ARISTOTLE'SHISTORY OF ANIMALS.

IN TEN BOOKS.

TEANSLATED BY

RICHARD CRESSWELL,
ST.

M.A.,

John's college, oxpobjj.

LONDON: GEOEGE BELL & SONS, YOEK STEEET,COVENT GARDEN.
1883.

:

LONDONPBINTED BY WILtlAM CLOWIS AND SONS. LnilTED,
STASTFOBD 8TBKIT AKD CHASHTS CROSS.

StacK

Annex

PREFACE.
The following Translation of Aristotle's History of Animals has been made from the text of Schneider.
of considerable difficultyitisIn a work

hardly possible entirely to

but it is hoped that those which have escaped
numerous nor important.
The notes ofSchneider have been consulted throughout
and in placesof difficulty the English translation by Taylor, the Frenchof Camus, and the German of Strack, have been severally

avoid errors
are;neither;referred to.

The work itself is the most ancient and celebrated contridown to us and it ishardly possible, when we consider the means of observation
which were accessible at the time, to imagine a work ofmore accurate observation. From the numerous quotations
bution to science which has come;in which our author avails himself of the experience ofsame field, as weU as corrects
doubt that Aristotle had theadvantage of many works which have perished in the lapseof ages.
In the Appendix to the present Translation
will be found the Essay of Schneider on the sources
whence Aristotle derived his knowledge of the animals hehispredecessors in thetheir errors, there can be no

describes ; and these sources, together with his

own

accu-

PEEFACE.

IV

rate observations, are probably sufficient to account for thecorrect knowledge

the

of

history of animals

displayedthroughout the work.
It is right, perhaps, to observe in this place, that Dr.

Smith, in his Dictionary of Biography, speaks of the

'

His-

tory of Animals'of Alexander

and doubtless Aristotle would gladly have;as partly the result of the royal liberality

introduced into his work any fresh materials which might
have been made available to him either during his residence
at the Macedonian court, orby the subsequent victories ofAlexander in the East, if the information so obtained hadreached Athens in sufficient time to be incorporated. But
in the
rials

first

instance he would naturally

use the mate-

ready to his hand in the works of his predecessors,

aud these were not few.

The animals also which he de-scribes are principally those of Greece and of the countries

with which the enterprising Greeks had frequent and commercial intercourse.

He says little of the animals of theinterior of Asia and of India, and speaks very cautiously ofsuch as he does mention;

and one who quotes his authorities

so freely would hardly have failed to notice the sources of
his information.

The study, or at least the knowledge of the classificationof animals appears to have been carefuUy pursued in theearliest period of

The oldest records thatman's history.

we possess contain abundant notices of the peculiarities ofanimals.

The Mosaic law abounds in them, in its distinc-

tions between the clean and the unclean, a distinction not

then

first

established, but of themost remote antiquity.

Indeed it could hardly be otherwise than that men engaged
in the pursuits of agriculture and the chase should study

the habits of the animals that were valuable to them, as wellas those which were injurious.

A study thus commenced

PEErACE.

Vby necessity, would eventually be pursued for its own sakeand not a few would be found who would investigate, and,as far as they could, record the various phenomena theyobserved.

The paintings of Egypt and the sculptures ofAssyria are our witnesses of the skill with which animals

and plants were drawn,

and of the minute perception
and the knowledge thus gainedin the ancient centres of civilization would be sure to
circulate and increase when the intercourse with foreign
nations spread the knowledge and philosophy so acquired.
In the writings of Homer we find that the knowledge ofthe anatomy of the human body had already made considerable progress and the inspection of the animals offeredin sacrifice cannot fail to have added much to the generalknowledge of their history. A century later, we have thepoems of Hesiod, devoted to the encouragement of agriculture and rural pursuits. Pythagoras, in the seventh century B.C., may perhaps have left no writings, but we knowthat he was an eminent student and exponent of natural
phenomena. His contemporary, Alcmseon of Crotona, isespecially mentioned by Aristotle and he is eminent among
natural philosophers as the first who is said to have recomof their external forms

;

;

;

mended to his followers the practice of dissection. Empedocles of Agrigentum left a work on the phenomena of nature, of which aalso others

few fragments still remain, and there were
who, if they did not enter into the details ofwhat we now call natural history, treated generally of thenature of things, and opened the field to those who would
study the subject in its particular parts.
The empireof Persia was still the dominant power, and was carrying
the civilization of the East to every part of the

known

world when Ctesias wrote his great works, of which, unhappily, only a few fragments remain.
He described notPEEFACE.

VI

only the history of his own time, but also the natural historyof Persia and of India, and that probably with more accuracy than has been usually attributed to him.

India he had

not visited personally, so that he could ordy describe itfrom the information of others but this implies that hewas not alone in the studies which he devoted to naturalobjects.
With such predecessors and aided by his own;

acute observations, we need not wonder that Aristotle pro-

duced a work which has ever been admired by naturalists,
and must continue to rise in their estimation the longer
it is in their hands.

The Index to the present volume has been formed on thebasis of that of Schneider, and considerable pains have beentaken to add as many names as possible from other sources,
especially the Index of Strack, and Kiilb's recent translationof the History of Animals, both of which contain identifications of a great many animals.

A few identifications havealso been added from Liddell and Scott's Lexicon, as weU as

from Professor Bell's Catalogue of Animals in Captain Spratt's

work on Lycia and the cephalopods are named from ProOwen's article on that class, in the Cyclopaedia of
Anatomy,It is hoped, therefore, that the Index will befound to contain a greater number of suggestions for theidentification of the animals mentioned by Aristotle than;fessorhave been hitherto published collectively. It is also right toadd, that it has been compiled after the translation was com-pleted ; and, therefore, in any difierences which may be foundbetween the identifications at the foot of the page and thosegiven in the Index, the reader will rather prefer the latter,as the result of later research in works which were not accessible when the translation
April 30, 1862.

was made.
E. C.

PEEFACE.

AxALYTicAL Table or Contents.

Book I.

—The work commences with a general review of

the animal kingdom, and several suggestions for a naturalarrangementof animals

ingroups,according

their

to

external form or their mode of life, a comparison of animals

among themselves, and a description of some of their habits.
Aristotle then introduces the human form, the best knovm
to man, as the standard of comparison to which he refers

the rest of the animal kingdom.

The concluding chaptersof this book are occupied with a description of the several
parts of the human body, both internal and external.

Book II.

—In the second book thegroups,different parts of ani-

The animals are arranged in various

mals are described.

and oviparous quadrupeds, fish, serThe only animals described are those with

viviparous

pents, birds.

red blood:the description of the rest being reserved for the

fourth book.

andbook a few animals, as the ape, ele-

Their internal organs are also describedin the course of the;phant, and chameleon, are especially noticed.

Book III.

— The third book commences with a description
organs,beginning with thegenerativeof theinternal

system.

A considerable portion of the book is devoted tothe course of the veins;and Aristotle quotes from otherwriters, as well as states the result of his own observations.

He then describes the nature of other constituent parts ofthe body, sinews,

fibres,bone, marrow, cartilage, nails,

hoofs, claws, horns, and beaks of birds, hair, scales,mem-branes, flesh, fat, blood, marrow, milk, and the spermatic fluid.

Book IV. — Animals without blood, and first, the cepha-PBEFACE.

TUllopods, are described;tlien the crustaceans, testacea, echi-nidae, ascidians, actiniae, hermit crabs, insects.

In the eighth

chapter the organs of sense are considered, and afterwards,
the voice, sleep, age, and differences of the sexes in animals
are described.

Book V.

—In the former books animals are for the mostIn theand especially withpart described with reference to their several parts.
fifth

book they are treated as

entire,mode of reproduction,

regard to their

Eirst of

our

all,

author treats of spontaneous reproduction, and then of
those animals which spring from a union of the sexes and
;

from

this

he

proceeds to somedifferent groups

detailwith respect toof animals, testacea, Crustacea, insects.

The book concludes with a longdescription of bees andtheir habits.

Book YI.

—In

this

book the same subject is continued

through the several classes of birds, fish, and quadrupeds.
This account of the reproduction of animals iucludes also
the consideration of the seasons, climates, and ages ofanimals, and how far these influence their reproduction.

Book VII.

—The seventh bookis almost entirely devoted

to the consideration of the reproduction of man, and an

account ofman from his birth to his death.

This

book

ends abruptly, and is probably imperfectBook VIII. In the eighth book Aristotle passes on to—

the most interesting part of his work, the character andhabits of the whole animal world, as it was known to him.
The amount of detail which he has collected and arrangedon this subject is most interesting. He treats, first of all,of the food of animals, of their migrations, their health anddiseases, and the influence of climate upon them.

Book IX. — The subject of the eighth book is continued,
with an account of the relations in which aniraals standPEEFACE.

IX

to each other, and especially the friendshipof diiFerent species;

and these are

andhostility

for the most part re-ferred to the nature of their food, and their mode of pro-

The notices of fish are not so numerous as those
this would necessarily arise from the diffiAt the conclusion of the book, anculty of observation.
essay on bees and their congeners is given at considerable
curing it.

of other groups:

length.

Book X. — This book, in all probability erroneously ascribed toAristotle,isoccupied with a treatise on thecauses of barrenness in thehuman

species.

It appears

to be rather a continuation of the seventh book, which ends

abruptly

;

but

it

is

work of our author.

well placed at the end, as no genuine

THE HISTOET OF ANIMALS,
BOOK THE PIRST.
Chaptee I.
Some parts of animals are simple, and these can bedivided into like parts, as flesh into pieces of flesh others arecompound, and cannot be divided into like parts, as thehand cannot be divided into hands, nor the face into faces.
Of these some are not only called parts, but members, such as
those which, though entire in themselves, are made up ofother parts, as the head and the leg, the hand and the entire
arm, or the trunk ; for these parts are both entire in themselves, and made up of other parts.
2. All the compound parts also are made up of simple
parts, the hand, for example, of flesh, and sinew, and bone.
Some animals have all these parts the same, in others they
are difierent from each other.
Some of the parts are thesame in form, as the nose and eye of one man is the same as
the nose and eye of another man, and flesh is the same withflesh, and bone with bone.
In like manner we may compare
the parts of the horse, and of other animals, those parts, thatis, which are the same in species, for the whole bears the same
relation to the whole as the parts do to each other.
And inanimals belonging to the same class, the parts are the same,
only they differ in excess or defect. By class, I mean such as
bird or fish, for all these differ if either compared with theirown class or with another, and there are many forms ofbirds and fishes.
3. Nearly all their parts differ in them according to the
opposition of their external qualities, such as colour or
shape, in that some are more, others are less aflfected, or
1.

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B

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THE HISTOET OF ANIMALS.

2[b. I.

sometimes in number more or leas, or in size greater andsmaller, or in any quality which can be included in excess
or defect.
For some animals have a soft skin, in others theskin is shelly
some have a long bill, as cranes, others ashort one some have many feathers, others very few somealso have parts which are wanting in others, for some species
have spurs, others have none some have a crest, others have
not.
But, so to say, their principal parts and those which
form the bulk of their body, are either the same, or vary
only in their opposites, and in excess and defect.
4. By excess and defect I mean the greater and the less.
But some animals agree with each other in their parts neither
in form, nor in excess and defect, but have only an analogous
likeness, such as a bone bears to a spine, a nail to a hoof,a hand to a crab's claw, the scale of a fish to the feather ofa bird, for that which is a feather in the birds is a scale in
the fish. With regard then to the parts which each classof animal possesses, they agree and differ in this manner,and also in the position of the parts. For many animals
have the same parts, but not in the same position, as the
mammae which are either pectoral or abdominal. But of thesimple parts some are soft and moist, others hard and dry.
5. The soft parts are either entirely so, or so long as they
are in a natural condition, as blood, serum, fat, tallow, marrow, semen, gall, milk (in those animals which give milk),
flesh, and other analogous parts of the body.
In anothermanner also the excretions of the body belong to this class,as phlegm, and the excrements of the abdomen and bladderthe hard and dry parts are sinew, skin, vein, hair, bone, cartilage, nail, horn, for that part bears the same name, and on
the whole is called horn, and the other parts of the bodywhich are analogous to these.
6. Animals also differ in their manner of life, in their actions and dispositions, and in their parts.
will first of
all speak generally of these differences, and afterwards conThe following are the points
sider each species separately.
in which they vary in manner of life, in their actions anddispositions.
Some animals are aquatic, others live on theland and the aquatic may again be divided into two classes,
for some entirely exist and procure their food in the water,
and take in and give out water, and cannot live without it
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;

We

;

,•

;

B. I.l

THE niSTORT OF ANIMALS.

3

But there are others
this is the nature of most fishes.
which, though they live and feed in the water, do not take.n water but air, and produce their young out of the water.
Many of these animals are furnished with feet, as the otter
and the latax' and the crocodile, or with wings, as the seagull
and diver, and others are without feet, as the water-serpent.
Some procure their food from the water, and cannot live outof the water, but neither inhale air nor water, as the acalepheand the oyster.
7. Difierent aquatic animals are found in the sea, in rivers,in lakes, and in marshes, as the frog and newt, and ofmarine animals some are pelagic, some littoral, and som.e
saxatile.
Some land animals take in and give out air, andsuch are man, and all
this is called inhaling and exhalingother land animals which are furnished with lungs some,however, which procure their food from the earth, do notinhale air, as the wasp, the bee, and all other insects.^
By
insects I mean those animals which have divisions in theirbodies, whether in the lower part only, or both in the upperand lower. Many land animals, as I have already observed,
procure their food from the water, but there are no aquatic ormarine animals which find their food on land. There aresome animals which at first inhabit the water, but afterwards
change into a difierent form, and live out of the water this* whichhappens to the gnat in the rivers, andafterwards becomes an oestrum.*8. Again, there are some creatures which are stationary,
while others are locomotive the fixed animals are aquatic,
but this is not the case with any of the inhabitants of theland.
Many aquatic animals also grow upon each otherthis is the case with several genera of shell-fish the sponge
also exhibits some signs of sensation, for they say that it isdrawn up with some difficulty, unless the attempt to remove
it is made stealthily.
Other animals also there are which
are alternately fixed together or free, this is the case with acertain kind of acalephesome of these become separated
during the night, and emigrate. Many animals are separate£pom each other, but incapable of voluntary movement, as
;

;

;

;

:

;

'

Beaver,CaPtor fiber.

^

Medusa, or perhaps Actinia, or both.

Under the class tvrofia are probably included all annulose animals.
* Some words appear to be lost in this place.
' Tabanus.gadfly,

*

s2

;;

Tliji

4^

UISTOEY OF ANIMALS.

L^- I»and the animal called holothuria.' Some aquaticare swimmers, as fish, and the mollusca,^ and themalacostraca, as the crabs.
Others creep on the bottom, as
the crab, for this, though an aquatic animal, naturally creeps.
9. Of land animals some are furnished with wings, as birds
and bees, and these difler in other respects from each other
others have feet, and of this class some species walk, others
crawl, and others creep in the mud. There is no animal which
has only wings as fish have only fins, for those animals whose
wings are formed by an expansion of the skin can walk,and the bat has feet, the seal has imperfect feet. Among
birds there are some with very imperfect feet, which areoysters,

animals

therefore called apodes
they are, however, provided withvery strong wings, and almost all birds that are similar tothis one have strong wings and imperfect feet, as the swallow
and drepanis -^ for all this class of birds is alike both in habits and in the structure of their wings, and their wholeappearance is very similar. The apos^ is seen at all timesof the year, but the drepanis can only be taken in rainy
weather during the summer, and on the whole is a rare bird.
10. Many animals, however, can both walk and swim.
The following are the differences exhibited by animals intheir habits and their actions. Some of them are gregarious,and others solitary, both in the classes which are furnishedwith feet, and those which have wings, or fins. Some partakeof both characters, and of those that are gregarious, as weU
as those that are solitary, some unite in societies and some
Gregarious birds are such as the pigeon,
are scattered.
stork, swan, but no bird with hooked claws is gregarious.
Among swimming animals some fish are gregarious, as thedroraas,^ tunny, pelamis,'' amia.'
Those which
11. But man partakes of both qualities.
have a common employment are called social, but that is
not the case with all gregarious animals. Man, and thebee, the Avasp, and the ant, and the stork belong to thisSome of these obey a leader, others are anarchicalclass.
the stork and the bee are of the former class, the ant andmany others belong to the latter. Some animals, both in;* Cephalopods.
Perhaps some species of Zoophyte.
* Swift.
* Some migratory fish.
Perhaps Sand martin.
* A kind of tunny, still called palamyde at Marseilles.
' A kind of timny, Les Bonitons (Camus.i'*B, I.]THE HISTOET OF ANIMALS.

5

the gregarious and solitary class, are limited to one locality,
There are also carnivorous animals,
others are migratory.
herbivorous, omnivorous, and others which eat peculiar
food, as the bee and the spider the former eats only honeyand a few other sweet things, while spiders prey upon fliesand there are other animals which feed entirely on fish. Sorar
animals hunt for their food, and some make a store, which
There are also animals which make habitaothers do not.
The mole,
tions for themselves, and others which do not.
the mouse, the ant, and the bee, make habitations, but manykinds both of insects and quadrupeds make no dwelling.
12. With regard to situation, some are troglodite, as lizards
and serpents, others, as the horse and dog, live upon the surSome kinds of animals burrow in theface of the earth.
ground, others do not some animals are nocturnal, as the owl
and the bat, others use the hours of daylight. There aretame animals and wild animals. Man and the mule are always tame, the leopard and the wolf are invariably wild, andothers, as the elephant, are easily tamed. "We may, however,view them in another way, for all the genera that have beentamed are found wild also, as horses, oxen, swine, sheep,;;goats, and dogs.
13. Some animals utter a loud cry, some are silent, andothers have a voice, which in some cases may be expressed
There are also noisy
by a word, in others it cannot.
animals and silent animals, musical and unmusical kinds,
but they are mostly noisy about the breeding season. Some,as the dove, frequent fields, others, as the hoopoe, liveon the mountains some attach themselves to man, as theSome are lascivious, as the partridge and domestic
pigeon.
fowl, and others are chaste, as the raven, which rarely
cohabits.
14. Again, there are classes of animals furnished withweapons of oftence, others with weapons of defence in theformer I include those which are capable of inflicting an inin
jury, or of defending themselves when they are attacked
the latter those which are provided with some natural protection against injury.
15. Animals also exhibit many differences of disposition.
Some are gentle, peaceful, and not violent, as the ox. Someare violent, passionate, and intractable, as the wild boar. Some;;;

THE niSTOBT OF AMM.VLS.

6[b. I.

are prudent and fearful, as the stag and the hare.
Serpet.ta
are illiberal and crafty.
Others, as the lion, are liberal,
noble, and generous.
Others are brave, wild, and crafty,
like the wolf.
For there is this ditference between thegenerous and the brave the former means that which comesof a noble race, the latter that which does not easily departfrom its own nature.
16. Some animals are cunning and evil-disposed, as thefox others, as the dog, are fierce, friendly, and fawning.
Some are gentle and easily tamed, as the elephant some aresusceptible of shame, and watchful, as the goose.
Some
are jealous, and fond of ornament, as the peacock. But man
is the only animal capable of reasoning, though manyothers possess the faculty of memory and instruction incommon with him. No other animal but man has the powerof recollection. In another place we will treat more accurately of the disposition and manner of life in each class.

—

;

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Chapter II.
1.

All animals possess in common those parts by which theytake in food, and into which they receive it. But theseparts agree or diifer in the same way as all the other partsof bodies, that is, either in shape or size, or proportion or
position and besides these, almost all animals possess manyother parts in common, such as those by which they reject
their excrements, (and the part by which they take theirfood,)' though this does not exist in all.
The part by which
the food is taken in is called the mouth, that which receives
the food from the mouth is called the stomach. The partby which they reject the excrement has many names.
2. The excrement being of two kinds, the animals which
possess receptacles for the fluid excrement have also receptabut those which have the latter are notcles for the dryalways furnished vrith the former. Wherefore all animals
which have a bladder have a belly also, but not all that havefor the part appropriated to thea belly have a bladder
reception of the liquid excrement is called the bladder, andthat for the reception of the dry is called the belly.
3. Many animals possess both these parts, and that also
by which the semen is emitted. Among animals that havethe power of generation, some emit the semen into them;

;

;

*

The words in brackets should probably be excluded from the text.

;THE HISTORY OF ANIMALS.

B. I.]
selves,and some inject it into

others.

7

The former are

In some animals there iscalled female, the latter male.
neither male nor female, and there is a diversity in the formof the parts appropriated to this office. For some animals
have a uterus, others have only something analogous to theuterus.
These are the most essential organs
some ofwhich exist in all animals, others in the majority only.
;

Chapter III.
There is only one sense, that of touch, which is common
to all animals so that no exact name can be given to the1.

;part in which this sense resides, for in some animals it is
the same, in others only analogous.
2. Every living creature is furnished with moisture, andmust die, if deprived of this moisture either in the courseof nature or by force. But in what part of the body thismoisture resides is another question. In some animals it isfound in the blood and veins, in others the situation is only
analogous, but these are imperfect, as fibres and serum.
The
sense of touch resides in the simple parts, as in the flesh andin similar places, and generally in those parts which containblood, at least in those animals which have blood in others
it resides in the analogous parts, but in all animals in thesimple parts.
3. The capacity of action resides in the compound parts,
as the preparation of food in the mouth, and the power oflocomotion in the feet or wings, or the analogous parts.
Again, some animals are sanguineous, as man, the horse, andall perfect animals, whether apodous, bipeds, or quadrupeds
and some animals are without blood, as the bee and thewasp, and such marine animals as the sepia and the carabus,*
and all animals with more than four legs.
^;

Chaptee IV.
There are also viviparous, oviparous, and vermiparous

1.

animals.

The viviparous, are such as man, and the horse, theseal, and others which have hair, and among marine animals

the cetacea, as the dolphin and those which are called selache.''Fibres and senim, as compared with veins and blood, refer to th«

eirculation in animals without red blood.
'

Palinurus, Spiny Lobster.

^Cartilaginous fishes.

;THE HISTOET OF ANIMALS.

8[b. T.

Some of these are furnished with a blow-hole, but have noas the dolphin and the whale.
The dolphin has its
blow-hole on the back, the whale in its forehead; others
have open gills, as the selache, the galeus,' and the batus.*
That is called the egg of the perfect foetus, from which the
future animal is produced, from a part at first, while theremainder serves for its food. The worm is that from thewhole of which the future animal is produced, and the
foetus afterwards acquires parts and increases in size.
2. Some viviparous animals are internally oviparous, as
the selache others are internally viviparous, as maniind
and the horse. In different animals the foetus assumes adifierent form, when first brought into the world, and iseither a living creature, an egg, or a worm.
The eggs ofsome animals, as birds, are hard-shelled, and are of twocolours.
Those of the selache and some other animals are
soft-skinned, and have only one colour. Some species of thevermiform foetus are capable of motion, others are not. But
in another place, when we treat of generation, we will dwellmore accurately on these subjects.
gills,;

Chapter V.
Some animals have feet, others have none of the former some have two feet, as mankind and birds only others
1.

;

;

have four, as the lizard and the dog others, as the scolopendra and bee, have many feet but all have their feet in pairs.
2. And among apodous swimming animals some haveand of these some have two fins in the upper
fins, as fish
and two in the lower part of their bodies, as the chrysophys' and labrax ;* others, which are very long and smooth,have only two fins, as the eel and conger others have noneat all, as the lamprey and others, which live in the sea asserpents do on land, and in like manner swim in moist places
and some of the genus selache, as those which are flat andhave tails, as the bates and trygon, have no fins these fish
swim by means of their flat surfaces but the batrachus'has
fins, and so have all those fish which are not very thin in pro;

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portion to their width.
3. But the animals which have apparent feet, as the cepha'*Squalus galeus.
Perca labrax.

** Raia bato8.
' Sparus auratuf.
Lopliius piscatorius and also L. barbatus.

;

THE HI8T0ET OF A>*1MALS.

B. T.J9lopods, swim both with their feet and fins, and move quickly
upon the hollow parts of their bodies, as the sepia, teuthis,and polypus but none of them can walk except the polypus.
Those animals which have hard skins, as the carabus, swim
with their hinder parts, and move very quickly upon theirtail, with the fins which are upon it, and the newt both with
its feet and tail, and (to compare small things with great) it:

has a tail like the gianis.*4.

Some winged animals, as the eagle and the hawk, areothers, as the cockchafer and the bee, mem-feathered;branaceous wings
and others, as the alopex- and the bat,
have wings formed of skin. Both the feathered and leatherwinged tribes have blood but the insects, which have naked
wings, have no blood. Again, the feathered and leatherwinged animals are all either bipeds or apodous, for they say;;that there are winged serpents in Ethiopia.*
5. The feathered tribe of animals is called birds ; the othertwo tribes have no exact names. Among winged creatures
without blood some are coleopterous, for they have elytra
over their wings, as the cockchafer and the beetles, and others
The animals of this olass have either
are without elytra.
two or four wings. Those with four wings are distinguished by their greater size or a caudal sting. The diptera
are either such as are small, or have a sting in their head.
The coleoptera have no sting at all the diptera have a stingin their head, as the fly, horse-fly, gad-fly, and gnat.
6. All bloodless animals, except a few marine species of
the cephalopoda, are smaller than those which have blood.
These animals are the largest in warm waters, and more soin the sea than on the land, and in fresh water. All creaturesthat are capable of motion are moved by four or more limbs.
Those with blood have four limbs only, as man has two;

hands and two feet. Birds have two wings and two feet
quadrupeds and fishes have four feet or four fins. But thoseanimals which have two wings or none at all, as the serpent,are nevertheless moved by four limbs for the bendings oftheir body are four in number, or two when they have two;wings.
* Probably some kind of flying
Herodotus, ii. 76 " the form of this serpent is similar
to that of the water-snake its wings are not feathered, but like those ofbats :" the draco volant may have given rise to this story.
'

Silurus glanis, L. (Stract),

squirrel.

'^

:

;

TUE nisTOEr of aijimals.

JU)

7.

[b. I.

Those bloodless animals whicli have more than four

feet, w-hether furnished with feet or wings, always have morethan four organs of locomotion, as the ephemera, which has
four feet and four wings and in this it not only agrees with
its peculiar manner of life, from which also it derivesandits name, but also that it is winged and four-footed
all creatures, whether they have four feet or many feet,move in the same direction, for they all move in the longway of their bodies. All other animals have two leading
feet, the crab alone has four.
;;

Chapter VI.
1.

The following are the principal classes which include other—birds, fishes, cetacea.
All these have red blood.
There is another class of animals covered with a shell, andcalled shell fish, and an anonymous class of soft-shelled
animals (malacostraca), which includes carabi, carcini, andastaci and another of moUusca, such as teuthis, teuthos, andAU these aresepia and another class of annulose animals.
without blood, and the species with feet have many feet.
There are no large classes of other animals for there aremany forms which are not included under a single form, buteither stand alone, having no specific diiference, as man, or
have specific difierences, but the classes are anonymous.
2. All animals with four feet and no wings have blood.

animals;;;

The vivi-

Some of these are viviparous, others oviparous.

parous are not all covered with hair, but the oviparous have
The scale of a reptile is similar in situation to thescales.
The class of serpents, sanguineous land aniscale of a fish.
Though some have feet, thismals, is naturally without feet.
All serpents, except theclass is also covered with scales.
viper, are oviparous.

The viper alone is viviparous, so that

not all viviparous animals have hair for some fishes also are
viviparous.
All animals, however, that have hair are viviparous for we may consider the prickles of the hedgehog
and porcupine as analogous to the hair of animals for theyanswer the purpose of hair, and not, as in marine animals;;;

that are so covered, of feet.*
3. There are also many classes of viviparous quadrupeds,
1

The Echinidae.

THE IIISTOBT OT ANIMALS.

B. I.]

11

Each kind must,
but they have never received names.
man, as we speak of hon,
There is,stag, horse, dog, and of others in like manner.
however, one class of those that have a mane called lopburi,*as the horse, ass, mule, ginnus,* hinnus, and those which in
Syria are called mules,^ from their resemblance, though not?[uite of the same form.
They copulate and produce young
therefore, be taken separately, as

rom each other, so that it is necessary to consider well thenature of each of them separately.
4.
have now treated of these things in an outline, forthe sake of giving a taste of what we are afterwards toconsider, and of how many. Hereafter we will speak of themmore accurately, in order that we may first of all examineWe

into their points of diiference and agreement and afterwill endeavour to inquire into the causes ofthese things, but it will be a more natural arrangement todo so when we treat of the history of each. Tor it is evident
from these things what they are, and what we have to demonstrate.
5. Our first subject of consideration must be the parts ofwhich animals are made up, for these constitute the chief
and the whole difierence among them either because they
have them or are without them, or these parts vary in position or arrangement, or in any of the difierences mentioned
before, in form, size, proportion, and difierence of accidents.
First of aU, then, we will consider the parts of the humanbody for, as every one can best understand the standard ofmoney with which he is most familiar, so it is in other things.
And of necessity, man must be the best known to us of all
The parts of the body are, indeed, plain enough toanimals.
every one's common sense but, that we may not forsake ourarrangement, and may have reason as well as perception, we
will speak, first of all, of the organic, and afterwards of thesimple, parts.
;

wards we;;;

Chapteb VII,
1. These are the principal parts into which the whole body is

divided.

The head, neck, trunk, two arms, and two legs.

Animals with long hair on their tails.
' Ginnus is the offspring of a mule and mare.
Book vi. 24, 1.
' Hemionus, perhaps the foal of a horse and wild ass, and sothehe-assandmare.
tinct irom oreus, the foal of
*

di»-

;

THE HISTOUT OF AKIilALS.

12

[b.

I.

The whole cavity, from the neck to the pudenda, is called
That part of the head which is covered withthe trunk.
hair is called the crpnium, the fore part of this is called thesinciput.
This is the last formed, being the last bone in
the body which becomes hard the hinder part is the occiput, and between the occiput and sinciput is the crown oi
the head. The brain is placed beneath the sinciput, and theocciput is empty ;' the cranium is a thin spherical bone covered
with a skin without flesh. The skull has sutures in women
there is but one placed in a circle men have generally threejoined in one, and a man's skull has been seen without any
sutures at all. The middle and smooth part of the hair iscalled the crown of the head in some persons this is double,
for there are some people double-crowTied, not from any formation of the bone, but only from the division of the hair.
;

:

;

;

1.

Chaptee YIII.
The part immediately beneath the cranium is called theface in mankind alone, for we do not speak of the face of a fish
or of an ox the part immediately beneath the sinciput and;between the eyes is called the forehead.

Those in whomthose who have a small forehead are easily excited a broad forehead belongs to those
who are liable to be carried away by their feelings a roundforehead is a sign of a passionate disposition.
if they are
2. Under the forehead are two eyebrowsthe eyebrowsstraight, it is a mark of a gentle disposition
bent down to the nose are an evidence of an austere temper
if they incline towards the temples, of a mocker andscoffer if they are drawn down, it is a sign of an envious
person. Beneath these are the eyes, which by nature are two
in number: the parts of each eye are, first, the upper and undereyelid, the edges of which are furnished with hair. Within
the eye, the moist part with which we see is called the pupil
round this is the iris, and this is surrounded by the white.
Two corners of the eye are formed at the junction of the eyelids, one in the direction of the nose, the other towards the
temple. If these comers are large, they are a sign of an evil
disposition ; if those near the nose are fleshy, and have a
Bwollen appearance, they are an evidence of wickedness.
this feature is large are tardy

;

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;

;

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1

This mistake is again repeated in Ch. xiii.

ij.

THE IIISTOST OF ANIMALS.

I.]

18

All other classes of animals have eyes, except shell-fish,
creatures, and all viviparous
animals except moles have eyes.
person might, however,conclude from the following observation, that it has eyes,though it is quite without them, for it certainly does notsee at all, nor has it any external eyes but, when the skin istaken off, there is a place for the eyes, and the iris of theeye is in the place which it would naturally occupy on theoutside, as if they had been wounded in their birth, and theskin had grown over the place.
4. The white of the eye is generally the same in all animals,
but the iris is very difi'erent. In some it is black, in others
decidedly grey, in others dark grey, and in some it is thecolour of the goat's eye, and this is a sign of the best disposition, and is most to be prized for acuteness of vision.
Man is almost the only animal which exhibits a variety ofcolouring in the eye there are, however, some horses withgrey eyes.
5. The eyes of some persons are large, others small, andothers of a moderate size the last- mentioned are the best.
And some eyes are projecting, some deep-set, and some moderate, and those which are deep-set have the most acutevision in all animals the middle position is a sign of theSome people have an eye which is perpebest disposition.
tually opening and closing, others have an eye always intent,
and others a moderately -intent eye this last is the best disposed of the others, the one is impudent, and the other asign of infirmity.
3.

and some other imperfect

A

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—

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:

;

Chapteb IX.
1. The part of the head by which we hear, but do not breathe,for Alcmaeon is mistaken when he says thatis the eargoats breathe through their ears. One part of the ear has not;received any name, the other part is called the lobe.
The
whole ear is made up of cartilage and flesh. Internally,
the ear has the nature of a shell, and the last bone is simiThe sound reaches this part last, aslar to the ear itself
There is no passage from the ear into
it were in a chamber.
the brain, but there is to the roof of the mouth and a vein
extends from the brain to each ear.' The eyes also are connected with the brain, and each eye is placed upon a vein.
;

1

Eustachian tube.

;

THE HISTOET OF AXIMALS.

14(

2.

[b. I.

Man is the only animal with ears that cannot move them.

Among animals which have the faculty of hearing some have;ears, and others, as winged and scaly creatures, have no ear,but an open orifice in the head all viviparous animals, except
the seal, and the dolphin, and other cetacea, have ears theselache also are viviparous.
The seal has open orifices bywhich it hears the dolphin can hear, though it has no ears
all other animals can move their ears, but man alone does
not move them.
3. The ears (of man) lie in the same circle with bis eyes,
and not above them, as in some quadrupeds. The ears areeither smooth, hairy, or moderate.
These last are the bestfor hearing, but they do not in any way indicate the disposition.
They are large, or small or middling, or they are
erect, or not at all, or only moderately erect. The moderately
erect are a sign of the best disposition large and erect ears
are an evidence of foolish talking and loquacity.
The partof the head between the eye and the ear is called the temple.
4. In the middle of the face is the nose, the passage for thebreath, for through this animals inhale and exhale, andthrough it also they sneeze this is the expulsion of a concentrated breath, and is the only kind of breathing which isesteemed ominous or sacred moreover, inhaling and exhaling is into the chest, and without the nostrils it is impossible
to inhale or exhale, for inhaling and exhaling is from thebreast by the windpipe, and not from any part of the head.
But it is possible to live without this respiration through the
;

;

;

;

;

:

nostrils.

of odour.

The smell also resides in this part this is the sense
The nostril is very moveable, and not naturally;

immoveable like the ear.
5.

One part of the nose, namely, the division between the

nostrils, is cartilaginous, but the passage isempty, for thenose is formed of two divisions. In the elephant, the nostril
is very large and strong, and it answers to the purpose of ahand, for the auimal can extend it, and with it take its food,and convey it to its mouth, whether the food is moist or dry.
This is the only animal that can do so.
6. There are also two jaws, the upper and the under. All
animals move the lower jaw, except the river-crocodile, andthis moves the upper jaw only. Below the nose are two lips,
the flesh of which is very moveable. The mouth is the';

THE HISTOEY OF ANIMALS.

B. I.]

15

centre .i the jaws and the lips. The upper part is called
the roof of the mouth, the lower, the pharynx.
The tongue
IS the organ of taste.
This sense resides in the tip, and, if
food is placed on the broad part of the tongue, the taste isless acute.
The tongue partakes of all the other sensations,as harshness, heat, and cold, as well as that of taste, in common with the rest of the flesh.
7. The flat part of the tongue is either narrow or moderate
in size, the moderate is the best, and most apt for clear elocution. The tongue may be either too loose, or tied down, as instammerers and inarticulate speakers.
The flesh of the
tongue is porous and spongy. The epiglottis is a portionof the tongue, the double part of the mouth is the tonsils
that in many divisions the gums, they are fleshy, and inthem are fixed the bony teeth. Within the mouth there isanother part, the uvula, a pillar filled with blood. If this partis swelled with relaxation, it is called a grape, and chokes.

1.

Chapteb X.
TnE neck is the part between the head and the trunk;thefront part is called the larynx, behind this is the oesophagus.

The voice and the breath pass through the front part, thetrachea, which is cartilaginous, but the oesophagus

is fleshy,

and placed farther in, near the vertebra of the neck. The
back of the neck is called the epomis. These are the parts
as far as the thorax.
The parts of the thorax are some before and some behind.
First of all, below the neck is thebreast with two mammae on these are two nipples, throughwhich the milk of the female passes. The mamma is porous.
There is also milk in the breasts of men. The flesh of the
mamma in men is thick,iu women it is spongy and full of pores.
2. The part below the thorax, in front, is the belly, and ot
this the navel is the centre. Beneath this centre, the part on;each side is called the iliac region the part in the centre, beneath the navel, is called the hypogastric region the lowest
part of this is called pubes above the navel is the epigastric region
the lumbar region is situated between the epi;

;

;

;

gastric and iliac regions.
3. Of the hinder parts the loin forms the division of thebody, whence also its name is derived (oaip-Js quasi lacipui).
The part of the central region which is like a seat is the but-;THE niSTOKT OF AKIMALS.

16[b. 1,

that on which the thigh turns, the cotyledon.
The
peculiar part of women is the uterusof men the penis, it
is external, at the extremity of the trunk in two parts
theupper part is fleshy and smooth, and is called glans this iscovered with an anonymous skin, which, if it is cut asunder,
does not unite again, neither does the cheek nor the eyelid.
4. Common to this and the glans is the prepuce, the remaining part is cartilaginous, readily increases in size, and
it is drawn in and out, contrary to that of the class of animals called lophuri. Beneath the penis are two testicles,
surrounded by a skin called the scrotum the testicles are
not of the same nature as flesh, nor are they made of flesh.
In another place we shall treat of the nature of all theseparts more accurately.
5. The pudendum muliehre is contrary to that of themale, for it is hollow under the pubes, not projecting likethat of the male, and the urethra is outside the womb, for thepassage of the semen of the male, and for the fluid excrement of both. The part of the body which joins the neck andthe breast is called the jugulum that which unites the side,
The region
the arm, and the shoulder is the arm-pit.
between the thigh and the hypogastric region is called thegroin the part common to the thigh and the buttock on theinside is the perineum, that of the thigh and buttock on theoutside is called hypoglutis.
6.
have previously treated of the trunk. The hinderpart of the breast is called the back the parts of the backare two shoulder blades and the back-bone below the thorax,
and opposite the stomach, are the loins the ribs belong
both to the back and the front of the trunk, and are eighton each side, for we have never heard anything worthy ofcredit concerning the Ligyes, who are said to have seven ribs.

tock

;

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;

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We

:

;

;

Chaptee XI.
1.

Man has upper and lower side, the front and the back, andThe right and the left are nearly alike inright and left side.
their parts and in every particular, except that the left side
but the back parts are not like the front
is the weaker
nor the lower parts to the upper, except in this particular,that the parts below the hypogastric region are full-fleshedor lean in proportion to the face, and the arms also answer;

;THE HISTOET OF ANIMALS.

B. I.")

17

to the proportion of the legs.
Those persons who have ashort humerus have also generally a short thigh those whohave small feet have also small hands.
2. One of the double parts of the body is the arm. The partsof the arm are the shoulder, humerus, elbow, cubitus, and thehand the parts of the hand are the palm and five fingers ; thejointed part of the finger is the condyle, the unjointed partthe phalanx. The thumb has but one joint, all the rest havetwo. The bending of the arm and finger is always inwards.
The arm is also bent at the elbow the inner part of
the hand is called the palm
itisfleshy, and divided
by strong lines. Long-lived persons have one or two lines
which extend through the whole hand short-lived persons
have two lines not extending through the whole hand. The
joint of the hand and arm is the wrist.
The outside of thenand is sinewy, and has not received any name.
3. The other double part of the body is the leg.
The
double-headed part of the leg is called the thigh, the moveable part is called the patella, that which has two bones
the tibia the front of this part is the shin, the hind partthe calf of the leg. The flesh is full of sinews and veins in
those persons who have large hips, the flesh is drawn upwards towards the hoUow part under the knee, in those whohave not it is drawn down. The lowest part of the shin is
the ankle, and this is double in each leg. The part of theleg with many bones is called the foot, the hind part of whichis the heel.
The front part is divided into five toes theunder part, which is fleshy, is called the sole of the footthe upper part, (the instep,) is sinewy, and has not received any name.
One part of the toe is the nail, the otheris the joint
the nail is on the extremity of the toe, and thetoes are bent inwards.
Those who have the sole of the footthick, and not hollow, but walk upon the whole of the foot,are knavish.
The common joint of the thigh and the leg is
the knee.
:

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:

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;

_

;

;

Chaptee XII.
These
parts
are
possessedin common by the male and fe1.
male the position of the external parts, whether above or below, before or behind, on the right side or the left, will appear
on mere inspection. It is necessary, however, to enumerate;cTHE HISTORY OF ANIMALS.

