits the ink from its body, pours it over itself and envelops itself so as to be entirely invisible. The fisherman's sight is deceived: though the fish is within view, he does not see it. It was by veiling Aeneas in such a cloud that Poseidon tricked Achilles, according to Homer. | [] |
Even brute beasts protect themselves against the eyes of sorcerers and wizards by some inexplicable and marvellous gift of Nature. For instance, I s am told that as a charm against sorcery ring-doves nibble off the fine shoots of the bay-tree, and then insert them in their nests as a protection for their young. Kites take buck-thorn, falcons picris, while turtle-doves take the fruit of the iris, ravens the agnus-castus tree, but hoopoes maidenhair fern, which some call 'lovely hair'; the crow takes vervain, the shearwater ivy, the heron a crab, the partridge the hairy head of a reed, thrushes a sprig of myrtle. The lark protects itself with dog's-tooth grass; eagles take the stone which is called after them aetite (eagle-stone). This stone is also said to be good for women in pregnancy, as a preventive of abortions. | [] |
The fish known as Torpedo produces the effect implied in its name on whatever it touches and makes it 'torpid' or numb. And the Sucking-fish clings to ships, and from its action we give it its name, Ship-holder. While the Halcyon is sitting, the sea is still and the winds are at peace and amity. It lays its eggs about mid-winter; nevertheless, the sky is calm and brings fine weather, and it is at this season of the year that we enjoy 'halcyon days.' If a horse chance to tread on the footprint of a Wolf, it is at once seized with numbness. If you throw the vertebra of a Wolf beneath a four-horse team in motion, it will come to a stand as though frozen, owing to the horses having trodden upon the vertebra. If a Lion put his paw upon the leaves of an ilex, he goes numb. (And the same thing happens to) a Wolf, should he even come near the leaves of a squill. And that is why foxes throw these leaves into the dens of Wolves, and with good reason, because their hostility is due to the Wolves' designs upon them. | [] |
Storks have a very clever device for warding off the bats that would damage their eggs: one touch from the bats turns them to wind-eggs and makes them infertile. Accordingly, this is the remedy they use to prevent this happening. They lay the leaves of a plane-tree upon their nests, and directly the bats come near the storks, they are benumbed and become incapable of doing harm. On swallows too Nature has bestowed a like gift: cockroaches injure their eggs. Therefore the mother-birds protect their chicks with celery leaves, and hence the cockroaches cannot reach them. If one throws some rue upon an octopus it remains immobile — so the story goes. If you touch a snake heri with a reed, it will after the first stroke remain still, and in the grip of numbness will lie quiet; if however you repeat the stroke a second or a third time, you at once revive its strength. The moray too, if struck once with a fennel wand, lies still the first time; but if struck several times, its anger is kindled. Fisherfolk assert that even octopuses come ashore if a sprig of olive is laid upon the beach. It seems that the fat of an elephant is a remedy against the poisons of all savage creatures, and if a man rub some on his body, even though he encounter unarmed the very fiercest, he will escape unscathed. | [] |
(i). The Elephant has a terror of a horned ram and of the squealing of a pig. It was by these means, they say, that the Romans turned to flight the elephants of Pyrrhus of Epirus, and that the Romans won a glorious victory. This same animal is overcome by beauty in a woman and lays aside its temper, quite stunned by the lovely sight. And at Alexandria in Egypt, they say, an Elephant was the rival of Aristophanes of Byzantium for the love of a woman who was engaged in making garlands. The Elephant also loves every kind of fragrance and is fascinated by the scent of perfumes and of flowers. (ii) If some thief or robber wants to silence dogs that are too fierce and to make them run away, he takes a brand from a funeral pyre (they say) and goes for them. The dogs are terrified. I have heard too this story: if a man shears a sheep that has been mauled by a wolf, and after working the wool makes himself a tunic, this will irritate him when he puts it on. 'He is weaving a gnawing itch for himself,' as the proverb has it. (iii) If a man wants to bring about a quarrel and contention at a dinner-party, he will by dropping into the wine a stone that a dog has bitten, vex his fellow-guests to the point of frenzy. (iv) If a man sprinkle some perfume upon beetles, which are ill-smelling creatures, they cannot endure the sweet scent, but die. In the same way it is said that tanners, who live all their life in foul air, detest perfumes. And the Egyptians maintain that all snakes dread the feathers of the ibis. | [
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Those who have a thorough understanding of the matter hunt Sting-rays, and it is chiefly in this way that their efforts are successful. They take their stand and dance and sing very sweetly. And the Sting-rays are soothed by the sound and are charmed by the dancing and draw nearer, while the men withdraw gently step by step to the spot where of course the snare is set for the wretched creatures, namely nets spread out. Then the Sting-rays fall into them and are caught, betrayed in the first instance by the dancing and singing. | [] |
The Great Tunny, as it is called, is a monstrous fish and knows well what is best for it. This gift it has acquired by nature and not by art. For instance, when the hook has pierced it, it dives to the bottom and thrusts and dashes itself against the ground, striking its mouth in its effort to eject the hook. If that fails, it widens the wound and disgorges the instrument of pain and dashes away. Frequently however it fails in the attempt, and the fisherman draws up the reluctant creature and secures his catch. | [] |
The Melanurus is the most timid of fishes, and to its timidity fishermen bear witness, for it is not (b caught in weels nor does it go near them; but if by chance a dragnet encircles it, then it is caught without knowing it. And whenever the sea is fairly calm and smooth, these fish lie quiet down below upon the rocks or among the seaweed and cover themselves as best they can, trying to conceal their bodies. But if the weather is stormy, observing other fish diving to the depths out of the buffeting waves, they take courage and approach the shore, swim close to the rocks, and fancy that the foam floating overhead is sufficient protection while it conceals and overshadows them. And they know in some quite inexplicable way that for fishermen the sea is unnavigable on such a day or such a night, as it rages with the waves mounting to a terrifying height. It is in stormy weather that they gather their food, when the swell drags some off the rocks and sucks some from the shore. The Melanuruses feed off the foulest matter, such stuff as no other fish would readily take, unless it were utterly overcome by hunger. But in calm weather they have only the sand to ride on, and from there they get their food. But how they are captured another shall tell. | [] |
Among birds the Eagle has the keenest sight. And Homer is aware of this and testifies to the fact in the story of Patroclus when he compares Menelaus to the bird, at the time when he was searching for Antilochus, that he might despatch him to Achilles as a messenger, unwelcome indeed but necessary, to announce the fate that had befallen his comrade, whom Achilles had sent out (to battle) but never welcomed home again for all his yearning. And the Eagle is said to serve not himself alone but to be good for men's eyes as well. At any rate, if a man whose sight is dim mix an Eagle's gall with Attic honey and rub it (on his eyes), he will see and will acquire sight of extreme keenness. | [
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Among birds the Nightingale has the clearest and most musical voice, and fills solitary places with its most lovely and thrilling note. Further, they say that its flesh is good for keeping one awake. But people who feast upon such food are evil and dreadfully foolish. And it is an evil attribute of food that it drives sleep away — sleep, the king of gods and men, as Homer says. | [] |
The screaming of Cranes brings on showers, so they say, while their brain possesses some kind of spell that leads women to grant sexual favours — if those who first observed the fact are sufficient guarantee. | [] |
If a man burn the feathers of a Vulture (so I am told), he will have no difficulty in inducing snakes to quit their dens and lurking-places. The bird 'Woodpecker' derives its name from what Q it does. For it has a curved beak with which it pecks oak-trees, and deposits its young in them as in a nest; and it has no need at all of dry twigs woven together or of any building. Now if one inserts a stone and blocks up the entrance for the aforesaid bird, it guesses that there is a plot afoot, fetches some herb that is obnoxious to the stone, and places it against the stone. The latter in disgust and unable to endure (the smell) springs out, and once again the bird's caverned home lies open to it. | [] |
The Four-toothed Sparus is not solitary nor does it endure loneliness and separation from its kind. These fish love to congregate together according to their age: the younger ones swim about in shoals, the maturer ones also keep together. And as the saying is true 'A friend must be of one's own age,' so these creatures delight to be where others of their kind are, like comrades and friends sharing the same pursuits and resorts. And these are the means they devise for evading their pursuers. Whenever an angler drops a bait for them they all gather round and forming a ring look at one another as though each were signalling to each not to approach and not to touch the bait that has been lowered. And those that have been posted for this purpose remain still. But a Sparus from some other, strange shoal arrives and swallows the bait, and gets the reward of its solitariness by being caught. So while he is being drawn up, the rest grow bolder as though they were not going to be taken, and so through their scorn (of danger) are caught. | [] |
All through the summer the Raven is afflicted with a parching thirst, and with his croaking (so they say) declares his punishment. And the reason they give is this. Being a servant he was sent out by Apollo to draw water. He came to a field of corn, tall but still green, and waited till it should ripen, as he wanted to nibble the wheat: to his master's orders he paid no heed. On that account in the driest season of the year he is punished with thirst. This looks like a fable, but let me repeat it out of reverence for the god. | [] |
The Raven, they say, is a sacred bird and attends upon Apollo: that is why men agree that it is also of use in divination, and those who understand the positions of birds, their cries, and their flight whether on the left or on the right hand, are able to divine by its croaking. I am also informed that Raven's eggs turn the hair black. And it is essential for anyone who is dyeing his hair to keep olive oil in his mouth and his lips closed. Otherwise his teeth also turn black along with his hair, and they are hardly to be washed white again. | [] |
The Bee-eater flies (so they say) in precisely the opposite way to all other birds, for they move forward in the direction in which they look, while the Bee-eater flies backwards. And I am astonished at the remarkable, incredible, and uncommon character of the motion with which this creature wings its way. | [] |
Whenever the Moray is filled with amorous impulses it comes out of the sea on to land seeking eagerly for a mate, and a very evil mate. For it goes to a Viper's den and the pair embrace. And they do say that the male Viper also in its frenzied desire for copulation goes down to the sea, and just as a reveller with his flute knocks at the door, so the Viper also with his hissing summons his loved one, and she emerges. Thus does Nature bring those that dwell far apart together in a mutual desire and to a common bed. | [] |
The spine of a dead man, they say, transforms the putrefying marrow into a snake. The brute emerges, and from the gentlest of beings crawls forth the fiercest. Now the remains of those that were fine and noble are at rest and their reward is peace, even as the soul also of such men has the rewards which wise men celebrate in their songs. But it is from the spine of evildoers that such evil monsters are begotten even after life. The fact is, the whole story is either a fable, or if it is to be relied upon as true, then the corpse of a wicked man receives (so I think) the reward of his ways in becoming the progenitor of a snake. | [] |
A Swallow is a sign that the best season of the year is at hand. And it is friendly to man and takes pleasure in sharing the same roof with this being. It comes uninvited, and when it pleases and sees fit, it departs. Men welcome it in accordance with the law of hospitality laid down by Homer, who bids us cherish a guest while he is with us and speed him on his way when he wishes to leave. | [] |
The Goat has a certain advantage (over other animals) in the manner of taking breath, as the narratives of shepherds tell us, for it inhales through its ears as well as through its nostrils, and has a sharper perception than any other cloven-hoofed animal. The cause of this I am unable to tell; I have only told what I know. But if the Goat also was a creation of Prometheus, what the intention of this contrivance was, I leave him to determine. | [] |
They say that the bite of the Viper and of other snakes is not without countering remedies. Some, I am told, are to be drunk, others are to be applied; spells too can mitigate poison injected by a sting. But the bite of the Asp alone, I am told, cannot be cured and is beyond help. This creature truly deserves to be hated for being blessed with the power to injure. Yet a monster more abominable and harder to avoid even than the Asp is a sorceress, such as (we are told) Medea and Circe were, for the poison from Asps is the result of a bite, whereas sorceresses kill by a mere touch, so they say. | [] |