18[b. I.

them, for the reasons which I have mentioned before, thatits proper place being assigned to each part, any difference intheir arrangement in man and other animals may be lesslikely to escape our notice.
2. In man, the parts of the body are more naturally divided into upper and lower than in any other animal, for all
the upper and lower parts of his body are arranged according to the order of nature above and below in the sameway, also, the fore and hind parts, and those on the rightand left, are placed naturally. But in other animals someof these parts are either not at all so placed, or they aremuch more confused than in man. The head is placed above
the body in all animals, but in man alone, as we have said, isthis part corresponding to the order of all things.
3. Next to the head is the neck, then the breast and theback, the one before and the other behind and each of themin the following orderthe stomach, loins, pudenda,
haunch, then the thigh and leg, and, last of all, the foot.
The legs have the joint bent forwards, in which directiou
also is their manner of walking, and the more moveable par'',of the legs as well as the joint is bent forward the heel is behind. Each of the ankles is like an ear. From the right andleft side come arms, having the joint bent inwards, so thatthe flexures both of the legs and arms are towards each other,
;

:

—

;

:

especially in man.
4. The senses and the organs of sense, the eyes, nostril,and tongue are in the same position, and in the anterior partof the body but the hearing, and its organ, and the ears areat the side, and upon the same circumference as the eyes.
;

Man has the eyes closer together, in proportion to his size,
The sense of touch is the most accurateof the human senses, and next to this the taste. In the restof his senses he is far surpassed by other animals.

than other animals.

1.

Chapteb XIII.
The external parts of the body are arranged in thismanner and, as I have said, are for the most part named andknown from habit. But the internal parts are not so wellknown, and those of the human body are the least known.
So that in order to explain them we must compare them withthe same parts of those animals which are most nearly allied.
;;

B. I.]THE HISTORY OF ANIMALS.

19

2. First of all, the brain is placed in the fore-part of thehead, and it occupies the same position in all animals thathave this part, which belongs to all sanguineous and cephalopodous animals. In proportion to his size, man has thelargest brain of all animals, and the moistest.
Two membranes enclose the brain that outside the skull is the strongest the inner membrane is slighter than the outer one. In
all animals the brain is in two portions.
The cerebellum isplaced upon the brain at its lowest extremity. It is diiferent
from the brain both to the touch and in appearance.
3. The back of the head is empty and hollow in all animals in proportion to their size, for some have a large head,but the part lying under the face is less in those animals
which have round faces others have a small head and large
jaws, as the whole tribe of Lophuri. In all animals the brain
is without blood, nor does it contain any veins, and it isnaturally cold to the touch. The greater number of animals
have a small cavity in the centre of the brain. And roundthis a membrane filled with veins : this membrane is likeskin, and encloses the brain. Above the brain is the smoothest and weakest bone in the head
it is called sinciput.
4. Three passages lead from the eye to the brain
thelargest and the middle-sized to the cerebellum, the least to
the brain itself. The least is that which is nearest the nostril
the greater are parallel, and do not meet but the middlesized passages meetthis is most evident in fishes, andthese passages are nearer to the brain than the larger, but
the least separate from each other, and do not meet.
5. Within the neck is the oesophagus, which also derives its additional name, the isthmus, from its length andnarrowness, and the trachea. The trachea lies in front of
the oesophagus in all animals which possess this part, that is,
all animals which breathe from the lungs.
The trachea is
cartilaginous in its nature, and contains but little blood : itis surrounded with many smooth rings of cartilage, and itlies upon the upper part towards the mouth, opposite the passage from the nostril to the mouth, wherefore, also, if any
liquid is drawn into it in drinking, it passes out of the mouth
through the nostrils.
6. Between the passages is the epiglottis, which can befolded over the passage which extends from the farachea to the
:

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—

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c 2

;;

THE HISTORY OF ANIMALS.

20

mouth

[b. I.

by the epiglottis the passage of the tongue is closed,at the other extremity the trachea reaches to the middleof the lungs, and afterwards divides to each side of the lungs.
Tor the lung is double in all animals which possess this;part, though the division is not so marked in viviparous ani-mals, and least of all in man.
The human lungs are anomalous, neither being divided into many lobes, as in otheranimals, nor being smooth.
7. In oviparous animals, such as birds and the oviparous
quadrupeds, the parts are very widely separated, so thatthey appear to have two lungs they are, however, only two
divisions of the trachea extending to each side of the lungs
the trachea is also united with the great vein and with thepart called the aorta.
When the trachea is filled with air,it distributes the breath into the cavities of the lungs, whichhave cartilaginous interstices ending in a point ; the passagesof these interstices go through the whole lungs, always dividing from greater into less.
8. The heart is connected with the trachea by fatty and cartilaginous muscular bands. There is a cavitynear the junction,and in some animals, when the trachea is filled with breath,
this cavity is not always distinguishable, but in larger animals it is evident that the breath enters it. This then is theform of the trachea, which only inhales and exhales breath,and nothing else either dry or moist, or it suffers pain till thatwhich has passed down is coughed up.
9. The oesophagus is joined to the mouth from above, near
the trachea, being united both to the spine and the trachea
by membranaceous ligaments. It passes through the diaphragm into the cavity of the stomach, is fleshy in its nature,and is extensible both in length and breadth. The humanstomach is like that of a dog, not a great deal larger than theentrail, but like a wide bowel ; after this there is an entrail
simply rolled together, then an entrail of moderate width.
The lower part of the abdomen is like that of a hog, for it iswide, and from this to the seat it is short and thick.
10. The omentum is united to the abdomen in the middle,
and is in its nature a fatty membrane, as in other animals
with a single stomach and teeth in both jaws. Themesenterium is over the bowels it is membranaceous, broad, and fat
it ia united to the great yam and the aorta through it extend;;:

THE HISTOKT OF ANIMALS.

B. I.]

21

many numerous veins at its junction with the intestines,
reaching from above downwards. This is the nature of theoesophagus, trachea, and the parts of the abdominal cavity.

Chaptek XIV.
it lies above the lungs, near
1. The heart has three cavities
the division of the trachea. It has a fat and thick membrane,
by which it is united to the great vein and the aorta, and it
and the apex is placed inlies upon the aorta near the apex
the same situation in all animals which have a chest and in
all animals, whether they have or have not a chest, the apexof the heart is forwards, though it often escapes notice by
the change of position in the parts when dissected. The
gibbous portion of the heart is upwards ; its apex is generally fleshy and thick, and there is a sinew in the cavities.
2. In all other animals which have a chest the heart is placedin the centre in man it is rather on the left side, inclining
a little from the division of the mammae towards the left
breast in the upper part of the chest it is not large ; its
whole form is not long, but rather round, except that theIt has three cavities, as I haveextremity ends in a point
The greatest is that on the right, the least on the
said.
They are allleft, the middle one is of intermediate size.
perforated towards the lungs. It has both the two smaller,
and all of them perforated towards the lungs, and this isevident in one of the cavities downwards from its point of
:

;

;

;

;

attachment.
3. Near the principal cavity it is attached to the greatvein to which also the mesenterium is united, and in the
middle it is attached to the aorta. Passages lead fromthe lungs to the heart, and they are divided in the same
way as the trachea, following the passages from the trachea
throughout the whole lungs, and the passages leading fromthe heart are on the upper part. There is no passage whichis common to them both, but by their union they receive thebreath and transmit it through the heart for one of thepassages leads to the right cavity, and the other to the left.
We will hereafter speak of the great vein and the aorta inthe portion of our work which treats of these parts.
4. In aU animals which have lungs and are viviparous, either
internally or externally, the lung has more blood than all the;THE HI8T0EY OF A>nMALS.

22

[b.

I,

other parts for the whole lung is spongy, and through eachperforation branches of the great vein proceed.
Those persons are deceived who say that the lungs are empty, drawing
their conclusion from dissected animals, from which all the
blood has escaped. Of all the viscera the heart alone contains blood, and in the lungs the blood is not in the lungs
themselves, but in the veins by which they are perforated.
But in the heart itself the blood is in each of the cavities,
but the thinnest blood is in the middle cavity.
5. Beneath the lungs is that division of the trunk whichis called the diaphragm.
It is united to the ribs, the hypochondriac region, and the spine. In the centre is a smooth
membranous part, and there are veins extending through it.
The human veins are thick in proportion to the size of theUnder the diaphragm, on the right side is the liver,body.
on the left the spleen, alike in all animals which are furnished with these parts in their natural form and without
monstrosity, for already there has been observed an alteredorder in some quadrupeds. They are joined to the abdomennear the omentum.
6. The appearance of the human spleen is narrow and long,
Grenerally speaking, and in most anilike that of the hog.
mals, the liver is not furnished with a gall, thougli this isfound in some animals. The human liver is round, like thatof the ox. This is the case also in animals offered for sacrifice, as in the district of Chalcis, in Eubcea, where the sheep
have no gall, and in Naxos it is so large in nearly all the animals, that strangers who come to sacrifice are surprised, andthink that it is ominous, and not at all natural. The liver isunited with the great vein, but has no part in common withthe aorta. For a vein branches off from the great vein throughthe liver, at the place where the gates of the liver, as they
are called, are situated. The spleen also is only connected withthe great vein, for a vein extends from this to the spleen.
7. Next to these are the kidneys, which lie close to
In their nature they are like the kidneys ofthe spine.
oxen. In all animals that have kidneys the right kidneylies higher than the left, and is covered with less fat, and ismore dry than the left. This is the same in all animals.
Passages lead from them to the great vein and to the aorta,
but not to the cavity ; for all animals, except the seal, ha\ 9;ITHE HISTOKT OF ANIMALS.

B. I.]

23

it ia greater in some thanin others.
The human kidneys, though similar to those ofoxen, are more solid than in other animals, and the passages
that lead to them end in the body of the kidney and this is
a proof that they do not pass through them, that they contain no blood in the living animal, nor is it coagulated ina cavity in their kidneys, though;them when deadbefore.

;but they have a small cavity, as I said

From the cavity of the kidneys two strong pas-sages lead to the bladder, and two others, strong and continuous, lead to the aorta.
hollow, sinewy vein is attached to the middle of each8.
kidney, which extends from the spine through small branches,and disappears towards the hip, though it afterwards appears again upon the hip. The branches of these veins reach,to the bladder for the bladder is placed lowest of all, being
united to the passages which proceed from the kidneys by
the neck which reaches to the urethra and nearly all round

A

;

;

its circumference it is united by smooth and muscularmem-

branes, very similar in form to those upon the diaphragm of

the chest.
9. The human bladder is moderately large in size, and thepudendum is united to the neck of the bladder, having a strong
passage above and a small one below. One of these pas-sages leads to the testicles ; the other, which is sinewy andcartilaginous, to the bladder.
From this are appended thetesticles of the male, concerning which we will treat in thepart devoted to their consideration. These parts are the samein the female, who differs in none of the internal parts except
the womb, the appearance of which may be learned fromthe drawings in the books on anatomy. Its position is upon
the entrails. The bladder is above the uterus. In a futurebook we will speak of the natm-e of the uterus generally ;for it is not alike, nor has it the same nature in them all.
These are the internal and external parts of the human

body, and this is their nature and their manner.

THE HISTOEY OF ANIMALS.

24

[b,

H.

BOOK THE SECOND.
Chapter I.
1.
all,

Of the parts of other animals some are common to themas I have said before,

and some belong to particularclasses, and they agree and differ in the manner often before

mentioned. Por almost all animals which differ in kind,
have also their parts different in form, and there are somewhich have only a proportionate resemblance, but differ inkind, and others agree in kind, but not in form, and many
parts belong to some which others have not. Viviparous
quadrupeds have a head and neck, and all the parts of thehead, but they differ from each other in their forms.
Thelion has one bone in the neck, but has no vertebrae, andwhen laid open its internal parts are like those of a dog.
2. Viviparous quadrupeds have fore-legs instead of arms,
and in all quadrupeds, especially those which have the forefeet much divided, they are analogous to hands, for they
use them as hands, and the left legs are less at liberty thanin men, except in the elephant, and this animal has the toes
less perfectly jointed, and its fore-legs much larger than thehind ones it has five toes, and short ankles to its hind legs.
It has a trunk of such a nature and length as to be able touse it for a hand, and it drinks and eats by stretching this;

into its mouth ; this also it lifts up to its driver, and pulls
up trees with it with this organ it breathes as it M'alksthrough the water. The extremity of the proboscis is curved,
but without joints, for it is cartilaginous.
All animals have
3. Man is the only ambidextrous animal.
their chest analogous to man, but not similar to his, for he;has a wide chest, and theirs is narrow no animal but man
has pectoral mammae the elephant has two mammae, but noton the breast, though they are in that direction.
4. All animals, excepting the elephant, bend both theirfore and hind legs in contrary directions, and also contrary
to the way in which a man's limbs are bent.
For in viviparous quadrupeds, except the elephant, the joints of the:;B. II.]THE HTSTOBT OF ANIMAXS.

25

fore-legs are bent forwards, and those of the hind-legs backwards, and they have the hollow part of their circumference
opposite to each otherthe elephant is not constructed assome have said, but is able to sit down, and bend his legs,but, from his great weight, is unable to bend them on bothsides at once, but leans either to the right side or the left, andsleeps in this position, but its hind legs are bent like a man's.
5. In oviparous quadrupeds, as the crocodile, lizard, andsuch like, both the fore and hind legs are bent forwards,
incliniug a little to the side, and likewise also in other animals with more than four feet, except that the middle jointof their last pair of legs is always doubtful, and is rather
bent towards the side. And man also has both the flexuresof his limbs in the same direction, and those of his arms
and legs contrary to each other, for he bends the arm backwards, except that the external part of the arm is a little
inclined inwards, towards the side the legs bend forwards.
6. No animal bends the joints both of its fore and hindlegs backwards.
The flexure of the cubitus and fore-leg isin a contrary direction to the flexure of the shoulder in all
animals, and the flexure of the knee is contrary to that of the
hip so that since man bends his joints in the contrary direction to many animals, those which have such joints as man's
also bend them in a contrary direction to many animals. Birds
bend their limbs in a direction similar to that of quadrupeds,
for being bipeds, they bend their legs backwards, and havewings instead of arms, or fore-legs, and these bend forwards.
7. The seal is like a maimed quadruped, for immediately beneath the scapula it has feet like hands, as are also
those of the bear, for they are five-fingered, and each of thefingers has three joints, and a small claw the hind feet are
five-fingered, and each of the fingers has joints and claws likethose upon the fore-feet in shape they are very like the tailof a fish.
8. The movements of animals, whether they have four
feet or more, are in the direction of the longer diameter of
their bodies, and thus also they stand, the commencementof motion is always on the right side of their bodies. Thelion and the camel, both the Arabian and Bactrian, walk withthe hind-foot following the fore-foot on the same side, andthis means that the right foot is not put before the left, butfollows it.
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THE HISTOET OF ANIMALS.

26

[b

II.

Chaptee II.
"VVhatetee parts a man has before, a quadruped has beneath those that are behind in man, form the quadruped's
back most animals have a tail, the seal has a small one, like
1.

:

;

that of a stag hereafter we shall speak of apelike animals.
All viviparous quadrupeds are, so to say, rough, with hair,and not like man, who, except on his head, has not much hairon his body, and what there is, is very fine but his head ismore massy than that of other animals.
2. And all creatures that have their upper part roughwith hair, are quite smooth, or only slightly rough beneath ;but man is contrary to this and again, each eyelid in man
is furnished, with lashes, and he has hair on the cheek, andpubes other animals are not so furnished, having no hairon the lower eyelid, or only a few hairs under the eyelid.
3. But some hairy quadrupeds are rough all over, as thehog, the bear, and the dog the neck of others is the roughestpart, as in those which have a mane, like the lion in others
which have a mane, the back of the neck from the head tothe point of the shoulder is hairy, as the horse and the mule,and among wild animals with horns, the bonassus.
Thehipellaphus,' as it is called, has a mane upon the point of
its shoulder, and so has the pardium,'' though both thesehave a thin mane from the head to the shoulder, and thehipellaphus has a beard upon its larynx.
4. Both of these are horned, and have a cloven hoof: thefemale hipellaphus has no horns, it is about the size of astag there are hipellaphi in the country of the Arachotae,
where also are buffaloes. The wild differ as much from dofor they
mesticated oxen, as wild hogs from tame ones
their nose is curved likeare black, and of great strength
an eagle's beak, and their horns lie backwards the horns of
the hipellaphus are very like those of the dorcas :' the elephant is the least hairy of all quadrupeds. The tails of animals are like their bodies in roughness, and smoothness, in
as many as have tails in proportion to their size, for someliave very small tails.
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Perhaps Nylghau (Liddel and Scott's Lexicon), or some large kind
^ Cameleopard.
(Schneider.)' Gazelle or antelope, so named from the brightness of its eyes.

'of Stag.

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THE HISTOBT OF ANIMALS.

II.]

27

Camels have a part peculiar to themselves, called thethe Bactrian camel differs from the
Arabian the one has two humps, the other but one and they
have another hump below, like the one on their back, uponwhich the rest of their body is supported, when they godown upon their knees. The camel has four mammae, like thecow, and a tail like an ass, and the pudendum is behind;it has but one knee in each leg, and not many joints, assome persons say this appearance arises from the positionof the abdomen. It has a a talus like that of an ox, misshapen, and small in proportion to its size.
6. The hoof is cloven
it has not teeth in both jaws.
The cloven hoof is formed in this manner the lower part ia
somewhat cloven, as far as the second joint of the toes, but
the upper part is four-cleft as far as the first joint of the5.

hump upon the back

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toes
there is a membrane uniting the cloven parts as ingeese, the foot is fleshy underneath like that of a bear, where;

fore, when camels are used in war, and become footsore, their

them on leather shoes. All quadrupeds havebony and sinewy and without flesh, that is all
animals with feet are so formed, excepting man, and they
drivers put

their legs

are without hips ; this is particularly the case with birds.
But on the contrary, the hips, thighs, and legs of man are
more fleshy than almost any other part of his body, for eventhe calf of his leg is fleshy.
7. Some sanguineous and viviparous quadrupeds have many
divisions in the foot, like the hands and feet of man
forsome, as the lion, the dog, and the panther, have many divisions of the foot others are cloven-footed, and instead ofnails have hoofs, as the sheep, the goat, the stag, and theSome are without divisions in the foot, as theriver-horse.
Bolidunguli, the horse, and the mule.
The genus of swine
belongs to both classes for in Illyria, Paeonia, and otherplaces, there are swine with a solid hoof. Those with a twocleft hoof have two divisions, before and behindin thosewith a solid hoof this is continuous.
8. Some animals have horns, others have none
most ofthose with horns have also cloven feet, as the ox, the stag,
and the goat.
have never seen an animal with a solid
hoof with two horns, and there are only a few that have a
Bolid hoof and one horn, as the Indian ass, and the oryx.'
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We

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Antelope Oryx.

;THE UISTOUT OF ANIMALS.

28[b. TIOf all animals with a solid hoof, the Indian ass alone has a
Swine, as I said before, belong to both classes, so thatthey have not a well- formed astragalus.
9. Many animals with cloven hoofs have a talus
no animals with their feet in many divisions have a talus, nor has
man. The lynx has as it were half a talus, and so has thelion, but it is more intricate, as some pretend.
The talus isalways in the hind leg, and it is placed upright upon the gamb,with the lower part outwards, and the upper part inwards
the parts called Coa^ turned inwards towards each other, andthe Chia turned outwards, and the projecting portions upThis is the position of the talus, in all animals
wards.
which are furnished with this part. Some animals have acloven hoof, and a mane, and two horns turned towards eachother, as the bonassus, an animal which inhabits the country between Paeonia and Media.
10. All animals with horns are four-footed, unless there isany animal which metaphorically, and for the sake of a word, issaid to have horns, as they say that the serpents in the neighbourhood of Thebes in Egypt have, though it is nothing
more than an appendage, that is called a horn. The stag is
the only animal that has solid horns, the horns of all otheranimals are hollow for a part of their length, and solid atthe extremity the hollow part is principally formed of skin,and round this is arranged the solid part, as in the horns ofoxen. The stag is the only animal which casts its horns
they are reproduced this takes place every year after the
anLnal has attained the age of two years other animals
never lose their horns unless destroyed by violence.
talus.

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Chapter III.
The parts of the mammae also, and the organs of generation, are different in man and in other animals
For some
have the mammae forward on or near the breast, and two
mammae with two nipples, as man and the elephant, as I
said before, for the elephant has two mammae near the arm1.

in the female they are small, and do not bear any
proportion to the size of the animal, so that they are
scarcely visible in a side view the males also have mammae aawell as the females, but they are exceedingly small.
pits

;

;

' Coa, the highest tlirow with the Astragalus with theconvex side up«
permost, opposed to Chia, the lowest throw, sixes and aces.

THE niSTOET 01 AKIMAL8.

S, n.]

29

2. The bear has four, other animals have two mammse upon
the thighs, and two nipples like sheep others have four nipples,as the cow some animals have not their nipples on the breast
and thighs, but on the abdomen, as the dog and the hog,they have many nipples, but not all of the same size otheranimals also have more than two, as the panther, which has
four on the abdomen the lioness has two on the abdomen,
the camel has two mammae and four nipples, like the cow.
3. Among animals with a solid hoof the males have nomammae, except some horses which bear a resemblance totheir dams. Some males have the penis external, as man, andthe horse, and many others some internal, as the dolphin.
Of those animals in which it is external, some have it infront, as those which I have named and some of these haveboth the penis and testicles loose, as in man others havethem close to the abdomen ; some have them more, others
less loose, for this part is not equally free in the boar andthe horse.
4. The elephant has a penis like a horse, but small and less inproportion to the size of its body its testicles are not external
but internal, and near the kidneys, wherefore also the workof copulation is quickly performed. The female has thepudendum in the same position as the udder of the sheep,
and when excited with desire, it is lifted up outwards, so as
to be ready for copulation with the male and the orifice ofthe pudendum is very wide. Most animals have the penis
in the same direction, but some areretromingent, asthelynx,
In some males, as I have said, thelion, camel, and hare.
direction of the penis is difterent, but all females are retromingent, for even in the female elephant the pudendum isplaced under the thighs, as in other animals.
5. The penis is very different in different animals, for in somethe fleshy part does
it is cartilaginous and fleshy, as in man
not swell, but the cartilaginous portion is erected ; in others
it is sinewy, as the camel and the stag in others it is bony, as
the fox and the wolf, the weasel and the martin, for themartin also has a bony penis.
6. Again, man being a perfect animal, has the upper partof his body less than the lower part the contrary is the casewith other sanguineous animals by the upper portion of
his body we mean the portion of his body from the head to
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THE HISTOEY OF ANIMALS.

80

[jj,

IT.

the anus and by the lower, the parts from hence downwards. In those animals which have feet the hind leg isthe lower part of the body in point of size and in those
without legs, the same relation is observed in their various
kinds of tails. Such is the nature of perfected animals, butthey differ in the development of their parts. Man in theyoung state has the upper part of his body greater than thelower but as he grows the proportion of his parts changes,
wherefore also he is the only animal which does not move inthe same way when young and when grown up, for at firsta child crawls like a four-footed animal.
7. Some animals grow in the same proportion throughout, as
the dog others when they are first born have their uppei
part proportionally less than the lower, but as they approach
maturity, the upper parts increase in size, as in the lophuri,
for in these animals the part from the hoof to the haunch never
;

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—

grows after their birth.
8. There is a great difference in the teeth of animals, both
among themselves and from the human type all viviparousand sanguineous quadrupeds have teeth some have teeth inboth jaws, which others have not this is the first distinction.
Those which have horns do not possess teeth in both jaws,
for they have no front teeth in the upper jaw.
There areothers, as the camel, which, though it has no horns, has notteeth in the upper jaw.
9. Some animals have tusks like the boar, others have notsome have pointed teeth, as the lion, panther, and dog theteeth of others have an even surface, as the ox and the horse.
Animals with pointed teeth have their teeth fitting into eachother no animal has both tusks and horns, neither thosewith pointed teeth nor any others. Most animals have theirfront teeth sharp, and their hind teeth flat all the teeth of
the seal are sharp pointed, showing an approximation to the
;

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race of fishes, for all fishes have pointed teeth.
10. None of these genera have a double row of teeth. But,
if we may believe Ctesias, there are some which have thispeculiarity, for he mentions an Indian animal called martichora, which had three rows of teeth in each jaw
it is aslarge and as rough as a lion, and has similar feet, but itsears and face are like those of a man its eye is grey, andits body red ; it has a tail like a land scorpion, in which there
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THE HT9T0ET OF ANIMALS.

II.]

31

a sting; it darts forth tlie spines with which it iscovered instead of hair, and it utters a noise resembling theunited sound of a pipe and a trumpet it is not less swift offoot than a stag, and is wild, and devours men.
11. Man sheds his teeth, and so do other animals, as thehorse, the mule, and the ass man sheds his front teeth, but noanimal sheds the molar teeth swine do not shed any of theirteeth. About dogs, there is some doubt some persons thinkthey do not shed their teeth at all, others that they shed only
the canine teeth but it has been observed that they do shed
their teeth like men perhaps it has escaped notice, because
they do not shed them before the inner ones, which are simi18

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lar, are grown up.

12. And it is probable that the same takes place in otherwild animals, since they are said only to shed their canine
teeth.
Young dogs are known from old ones by their teeth,for young dogs have sharp white teeth, old dogs have them
black and blunted.
The horse is in this respect different
from all other animals for while the teeth in other animals
become darker as they grow older, in the horse they become;

more white.
13. Those which are called canine teeth are placed between
the cutting and the molar teeth, and partake of the nature ofThe
both, for they are wide below, but sharp at the top.
male has more teeth than the female in mankind, and sheep,and goats, and swine. This has not been observed in otheranimals.
Those persons which have the greatest number ofteeth are the longest lived those which have them widely
separated, smaller, and more scattered, are generally more
short lived.
14. The last molar teeth, which are called wisdom teeth, appear, both in the male and female about the age of twenty,
and some women cut the molar teeth at eighty years of age,causing great pain in the extremity of the jaw, and somemen also this happens with persons who do not cut theirwise teeth at the proper age.
15. The elephant has four teeth on each side, with which hegrinds his food, for he reduces his food very small, like meal.
Besides these, he has two tusks in the male these are large,
and turned upwards in the female they are small, and bent
in the contrary direction.
The elephant has teeth as soon
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THE HISTOUr OF A>'IMALS.

82
as

it

is

bom

[b. II.

but tbe tusks are small, and therefore in*
It has so small a tongue within its
first.

;

conspicuous at

mouth, that it is difficult to see it.

1.

Chaptee IV.
Animals have very differently-sized mouths, for some havewide, open mouths, as the dog, the lion, and all animals
with pointed teeth ; other animals have a small mouth, asman, or a moderately-sized one, as the swine. The Egyptian river-horse has a mane like a horse, and a cloven hoof
it has a flat face ; the talus is like that of otherlike the ox
animals with cloven hoofs, and it has large projecting teeth ;it has a tail like a hog, and utters a sound like the neighing of a horse it is about the size of an ass, and its skin isso thick that shields are made of it its intestines are likethose of a horse or ass.
;;;

Chaptee V.
Some animals unite in their nature the characteristics ofman and quadrupeds, as apes, monkeys, and cynocephali.
1.

The monkey is an ape with a tail cynocephali have the same
form as apes, but are larger and stronger, and their faces
are more like dogs' faces they are naturally fierce, and theirteeth are more like dogs' teeth, and stronger than in other;;genera.
2. The apes are hairy in their upper parts, so as to bear
Bome resemblance to quadrupeds, and also in the lower,
because they are like men, for in this particular, as I said
before, there is a difference in men and brutes their hair
Theyis coarse, and apes are rough both above and below.
;

bear a strong likeness to men in their face, for their nostrils, ears, and teeth, both the fore and back teeth, are likehis and as for eye-lashes, though other animals are entirely
without them, the ape has them on the lower eye-lid they
are, however, very thin, and altogether small.
3. Upon the breast are two small mammae, with two nipples
the arms are like those of man, but hairy both the arms andlegs are bent like those of man, the curves of the limbs being
turned towards each other. Besides these, it has hands, fingers, and nails like those of man. but aU indicating an apprciximation to the brute j their feet are peculiar, for they;;;

THE HISTOET Oi' ANIMxVLS.

B. ri.]

33

are like great hands.
The fingers upon them are like thoseon the hands, and the middle one is the longest the soleof the foot is like a hand, except that it extends the whole
length of the hand like a palm, and is hard at the extremity,
and is a bad and obscure representation of a heel.
4. The feet are used for both the purposes of hands andfeet, and are bent like hands.
The humerus and the femur
are short compared with the cubitus and the leg. The navel
is not prominent, and there is a hard place about the regionof the navel.
Like quadrupeds, the upper part of the bodyis much larger than the lower, almost in the proportion offive to three, and the feet are like hands, and as it weremade up of hands and feet, a foot as far as the extremityof the heel, and the remainder like a hand, for the fingers
ftre furnished Mdth something like a palm.
5. The ape passes more of its time as a quadruped thana biped, and like a quadruped, it has no nates, nor has ita tail like a biped, but only something in representation of
a tail. The pudendum of the female resembles that of awoman that of the male is more like a dog's. The monkey,
as I said before, has a tail, and all the internal parts ofthe body are like those of man. The external parts of viviparous quadrupeds are of this nature.
;

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Chapteu VI.
Otipaeous and sanguineous quadrupeds(forno san-guineous land animal that is not either a quadruped or apodal
is oviparous) have a head, neck, back, upper and lower partsof the body, and fore and hind legs, and something resembling a breast, like oviparous quadrupeds most of them also
have a large tail, some a small one all of them have many toes
and divided feet, and all the organs of sense, and a tongue,
except the Egyptian crocodile. And in this respect it resembles some fishes, for the tongue of fishes is thorny, andnot free, and in some the place for the tongue is altogether
smooth, and without division (so that nothing is visible),:;unless the lips are drawn aside.
neither
2. They have no ears, only a passage for hearing
have they any mammae, and the penis and testicles are internal, and not external. They have no hair, but are covered
with scales, and all are furnished with sharp teeth. The
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THE HISTOET OF ANIMALS.

34)[b. II.

river-cocodiles have eyes like hogs, and great sharp teeth,
strong claws, and an unbroken scaly skin. In the water

They passtheir sight is imperfect, but very good on land.
the greatest part of the day on land, and of the night in thewater, for they cannot bear the cold air.

Chaptee VII.
The chameleon has the whole of its body like that of a1.

the ribs, descending downwards, are joined together on the hypogastric region, like those of fish, andthe back-bone stands up, like that of a fish its face is likethat of the choeropithecus.^ It has a very long tail the extremity is very smooth, and rolled together like a thong. It
the joints of the legs
is raised, upon longer legs than a lizard
are bent in the same direction as the lizard's.
2. Each of its feet is divided into two parts, having thesame relation to each other as our thumbs have to theand, for a short distance, each of these isrest of the hand
divided into toes in the fore-feet the internal part has three,in the hind feet the internal partthe external two toes
has two, and the external three toes there is a claw uponeach of its toes like that of birds of prey its whole bodyis rough, like the crocodile.
3. Its eyes are placed in a hollow, and are very large
and round surrounded with skin like the rest of its body,and in the middle is left a small aperture through which
The eye is turned
this is never covered vrith skin.
it seesround in a circle, and it can direct its vision to any side, so
The change in the colour ofthat it can see where it will.
It can acquire
its skin takes place when it is filled with air.
either a black colour, like that of the crocodile, or ochreous,
like that of the lizard, or spotted with black, like tlie panther and this change takes place over the whole body, for theeyes also change like the rest of the body, and so does the tail.
4. Its movements are slow, like those of the tortoise
when dying, it becomes ochreous, and retains this colour after
death. The oesophagus and trachea of the chameleon are
similar to the same parts in lizards it has no flesh, except alittle on the head and cheeks, and upon the appendage at theend of its tail. It has no blood, except about the heart, andlizard, and

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{The identifications of tfie
Simia rostrata, or perhaps baboon.
animals, unless otherwise noted, are taken from the German translation'

hy Struck, 1816.)

;THE HISTOET OE AKIMALS.

B. II.]

35

eyes, and the parts above the heart, and the veins that ex-

tend from theseand even in these there is very little blood.
The brain lies a Little above the eyes, and is continuouswith them and when the outside skin of the eye is taken
:

5.

;

shines through it, like a brightring of brass
Through the whole of its body many strong
membranes are extended, which are much stronger than inother animals.
It breathes strongly for some time after it
has been dissected, and there are some slight movements of
the heart it also continues to contract its sides, but not theother parts of the body.
It has no distinct spleen and it
hides itself in rocks Hke the lizard.

away, a bright object;;

Chaptee VIII.
BiEDS also have many parts like the animals describedabove, Por all these have a head, neck, back, and underparts of the body, and something resembling a breast. They
have two legs, and thus resemble men more than other ani1.

mals, except that the joints bend backwards like those of quadrupeds, as I said before. They have neither hands, nor forefeet, but wings ; herein they differ from all other animals.
Again, tlie hip is like a thigh, large and united as far as
the middle of the abdomen, so as to look like a thigh,when it is separated from the rest of the body and the thigh
The class of
where it is joined to the leg is another part.
birds with crooked claws have the largest thigh, andstronger breasts than others.
2. All birds have claws and many divisions of the footin most of them the toes are quite separate but the swimmers have their feet covered with a web, but even these havedistinct and jointed toes.
All birds that fly high in the air
have four toes and, generally, these are placed three forwards, and one backward, Hke a heel a few birds have twotoes turned forwards and two backwards, as the bird called
jynx.^
This bird is somewhat larger than the spize,* and isvariegated in appearance.
The formation of its toes is peculiar, and so is that of its tongue, which is Hke a serpent's.
This it can project from its mouth, as much as the width offour fingers, and draw it in again. Like a snake it can turnits neck quite round, whilst the rest of its body is perfectly
;

;

;

;

'

Jynx torquilla, wry-neck.

*

Fringilla, finch.

d2

:THE niSTOEY OF AXIMALS.

36
still.

[b. IIIt has large claws, like those of the eolius,* and it

hisses with its voice.

Birds have a mouth, hut its construction is peculiar,
they have neither lips nor teeth, but a beak, andneither ears nor nostrils, but only passages for these organs,for the nostrils in the beak, and for the ears in tlie head.
They have two eyes like other animals, without eyelashes
lehen heavy with sleep, they close their eyes with thelower eyelid and all possess a nictitating membrane, which
The owl-like birds also use the upper eyecloses the eye.
The same is the nature of the scaly animals, as thelid.
all of them close theirsaurians, and others of this classeyes with the lower eyelid, but tliey do not all wink like
Again, birds have neither scales nor hair, butbirds.
feathers
all the feathers have a stem.
in birds with long
4. Birds have no tail, but a rumplegs, or palmated feet, this is short, in others it is large.
These last, when they fly, keep their legs close to thebody, but the others stretch them out behind them. All
birds have a tongue, but this differs in various kinds
some have it large, others small. Next after man, somebirds articulate words better than any other animals this isparticularly the case with those with broad tongues.
No
oviparous animal has an epiglottis on its trachea
but itcan close and open the passage, so as to prevent any heavything finding its way into the lungs,
this is never the
5. Some tribes of birds have spurs
Those withcase with those which have crooked claws.
crooked claws are more active in flight those which havespurs, are heavier in their make.
6. Some birds have a crest, mostly formed of erectfeathers the domestic fowl, alone, is peculiar, for its crest
18 neither flesh, nor very unlike flesh.
3.

for

;

;

;

;

;

:

:

;

;

;

Chapteb IX,
1.

Among aquatic animals, there is one class of fish, whichembraces many forms, and is separated from other animals,
for it has a head, and upper and lower parts, in which last
are the stomach and bowels, and a continuous and undivided
This is not alike in all. They have neither neck nortaU.
limb, nor internal and external testicles, nor mammse, nor*

Perhaps Corvxis galgulus.

B. II.]THE niSTOEY OF ANIMALS.

37

has any other animal mammse that is not viviparous, nor
indeed all viviparous animals, but those only that are internally viviparous, and not first of all oviparous.
For the dolphin is a viviparous animal, vpherefore it has two mamma?,
not indeed above, but near the organs of reproduction. It
has not evident nipples, but, as it were, a stream flowing fromeach side. From these the milk exudes, and the young ones
suck as they follow the mother. This has been distinctly
observed by some persons.
2. But fish, as we have observed, have neither mammas
In thenor any external passage for the genital organs.
branchia they have a distinctive organ, through which they
andeject the water they have received into their mouths
they have fins, most fishes have four, but the long fishes, as
the eel, have only two placed near the branchia, and in thisrespect the cestreus,' a fish in the lake of Sipha?, is similar toSome of these
the eel,'' and so is the fish called tajnia.^
long fish have no fins, as the muraena, nor have they divided
branchia like other fish.
3. Some fish with branchia have coverings over their branchia in aU the cartilaginous fishes they are uncovered.
Allfishes that have coverings have the branchia placed on theirsides among the cartilaginous fishes some are broad in thelowest part, as the narce* and the batos ;° some very long inthe sides, as all the galeodea.® In the batraeus,' although thebranchia are on the sides, they are covered with a coriaceous,
not a prickly membrane, like those of fishes which are not;;;

cartilaginous.
4. In some fishes with branchia they are single, in others
double, but the last towards the body is always single.
Some have but few branchia, others have many but their
number is always equal on both sides, and those with thesmallest number have always one on each side; this isdouble in the capros f others have two on each side, sometimes these are single, sometimes double, as in the conger*
and the scarus •,^° others have four simple branchia on eachside, as the ellops," synagris, muraena, and eel ; others have;Mursena anguilla.
* Perhaps Cepola taenia.
^ The shark tribe.
Raia batos.
* Perhaps Cottus cataphractus.
' Lophius piscatorius.
'° Scarus cretensis.
Mureena conger.
" Swordfish or sturgeon (L. and S. Lexicon), or Centriscus Bcolopax.
'

*

'•'

Mugil, mullet.
Eaia torpedo.

^'

THE HISTOET OF ANIMALS.

88[B. TL,

four, all divided except the last, as the ciehle,' perca,' glanig,'

and cyprinus ;* all the galeodea have five douhle branchiaon
each side, the xiphias* has eight, which are double. This ia
the manner and number of the branchia of fishes.
5. And fish differ in other respects besides their gills, forthey have no hair like viviparous quadrupeds, nor scaly
plates like oviparous quadrupeds, nor feathers like birds, but
the greater number of them are covered with scales some ofthem are rough, and a very few are smooth. Some cartilaginous fishes are rough, others smooth.
Congers, eels, andtunnies are smooth. All fish except the scarus have pointed
teeth, and all have sharp teeth, some several rows of them, andteeth on the tongue they have also a hard prickly tongue, so
united to the mouth as sometimes to appear without a tongue.
6. The mouth of some fishes is w'ide, like viviparous quadrupeds. They have no external organs of sense, nor evenpassages for smelling or hearing but all have eyes without
eyelids, though their eyes are not hard.
All fishes are sanguineous some are oviparous, others viviparous all thosethat are covered with scales are oviparous.
The cartilaginous fishes are all viviparous, except the batrachus.
;

;

;

;

;

Chapteb X.
The remaining class of sanguineous animals is that of1.

serpents
these partake of both characters. The greater
portion of them inhabit the land, a few inliabiting water arefound in rivers. There are also serpents in the sea very likethose on land, except in their head, which is more like thatof the conger. There are many genera of sea-serpents, andthey are of all kinds of colours they do not exist in the
Serpents are apodal, like fishes.
deepest part of the ocean.
2. There are also marine scolopendrae,* very like those on
they live in rocky places in colour
land, but rather lessthey are redder, and they have more feet, and slighter legs
than in the terrestrial species. These also, like the serpents, are not found in deep places.
3. And there is a small fish which lives among the rocks,
which some call echineis f some people use it for trials
and philtres it is not fit for food. Some people say it
;

;

;

;

;

*

A variegated fish.

*

Cyprinus carpis, Carp.

*

Nereis, or aphrodite.

^' Silurus glanis.
Perca fluviatilis.
* Xiphias gladius, Swordfish.
' Echeneis remora.

n

B.

TUE llISTORl' OF ANIMALS.

.]

39

has feet, but it has none tlie fins, however, are like feet,
which gives it this appearance. I have now described theexternal parts of sanguineous animals, their nature, and their
number, and the differences which occur amongst them.
;

Chaptee XI.
FiEST of all we will speak of the internal parts of sanguineous animals, for the greatest number of genera differ
from other animals, some being sanguineous, others exsanguineous. The sanguineous genera are man, viviparousand oviparous quadrupeds, birds, fishes, and whales, andperhaps others that are anonymous, because they do notform a genus, but simply species amongst each other, as the1.

serpent and the crocodile.
2. All viviparous quadrupeds have an oesophagus andtrachea, situated as in man, and so have oviparous quadrupeds and birds, though there is some difference in the formation of these parts ; all that breathe by inhaling and exhaling
air have lungs, trachea, and oesophagus. The position of theoesophagus and trachea, though similar, is not the same, nor
are the lungs alike in all, nor similar in position.
3. AU sangiiineous animals have a heart, and a divisionin the middle of the body, called a diaphragm.
In smallanimals its smallness and thinness render it less apparent.
The heart of the ox is peculiar for there is a kind of ox,
though not the whole genus, which has a bone in its heart,and there is also a bone in the heart of the horse.
4. Not all animals have lungs, fish and those with gills haveno lungs. All sanguineous animals have a liver, generally aspleen also but in oviparous animals that are not viviparous, the spleen is so small as nearly to escape notice, as inmost birds, the pigeon, kite,' hawk,^ and owl. The aegocephalus^ has none at all.
Oviparous quadrupeds are of the same
nature, for they have a very small spleen, as the tortoise,emys,* phryne," lizard, crocodile, and frog.
5. Some animals have a gall upon the liver, others none.
Among viviparous quadrupeds the stag^ has none, nor thedeer,' horse, mule, ass, seal, and some swine. The Achainianstag appears to have the gall in the tail ; that which they call;;* ¥alco palumbarius.
^ gtryi otus.
Falco milvus.
^ Cervus elaphua.
Testudo coriaoea.
' Cerrus capreolus, or C. Dama.
'*

THE HI8T0EY OF AlflMALS.