There are three kinds of Sea-hound. The first is of enormous size and may be reckoned among the most daring of sea monsters. The others are of two kinds, they live in the mud and reach to a cubit in length. Those that are speckled one may call galeus (small shark), and the rest, if you call them Spiny Dog-fish you will not go far wrong. Now the speckled ones have a softer skin and a flatter head, while the others, whose skin is hard and whose head tapers to a point, are distinguished from the rest by the whiteness of their skin. Moreover nature has provided them with spines, one on their crest, so to say, the other in the tail. And these spines are hard and resisting and emit a kind of poison. Of the small Dog-fish both kinds are caught in the ooze and mud, and the manner of catching them I may as well explain. By way of bait men let down a white fish out of which they have cut the backbone. Directly one of the Dog-fish is caught and hooked, all those that have seen him make a rush for him and follow him as he is drawn upwards, never stopping until they reach the boat. One might imagine that they do this out of envy, as though he had filched some piece of food from somewhere and all for himself. And it often happens that some of them actually leap into the boat and are caught of their own free will. | [] |
The barb of the Sting-ray nothing can withstand. It wounds and kills instantly, and even those fishermen who have great knowledge of the sea dread its weapon. For no man can heal the wound, nor will the creature that inflicted it; that was a gift vouchsafed, most probably, to the ashen spear from mount Pelion alone. | [
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The Cerastes is a small creature; it is a snake, and above its brow it has two horns, and these horns are like those of the snail, though unlike the snail's they are not soft. Now these snakes are the enemies of all other Libyans, but towards the Psylli, as they are called, they are gently disposed, for the Psylli are insensible to their bites and have no difficulty in curing those who have fallen victims to this venomous creature. Their method is this: if one of that tribe arrive, whether summoned or by chance, before the whole body is inflamed, and if he then rinse his mouth with water and wash the bitten man's hands and give him the water from both to drink, then the victim recovers and thereafter is free from all infection. And there is a story current among the Libyans that, if one of the Psylli suspects his wife and hates her on the ground that she has committed adultery; and if moreover he suspects that the child born from her is a bastard and no true member of his tribe, he then puts it to a very severe test: he fills a chest with Cerastae and drops the baby among them, just as a goldsmith places gold in the fire, and puts the infant to the proof by thus exposing him. And immediately the snakes surge up in anger and threaten the child with their native poison. But directly the infant touches them, they wilt, and then the Libyan knows that he is the father of no bastard but of one sprung of his own race. This tribe is said also to be the enemy of other noxious beasts and of malmignattes. Well, if the Libyans are here romancing, I would have them know that it is not I but themselves that they are deceiving. | [
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The following creatures plot and make war against Bees: the creatures known as Titmice and enem their young, also Wasps and Swallows and Snakes and Spiders and [Moths?]. Bees are afraid of these, and so bee-keepers try to drive them away by using flea-bane as a fumigant or by placing or scattering poppies still green before the hives. Most of the aforesaid creatures dislike these things, but the way to catch Wasps is as follows. You should hang up a cage in front of the Wasps' nest and insert a little smelt or a small sprat and with them a minnow or a sardine. And the Wasps, drawn by their natural greed and lured by the bait, fall into the cage in numbers, and once they are trapped, it is no longer possible for them to fly out again. Lizards also have designs upon Bees, so too have Land-crocodiles. But a means has been devised of destroying them too, thus: soak some meal in hellebore, or pour upon it the sap of spurge or the juice of mallow and scatter it about in front of the hives. This is death to the aforesaid creatures, once they have tasted of it. If a bee-keeper drop the leaves of mullein or nuts into a pool, he will find it the simplest way of destroying Tadpoles. But Moths are destroyed at nighttime by the placing of a strong light in front of the hives and vessels full of oil below the light. And the Moths fly to the brightness and fall into the oil and are killed. Otherwise they would not be caught so very easily. But the Titmice, once they have tasted the -wine-steeped meal, become drowsy; then they fall over and lie quivering and can readily(?) be captured as they struggle to fly and are quite incapable of standing. But the Swallow men refrain from killing out of respect for its music, though they might easily do so. They are content to hinder the Swallow from attaching its nest below the hives. Again, Bees dislike all bad smells and perfume equally: they cannot endure foul odours nor do they welcome a luxurious fragrance, even as modest, refined girls abhor the former while despising the latter. | [] |
The elder Cyrus, they say, was filled with pride at the palace in Persepolis which he himself hives had caused to be built; Darius likewise at the magnificence of his buildings at Susa, for he it was who contrived those far-famed dwelling-places. Cyrus the Second with his own royal hands and clothed in his habitual delicate garments and adorned with his beautiful jewels of great price, planted his Gardens in Lydia and prided himself on the fact before all the Greeks and even before Lysander the Spartan, when Lysander came to visit him in Lydia. Historians celebrate these constructions, but the dwellings of Bees which are far cleverer and exhibit greater skill, of these they take not the slightest notice. And yet, while those monarchs wrought what they wrought through the affliction of multitudes, there never was any creature more gracious;han the Bee, just as there is none cleverer. The first things that they construct are the chambers of;heir kings, and they are spacious and above all the rest. Round them they put a barrier, as it were a wall or fence, thereby also enhancing the importance jf the royal dwelling. And they divide themselves nto three grades, and their dwellings accordingly nto the same number. Thus, the eldest dwell nearest the royal palace, and the latest born dwell next to them, while those that are young and in the prime of life are outside the latter. In this way the eldest are the king's bodyguard, and the youthful ones are a protection to the latest born. | [
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According to one story the King Bees are stingless; according to another they are born with stings of great strength and trenchant sharpness; and yet they never use them against a man nor against bees: the stings are a pretence, an empty scare, for it would be wrong for one who rules and directs such numbers to do an injury. And those who understand their ways bear witness to the fact that the other Bees when in presence of their rulers withdraw their stings, as though shrinking and giving way before authority. And one might well be astonished at either of the aforesaid characteristics in these King Bees: if they have no means of injuring, this is remarkable; if with all the means of injuring they do no injury, then this is far more to their credit. | [] |