40[B. II.

gall in these animals resembles it in colour, but it is not liquid
like gall, but more like the spleen in its internal structure.
6. All, while they are alive, have worms^ in the head they
are produced in the hollow part under the hypoglottis, andnear the vertebrae, where the head is joined on. In size
they resemble very large maggots they are numerous, andcontinuous, in number not generally more than twenty.
Stags, as I have observed, have no gall, but their intestines
are so bitter that dogs will not eat them if the deer are fat.
7. The elephant also has a liver without a gall, but when
the part where the gall is attached in other animals, is cut;;

open, a quantity of fluid like bile, more or less abundant, runs
Among those animals which inhale sea-water, and havelungs, the dolphin has no gall.
All birds and fishes havegalls, and all oviparous quadrupeds, to speak of them atonce, have a gall, greater or less but in some fishes it islaced upon the liver, as the galeodea, glanis, rine," leioEatus,' narce, and in some long fish, as the eel, belone,* andzygsena ;* and the callionymus® has a gall upon the Kver,larger in proportion to its size than any other fish.
Othershave a gall upon the intestines, extending from the liver by
several thin passages the amia'' has it stretched out upon
the intestines, and equal to them in length, and many times
folded upon it.
Other fish have the gall upon the intestines, some at a greater, others at a less distance, as thebatrachus, elops, synagris, mura^na, xiphias.
8. And the same genus often appears to have the gall
extended in both directions, as the conger, in some individuals it is turned towards the liver, in others suspended before the liver.
The same structure is observed in birds, forsome have the gall turned towards the stomach, and others
towards the entrails, as the pigeon, crow, quail, swallow,
sparrow in others it is directed both towards the liver
and the stomach, as the aegocephalus in others, as the hawk
and kite, it is directed towards the liver and the intestines.
out.

;

;

;

;

Chaptee XII.
All viviparous quadrupeds have kidneys and a bladder,1.

but some oviparous animals have neither, as birds and* Squalus squatina.
Possibly (Estrus nasalis.
* Syngnathns acus.
* Squalus zygsena.
Raia bates.
• Uranoscopus scaber.
7 A kind of marked scomber, mackerel ?
'

^

;

THE HISTOET OF ANIMALS.

B. II.]

41

and among oviparous quadrupeds tbe marine turtle
only one that has them at all proportionate to its size.
The marine turtle has the kidneys like those of oxen, andthat of the ox is like a great many kidneys joined together.
In aU its internal parts, the bonassus' is like tbe ox.
2. The position which these parts occupy is tbe same in all
animals, and the heart is in tbe middle of the body of all creatures, except man. In him it is inclined towards the left side
and, as it was before observed, the apex of the heart isdirected forward in all, but in fishes it does not appear tobe so, for the apex of the heart is not directed towards thechest, but towards the mouth and head, and the top of theheart is suspended from the place where the right and left
brancbia are joined to each other, and there are also otherpassages which extend from the heart to each of the brancbia, greater towards the larger brancbia, and less towards
the smaller but that to the top of the heart in great fishes
is a thick white tube.
3.
few fishes, as the conger and tbe eel, have an oesophagus, but even in these it is very small in some of the
fish that have a liver, it is placed on tbe right side, and has
no lobes in others, it is divided from the commencement,
and the greater part is on the right side. Tor in some fish
each part of the liver hangs down, and the divisions are notunited at their origin, as in the tribe of fish called galeodea,
and in a species of hare which is found near the lake of
Bolba, in the place called Sycine, and in other places, sothat one might suppose that they had two livers, on accountof the distances at which the passages unite, as in the lungs
fishes,is tbe;A;;of birds.

In all animals the spleen is naturally situated on the
The case has occurred that an animal having been
opened, has been observed to have the spleen on the rightside and the liver on the left, but such appearances are conIn all animals tbe trachea reaches to thesidered ominous.
lungs (its nature will be described in another place) and theoesophagus, in all that have this part, reaches to the stomach
through the diaphragm. For most fishes (as I observed before) have no oesophagus, but the stomach is united directlywith the mouth. So that it often happens that, when great4.

left side.

;1

Bos gruuuieus.

;

THE HISTORY OF ANIMALS,

42

fishes are pursuing small ones, thestomach[b. II.

forwardfalls

into the mouth.
5. All the animals that have been mentioned have a
stomach, and in the same situation, for it is universallyplaced under the diaphragm, and an intestine follows it,
and ends in the exit for the food which is called the anus.
But the stomach of different animals is variously formed,
for in the first place viviparous horned quadrupeds, whichhave not teeth in both jaws, have four such passages, andPor the oesophagus,
those animals are said to ruminate.
commencing in the mouth, extends to the parts just below thelungs, and passes tlirough the diaphragm to the great stomach.
6. The internal part of this is rough, and folded together and it is united, near the junction of the stomach,to the part which, from its appearance, is called the net,
for the exterior is like a stomach, but the inside resembles
the meshes of a net in point of size, the net is much lessthan the stomach. Next to this is the part caUed echinus,
because internally it is rough and channelled it is nearly
the same size as the net. Next to the echinus is theenystrum, which is both larger and longer than the echinus,
and internally covered with many large and smooth folds
after this are the entrails.
7. This is the nature of the stomach of animals with horns,
and no teeth in the upper jaw. But they differ from eachother in the form and size of these parts and because theoesophagus is sometimes united to the middle, and sometimes to the side of the stomach. Most animals which haveteeth in both jaws have but one stomach, as the man, dog,bear, lion, and the wolf. The thos' has all its intestines like a
All these have but one stomach, to which the bowel
wolf.
;

;

;

;

is

united.

But in some of these the stomach is larger, asthat of the hog is marked with athe hog and the bear;

few smooth lines.

In other animals the stomach is less,not indeed much larger than the intestine, as the dog, lion,
and man.
In the forms of their bowels other animals
are divided into two classes, resembling these types for insome the stomach resembles a dog's, in others a hog's, both
the greater and lesser animals in the same way and thestomachs of various animals differ in size, form, thickness,thinness, and the position of the junction of the oesophagus.
;;'

Felis onza, perhaps also canis aureus.

;

THE HISTOET OF ANIMALS.

B. ir.J43

8. And the nature of the bowels differs in the before-named
animals, those, namely, which have not, and those which haveteeth in both jaws, in size, thickness, and folding. The intestines of the ruminants are all large, and so are the animals
themselves there are a few small animals of this class, andthere is no horned animal which is very smalL And somehave appendages to the intestines, for none of the animals
with teeth in both jaws have straight intestines. There areenlargements in the bowels of the elephant, which give it
the appearance of having four stomachs in these the food isdetained, and apart from these there is no receptacle for thefood.
Its intestines are very like those of the hog, exceptthat the liver is four times greater than that of the ox, andother parts also the spleen is small in proportion to its size.
9. The stomach and intestines of oviparous quadrupeds
bear a similar proportion to each other, as in the land andmarine tortoise, the lizard, and both kinds of crocodiles,^and similar quadrupeds for they have one simple stomach,in some it is like that of the hog, in others like that of thedog.
10. The class of serpents in almost every part of theirbody resemble the saurians, which have feet, and are oviparous, if we add to their length, and take away the feetfor snakes are covered with scales, and have their upperand lower parts like saurians, except that they have no testicles, but, like fish, two passages united in one, and alarge and cloven uterus, but in other respects their intestines are so like those of saurians, except that fromtheir elongated figure their intestines are long and narrow,that they might be mistaken for them, from their similarity.
11. For the trachea is very long, and the oesophagus still
longer, and the commencement of the trachea is close to
the mouth, so that the tongue appears to lie beneath it.
The trachea appears to be above the tongue because thislast can be retracted, and is not always in one position, as
in other animals.
Their tongue is long, thin, and black,
The tongue ofand can be put forth for some distance.
serpents and saurians is distinct from that of all otheranimals, for the extremity of the tongue is cloven ; this ismost remarkable in serpents, for the extremities of their
;

;

;

;

^

Crocodilus niloticus and Lacerta stellio.

THE HISTOBT OF ANIMALS.

44[b. II,

tongues are like haira. The seal also has a forked tongue.
The serpent has a stomach like a very wide entrail, likethat of the dog, afterwards a very long and thin intestine,

which is alike to its extremity.
12. Behind the pharynx is a sraall kidney-shaped heart,so that at times the apex does not appear to he directed
towards the chest, next to this is a rangle lung, divided bya muscular passage, very long, and descending a long
distance from the breast.
The liver is long and simple,
the spleen small and round, like that of the saurians.
The gall resembles that of fish, in water serpents it issituated on the liver, in others generally upon the intestines.
They all have pointed teeth, and as many ribs as
Somethere are days in the month, for they have thirty.
persons say that in one respect serpents resemble theyoung of the swallow, for if their eyes are pierced with apointed instrument, they will grow again, and if the tails ofserpents or lizards be cut off, they will be reproduced.
13. The same remarks will apply to the intestines andstomachs of fishes, for they have one simple stomach,but it difiers in form, for in some fishes it is like a bowel,
as in the one called scarus, and this is the only fish thatappears to ruminate, and the size of the intestines is
simple and folded together, for it can be resolved into one,by unfolding it.
The appendages of the stomach appear
to be peculiar to fishes and birds, for birds have them
above the stomach, and few in number, but in fish they
are above, and around the stomach.
Some have many appendages, as the gobius,' galeus,* perca, scorpios,^ citharus,*
trigla,* and sparus.*
But the cestreus has many on one sideof the stomach, and only one on the other. Some have
only a few, as the hepatus' and the glaucus,* and the chrysophrys® also has only a few, but some individuals difterfrom others, for one chrysophrys has many, another has
only a few. There are some fish which have none of them,as most of the cartilaginous genera; others have a few,
and some a great many, and all fish have these appendages
very near the stomach itself.
'

Gobio, gudgeon.

«* Probably Pleuronectes• Sparus maina.
' Sparus aurata.

''

Shark.

rhombus.

Theutis hepatus.

**

Coitus scorpius.

MuUus surmulentus.

Probably Gobio goso.

;THE HISTOET OF ANIMALS.

B.II.]

45

14. Birds have their internal parts different from eachother and from other animals for some have before thestomach a crop, as the domestic fowl, pigeon, dove, andpartridge.
The crop is a large and hollow skin, into which
Hence from thethe food is received before it is digested.
oesophagus it is narrower, then wider, and where it descends
into the stomach it is smaller.
15. In most birds the stomach is fleshy and thick, and on
the outside there is a strong skin, which is separated fromthe fleshy part. Some birds have no crop, but instead of
it a wide oesophagus, either wholly so, or in the part extending to the stomach, as in the coloeus,' raven, and crow.
The quail has the lower part of the oesophagus broad, thesegocephalus has it small but wider, and so has the owl.
But the duck, goose, gull, diver, and bustard, have a wideand broad oesophagus, and so have many other birds.
16. And some have a part of the stomach itself like dcrop, as the cenchreis -^ and there are some which haveneither oesophagus nor a wide crop, but a large stomachthese are small birds like the swallow, and the sparrow.
few have neither a crop, nor a wide oesophagus, but avery long one these are birds with a long neck, as the porphyrion.^ Almost all these emit a moister excrement thanother birds.
17. The quail has these peculiarities, for it has a crop, andbefore the stomach a wide and broad oesophagus.
And thecrop is at a great distance from the part of the oesophagus
before the beUy, considering the size of the bird.
Birds
have generally a small intestine, which is single when unfolded, and birds have appendages, a few, as I have said, andnot placed above, as in fish, but below, near the end of tlie
intestine.
Some birds have not these appendages, though
they generally have them, as the domestic fowl, partridge,
duck, night-raven,* localus,^ ascalaphus,® goose, bustard,
owl.
Some of the small birds have them, but they are very
minute, as the sparrow.
;A;

1 Three kinds of birds are called by thisname. Corvus graculus,* Falco tinnunculus.
C. monedula, and Pelicanus graculus.

^*

Fulica porphyrion.
Some kind of owl.

*

Ardea nycticorax.

"

Some kind of heron;THE HISTOHT OF ANIMALS.

46[b. III.

BOOK THE THIRD.
Chapteb I.

Wehave treated of the other internal parts of animals,
1.
their number, their nature and varieties. It now remains for
us to speak of the organs of generation. In females these arealways internal but there is much difference in males, forsome sanguineous animals have no testicles at all, in others
they are internal and in some animals with internal testicles, they are placed near the kidneys, in others near theabdomen in other animals they are external. The penisof these last is sometimes united to the abdomen, in others
but in promingent andit is loose as well as the testicles
;

;

;

;

retromingent animals it is suspended from the abdomen
Neither fish nor any other animal
in a different manner.
with giUs, nor the whole class of serpents, have testicles
neither has any apodal animal which is not internally viviparous.
2. Birds have testicles, but they are internal and near
the loins, and so have oviparous quadrupeds, as the lizard,
tortoise, and crocodile, and among viviparous animals, thehedgehog. In some viviparous animals they are situated internally upon the abdomen, as the dolphin among apodal
In othercreatures, and the elephant among quadrupeds.
animals the testicles are external. It has been previously
observed, that the manner and position of their junction Aviththe abdomen is various, for in some they are joined on and do
not hang down, as in swine, in others they hang down as inman.
3. It has also been observed that neither fishes nor serpents
have testicles, but they have two passages hanging down oneach side of the spine from the diaphragm, and these unite
in one passage above the anus, by above, we mean nearer
the Spinal column. At the season of coition these passages
ftre full of semen, which exudes on pressure j the differences

THE HISTOET OF ANIMALS.

B. III.J

47

among these may be seen by dissection, and in another place
they will each be considered more particularly.
4. All oviparous animals, whether bipeds or quadrupeds,
have their testicles placed in the loins below the diaphragm,
some of a white colour, others ochreous, but in all surrounded with small veins from each of these a passage is
produced, which afterwards become united in one, and, asThis is the penis, which is inin fish, open near the anus.
conspicuous in small animals but in the larger, as the gooseand such like, it becomes more conspicuous immediately;;

after coition.
5. And these passages, both in fish and other animals,
are joined to the loins below the stomach and between theentrails and the great vein, from which passages proceed toeach of the kidneys and, as in fish, the semen may be seen
entering them at the period of coition, when these passages
become very conspicuous, but when this season is passed
the passages again become invisible. So also the testicles
of birds are either small or entirely invisible when not excited,
but when urged by desire they become very large this is so
remarkable in pigeons and partridges, that some persons
have supposed that they had no testicles during winter.
6. In some of those animals in which the testicles are placed
forwards, they are internal and upon the abdomen, as in thedolphin ; in others they are externally conspicuous upon theextremity of the abdomen.
These animals are similar inother respects, but differ in this, for in some the testicles
are uncovered, and others that have external testes they areplaced in a scrotum.
7. This is the nature of the testicles of all viviparous animals with feet from the aorta, passages like veins proceed
to the head of each testicle, and two others from the kidneys,these last are full of blood, but those from the aorta contain no blood.
From the head of each testicle to the testicle itself, there proceeds a thicker and more muscular passage, which is in each testicle reflected back to the head of
the testicle, and from this point they again unite upon thepenis towards the fore-part of it.
8. And both these passages which are reflected back uponthemselves, and those which are seated upon the testicles,
are covered with the same membrane as the testes them';;:THE niSTOET OF ANIMAIS.

48

selves, so that unless this[b. TIImembrane is taken away, they all

These last passages, which areseated upon the testicle, contain sanguineous fluid, but lessbut in the reflected
than those above from the aorta
passages of the duct which is upon the penis, the fluid ispassage also leads from the bladder, and is united
white.
to the upper part of this duct, which is enclosed in the part
The accompanying diagram
called the penis as in a husk.
will illustrate the position of these parts.
9. The origin of the passage from the trachea, a ; the headof the testes and the descending passages, hh ; the passages
which proceed from these, and are seated upon the testicle,
c c ; the reflexed passages which contain the white fluid,
dd; the penis, e ; the bladder,/; the testicles, g g. But
when the testicles are cut out or otherwise destroyed, theupper passages are retracted ; in young animals castrationis performed by bruising the testicles, in older animals by
And it has happened that a bull has begotten
excision.
young if admitted to the female immediately after castraThis is the nature of the testicles of animals.
tion.
10. The uterus of the females that possess this organ is notof the same nature, nor alike in all, but they difter fromeach other both in viviparous and oviparous animals. The
uterus is double in all those animals in which it is situatednear the external organ of generation, one part lying on theright side, the other on the left, but the origin is one, andthere is but one os uteri, which is like a very fleshy tube,
and in most animals, especially those of a large size, it is
cartilaginous.
One part of this organ is called the uterus
and delphys (whence the word adelphi, brothers), and thevagina and os uteri are called metra.
11. In all viviparous animals, whether bipeds or quadrupeds, the uterus is placed below the diaphragm, as in thehuman female, the bitch, sow, mare, and cow, and it is thesame in all homed animals. At the extremity of the uterus
most animals have a convoluted part called the horns these
are not distinct in all oviparous animals but in some birds
they are placed near the diaphragm, and in some fishes
below, as in the viviparous bipeds and quadrupeds. But
they are thin, membranaceous, and long, so that in very small
fish each part of the roe appears as one ovum, as if the fish
appear to be one passage.

;

A

;

;

;

^^^ histohy of animals.

B. iii.l49

which are said to have a crumbling roe had but two ova, for
it is not one ovum but many, and therefore it may be resolved
into many.
12. In the uterus of birds the vagina is below, fleshy andtough, but the part near the diaphragm membranaceous andrery thin, so that the eggs appear to be outside the uterus.
In large birds the membrane is more conspicuous, and if
inflated through the vagina, it swells and enlarges at placesin small birds these parts are not conspicuous.
The uterusof oviparous quadrupeds, as the tortoise, lizard, frog, andsuch like, is of the same nature, for the vagina below is one
and fleshy, but the division and the ova are higher up andnear the diaphragm.
13. In those apodal creatures which are outwardly viviparous and inwardly oviparous, as the sharks and selachea[The selachea are apodal, furnished with gills, and viviparous] the uterus is divided, and as in birds, it commences below and extends towards the diaphragm. The
ova are situated between the division, and above near thediaphragm and the animal is produced from the ovum after
this has descended into the open space.
14. The difference between the uteri of these fish andothers may be studied more accurately in drawings of disSerpents also differ much both among themselves
sections.
and from other animals, for all serpents except the viper areoviparous this one is viviparous, though at first internallyoviparous, wherefore, in many respects, its uterus resembles
that of the cartilaginous fishes.
The uterus of the serpent
is long, like the body, and descends downwards, beginningfrom one duct and continuing on either side of the spine as
far as the diaphragm, as if each were a passage, in which theova are placed in order these ova are not extruded singly,
but connected together like a chain.
15. In all animals that are either internally or externallyviviparous, the uterus is situated above the abdomen in all
oviparous creatures it is placed below, near the loins. Those

—

—

;

;

;

;

that are externally viviparous, but internally oviparous, partake of both characters, for the lower part in which the ova
are situated is near the loins, the other part whence the ova
are extruded above the intestines. And there is also thisdifference in the uteri of animals : those which have homB:THE HI8T0ET OF ANIMAL3.

50

[b

III.

and not teeth in both jaws have cotyledons in the pregnant
uterus, and some of those also with teeth in both jaws, as thehare, the mouse, and the bat. But other viviparous animals
with teeth in both jaws, and with feet, have a smooth uterus.
The embryo is not united to the cotyledon, but to thewomb. This is the manner of the internal and external
heterogeneous parts of animala.

Chapter II.

Of the homogeneous parts of animals, the blood is common to sanguineous animals and so is the part in which it1.

;which is called a vein analogous to these, in
exsanguineous animals are the serum and the fibre. That
which especially constitutes the body is flesh or its analogue
the bone and its analogue the spine and the cartilage.
Next to this we place the skin, membranes, sinews, hair,nails, and their analogue
after these, adeps, fat, and excrementitious matters tlien are faeces, phlegm, and bile, boththe yellow and the black.
2. But inasmuch as the blood and the veins seem tooccupy the chief place, we will first of all speak of these,
both for other reasons, and because former writers do notis contained,

;

:

;

;

;

appear to have described them rightly. The difficulty ofunderstanding them is the reason of their errors, for indead animals, the nature of the principal veins is obscure,for they collapse as soon as the blood has escaped, and it
pours out of them as from a vessel. No part of the body,
except the veins, contains any blood, except the heart, which
has a little but it is all in the veins. In living creatures
their nature cannot be distinguished, for they are internal,
and out of sight so that those who consider them only indead and dissected animals, cannot see their principal origins.
But some, by the examination of emaciated persons,have distinguished the origin of the veins, from the appearance of those which are external.
3. For Syennesis,* a Cyprian physician, speaks thus
" The larger veins are thus constituted. From the navel
around the loins, through the back to the lungs, under thebreasts ; that from the right to the left, and that from the;;

Sjennesis, a pliysician of Cyprus. Very little is known of liirn jb» must have lived in or before the fovirth ceutviry B.C.
'

THE HISTOET OF ANIMALS.

B. III.]

61

That from the left, through the iiver tothe kidney aud the testicle that from the right to the spleen,
the kidney, and the testicle, and from thence to the penis."" The veins are
4. Diogenes^ of Apollonia writes thus
thus placed in man. There are two very large ones, which
extend through tlie stomach by the spine of the back, one
to the right and the other to the left, each to the leg nearest
itself, and upwards to the head by the collar-bone, and throughthe neck. From these great veins others extend through thewhole of the body, from the right to the right side, and fromthe left to the left side.
The largest are two from the heart,surrounding the spine of the back ; and others, a little higher
up, through the breasts under the arm-pits, each to the handnearest itself; and the one is called the splenetic, the otherthe hepatic vein.
5. " The extremity of these veins is divided, one branchgoes to the thumb, and another to the wrist, and from thesemany small branches are extended upon each hand, and thefingers and others, smaller still, branch off from these firstveins, from the right side to the liver, from the left to thespleen and kidneys.
The veins, which go to the legs, aredivided near the junction, and extend through the whole
thigh ; but the largest of these extends to the back of thethigh, and appears thick another, less thick, passes throughthe inside of the thigh, and afterwards veins extend by theknee to the leg and foot. As on the hands, they are distributed upon the tarsus of the foot, and from thence to the toes.
6. "number of small veins are distributed on thestomach and the lungs. Those that extend to the head,through the jugular region, appear large in the neck. Promthe extremity of each of these many veins are distributed
upon the head, some on the right side to the left, others on
the left side to the right, they all end near the ear. And
there is a second vein upon the neck on each side, somewhat less than the other, to which the principal veins of
the neck are united.
These pass inwards, through theneck, and from each of them veins pass beneath theshoulder-blade and to the hands and near the splenetic andleft to the right.

;

:

;

;

A

;

Diogenes of Apollonia was an eminent natural philosopher of Crete,
He wrote a work, irtpc (pvatojQ, in which hein the fifth century B.C.
treated of natural philosophy in the widest sense of the words: a few fragDeots are still extant, of which this quoted by Aristotle is the longest.
'

THE HI8T0ET OF ANIMALS.

52[b. III.

hepatic veins there appear others a little less, which they
but the hepatic
divide when any disease attacks the skinand splenetic veins are divided for any disease in the neighbourhood of the stomach.
7. Other veins pass from these, beneath the breasts
and there are other small ones, which proceed from each othese through the spinal marrow to the testicles, and other;beneath the skin, through the flesh, reach the kidneys ii
men they terminate upon the testicles, in women on thf
Tlie first veins from the stomach are wider, anc
uterus.
afterwards become smaller, until they pass over from thi
right to the left, and from the left to the right these an
The thickest blood is beneatl
called the spermatic veins.
the flesh, but that which is in excess in these places becomes tliin, and warm, and frothy." These are the opinionsof Syennesis and Diogenes.
"There are four pair of veins, one
8. Polybus' writes thusfrom the back of the head through the neck, on the outside,
near the spine on either side, as far as the thighs and thelegs, afterwards through the legs to the ancles, on the outside, and to the feet.
Wherefore, in complaints of the backand thigh, they divide the veins upon the poplitic region, or
ancles, on the outside.
Another pair of veins pass from thehead, by the ears, through the neck, these are called thejugular veins and others within, near the spine, lead by theloins to the testicles and the thighs, and through the poplitic
region on the inside, and through the leg to the inner partof the ancle, and the feet ; wherefore, in complaints of theloins and testicles, they bleed in the poplitic region and ancles.
9. " The third pair of veins, from the temple through theneck, and beneath the scapula, reach the lungs ; those fromthe right to the left, under the breast, to the spleen andkidneys and those from the left to the right side, from thelungs, under the breast, and liver, and kidney ; and bothend beneath the testicles. The fourth pair from the forepartof the head and the eyes, under the neck and collar-bones
from thence they extend through the humerus to the elbow
and through the cubitus to the wrist and the fingers, anc
through the lower part of the arm to the arm-pits, and tht
;

;

;

:

;

;

Polybus, a pupil of Hippocrates, a native of the island of Cos ; hi
Many treatises on medical subjects ar
attributed to him.
*

lived in the fourth century B.C.

B, III.]THE HISTOET OF ANIMALS.

53

upper part of tlie lungs. The one reaches as far as tlie
spleen, the other to the liver afterwards they both passover the abdomen to the pudendum.";

Chaptee III.
1. The opinions of other persons are nearly these; andthere are other physiologists, but they have not treated so
But all agree in placing theiraccurately of the veins.
origin in the head and brain, in which they are incorrect.
But, as I have remarked before, it is di£B.cult to discern thecourse of the veins indeed, it is impossible to understandthem unless a person will examine animals which, after
The followemaciation, have been killed by strangulation.
ing is the nature of the veins : There are two veins in thethe larger of these isinterior of the chest, near the spine
placed forward, the smaller is behind the larger is inclined
to the right side, the smaller to the left and this by somepersons is called the aorta, from the sinewy portion which
is seen in dead animals.
2. These veins have their origin in the heart, for they
pass completely through the other intestines, and always
preserve the character of veins. The heart is, as it were, apart of them, and especially of the more forward and larger
one, for these veins are above and below, and the heart is in
the middle of them. The heart of all animals contains cavities, but in the heart of very small animals the largest cavity is
scarcely perceptible, in moderately sized animals the second
cavity is scarcely visible, but in large animals they are all
three distinct enough. And when the apex of the heart isturned forwards, as I have observed, the principal cavity ison the right side, and above it the least is on the left side,and the middle-sized one is between them ; the two smaller
are far less than the greater.
3. All these are perforated towards the lungs, but imperceptibly so from the minuteness of the passage, except
one place. The great vein is suspended from the upper
portion of the principal cavity, and on the right side ; afterwards through the cavity a vein extends again, as if thevein were a part of the cavity in which the blood stagnates.
The aorta has its origin from the middle cavity, but in a different manner from the vein, for it communicates with theheart by a much narrower past age, and the vein is continued
;

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m

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THE HISTORY OF ANIMALS,

64[b. ITI.

But the aorta passes from the heart, andthe great vein is membranous and like skin, but the aorta is
3aarrow and very sinewy, and as it is continued towards thehead and the lower parts of the body, it becomes narrow andquite sinewy.
portion of the great vein is first of all extended up4.
wards from the heart to the lung, and to the junction of
the aorta, this vein being undivided and large from thisplace it divides into two branches, the one towards the lung,and the other to the spine and the lowest vertebra of theneck. The branch w^hich goes to the liings is first divided
into two branches, and afterwards it is continued upon every
tube and passage of the lungs, greater to the greater, andless to the less, so as to leave no part in which there is nota passage and a small vein. These last are invisible from theirminute size, so that the whole lung seems to be full of blood.
5. And the passages from the vein are above the tubes which
extend from the trachea. And the vein which is continued
upon the vertebra of the neck, and upon the spinal column,
returns again to the spine, as Homer writes in his poems "He
cut off the whole vein which passes up the back and returns
again to the neck;'" and from thisvein branehesextend to each
rib and to each vertebra but that which is upon the vertebra
near the kidneys branches in two directions. These branches,
then, of the great vein are subdivided in this manner.
6. And above these, from that part which is continued fromthe heart, the whole is again divided into two directions, forsome reach to the sides and the clavicles, and afterwards
through the armpits to the arms, it. the human subject, but
in quadrupeds to the fore-legs, to the wings in birds, and to
the pectoral fins in fishes. The commencements of these veins,when they are first of all divided, are called jugular veinsand having branched off in the neck from the great vein, they
are continued to the trachea of the lungs.
And if theseveins are held on the outside, men fall down dead with insensibility, with closed eyes, but without choking.
7. Extending in this manner, and receiving the trachea
between them, they reach the place where the jaws unitewith the head and again from this point they are divided
into four veins, one of which bends backwards and descends
through the heart.

A

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^

Iliads xiii. 546.

B. III. ]THE HISTORY OF ANIMALS.

56

through the neck and shoulder, and meets the first divisionof the vein by the joint of the arm the other portion terminates in the hand and fingers and another branch extends from each part near the ear to the brain, where itis divided into many small branches upon the membrane
which surrounds the brain.
8. The brain never contains blood in any animal, nor does
any vein, small or great, terminate upon it but some ofthe other branches that extend from this vein surround thebrain in a circle, and others, end upon the organs of sense
and the teeth in very small veins. In the same manner,also, the branches of the smaller vein, which is called thethey are continued beside those of theaorta, are divided
great vein, but the tubes are smaller and the branches lessthan those of the great vein.
;

;

;

:

Chaptee IV.
1. The veins, then, are thus distributed in the parts above
the heart, but the part of the great vein which is below theheart passes through the middle of the diaphragm, and ia
united to the aorta and spinal column by membranous flaccid
passages.
Prom this a short and wide vein passes throughthe liver, from which many similar branches extend to theliver, and disappear upon it.
There are two branches of thevein, one of which terminates upon the diaphragm, and what
is called the praecordia, the other returns through the armpit to the right arm, and unites with the other veins near
the interior part of the elbow. Por this reason physicians
treat certain diseases of the liver by venesection in this vein.
2. Prom the left of this there is a short and wide vein,which reaches to the spleen, and the branches of this vein
are lost upon this organ, and another portion branching ofl'in the same way from the left the great vein passes up to
the left arm, except that the last-mentioned pass throughthe liver, but this one through the spleen.
Other branches
also separate from the great vein, the one to the omentum,
the other to the pancreas and from this many veins extend
through the mesenterium, and all end there in one greatvein, which passes through the whole intestine and thestomach, as far as the oesophagus and many veins branch
off from them around these parts.
;

;

66

THE HISTORY OF ANIMALS.

[b. III.

3. Both the aorta and the great vein continue as far as
the kidney each as a single duct from this point they are
more closely united to the spinal column, and are each divided into two parts, like the letter lambda (A), and theThegreat vein is placed farther back than the aorta.
aorta is more closely united to the spinal column, near theneart, and the junction is formed by small sinewy veins.
4. The aorta leaves the heart as a large hollow passage,
but as it advances it becomes narrower and more sinewy.
From the aorta, veins extend also to the mesenterium, likethose from the great vein, but far inferior in size, for they are
They terminate in small hoUownarrow and muscular.
muscular veins. No branch of the aorta extends to theliver and the spleen, but the branches of either vein extend
to each hip, and both touch upon the bone.
Branchesreach the kidney both from the great vein and the aorta;
they do not, however, enter the cavity, but are taken up in
the substance of the kidney.
5. Two other strong and continuous passages reach fromthe aorta to the bladder, and others from the cavity ofbut these do not communicate with thethe kidney
From the centre of each kidney a hollow
great vein.
sinewy vein passes through the other veins to the spinal
column; first of all they disappear upon each hip, andthen appear again in branches towards the hip their extremities are distributed upon the bladder and penis in
the male, and upon the uterus in the female no branchof the great vein passes to the uterus, but many and thickones reach it from the aorta.
6. From the aorta and great vein branches are distributed
to the nates at first they are large and hollow, afterwards
they pass through the legs, ending upon the feet and toes
and others again pass through the nates and thighs, alternately from right to left, and they join with other veins
below the knees.
7. The nature and origin of the veins are evident from thisdescription. In all sanguineous animals, the nature and originof the principal veins are the same, but the multitude of smallerveins is not alike in all, for neither are the parts of the same
nature^ nor do all possess the same parts. Kor are the veinsequally apparent in all animals but they are more manifest iu
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THE niSTOET OF AXIMALS.

B. III.]

57

those which have most blood, and in the largest creatures but
in those animals which are small, and have not much blood,
either by nature or from excess in fat, they are not so easily
investigated, for some of the passages are confused, likerivulets that are tost in beds of mud
and there are someanimals which have but few, and these fibres instead of veins.
The great vein is very conspicuous in all, even the smallest
animals.
;;

Chaptee V.
1.

The following is the nature of the sinews of animals.

The origin of these, also, isin the breast, for there is asinew in the principal cavity of the heart itself and thatwhich is called the aorta is a sinewy vein, for its terminations are always sinewy, for they are not hollow, and areextensible, like the sinews which end upon the bending of
the bones for it is not the nature of sinews to be continuous from one origin, like the veins, for the veins havethe whole form of the body as in outline sketches, so thatin emaciated subjects the whole mass appears full of veins,for the same place is occupied by veins in lean persons thatin fat ones is flesh.
2. The sinews are drawn round the joints and flexures ofthe bones but, if their nature were continuous, the conThetinuation would be evident in emaciated persons.
principal parts of the sinews are around the part of the
body appropriated to leaping, and this is called the poples.
Another double sinew is the tendon of the neck, and the epitonus and the sinew of the shoulder, which aid in the supportof the body. The sinews around the joints have not received any name, for all the bones where they are contiguous
are bound together by the sinews.
3. And there are many sinews round all the bones
there
are none in the headbut the sutures of the skull are
adapted to each other. It is the nature of sinew to tearreadily lengthwise, but across the fibre it is indivisible,
and it is very extensible.
The sinews are surrounded bya mucous, white, and gelatinous fluid, by which they are
nourished, and from which they seem to derive their origin.
The vein does not alter its form by combustion, but the
einew is entirely destroyed. Neither does it unite after
;

:

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;

;

division.

;

THE HISTOUT OF ANIMALS.

68[b. III.

Numbness does not take place in those parts of the

4.

body which contain no sinews. The sinews are most abundant on the hands and feet, and on the ribs and shoulderblades, and round the neck and arms.
All sanguineous
animals have sinews but in those which have not jointed
limbs, and are without feet and hands, the sinews are small
and inconspicuous, so that in fishes they are most distinct;

near the fins.

Chapter VI.

The fibres are between the sinews and the veinsbutsome of them are moistened with serum, and they extend
from the sinews to the veins, and from the veins to thesinews. There is also another kind of fibre, which is produced in the blood of most, but not of all animals. "When1.

;from the blood, it does not coagulate, but
not taken out of tine blood it coagulates. These
fibres are present in the blood of most animals, but not inthat of the stag, prox,' and bubalis,* and some others sothat their blood does not coagulate like that of otheranimals the blood of stags is very like that of haresfor in both of these coagulation takes place not firm, as
in other animals, but trembling, like that of milk, if no coagulating substance is put into it.
The blood of the
bubalis coagulates more thickly, only a little less so thanthat of sheep. This is the nature of veins, sinews, andthis is extracted
if it is;:;fibres.

Chapteb VII.
The bones of animals depend upon one bone, and are1.

connected with each other, like the veins and there is nosuch thing as a separate bone.
In all animals with bones
the spinal column is their origin. The spinal column is
made up of vertebrae, and extends from the head to the hips.
the upper part of the
All the vertebrae are perforated
head is a bone joined to the last vertebra, and is called the;;skull, the saw-like part is the suture.
2.

This

is

not alike inall animals, for the cranium

ofBome consists of a single bone, as in the dog in others it
The female has
is compound, as in the human subject.
;*

Cerris Capreolus, or C. dama.

*

Aniilope guou.

;B. III.J

THE HISTOBT OF ANIMALS.

59

one suture, in a circle the male has three, meeting at the
top of the head, like a triangle and human skulls have been
seen without sutures. The head is not composed of fourbones, but of six two of these are placed above the ears,
and are small compared with the rest.
3. From the head the jaw-bones descend.
All other animals move the lower jaw, the river-crocodile alone moves
the upper jaw. In the jaws are the order of the teeth, which
are bony, in some parts they are perforated, in others they
are not.
These are the only bones too hard to be engraved.
4. From the spinal-column, which is the point of union, originate the clavicles and ribs the breast also is placed upon
the ribs, and some of these are united, others are not, forno animal has a bone round the stomach. There are also
the scapulae upon the shoulders, and these are continued upon the arms, and those again to the hands andin all animals with fore legs the nature of the bone is
the same.
5. At the extremity of the lower part of the spinal column, and next to the hip, is the socket, and the bonesof the lower extremity, with those of the thigh and leg,
which are called the colenes.
The ancles form a portionof these, and the part called the spur in all creatures with
ancles.
Continuous with these are the bones of the feet.
Viviparous animals with blood and feet do not diiFer muchin their bones, but rather by analogy, in hardness, softness,and size. Again, some of the bones contain marrow, whilst
others, in the same animal, have none.
6. Some animals do not appear to have any marrow at allin their bones, as the lion, whose bones are very small andBlightor there may be marrow in a few of its bones, as inthose of the thigh and fore leg otherwise, in the lion, thebones are particularly solid, for they are sufficiently hard toemit fire like stones on concussion. The dolphin also has
bones, but it has no spine, like fish.
Some sanguineous animals differ partially from these, as the class of birds. In others,
as fish, the bones are only analogous, for viviparous fish havea cartilaginous spine, like those which are called selachea
the oviparous fish have a spine, which is like the backboneof quadrupeds.
7. It is a peculiarity in fish that some species have smaii
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80

THE HISTOET OF AlflMALS.

[b.

HI.

spines in the flesh separated from each other.
Serpents aro
like fish, tor their back-bone is spinous
among oviparous
quadrupeds the greater animals have a bony vertebral
column ; the lesser have a spinous one.
8. For all sanguineous animals have either a bony, or aspinous column. The remainder of the bones exist in. someanimals, but not in others, for if they have the limbs, they
have the bones belonging to them for those that have nothind and fore legs have not hams, nor are they present
in those animals which possess limbs unlike those of quadrupeds, for in these they vary in size and proportion. Thisis the nature of the bones of animals.
;;

Chaptee VIII.
1. Cahtilage is of the same nature as bone, but it differs
in the greater and less, and neither bone nor cartilage are
In sanguineous and vivireproduced if they are cut off.
parous animals living on the land the cartilage is imperforate, and does not contain marrow, like the bones but theflat selachea, which have a cartilaginous spine, have a cartiVivilage analogous to bone containing a liquid marrow.
parous animals, with feet, have cartilage about their ears,
nostrils, and extremities of their bones.
;

Chaptee IX.
1.

Theee is another class of parts, which, though not thesame as these, are not very different, as nails, hoofs, claws,
and horns, and besides these, the beak of birds which alone
For these are both flexible and fissile.
possess this part.
But bone is neither flexible nor fissile, but brittle andthe colour of horns, nails, claws, and hoofs follow thecolour of the skin and the hair for in black animals thehorns are black, and so are the claws and hoofs in those;;with claws;

in white animals they are white.

There arealso intermediate colours, the nails also are of thesamenature.

wherefore, in black men,
2. But the teeth are like bones
Ethiopians, and such like, the teeth and the bones arewhite, but the nails are black, Kke the rest of the skin.
;

J

THE IIISTOET OF AKIMALS.

B, in.

61

The horns of most animals are hollow at their base, andsurround a bony process on their heads but at the extremity the horn is solid and single. The stag's horns are;

solid throughout, and divided and these animals alone casttheir horns ; this is done annually, if they are not cut
off.
Concerning those that axe cut off, we shall speak here;

after.
3. The horns are more nearly allied to skin than to bone,so that in Phrygia and elsewhere there are oxen whichhave the power of moving their horns, as they do theirears ; and of those which have nails (and all that havetoes have nails, and those that have feet have toes, except
the elephant, which has its toes undivided, and scarcely
and of those with nails,
distinguished, and no nails at all)some have straight nails, like men, others crooked, as thelion among beasts, and the eagle amongst birds.

—

Chapteb X.
t.

This is the nature of hair and its analogues andskin.

All viviparous animals, with feet, have hair; oviparous
animals, with feet, have scaly plates and those fish alone
which produce jfriable ova are covered with scales for theconger and murgena among long fish have not such ova, andthe eel produces no ova. The hair differs in thickness, thinness, and size, according to its situation, both in the parts ofthe body which it occupies, and the nature of the skin, forupon thick skins the hair is generally harsh and thick,the hair is both thicker and longer in the hollow andmoist parts of the body, if they are such as to be covered;;

with hair.
2. And the case is similar in those animals which arecovered with plates or scales. If animals covered with soft
hair are placed in good pastures their hair will becomecoarser and, on the contrary, it becomes finer and less inthose that have coarse hair. Warm and cold situations also
make a difference, for the hair of natives of warm climatesis harsh, but it is soft in those of colder climates.
Straight;

hair is soft, crisped hair is harsh.
3. It is the nature of hair to split
and different kindsof hair are dissimilar in excess and deficiency some are sochanged by harshness as to bear slight resemblance to hair,:;THE HISTOHY OF ATTIMALS.