BOOK II When Cranes are about to leave their Thracian haunts and the frosts of Thrace, they collect on the river Hebrus, and when each one has swallowed a stone by way of food and as ballast against the onslaught of winds, they prepare to emigrate and to set out for the Nile, longing for the warmth and for the food that is to be had there during the winter. And just when they are on the point of rising and moving off, the oldest Crane goes round the entire flock thrice and then falls to the ground and breathes his last. So the others bury the dead body on the spot and fly straight to Egypt, traversing the widest seas on outstretched wing, never landing, never pausing to rest. And they fall in with the Egyptians as they are sowing their fields, and in the ploughlands they find, so to speak, a generous table, and though uninvited partake of the Egyptians' hospitality. | [
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That living creatures should be born upon the Fire-mountains, in the air, and in the sea, is no great marvel, since matter, food, and nature are the cause. But that there should spring from fire winged creatures which men call 'Fire-flies,' and that these should live and flourish in it, flying to and fro about it, is a startling fact. And what is more extraordinary, when these creatures stray outside the range of the heat to which they are accustomed and take in cold air, they at once perish. And why they should be born in the fire and die in the air others must explain. | [] |
With other birds the hen is mounted by the cock, swallow so they say; not so Swallows: their manner of coupling mating is the reverse. Nature alone knows the reason for this. But the common explanation is that the hens are afraid of Tereus, and fear lest one day he steal secretly upon them and enact a fresh tragedy. Now in my opinion the most valuable gift that Nature has bestowed upon the Swallow is this, that if it chance to be blinded with a brooch-pin, it regains its sight. Why then do we continue to sing the praises of Teiresias, even though he was the wisest of men not only on earth but also in Hades, as Homer tells us? | [
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There are creatures called Ephemera (living only for a day) that take their name from their span of life, for they are generated in wine, and when the vessel is opened they fly out, see the light, and die. Thus it is that Nature has permitted them to come to life, but has rescued them as soon as possible from life's evils, so that they are neither aware of their own misfortune nor are spectators of the misfortune of others. | [] |
Men have, it is true, recovered after a long while from the bite of an Asp, either by summoning excision to their aid or with the utmost fortitude enduring cautery, or they have in their plight prevented the poison from spreading by taking the necessary medicines. The Basilisk measures but a span, yet at the sight of it the longest snake not after an interval but on the instant, at the mere impact of its breath, shrivels. And if a man has a stick in his hand and the Basilisk bites it, the owner of the rod dies. | [] |
The Dolphin's love of music and its affectionate nature are a constant theme, the Corinthians singing of the former (with whom the Lesbians concur), the latter with the inhabitants of Ios. The Lesbians tell the story of Arion of Methymna; what happened in Ios with the beautiful boy and his swimming and the Dolphin is told by the inhabitants of Ios. A certain Byzantine, Leonidas by name, declares that while sailing past Aeolis he saw with his own eyes at the town called Poroselene a tame Dolphin which lived in the harbour there and behaved towards the inhabitants as though they were personal friends. And further he declares that an aged couple fed this foster-child, offering it the most alluring baits. What is more, the old couple had a son who was brought up along with the Dolphin, and the pair cared for the Dolphin and their own son, and somehow by dint of being brought up together the manchild and the fish gradually came without knowing it to love one another, and, as the oft-repeated tag has it, 'a super-reverent counter-love was cultivated' by the aforesaid. So then the Dolphin came to love Poroselene as his native country and grew as fond of the harbour as of his own home, and what is more, he repaid those who had cared for him what they had spent on feeding him. And this was how he did it. When fully grown he had no need of being fed from the hand, but would now swim further Out, and as he ranged abroad in his search for some quarry from the sea, would keep some to feed himself, and the rest he would bring to his 'relations.' And they were aware of this and were even glad to wait for the tribute which he brought. This then was one gain; another was as follows. As to the boy so to the Dolphin his foster-parents gave a name, and the boy with the courage born of their common upbringing would stand upon some spot jutting into the sea and call the name, and as he called would use soothing words. Whereat the Dolphin, whether he was racing with some oared ship, or plunging and leaping in scorn of all other fish that roamed in shoals about the spot, or was hunting under stress of hunger, would rise to the surface with all speed, like a ship that raises a great wave as it drives onward, and drawing near to his loved one would frolic and gambol at his side; at one moment would swim close by the boy, at another would seem to challenge him and even induce his favourite to race with him. And what was even more astounding, he would at times even decline the winner's place and actually swim second, as though presumably he was glad to be defeated. These happenings were noised abroad, and those who sailed thither reckoned them among the excellent sights which the city had to show; and to the old people and to the boy they were a source of revenue. | [
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Archelaus tells us that in Libya mules that have been wounded or which have succumbed from thirst are thrown out for dead in great numbers. And frequently a multitude of snakes of all kinds comes streaming up to eat their flesh, but whenever they hear the hiss of the Basilisk they disappear as swiftly as possible into their dens or beneath the sand, and hide; so the Basilisk on reaching the spot feasts in complete tranquillity. Then again with a hiss he is off, and thereafter as to the mules and to the feast which they provide, 'he marks their place,' as the saying has it, 'only by the stars.' | [