82[b. III.

and are more like spines, as in the hedgehog, wherein they
resemble nails.
So again the nails in some animals are notdifferent from bones in point of hardness.
4.

Man has the thinnest skin in proportion to his size.

There is a mucous, glutinous fluid in the skin of all animals,less in some, more in others, as in the skins of oxen, fromwhich glue is made and sometimes glue is made from fishes.
;"When the skin alone is cut it is insensible, especiallythat upon the head, from the absence of flesh between thatand the bone. Wherever the skin is without flesh it does
not unite again after being cut, as the thin part of the
In all animals the skincheek, the prepuce, and the eyelid.
is continuous, and it is only wanting in places where there
are natural passages for exudation, and at the mouthand nails.
All sanguineous animals have a skin: all,however, have not hair, but those which are describedabove.
5.

The colour of the hair changes in men as they growold, and the hair

becomes grey. This takes place in otheranimals, but not so remarkably as in the horse.
The hair
begins to grow white from the extremity.
Most white
animals are white from their birth, wherefore it is plainthat whiteness does not arise from dryness, as some persons
suppose, for no animal is born dry. In the exanthematous
disease, called whiteness, all the hair becomes hoaryandsome patients, who have suffered from illness, after the hair
has fallen off on recovery, have regained their dark-coloured
;

hair.

Hair whichiscovered up

becomes whitemorereadily than that which is exposed to the air in man thetemples are the first to grow grey, and the fore part of
the head before the hind part, and last of all the hair on;

the pubes.
6. Some of the hair exists on the body at the periodof birth, and some appears afterwards. In man alone thehair on the head, eyelashes, and eyebrows exist at birth.
The hair on the pubes, in the armpits, and on the chin appear successively after birth, so that the parts on which
the hair appears at birth, and those on which it grows afterwards are the same in number. In old age the hair on thehead especially is the first to fail, and falls off. This is
only in front, for no one ever becomes bald on the back;J. III.]THE niSTOET OF ANIMALS.

63

of the head. The smoothness on the crown of the headcalled baldness, that upon the eyebrows depilation
neither of these takes place before the commencement ofpuberty.
If
7. Children, women, and eunuchs never become bald.
a person be castrated before puberty, the hair which grows
if after puberty
after birth never makes its appearance
Womenthese alone fall oft", except the hair on the pubes.
have no hair upon the chin, excepting a few of those inwhom the catamenia have ceased, and the priestesses in
Caria and this appears ominous of future events. Women
There are somealso have other hair, but not much.
persons, both male and female, who from their birth arewithout the hair which grows after birth but those persons are barren who have not hair on the pubes.
8. The rest of the hair grows proportionally, either moreor less. That upon the head grows the most, then that on
the chin, and thin hair most of all. The eyebrows grow sothick upon some aged persons as to be cut off", for they areplaced upon the symphysis of the bone and this being
separated in old persons, a more abundant moisture exudes.
Those on the eyelids do not grow, but they fall off,
when persons come to puberty, and especially in those oft*
warm sexual desires they become grey very slowly. If thehair is plucked out during the period of growth, it comesagain, but not after it has done growing.
9. Every hair has at its root a glutinous moisture, which
will adhere to anything with which it comes in contact,
soon after it is drawn out. In spotted animals the spots
exist both in the hair and upon the skin, and upon the skinof the tongue. As for the beard, some persons have a thickone, both beneath the chin and upon it in others, theseparts are smooth, and the beard is on the cheeks-.
Those
who have smooth chins are least likely to become bald. The
hair grows in some diseases, as in phthisis especially,
and in old age, and upon dead bodies, and the hair becomes
harder instead of softer. The same is the case with thenails.
In persons of strong passions, the hair that is bornwith them decreases, while that which comes after birth inis

;

:

;

;

;

;

creases.

10.

Those who suffer from enlarged veins are less likely

64

THE HISTOEY OF ANIMALS.

[b. 111.

to become bald ; and if they have this disease after they arebald, the hair sometimes grows again.
The hair, when

does not grow again from the extremity, but inby growth from the root.
The scales of fishes
become harder and thicker, and in those that are growing
thin and old they become still harder.
The hair and woolof old animals becomes thicker, though the quantity decreases
and the hoofs and claws enlarge as they grow old,
and the beaks of birds.
And the claws grow in the same
cut

off,

creases;

way as the nails.
11. Feathered animals, like birds, do not change theircolour by age, excepting the crane, for this bird is ashcoloured, and becomes black by age.
But from the changeof season, when it becomes cold, some of those having but
one colour, black or grey, become white, as the crow,sparrow, and swallow but none of those which are white
become black. At different seasons of the year many birds
change the colour of their plumage, so as to render it difficult
for those who are not acquainted with them to recognise;them.
12 And many animals change their colour with a changeof water for in one place they are black, and in anotherwhite and the same thing takes place at the season of coThere are many waters of such a nature that if
ition.
sheep drink of them before sexual intercourse, they produce
black lambs as at that which is called the cold river in theThracian Chalcis (ia Astyritis). And in Antandria there
are two rivers, one of which turns the sheep white, theother black and the Scamander appears to make the sheep
yeUow, wherefore some people think that Homer called
the Scamander the Xanthus.
33. Other animals have no hair internally, nor upon the
;

;

;

;

bottom of their feet, though it is on the upper part. The
hare alone has hair on the inside of its cheeks, and uponits feet, and the mysticetus^ has no teeth in its mouth,
but hairs, like hog's bristles. The hair, if it is cut off,
Feathers do not growincreases below, but not above.
Tlie wing of the bee,either above or below, but fall out.
if it is plucked off, does not grow again, nor that of any
oilier creature which has an undivided wing
nor does the;'

Balffina Mysticetus.

THE HISTORY OF ANIMALS.

B. III.]

65

sting of the bee grow after it is plucked out, but the animai
dies.

Chapteb XI.
1. Theee are membranes in all sanguineous animals. Membrane is like a dense thin skin, but it differs in kind, for itis neither divisible nor extensible.
There is a membraneround every bone and every intestine, both in the greaterand smaller animals they are inconspicuous in small ani;mals, owing to their thinness and small size. The principal
membranes are two, which surround the brain, one roundthe bones of the head, and this is stronger and thicker thanthat round the brain itself; and after these, the membrane
which surrounds the heart.
thin membrane does notunite after it has been cut asunder, and the bones, when deprived of their membranes, become inflamed.

A

2. The omentum is a membrane.
All sanguineous animals have an omentum in some it is fat, in others it contains no fat.
In viviparous animals, with cuttmg teeth inboth jaws, it has its origin and is suspended from the middleof the stomach, where it appears like a suture of this organ.
In those that have not teeth in both jaws, it is suspended
in the same way from the principal stomach.
3, The bladder also is membranous, but its character isdifferent, for it is extensible.
All animals have not a
bladder, but all viviparous animals have this organ, and the;When the bladder is
not re-unite, except at the very origin of theurethra, or only very rarely, for it has happened sometimes.
No moisture passes into the bladder of dead animals but
in living creatures there are dry compounds, from which areformed the stones that are found in persons labouring under
this disease
sometimes they are of such a nature in the
bladder as to differ in nothing from shells. This, then, isthe nature of veins, sinews, and skins, and of muscle andtortoise alone of oviparous animals.

cut

it does;;membrane and of hair, nails, claws, hoofs, horns, teeth and;beaks, and of cartilage, bone, and their analogues.

Chapteb XII.
In all sanguineous animals, flesh, and that which is likeflesh, is between the skin and the bone, or what is analogous

1.

7t

; ;

6G

THE HISTORY OF ANIMALS.

I'D-

HI.

to bone : for the same relation which a spine bears to a bone,is also borne by flesh to that which is like flesh, in animals
The flesh can be divided inpossessing bones and spines.
every direction, and so is unlike sinews and veins, which
can only be divided in their length. The flesh disappears
in emaciated animals, giving place to veins and fibres. Those
animals which can obtain abundance of good food have fat

instead of flesh.
2. Those that have much flesh have smaller veins andredder blood, and their intestines and stomachs are small
but those which have large veins and dark blood, and large
intestines and great stomachs, have also less flesh, for thosethat have fat flesh have small intestines.

Chaptee XIII.
1.

Adeps and fat difier from each other, for fat is always

brittle, and coagulates upon cooling, but adeps is liquid, anddoes not coagulate and broths made from animals withadeps do not thicken, as from the horse and hog, but thatmade from animals with fat thickens, as from the sheep and
These substances also differ in situation, for thegoat.
adeps is between the skin and the flesh but the fat only
In adipose animals
exists upon the extremity of the flesh.
the omentum is adipose, in fat animals it is fatty for the
animals with cutting teeth in both jaws are adipose, thosethat have not cutting teeth in both jaws are fat.
2. Of the viscera in some animals the liver is full ofadeps, as in the cartilaginous fishes, for oil is procured fromthese during the process of decomposition, the cartilaginous fish are particularly free from adeps on their flesh,
but the adeps is separated on the stomach. The fat also
and someof fishes is adipose, and does not coagulate
animals are furnished with adeps on the flesh, and others
and those creatures in which theapart from the flesh
adeps is not separated from the flesh have less of thissubstance on the stomach and omentum, as the eel for
In mostthese creatures have little fat on the omentum.
animals the adeps collects principally upon the abdomen,
especially in those which take little exercise.
3. The brain of adipose animals is unctuous, as in swine
Of all the viscera the kidneys
that of fatty animals is dry.
;

;

:

;

;

:

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THE HISTOET OF ANIMALS.

B. III.]67

are surrounded by the greatest quantity of adeps in all animals ; that on the right side is always the least adipose
and let there be ever so much adeps, there is always a space
They are also the most fatty ofleft between the kidneys.
the viscera, and especially in sheep, for this animal sometimes dies from the entire concealment of its kidneys in fat.
This excessive fat around the kidneys arises from goodwherefore
pasture, as in the Leontine territory of Sicily
also in the evening they drive away the sheep which havebeen feeding during the day, in order that they may takeless food.
4. The fat around the pupil of the eye is common to all
animals for all have fat in this part, that possess it, and are
not hard-eyed.
Tat animals, both male and female, aremore inclined to be barren, and all old animals become fat
more readily than young ones, especially when they increasein depth, having obtained their proper width and length.
;;

Chaptee XIV.
The following is the nature of the blood. This is mostessential and common to all sanguineous animals, and is not
1.

superadded, but exists in all animals that are not in a perishing condition. All the blood is in a vessel called the veins,but in no other part of the body, except the heart. The
blood of all animals has no sense of touch, nor has the excrementitious matter in the stomach neither have the brain, nor
the marrow, any sensation of touch but wherever the flesh
is divided, the blood flows in the living subject, unless theflesh is perishing.
It is the nature of the blood to have asweet juice, as long as it is healthy and a red colour, andthat is bad which either by nature or disease is black. The
best kind of blood is neither very thick nor thin, unless it
is vitiated either by nature or disease.
2. In living animals it is always warm and moist, butwhen taken out of the animal the blood of all creatures coagulates, except that of the stag and deer, and perhaps someothers of the same nature.
The blood of all other creatures
coagulates, unless the fibre is taken out of it.
Bullock's
blood coagulates faster than that of any other animals.
Amongst sanguineous animals, those which are both interDally and externally viviparous, have the most blood, and
r 2
;

;

THE HISTORY OF ANIMALS.

68

B. ni.]

after them the oviparous sanguineous animals those which
are well disposed, either by nature or by health, have not a
great deal of blood, as in those that have just drank nor
a very little, as in those which are very fat. Fat animals
have pure blood, though the quantity is small ; as they become more fat they lose a portion of their blood, for fat is
free from blood.
Eat is not corruptible, but blood and theparts that contain blood are very corruptible of these theparts surrounding the bones are most corruptible.
3. Man has the thinnest and purest blood, that of the ox
and ass is the thickest and blackest of all viviparous animals. The blood is thicker and blacker in the lower than in
the upper part of animals. The blood palpitates in the veinsalike in all animals this alone of all the fluids exists in every
part of the body of living subjects, and as long only as they
are alive.
The blood first of all exists in the heart of all
animals before it is distributed through the body. When deprived of their blood, or if the greater part escapes, they faintaway but when a very great deal is lost, they die. Whenthe blood becomes very much liquefied, illness ensues, for it
becomes like serum, and flows through in such a manner,that some have perspired blood ; and when taken out of thebody, it does not coagulate into a mass, but into separate
and divided portions.
4. In sleeping animals, the blood in the extremities
is diminished, so that it does not flow freely when they
are pricked.
Blood is formed from serum, and fat fromblood.
When the blood becomes diseased, haemorrhoids
are produced, either in the nose or anus, and a disease
called ixia.'
When the blood becomes corrupted in the
The blood
body, pus is formed, and from pus a scab.
in females diflfers from that of males, for it is more thickand black in females of similar health and age.
In thewhole of the body the quantity of blood is less in females,
but internally they are more full of blood. Of all females,
women have the most blood, and the catamenia are more
abxmdant in them than in other females.
.5.
When this blood is diseased, it is called a flooding.
Women have a less share in other diseases ; but a few are
;

;

;

;

;

afiiicted

with

ixia,

and with haemorrhoids and bleeding'

Varicose veins.

THE IIISTOKY OF ANIMALS.

B. III.]

69

from the nose when any of these take place, the catamenia;

The blood differs in proportion to the age in quantity and appearance, for when very young, it is more like
serum, and very abundant in the aged it is thick, black,and in less quantity in those in the prime of life it is between these. In aged persons the blood coagulates quickly
in the body, or on the surface but in young persons thisdoes not take place. Serum is imperfect blood, because it
has not ripened, or because it has become more fluid.
decrease.

;;;

Chapter XV.
1.

CoNCEBNiNG marrow, for this is one of the fluids which

All the natural fluids of the body
exist in some animals.
are contained in vessels, as the blood in the veins, and themarrow in the bones, and others in membranes, skin, andcavities.
The marrow is always full of blood in young animals but when they grow older, in the adipose it becomes
adipose, in fat animals fatty.
There is not marrow in all
the bones, but only in those that are hollo vy, and not evenin some of these, for some of the bones of the lion have nomarrow, others but little ; wherefore some persons say thelion has no marrow at all, as was before observed.
In thebones of swine there is very little marrow, in some none at;all.

Chaptee XVI.
1.

These fluids are nearly always co-existent with animal

but milk and the spermatic fluid are produced afterOf these the milk is always secreted in those animals in which it is present. The spermatic fluid is notsecreted in all, but in some as in fishes are what are called
All animals having milk have it in the mammas.
melts.
All animals that are both internally and externally viviparous have mammae, that is, all that have hair, as man, andlife ;

wards.

the horse, the cetacea, as the dolphin, seal, and whale, forthese also have mammae and milk.
2. Those animals that are only externally viviparous, andoviparous animals, have neither mammae nor milk, as fish,
and birds. All milk has a watery serum, which is called
whey, and a substantial part called curds the thicker kindsof milk have the most curds. The milk of animals without;

THE HISTORY OF ANIMALS.

70

III.

[.B,

cutting teeth in both jaws, coagulates, wherefore cheese ia
made from the milk of domestic animals. The milk of thosewith cutting teeth in both jaws does not coagulate, but resembles their adeps, and is thin and sweet ; the milk of thecamel is the thinnest of all, next is that of the horse in
the third place that of the ass. Cow's milk is thicker.
3. Under the influence of cold, milk does not coaguby heat it is coagulated, and belate, but becomes fluid
There is no milk in any animal before itcomes thick.
has conceived, or but rarely but, as soon as it has conceived the milk is produced the first and last milk are
Sometimes milk has come in animals not withuseless.
young, from partaking of particular kinds of food ; and evenin aged females it has been produced so freely when sucked,
And the shepherds
as to afford nourishment for an infant.
round ^Eta, when the shegoats will not endure the approachof the males, cut their udders violently against a thorn, so
as to cause pain ; at first, when milked, they produce
bloody, and afterwards putrid milk, but at last their milk
is as good as that of those which have young ones.
4. The males, both of man and other animals, rarely produce milk nevertheless, it is found in some cases for in
Lemnos, a he-goat has given from the two nipples, which
are always found on the penis, so much milk, that cakes of
The same thing happened tocheese were made from it.
;

;

;

;

;

:

another he-goat, which was produced from this one but
such things as these are considered ominous for, on inquiry
being made of the god of Lemnos, he replied that there
small quantity ofshould be an additional supply of cattle.
milk has been forced from some men after puberty; fromothers a great quantity has been produced by suction.
5. There is a fatness in milk which becomes oily when;:A

In Sicily, and other countries, when there iaan abundant supply of goat's milk, they mix ewe's milkwith it, and it coagulates readily, not only because it contains abundance of curd, but also because it is of a drier
Some animals have more milk than enough for tho
nature.
support of their offspring, and this is useful for making
The best is that of the sheep
cheese, and for putting aside.
and goats, and next, that of the cow. Mare's milk and ass'a
milk are combined with the Phrj'gian cheese.
There is
it is cooked.

;THE illSXOllX or ANIMALS.

B. III.]

71

more cheese in the milk of the cow than of the goat forthe shepherds say, from an amphora of goat's milk they canmake nineteen cakes of cheese, each worth an obolus, andthirty from cow's milk.
Other creatures have only enoughfor their young, and no superabundance useful for making
cheese, as all those animals which have more than two mammae, for none of these have a superabundance of milk, norwill their milk make cheese.
6. Milk is coagulated by the juice of figs, and by rennet
the juice is placed upon wool, and the wool is washed in alittle milk
this coagulates upon mixture.
The rennet is akind of milk, which is found in the body of sucking animals.
This rennet is milk, containing cheese, for the milk becomes cooked by the heat of the body. All ruminating animals contain rennet, and the hare among those with cutting
teeth in both jaws.
The older coagulum is the better,for such rennet is useful in diarrhoea, and so is that of the
hare.
The rennet of the fawn is the best.
7. The greater or less quantity of milk drawn fromthose animals which have milk, difiers in the size of thebody, and the variety of the food. In Phasis there are verysmall cows, each of which gives a great deal of milk andthe large cows of Epirus give an amphora and halfof milk from each of their two mammee and the person
who milks them stands up, or only leans a little, because
he cannot reach them sitting down. The other animals of
Epirus are large except the ass, but the largest are thecows and the dogs. These large cattle require more pasture but the country has a great deal so excellent, thatthey can be changed to fit places every hour. The oxen
axe the largest, and the sheep, called Pyrrhic they havereceived this name from king Pyrrhus.
8. Some kinds of food check the milk, as the medic grass,
The cytisus and oroespecially in ruminating animals.
bus have a very difierent efiect; but the flower of thecytisus is unwholesome, and causes inflammation the orobus
does not agree with pregnant cattle, for it causes difficulty
On the whole, those animals which areof parturition.
able to eat the most food, as they are better adapted forparturition, will also give the most milk, if they have enoughSome of the flatulent kinds of food, when given to
food.
:

;

;

;

;

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;

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THE HISTORY OF ANIMALS.

73[b. III.

animals, increase the quantity of milk, as beans given freely
to the sheep, goat, ox, and chimoera,' for they cause the udder
to be distended ; and it is a sign that there will be plentyof milk when the udder is seen below before parturition.
9. The milk lasts a long time in those that have it, if
they remain without sexual intercourse, and have proper
food and in sheep it lasts longer than in any other animals,
Altogether
for the sheep may be milked for eight months.
the ruminating animals produce milk in greater abundance,and more fitted for making cheese. Around Torona thecows fail in their milk a few days before calving, but give
In women dark-coloured
milk all the rest of the time.
milk is better for the children than that which is whiteand black women are better nurses than white women. The
most nutritious milk is that which contains the most cheese,
but that which contains less cheese is better for infants.
;

Chapteji XVII.
1.

All sanguineous animals eject the spermatic fluid

office it performs ingeneration, andwill be treated of in another place.

;the

how it is performed,
In proportion to his

size man ejects more than other animals.

This fluid, in ani-mals covered with hair, is glutinous, in others it is not glutinous in all it is white, so that Herodotus is mistaken
when he says that the Ethiopians have black semen.* Thesemen comes out white and thick if it is healthy, but afterejection it becomes thin and black it does not thicken withcold, but becomes thin and watery, both in colour and density.
By heat it coagulates and thickens, and when it has
been ejected for any time into the uterus, it comes out more
thick, and sometimes dry and twisted together. That whichis fruitful sinks in water, but the barren mixes with it. All
that Ctesias said about the semen of the elephant is false.
;

;

'

2

Some kind of domestic goat, but not known.
Herodotus, iii. o. 97, 101.

TUE HISTOKT OF ANIMALS.

B. IV.]

73

BOOK THE FOURTH.
Chapteb I.

Wehave hitherto treated of sanguineous animals, the1.
parts possessed by all as well as those which are peculiar toeach class, and of their heterogeneous and homogeneous,their external and internal parts.
are now about totreat of ex-sanguineous animals.
There are many classesof these, first of all the mollusca.' These are ex-sanguineous
animals, which have their fleshy parts external, and their
hard parts internal, like sanguineous animals, as the wholetribe of cuttle-fish.
Next the malacostraca, these areanimals which have their hard parts external, and their interior parts soft and fleshy; their hard parts are rather liable
to contusion than brittle, as the class of carabi and cancri.
2. Another class is that of the testacea.
These are animals which have their internal parts fleshy, and their external parts hard, brittle, and fragile, but not liable to
Snails and oysters are instances of this class.
contusion.
3. The fourth class is that of insects, which includes many
Insects are animals which, as their namedissimilar forms.
signifies, are insected either in their lower or upper part, or inboth they have neither distinct flesh nor bone, but something
between both, for their body is equally hard internally and
There are apterous insects, as the julus andexternally.
scolopendra and winged, as the bee, cockchafer, and wasp ;and in some kinds there are both winged and apterous insects ; ants, for example, are both winged and apterous,and so is the glowwor'n.
4. These are the parts of animals of the class mollusca (malacia) ; first the feet, as they are called, next to these thehead, continuous with them ; the third part is the abdomen,
which contains the viscera. Some persons, speaking incorrectly, call this the head. The Abs are placed in a circle
round this abdomen. It happens in many of the malacia
that the head is placed betv.'een the feet and the abdomen.

We

;

;

'

The Cephalopoda.

;

THE HISTOET OF AXIMALS-

74[b. IV.

5. All the polypi, except one kind, have eight feet, witha double row of suckers. The sepia,' teuthis,* and teuthos''possess as a characteristic part two long proboscidiform members, which have rough suckers at their extremities, withwhich they seize their food and bring it to their mouth andwhen a storm arises they weather it out, fastening thesemembers upon a rock, like an anchor. They swim by meansof the fin-like members which are attached to the abdomen.
There are suckers upon all their feet.
6. The polypus* uses its tentacula both as feet and hands,
for it brings its food to its mouth with the two that are above
the mouth, and it uses the last of its tentacula, which isthe sharpest of all, in the act of coition this is the only
one which is at all white, and it is divided at the extremity, it is placed upon the back and the smooth part, infront of which are the acetabula, is called the back.
Infront of the abdomen, and above the tentacula, they have ahollow tube, by which they eject the sea-water which they
have received into the abdomen, if any enters through themouth. This part varies in position, and is sometimes on theright side, sometimes on the left, and by this its ink is;;;ejected.
7. It swims sideways upon the part called the head,stretching out its feet ; as it swims it is able to see forwards,
for the eyes are upwards, and the mouth is placed behind.
As long as it is alive the head is hard, as if it were inflated
it touches and holds with its tentacula bent downwards,
a membrane is extended throughout, between the feet, if it
falls into the sand, it can no longer hold by it.
8. The polypus and the above-mentioned malacia diflferfrom each other the abdomen of the polypus is small, andthe feet are large ; but of the others, the abdomen is large,
and the feet small, so that they cannot walk upon them.
They have also diiferences among each other; the teuthis is the smallest, the sepia wider the teuthos is muchlarger than the teuthis, for it reaches the length of five cubits!
Some sepiae are two cubits long, and the tentacula of thepolypus are as long, and even larger in size.
9. The class of the teuthos is rare, and differs in form &om
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*

^

Sepia officinalis.
Loligo media (Owen).

**

Loligo vulgaris (Owen).
Sepia octopodia.

;;THE HISTOEY OF ANIMALS.

B. IT.]

75

the teutliis, for the extremity of the teuthos is wider and,again, the fin is placed ronnd the whole abdomen, but it ia
wanting in the teuthis. It ia a marine animal, as well as
the teuthis. After the feet, the head of all these animals ia
placed in the middle of the feet, which are called tentacula
one part of this is the mouth, in which are two teeth above
these are two large eyes between these is a small cartilage^
containing a small brain.
10. In the mouth is a small piece of flesh, for these animals
have no tongue, but use this instead of a tongue. After
this, on the outside, the abdomen is apparent.
The flesh ofthis can be divided, not in a straight line, but in a circle.
All the malacia have a skin around this part. After themouth, they have a long and narrow oesophagus and continuous with this is a large round crop, like that of a bird
this contains the stomach, like a net.
Its form is spiral,from this a thin intestine turns
like the helix of a whelk
back, to the vicinity of the mouth. The intestine is thicker
than the stomach.
11. The malacia have no viscus, except that which ia
The most
called the mytis,' and the ink which is upon it.
abundant and largest of all is that of the sepia all exclude this ink, when alarmed, but especially the sepia the
mytis lies beneath the mouth and through this the oesophagus passes and where the intestine turns back the ink
18 beneath, and the same membrane surrounds both the ink
and the intestine. The same orifice serves for the emissionof the ink and the foeces.
12. There are some appearances of hair in their bodies
the sepia, teuthis, and teuthos, have a hard part upon theforward part of the bodythe one is called sepium (thebone of the cuttle-fish), the other xiphus (the pen of theloligo).
These two are different for that of the sepia isstrong and wide, partaking of the nature of spine and bone,
and it contains a spongy, friable substance but the pen of theteuthis is thin, and cartilaginous.
In their form also theycorrespond with the diflferences of the animals themselves.
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• Kohler supposes the part called by Aristotle mytis to have been
the glandular appendages on the vena cava and two visceral veios.
{Owen in Todd's Cyclopedia of Anatomy^ Art. Cephalopoda.)* Probably the branchia.

——THE niSTOUY OF ANIMALS.

76[b. IV.

The polypus Las no hard internal part, but a portion of cartilage round the head, which becomes hard aa they grow old.
13. Tiie females also differ from the males, for the latter
have a passage beneath the oesophagus, extending fromThat part tothe brain to the lowest part of the body.
which it reaches is like a teat. In the female there are twosuch organs, which are placed above. In both sexes, some
The polypus has
small red bodies are placed under these.
one capsule of eggs, which is uneven on the surface it ia
large internally it is all of a white colour, and smooth.
The multitude of the ova is so great as to fill a vessel larger
than the head of the ])olypu8.
14. The sepia has two capsules, and many eggs are inthem, like white hailstones. The position of each of theseIn all theseparts may be seen in anatomical diagrams.
creatures the male differs from the female, and especially
The fore part of the abdomen of the malein the sepia.
and more rough than inis always darker than the backthe female, and variegated wi ;h stripes, and the extremityof the body is more acute.
one, which is the
15. There are many kinds of polypus
Those near land are larger
largest of all, is very common.
than those which are caught out at sea. There are smaller
kinds, which are variegated; these are not articles of food;and two others, one of which is called eledone,' differs in
the length of its feet, and is the only one of the malacia witha single row of suckers, for all the rest have two the otheris called bolitaena,* and sometimes ozolis.
16. There are two otlier kinds which dwell in shells, wliich
gome persons call nautilus^ (and nauticus), and others caU
its shell is like that of the hollow
it the egg of the polypus
pecten, and not like that which has its shells close together.*This animal generally feeds near the land when it is thrownupon the shore by the waves, after its shell has fallen off, itcannot escape, and dies upon the land. These animals are
small in form, like the bolitaena and there is another,' which
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Eledone moschata. Leach. {Owen.)^ Eledone cirrosa.
' Argonauta argo. {Owen.)
Leach. (Owen.)* This is probably the meauing of the passage. Two kinds of pectens
were distinguished the one large, hollow, and of a dark colour, the otherbroad and sweeter, but harsh.
*;*

Kautiius PompiliuB. (Ou;«j.);

THE HISTOET OF AKIMALS.

Trl

•B.

77

This animal never leaves its
inhabits a shell like a snail.
shell, but remains in it, like the snail, and sometimes stretches
out its tentacula. Let thus much be said about the malacia.

Chaptee II.
Or the malocostraca, there is one genus, of carabi,^ and1.

another, very like it, of astaci ;* these differ from the carabi,
which have no claws, and in some other respects. Thereis a third genus, of carides,^ and a fourth, of carcini.* Therefor among theare more genera of carides, and of carcini
carides are the cyphse,* the crangon,'' and a small species, forthese never grow large.
2. The family of carcini is more various, and not so easily
enumerated the largest genus is that called maia,'' the next
to this the pagurus,^ and the Heracleot carcini and, again,
those that live in rivers. The other genera are small, andhave not received any name. On the Pheuician coast there
are some that they call horsemen, because they run so fastthat it is difficult to catch them, and when opened, they are
empty, because they have no pasture. There is anothersmall genus like carcini, but in shape they resemble astaci.
3. All these creatures, as I observed before, have their
hard and shelly coats on the outsides of their bodies in theplace of skin, the fleshy part is internal. Their under parts
resemble plates, upon which the females deposit their ova
the carabi have five feet on each side, including the claws
the carcini, also, have in all ten feet, including the claws,
which are last. Of the carides, the cypha have five on eachside ; those near the head are sharp, and five others on eachthey have noside of the stomach have flat extremities
plates upon the under part of their body those on theupper part are like the carabi.
4. The crangon is different, for it has, first of aU, four
plates on each side, and, afterwards, three slight ones, continuous with those on each side, and the greater part of theremainder of its body is apodal all the feet are directed
outwards to the side, like those of insects but the claws,
in those that have them, all turned inwards.
The carabua
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* Lobster.
Palinurus, spiny lobster (Bell's Crustacea).
* Crabs.
* Shrimp.
^ Perhaps Prawn.
Prawns.
^ Perhaps Maia sqimiado.
^ Cancer pagunis, Great crab.
*

*

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THE BISTORT OF A3fIMAL8,

78

["b.

TT.

also has a tail, and five fin-like appendages.
The cypha,among the carides, has a tail, with four tin-like appendages.

The crangon has fin-like processes on each side of the tail,and the middle of them is spinous on both sides but thispart is wide in the crangon, and sharp in the cypha.
The
careini alone are without a tailthe body of the carabi and;;carides is elongated, that of the careini is rounded.
5. The male carabus is different from the female, for thefemale has the first foot divided in the male it is formed ofa single claw, and the fin-like process on the lower part islarge in the female, and interchanged with each other in theneck in the male they are small and not interchanged. In;;

the male, also, the last feet are furnished with large andsharp processes like spurs in the female these are small andsmooth. They all have two large and rough processes, likehorns, before their eyes, and two, smaller and smooth, below.
6. The eyes of all these animals are hard, and capable ofmotion, inwards, outwards, and to the side the same is thenature of the careini, in which they are even more moveIn colour the astacus is all of a dull white, sprinkledable.
with black it has eight small feet, as far as the large ones
after these the large feet are far greater and wider at theextremity than in the carabus, and they are unequal infor on the right side the broad part at the end is longsize
and smooth, on the left side the same part is thick andround they are both divided from the extremity like a jaw,
with teeth above and below, only that in those on the rightthe teeth are all small and sharp, and they are sharp at theextremity of the left side in the middle they are like molar
teeth in the lower part are four close together, but in theupper part three, butTnot close together.
7. In both claws the upper part is moved and pressed
down upon the lower both are placed sideways in position,
as if intended by nature for seizure and pressure above
these large feet are two rough ones, a little below themouth and still lower, the branchial organs around themouth, which are rough and numerous, and these are conit bends and approximates its twotinually in motion
rough feet towards its mouth the feet near the mouth havesmooth appendages.
8. It has two teeth like the carabus, above these the long
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THE HISTOET OF AKIMALS.

B, IT.]

79

Loms, much shorter and smoother than in the carabus fourof the same form as these, but still shorter andsmoother and above these are placed its eyes, which aresmall and short, and not large like those of the carabus.
The part above the eyes is acute and rough, as it were aforehead, and larger than in the carabus on the whole,
the head is sharper and the thorax mach wider thanin the carabus, and its whole body is more fleshy and softof its right feet, four are divided at the extremity, and foui';

others;:not divided.
9. The part called the neck is externally divided into five
portions, the sixth and last division is wide and has five plates
in the inside are four rough plates, upon which the females
deposit their ova.
On the outside of each of these whichhave been mentioned, there is a short and straight spine,
and the whole body, with the part called the thorax, issmooth, and not rough as in the carabus. On the outsideof the large feet there are great spines. The female does
not in any way difier from the male, for whether the maleor female have larger claws, they are never both of themequal.
10. All these animals take in sea- water

through theirmouths the carcini also exhale a small portion of that which
they have taken in, and the carabi do this through the;branchiform appendages, for the carabi have many branchiform appendages. AU. these animals have two teeth the
carabi have two front teeth, and then a fleshy mouth instead of a tongue, from this an oesophagus continued on
And the carabi have a small oesophagus
to the stomach.
before the stomach, and from this a straight intestine iscontinued. In the caraboid animals and the carides, thisis continued to the tail in a straight passage, by which theyeject their excrements, and deposit their ova. In the carcini
this is in the middle of the folded part, for the place wherein
they deposit their ova is external in these also.
11. All the females also, besides the intestines, have aplace for their ova, and the part called mytis^ or mecon, whichis greater or less, and the peculiar difiierences may be learned
by studying the individual cases. The carabi, as I have observed, have two large and hollow teeth, in which there i«:*

Perhaps the liver.

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THE HISTOBT OF ATOMALS.

80[b. ly,a juice resembling the mytia, and, between the teeth, apiece of flesh resembling a tongue from the mouth a shortoesophagus extends to a membranous stomach in the partof this nearest the mouth are three teeth, two opposite andone below.
12. And from the side of the stomach there is a simple
intestine, which is of equal thickness throughout, reaching to
the anus. All these parts belong to the carabi, carides, andand, besides these, the carabi have a passage suscarcini
pended from the breast and reaching to the anus in thefemale this performs the office of a uterus, in the male it
This passage is in the cavity
contains the spermatic fluid.
of the flesh, so as to appear to be between portions of theflesh, for the intestine is toward the curved part, but thepassage towards the cavity in the same way as in quadruIn the male this part differs in nothing from thepeds.
female, for both are smooth and white, and contain an ochreous fluid, and in both sexes it is appended to the breast.
13. The ova and spirals occupy the same position in the
The male is distinguished from the female bycarides.
having in the flesh upon the breast two distinct white bodies,in colour and position like the tentacula of the sepia theseappendages are spiriform, like the mecon of the whelk
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from the acetabula, which are placed under
These contain a red sanguineous flesh, which
From the whelkis smooth to the touch, and not like flesh.
like appendage there is another spiral fold, about as thickas a thread, below which there are two sand-like bodies
appended to the intestine, containing a seminal fluid.
These are found in the male, but the female has ova of a
red colour these are joined to the abdomen, and on each
their origin

isthe last feet.

;side of the intestine to the fleshy part of the body, enclosed
in a thin membrane.
These are their internal and external
parts.

Chaptek III.
1. It happens that all the internal parts of sanguineous animals have names, for all these have the internal viscera but
the same parts of exsanguineous animals have no names, butboth classes have in common the stomach, oesophagus, andintestines.
I have before spoken of the carcini, and their;THE HISTOET OF ANIMALS.

B. I"V.]81

legs and feet, and how many they have, and in what direction, and that, for the most part, they have the right claw

larger and stronger than the left I have also mentioned
their eyes, and that most of them are able to see sideways.
The mass of their body is undivided, and so is their head,;

and any other part.
2. In some the eyes are placed immediately below theupper part, and generally far apart in some they are placedin the middle, and near together, as in the Heracleot carcini
and the maia. The mouth is placed below the eyes, andcontains two teeth, as in the carabus, but they are longand not round, and over these there are two coverings,
between which are the appendages, which tlie carabus;

also possesses,
3. They receive water through their mouth, opening theopercula, and emit it again by the upper passage of the mouth,
closing the opercula by which it entered these are immediately beneath tlie eyes, and when they take in water
they close the mouth with both opercula, and thus ejectagain the sea-water. Next to the teeth is a very short(Esophagus, so that the mouth appears joined to the stomach, and from this proceeds a divided stomach, from the
middle of which is a single thin intestine this intestineends externally beneath the folding of the extremity, as I said
before. Between the opercula there is something resembling
the appendages to the teeth of the carabi within the abdomen is an ochreous chyme, and some small elongated white
The malebodies, and other red ones scattered through it.
differs from the female in length and Avidth, and in the abdominal covering, for this is longer in the female, farther fromthe body, and more thick-set with appendages, as in the female
The parts of the malacostraca are of this nature.
carabi.
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1.

Chapteb IV.
The testacea, as cochleae,^ and cochli,'^ and all that are

called ostrea,^

and the family of echini, are composed offlesh, and this flesh is like that of the malacostraci, for it isinternal but the shell is external, and they have no hard
But they have many differences amongst
internal part.
themselves, both in regard to their external sheUs and their;'Land snails.

^

Marine.

^Bivalves.

;THE niSTOET OF A.N1MALS.

82[b. IV,

internal flesh, for some of them have no flesh at all, as theechinus ; in others it is entirely internal and out of sight,
except the head, as the land snails and those called coccaha,'and in the sea the purpura* and the ceryi,' the cochlus, andall the turbinated shells.
2. Of the rest some are bivalves, others univalves. I callthose bivalves which are enclosed in two shells the uniA^alves
are enclosed in one shell, and the fleshy part is uncovered,Some of the bivalves can open, as theas the lepas.*
pectens and mya, for all these are joined on one side, andseparated on the other, so as to sliut and open.
There
are other bivalves which are joined on both sides, as thesolen others which are entirely enclosed in their shells, andhave no external naked flesh, as those which are called tethya,*
3. And there is a great difierence amongst the shells
themselves, for some are smooth, as the solen, mya, andsome conchae, called by some persons galaces f other shells
aje rough, as the limnostrea,'' pinnae, some kinds of conchae,and the whelk and of these some are marked with ridges, as
the pecten and a kind of concha, others are without ridges, as
the pinna and another species of concha. They also difler inthickness and thinness, both in the whole shell and in certain
parts of the shell, as about the edges, for in some the edges
are thin, as the mya; others are thick-edged, as the limnostrea.
4. Some of them are capable of motion, as the pecten, forsome persons say that the pectens can fly, for that theysometimes leap out of the instrument by which they aretaken.
Others, as the pinna, cannot move from the point;;;of attachment all the turbinated shells can move and crawl
the lepas (patella) also feeds by going from place to place.
It is common to all those with hard shells to have themsmooth in the inside.
5. Both in univalves and bivalves the fleshy part is united
to the shell, so that it can only be separated by force it ismore easily separated from the turbinated shells it is acharacteristic of all these shells, that the base of the shell
has the helix directed from the head. All of them from theirbirth have an operculum all the turbinated testacea are
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Some small land snail with a conical shell.

*

Purpura.

'^Aflcidians.

^

Whelk.
Chama, L.

*

Patella, Urapet.

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Ostrea edulit.

THE HISTORY OF ANIMALS.

B, tY,]

83

right-handed, and move, not in the direction of the helix,
but the contrary way.
6. The external parts of these creatures are thus distinguished the nature of their internal structure is similarin all, especially in the turbinated animals, for they differ
in size and in the relations of excess, the univalves andbivalves do not exhibit many differences.
Most of them
have but few distinctive marks from each other, but theydiffer more from the immovable creatures.
This will be
more evident from the following considerations.
In nature they are all alike, the difference, as before said, is inexcess for in larger species the parts are more conspicuous,and less so in those that are smaller. They differ also in
hardness and softness, and such like affections.
7. For all have on the outside of the shell, in the mouth,a hard piece of flesh, some more, some less from the middleof this are the head and the two horns these are large inlarger species, in the little ones they are very small.
The
head is protruded in the same manner in all of them, andwhen the creature is alarmed it is again retracted; somehave a mouth and teeth, as the snail, which baa small, sharp,
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and smooth teeth.
8. They have also a proboscis, like that of the fly, and thisorgan is like a tongue. In the ceryx and the purpura thisorgan is hard, like that of the my ops and oestrus, with which
they pierce through the skins of quadrupeds but this is
more powerful in strength, for they can pierce through theshells of the baits.
The stomach is joined quite closely tothe mouth the stomach of the cochins is like the crop of abird below this there are two hard white substances likenipples, which also exist in the sepia, but are much harder.
9. From the stomach a long, simple intestine reaches as far
as the spiral, which is on the extremity of the body. These
are distinct, and in the purpura and the ceryx are in thehelix of the shell.
The bowel is continuous with the intestine.
The intestine and bowels are joined together, and arequite simple, to the anus. The origin of the bowel is aroundthe helix of the mecon,^ and here it is wider. The mecon is,;;;

as it were, a superfluous part in all testacea, afterwards another bend causes it to return to the fleshy part the end of
The so-called liver (^Strack). Papaver {Scaliger).
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84

[_S.

IT.

the entrail, where the faeces are emitted, is near the head, andis alike in all turbinated shells, whether terrestrial or marine.
10. In the larger cochli a long white passage, containedin a membrane, and in colour resembling the upper mastoid'jppendages, is joined from the stomach to the oesophagus,
and it is divided into segments like the ovum of the carabus,
except that it is white, while the other is red.
It hasneither exit nor passage, but it is contained in a thin memFrom the intestinebrane, which has a narrow cavity.
black and rough bodies descend continuously, like those in
the tortoise, but they are less black.
11. Both these and white bodies occur in the marine cochli,
but they are less in the smaller kinds. The univalves andbivalves are in some respects like these, and in others they
are different, for they have a head, horns, and mouth, andsomething like a tongue, though in smaller species these
are inconspicuous from their minute size, and they are notdiscernible when the animals are dead or at rest.
They allcontain the mecon, but not in the same position, nor of thesame size, nor equally conspicuous. In the lepas it is in thebottom of the shell, in the bivalves near the hinge.
12. They all have hair-like appendages placed in a circle,
and so have the pectens, and that which is called the ovariumin those that have it where it is possessed, it is placed in acircle on the other side of the circumference, like the white
portion in the cochli, for this is alike in aU. All these parts,
as I have said, are conspicuous in the larger kinds, but insmaller not at all, or scarcely so, wherefore they are mostconspicuous in the larger pectens, and these have one valve
flat Hke an operculum.
13. The anus is placed in the side in some of these creatures, for this is where the excrement passes out. The mecon,
as I have said, is a superfluous part enclosed in a thin membrane in all of them that which is called the ovarium has no
passage in any of them, but it swells out in the flesh. This is
not placed upon the intestine, for the ovarium is on the rightside and the intestine on the left the anus is the same as ii?
others but in the wild patella, as some persons call it, or thesea-ear (haliotis), as it is named by others, the excrement
passes out below the shell, for the shell is perforated.
Tht
stomach also is distinct behind the mouth, and so is the o^a;

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THE IIISTOBT OF ANIMALS.

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85

The position of all these parts may beseen in dissections.
14. The creature called carcinium' resembles both themalacostraca and the testacea, for this in its nature is similar
to the animals that are like carabi, and it is born naked
But because it makes its way(not covered with a shell).
into a shell, and lives in it, it resembles the testacea, andfor these reasons it partakes of the character of both classes.
Its shape, to speak plainly, is that of a spider, except thatthe lower part of the head and thorax is larger.
15. It has two thin red horns, and two large eyes below
these, not within nor turned on one side, like those of theBelow these is the mouth,
crab, but straight forwards.
and round it many hair-like appendages next to these, two
divided feet with which it seizes its prey, and two besides
these on each side, and a third pair smaller.
Below thethorax the whole creature is soft, and when laid open isyellow within.
16. From the mouth is a passage as far as the stomach
but the anus is indistinct the feet and the thorax are hard,
but less so than those of the cancri it is not united with thesheU like the purpura and eeryx, but is easily liberated from
The individuals which inhabit the shells of the strombus
it.
are longer than those in the shells of the nerita.
17. The kind which inhabits the nerita is different, thoughvery like in other respects, for the right divided foot is small,and the left one large, and it walks more upon this than theother and a similar animal is found in the conchae, though
they are united to their shells very firmly this animal is caUedcyllarus.*
The nerita has a smooth, large, round shell, inform resembling that of the ceryx, but the mecon is notblack, but red it is strongly united in the middle.
18. In fine weather they seek their food at liberty, and if astorm arises, the carcinia hide themselves under a stone, andthe neritje attach themselves to it like the patella, thebaemorrhois, and all that class, for they become attachedto the rock, where they close their opercvilum, for this resembles a lid for that part which is in both sides in thebivalves is joined to one side in the turbinated shells theinterior is fleshy, and in this the mouth is placed.
* Cancer Diogenes.
Hermit crab.
riuiii in this animal.

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THE HISTOEi' OF AXIMALS.

86[b. 17,

19. The nature of the haemorrhois, the purpura, and allsuch animals is the same. But those which have the leftfoot greater are not found in the shells of the strombus, but
There are some cochli which contain an aniin the neritae.
mal like the small astacus, which is found in rivers but
they differ from them in having the inner part of the shell
soft.
Their form may be seen by examining dissections.
;1.

Chaptee V.
The echini contain no flesh, but this part is peculiar, forthey are aU of them void of flesh, and are filled with a black
There are many kinds of echinus, one of which
substance.
in this one the ova are large and eatable, both inis eatable
the greater and the less.
2. And there are two other kinds, the spatangus and thatcalled bryttus these are inhabitants of the sea, and rare.
Those which are called echinometrse^ are the largest of all.
Besides this, there is another small species, which has longand sharp spines this is procured from the sea, in many
fathoms water, and some persons use it for stranguary.
3. Around Torona there are white marine echini, whichhave shells, and prickles, and ova, and are longer than others
but the prickle is neither large nor strong, but soft, and theblack parts from the mouth are more in number, and united
to the outward passage, but distinct among themselves, andby these the animal is as it were divided. The eatable kinds;;;

are particularly and especially active, and it is a sign of themfor they have always something adhering to their spines.
4. They all contain ova, but in some they are very small,and not eatable that which is called the head and mouth in
the echinus is downwards, and the anus placed upwards.
The same thing occurs in the turbinated shells, and thepatella for their food is placed below them, so that the mouth
is towards the food, and the anus at or on the upper part ofthe shell.
5. The echinus has five hollow internal teeth, in the midstof these a portion of flesh like a tongue next to this is theoesophagus; then the stomach, in five divisions, full offseculent matter all its cavities unite in one, near the anus,
where the shell is perforated. Beneath the stomach, in an:

;

;

:

1

Echinvis esculentus.

THE HISTORY OF ANIMALS.

B. IV.]

87

other membrane, are the ova, tlie same number iu all, thej
are five in number, and uneven.
6. The black substance is joined above to the origin of theteeth, this black substance is bitter and not eatable iu many
animals there is either this substance or its analogue, for it isfound in tortoises, toads, frogs, turbinated shells, and in themalacia these parts differ in colour, but are entirely or nearly
uneatable.
The body of the echinus is undivided from beginning to end, but the shell is not so when seen through,for it is like a lantern, with no skin around it. The echinus
uses its spines as feet, for it moves along by leaning upon;;them and moving them.

1.

Chaptee VI.
The creatures called tethya' have a most distinct charac-

these alone is the whole body concealed in a
Their shell is intermediate between skin and shell,so that it can be cut like hard leather this shell-like substance is attached to rocks in it there are two perforations,quite distant from each other, and not easily seen, by which
it excludes and receives water, for it has no visible excrement as other testacea, neither like the echinus, nor thesubstance called mecon.
2. When laid open, there is first of all a sinewy membranelining the shell-like substance, within this the fleshy subUnlike any other creature, its flesh,stance of the tethyon.
however, is alike throughout, and it is united in two places
to the membrane and the skin from the side, and at its
points of union it is narrower on each side by these places
it reaches to the external perforations which pass throughthe shell there it both parts with and receives food andmoisture, as if one were the mouth, the other the anus, theone is thick, the other thinner.
3. Internally there is a cavity at each end, and a passage
passes through it there is a fluid in both the cavities. Besides this, it has no sensitive or organic member, nor is there
any excrementitious matter, as I said before. The colour of
the tethyon is partly ochreous, partly red.
4. The class acalephe* is peculiar it adheres to rocks likeeome of the testacea, but at times it is washed off. It is notter, for inshell.

:

;

;

;

;

;

^

Ascidian molluskE>.

^

ActiniiB.

;;

THB HISTOET OF ANIMALS.

88[b. IT.

covered with a shell, but its whole body is fleshy it is senthe hand that touches it, and it holds
fast, like the polypus does with its tentacula, so as to makethe flesh swell up. It has a central mouth, and lives upon
the rock, as well as upon shell-fish, and if any small fish falls
in its way, it lays hold of it as with a hand, and if any eatable thing falls in its way it devours it.
5. One species is free, and feeds upon anything it meets
with, even pectens and echini it appears to have no visible
excrement, and in this respect it resembles plants. There
are two kinds of acalephe, some small and more eatable,
others large and hard, such as are found near Chalcis. During winter their flesh is compact, wherefore in this season
they are caught and eaten in summer time they perish, forthey become soft; if they are touched they soon melt down,
and cannot by any means be taken away. When sufferingfrom heat, they prefer getting under stones. I have now
treated of malacia, malacostraca, testacea, and of their external and internal parts.
;

sitive, and seizes upon;;

Chaptee YII.
1. Insects must now be treated of in the same manner.
This is a class which contains many forms, and no common
name has been given to unite those that are naturally
related, as the bee, anthrene,' and wasp, and such likeagain, those which have their wings enclosed in a case, as
the melolontha,^ carabus,^ cantharis, and such like.
The
common parts of all insects are three the head, the abdomen, and the third, which is between these, such as in otheranimals is the breast and back. In many insects this is one,but in the long insects vidth many legs, the middle parts areequal to the number of segments.
2. All insects survive being divided, except those which
are naturally cold, or soon become so from their small size,
so that wasps live after they are cut asunder either thehead or the abdomen will live if united to the thorax, but
the head will not live alone. Those which are long, andhave many feet, will survive division for a considerable time
both the extremities are capable of motion, for they walk
both upon the part cut oflf and upon the tail, as that which iscalled scolopendra.
All of them have eyes, but no other» Chafer.
» Beetle.
Wild be*.

—

;

'

;

THE HIST071T OF AXIMALS.

B. TV.]'

89

manifeBt organs of sense, except that some have a tongue.
All the testaeea have this organ, which serves the double
purpose of tasting and drawing food into the mouth.
3. In some of them this organ is softin others verystrong, as in the purpura in the myops and oestrus thismember is strong, and in a great many more for this member is used as a weapon by all those that have no caudal;;;

sting.

Those with this weapon have no small external teeth,and gnatssting with it.
Some insects also have stings, which areeither internal, as in bees and wasps, or external, as in the4.

for flies draw blood by touching with this organ,

scorpion.
This last is the only insect that has a long tailit has claws, and so has the little scorpion-like creature*found in books. The winged insects, in addition to otherSome have two wings, as the flies
parts, have wings.
others four, as the bees none of the diptera have a caudal
sting.
Some of the winged insects have elytra on theirwings, as the melolontha and others no elytra, as the bee.
Insects do not direct their flight with their tail, and theirwings have neither shaft nor division.
6. Some have a horn before their eyes, as the psychae* andcarabi.
Of the jumping insects, some have their hind-legslarger others have the organs of jumping bent backwards,
In all, the upper part is diflike the legs of quadrupeds.
ferent from the lower, like other animals.
6. The flesh of their bodies is neither testaceous nor
like the internal parts of testaeea, but between the two.
Wherefore, also, they have neither spine nor bone, as the
For the body
sepia nor are they surrounded with a shell.
is its own protection by its hardness, and requires no otherand they have a very thin skin.
This is the
supportnature of their external parts.
7. Internally, immediately after the mouth, there is au
intestine which in most insects passes straight and simply
to the anus, in a few it is convoluted these have no bones
nor fat, neither has any other exsanguineous animal. Some
;

;

;

;

;

;

have a stomach, and from this the remainder of the intestineiseither simple or convoluted, as in the acris.'
1

Phalangium Cancroides.

2

Butterfly.

»

Linn. Schneider,

Locust.

The

THE HISTORY OF AK^IMALS.

90

fB. IT.

or any otber class ofliving creatures, has no mouth ; but, like those with a caudal

tettix (grasshopper) alone of this,sting, it has theappearance of a tongue, long, continuous,and undivided, and with this it feeds upon the dew alone.
There is no excrement in the stomach. There are manykinds of these creatures, they differ in being greater or less ;those called achetae are divided beneath the diaphragm, andhave a conspicuous membrane, which the tettigonia has not.
8. There are many other creatures in the sea which it is
not possible to arrange in any class from their scarcity.
For some experienced fishermen say they have seen in the sea
creatures like small beams, black and round, and of the same
thickness throughout ; others like shields, of a red colour,with many fins ; others' Uke the human penis in appearance
and size, but instead of testicles they had two fins, and thatsuch have been taken on the extremity of grappling irons.
This is the nature of the internal and external parts of all
animals of every kind, both those which are peculiar to certain species, and those which are common to all.

Chapter YIII.

We must now treat of the Senses

for they are not alikein all, but some have all the senses, and some fewer. They
seeing, hearing, smelling,
are mostly five in number
taste, touch, and besides these there are none peculiar to
any creatures. Man, then, and all \dviparous animals withfeet, besides all sanguineous and viviparous animals, have allthese, unless they are undeveloped in any particular kind,
as in the mole.
2. For this creature ha« no sight, it has no apparent eyes,
but when the thick skin which surrounds the liead is taken
away, in the place where the eyes ought to be on the outside, are the undeveloped internal ej'es, which have all theparts of true eyes, for they have both the iris of the eye,and within the iris the part called the pupil, and thewhite ; but all these are less than in true eyes. On theoutside there is no appearance of these parts, from thethickness of the skin, as if the nature of the eye had been
destroyed at birth for there are two sinewy and strong
passages proceeding from the brain, where it unites with
1,

:

;

;

'

Perhaps Pannatula.

B. lY.l

THE HISTOBT OF ANIMALS.

91

the spinal cord, reaching from the socket of the eye, andending npon the upper sharp teeth.
3. All other animals are endued with the perception of
All animals have thecolours, sounds, smells, and taste.
In some animals thefifth sense, which is called touch.
organs of sense are very distinct, and especially the eyes,For
for they have a definite place, and so has the hearing.
some animals have ears, and others open perforations so
also of the sense of smelling, some animals have nostrils,
In the sameothers passages, as the whole class of birds.
way the tongue is the organ of taste.
4. In aquatic animals and those called fish, the tongue isstiU the organ of taste, though it is indistinct, for it isbony, and not capable of free motion. In some fish the:roof of the mouth is fleshy, as in some cyprini among river
so that, without careful examination, it appears like a
tongue. That they have the sense of taste is quite clear,for many of them delight in peculiar food, and they wiU
more readily seize upon a bait formed of the amia and otherfat fishes, as if they delighted in the taste and eating offish,such baits.

They have no evident organ of hearing and smelling,5.

for the passages which exist about the region of the nostrils

in some fish do not appear to pass to the brain, but some ofthem are blind, and others lead to the gills it is evident,
however, that they both hear and smell, for they escape fromloud noises, such as the oars of the triremes, so as to beeasily captured in their hiding-places.
6. For if the external noise is not loud, yet to all aquatic
animals that are capable of hearing, it appears harsh and very
loud and this takes place in hunting dolphins, for when they
have enclosed them with their canoes, they make a noise fromthem in the sea, and the dolphins, crowded together, areobliged to leap upon the land, and, Iseing stunned with thenoise, are easily captured, although even dolphins have no
external organs of hearing.
7. And again in fishing, the fishermen are careful toavoid making a noise with their oars or net when they perceive many fish collected in one place they make a signal,and let down their nets in such a place that no sound of theoar or the motion of the waters should reach the place;;;THE HISTOET OF ANIMALS.

92[b. IV.

where the fish are collected, and the sailors are cornmanded
to row in the greatest silence until they have enclosed them.
8. Sometimes, when they wish to drive them together,
they proceed as in dolphin catching, for they make a noisewith stones that they may be alarmed and collected together,and thus they are enclosed in a net. Before their inclosure,
as it was said, they prevent a noise, but as soon as they haveenclosed them, they direct the sailors to shout and make anoise, for they fall down with fear when they hear the noise
and tumult.
9. And when the fishers observe large shoals at a distance, collected on the surface in calm, fine weather, andwish to know their size, and of what kind they are, if they
can approach them in silence, they avoid their notice, andIf any noise iscatch them while they are on the surface.
made before they reach them, they may be seen in flight.
In the rivers, also, there are little fish under the stones,
which some persons call cotti :' from their dwelling beneathrocks, they catch them by striking the rocks with stones,
and the fishes fall down frightened when they hear thenoise, being stunned by it.
It is evident, from these considerations, that fishes have the sense of hearing.
10. There are persons who say that fish have more acuteears than other animals, and that, from dwelling near thesea, they have often remarked it.
Those fish which have themost acute ears are thecestreus'' (chremps),' labrax,* salpe,*
chromis,* and all such fishes in others the sense of hearing
less acute, because they live in the deeper parts of theocean.
11. Their nature of smelling is the same, for the greaternumber of fishes will not take a bait that is not quite fresh ;others are less particular. All fish will not take the samebait, but only particular baits, which they distinguish by thesmell ; for some are taken with stinking baits, as the salpe
witli dung.
Many fish also live in the holes of rocks, andwhen the fishermen want to entice them out, they anoint
the mouths of these holes with salted scents, to which theyreadily come.
;'

Perhaps Cottus gobio L., miller's thumb.

'Mullet.
**Scomber.

Unknown.

Salmo Fario {Straci).
**

Perca Lahrax.

Unknown.

:

Tj

I v.]

THE niSTOET OF ANIMALS.

93

12. The eel also is enticed out in this way, for tbey placea pitcher of salt food, covering the mouth of the pitcher
with another vessel pierced with holes, and the eels arequickly drawn forth by the smell of the bait. Baits madeof the roasted flesh of the cuttle fish, on account of its
strong smell, attract fish very readily. They say they put
the roasted flesh of the polypus upon their hooks for nothing
but its strong smell.
13. i\nd the fish called rhyades,'' when the washings offish or of foetid drains are emptied into the water, make
They say that
their escape as if smelling the foetid odour.
this is plain
fish soon smell the blood of their own kindfrom their hastening from any place where the blood of
On the whole, if any one use a putrid bait,
fishes may be.
the fish will not come near it but if a fresh strong-smelling
bait is used, they will come to it from a great distance.
14. This is especially observable in what was said ofdolphins, for these creatures have not external organs ofhearing, but are captured by being stunned with a noise, as
was before observed neither have they any external organs
Therefore, it is evidentof smell, yet their scent is acute.
that all creatures have these senses. Other kinds of animals
are divided into four classes and these contain the multitude of remaining animals, namely, the malacia, malaco;

;

;

;

straca, testacea, and insects.
15. Of these the malacia, the malacostraca, and insects have
all the senses, for they can see, smell, and taste.

Insects, whe-ther they have wings or are apterus, can smell from a great
distance, as the bee and the cnips - scent honey, for they
perceive it from a long distance, as if they discovered it by
the scent. Many of them perish by the fumes of sulphur
ants leave their hills when origanum and sulphur are
sprinkled upon them. Almost all of them escape from thefumes of burnt stags' horns, but most of all do they avoid
the smell of burnt styrax.
16. The sepia, also, the polypus, and the carabus arecaught with baits the polypus holds the bait so fast that
it holds on even when cut
if a person hold conyza to them,
they let go as soon as they smell it. So, also, of the senseof taste, for they follow diflerent kinds of food, and do nolt;:

1

A fish living in ehoala.

*

Perhaps some species of ant,

;THE niSTOET OF AKIiTALS.

94[b. IT.

all prefer the same food, as the bee approaches nothing: that

only sweet things
but what is acid.

is putrid,

17.

;

the gnat not what is sweet,

As I before observed, the sense of touch belongs to
The testacea have the senses of smelling andall animals.

This is plain from the baits used, as those for thefor this creature is caught with putrid substances,and will be attracted from a great distance to such baits,
It is evident from what follows
as if by the sense of smell.
for whatever theythat they possess the sense of taste
select by smell, they all love to taste.
18. And all animals with mouths receive pain or
But, concerning thepleasure from the contact of food.
senses of sight and hearing, it is not possible to say anythingcertain, or very distinct the solens, if a person touch them,appear to retract themselves, and try to escape when they
see an instrument approaching them, for a small portion ofthem is beyond the shell, the remainder as it were in a retreat
the pectens. also, if a finger is brought near them, open andshut themselves as if they could see.
19. Those who seek for neritae do not approach them withthe wind, when thej seek them for baits, nor do they speak,
but come silently, as if the creatures could both smell andhear; they say that if theyspeak,theygetaway. Of all testacea,
the echinus appears to have the best sense of smell amongst
those that can move, and the tethya and balanus in thosethat are fixed.
This is the nature of the organs of sense intasting.

purpurse;;;

all animals.

Chapter IX.
1. The following is the nature of the voice of animals,
for there is a distinction between voice and sound. Speech,
again, is difiereut from these.
Voice is due to no other part

except the pharynx, the creatures, therefore, without
lungs are also without voice. Speech is the direction of thevoice by the tongue the vowels are uttered by the voiceand the larynx, the mutes by the tongue and the lips speech
is made up of thesewherefore, no animals can speak thathave not a tongue, nor if their tongue is confined.
2. The power of uttering a sound is connected with otherparts also j insects have neither voice nor speech, but make;;:THE HISTORY OF ANIMALS.

B. IT.]

95

a sound with tlie air within them, not with that which isexternal, for some of them breathe not, some of them buzz,
as the bee with its wings, and others are said to sing, as thegrasshopper. All these make a noise with the membrane
which is beneath the division of their body in those whichhave a division, as some families of grasshoppers by the
These insects, bees, and all other insects
friction of the air.
raise and depress their wings in flight, for the sound is the
Locusts produce a soundfriction of the air within them.
by rubbing themselves with their legs, which are adapted
for leaping. None of the malacia utter any sound or natural
voice, nor do the malacostraca.
3. Fish also are mute, for they have neither lunge,
Some of them utter a sound and atrachea, nor pharynx.
squeak these are said to have a voice, as the lyra' and chromi,^
for these utter, as it were, a grunt so does the capros, a fishof the Achelous, the chalceus^ and coccyx,* for the oneutters a sound like hissing, the other a noise like that ot
Some ofthe cuckoo, from whence also its name is derived.
these utter their apparent voice by the friction of theirgills, for these places are spinous, in others the sound is
For each of them has an organinternal, near the stomach.
of breathing, which causes a sound when it is pressed and;;moved about.
4. Some of the selachea also appear to whistle, but theycannot be correctly said to utter a voice, only to make asound. The pectens also make a whizzing noise when they
are borne upon the surface of the water, or flying, as it iscalled and so do the sea-swallows,^ for they also fly throughthe air in the same way, not touching the sea, for they havewide and long fins. As the sound made by birds flying
through the air is not a voice, so neither can either of thesebe properly so called. The dolphin also utters a whistle
and lows when it comes out of the v/ater into the air, in afor thisdifierent way from the animals above-mentioned
is a true voice, for it has lungs and a trachea, but its tongue
is not free, nor has it any lips so as to make an articidate
sound.
5. The oviparous quadrupeds, with a tongue and lungs,;—•* Cottus cataphractus.
^ Zeus faber.
Trigla Lyra.
* Trigla hirundo.
• Flying fish.

;THE IIISTOKT OF ANIMALS.

90[b. IV.

Some of them hissutter a sound, though it is a weak one.
like serpents
others have a small weak voice, others, as tho
The tongue of the frog is petontoise, utter a small hiss.
culiar, for the fore-part of it is fixed, like that of a fisli
but
the part near the pharynx is free and folded up. With this it
The male frogs make a croaking
utters its peculiar sound.
in the water when they invite the females to coition.
6. All animals utter a voice to invite the society and proximity of their kind, as the hog, the goat, and the sheep. The
frog croaks by making its lower jaw of equal length, andTheir eyes apstretching the upper one above the water.
pear like lights, their cheeks being swelled out with thevehemence of their croaking for their copulation is geneThe class of birds utter arally performed in the night.
voice those which have a moderately wide tongue have thethose also in which the tongue is thin. In
best voicesome kinds both male and female have the same voice inothers it is different : the smaller kinds have more variety
in their voice, and make more use of it, than the larger
;

;

;

:

;

;

tribes.
7.

All birds become more noisy at the season of coition.

Some utter a cry when they are fighting, as the quail others
when they are going to fight, as the partridge or when they;;

have obtained a victory, as the cock. In some kinds bothmale and female sing, as the nightingale but the female
nightingale does not sing while she is sitting or feeding her
young in some the males alone, as the quail and tlie cockthe female has no voice. Viviparous quadrupeds utter diffor this is the characteristic
ferent voices none can speakof man, for all that have a language have a voice, but not
all that have a voice have also a language.
8. All that are born dumb, and all children, utter sounds,
but have no language for, as children are not complete intheir other parts, so their tongue is not perfect at first it
becomes more free afterwards, so that they stammer andBoth voices and language differ in different places.
lisp.
9. The voice is most conspicuous in its acuteness or depth,
but the form does not differ in the same species of animals
the mode of articulation differs, and this might be calledspeech, for it differs in different animals, and in the samegenera in different places, as among partridges, for in some
;

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—

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;

;

THE IIISTOET OF ANIMALS.

B. IT.]

97

places they cackle, in others whistle. Small birds do not utter
the same voice as their parents, if they are brought up awayfrom them, and have only heard other singing birds. For thenightingale has been observed instructing her young, sothat the voice and speech are not naturally alike, but arecapable of formation. And men also have all the same voice,however much they may diflfer in language. The elephantutters a voice by breathing through its mouth, making nouse of its nose, as when a man breathes forth a sigh butwith its nose it makes a noise like the hoarse sound of a
trumpet.
;

Chapter X.
1. CoNCEBNiNG the sleep and wakefulness of animals.
It isquite manifest that all viviparous animals with feet both
sleep and are awake for all that have eyelids sleep with theeyes closed and not only men appear to dream, but horses,
oxen, sheep, goats, dogs, and all viviparous quadrupeds.
Dogs show this by barking in their sleep. It is not clear
whether oviparous animals dream, but it is quite plain that;;they sleep.
2. And so it is in aquatic animals, as fish, the malacia,
the malacostraca, the carabi, and such like creatures. The
sleep of all these animals is short: it is plain that they do sleep,
though we can form no conclusion from their eyes, for they
have no eyelids, but from their not being alarmed for if
fish are not tormented with lice, and what are called psylli,
they may be captured without alarming them, so that they
can be even taken with the hand. And if fish remain atrest during the night a great multitude of these creatures
fall upon and devour them,
3. They are found in such numbers at the bottom of thesea as to devour any bait made offish that remains any lengthof time upon the groundfishermen frequently draw themout hanging like globes around the bait. The following considerations will serve still more to confirm our suppositions
that fishes sleep for it is often possible to fall upon thefish so stealthily as to take by the hand, or even strike themduring this time they are quite quiet, and exhibit no signsof motion except with their tails, which they move gently.
It is evident, also, that they sleep, from their starting if
;

;

;

;

u

THE HISTORY OF ANIMALS.

98[b. IV.

anything moves while thej are asleep, for they start as if
they were waked out of sleep.
4. They are also taken by torchlight while asleep
those
who are seeking for thynni surround them while asleep it isevident that they can be captured from their stillness, andThey sleep more by
the half-open white (of their eyes).
night than by day, so that they do not move when they are
struck they generally sleep holding by the ground, or thesand, or a stone, at the bottom, concealing themselves beneath a rock, or a portion of the shore. The flat fishes
they are recognized by their form
sleep in the sandin the sand, and are taken by striking them with a spearwith three points.
The labrax, chrysophrys, cestreus,and such-like fish are often taken with the same kind of
weapon while asleep in the day time, but if not taken then,none of them can be captured with such a spear.
5. The selache sleep so soundly that they may be takenwith the hand the dolphin, whale, and all that have a blowhole, sleep with this organ above the surface of the sea, sothat they can breathe, while gently moving their fins, andsome persons have even heard the dolphin snore. The malacia sleep in the same manner as fish, and so do the malacostraca.
It is evident from the following considerations
that insects sleep for they evidently remain at rest without
motion this is particularly plain in bees, for they remain
quiet, and cease to hum during the night.
This is also evident from those insects with which we are most familiar,
for they not only remain quiet during the night because
they cannot see distinctly, for all creatures with hard eyes
have indistinct vision, but they seem no less quiet when
the light of a lamp is set before them.
;

;

;

;

;

;

;

6. Man sleeps the most of all animals.
Infants andyoung children do not dream at all, but dreaming begins inmost at about four or five years old. There have been men
and women who have never dreamt at all sometimes such
persons, when they have advanced in age, begin to dream;;

this has preceded a change in their body, either for deathThis, then, is the manner of sensation, sleep
or infirmity.

and wakefulness.

I;THE HISTORY OF ANIMALS.

B. IV.3

99

Chapter XI.
1. In some animals the sexes are distinct, in others they are
not so, these are said to beget and be with young by a likeness to other creatures.
There is neither male nor female
in fixed animals, nor in testacea.
In the malacia andmalacostraca there are male and female individuals, and in
all animals with feet, whether they have two or four, which
produce either an animal, an egg, or a worm from coition.
2. In other kinds the sexes are either single or not single
as in aU quadrupeds there is the male and female, in thetestacea it is not so, for as some vegetables are fertile and;others barren, so it is in these.
Among insects and fishes
there are some that have no differences of this kind, as theeel is neither male nor female, nor is anything produced

from them.
3. But those persons who say that some eels appear tohave creatures like worms, of the size of a hair, attached tothem, speak without observation, not having seen how they

really arefor none of these creatures are viviparous without being fio'st oviparous, none of them have ever been observed to contain ova those that are viviparous have theembryo attached to the uterus, and not to the abdomen, forthere it would be digested like food.
The distinction madebetween the so-called male and female eel that the male hasa larger and longer head, and that the head of the female
is smaller, and more rounded, is a generic, and not a sexual;;

distinction.
4. Tliere are some fish called epitragiae, and among fresh-water fish the cyprinus and balagrus are of the same nature,
which never have ova or semen those which are firm andfat, and have a small intestine, appear to be the best.
There are creatures, such as the testacea, and plants, which
beget, and produce young, but have no organ of coitionand so also in fishes the psetus,^ erythrhinus,^ and the channa.
All these appear to have ova.
5. In sanguineous animals with feet that are not oviparous, the males are generally larger and longer lived than;'

Pleuronectes Lingua and Rhombus.
or Sparus eritlirinus.

^ Perca marina,:;THE HISTOEY OF ANIMALS.

100[B. IV.

the females, except the hemionus, but the females of thisanimal are both larger and longer lived in oviparous andviviparous animals, as in fish and insects, the females arelarger than the males, as the serpent, phalangium,^ ascalain fish like-svise, as in most of the small
botes,* and frog
gregarious selache, and all that inhabit rocks.
6. It is evident that female fishes have longer lives thanmales, because females are caught of a greater age than themales the upper and more forward parts of all animals
are larger and stronger, and more firmly built in the malethe hinder and lower parts in the female. This is the casein the human subject, and all viviparous animals with feetthe female is less sinewy, the joints are w^eaker, and thehairs finer, in those with hair in those without hair, its
the female has softer
analogues are of the same nature
flesh and weaker knees than the male, the legs are slighter
the feet of females are more gracefiil, in all that havethese members.
7. All females, also, have a smaller and more acute voicethan the males, but in oxen the females utter a deeper soundthan the males the parts denoting strength, as the teeth,tusks, horns, and spurs, and such other parts, are possessedby the males, but not by the females, as the roe-deer has
none, and the hens of some birds vnth spurs have none
the sow has no tusks in some animals they exist in both
sexes, only stronger and longer in the males, as the horns ofbulls are stronger than those of cows.
:

;

;

;

;

;

;

:

>

Aranea tarantula.

^ Lacerta Gekkc.

THE niSTOBY OT ANIMALS.

B. v.]

101

BOOK THE FIFTH.
Chapter I.
"We have hitherto treated of the external and internal
parts of aU animals, of their senses, voice, and sleep, with1,

the distinctions between the males and females it remains
to treat of their generation, speaking first of those whichcome first in order, for they are many, and have numerousAndvarieties, partly dissimilar, and partly like each other.
we will pursue the same order in considering them as we
did before in their division into classes we commenced ourconsideration by treating of the parts in man, but now hemust be treated of last, because he is much more intricate.
shall begin with the testacea, and after these treat
2.
of the malacostraca, and the others in the order of theirsuccession.
These are the malacia and insects, next tothese fishes, both viviparous and oviparous ; next to thembirds, and afterwards we must treat of animals with feet,whether viviparous or oviparous some viviparous creatures
have four feet, man alone has two feet. The nature of animals and vegetables is similar, for some are produced fromthe seed of other plants, and others are of spontaneous
growth, being derived from some origin of a similar nature.
Some of them acquire their nourishment from the soil,
others from different plants, as it was observed when treating of plants.
3. So also some animals are produced from animals ofa similar form, the origin of others is spontaneous, andnot from similar forms ; from these and from plantis are
divided those which spring from putrid matter, this is thecase with many insects others originate in the animals
themselves, and from the excrementitious matter in theirparts ; those which originate from similar animals, and haveboth the sexes are produced from coition, but of the class offishes there are some neither male nor female, these belong
to the same class among fishes, but to different genera, andsome are quite peculiar. In some there are females but nomales, by these the species is continued as in the hypenemia
;

;

We

;

;

among birds.

;THE HISTOBT OF AKIMALS.

102[b. V.

4. All these among birds are barren, (for nature ia
able to complete them as far as the formation of an egg,)
unless persons suppose that there is another method ofcommunicating the male influence, concerning which we
In some fish, after the^shall speak more plainly hereafter.
spontaneous production of the o^nim, it happens that living
creatures are produced, some by themselves, others by the
The manner in which this is done will be
aid of the male.
made plain in a future place, for nearly the same things takeplace in the class of birds.
5. Whatever are produced spontaneously in living creatures, in the earth, or in plants, or in any part of them,
have a distinction in the sexes, and by the union of thesexes something is produced, not the same in any respect,
but an imperfect animal, as nits are produced from lice,
and from flies and butterflies are produced egg - likeworms, from which neither similar creatures are produced,
nor any other creature, but such things only. Tirst ofaU, then, we will treat of coition, and of the animals that
copulate, and then of others, and successively of that whichis peculiar to each, and that which is common to them all.

Chaptee II.
Those animals in which there is a distinction of thesexes use sexual intercourse, but the mode of this intercourse1.

not the same in all, for all the males of sanguineous
animals with feet have an appropriate organ, but they do
not all approach the female in the same manner, but thosewhich are retromingent, as the lion, the hare, and the lynx,
unite backwards, and the female hare often mounts upon
the male in almost all the rest the mode is the same, formost animals perform the act of intercourse in the same way,
the male mounting upon the female
and birds perform
is

;

;

it in this way only.

There are, however, some variations even among birds
male sometimes imites with the female as she sits
upon the ground, as the bustard and domestic fowl in•others, the female does not sit upon the ground, as thocrane for in these birds the male unites with the female
standing up and the act is performed very quickly, as inBears lie down during the act of intercourse,
sparrows.
2.

for the:;;THE HISTOET OF ANIMALS.

B. T.]

103

whicli is performed in the same manner as in those thatstand on their feet, the abdomen of the male being placed
upon the back of the female in the hedgehogs, the abdomens of both sexes are in contact.
3. Among the large animals, the roe-deer seldom admits
the stag, nor the cow the bull, on account of the hardness:of the penis but the female receives the male by submission.
This has been observed to take place in tame
The male and female wolf copulate like dogs. Catsdeer.
do not approach each other backwards, but the male stands
The feerect, and the female places herself beneath him.
males are very lascivious, and invite the male, and make anoise during the intercourse.
4. Camels copulate as the female is lying down, and themale embraces and unites with her, not backwards, but likeother animals. They remain in intercourse a whole day«
They retire into a desert place, and suffer no one to approach them but their feeder. The penis of the camel is so
Elephants alsostrong, that bowstrings are made of it.
retire into desert places for intercourse, especially by the
The femalesides of rivers which they usually frequent.
bends down and divides her legs, and the male mounts uponher.
The seal copulates like retromingent animals, and is along while about it, like dogs. The males have a large penis.
;

Chapteb III.
Oviparous quarupeds with feet copulate in the samemanner in some, the male mounts upon the female, like1.

:

viviparous animals, as in the marine and land turtle, forthey have an intromittent organ by which they adhere together, as the trygon and frog, and all such animals.
2. But the apodous long animals, as serpents and mursense, are folded together, with the abdomens opposite, andserpents roll themselves together so closely, that they seem
The manner of theto be but one serpent with two heads.
whole race of saurians is the same, for they unite together
in the same kind of fold.

1.

Chaptee IV.
All fish, except the flat selache, perform the act ofintercourse by approaching each other with their abdomens

THE niSTOET OF AKIMALS.

104
opposite:[B. V.

but the flat fish, with tails, as the batos, trygon,

and such like, not only approach each other, but the maleapplies his abdomen to the back of the female, in aU thosein which the thickness of the tail offers no impediment.
But the rhinae, and those which have a large tail, performthe act by the friction of their abdomens against each other,and some persons say that they have seen the male selache
united to the back of the female, like dogs.
2. In all those that resemble the selache, the female islarger than the male ; and in nearly all fish the female islarger than the male.
The selache are those which havebeen mentioned; and the bos, lamia, aeetus, narce, batrachus, and all the galeode.
All the selache have been frequently observed to conduct themselves in this way. In all
viviparous creatures the act occupies a longer time than in
the oviparous. The dolphin and the cetacea also performthe act in the same manner, for the male attaches himself tothe female for neither a very long, nor a very short time.
3. The males of some of the fish which resemble theselache differ from the females, in having two appendages
near the anus, which the females have not, as in the galeodea ; for these appendages exist in them all. Neither fishnor any other apodal animal has testicles, but the males,both of serpents and of fish, have two passages, which become full of a seminal fluid at the season of coition ; and allof them project a milky fluid. These passages unite in one,as they do in birds for birds have two internal testes, andso have all oviparous animals with feet.
In the act ofcoition this single passage passes to, and is extended upon
the pudendum and receptacle of the female.
4. In viviparous animals with feet, the external passage
for the semen and the fluid excrement is the same internally these passages are distinct, as I said before in describing the distinctive parts of animals. In animals whichhave no bladder, the anus is externally united with thepassage of the semen, internally the passages are close
together and this is the same in both sexes for none ofof them have a bladder, except the tortoise. The female ofthis animal, though furnished with a bladder, has but one
passage but the tortoise is oviparous.
5. The sexual intercourse of the oviparous fish is less evident,
;

:

;

;

:

B. T.]THE UISTORT OTT AIS'IMALS.

106

wherefore many persons suppose that the female is impregnated by swallowing the semen of the male and they havebeen frequently observed to do this. This is seen at theseason of coition, when the females follow the males, and areobserved to strike them on the abdomen with their mouths,
this causes the males to eject their semen more rapidly.
The males do the same with the ova of the females, for theyswallow them as they are extruded, and the fish are bornfrom those ova which remain.
6. In Phoenicia they use each sex for capturing the otherfor having taken the male cestreus, they entice the femaleswith it, and so enclose them in a net. They use the females
in the same way for catching the males. The frequent observation of these circumstances appears to corroborate thisQuadrupeds also domanner of intercourse among them.
the same thing, for at the season of coition both sexes emit
a fluid, and smell to each other's pudenda.
7. And if the wind blows from the cock partridge tothe hen, these last are impregnated and often, if they hear
the voice of the cock when they are inclined for sexualintercourse, or if he flies over them, they become pregnant
from the breath of the cock. During the act of intercourse,
both sexes open their mouths, and protrude their tongues.
The true intercourse of oviparous fish is rarely observed,
from the rapidity with which the act is accomplished fortheir intercourse has been observed to take place in the
;

;

;

;

manner described.

Chaptee V.
1. All the malacia, as the polypus, sepia, and teuthis,approach each other in the same manner, for they are unitedmouth to mouth the tentacula of one sex being adapted tothose of the other for when the polypus has fixed the partcalled the head upon the ground, it extends its tentacula,which the other adapts to the expansion of its tentacula,and they make their acetabula answer together. And somepersons say that the male has an organ like a penis in that
one of its tentacula which contains the two largest acetabula.
This organ is sinewy, as far as the middle of the tentaculum, and they say that it is all inserted into the nostril;;of the female.

THE HISTORY OF ANIMALS.

106[b. V.

2. The sepia and loligo swim about coiled together in thisway, and with their mouths and tentacula united, they swim
They adapt the organ
in contrary directions to each other.
called the nostril of the male to the similar organ in thefemale and the one swims forwards, and the other backwards. The ova of the female are produced in the partcalled the physeter, by means of which some persons saythat they copvdate.
;

1.

Chaptee VI.
The malacostraca, as the carabi, astaci, carides, and such

perform the act of intercourse like the retromingent
animals, the one lying upon its back, and the other placing
its tail upon it.
They copulate on the approach of spring,near the land ; for their sexual intercourse has often been
observed, and sometimes when the figs begin to ripen.
2. The astaci and the carides perform the act in the samemanner ; but the carcini approximate the fore part of theirbodies to each other, and adapt also the folds of their tails toFirst of all, the smaller carcinus mounts fromeach other.
behind, and when he has mounted, the greater one turns
on its side. In no other respect does the female difi'er
from the male, but that the tail, which is folded on thebody, is larger and more distant, and more thick set withappendages upon this the ova are deposited, and the excrement ejected. Neither sex is furnished with an intromittent
organ.
like:

Chaptee VII.
Insects approach each other from behind, and thesmaller one subsequently mounts upon the larger. The
male is always the smaller. The female, which is below,
inserts a member into the male, which is above, and not the
male into the female, as in other animals. In some kinds
this organ appears large in proportion to the size of the1.

body, especially in those that are small, in others it

is

less.