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There are stories which reach us from Euboea of fisher-folk in those parts sharing their catch equally Doiphi with the Dolphins in those parts. And I am told that they fish in this way. The weather must be calm, and if it is, they attach to the prow of their boats some hollow braziers with fire burning in them, and one can see through them, so that while retaining the fire they do not conceal the light. They call them lanterns. Now the fish are afraid of the brightness and are dazzled by the glare, and some of them not knowing what is the purpose of the thing they see, draw near from a wish to discover what it is that, frightens them. Then terror-stricken they either lie still in a mass close to some rock, quivering with fear, or are cast ashore as they are jostled along, and seem thunderstruck. Of course in that condition it is perfectly easy to harpoon them. So when the Dolphins observe that the fishermen have lit their fire, they get ready to act, and while the men row softly the Dolphins scare the fish on the outskirts and push them and prevent any escape. Accordingly the fish pressed on all sides and in some degree surrounded, realise that there is no escaping from the men that row and the Dolphins that swim; so they remain where they are and are caught in great numbers. And the Dolphins approach as though demanding the profits of their common labour due to them from this store of food. And the fishermen loyally and gratefully resign to their comrades in the chase their just portion — assuming that they wish them to come again, unsummoned and prompt, to their aid, for those toilers of the sea are convinced that if they omit to do this, they will make enemies of those who were once friends. | [
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A Deer defeats a snake by an extraordinary gift that Nature has bestowed. And the fiercest snake lying in its den cannot escape, but the Deer applies its nostrils to the spot where the venomous creature lurks, breathes into it with the utmost force, attracts it by the spell, as it were, of its breath, draws it forth against its will, and when it peeps out, begins to eat it. Especially in the winter does it do this. Indeed it has even happened that a man has ground a Deer's horn to powder and then has thrown the powder into fire, and that the mounting smoke has driven the snakes from all the neighbourhood: even the smell is to them unendurable. | [] |
The Horse is generally speaking a proud creature, the reason being that his size, his speed, his tall neck, the suppleness of his limbs, and the clang of his hooves make him insolent and vain. But it is chiefly a Mare with a long mane that is so full of airs and Graces. For instance, she scorns to be covered by an ass, but is glad to mate with a horse, regarding herself as only fit for the greatest (of her kind). Accordingly those who wish to have mules born, knowing this characteristic, clip the Mare's mane in a haphazard fashion anyhow, and then put asses to her. Though ashamed at first, she admits her present ignoble mate. Sophocles also appears to mention this humiliation. | [] |
Touching the sagacity of Elephants I have spoken elsewhere; and further, I have spoken too of the manner of hunting them, mentioning but a few of the numerous facts recorded by others. For the present I intend to speak of their sense for 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 movements 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 learnt 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. Now had I set out to write about the readiness to obey and to learn among elephants in India or in Ethiopia or in Libya, anyone might suppose that I was concocting some pretentious tale, that in fact I was on the strength of hearsay about the beast giving a completely false account of its nature. That is the last thing that a man in pursuit of knowledge and an ardent lover of the truth has any right to do. Instead I have preferred to state what I have myself seen and what others have recorded as having formerly occurred in Rome, treating summarily a few facts out of many, which nevertheless sufficiently demonstrate the peculiar nature of the beast. The Elephant when once tamed is the gentlest of creatures and is easily induced to do whatever one wants. Now keeping due eye on the time, I shall state the most important events first. Germanicus Caesar was about to give some shows for the Romans (He would be the nephew of Tiberius). There were in Rome several full-grown male and female elephants and there were calves born of them in the country; and when their limbs began to grow firm, a man who was clever at dealing with such beasts trained them and instructed them with uncanny and astounding dexterity. To begin with he introduced them in a quiet, gentle fashion to his instructions, supplying them with delicacies and the most appetising food, varied so as to allure and entice them into abandoning all trace of ferocity and into becoming renegades, that is tame and to some degree human. So what they learnt was not to go wild at the sound of flutes, not to be alarmed at the beating of drums, to be charmed by the pipe and to endure discordant notes, the beat of marching feet, and the singing of crowds. Moreover they were thoroughly trained not to be afraid of men in masses. And further their disciplining was manly in the following respects: they were not to get angry at the infliction of a blow, nor, when obliged to move some limb and to sway in time to dance or song, to burst into a rage, even though they had attained to such strength and courage. Now to refrain by instinct from misbehaving and from flouting the instruction given by a man is a virtue and a mark of nobility. When therefore the dancing-master had brought them to a high degree of proficiency, and they performed accurately what he had taught them, they did not disappoint the labour spent on their training (so they say) in the place where in due time the occasion demanded that they should display what they had been taught. Now this troupe was twelve in number, and they advanced in two groups from the right and the left sides of the theatre. They entered with a mincing gait, swaying their whole body in a delicate manner, and they were clothed in the flowered garments of dancers. And at no more than a word from the conductor they formed into line (so we are told) — supposing that to have been their teacher's order. Then again they wheeled into a circle when he so ordered them, and if they had to deploy, that also they did. And then they sprinkled flowers to deck the floor, but with moderation and economy, and now and again they stamped, keeping time in a rhythmical dance. That Damon therefore, that Spintharus, Aristoxenus, Philoxenus, and others should be experts in music and should be numbered among the few for their knowledge of it is certainly matter for wonder but by no means incredible or absurd. The reason is that man is a rational animal capable of understanding and logical thought. But that an inarticulate animal should comprehend rhythm and melody, should follow the movements of a tragic dance without a false step, fulfilling all that its lessons required of it — these are gifts bestowed by Nature, and each one is a singularity that fills one with amazement. But what followed was enough to send the spectator wild with delight. On the sand of the theatre were placed mattresses of low couches, and on these in turn cushions, and over them embroidered coverlets, clear evidence of a house of great prosperity and ancestral wealth. And close at hand were set costly goblets and bowls of gold and of silver, and in them a large quantity of water; and beside them were placed tables of citrus wood and of ivory, of great magnificence, and they were laden with meat and bread enough to satisfy the stomachs of the most voracious animals. So as soon as the preparations were completed in all their abundance, the banqueters came on, six males and an equal number of females; the former were clad in masculine garb, thes latter in feminine; and they took their places in orderly fashion in pairs, a male and a female. And at a signal they reached forward their trunks modestly, as though they were hands, and ate with great decorum. And not one of them gave the impression of being a glutton nor yet of trying to forestall others or of being inclined to snatch too large a portion, as the Persian did who occurs in Xenophon the golden. And when they wanted to drink, a bowl was placed by each one, from which they sucked up the water with their trunks and drank it in an orderly manner, and then proceeded to squirt (the attendants) in fun, not by way of insult. Many similar stories have been recorded showing the astounding ingenuity of these animals. And I myself have seen one actually with its trunk writing Roman letters on a tablet in a straight line without any deviation. The only thing was that the in-structor's hand was laid upon it, directing it to the shape of the letters until the animal had finished writing; and it looked intently down. You would have said that the animal's eyes had been taught and knew the letters. | [
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The Hare has certain innate characteristics. For one thing it sleeps with its eyelids open; for another it proclaims its age when it half shows certain apertures, Also it carries some of its young halfformed in its womb, some it is in process of bearing, others it has already borne. | [] |
All the large fishes, with the exception of the Shark, require a leader, and are guided by its eyes. The leader is a small, slim fish with an elongated head, but its tail is narrow, according to the authorities on the subject. But whether Nature has conferred upon each large fish the aforesaid guide, or whether it associates with the large fish of its own free will out of friendliness, I am unable to say, but I prefer to believe that this is done under the compulsion of Nature, for this fish never swims by itself, but moves in front of the large fish's head and is its leader and, as it were, tiller. For instance, it foresees and takes previous notice of everything on behalf of the large fish; it forewarns it of everything by the tip of its tail, and by its contact signals to the fish, keeping it away from what is to be feared but leading it on to what will feed it. And by some invisible sign it warns the fish that its pursuers have designs upon it, and gives timely indication of those spots which a creature of its size ought not to approach, if it is not to be surrounded and perish utterly on some reef. So then the first essential for the life of the largest of creatures is the smallest. And it seems that when the large fish becomes very fat it can no longer see nor hear, the vast bulk of its flesh being an obstacle to sight and to hearing. But the 'leader' is never seen apart from the large fish; if however, with its responsibility for the services described above, it dies first, then the large fish is bound to die also. | [] |
The Chameleon is not disposed to remain of one and the same colour for men to see and recognise, but it conceals itself by misleading and deceiving the eye of the beholder. Thus, if you come across one that appears black, it changes its semblance to green, as though it had changed its clothes; then again it assumes a bluish-grey tint and appears different, like an actor who puts on another mask or another garment. This being so, one might say that even Nature, though she does not boil anyone down nor apply drugs, like a Medea or a Circe, is also a sorceress. | [] |
You must know that the Pilot-fish frequents the open sea and loves to dwell in the depths more than all others of which we have heard tell. But either it detests the land or the land detests the fish. Well, when vessels are cleaving the mid-ocean these Pilot-fish swim up as though they were in love with them and attend them like a bodyguard, circling this way and that as they gambol and leap. Now the passengers are of course totally unable to tell how far they are from land, and even the sailors themselves are frequently mistaken as to the true fact. The Pilot-fish however can tell from a long way off, like a keen-scented hound which immediately gets wind of the prey, and then they are no longer so captivated by the vessel as to stay at her side, but mass as at a signal and are off and away. Thereupon those in control of the vessel know that they must look around for land, not because they judge by beacons but because they have been instructed by the aforesaid fish. | [] |
If at any time a flush or a pallor appears on a man's bare and hairless skin it causes no astonishment. But the animal known as Tarandus (elk?) transforms itself hair and all, and can adopt such an infinite variety of colours as to bewilder the eye. It is a native of Scythia and in its [hide?] and its size resembles a bull; and the Scythians cover their shields with its hide and consider it a good counter to a spear. | [
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There is a fish whose province is the open sea, black in appearance, as long as an eel of moderate size, and deriving its name from what it does: with evil purpose it meets a vessel running at full speed before the wind, and fastening its teeth into the front of the prow, like a man vigorously curbing with bit and tightened rein an intractable and savage horse, it checks the vessel's onrush and holds it fast. In vain do the sails belly in the middle, to no purpose do the winds blow, and depression comes upon the pas-sengers. But the sailors understand and realise what ails the ship; and it is from this action that the fish has acquired its name, for those who have had experience call it the Ship-holder. | [] |
In Homer skill in treating the wounded and persons in need of medicine goes back as far as the Age third generation of pupil and master. Thus Patroclus, son of Menoetius, is taught the healing art by Achilles, and Achilles, son of Peleus, is taught by Cheiron, son of Cronus. And heroes and children of the gods learnt about the nature of roots, the use of different herbs, the concocting of drugs, spells to reduce inflammations, the way to staunch blood, and everything else that they knew. And moreover there are discoveries which men of a later age have made. But that Nature really has no need of these ingenuities is proved by the case of the Elephant, for instance, when it is assailed with spears and a shower of arrows, it eats the flower of the olive or the actual oil, and then shakes off every missile that has pierced it and is sound and whole again. | [] |