The organ may be plainly discerned if two flies are sepaThey are separated fromrated while in the act of coition.
each other with difficulty, for the act of intercourse in suchanimals occupies a long time. This may be plainly discernedby common observation, as in the fly and cantharis.
2. All adopt the same method, the fly, cantharis, spon-;

THE HISTORY 01" ANIMALS.

B. v.]

107

dyW, phalangium, or any other insect that copulates. All
the phalangia that spin a web unite in the following manner.
The female draws a filament from the middle of the web, andthen the male draws it back again, and this they do a great
many times till they meet, and are united backwards, forthis kind of copulation suits them on account of the size
The copulation of animals is accomof their abdomen.
plished in this manner.

Chaptee VIII.

All animals have their proper season and age for coition
the nature of most creatures requires them to have intercourse with each other when winter is turning into summer.
This is the spring season, in which all animals with wings,
Some copulate and profeet, or fins, are incited to coition.
duce their young in the autumn and winter, as some aquaticand winged creatures. Mankind are ready at all seasons,and so are many other animals which associate with man ;this arises from greater warmth, and better food, and isusual among those which are pregnant only for a short time,as the hog, dog, and those birds which have frequent
Many animals appear to adapt the season of coibroods.
tion to that which they consider the best for the nurture of
their young.
2. Among mankiud the male is more disposed for sexualintercourse in the winter, and the female in the summer.
Birds, as I have observed, generally pair in the spring andsummer, except the halcyon. This bird hatches its young
about the time of the winter solstice. Whereupon fine days
occurring at this season are called halcyon days, seven before
the solstice and seven after it. As Simonides also writes
in his poems, " as when in the winter months Jupiter prepares fourteen days, which mortals call the windless season,
the sacred nurse of the variegated halcyon."
3. These fine days take place wherever it happens thatthe solstice turns to the south, when the pleiades set in thenorth.
The bird is said to occupy seven days in building
its nest, and the other seven in bringing out and nursing
its young.
The halcyon days are not always met with in this1.

'

A beetle living at the roots of trees, Carabus.

THE HISTOET OF AJflMALS.

108[b. V.

country at the time of the solstice, but they always occur in
the Sicilian Sea. The halcyon produces five eggs.
4. The sethuia and the larus hatch their young among therocks on the sea- side, and produce two or three, the larus
during the summer, and the sethuia at the beginning of theit sets upon its eggs
spring, immediately after the equinox
neither of these kinds conceal themselves.
like other birds
The halcyon is the rarest of all, for it is only seen at theseason of the setting of the pleiades, and at the solstice, andit first appears at seaports, flying as much as round a ship,
Stesichorus also speaks
and immediately vanishing away.
of it in the same manner.
5. The nightingale produces her young at the beginning
She concealsof summer. She produces five or six eggs.
herself from the autumn to the beginning of spring. Insects
copulate and produce their young during the winter whenever the days are fine, and the wind in the south, at least
such of them as do not conceal themselves, as the fly andWild animals produce their young once a year, unless,ant.
like the hare, they breed while they are nursing their young.
;;

Chapteb IX.
1. Fish also generally breed once a year, as the chyti.

Allthose which are caught in a net are called chyti the thynnus, palamis, cestreus, chalais, colias, chromis, psetta, andsuch like, the labrax is an exception, for this alone of themaU breeds twace a year, and the second fry of these are much
weaker. The trichias' and rock fish breed twice, the trigla isthe only one that breeds three times a year. This is shewn
by the fry, which appear three times at certain places.
2. The scorpius breeds twice, and so does the sargus, in
spring and autumn, the salpa once only in the spring. The
thynnis breeds once, but as some of the fry are produced
at first, and others afterwards, it appears to breed twice.
The first fry makes its appearance in the month of December, after the solstice, the second in the spring.
The malethynnis is different from the female, for the female has a fin
under the abdomen, called aphareus, which the male has not.
3. Among the selachea, the rhine alone breeds twice inthe year at the beginning of the autumn, and at the period;;^

Clupea Sprottus.

THE HISTOET OF ANIMALS.

B. v.]

109of the setting of the Pleiades. The young are, however, betterin the autumn. At each breeding season it produces seven orSome of the galei, as the asterias, seem to produce
eight.
This arises from all the ova
their ova twice every month.
not being perfected at once.
4. Some tish produce ova at all seasons of the year, as themuraena: for this fish produces many ova, and the fry
rapidly increase in size, as do those also of the hippurus,' forthese, from being very small, rapidly increase to a greatsize
but the mursena produces young at all seasons, thehippurus in the spring. The smyrus differs from the mursena, for the mursena is throughout variegated and weak.
The smyrus is of one colour, and strong its colour is thatof the pine tree, and it has teeth both internally and externally. They say that these are the male and the female,
These creatures go upon the land, and are
as in others.
often taken.
5. The growth of all fish is rapid, and not the least so inthe coracinus among small fish. It breeds near the land,
The orphos also grows
in thick places full of seaweed.
rapidly.
The pelamis and thynnus breed in Pontus, andnowhere else. The cestreus, chrysophrys, and labrax, breednear the mouths of rivers. The orcynes and scorpides, andmany other kinds, in the sea.
6. Most fish breed in March, April, and May
a few
in the autumn, as the salpe, sargus, and all the others of
this kind a little before the autumnal equinox
and thenarce and rhine also. Some breed in the winter and summer,
as I before observed, as the labrax, cestreus, and belona in
the winter the thynnis in June, about the summer solit produces, as it were, a bag, containing manystice
minute ova. The rhyas also breeds in the summer. The
chelones among the cestraei begin to breed in the month ofDecember, and so does the sargus, the myxon, as it iscalled, and the cephalus.
They go with young thirty
days.
Some of the cestrei do not originate in coition, but.
;

;

;

;

;

:

are produced from mud and sand.
7. The greater number of them contain ova in thespring, but some, as I observed, in the summer, autumn,
and winter. But this does not take place in all alike,'

Coryphoena hippurus.

THE HISTOKT OF AXIMALS.

110[b. V-

nor singly, nor in every kind, as it does in most fish
whicli produce their young in the spring: nor do they
But it must
produce as many ova at other seasons.
not escape our notice, that as different countries make agreat difference in plants and animals, not only in the habitof their body, but also in the frequency of their sexual intercourse and production o( young; so different localities
make a great difference in fish, not only in their size, andhabit of their body, but in their young, and the frequency
or rarity of their sexual intercourse, and of their ofispringin this place or that.

1.

Chapteb X.
The malacia breed in the spring, and first of all the marine

sepia, though thisits ova

one breeds at

in fifteen days.

all seasons.

It produces

When the ova are extruded, themale follows, and ejects his ink upon them, vrhen they become hard. They go about in pairs. The male is morevariegated than the female, and blacker on the back. The
sexes of the polypus imite in the winter, the young are produced in the spring, when these creatures conceal themselves
for two months.
It produces an ovum like long hair, similar
to the fruit of the white poplar. The fecundity of this animal
is very great, for a great number of young are produced
from its ova. The male differs from the female in having alonger head, and the part of the tentaculum which the fishermen call the penis is white. It incubates upon the ova
it produces, so that it becomes out of condition, and is notsought after at this season.
2. The purpurae produce their ova in the spring, theeeryx at the end of the winter; and, on the whole, thetestacea appear to contain ova in the spring and autumn,
except the eatable echini. These principally produce their
young at the same seasons, but they always contain someova, and especially at the full and new moon, and in fineweather, but those which live in the Euripus of the Pyrrhaji
They are a small kind but full of ova.
are better in winter.
All the cochlesB appear to contain ova at the same season.

Chapteb XI.
1.

The undomesticated birds, as it was observed, generally

pairand breed once a-year.

The swallows and cottyphus

B. v.]THE HISTORY OF ANIMALS.

Ill

breed twice, but tbe first brood of the cottyphus is killedby the cold, for it is the earliest breeder of all birds. It
is able, however, to bring up the other brood.
But thedomestic birds, and those capable of domestication, breed,frequently, as pigeons during the whole summer, and domestic fowls. For these birds have sexual intercourse, andproduce eggs all the year round, except at the wintersolstice.
2. There are many kinds of pigeons, for the peleias andperistera are different.
The peleias is the smaller, but
the peristera is more readily tamed. The peleias is blackand small, and has red and rough feet, for which reason
is never domesticated.
The phatta is the largest of
the tribe, the next is the oenas, which is a little larger thanthe peristera, the trygon is the least of all. If the peristerais supplied with a warm place and appropriate food, it will
breed and bring up its young at any season of the year. If
it is not properly supplied, it will only breed in the summer.
Its young ones are best during the spring and autumn,
those produced in the hot weather in summer are the worst.
it

Chapteb XII.
1.

Animals also differ in the age at which sexual inter-course commences.
For in the first place the period atwhich the spermatic fluid begins to be secreted, and the ageof puberty is not the same, but different for the young ofaU animals are barren, or if they do possess the power ofreproduction, their offspring are weak and small.
This isvery conspicuous in mankind, and in viviparous quadrupeds
and birds, for in the one the offspring, in the other the
The age of puberty is nearly the same ineggs, are small.
the individuals of each kind, unless any alteration takes
place, either as ominous, or from an injury done to theirnature.
2. In men this period of life is shown by the change ofvoice, and not oiily by the size but by the form of thepudendum and of the breasts in women, but especially by
the growth of hair on the pubes. The secretion of the
spermatic fluid commences about the age of fourteen, thepower of reproduction at twenty-one. Other animals have
no hair ou the pubes, for some have no hair at all, and
;

;

112

THE HTSTOllT OF ANIMALS.

others have none

upon their underside, or less[b. V.

than ou

their upper side, but tlie change of the voice is conspicuous
in some of them. And in others dilferent parts of the bodysignify the period of the formation of the semen, and of thepower of reproduction.
3. In almost all animals the voice of the female and of
the young is more acute than that of the male and the older

animals, for even the stags have a deeper voice than their
The males utter their cry at the season of copulafemales.
The voice of thetion, the females when they are alarmed.
female is short, that of the male longer. And the barking ot
old dogs is also deeper than of young ones, and the voice ofthe horse also varies. The females utter a little small cry
as soon as they are bom, and the males do the same, but
their voice is deeper than that of the female, and as they
they are two years
grow older, it still increases.
old, and reach puberty, the male utters a great deep voice,that of the female is greater and clearer than it w'as at first
this continues till they are twenty years old at the outside,Whenand after that the voice, both of the male and female, becomes weaker.
4. For the most part, then, as we observed, the voice ofthe male differs from that of the female in depth, in thoseanimals which utter a lengthened sound. There are, howfor in these animals theever, some exceptions, as oxenvoice of the female is deeper than that of the male, and thevoice of the calf than that of the full-grown animal where;;

fore also in the castrated animals, the voice changes theother way, for it becomes more like that of the female.
5. The following are the ages at which animals acquire
The sheep and goat arrive at
the power of reproduction.
puberty within a year after they are born, and especiallythe goat, and the males as well as the females, but the offspiiag of these males and of the others is different.
For the males are better the second year than when they
become older. In hogs, the male and female unite at eightmonths old, and the female produces her young when she isa year old, for this agrees with the period of gestation.
The male reaches puberty at eight months old, but his offBut these periods,
spring are useless till he is a year old.
aa we have said, are not always the same, for swine willTHE 1II8T0HT 01' ANIMALS.

B. v.]

113

sometimes copulate when they are four months old, so as tohave young and nurse them at six months old, and boars
sometimes reach puberty at ten months old, and continue

good to three years old.
6. The bitch reaches puberty within a year after birth,and so does the dog, and sometimes this takes place atthe end of eight months, but more frequently in the
The period of gestation ismale than in the female.
sixty days, or one or two, or perhaps three days more, butnever less than sixty days, or if they produce young in a
The bitch is readyless time, it never comes to perfection.
for sexual intercourse again in six months, but never sooner.
The horse reaches puberty in both sexes at two years old,and is capable of reproduction, but its offspring at that age
For the most part, sexual interare small and weakly.
course begins at three years of age, and the colts continue toimprove from that period till they are twenty years old.
The male is useful till he is thirty years old, so that he canbeget during almost the whole of his life, for the horse
generally lives five-and-thirty years, and the mare more thanforty, and a horse has been known to live seventy-five years.
7. The ass reaches puberty in both sexes at the age ofthirty months
they rarely, however, produce young tillthey are three years, or three years and six months old.
But it has been known to be pregnant and bring up its
young within the year. The cow also has been known to
produce young and rear it within the year after birth, whichgrew to the ordinary size, and no more.'
8. These are the periods of puberty in these animals.
The seventieth year in man, and the fiftieth in woman,is the latest period of reproduction, and this happens
rarely, for only a few have had children at this time of life.
Sixty- five is generally the boundary in one sex, and fortyThe sheep produces young till it is eight
five in the other.
years old, and, if well treated, until it is eleven, though the;

copulation is continued in both sexes during thewhole period of life.
9. Eat goats are rarely productive, wherefore they compare barren vines with barren goats, but they are pro-act of'This probably means " to such a size as might be expected fr»ia
the early age of the parent."Z;THE niSTOET OF ANIMALS,

114[b. V.

The rams copulate with theductive when they are lean.
old sheep first, but they do not follow after the younger
and the younger, as I before observed, produce a smaller
offspring than the older.
wild boar will beget till he is three years old,10.
but the progeny of older animals is inferior for he has
not the same power or strength. He generally goes to thefemale when full of food, and without having been toanother female, or, if not, the act of coition is of shorter
The sow produces theduration, and the progeny smaller.
smallest number of pigs at her first litter, but at the second
they are more flourishing. She also produces young whenold, but the act of coition is longer.
At fifteen years old,she no longer produces young, but becomes fierce.
11. If well-fed, she will be more ready for sexual intercourse, whether young or old
and, if rapidly fattenedwhen pregnant, she has less milk after parturition. As
regards the age of the parent, the young of those in theprime of their age are the best, and those that are born atthe beginning of winter. The worst are those born in thesummer, for they are small, and thin, and weak. If themale is well fed, he is ready for sexual intercourse at allseasons, by day as well as by night but if not well fed, heis most ready in the morning, and as he grows old, he becomes less disposed for it, as was said before. And it frequently happens that those which are impotent, throughage or weakness, and cannot copulate readily, will approach
the female as she lies down tired with long standing. The
sow generally becomes pregnant when she hangs down
her ears in her heats if she is not pregnant, she becomesheated again.
12. Bitches do not copulate during the whole of their
Their coition and preglife, but only to a certain })eriod.
nancy generally takes place till they are twelve years old,but both males and females have been known to performthe act of coition at eighteen and even twenty years ofage but old age takes away from both sexes the power ofreproduction, as in other animals.
13. The camel is retroningent, a»d performs the act ofintercourse in the manner already described the period of
its coition in Arabia is in the month of September j tte

A

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;

;

;

;

;

THE HISTOEY OP AIS'IMALS.

B. v.]

115

female goes witli young twelve months, and produces one
foal, for the animal is one of those which produce but
Both the male and female arrive at puberty at tlieone.
age of three years, and the female is ready for the maleagain at the end of a year after parturition.
14. The elephant arrives at puberty, the earliest at ten
years of age, the latest at fifteen, and the male at five or sixThe season for the intercourse of the sexes isyears old.
and the male is ready again at the end of
in the spring
three years, but he never touches again a female whom hehas once impregnated. Her period of gestation is two years,
and then she produces one calf, for tlie elephant belongs to
the class of animals which have but one young one at a:

The young one is as large as a calf of two or threemonths old. This, then, is the nature of the sexual intercourse of those animals which perform this function.
time.

Chapter XIII.
1.

We must now treat of the mode of reproduction, both of

those animals which use sexual intercourse, and those which
do not and, first of all, we will speak of the testacea, forthis is the only entire class w'hich is not reproduced by
The purpurae collect together in thesexual intercourse.
spring, and produce what is called their nidamental capsules(melicera), for it is like honey-comb, though not so deeply
cut, but, as it w^ere, made up of the white pods of vetches.
These capsxiles have neither opening nor perforation, nor are
the purpuras produced from them ; but both these and othertestacea are produced from mud and putrefaction.
But
this substance is an excrementitious matter both in the purpura and the ceryx, for these last also produce similar cap;

sules.
2. The testacea which produce these capsules are generated in the same way as the rest of their class, but more
readily when there are homogeneous particles pre-existing
among them for, when they deposit their nidamental capsules, they emit a clammy mucus, from which the scales of
the capsules are formed. When all these have been deposited, they emit upon the ground a sort of chyle, and small
purpurae spring up upon the same spot and adhere to thelarger purpurae, though some of these can hardly be dis;I

2

THE HISTOBT OF ANIMALS.

IIG[b. V.

tinguished by their form. But if they are taken before
the breeding season, they will sometimes breed in thebaskets, not indeed anywhere, but they collect together
like they do in the sea, and the narrow limits of their placeof captivity make them hang together like bunches of fruit.
3. There are many kinds of purpurae, some of which arelarge, as those which are found near Sigeum and Lectumand others are small, as those in the Euripus and on the
Carian coast. Those found in gulfs are large and rough.
Most of them contain a black pigment in others it is red,and the quantity of it small.
Some of the largest weighas much as a mina.
Near the shore and on the coast they
are small, and the pigment is red.
Those which are nativesof the north contain a black pigment in those of the south
it is red, generally speaking.
4. They are taken in the spring, about the time that they
deposit their capsules, but they are never taken during the
dog-days, for then they do not feed, but conceal themselvesand get out of the way. The pigment is contained between
the mecon and the neck. The union of these parts is thick,and the colour is like a white membrane this is taken
away. When this is bruised, the pigment wets and stains
the hand. Something resembling a vein passes through it,
and this appears to be the pigment the nature of the rest
resembles alum.' The pigment is the worst at the period ofdepositing their nidamental capsules.
5. The small ones are pounded up, shells and all, for
it is not easy to separate thembut they separate thelarger kinds from the shells, and then extract the pigment.
For this purpose the mecon is divided fromthe neck, for the pigment lies above the part called thestomach, and when this is taken away, they are divided
asunder.
They are careful to bruise them while alive, for
if they die before they are cut up, they vomit up the pigment for this reason they keep them in the baskets tilla sufficient number is collected, and there is time to prociire
the pigment.
6. The ancients did not let down or fasten any basket-net
to their baits, so that it often happened that the purpura
but at the present time theyfell off as they were dra\\Ti up
;

;

;

;

;

;

;

;

i

Evidently a corrupt reading.

:

B. v.]

THE niSTORT OF ANIMALS.

117

use basket-nets, in order that if the purpura should fall oft",
may not be lost. They are most likely to fall off" whenitbut when empty

full,

it

is

to

difficultdraw them fromThe
the bait. These are the peculiarities of the purpura.
nature of the ceryx is the same as that of the purpura, andso are their seasons.
7. They both have opereula, and so have all turbinated
They feed by forcshell-fish, from the period of their birth.
ing out their tongue, as it is called, beneath the operculum
the purpura has a tongue larger than a finger, with which it
feeds upon and pierces the conchy lia, and even the shells ofBoth the purpura and the ceryx are longits own species.
lived, for the purpura lives six years, and its annual increase
is seen in the divisions on the helix of its shell.
those
8. The mya also deposits nidamental capsules
which are called lipinostrea are the first to originate in
muddy places, but the conchaa, chemae, solens, and pectens
find their subsistence in sandy shores the pinna? grow up
from their byssus both in sandy and muddy shores. The
pinnae always contain a pinnophylax, either like a small carisor cancer, and soon die when this is extracted. On the whole,
all the testacea are produced spontaneously in mud, different
kinds originating in dififerent sorts of mud the ostrea isfound in mud, the conchas and others that have been mentioned in sand. The tethya, balanus, and others Avhich liveon the surface, as the patella and nerita, originate in holes
All these reach maturity very soon, espein the rocks.
cially the purpuras and pectens, for they are matured in one
;

;

;

year.

Very small white cancri are produced in some of the9.

testacea, especially in themyae that inhabit muddy places,

and next to this in the pinnae those which are called pinnoThese
terae they occur also in the pectens and limnostrea.
animals apparently never grow and the fishermen say thatthey are produced at the same time as the creatures they
inhabit.
The pectens disappear for some time in the sand,and so do the purpuras. The ostrea (bivalves) are producedin the manner described, for some of thein originate in;;shallow water, others near the shore, or among rocks, or inrough hard places, or in sand and some have the powerof locomotion, others have not.
;

THE HISTOBV OF A>'IMALS.

118[b. V.

Among those that are not locomotive, the pinnae are10.

and concha? remain on one spot, though
not fixed, and do not survive separation from tiieir home.
The nature of the aster' is so hot, that if it is captm-ed
immediately after swallowing anvthing, its food is founddigested and they say that it is very troublesome in the
P_yrrha?an Euripus.
Its form is like the paintings of astar.
The creatures called pneumones are spontaneously
produced. The shell which painters use is very thick, andthe pigment is jDroduced on the outside of the shell ; they
are principally found in the neighbourhood of Caria.
11. The carcinium also originates in earth and mud, andafterwards makes its way into an empty shell, and when it
grows too large for that, it leaves it for a larger one, as theshell of the nerita, strombus, and such likeit frequently
occurs in the small ceryx. "When it has entered the shell,
it carries it about and lives in it, except that as it grows it
migrates into a larger shell.
fixed ; the solens

;

;

1.

Chapteb XIV.
The nature of the testacea is the same as that of crea-tures without shells, as the cnida?^ and sponges, which inhaThere are two kinds of cnidse, somewhich live in holes in the rocks, and cannot be separated
from them, and other migrating species which live ijpon thesmooth flat surface of the rocks. (The patella also is freeand locomotive.) In the interior of the sponges are foundthe creatures called pinnophylaces, and the interior is closedwith a net like a spider's web, and small fish are captured
by opening and closing this web, for it opens as they approach, and closes upon them when they have entered.
2. There are three kinds of sponges ; one of them is thin,
the other is thick, and the third, which is called theAchillean sponge, is slender, compact, and very strong it
is placed beneath helmets and thigh-pieces, for the sake ofdeadening the sound of blows this kind is very rare. Amongthe compact kinds, those which are very hard and rough are
They all grow upon the rock or near thecalled tragi.
shore, and obtain their food from the mud.
This is evident,
This isfor they are full of mud when they are captured.
bit the holes in rocks.

;

;

*

Star-fish.

^ Actinia.

B. v.]THE HISTORT OF ANIMALS.

-

119

the case with all other fixed tilings, that they derive theirfood from the spot to which they are attached.
3. The compact species are weaker thau those which arethin, because their point of attachment is smaller.
It isaflirmed that the sponge possesses sensation;
this isa proof of it, that it contracts if it perceives any purpose of tearing it up, and renders the task more difficult.
The sponge does the same thing when the winds and waves
are violent, that it may not lose its point of attachment.
There are some persons who dispute this, as the natives ofTorona. The sponge is inhabited by worms and other living
creatures, which the rock-fish eat when the sponge is torn
But if the spongeup, as well as the remainder of its roots.
18 broken off, it grows again, and is completed from the portion that is left.
4. The thin sponges are the largest, and they are mostthe compact sponges
abundant on the Lycian coast
are softer, and the Achillean are more harsh than theothers.
On the whole, those that inhabit deep places witha mild temperature are the softest, for wind and cold
weather harden them, as they do other growing things, and;stop their increase.
Por this reason the sponges of theHellespont are rough and compact and, altogether, thosebeyond Malea, and those on this side, differ in softness andhardness.
5. Neither should the heat be very great, for the sponge becomes rotten, like plants, wherefore those near the shore are
the best, especially if the water is deep near the land, for thetemperature is moderated by the depth. "When alive, before
they are washed, they are black. Their point of attachment is neither single nor dispersed over tlie whole surface,
for there are empty passages between the points of attachment. Something like a membrane is extended over theirlower part, and the attachment is by several points on theupper part are other closed passages, and four or five which
are apparent.
Wherefore some persons say that these are
the organs by which they take their food.
;;

6. There is also another species called aplysia, because it
cannot be washed. This has very large passages but theother parts of the substance are quite compact. When cut
open it is more compact and smooth than the sponge, and;THE HISTOET OF ANIMALS.

120[b. V.

the whole is like a lungof all the sponges tins one is confessed to have the most sensation, and to be the mostenduring. They are plainly seen in the sea near the sponges,
for the other sponges are white as the mud settles down
upon them, but these are always black. This is the modeof production in sponges and testacea.
;

Chapter XV.
1.

Among the malacostraca the carabi are impregnated bysexual intercourse, and contain their ova during three
They afterwards deposit
months, May, June, and July.
them upon the hollow part of their folded tail, and their
The same thing takes place in theova grow like worms.
malacia and oviparous fish, for their ova always grow.
2. The ova of the carabi are sandy, and divided into
eight parts for a cartilaginous appendage, round which theova are attached, is united to each of the opercula at theirjunction with the side and the whole resembles a bunch of
grapes, for every one of the cartilaginous appendages is frequently subdivided, and the divisions are apparent to any
one who aa^II separate them, but when first seen they
appear to be united. Those ova which are in the centre
are larger than those which are contiguous to the perforation,;;and the last are the least.
the ova are
3. The smallest ova are as large as millet
not continuous with the perforation, but in the middle.
For two divisions extend on each side, from the tailand from the thorax, and this is also the line of junction forthe opercula. The ova, Avhich are placed at the side, cannot
be enclosed, unless the extremity of the tail is drawn overthem this, however, covers them like a lid.
4. The female, in depositing her ova, appears to collectthem on the cartilaginous appendages by means of
8he produces them
the broad part of the folded tail.
by pressing with her tail and bending her body. These
cartilaginous processes at the season of oviposition in;;crease in size, in order to become appropriate recepThe ova are deposited on these protacles for the ova.
cesses, as those of the sepia are deposited upon broken
pieces of wood or anything floating in the sea.

This is theTHE HISTORY OF ANIMALS.

B.V.]

121

but after they have beenof depositing themripened twenty days, they are cast off altogether in a mass,as they appear when separated from the parent in fifteendays, at the outside, the carabi are produced from these ova,
and they are often taken ofi" less than a finger's length. The
ova are produced before Arcturus, and after Arcturus they

manner;;are cast ofi'.
5. The cyphse among the carides contain their ova aboutfour months. The carabi are found in rough and rocky places,
the astaci in those that are smooth but neither of them
inhabit mud.
For this cause the astaci are found in theHellespont and near Thasus the carabi in the neighbourhood of Sigeum and Athos. Fishermen, when they pursue
their calling in the open sea, distinguish the rough andmuddy places by the nature of the shore, and other signs.
In the spring and winter they come near the shore in summer time they go into deep water, sometimes for the sake ofwarmth, and sometimes for the cold.
6. Those called arcti' breed nearly at the same time as the
carabi, wherefore they are most excellent in winter and in
spring before the breeding season, and they are worst after
they have deposited their ova. They change their shell inthe spring, like the serpent, which puts ofi" its old age, as itis called.
Both the carabi and the carcini do this when they
are young, as well as afterwards.
All the carabi are long;;;

lived.

1.

Chapter XVI.
The malacia produce a white ovum after sexual inter-course in the course of time this becomes sandy, like thatof the testacea. The polypus deposits its ova in holes or
the ovum is like bunches ofpots, or any other hollow place
the wild vine and of the white poplar, as was observed
before when the ova are produced they remain suspended
from the hole in which they were deposited and the ova
are so numerous, that when taken out they w ill fill a vessel
muQh larger than the head of the polypus in which they
were contained.
2. About fifty days afterwards the young polypi burst theeggs and escape, like phalangia, in great numbers. The particular shape of each limb is not distinct, though the general
;

;

;

:

'

Perhaps, Cancer spinosissimus.

THE HISTORY OF AlflMALS.

122[b. V.

Many of them perish from their small size
Some have been obsened so small that they
could not be distinguished, unless they were touched, whenform is plain.
and debility.

they were seen to move.
3. The sepia also deposits eggs, which resemble large,
They are united together like a bunch
black, myrtle seeds.
of fruit, and are enclosed in a substance wliich prevents

them from separating readily. The male emits his ink
upon them, a mucous fluid, which causes their slippery
The ova increase in this way and when first
appearance.
produced they are white, but when they have touched theink they become large and black. AV^hen the young sepia,;

which is entirely formed of the internal white of the ovum,
is produced, it makes its way out by the rupture of themembrane of the ovum.
4. The ovum which the female first produces is like hail,and to this the young sepia is attached by the head, as birds
The nature of the umbilicalare attached to the abdomen.
attachment has never been observed, except that as the sepia
increases the white always becomes less, and at last entirely
disappears, like the yolk of the eggs of birds.
5. The eyes are at first very large in these as in otheranimals, as in the diagram. The ovum is seen at A, the eyes
The femaleat B and C, and the embryo sepia itself at D.
contains ova during the spring. The ova are produced in
fifteen days
and when the ova are produced they remain
for fifteen days longer like the small seeds of grapes, andwhen these are ruptured the young sepias escape from theinside.
If a person divides them before they have reachedmaturity, the young sepias emit their foeces and vary incolour, and turn from white to red from alarm.
6. The crustaceans incubate upon their ova, which aref)laced beneath them ; but the polypus and sepia and suchike incubate upon their ova wherever they may be deposited, and especially the sepia, for the female has often been
obsened with her abdomen upon the ground, but the female;

polypus has been observed sometimes placed upon her ova,
and sometimes upon her mouth, holding with her tentacula
over the hole in which the ova were deposited. The sepia
deposits her ova upon the ground among fuci and reeds,
or upon any thing thro^Ti in the water, as wood, branchee,

THE HISTORY OF ANIMALS.

B. v.]

123or stones and tlie fishermen are careful to place branchesof trees in the water.
Upon these they deposit their longand united ova like branches of fruit.
are deposited and produced by repeated
7. The ova
exertion, as if the parturition were accompanied with pain.
The ova, like those
The teuthis oviposits in the sea.
of the sepia, are united together. Both the teuthus andsepia are short-lived, for Aery few of them survive a year.
The same is the case with the polypus. Each egg produces
one small sepia, and so also in the teuthis. The male teuthus
for if the hair (branchia) are drawn
differs from the female
aside, the female will be seen to have two red substances
like mammae, which the male does not possess.
The sepia
also has the same sexual distinction, and is more variegatedthan the female, as I observed before.
;;

Chapter XVII.
It has already been observed that the male insects areless than the female, and that the male mounts upon thefemale and the manner of their sexual intercourse has been
described, and the difficulty of sej)arating them.
Most ot
them produce their young very soon after sexual intercourse.
All the kinds except some psycha? (butterflies and moths)
produce worms. These produce a hard substance, like theseed of the cnecus/ which is fluid within. From the worm
an animal is produced, but not from a portion of it, as if itwere an ovum, but the whole grows and becomes an articu1.

;

lated animal.
2. Some of them are produced from similar animals, as
phalangia and spiders from phalangia and spiders, and attelabi,* locusts, and grasshoppers.
Others do not originate inanimals of the same species, but their production is spontaneous, for some of them spring from the dew which falls
upon plants. The origin of these is naturally in the spring,
though they often appear in the winter, if fine weather andsouth winds occur for any length of time. Some originate
in rotten mud and dung and others in the fresh wood ofplants or in dry wood others among the hair of animals, orin their flesh, or excrements, whether ejected, or still existing in the body, as those which are called helminthes.
Cantharus tinctorius, a plant of the thistle kind. L. and S.
* The larva of some species.
;;•

THE HISTORY OF ANIMALS.

124[b. T.

3. There are three kinds of these, the flat worms, theround worms, and those which are called ascarides. Fromthese creatures nothing is produced but t^he broad worm is
attached to the intestine, and produces something like theseed of the colocynth, and this is used by physicians as a
proof of the presence of the worm.
and these
4. Butterflies are produced from caterpillars;;

originate in the leaves of green plants, especially the rhaphahus, which some persons call crambe. At first they aresmaller than millet, afterwards they grow into little worms,
in three days they become small caterpillars, afterwards tliey
grow and become motionless, and change their form. In
It has a hard
this state the creature is called chrysalis.

They are united
covering, but moves when it is touched.
to something by weblike processes, and have no mouth nor
any other visible organ. After a short time the covering iaburst, and a winged animal escapes, which is called a butterfly.

5.

At first, while in the caterpillar state, they take foodand evacuate foeces, but in the chrysalis state they do neither.
The same is the case with all other creatures which
originate in worms, and those which produce worms after
sexual intercourse, or even without this process for theoffspring of bees, anthrenae, and wasps, while they are young
worms, consume food and evacuate excrement, but whenfrom worms they receive their conformation they are called
nymphae, and neither feed nor evacuate, but remain quiet intheir covering until they are grown. They then make theirescape by cutting through a place where the cell is fastened on.
6. The penia' and hypera^ also are produced from akind of campe (caterpillar) which make a wave as theywalk, and as they advance bend the hinder extremity
The creature proup to that which has preceded.
duced always derives its colour from the campe in which
certain great worm, which has as it wereit originates.
horns, and differs from others, at its first metamorphosis
produces a campe, afterwards a bombylius, and lastly
It passes through all these forms in six
a necydalus.
From this animal some women unroll and separate
monthsthe bombycina (cocoons), and afterwards weave them. Itia;

A'

Some species of larva

2 Geometra.

B T.lTHE HISTORY OF A>'IAIALS.

12S

"vvas
first woven in the island of Cos byPamphila, the daughter of Plateos.
7. From the worms in dry wood the insects called carabi
are produced in the same manner for at first they are immoveable worms, and afterwards the carabi are produced by
the rupture of their case. Tlie crambides originate in theplant called crambe, and these also have wings, and theTheprasocurides from the plant called prasura (onion).
oestri are produced from the little flat creatures that arefound on the surface of rivers. Wherefore also they con
gregate in the greatest numbers around the waters wheresuch animals are found.
The kind of pygolampis which
has no wings originates in a small, black, hairy caterpillar.
These undergo another change, and turn into the winged

said tliat this;creatures called bostrychi.
8. The empides originate in ascarides, and the ascarides
originate in the mud of wells and running waters which flow
over an earthy bottom.
At first the decaying mud acquires
a white colour, which afterwards becomes black, and finallyred.
When this takes place, very small red creatures areseen growing in it like fuci. At first these move about in a
mass, afterwards their connection is ruptured, the creatures
called ascarides are borne about in the water, after a i'ew
days they stand erect in the water without motion and of a
hard texture, and subsequently the case is broken and theempis sits upon it until either the sun or the wind enables
it to move, then it fliesaway.

The commencementof life in all other worms, and in
produced from worms, originates in the infliience of the sun and wind. The ascarides are produced ingreater numbers, and more quickly, where the various
matters are mixed together, as in the works conducted in
the Megarian territory, for putrefaction thus takes place
more readily. The autumnal season also is favourable totheir increase, for there is less moisture at that time of the9.

all creatures

The crotones^ originate in the agrostis, the melolonthse from the worms which originate in the dung of oxenyear.

and asses.
10. The canthari which roll up dung, hide themselves init during the winter, and produce worms, which afterwards^

Ticks.

Acarus riciuus.

THE HISTOKT OF ANIMALS.

126[b. 7.

become canthari; and from the worms which inhabit theosprea,^ winged creatures, like those already mentioned,
Flies originate in dung which has
derive their existence.
been set apart, and those who are employed in this work
strive to separate the remainder which is mixed together,
for they say that the dung is thus brought to putrefaction.

11.

The origin of these worms

is verysmall;

for first of

all a redness is perceived, and motion commences, as if

theywere united together. The worm then again becomes still,afterwards it moves, and then again is immoveable. From
this the worm is completed, and motion recommences under
The myops is produced iu
the action of the sun and wind.
wood. The orsodacnje* from the metamorphosis of worms,
which originate on the stalks of the crambe. The cantharisfrom worms which dwell on the fig tree, apium (pear tree),and pitch tree, for there are worms on all these, and on thecynacantha.^ They assemble round strong smelling things
because they originate from them.
12. The conops springs from aworm which originates in tlie
thick part of vinegar; for there seem also to beworms in things
which are the farthest from putrefaction, as in snow which has
for after having laid, it becomes red,laid for some time
wherefore, also, the worms are such and hairy. Those in thesnow in Media are large and white, and furnished with but
little power of motion. In Cyprus, when the manufacturersof the stone called chalcitis burn it for many days in thefire, a winged creature, something larger than a great fly,is seen walking and leaping in the fire.
13. The worms perish when they are taken out of thesnow, and so do these creatures when taken from the fire.
And the salamander shews that it is possible for some:animal substances to exist in the fire, for they say that fire
when this animal walks over it.
14. In the river Hypanis in the Cimmerian Bosphorus,
about the summer solstice, capsules larger than grape-seed
when these are ruptured, a
are floated down the riveris extinguished:four-footed, winged creatureand flies about
J

till

makes

Tetches, leguminous plants.

• Perhaps the dog rose, or sweet briar.

its

escape, which lives

As the sun descends, it

the evening.
*

Chrysomela olcracea.

THE IITSTOUT OF ANIMALS.

B. v.]

127

becomes emaciated, and is dead by sunset, having lived but
one day for which cause it is called ephenierum. Most
animals which spring from caterpillars or worms, are first of
all enclosed in a web, and this is their nature.
15. The wasps which are called ichneumons, which aresmaller than the others, kill the phalangia, and carry them
to a wall, or some other place with a hole in it and when
they have covered them over with mud, they oviposit there,
and the ichneumon wasps are produced from them. Manyof the coleoptera, and other small and anonymous creatures
make little holes in tombs or walls, and there deposit theirworms.
16. The period of reproduction, from its commencement
to its conclusion, is generally completed in three or fourweeks. In the worms and worm-like creatures, three weeks
are usually suflS.cient, and four weeks are usually enoughIn one week from theirfor those which are oviparous.
sexual intercourse, the growth of the ovum is completed.
In the remaining three weeks, those that produce by generation, hatch and bring forth their ova, as in the spiders,and such like creatures. The metamorphoses generally
occupy three or four days, like the crisis of diseases. This;;is the17.

mode of generation in insects.
They die from the shrivelling of their limbs, as large

animals do of old age. Those which are furnished withwings have these organs drawn together in autumn. The
myopes die from an effusion of water in their eyes.

1.

Chaptee XVIII.
All persons are not agreed as to the generation of bees,

some say that they neither produce young, nor havesexual intercourse but that they bring their young fromother sources and some say that they collect them fromthe flowers of the calyntrus,' and others from the flower ofthe calamus.® Others again, say that they are found in theflowers of the olive, and produce this proof, that the swarms
Other perare most abundant when the olives are fertile.
sons afiirm that they collect the young of the drones fromany of the substances we have named, but that the rulers(queens) produce the young of the bees.

for

;

;

'

Honeysuckle.

*

Beed.

;:

TUE uisTonv or a:nimals.

128

[b.v.

2. There are two kinds of rulers, the best of those is red,the other black and variegated their size is double that of
the working bees the part of the body beneath the cincture
is more than half of the whole length
by some they arecalled the mother bees, as if they were the parents of therest and they argue, that unless the ruler is present,
Others affirm that
drones only are produced, and no bees.
they have sexual intercourse, and that the drones are males,
and the bees females.
3. The other bees originate in the cells of the comb, but
the rulers are produced in the lower part of the comb, six orseven of them separated, opposite to the rest of the progeny. The bees have a sting, which the drones have not
the kings and rulers have a sting which they do not makeuse of, and some persons suppose that they have none.
:

;

:

;

1.

Chaptee XIX.
Theue are several kinds of bees, the best are small, round,and variegated:third kindcalled phor ; thisanother kind is large, like the anthrene ais black, and has a broad
abdomen the drone is the fourth, and is the largest of all
it has no sting, and is incapable of work, for which reason
people often wTap something round their hives, so that thebees can enter, but the drones, being larger, cannot.
2. There are two kinds of rulers among bees, as I observed
before.
In every hive there are several rulers, and not asingle one, for the hive perishes if there are not rulers
enough (not that they thus become anarchical, but, as theysay, because they are required for breeding the bees)
if
there are too many rulers they perish, for thus they become
is

:

:

;

distracted.
3. If the spring is late, and drought and rusts are about,
When the weather is dry, they makethe progeny is small.
honey. When it is damp, their progeny multiplies forwhich reason, the olives and the swarms of bees multiply at
the same time. They begin by making comb, in which theyplace the progeny, which is deposited with their moutlis, as
those say who affirm that they collect it from external
Afterwards they gather the honey wh'ch is to besources.
their food, during the summer and the autumn
that whichis gathered in the autumn is the best.
;;B. v.]

THE niSTOET OE ANIMALS.

129

4. Wax is made from flowers.
They bring the materialof wax from the droppings of trees, but the honey falls fromthe air, principally about the rising of the stars, and when
the rainbow rests upon the earth.
Generally no honey is
produced before the rising of the Pleiades.
argue thatwax is made, as I said, from flowers, but that the bees do
not make honey, but simply collect that which fails for
those who keep bees find the cells filled with honey in thecourse of one or two days. In the autumn there areflowers enough, but the bees make no honey, if that whichWe;they have produced is taken away. But if one supply was
taken away, and they were in want of food, they would
make more if they procured it from flowers.