[And here is another strange feature peculiar to this animal.) The Bear is unable to produce a cub, nor would anyone allow, on seeing its offspring immediately after birth, that it had borne a living thing. Yet the Bear has been in labour, though the lump of nondescript flesh has no distinguishing mark, no form, and no shape. But the mother loves it and recognises it as her child, keeps it warm beneath her thighs, smooths it with her tongue, fashions it into limbs, and little by little brings it into shape; and when you see it you would say that this is a Bear's cub. | [] |
All Bulls have inflexible and rigid horns, and this is why, just as a man puts passion into his weapons, so a bull puts passion into its horns. But the oxen of Erythrae can move their horns as they do their ears. | [
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The land of Ethiopia (the place where the gods bathe, celebrated by Homer under the name of Ocean, is an excellent and desirable neighbour), this land, I say, is the mother of the very largest Serpents. For, you must know, they attain to a length of one hundred and eighty feet, and they are not called by the name of any species, but people say that they kill elephants, and these Serpents rival the longest-lived animals. Thus far the accounts from Ethiopia. But according to accounts from Phrygia there are Serpents in Phrygia too, and these grow to a length of sixty feet, and every day in midsummer some time after noon they creep out of their lairs. And on the banks of the river Rhyndacus while supporting part of their coils on the ground, they raise all the rest of their body and, steadily and silently extending their neck, open their mouth and attract birds by their breath, as it were by a spell. And the birds descend, feathers and all, into their stomach, drawn in by the Serpents' breathing. And these singular practices they continue until sundown; next, the Serpents hide and lie in wait for the flocks, and as they return to the sheepfolds from the pasture they fall upon them, and after a terrible slaughter they have frequently killed the herdsmen as well, thus obtaining a generous and abundant feast. | [
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Sprats are born of mud; they neither beget nor are begotten of one another, but when the mud in the sea becomes altogether slimy and thick and turns black, it is warmed by some inexplicable and life-giving principle, undergoes a transformation, and is changed into innumerable living creatures. The Sprats are these creatures, resembling worms which are generated in mire and filth. And as soon as born, Sprats are excellent swimmers, and they do it naturally. Then by some mysterious agency they are led to safe places where they will find shelter and protection, so that it will be possible for them to live. And their place of refuge is likely to be either some rock that rises to a great height or what are called 'baker's pots'; these would be rocks full of embrasures which the waves have in time eaten away until they have become hollow. These then are the retreats to which Nature has pointed them so that they shall not be battered and demolished by the swell of the sea; for they have little strength and are powerless to resist the impact of the waves. They need no food, indeed it is enough for them to lick one another. The way to catch them is to use exceedingly fine thread with thin pieces from the warp of garments laced in. This device should be quite sufficient for catching and securing them, though for the capture of other fish it would be utterly inadequate. | [] |
Should you strike a Lizard with a stick and either on purpose or by accident cut it in two, neither of the two parts is killed, but each moves separately and by itself, and lives, both the one and the other trailing on two feet. Then when the parts meet — for the forepart frequently unites with the hinder — the two join up and coalesce after their separation. And the Lizard, now one body, although a scar gives evidence of what it has suffered, yet runs about and maintains its former method of life exactly like one of its kind that has had no such experience. | [] |
The poison of serpents is a thing to be dreaded, but that of the Asp is far worse. Nor are remedies and antidotes easy to discover, however ingenious one may be at beguiling and dispelling acute pains. Yet after all there is in man also a certain mysterious poison, and this is how it has been discovered. If you capture a Viper and grasp its neck very firmly and with a strong hand, and then open its mouth and spit into it, the spittle slides down into its belly and Hu: has so disastrous an effect upon it as to cause the Viper to rot away. From this you see how foul can be the bite of one man to another and as dangerous as the bite of any beast. | [] |
In the summertime when the harvest is in Tie and the corn is being threshed on the threshing-floor, Ants assemble in companies, going in single file or two abreast — indeed they sometimes go three abreast — after quitting their homes and customary shelters. Then they pick out some of the barley and the wheat and all follow the same track. And some go to collect the grain, others carry the load, and they get out of each other's way with the utmost deference and consideration, especially those that are not laden for the benefit of those that are. Then they return to their dwellings and fill the pits in their store-chamber after boring through the middle of each grain. What falls out becomes the Ant's meal at the time; what is left is infertile. This is a device on the part of these excellent and thrifty housekeepers to prevent the intact grain from putting out shoots and sprouting afresh when the rains have surrounded them, and to preserve themselves in that ease from falling victims during the winter to want of food and to famine, and their zeal from being blunted.; It is to Nature then that Ants too owe these and other fortunate gifts. | [] |
At no time does the Eagle need water or long for a dusting-place; he is on the contrary superior to thirst and looks for no medicine for weariness from any outside source, but scorning water and repose tie cleaves the atmosphere and gazes with piercing eye from the vast expanse of heaven on high. And at the mere sound of those rushing wings even that most intrepid of all creatures, the great serpent, dives at once into its den and is glad to disappear. And this is the way in which the Eagle tests the legitimacy of his young ones. He plants them, while they are still tender and unfledged, facing the rays of the sun, and if one of them blinks, unable to endure the brightness of the rays, it is thrust out of the nest and banished from that hearth. If however it can face the sun quite unmoved, it is above suspicion and is enrolled among the legitimate offspring, since the celestial fire is an impartial and uncorrupt register of its origin. | [] |
The Ostrich is covered with thick feathers, but its nature does not permit it to rise from the ground and mount aloft into the sky. Yet its speed is very great, and when it spreads its wings on either side, the wind meeting them causes them to belly like sails. | [] |
Among birds the Bustard is, I am told, the most fond of horses. And the proof of this is that it scorns all other animals that live in field or glen, but that when it catches sight of a horse, it delights to fly up to it and to keep it company, just like men who are devoted to horses. | [] |