The honey becomes thick by ripening, for at first it issome days, wherefore it
never becomes thick if it is taken away during that time.
It requires twenty days to make it consistent this is very
5.

like water, and continues liquid for;plain from the taste of it, forboth in sweetness
and solidity.
The bee carries honey from every plant
which has cup-shaped flowers, and from all those which,contain a sweet principle, but does not injure the fruit; ittakes up and carries away the sweet taste of plants withitdifi"ers

its tongue-like organ.

6. The honey-comb is pressed when the wild figs begin
to appear; and they produce the best grubs when they
can produce honey. The bees carry the wax and beebread upon their legs, but the honey is disgorged into
the cells. After the progeny is deposited in the cells,
they incubate like birds. In the wax cells the little worm
is placed at the side
afterwards it rises of itself to be fed.
It is united to the comb in such a manner as to be heldby it. The progeny both of the bees and drones fromwhich the little worms are produced, is white. As theygrow they become bees and drones. The progeny of the
king-bees is rather red, and about the consistency of thickhoney.
In bulk it is as large as the creature which is produced from it. The progeny of the king-bee is not a worm,
but comes forth a perfect bee, as they say and, when theprogeny is produced in the comb, honey is found in thatwhich is opposite.
;;

KTHE HISTOBT OF AKIMAL8.

130[b. V.

After the grub is covered up, it has wings andand when it has acquired wings, it bursts throughthe membrane, and flies away. It evacuates an excrementitious matter while it is a worm, but not afterwards, until
7.

feet ;

as I observed before.
If a person cuts off
the head of the grub before its wings are acquired, theother bees devour it if a person having cut off the wingsof a drone lets it go, the bees will eat off the wings of theother drones.
8. The bee will live for six years, some have lived forseven, and if a swarm lasts nine or ten years, it is considered to have done well.
In Pontus there are very white
bees, which make honey twice every month.
In Themiscyra, near the river Thermodon, are found bees which makecells in the earth, and in hives with a very small quantityof wax, but their honey is thick. The cells are smoothand homogeneous. They only do this in the winter, andnot all the year round for there is a great deal of ivy inthe place, which flowers at this season of the year, and from
From the higher regions
this they carry away the honey.
of Amisus a kind of white honey is procured, which the
The same is alsobees form upon the trees without wax.
found in another place in Pontus. There are also bees
which form triple cells in the earth these form honey, butnever have grubs. AU such as these, however, are not cells,
neither are they formed by every kind of bee.
it is perfected,

;

;

;

1.

Chapteb XX.
The anthrense* and wasps form ceDs for their progeny

when they have no rulers, but are wandering about insearch of them, the anthrense upon some high place, thewasps in holes. But when they have the rulers they form
their cells underground.

All their cells are hexagonal, likethey are not formed of wax, but of a webThe ceUs oflike membrane, made of the bark of trees.
the anthrense are far more elegant than those of wasps.
Upon the side of their cells they place their progeny, in themanner of the bees, like a drop of liquid united to the wall
The progeny in all the cells is not alike, but inof the cell.
some they are so large as to be almost ready for flight, iii
others are nymphre, in others grubs.
those of bees;'

Hornet, Apis terrestris.

B. T.]THE HISTORY OP ANIMALS.

131

2. The only excrementitious matter is found in the cellsof the grubs, as in the case of bees. As long as they are
nymphae they remain motionless, and the cell is sealed over,
and on the other side of the cell which contains their progeny, there is a drop of honey in the combs of the anthren®.
The grubs of these creatures are produced in the autumn,
not in the spring, but they evidently grow most rapidly at
the full moon. The progeny and the grubs are not united
to the bottom, but to the side of the cell.

Chapter XXI.

Someof the bombycia^ form an angular cell of mud,which they attach to a stone or something else, and smear
with a kind of transparent substance this is so very thick andhard, that it can scarcely be broken with the blow of a spear.
In this they deposit their ova, and the white maggots arecontained in a black membrane and wax is formed in the
1.

;

;

mud without any membrane, this wax is much more yellow
than that of bees.
2. The ants also have sexual intercourse, and produce
maggots which they do not attach to anything. As thesegrow, they change from small round things to long articu-

lated beings.
The season for their production is in thespring.
3. The land-scorpions also bring forth many egg-likemaggots, upon which they incubate. When the young
ones are perfect, they drive out and destroy their parents
like spiders, for they are frequently eleven in number.

1.

Chapter XXII.
The arachnia copulate in the manner already described,

and produce maggots which at first are small. After their
metamorphosis they become spiders, not from a part but
from the whole of the maggot, for they are round from thefirst.
When the female has produced her ova, she incubates upon them, in three days they acquire limbs. Allof them produce their young in a web, which is thin andsmall in some species, but compact in others.
Some areenclosed entirely in a round receptacle, and others are only
partially covered by the web.
AH the young spiders are^

Apis cementaria.

K 2

132

THE IIISTOKY OF AXIilALS.

[b, T.

not produced at once, but as soon as they are hatched theyleap out and slioot forth a web.
If they are bruised
they are found to contain a thick white fluid like that ofmaggots.
2. Tlie field-spiders first of all deposit their ova in a web,of which one half is attached to themselves, and the otherexternal, they incubate upon this, and produce their
young alive. The phalangia deposit their ova in a thickbasket which they weave, upon this they incubate. The
smooth kinds produce a small number, the phalangia a great
many. When they are grown, they surround their parent
They often seize thein a circle, kill and throw her out.
male in the same way if they can catch him, for he assists
the female in incubation. Sometimes there are as many as
three hundred round a single phalangium.
The little
spiders become full-grown in about four weeks.

Chapter XXIII.
Locusts copulate in the same manner as all other insects, the smaller mounting upon the larger, for the maleis the smaller.
They oviposit by fixing the organ which is
attached to their tail (the ovipositor) in the ground. The
males do not possess this organ. Many of them deposit
their ova in one spot, so as to make it appear like a honeycomb. As soon as they have deposited their ova, egg-like1.

maggots are formed, which are covered with a thin coatingof earth like a membrane, and in this they are matured.
2. The young are so soft as to collapse if they are only
touched. They are not produced on the surface, but alittle below the surface of the soil; and as soon as they
are matured, they escape from the coat of soil in which
they are enclosed as small black locusts. Their skin issubsequently ruptured, and they then attain their full size.
They produce their young at the end of summer, and thendie.

3. For as soon as they have deposited their ova, small
worms make their appearance on their necks, the males also
perish at the same time they come out of the earth in the:spring.
Locusts never shew themselves in mountainous
countries, nor in poor land, but in plains, and broken soil,
The ova remain ia
for they deposit their ova in fissures.

;;THE HISTOET OF AITIMALS.

B. v.]

133

the soil during the winter, and in the summer the locusts
are produced from the germs of the preceding year.
4. The young of the attelabi are produced in the samemanner, and the parents die after having deposited their
ova.
Their ova are destroyed by the rains of the autumn,
if the vreather is wet
but if that season is dry, many attelabi are produced, because they are not equally destroyed
for their destruction appears to be irregular, and to take;place by aecident.

Chapxee XXIV.
1. Theee are two kinds of grasshoppers
sotiie are small.
These are the first to appear, the last to perish. Others,
which chirp, are large these appear last, and disappear
first.
There is another difference between the small andlarge kind. Those which chirp have a division in the middleof the body those which do not chirp have none. The large
ones, which chirp, are called achetae the small are called
tettigonia.
Such of these as are divided, sing a little.
2. Grasshoppers do not appear where there are no trees, forwhich reason they are unknown in the open country ofCyrene, but are abundant near the city, and especiallyamong olive trees, for these do not give much shade, andgrasshoppers are not produced in the cold, nor in very shadygroves.
Both the large and small ones have sexual intercourse with their own kind, copulating with each other on
their backs.
The male inserts his organ into the female, inthe same manner as other insects. The female has a divided
pudendum. The female individual is the one which receives
:

:

:

;

the male.
3. They deposit their ova in fields, piercing the soil withthe organ at the extremity of their Ijody, like the attelabi
for the attelabi also oviposit in the fields, for which reason
they are common in Cyrene. They oviposit also in thereeds which are used to support the vines these theypierce: and so they do in the stems of the scilla.
The
young ones are washed into the earth, and are common inrainy weather.
The maggot, when it is grown in the earth,
becomes a tettigometra these are sweetest before they
have ruptured their covering.
4. And when the season arrives for their appearance.
;:

THE HISTOET OF A>'IMALS.

134[B- T.

about the solstice, they come forth by night, and immediately burst their envelope, and the tettigometra becomes agrasshopper. They immediately become black and hard,acquire their full size, and begin to chirp.
In both kinds
the males chirp the others, which do not chirp, are females.
When first produced the males are the sweetest after thesexual iatercourse, the females are sweetest, for they contain;:v.-hite ova.

If a noise is5.

made as they fly along, they emit a fluid

like water, which the agriculturists describe as if they emitted

both a liquid and solid excrement, and that they feed on dew ;and if any one approaches them with a bent finger, whichis gradually straightened, they will remain more quiet than
if it is put out straight at once, and will climb up upon thefinger for, from the dimness of their sight, they climb upon
it as if it were a moving leaf.
;

1.

CUAPTER XXV.
Those insects which are not carnivorous, but live upon

the juices of living flesh, as lice, fleas, and bugs, produce
nits from sexual intercourse from these nits nothing else
Of these insects the fleas originate in very small
is formed.
portions of corrupted matter, for they are always collected
togetherwhere there is any dry dung. Bugs' proceed from themoisture which collects on the bodies of animals lice fromthe flesh of other creatures for before they appear, they
exist in little pimples which do not contain matter and if
these are pricked, the lice- escape from them. Some persons
have been afficted with a disease arising from excessive
moisture in the body, of which people have died, as they saythat Alcmon the poet, and Pherecydes of Syria did.
There is2. And in some diseases lice are very common.
a kind of lice, which they call wild, and are harder than thecommon sort, which are difficult to eradicate from the body.
The heads of children are most subject to be infested•*nth lice, and men the least so, for women are more liable
Those that have lice in the head areto them than men.
Many other animals are infested
less subject to headache.
with lice for both birds have them, and those which arecalled phasiani, unless they dust themselves, are destroyed by
;

:

;

:

:

'

Cinex lectularius;*

Perhaps Acanis Scabiei, Itch insect.

TUE niSTOllT OF AKIMALS.

B. v.]

135

them. And so are all those creatures which have featlierswith a hollow stem, and those which have hair, except the
Oxen have bothass, which has neither lice nor ticks.
sheep and goats have ticks, but no lice hogs are infested
with large, hard lice, and dogs with those which are called
All lice originate in the animals that are incynoraistse.
All creatures that have lice, and wash
fested with them.
themselves, are more liable to them when they change thewater in which they bathe.
but these
3. In the sea is a kind of lice^ growing on fish
do not originate in the fish, but in the mud. Their appearance is that of wood-lice with many feet, except thatthey have a wide tail. There is one species of marine lice
which occur everywhere, and especially infest the trigla.
All these creatures are furnished with many legs, are exsanguineous, and insects. The oestrus* of the thynnus occurs
near the fins in shape it is like a scorpion, and as large asa spider. In the sea between Cyrene and Egypt, there is aitfish called the phtheira, which accompanies the dolphin
is the fattest of aU fish, because it enjoys an abundance ofthe food which the dolphin hunts for.
;

;

;

:

;

Chapter XXYI.

Theee are also other minute animals, as I observed be-1

fore, some of which occur in wool,* and in woollen goods ; asthe moths, which are produced in the greatest abundance
when the wool is dusty, and especially if a spider is enclosedwith them, for this creature is thirsty, and dries up any
This worm also occurs in garfluid which may be present.
ments. There is one which occurs in old honeycombs, likethe creature which inhabits dry wood this appears to be
the least of all creatures, it is called acari, it is whiteand small. Others also are found in books,* some of which
are like those which occur in garments others are like
scorpions ;* they have no tails, and are very small. And on
the whole, they occur in everything, so to say, which frombeing dry, becomes moist, or being moist, becomes dry, if it
has any life in it.
:

:

•

*
'

Perhaps Oniscus Ceti, or Isora.
Perhaps Lernoea branchialis.
Tinea pellionella, or T. sarcitella.

*Dumestes

Pellio,and D. lor-

darius.
*Phalangiiim cancroides.

THE HISTOEY OF ANIMALS.

136

B. V.]

2, There is a little worm which is called xylophthorus,^
which is no less extraordinary than these animals for its
variegated head is projected beyond its case, and its feet are
The rest of the bodyat the extremity, as in other worms.
is contained in a case made of a substance like spider's web,and a dry material on the outside of this so that it appears
These creatures areto walk about with this attached to it.
attached to their case, and as a snail to its shell, «o thewhole of the case is joined to the worm, and it does not fallout of it, but is drawn out of it, as if they were joined together.
If a person pulls off the case, the creature dies, andbecomes as helpless as a snail without its shell. As timeadvances, this grub becomes a chrysalis, like a caterpillar,
and lies without motion but the nature of the winged
creature that is produced has never been ascertained.
;

;

:

3.

The wild

figs

called psen -^ thisisupon the fig-trees contain a creature
at first a little worm, and afterwards

having ruptured the case, the psen flies out, and leaves itbehind.
It then pierces the unripe figs, and causes themnot to fall off", wherefore gardeners place wild fruit near thecultivated kinds, and plant the wild and cultivated plants
near each other.

Chaptee XXYII.

The

sexual intercourse of sanguineous and oviparous
quadrupeds takes place in the spring. They do not, however, all copulate at the same season ; but some in the spring,others in the summer or autumn, as the season is appropriate
for bringing up the young of each species. The tortoise produces hard, two-coloured eggs, like those of birds. Having
deposited her eggs, she buries them, and makes a beaten
When this is done, she sits upon them.
place above them.
The eggs are hatched the following year. The emys goesout of the water to deposit her eggs, and digs a hole like acask, in which she places her eggs and leaves them. Having
left them alone for less than thirty days, she digs them up
again and hatches them and leads them at once to the water.
1.

'

'

Tinea graminella, Tinea lichenella, Tinea Xylophorus, or perhaps

larva of Phi^ganea.
* Cynips

Psenes.

B. T.]THE HISTOET OF ANIMALS.

187

The marine turtles deposit their eggs in the earth Hke domestic birds, and cover them up with earth and sit upon themduring the night. They produce a great many eggs, as manyas an hundred.
2. The saurians and both the land and river crocodiles
produce their eggs upon the land. Those of the lizards arehatched spontaneously in the earth for the lizard does notlive a whole year, for it is said to live only six months. The
river crocodile produces as many as sixty eggs, which are,;

She sits upon them for sixty days, for they live a long
A very large animal is produced from these small
eggs for the egg is not larger than that of a goose, and the
young is in proportion, but when full grown the creature
measures seventeen cubits. Some persons say that it growa
white.
while.
;

as long as it lives.

Chaptee XXVIII.

Among serpents the viper is externally viviparous, but firstof all internally oviparous. The ovum, like that of fish, is
The young are producedof one colour and soft skinned.
in the upper part. They are not enclosed in a shelly covering,neither are the ova of fish.
The little vipers are produced ina membrane, which they rupture on the third day, and sometimes they make their escape by eating their way throughthe mother. They are produced one by one in the course
Otherof a day, and their number often exceeds twenty.
serpents are externally oviparous, but their ova are joined
together Like women's necklaces. When the female deposits
her eggs in the soil, she incubates upon them. These alsoThis is the manner of theare hatched in the second year.
production of serpents, insects, and of oviparous quadrupeds.

;THE niSTOET OF AJflMALS.

188

BOOK THE

fB. VI.

SIXTH.

CUAPTEE I.

The abore describes the manner of reproduction in serAll birds arepents, insects, and oviparous quadrupeds.
oviparous, but the season of sexual intercourse and of bringing out their young is not the same in all for some copu1.

;

produce eggs at all seasons, as we may say, as thedomestic fowl and the pigeon, for the domestic fowl lays
eggs all the year round, except two months at the winterlate andSome of the finest birds will lay sixty eggs before

solstice.

they want tosit,though these are not so fruitful as themore common kinds.

The Adrianic fowls are very small,but they are cruel, and often kill
Their colour is variegated. Some of thetheir chickens.
domestic birds lay twice a-day, and some have been known
but they lay every day;

to lay so many eggs that they died very soon.
2. The domestic fowls, as I said, lay continually
but thepigeon, dove, trygon, and cenas lay twice a-year and thepigeoB. ten times.
The greatest number of birds lay in thespring ; and some of them produce many young, and this in
two ways some producing their young often, as the pigeon
others producing many at a time, as the domestic fowl. All
birds with crooked claws, except the cenchris,* lay but few
This bird lays the most of any of its class for it has
eggs.
been observed to produce four, and it even produces more.
Some birds lay their eggs in nests but those that do not
fly, as partridges and quails, do not make nests, but lay theireggs on the ground and cover them over with rubbish. The
lark and tetrix * do the same.
3. These birds make their nests in a place sheltered fromThat which the Beotians call serops^ is thethe wind.
only bird that makes its nests in caverns in the earth.
The cichlae* make nests of mud like swallows in the tops oftrees but they place them in order close to each other, so
;

;

;

;

;

;

'

Falco tinnunculxis.

**

Merops apiaster.

*

Tetrao tetrix or Otis tetm.
Turdus, thrush.

THE HISTOET OF AKIMALS.

B. VI.]

139

that from their proximity they look like a chain of nests.
Among the birds which make solitary nests, the hoopoe
makes no real nest, but lays its eggs in the stumps of hollow
trees, without building at all.
The coccyx' lays its eggs inhouses and holes in rocks. The tetrix, which the Athenians
call " urax," makes no nest on the ground or in trees, but
in herbaceous plants.

Chaptee II.
1. The eggs of all birds are alike and have a hard shell, if
they are produced by sexual intercourse and are not decayed,
Birds' eggs arefor domestic fowls sometimes lay soft eggs.
two-coloured, externally white, internally yellow. The eggsof birds inhabiting the sides of streams and lakes differ fromthose living on dry land, for in the eggs of aquatic birds theyolk bears a much larger proportion to the white.
2. The colours of eggs vary in different kinds of birds.
Some have white eggs, as pigeons, partridges some yellow,
as those inhabiting streams others are spotted, as those of
the meleagris* and phasianus;^ the eggs of the cenchris are red
like vermilion.
In the egg itself there is a difference forone end is pointed, the other round. The round end is produced first. The large, sharp eggs are males those which
are round and circular at the sharp end are females.
3. They are matured by incubation.
Some are hatchedspontaneously in the earth, as in Egypt, being buried indung and they say that in Syracuse a drunkard placed eggs
beneath his mat, and drank without ceasing until the eggs
were hatched and eggs placed in warm vessels have beenmatured and hatched spontaneously.
4. The seminal fluid of all birds is white, like that ofother animals and when they copulate the female receives
the male semen near the diaphragm. The egg at first appears
small and white, afterwards red and bloody as it grows it becomes quite ochreous and yellow when it becomes larger a
distinction is made, and the internal part becomes yellow,
the external white and when it is perfected it is set atliberty, and excluded just at the period when it is changing
from soft to hard. So that during exclusion it is not har;

;

;

;

;

;

;

;

;

;

.*

* Numida Meleagris.
Cuculus canorus.
^ Fhasiauus colchicus.

;

THE HISTOBT OF AyiilALS.

140[b. VI.

dened ; but as soon aa it is excluded it thickens and becomes
hard, unless it is diseased.
And egf^s have been known to
be excluded in the state in which all eggs are at a certain
period of their growth for they were entirely yellow, as the
young bird is afterwards. Such have also been observed in thedomestic fowl beneath the diaphragm, where the eggs of thehen are placed, entirely yellow, and as large as eggs usuallyThis has been considered ominous.
are.
5. They are mistaken who say that the hypenemia (barreneggs) are the remains of former acts of sexual intercourse
for young birds, as fowls and geese, have been frequently
observed to lay such eggs without any sexual intercourse.
Barren eggs are smaller, not so sweet, and more iluid thanfertile eggs, and they are more numerous. If they are placed
under a bird, the fluid part never thickens, but both theyolk and the white remain in their original state. Many
birds produce these eggs, as the domestic fowl, partridge,
pigeon, peafowl, goose, and chenalopex.'
6. Eggs are hatched more readily in summer than in
winter for in the summer the domestic fowl will hatch ineighteen days, but in winter sometimes in not less thantwenty-five days.
Some birds also are more adapted forincubation than others.
thunder-storm during the season
of incubation wiU destroy the eggs.
What are called cynosura and uria (addled eggs) are more frequently produced
The hypenemia^ are by some persons calledin the summer.
zephyria, because they say that birds receive these winds inthe spring. They do the same thing if they are touchedwith the hand. The hypenemia become fertile and eggs
that are produced by sexual intercourse are changed to another kind, if the hen which contains either hypenemia or
fertile eggs has sexual intercourse with another bird before
the eggs begin to change from yellow to white, and thehypenemia become fertile, and the fertile eggs produce birdsof the nature of the second male.
7. But if the change from yellow to white has alreadytaken place, neither the barren nor the fertile eggs are altered, so as to change to the nature of the second male. And if
the sexual intercourse should be discontinued while the eggs
are small, those which existed previously undergo no change,
;

;

A

;

^

^Knas tadoma.

^

Eggs formed without sexual intercourse.

B. TI.]THE HISTOKT OP AITIMALS.

141

out if the act is repeated, a rapid increase in size takes place.

The nature of the white and yolk of the egg is different, notonly in colour, but in other properties, for the yolk coagulates with cold, while the white remains fluid, but the white

coagulates with heat, which the yolk does not, but remains
and it becomes consistent and dryby boiling rather than roasting.
8. The white and yolk are separated from each other bya membrane. The chalazss at the extremities of the yolk
have nothing to do with generation, as some persons suppose.
These spots are two, one below and one above. If many
whites and yolks of eggs are taken out, and mixed together
in a vessel, and cooked with a slow and moderate heat,
the yolks will all collect in the middle, and the whites will
surround them. Young domestic fowls begin to lay eggs at
the beginning of the spring they lay more than thosewhich are older, but those of the young birds are smaller,
and if birds are not permitted to incubate, they are destroyed and become sick.
9. After copulation birds rufile and shake themselves,and often cover themselves with chaff", and this also they dowhen they have laid. Pigeons draw up their tail, geese
go and bathe. The pregnancy and conception of barren
eggs is quick in most birds, as in the partridge, on account of the violence of their sexual desires for if the henstands in the way of the breath of the male, she confor
ceives, and immediately becomes of no use for fowling
the partridge appears to have a very distinct smell. The
production of the egg after copulation, and the productionof the young by incubation, do not occupy the same lengthof time in all birds, but varies according to their size. The
egg of the domestic fowl is perfected in ten days after
sexual intercourse, and that of the pigeon in a shorter time.
Pigeons are able to retain their eggs even in the act ofparturition.
If they are disturbed by anything occurringin the neighbourhood of their nest, or a feather be plucked
out, or if anything else troubles or disturbs them, they retain the egg they were about to lay.
10. This is peculiar to pigeons, and so is the following;
for they kiss each other when the male is about to mount,or else they will not endure it. The older bird first gives
soft, if it is not burnt

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142

THE HISTOET OF ANIMALS.

[b. TI'a kiss, but afterwards he mounts without kissing, but
younger birds always kiss before copulation. This also lapeculiar to these birds.
The females kiss and mount uponeach other like the males, when there is no male present.
They do not project anything into each other, but produce
more eggs than those which produce fertile ones from theseeggs nothing is hatched, but they are all barren.
;

Chapteb III.
1.

The production of the bird from the egg is alike in then:but the period of completion varies, as I observed beIn domestic fowls the first sign of alteration takes
This period is longer inplace after three days and nights.

all,

fore.

larger birds, and shorter in small birds. During this period
the upper part of the yolk advances to the small extremityof the egg, which is the beginning of the egg. This is thepart from which the chicken is excluded, and the heart isvisible Like a red spot in the white of the egg.
2. This spot palpitates and moves as though it were endued with life.
From this, as it increases, two involved
sanguineous passages like veins lead to each of the surrounding tunics and a membrane which has aanguineoua
passages encloses the white at this period, and separates itirom the venous passages.
short time afterwards the
body is distinguished, at first very small and white, but thehead is distinct, and in this the eyes are the most enlarged.
And this continues for some time, for afterwards the eyes are
reduced in size and approach each other, but the lower partof the body has not at first any proportion to the upper part.
3. One of the passages from the heart extends into ^circle around the embryo, and the otlier to the yolk, as if
it were an umbilical cord.
The origin of the young bird
is in the white, its nutriment is derived from the yolk
through the umbilical cord. On the tenth day, the wholeof the young bird and all its parts are distinct, but its
head is still larger than the rest of the body, and the eyes
They have no sense
are larger than the rest of the head.
of sight. If the eyes are taken out at this period, they
when the skin isare larger than beans, and blacktaken from them, they are seen to contain a white and cold;A;THE HISTOBT OF ANIMALS.

B. VI.]

143

very brilliant in appearance, but without any hardsubstance. This is the manner of the development of theeyes and head.
4. At the same period the viscera are visible, but thestomach, and intestines, and the veins from the heart still
appear to extend towards the navel. From the navel avein appears to extend upon the membrane which encloses
the yolk, and the yolk itself is at this period fluid, andmore abundant than in its natural state. The other extends
to the membrane which encloses the whole membrane containing the embryo, and the membrane of the yolk and thefluid between them, and when the young birds have grown
a little more, part of the yolk goes to one end, and part tothe other, and between them is the fluid white ; but thewhite is still below the lower part of the yolk, where it was
at first, but at the tenth day the white disappears, for it has
become small, viscid, thick, and rather yellow.
5. This is the position of all the parts
the first and lastpart adjoining the shell is the membrane of the egg, not themembrane of the shell, but beneath this. This contains thefluid white
within this is the young bird, and a membranesurrounding it, and separating it from the fluid beneaththe embryo is the yolk, to which one of the veins extends,
and the other to the white which encloses it.
membranecontaining a fluid resembling sanies encloses the wliole, andthen another membrane which surrounds the embryo itself,
as I observed, and separates it from the fluid.
Below thisthe yolk, enclosed in another membrane, which is reachedby the umbilical cord from the heart, and the great vein, sothat the embryo does not appear to be in either of the fluids.
6. About the twentieth day, if the hatching has been delayed beyond this period, the young bird is able to chirp
when moved externally, and if the shell is taken oif, by thistime also it is downy. The head is placed over the right leg
upon the side, and the wing is over the head.
At thisperiod the chorion-like membrane is visible, which is united
with the lowest membrane of the shell, to which one of theumbilical cords passes, and the young bird is complete. The
other chorion-like membrane is also visible, enclosing theyolk.
To this the other umbilical cord extends. Both ofthese cords are attached to the heart and the great vein. At
fluid,:;;A

THE niSTOUT OF AJTIilALS.

144[b. VL.

the same period the cord which is attached to one chorion
falls off, and is separated from the animal, but the one which,passes to the yolk remains suspended from the young birdby a thin bowel, and a considerable portion of the yolk is
contained in the young bird, and some of it is found in thestomach,7. At this period also they eject an excrementitious
matter into the external chorion, and contain it in thestomach. The external excrement is white, the interna^
yellow.
At last the yolk, which has been continuallywasting and advancing, is entirely taken up and enclosed in
tbe young bird. So that portions of it may be observed in
the intestines of birds if they are dissected on the tenth
day after exclusion from the egg. But it is set at liberty
from the navel, nor does any communication remain, but
the whole is separated. About the before-mentioned period
the young bird sleeps, but it stirs itself, and looks up, andchirps when it is touched, and the heart swells up with thenavel, as if the embryo were breathing. This is the mannerof the development of the chick in the egg.
8. Birds also produce some barren eggs, as well as thosefrom sexual intercourse, but they produce nothing after incubation. This is particularly observed in pigeons. Double
eggs have two yolks in some a thin division of white prevents the yolks from mixing together others have not this
There are some hens which
division, but touch each other.
always lay double eggs, and in these the peculiarities of theyolks have been observed; for a certain bird having laideighteen eggs, hatched two chickens from each of them, except those that were addled all the rest were productive,
except that one of the twin chickens was Irage and theother small in each.
The last, however, was monstrous.
;;;

ClIA-PTEK lY.

All the pigeon tribe, as the phatta and trygon, generally
produce two eggs the trygon and the phatta are thosewhich generally lay three. The pigeon lays, as I said, atevery season the trygon and the phatta in the spring, andnot more than twice. The second brood are hatched whentine first has been destroyed, for many birds destroy them.
1.

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;

THE HISTORY OF ANIMALS.

B, VI.]

146

It sometimes lays three, as I have said, but it never bringsout more than two young ones, and sometimes only one,the remaining egg is always addled. Very few birds begin
to lay before they are a year old but when they have once
begun to lay, they all, as we may say, naturally contain eggs
to the end of their life, though it is not easy to see them insome birds, from their small size.
2. The pigeon usually produces one male and one female,and of these the male is often hatched first and having laidan egg one day, she omits many days and then lays another.
The male sits during a portion of the day, and the female
during the night. The first young one is hatched and able to
fly within twenty days, and the egg is billed on the day before
it is hatchedboth the old birds keep the young ones warm
for some time, as they do the eggs.
During the time ofbringing up their youug the female is fiercer than the malethis is also the case in other animals. They produce young tentimes in a year, and sometimes eleven times those in Egypt
even twelve times. The cock and hen birds copulate within
the year, for they do this at the end of six months.
3. And som-e say that the phatta and trygon are matured
when three months old, and they consider their great numbers as a proof of this.
The female contains her eggs fourteen days, and then sits upon them fourteen more in fourteen days after this the young ones fly so well that it isdifficult to catch them.
The phatta lives, as they say, forty
years ; the partridge more than sixteen years.
The pigeon,
after having brought out her young, lays again in thirty days.
;

;

;

:

;

;

1.

Chaptee Y.
The vulture builds its nest in inaccessible rocks, where-

For thisand young ones are rarely seen.
reason Herodorus, the father of Bryson the sophist, saysthat vultures come from another part of the earth, which isinvisible to us, giving as a reason for his opinion, that they
are seen in great numbers suddenly following the path of anarmy. But difficult as it is to observe them, their nests havebeen seen. The vulture produces two eggs. No other carnivorous bird has been observed to produce young more thanonce a year; but the swallow more frequently produces
young twice a year than the carnivorous birds. If a personfore its nest

THE HISTOET OF ANIMALS.

146[b. VI.

pierces the eyes of young swallows they recover, and areable to see afterwards.

1.

Chapter VI.
The eagle produces three eggs, of which two only are

hatched.
This is also related in the poems of Musaeus.
The bird which lays three eggs, hatches two, and brings up
but one. This frequently happens but three young have
When the young begin to grow, one
becTi seen in the nest.
of them is turned out by the parent, because she dislikes the;trouble of feeding it. At this period it is said to be withoutthat it does not capture the young of wild creatures, for a few days the talons are turned back, and thefeathers become white, so that it then becomes cruel to its
The phene^ receives and brings up the ejectedyoung.

food, soyoung one.
2. The eagle incubates for thirty days

this is the usual
period of incubation for large birds, as the goose and thebustard.
Moderately sized birds usually sit twenty days, as
the ictinus ^ and hierax.^ The ictinus usually produces two
young ones, and sometimes three the -^Etolian kite, as it
The raven produces not
is called, sometimes produces four.
only two, but, as they say, many eggs, which she sits upon
She also turns out some of her
for about twenty days.
young ones. Many other birds do the same thing andgenerally those which produce several turn out one.
3. All kinds of eagles do not behave in the same way totheir young but the pygargus is cruel and the black eagles
are careful for the food of their young but all birds withcrooked talons as soon as their young can fly well beat themand drive them from the nest. And most birds of otherandclasses, as I have before observed, do the same thing
when they have brought them up, they take no more noticeof them, except the crow. This bird cares for its young along while, for as it flies past them it gives them food alter
they are able to fly.
;

;

;

;

;

;

;

Chapteb VII.

The cuckoo is said by some persons to be a changed hawk,

1.

because the hawk which it resembles diaappeai's when tho
1

Vultur cinereus, ossifraguB, osprey.

^

Kite.

^

Jjawk.

THE HISTOET OF ANIMALS.

B. VI.]

147

cuckoo comes, and indeed very few hawks of any sort can beseen during the period in which the cuckoo is singing except
for a few days.
The cuckoo is seen for a short time in thesummer, and disappears in winter. But the hawk has crooked
talons, which the cuckoo has not, nor does it resemble thehawk in the form of its head, but in both these respects ismore like the pigeon than the hawk, which it resembles innothing but its colour the markings, however, upon the
hawk are like lines, while the cuckoo is spotted.
2. Its size and manner of flight is like that of the smallest
kind of hawk, which generally disappears during the season
in which the cuckoo is seen.
But they have both been seenat the same time, and the cuckoo was being devoured by thehawk, though this is never done by birds of the same kind.
They say that no one has ever seen the young of the cuckoo.
It does, however, lay eggs, but it makes no nest
but sometimes it lays its eggs in the nests of small birds, and devours;;

their eggs, especially in the nests of the pigeon, when it haseaten their eggs. Sometimes it lays two, but usually only

one egglays also in the nest of the hypolais,^ which
it up.
At this season it is particularly
fat and sweet-fleshed
the flesh also of young hawks is very;ithatches and brings;

sweet and fat.

There is also a kind of them which builds anest in precipitous clifis.

Chaptee VIII.
1. Ls" many birds the male alternates with the female in the

duty of incubation, as we observed in speaking of pigeons,and takes her place while she is obliged to procure food for
In geese the female alone sits upon the eggs, andherself.
having once begun, she never leaves them during the wholeprocess of incubation.
The nests of all water birds are
situated in marshy and grassy places, by which means they
can keep quiet and still have food within their reach, so thatthey do not starve all the while. The females alone, among
the crows, sit on the eggs, which they never leave but themales bring them food and feed them.
2. The females of the pigeons begin to sit at twilight, andremain on the nest the whole night, till dawn and the malethe rest of the time. Partridges make two nests of eggo,;;'

Sylvia curucca, hedge sparrow.

L 2

;

THE niSTOET OF A>'I\rAlS.

148[b. ttupon one of which the male sits, on the other the female
and each of them hatches and brings up its own and themale has sexual intercourse with its young as soon as they:

are hatched.

Chapteb IX.
1. The peacock lives about twenty-five years, and produces
young generally at three years old by which time also they
have obtained their variegated plumage and it hatches inthirty days, or rather more.
It only produces young once
a-year, laying twelve eggs, or not quite so many.
It laysits eggs at intervals of two or three days, and not regularly.
At first they lay only eight. The pea-fowl also lays barren
eggs they copulate in the spring, and lay their eggs imme;::

diately afterwards.
2. This bird sheds its feathers when the leaves of thetrees begin to fall, and begins to acquire them again withthe first budding in the spring.
Those who rear thesebirds place the eggs for incubation beneath domestic fowls;

because the peacock flies at, and torments the hen when
she is sitting; for which reason some of the wild birds
make their escape from the males before they begin to lay
and sit. They place only two eggs under domestic fowls,
for these are all that they can hatch and bring out
andthey take care to put food before them, that they may not
get up and desert their incubation.
3. Birds at the season of sexual intercourse have large
testicles.
In the more lascivious they are always more evident, as the domestic cock and the partridge.
In thosethat are not always lascivious, they are less.
This is themanner of the gestation and reproduction of birds.
;

Chapter X.
It has been already observed that fish are not always
oviparous, for the selache are always viviparous.
All theThe selache are viviparous, having
rest are oviparous.
first of all produced ova internallyand these they bring up
Fish have also, as I
in themselves, except the batrachus.
1.

;

observed before, very different uteri in difierent kinds forin the oviparous genera the uterus is double, and situated
low down. In the selache the uterus is more like that of birds.
There is this diflference, however, that the ova are not placed:

THE niSTOBT OF ANIMALS.

B, VI.]

149

near the diaphragm, but in an intermediate position near
the spine
and when they have grown they change theirplace from this part.
The ovum in all fish is not of two, butof one colour and it is more white than yellow, both in its
early stages, and after the formation of the embryo.
2. The development of the ovum is different in fish andin birds, in that it has not the umbilical cord which passes
to the membrane of the shell but only the passage whichleads to the yolk in the eggs of birds.
The rest of the development of the ovum is alike in birds and fish for it takes
place at the extremity, and the veins have their origin ina similar manner in the heart and the head, and eyes, andupper parts of the body are larger than the rest. As the
young fish increases, the ovum continues to diminish, andat last it disappears, and is absorbed, like the yolk in theeggs of birds. The umbilical cord is attached a little below
the abdomen. At first the cord is long, but it becomes lessas the fish grows, and at last is small, and finally absorbed,
;

;

;

;

;

like that of birds.
3. The embryo and the ovum are enclosed in a common
membrane, and beneath this there is another membrane, inwhich the embryo alone is enclosed. Between these mem-branes there is a fluid substance. The nutriment containedin the stomach of the young fish is similar to that in theyoung birds, partly white, and partly yellow. The form of
the uterus must be learned from dissection. This organ isdifferent in different fish, as in the galeode by themselves, andthe flat fish by themselves for in some the ova are attachednear the spine to the centre of the uterus, as I observed beThey descend when they begin to increase,fore, as in scylia.^
when the uterus is double, and are attached to the diaphragm,
as in other fish the ova descend into each division.
4. The uterus of these fish, and of the other galeode, has a
Bmall appendage attached to the diaphragm like a whiteThe
nipple, which is not present unless they are pregnant.
scylia and the batis have a shell-like substance, which conIn form the shell resembles thetains the fluid of the ovum.
tongue of a wind instrument, and hair-like passages are attached to the shells. The young of the scylia, which somepersons call nebria galei, are born when the shell falls off and
The young of the batis when they are brought forthbursts.
::.

^Dog-fish.

Squalus stellaris.

;;

THE HISTOET OF A>'IMALS.

150[b. VI.

are excluded by the rupture of the shell.
In the acantheas*
galeos the ova are attached to the diaphragm above thenipples ; and when the ovum descends, the young is attached
to it after it is set free. The reproduction of the alopex isin the same manner.
5. Most galei which are called smooth have the ova placed
between the divisions of the uterus, like those of the scylia
and as they surround it, they descend into each division of
the uterus, and they are produced, attached to the uterus
by an umbilical cord ; so that when the ova are taken out,
they appear similar to the embryo of quadrupeds. And thelong umbilical cord is attached to the lower part of theuterus, each part, as it were, attached to an acetabulum
and to the middle of the embryo near the liver. And when
it is dissected, the food is like an egg, though the ovum be
no longer there. There is a chorion, and peculiar membranes
surrounding each of the embryos, as in quadrupeds.
6. The head of the embryo when it is just produced, isupwards but as it grows and reaches maturity, it is placed
dowTiwards. The males are placed on the left, and thefemales on the right, or there are males and females together
on the same side. The embryo, when dissected, resembles
that of quadrupeds, in having its viscera such as it has, as the
In all the selache the ova areliver, large, and full of blood.
placed high up, near the diaphragm ; many larger, and manysmaller and the embryos are placed below, wherefore it isprobable that such fish produce their young, and copulate
frequently during the same month, for they do not produce
all their young at once, but frequently, and for a long while
but those that are in the lower part of the uterus are matured
and brought to perfection.
7. The other galei both emit and receive their young into
themselves, and so do the rhine and the narca ; and a large
narca has been observed to contain eighty young in herself.
The acanthias is the only one of the galei which does not
admit its young into itself, on account of their thorns.
Among the flat fish the trygon and batos do not admit their
young, on account of the roughness of the tail. Neither
does the batrachus admit its young, on account of the sizeof their heads, and their thorns and this is the only one
tb«^ ifl not viviparous, as I previously observed.
These are
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Squalus Acanthias.

THE HISTOBT OF AlflMALS.

B. VI.]

151

mutual differences, and tbe manner of the development of their ova.
8. At the season of sexual intercourse, tha seminal ducts

theirof the male are full of fluid, so that a white matter escapes
These passages are divided, andat the same
originate in the diaphragm and the large veinseason the passages of the male are conspicuous, and may hecompared with the uterus of the female. When it is not
the season of sexual intercourse, they are lesB conspicuous,from not being in use. In some fish, and sometimes, they
are not visible at all, as it was remarked of the testicles of
The seminal and uterine passages are different inbirds.
other respects also, and because those of the male are attached to the loins, those of the female are easily moved,and enclosed in a thin membrane. The nature of the passages of the male may be seen in works on anatomy.
9. The selachea become pregnant again while with young,and the period of gestation is six months. Among the galei,
for it produces
the asterias produces young the oftenest
twice in a month it begins to copulate in the month of September. All the other galei except the scylia produce twice
Some of them have theirin the year the scylia but once.
The rhine produces its first brood inyoung in the spring.
the spring, and its last in the autumn, near the winter season,and the setting of the Pleiades. The second fry are the mostnumerous. The narca produces its young in the autumn.
The selache descend from the ocean and deep water to theshore, to produce their young, both for the sake of thewarmth, and care of their offspring.
10. No other fish but the rhine and the bates have everbeen observed to unite with others not of their own kind,but there is a fish called the rhinobatus, which has the headand upper part of the rhine, and jthe lower part like the
The galei and thebatus, as it were made up of both.
galeoeides, as the alopex, dog-fish, and the flat fish, as thenarce bates, leiobatos and trygon, are in this manner ovoviparous.

when they are pressed.