When a Fly falls into the water, though it is of all creatures the most daring, yet it can neither run upon the surface nor swim, and hence it drowns. If however you pick out the dead body, sprinkle ashes upon it, and place it in the sunshine, you will bring the Fly to life again. | [] |
If you want to add a Cockerel, whether bought or presented, to your flock of domestic fowls, you must not release him nor let him loose at random and in a casual way; otherwise he will immediately desert and go back to his own kin and mates, however far away from them he be. So you must set upon him a guard and fetters more invisible than those of Hephaestus in Homer. What I prescribe is this. Place the table at which you eat, in the open, seize the Cockerel, and when you have taken him three times round the aforesaid platform, then let him go free to wander with the fowls of the house. He will not go away any more than if he were chained up. | [] |
The Salamander is not indeed one of those fire-born creatures like the so-called 'Fire-flies,' yet it is as bold as they and encounters the flame and is eager to fight it like an enemy. And the proof of this is as follows. Its haunts are among artisans and craftsmen who work at the forge. Now so long as their fire is at full blast and they have it to help their craft and to share their skill, they pay not the smallest attention to this animal. When however the fire goes out or languishes and the bellows blow in vain, then at once they know full well that the aforesaid creature is working against them. Accordingly they track it down and exact vengeance; and then the fire is lit, is easily coaxed up, and does not go out, provided it is kept fed with the usual material. | [] |
The Swan is assigned by poets and many prose-writers as servant to Apollo, but in what other relation it stands to music and song I do not know. Yet the ancients believed that when it has sung what is called its 'swan-song,' it dies. In that case Nature honours it more highly than it does noble and upright men, and rightly so, for while others praise and lament them, Swans praise or, if you will, lament themselves. | [] |
Many writers tell us about the size of the Crocodile both when fully grown and when first hatched, and further, about its tongue, and whether it moves its jaw and which jaw it closes upon the other. There are those too who have observed that this animal lays as many eggs as the days during which it sits upon them before hatching out its young. And I have myself heard that when a Crocodile dies a scorpion is born from it; and they do say that it has a sting in its tail which is full of poison. | [] |
If these facts are certain and beyond dispute, then let this story from India carry conviction, bird What I propose to tell has been brought from thence by report and is as follows. I have learnt from the son of Nicomachus (Aristotle) that there is a bird named Cinnamon like the plant, and that the bird brings this plant, which is named after it, to the Indians, but that these people have no knowledge where and how the plant grows. | [
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The Egyptians assert that a knowledge of clysters and intestinal purges is derived from no discovery of man's, but they commonly affirm that it was the Ibis that taught them this remedy. And how it instructed those who were the first to see it, some other shall tell. And I have also heard that it knows when the moon is waxing and when waning; and I cannot deny that I have learnt from some source that it diminishes or increases its food according as the goddess herself diminishes or increases. | [
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The Sting-ray in the sea has a far fiercer and more dangerous sting than all other creatures. The proof is that if you fix it in a flourishing tree that has grown to a great height, then without any delay, before any time has elapsed, the tree immediately withers. And if you allow the sting to scratch any living creature, you kill it at once. | [] |
So long as the Shrew-mouse proceeds as chance directs, it can live, and Nature is on friendly terms with it, unless it is overtaken by misfortune from some other quarter and is killed. When however it falls into a rut, it is caught, so to say, in quite invisible fetters and dies. The remedy for a man who has been bitten by a Shrew-mouse is as follows. Take some sand from the wheel-track, sprinkle it on the bite, and it cures him immediately. | [] |
Here is another story relating to the Egyptian Ibis which I have heard. The bird is sacred to the moon. At any rate it hatches its eggs in the same number of days that the goddess takes to wax and to wane, and never leaves Egypt. The reason for this is that Egypt is the moistest of all countries and the moon is believed to be the moistest of all planets. Of its own free will the Ibis would never quit Egypt, and should some man lay hands upon it and forcibly export it, it will defend itself against its assailant and bring all his labour to nothing, for it will starve itself to death and render its captor's exertions vain. It walks quietly like a maiden, and one would never see it moving at anything faster than a foot's pace. The Black Ibis does not permit the winged serpents from Arabia to cross into Egypt, but fights to protect the land it loves, while the other kind encounters the serpents that come down the Nile when in flood and destroys them. Otherwise there would have been nothing to prevent the Egyptians from being killed by their coming. | [
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There is, I am told, a species of eagle to which men have given the name of 'Golden Eagle,' though others call it Asterias (starred). And it is seldom seen. Aristotle says that it hunts fawns, hares, cranes, and geese of the farmyard. It is believed to be the largest of eagles; at any rate men say that it attacks bulls with violence, and its method of attack they describe as follows. The bull is feeding with his head down, and the Eagle alights upon his neck its and with its beak delivers a rain of powerful blows, bui And the bull goes wild as though stung by a gadfly, and sets off to run as fast as he can go. So long as the land makes going easy the Eagle bides its time, flying above him and watching. But directly it sees the bull near a precipice it makes an arch with its wings, covers the bull's eyes so that he cannot see what is before him, and down he goes with a fearful crash. Whereupon the Eagle pounces, rips open his stomach, and has no difficulty in enjoying its prey to its heart's content. But the prey killed by some other creature it will not touch: rather it delights in its own labours and will not for one moment admit any other creature to share them. Later when it has gorged itself, it breathes over the rest of the carcase a foul and most ill-smelling air, leaving the remains unfit for any other animal to eat. What is more, Eagles build their nests far apart from one another so as to avoid quarrelling over their prey [and being a constant source of mutual hurt]. | [] |
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