:

;

:

;

Chaptee XI.
1.

The

dolphin, whale,biow-hole but nogills,and other cetacea which have a
are viviparous, and so are theTHE niSTOET OF ANIMALS.

152[b. VL.

and the bos. For none of these have an ovum, but
foetus, from which, when perfected, an animal isdeveloped, as in man and the viviparous quadrupeds. The
dolphin usually produces one, and sometimes two young
The whale generally and usually produces two andones.
sometimes one.
The phocsena is similar to the dolphin,for it is like a small dolphin. It is produced in the Pontus.
In some respects the phocsena differs from the dolphin, for
its size is smaller, it is wider in the back, and its colour ispristisa properblue.
Many persons say that the phocaeua is a kind ofdolphin.
2. All these creatures which have a blow-hole, breathe
and inhale air and the dolphin has been observed while
asleep with the muzzle above the water, and it snores in
its sleep.
The dolphin and phocsena give milk and suckle;

They also receive their young into themThe growth of the young dolphins is rapid, forthey attain their full size in ten years. The female is pregnant for ten months.
The dolphin produces her young
They seemin the summer-time, and at no other season.
their young.
selves.

also to disappear for thirty days during the season of the

The young follow their dam for a long while,and it is an animal much attached to its offspring. It lives
many years for some have been known to live twenty-fiveor thirty years for fishermen have marked them by cutting
In this way
their tails and then giving them their liberty.
their age was known.
3. The seal is amphibious, for it does not inhale water,
but breathes and sleeps. It produces its young on land,
but near the shore, in the manner of animals with feet but
it lives the greater part of its time, and obtains its food in
dog-star.

;;;

the sea, wherefore it is to be considered among aquatic
animals.
It is properly viviparous, and produces a living
creature, and a chorion, and it brings forth the other membranes like a sheep. It produces one or two, never morethan three young ones. It has also mammae, so that it
It produces its young
suckles its young like quadrupeds.
like the human subject, at all seasons of the year, but especially with the earliest goats.
4. When the young are twelve days old, it leads them tothe water several times in the day, in order to habituate

THE niSTOET OP AKIMALS.

B. TI.]

158

them by degrees.

It drags its hinder parts along, and does
not walk, for it cannot erect itself upon its feet, but it conIt is fleshy and soft, andtracts and draws itself together.
It is difficult to kill the seal
its bones are cartilaginous.
by violence, unless it is struck upon the temple, for its body
The pudendum of theis fleshy.
It has a voice like an ox.
female is like that of the batis, in all other animals of theclass the pudendum resembles that of the human female.
This is the manner of the development and nature of theyoung of aquatic animals which are either internally or•

externally viviparous.

Chapter XII.
1. The oviparous fish have a divided uterus placed on thelower part of the body, as I observed before. All that havescales are viviparous, as the labrax, cestreus, eephalus, etelis,^
and those called white fish, and all smooth fish except theeel.
Their ova resemble sand. This appearance is owing
to their uterus being quite full of ova, so that small fish
appear to have only two ova for the small size and thinnessof the uterus renders it invisible in these creatures. I have
before treated of the sexual intercourse of fish.
The sexes
are distinct in almost all fish, though there is some doubt
about the erythrinus^ and the channa, for all these arefound to be pregnant.
2. Ova are found in those fish which have sexual intercourse, though they possess them without intercourse.
for theThis is observable in some kinds of river fishphoxini* appear to be pregnant as soon as they are born,
and when they are quite small. They emit the ova in a
stream and, as I observed before, the males devour great
numbers of them, and others perish in the water. Thoseare preserved which they deposit in their appropriate situations.
For, if all were preserved, the numbers that would
be found would be immense. Not all those that are preserved are fertile, but only those on which the seminal fluidof the male has been sprinkled. "When the female produces
her ova, the male follows, and scatters his semen upon them.
Young fish are produced from those ova which are thus
sprinkled.
The remainder turn out as chance may direct.
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*

* Perhaps Perca mariiUL
Perhaps the Sea-bream, Sparus.
' Cyprinus Phoiinus.

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THE HISTORY OF AITIMALS.

151[b. VI.

3. Til 3 same thing also occurs in the malacia; for the
male sepia sprinkles the ova of the female as they are depositedand it is reasonable to suppose that the othermalacia do the same, although it has only been observed in
the sepia. They produce their ova near the land, the cobii
deposit them upon stones, and that which they produce isflat and sand-like.
The rest do the same, for the parts near
the land are warmer, and provision is more abundant, and
;

there
fish,

is

young against larger

better protection for theirfor which cause very great numbers deposit their ova

near the river Thermodon, in the Pontus, for the place issheltered and warm, and the water is sweet.
4. The majority of viviparous fish reproduce once ina-year, except the small phycides,^ which reproduce twice
a-year.
The male phyces differs from the female, being
darker-coloured and having larger scales. All other fish
produce from seed, and emit ova but that which is called
the belone, at the season of reproduction bursts asunder,
and in this way the ova escape for this fish has a division
beneath the stomach and bowels, like the serpents called
typhlinae.'^
When it has produced its ova, it survives, andthe wound heals up again.
5. The development of the ovum is alike, both in thosethat are internally and those that are externally oviparous.
For it takes place at the extremityof the ovum, and it is enclosed in a membrane. The eyes are the first part that is conspicuous ^ they are large and spherical so that it is plain thatthey are mistaken who say that the mode of development resembles that of vermiform creatures, for in them the orderis difierent, and the lower parts are formed first, and afterwards the head and eyes. When the ovum is taken away,
they assume a circular form, and for some time continue togrow without taking in any food, by absorbing the moistureof the ovum. They afterwards derive their nutriment, aslong as they continue growing, from the water of the river.
6. When the Pontus is cleansed, something is floatedout into the Hellespont which is called fucus. It is of ayellow colour. Some say that it is naturally a plant. ThisThe oysters andtakes place at the beginning of summer.
email fish which live in these places feed upon this fucua^ MugiL^ Laccrta apus.
Some species of mullet.
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THE HISTOBT OF ANIMALS.

». TI.]

155and some maritime persons say that they obtain their purple
from tbis plant.

1.

Chaptee XIILThe pond and river fisb begin to reproduce usually when

They all produce their ova at the beginfive months old.
ning of summer. Like the marine fish, the females of thesekinds never emit all their ova, nor the males all theirsemen, at once but both sexes are always foimd to contain a portion of the reproductive substancethey produce their ova at the proper season. The cyprinus five or
six times a-year, and especially under the influence of the
The chalcis reproduces three times, all the rest but
stars.
once a-year.
2. They deposit their ova in the stagnant parts of rivers
and ponds among the reeds, as the phoxinus and perca. The
glanis and the perca, produce their ova in strings, like theirog.
That which the perca produces is so involved that, on
account of its breadth, the fishermen collect it together from;;among the reeds in ponds.

The larger individuals of theglanis produce their ova in deep water, some where it is afathom deep but the smaller ones in shallow water, andespecially at the root of the willow or some other tree, and;among the reeds and mosses.
3. The fish fold themselves together, sometimes a large
one with a small one, and approximate the passages, whichsome call their navel, from which they eject their respective
seminal matter, the females their ova, and the males theirspermatic fluid. Those ova with which the semen of themale has been mixed immediately or in the course of a day
become whiter and larger, and in a short time the eyes ofmake their appearance ; for in all fish, as in otheranimals, this part is most conspicuous, and appears the largest.
But, if the seminal fluid does not touch any of the ova, as in
the case of sea-fish, these become useless and barren.
4. From the fertile ova, as the fish increase in size, something like a shell is separated ; this is the membrane whichenvelopes the ovum and the embryo fish. As soon as theseminal fluid is mixed with the ova a glutinous matter isformed, which fastens them to the roots or other substanceon which they are deposited. The male watches over theplace where the greatest number of ova are depositeri anO,

the fish

156

THE HISTOET 01" ANIMALS.

[b. TI.

the female departs as soon as she has spawned. The development of the ovum of the glanis proceeds the most slowly, forthe male remains by them for forty or fifty days, in orderthat they may not be devoured by fish chancing to comethat way.
The ova, however, of
5. Next to this is the cyprinus.
these which are preserved escape very quickly.
The development in some of the small fish takes place on the thirdday, and the ova upon which the seminal fluid has fallen
begin to increase on the same day, or shortly afterwards.
The ova of the glanis become as large as the seed of theorobus.
Those of the cyprinus and that class, about thesize of millet.
The ova of these fish are produced and developed in this manner.
6. The chalcis assembles in great numbers to deposit its
ova in deep water. The fish which is called tilon deposits
its ova near the shore, in sheltered places
this fish also is;

The cyprinus,

balerus, and all others, so to
say, hasten into shallow water to deposit their ova, and thirteen or fourteen males often follow a single female, and whengregarious.

the female has deposited her ova and departed, the males
The majothat foUow her sprinkle their semen upon them.
rity of the ova are lost, for the female scatters them abroadas she is moving forward, unless they fall upon any subJS'one ofstance, and are not carried away by the stream.
them, except the glanis, watch their ova, unless the cyprinus
meets with them in great numbers, when, they say, that thisfish watches them.
7. All the male fish have semen, except the eel, and thisone has neither semen nor ova. The cestreus migrates fromthe sea into lakes and rivers the eel, on the contrary, leaves
them for the sea. Most fish, therefore, as I obsen-ed, proceed from ova,;

Chapteb XIV.
1. Some originate in mud and sand: even of those kinds which
originate in sexual intercourse and ova, some, they say, haveappeared both in other marshy places and in those which oncesurrounded Cnidus, which became dry under the influence ofthe dog-star, and all the. mud was parched up, but with thefirst rains the waters returned, and small fish appeared with

THE niSTOET OF ANIMALS.

B. VI.]

167th^ return of the waters. This was a kind of cestreus, which
originates in coition, about the size of small ma?nidia/ butthey had neither ova nor semen.
In the Asiatic rivers,
which do not flow into the sea, other small fish, of the sizeof epseti,* are produced in the same manner.
Some persons
say that the cestreus is always produced in this manner, but
in this they are mistaken, for both the females are known
to have ova and the males semen.
But there is some one
kind of them which originates in mud and sand.
2. It is evident from the following considerations thatsome of them are of spontaneous growth, and do not originate either in ova or semen. Those which are neither oviparous nor viviparous are all produced either from mud or
sand, or from the putrid matter on the surface, as also thefoam in sandy places produces the aphya.* This aphya neverincreases in size, and is barren, and as time advances it
perishes, and another fry is formed.
Wherefore it may besaid to be reproduced at every season, except for a shorttime; for it continues from the autumn arcturus to thespring.
This is a proof that it sometimes originates in thesoil, for it is not captured by fishermen in cold weather, but
on a fine day it may be taken as it comes up from the groundfor the sake of the warmth.
Wlien they have dragged theground and scraped up the surface, the fish are more numerous and better.
The other aphyae are inferior, on accountof their rapid growth.
3. They are found in shady and marshy places, when theearth becomes warm in fine weather, as near the templeof Athene in Salamis, and near the tomb of Themistocles,
and near Marathon, for foam is formed in all these places.
It makes its appearance in such places, and in fine weather
it appears also at times in seasons of much rain, and when
foam is formed of rain water, wherefore also it is called
aphrus and sometimes it is found on the surface of the sea,in fine weather, where it is whirled about, and, like the little
maggots in dung, so this is found in the foam which floats on
the surface wherefore also this aphya is carried by the sea
in many directions, and it abounds and is captured in thegreatest abundance when the season is moist and warm.
4. There is another aphya derived from fish, for thatwhich is called cobitis is derived from small and inferior
:

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'

Sardine.

^Atherine epsetos.

^

Melanurus juvenculua.

THE HISTOET OF ANIMALS.

158

gobii, which bury themselves in the earth.

[B. Tl.

The membrades

are produced from the phalerica. The triehides come fromfrom one kind ofthese, and the trichise from the triehides
aphya, which inhabits the port of Athens, the encrasicoli
are derived. There is another kind of aphya which originatesin the moenis and cestreus, but the barren aphrus is very
soft, and endures only for a short time, as I said before, andat last nothing is left but the head and eyes.
The fishermen, however, have now found a mode of conveying it fromplace to place, for it lasts longer when salted.
;

Chapteb XV.
Eels are not produced from sexual intercourse, nor are
they oviparous, nor have they ever been detected with semenor ova, nor when dissected do they appear to possess either
1.

seminal or uterine viscera and this is the only kind of sanguineous animal which does not originate either in sexual
It is, however, manifest that this isintercourse or in ova.
the case, for, after rain, they have been reproduced in somemarshy ponds, from which all the water was drawn and the
mud cleaned out but they are never produced in dry places
nor in ponds that are always full, for they Hve upon and arenourished by rain water. It is plain, therefore, that they
are not produced either from sexual intercourse or from ova.
Some persons have thought that they were productive, because some eels have parasitical worms, and they thoughtthat these became eels.
2. Tliis, however, is not the case, but they originate inwhat are called the entrails of the earth, which are foundspontaneously in mud and moist earth. They have been
observed making their escape from them, and others havebeen found in them when cut up and dissected. These
originate both in the sea and in rivers wherein putrid matter is abundant in those places in the sea which are full offuci, and near the banks of rivers and ponds, for in theseThis is the mode ofplaces the heat causes much putridity.
generation in eels.
;;;

Chapteb XVI.
1.

The reproductive function is not active in all fisli at thesame time or the same manner, nor are they pregnant during
the same length of time. Before the season of sexual inter-

B. VI.]THE HISTOET OF ANIMALS.

169

course the males and females begin to assemble, and at theperiod of intercourse and the production of their ova they pair
together.
Some of them do not remain pregnant more than
thirty days, and others not so long but all of them remain
80 for a number of days, which can be distributed into seven.
Those which some persons call marini remain pregnant for
the longest period. The sargus becomes pregnant in themonth of December, and remains so for thirty days. The
kind of cestreus which some persons call the chelon and themyxon are pregnant at the same time as the sargus. All
these suffer in their pregnancy, wherefore they are driven to
the shore at this season for in the vehemence of their desire
they are carried towards the land, and always continue inmotion during this period till they have produced their ova.
The cestreus is more remarkable for this than any other fish.
As soon as they have deposited their ova, they become quiet.
2. In many fish there is a limit to their reproductive powers,;;

when worms make their appearance in their abdomen. These
worms are small living creatures, which expel the reproductive substance. The small fry of the rhyas makes its appearance in the spring, and that of many others about thevernal equinox.
Other fish do not produce at this season of
the year, but in the summer or near the autumnal equinox.
3. The atherina produces its young first of all, near theland.
The cephalus is the last. This is evident from thesmall fry of the former appearing first, and that of the latterlast of all. The cestreus also produces among the first.
Thesalpa in most places deposits its ova during the summer, andsometimes in the autumn. The aulopias, which they callanthias, produces its ova in the summer season. After these
the chrysophrys, labrax, mormyrus, and all those which arecalled dromades the trigla and cocarinus are the latest of
all the gregarious fish.
These oviposit in the autumn. The
trigla deposits her ova in the mud, which causes her to belate, for the mud continues cold for a long while. The coracimus is next to the trigla, and goes among the sea weed todeposit her ova consequently they frequent rocky places.
It continues pregnant for a long while.
The msenides
oviposit at the winter solstice.
Many other marine fish
oviposit in the summer, for they are not captured at thispenod. The msenia is the most productive of all fish, and;:THE HISTOET OF ANIMALS.

100[b. VI.

the batrachus the most so among the selaehe. They are,however, rare, for they perish very readily
they oviposit inshoals and near the land.
4. The selaehe, as being viviparous, are less productive.
These are particularly preserved by their large size. The
belone is late in producing its young, and many of them areburst by their ova in the act of parturition for these ova
They surround theare not so numerous as they are large.
parent as if they were phalangia; for she produces themattached to herself, and if any one touches them they makeThe atherina deposits her ova by rubbing her
their escape.
abdomen against the sand. The thynni burst with fat. They
The fishermen argue thus when the thynlive two years.
nides fail one year, the thynni fail the year after.
They
appear to be a year older than the pelamus.
5. The thynni and scombri copulate at the end of February, and produce their young at the beginning of June.
They produce their ova, as it were, in a purse. The growthof the thynnides is rapid for when these fish produce their
young in the Pontus, they produce from the ovum creatures
which some persons call scordylse, and the Byzantines call
They go out in
auxidae, because they grow in a few days.
the autumn with the thynnus, and return in the spring as
Nearly all other fish grow rapidly, but those inpelamides.
the Pontus more rapidly than in other places for the amiae
It is necessary to rethere increase visibly every day.
member that the same fish have not in the same place theidentical time of coition and gestation, nor the same periodof reproduction and completion of their ofisprrag. Por thosewhich are called coraciai produce their ova at the time ofwheat harvest, though, generally speaking, the order of theirreproduction is that which I have mentioned.
6. The conger also becomes pregnant, though this circumstance is not equally distinct everywhere on account of its
fat for the organ of reproduction is long, like that of serIt becomes distinct, however, when laid upon thepents.
for the fat smokes and consumes away, and the ova,
fire
If anywhen pressed, jump out with a cracking noise.
person will feel and rub them with the finger, the fat willappear smooth and the ova rough to the touch. Some congers have fat but no ova and others, on the contrary, have
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THE HlSTOnr OF AKIMALS.

161

no fat but such ova as I have described.

We have now

B. VI.J

treated of nearly all the oviparous animals, whether furnishedwith fins, or wings, or feet, and of their sexual intercourse,
gestation, development, and such like subjects.

Chapteb XVII.
now treat of the nature of viviparous animals withfeet and of man at this period.
We have already treated ingeneral and in particular of their mode of coition. It is
common to all animals to be elevated with the desire and
1. "We must

pleasure of sexual intercourse. The females become savage
when their yoimg are produced, the males at the season of
coition for horses bite each other and drive about and pursue their riders. The wild boars are very savage at this season, although coition renders them weak.
2. And they fight wonderfully among themselves, andmake themselves as it were breastplates, and render theirskin callous beforehand by rubbing themselves against trees
and frequently wallowing in the mud and drying themselves.
They fight together and drive each other out of the herd so
fiercely, that not rarely both of them perish in the fight.
The same is the nature of bulls, rams, and goats for althoughat other seasons they pasture together, at the period of copulation they quarrel and fight together. The male camelalso is violent at this time, whether it is a man or a camel thatapproaches him, and hie wiU at all times fight with a horse.
For bears,
3. The nature of wild animals is the same.
wolves, and Hons are savage if they are approached at thisseason but they do not quarrel much among themselves,
The she bears are savage
for none of them are gregarious.
in defence of their cubs, and bitches for their puppies.
Elephants also become wild at this period. Wherefore they saythat in India those who have the care of them do not permit
them to have sexual intercourse with the females for they
become mad at such season and overturn the houses, which
are badly built, and do many other violent acts.
They sayalso that abundance of food will render them more gentle.
They also bring others among them which are directed tobeat them, and so they punish them and reduce them to astate of discipline.
4. Those creatures which have frequent sexual intercourse,
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1£

THE HI8T0BT OF ANIMALS.

162[b. VI.

like domestic animals, as the hog and dog, appear to be lessby these circumstances on account of the freOf all females the mare is the mostviolent in her sexual desires, and then the cow.
Mares aresubject to the affection called hippomania, and this name ia
transferred from this single animal to intemperate and lascivious persons.
They are said to be affected by the wind at
influenced

quency of their coition.

such seasons wherefore in Crete they never separate thestallions from the mares. When the mares are thus affected,
they separate themselves from the other horses. In swine:

the same affection is called xaT^/^s/v, to desire the boar.
They never run to the east or the west, but either north or
south.
5. "When they suffer from this affection, they will allow
no one to approach them, till they either are so fatigued thatthey can go no further, or come to the sea: they then ejectsome substance, which has received the name of hippomanes,
It resembles the capria oflike that on a new-born colt.

the sow.
Poisoners diligently seek for this substance. At
the season of sexual intercourse they lean upon each othermore than at other times, and move their tails, and utter adifferent sound from that which is common to them.

A

fluid like semen also flows from their genital organs, but it
is much more thin than that of the maleand some persons call this fluid hippomanes, though it is not thatwhich is produced upon colts.
It is difficult to coUect
this fluid, for it does not appear in large quantities.
When they are desirous of sexual intercourse, they often
make water, and sport together: this is the nature of;horses.

They are so taken up by their
6. Cows desire the bull.
passion, that the cowherds cannot manage them.
Mares
and cows shew the vehemence of their desire by the swelling
Cows also, like mares, make waterof their genital parts.
very frequently. The cows also mount upon the bull, andThe younger animals, both
follow, and stand beside him.
among horses and oxen, are the fiirst to desire sexual intercourse and in fine weather, when their health is good, thevehemence of their desire is still stronger. If the manea
fjf the mares are cut, their desires become weaker, and they
are rendered more gentle.
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THE HISTORY OF ANIMALS.

B. TI.]

168

7. The stallions recognise the mares of their own herdsby the scent and if any strangers become mixed with thema few days before the period of coition, they bite them tillthey go away, and each stallion feeds apart with his own
mares. Thirty mares, or rather less, are given to each and
if any male approaches, he turns and goes round the mares
If any one of thein a circle, and then prepares to fight.
females attempts to move, he bites and prevents her.
;;

8. At the season of sexual intercourse the bull pastureswith the cows, and fights with other bulls at other times
the sexes keep themselves separate this is called anixayiXih(despising the herd) those in Epirus are often not seen forthree months and generally all, or nearly all, wild animals,
do not herd with their females before the season of sexualintercourse but as soon as they come to puberty the males
separate themselves, and cease to feed with the females.
Sows, when they are urged by sexual desire, or, as it iscalled, desire the boar (xacr^av), will even attack men.
In bitches this affection is called cx-j^av, to desire the
:

:

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:

dog.
9. When females are urged with desire, their genital organs
are swollen with heat, and a fluid secretion takes place.
Mares scatter about a white fluid at this season. In no
creatures are the catamenia so abundant as in women.
Insheep and goats at the season of coition, there are certain
signs before copulation
there are also signs fter copulation, but these again cease till the period of parturition,
when they again occur. By this means shepherds understand that they are about to produce their young. After
parturition there is a great purification, which at first is notvery full of blood, but becomes so afterwards.
10. In the cow, the ass, and mare, this purification isabundant, on account of their great size but still it issmall, considering how large they are.
When the cow isurged by desire, she undergoes a brief purification, about
half-a-cup full, or a little more. The time of this purificationis pecubarly the period for sexual intercouse.
Of all quadrupeds the mare suflfers the least, and is the most cleanly inparturition neither is her loss of blood great considering
the size of the animal. In cows and mares, the failure of
the catamenia in the second, fourth, and sixth month is con:

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THE HISTOET OF ANIMALS.

164[b. TLeidered as a sign of pregnancy but it is not easy for anyone
to understand this, who does not follow and accustom him*
self to theutand some persons are of opinion that they have;:no catamenia.

The female oreus has no catamema, but her
urine is thicker than that of the male.
11. On the whole, the liquid excrements are thicker inother animals than in man and those of female sheep andgoats thicker than in the males of the same animal. Thatof the she ass is thinner, of the cow is harsher, than of theirrespective males. After parturition the urine of all creatures
becomes thicker, and especially in those which have no purification.
When females begin to feel sexual desires, theirmilk is like pus it afterwards becomes useful after parturition.
Sheep and goats become fat when they are pregnant,and consume more food ; and so do cows, and all other quadrupeds.
;;

Chaptee XVIII.
Gbneeall"! speaking, the sexual desires of animals are
more violent in spring. They do not all, however, copulate
at the same seasons, but at the time of year which will cause
them to produce their young at the proper season. The
period of gestation in domestic swine is four months. Theyand if they havenever produce more than twenty pigs
many, they cannot bring them all up. "When aged, they
produce in the same manner, but they copulate more
They become pregnant with one act of coition;
slowly.
but they submit themselves to the boar very frequently, on
1.

;account of their rejection of the capria after they are pregThis takes place in all, but some will also eject thesemen.
2. If any of the pigs are injured or deteriorated during
pregnancy, it is called metacha^ron. This may take place inany part of the uterus. In parturition the sow gives thefirst teat to the first pig.
It is not necessary that she should
go to the boar as soon as the sexual appetite is felt, or before
her ears begin to hang down for otherwise she desires togo again. If she goes to the boar when she is desirous of it,
the impregnation is complete in a single act of intercourse.
Barley is a proper food for the boar at the period of coition.
It should be cooked for the female after parturition.
Some
nant.

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THE HISTOET OE ANIMALS.

B. TI.]

166

BOWS produce excellent pigs from the first others do not
produce good offspring and pigs till they are grown up.
Some persons say that if one of the eyes of a sow is put out,
Bhe generally speaking dies very soon. Most of them live
Some die in less than twenty years.
fifteen.
;

Chapter XIX.
1.

Sheep become pregnant after three or four acts of sexualintercourse.

If rain falls after the act of intercourse, it
The nature of goats is the same. They

must be repeated.

Cases havegenerally produce two, and sometimes three.
occurred of their producing four. The period of gestationin the sheep and goat is five months and in some places,
where the weather is warm and fine, and food is abundant,
The goat will live eight
they have young twice a-year.
The sheep lives ten years, or generally rather lessyears.
but the leaders of the flock live fifteen years for in every
flock they select one of the males as a leader, who, whencalled by the shepherd, places himself at the head of the
They are accustomed to this duty even when young.
flock.
In Ethiopia the sheep live twelve or thirteen years, and thegoats ten or eleven.
2. Both the sheep and goat enjoy sexual intercourse aslong as they live. Sheep and goats produce twins, if either
the pasture is good, or the ram or he-goat, or the ewe
belongs to a race producing twins. They produce females
or males both from the nature of the water (for there aresome waters that cause them to produce males and others
females) and from their manner of sexual intercourse ; andif the wind is northward during copulation they produce
males ; and if it is southward, females and one which naturally produces females will change its nature and produce
males ; so that it is necessary to see that they stand to thenorth during the ^ct of sexual intercourse. If any are accustomed to copulate early, and the ram is introduced to;;;them late, they wiU not endure it.
3. The lambs are white or black according as the veinsbeneath the tongue of the ram are white or black for thelambs are white if the veins are white, and black if they areblack.
If they are both black and white, the lambs also areof two colours and if red, then the lambs are red. They
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THE niSTOET OF ANIMALS.

166[b. VT.

are more ready for sexual intercourse if they drink salt
water so that they should be supplied with salted water
both before and after parturition, and agam in the spring.
The herdsmen do not constitute any leader among the flocksof goats, because it is not their nature to be stationary, butthey are active and ready to move from place to place. If
the older sheep prepare for sexual intercourse at the propertime, the shepherds consider it a sign of a good year for the
sheep ; if the younger ones are ready first, it wiU be a bad;sheep year.

Chapteb XX.
Theee are many kinds of dogs. The Lacedemonian dogs,

1.

both male and female, begin to have sexual intercourse atSome also lift their leg to make water
eight months old.
about this period. The bitch becomes pregnant with a single
act of coition this is particularly evident in thosewhich perform the act in secret, for they become pregnant when once
united. The period of gestation in the Lacedemonian bitchis the sixth part of a year, that is sixty days, or it may be one,
two, or three days more or less. The puppies when they
are born are blind for twelve days. The bitch is ready forsexual intercourse six months after she has produced her
Li some the period of gestation
yoimg, and not sooner.
18 the fifth part of a year, this is seventy-two days.
The
puppies of such bitches are blind for fourteen days. Others
are pregnant the fourth part of a year, that is three wholemonths their puppies are blind seventeen days. The female appears, to desire the male for the same length of time.
2. The catamenia in bitches last for seven days, and at
the same time the genital organs are swollen with heat
dviring this period they will not endure coition, but during
the seven days which follow, for they all appear usually toaesire the male for fourteen days.
This affection continues
in some for sixteen days. The purification from parturition;;

takes place at the birth of the yovmg ones
it is thickand phlegmatic, and the quantity produced in parturition is small in proportion to the size of the body.'
Bitches generally have milk five days before parturition ; in;'(Or perhaps) after partaritiou the discharge becomes thinner ineonslBteuce.

;

THK HISTOET OF ANIMALS.

B. VT.]

167

some cases it appears seven, and in others four days beforehand the milk is good as soon as the young are born. The
Lacedemonian bitch gives milk in thirty days after sexualintercourse at first it is thick, but becomes thinner afterwards. The milk of the bitch is thicker than that of otheranimals, except the sow and the hare.
;;

3. There is evidence of their having reached the age of puberty, for as in the human subject the mammae begin toenlarge and become cartilaginous it is, however, difficult to
detect this without practice, for the enlargement is not very
great.
This takes place in the female, nothing of the kindoccurs in the male. The males generally begin to lift up their;leg to make water when they are six months old.
Some donot do so till they are eight months old, and others before
they are six months old, for, to speak plainly, they do this assoon as they reach puberty all the females sit down to makewater some, however, even of these lift up their leg forthis purpose.
The female never produces more than twelve
puppies, generally five or six, and sometimes only one
those of Lacedaemon generally have eight both sexes continue to enjoy sexual intercourse as long as they live.
;;;

4. It is a peculiarity of the Lacedemonian dog, that it ismore ready for sexual intercourse after hard work than whenidle; the male of this kind lives ten years, the female for twelve,

most other dogs live fourteen or fifteen years, some eventwenty, for which reason some persons think that Homer isright when he makes the dog of Ulysses to have died at
the age of twenty. On account of the hard work which theLacedemonian dogs have to endure the female lives longer
than the male in other races this is not so plainly observed,
but the male is usually longer lived than the female. The
dog does not shed any teeth except those called the canine
teeth, these are shed by both sexes at four months old.
Because they shed these only, a question is raised, for somepersons altogether deny that they shed only two teeth, for
it is difficult to meet with these, and others, when they seethat they shed these, think that they must shed all theirteeth. People judge of the age of a dog by its teeth, for inyoung dogs they are white and sharp, in old ones they aro
black and blunted.
;

THE HISTORY OF ANIMALS.

168^B. VI.

Chapter XXI.
1. The cow is impregnated with a single act of coition,and the bull mounts upon her with such violence that she
bends beneath his weight. If he fails to impregnate her
after twenty days, she is again admitted to the bull.
Oldbulls will not mount the same cow several times in thesame day unless there is some intermission, but young bulls,
incited by the strength of their desires, will force the same
cow several times, and will mount upon many in succession.
The bull is one of the least lascivious of animals. The
conqueror copulates with the female, but if he become impotent from frequent sexual intercourse, the inferior will
attack him, and often prevail.
2. Both the male and the female commence sexual intercourse, so as to produce young, at a year old, though not
generally till they are a year and eight months old, or two

years old according to general agreement. The female ia
pregnant nine months, and produces her young in the tenth
month some persons affirm that parturition takes place atten months to a day if any of them calve before the above
mentioned time, the calf is abortive and does not live, andeven if born a little before the proper time it cannot live,
The female generally produces
for the hoofs are imperfect.
one at a time, sometimes two. She continues to bear andto have sexual intercourse as long as she lives.
3. The female usually lives fifteen years, and so doessome live for more thanthe male if he is not castrated
twenty years if they have an active body.
They usuallyplace castrated oxen as leaders of the herd, as they do in
sheep, and these live longer than the others, for they do
no work, and feed in a superior pasture. They attain perfection at five years old, wherefore some say that Homerwas right when he spoke of the male flourishing at five
years old, and the cow at nine years old, for both expressions have the same meaning.
4. Oxen change their teeth at two years old, not all of them,
however, but only like the horse they do not cast their hoofs
when they are lame, but only swell very much about the
;

;

;

;

The milk is good immediately after calving, but thefeet.
cow has no milk beforehand. The milk which is first formed

yB. VI.]THE HISTOET OP ANIMALS.

169

becomes hard like a stone when it is coagulated this takes
They do not produce
place if it is not mixed with water.
young before they are a year old, except in some remarkablecases, for some have been known to copulate at four months
Most of them desire sexual intercourse in the months
old.
Some, however, are not impregnatedof April and May.
When many become pregnant andbefore the autumn.
admit the male, it is a sign of cold and rainy weather. The
usual discharges occur in cows as they do in mares, but the;quantity is less.

Chaptee XXII.
1.

Both the horse and mare begin to use sexual intercourse

Such early cases, however, are rare, andat two years old.
their offspring small and weak ; and generally they commence at three years old, and they continue to produce
The period of
better colts till they are twenty years old.
gestation is eleven months ; parturition takes place in thetwelfth.
The male does not impregnate the female in any
particular number of days ; but at times in one, two, or
three, sometimes in more. The ass mounts and impregnates
more quickly than the horse and the act of intercourse is
not laborious in horses as it is in oxen. Next to the humansubject, the horse in both sexes is the most lascivious of all;

animals. The sexual intercourse of the younger horses takes
place before the usual age according to the goodness andabundance of their food. The horse generally produces but
one colt, or sometimes two at the outside. The hemionus has
also been known to produce two, but this is considered extraThe horse begins sexual intercourse at thirty
ordinary.
months old, so that it can produce proper colts when it hasdone changing its teeth.

Some have been known, they say,to impregnate mares while changing their teeth, unless they
were naturally barren.
It sheds its four first teeth
2. The horse has forty teeth.
at thirty months old, two above and two below,
year
afterwards, it sheds four more in the same manner, two
above and two below. And again, at the end of the nextyear, it sheds four more in the same manner.
When it islour years and a half old, it sheds no more and individuals
hav.H been known to shed them all at first, and others that

A

;

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THE HISTOKT OF AKIMALS.

170[b. VI.

have shed them all in the last year. These circumstances
are rare, so that it usually happeus that the horse is mostfit for sexual intercourse at four years and a half old.
The
older horses are more full of semen, both the males and thefemales, than younger ones. Horses will copulate both with
their dams and with their offspring and it is thought to bea sign that the herd is complete, when they copulate withThe Scythians ride upon their pregnant
their offspring.
mares when the embryo begins to turn in the uterus, andsay that it renders parturition more easy. All other quadrupeds lie down in the act of parturition wherefore their
young are always produced lying oa their side but whenthe mare feels that the time for parturition is approaching,she stands upright to part with her colt.
3. Horses generally live eighteen or twenty years
some
but if they are carefully
live twenty-five or thirty years
treated, their life may be extended to fifty years.
Thirtyyears, however, is a very long life for the male, and twentySome have been known to live forty
five for the female.
Males live a shorter time than females, on accountyears.
of the act of sexual intercourse and those that are brought
up separately longer than those which live in herds. Females attain their proper length and height in five years
the males in six. In six more years the fulness of body is
acquired, which continues till they are twenty years old.
The females attain perfection more rapidly than the males
but in the uterus the males are the more rapidly developed.
This is also the case in the human subject. This also takes
place in those animals which produce several at a birth.
4. They say that the mule sucks for six months, but themare will not permit it to come afterwards, because it
drags and hurts her. The horse sucks for a longer time.
;

;

;

;

;

;

The horse and the mule attain perfection after casting
and when they have cast them all, it is nottheir teeth;

easy to know their age. "Wherefore they say that, before
casting its teeth, the horse has its mark, which it has notafterwards. After the teeth have been changed, the age
for that in
is usually ascertained by the canine toothriding horses is generally worn down, for the bridle rubs
against it. In horses which have not been ridden, it is large
and not worn. In young horses it is small and sharp.
;

B. VI.]THE HISTOBT OF ANIMALS.

171

The male copulates at aU seasons, and as long as hethe female also as long as she lives and at all seasons,unless they have on a fastening or some other hindrance, no
5.

lives

;

;

peculiar time is appropriated for copulation in either sex,
for there is no period of coition when they cannot also bringup their young. In Opus there was a horse in a herd
which engendered when he was forty years old but it wasnecessary to lift up his fore legs for him. Mares begin to
and when the maredesire sexual intercourse in the spring
has foaled, she does not become pregnant again immediately,
but waits for a time, and produces better foals at the end offour or five years.
It is quite necessary that she should
wait one year, and shotdd pass through a fallow, as it were.
6. The horse, then, bears young at intervals, as I haveSomeobserved; but the ass is not subject to intervals.
mares are quite barren, and others, though they conceive,
yet do not produce their young and they give as a reason
for this, that upon dissection the foetus was found to containother reniform bodies round the kidneys, so that it appeared
As soon as the mare has foaled, sheto have four kidneys.
eats the chorion, and bites from the head of her foal the;;;In size this substance issubstance called hippomanes.
somewhat less than a dry fig. Its form is flat and round,and its colour black. If any person is at hand to take it
before the mare, and she smells it, the scent renders her
wild and mad. Por this reason it is sought after and colIf an ass copulates with a pregnant
lected by poisoners.
mare, the pre-existing foetus is destroyed. Those who keep
herds of horses do not place a leader over them, as they doover oxen, for they are not naturally stationary, but active
and wandering.

Chaptee XXIII.
1. The male and female ass begin to copulate at thirty
months old, and shed their first teeth at the same period.
They lose their second pair of teeth six months afterwards,
and their third and fourth in the same way. These fourth
teeth are called the marking teeth. Sometimes the ass has
become pregnant and brought up its yoxing at a year old.
The she ass parts with the semen after coition, if she is notprevented; and therefore, immediately after coition, they

;;

172

THE HISTOET OF ANIMALS.

[b. VI.

beat her and drive her about.
She foals in the twelfth
month, and generally produces one foal, for this is theirnature, though cases of twin births have occurred.
If an
ass mounts upon a mare, he destroys her foetus, as I observed
before.
But the horse does not destroy the foetus of theass, if the mare has been impregnated by a he ass.
2. The pregnant female has milk at the end of ten months.
After parturition, she will admit the male on the seventhday, and is very easily impregnated afc that period.
She
If she does not produce
will also receive it afterwards.
young before losing her marking teeth, she can never be
impregnated all the rest of her life. She does not like men
to be witnesses of her parturition, nor will she produce her
young in the day time but when it is dark she retires, andShe continues to procreate during
so produces her young.
her whole life, if she has begun before losing her marking
teeth.
The ass lives more than thirty years, and the female
longer than the male. When a horse copulates with an ass,or a he ass with a mare, abortion is more frequent than between congeners, a horse with a mare, or two asses together.
When the horse and ass are mixed together, the period ofgestation follows from the male parent.
I mean to say thatit takes the same time as if the parents had been congeners
but in size, form, and strength the produce of their union
generally resembles the female parent.
3. If the union takes place frequently, and sufficient time
is not allowed to intervene, the female soon becomes barren.
For which reason those who attend to this business do not
permit them to have continual intercourse, but interpose aproper interval. The mare will not admit the he ass, nor
the she ass the horse, unless the he ass has been suckled bya mare. They are careful, therefore, to admit only those
asses which they call hippothelae, i.e. asses which have been
suckled by a mare. These copiilate by for^e in the pastures,;

like horses.

Chaptee XXIV.
1.

The oreus (mule) mounts and copulates after shedding

the first teeth, and when seven years old is able to engenderaad the ginnus is produced when he mounts upon a mare.
After this he no louger continues to copulate. The femalo

B. VI.]THE HISTOKT OF ANIMALS.

178

oreus also has been impregnated, but the foetus has neverThe hemioni (female
been known to come to fiiaturity.
mules) of Syria, near Phoenicia, admit the male and procreate.
The kind, however, though similar, is not the same.
Those which are called ginni are produced from a mare,when the foetus has received some injury in the uterus, likedwarfs among men and metachoera among swine and the;ginnus, like the dwarf, has a large genital organ.
for they have been
2. The hemionus has a long life
known to live for eighty years, as in Athens, when theybuilt the temple, this individual, though failing with age,helped in drawing, and went beside them, and encouraged the yoke mules to their work, so that an edict was
made, commanding the corn-dealers not to drive it awayfrom the vessels filled with corn. The female mule (oreus)
grows old sooner than the male. Some persons say that she
is purified when making water, but the male ages more
rapidly from smelling the urine.
3. This is the manner of the reproduction of these animals. Those who are employed in bringing up these animals
recognize the young from the old in this way. If the skin,when drawn back from the cheek, soon recovers its shape,
the animal is young if the skin continues wrinkled for along while, the creature is aged.
;

;

1.

Chapteb XXV.
The camel is pregnant ten months, and always produces

a single young one, for this is its nature. They separate
the young camel from the herd at a year old. The camel
The season of parturition
will live more than fifty years.
is in the spring, and the female continues to give milk until
Their flesh and milk are exceedingly
she conceives again.
The milk is drunk mixed with two or three times
sweet.
its quantity of water.
2. Elephants begin to copulate at twenty years old. Whenthe female is impregnated, her period of gestation, some persons say, is a year and a half; other people make it three
years.
The difficulty of seeing their copulation causes thisdifierence of opinion respecting the period of gestation. The
female produces her young bending upon her haunches.
Her pain is evident. The calf, when it is bom, sucks with

THE HI8T0ET OF ANIMALS.

174[b. VI.

its mouth, and not with its proboscis.

It can walk and see
as soon as it is bom.
3. "Wild swine copulate at the beginning of winter. They
produce their young in the spring. For this purpose thefemale gets away into inaccessible and precipitous places,
where there are caves and plenty of shade. The males remain with the females for thirty days. The number of pigs
and the period of gestation are the same as in the domesticated herd, and their voices are much alikethe female,
however, grunts more and the male less. The castration of
the male makes them larger and more fierce, as Homerwrites. " He brought up a castrated wild boar, which was notlike a beast fed upon food, but resembled a woody mountain peak."Castration takes place from a disease like aswelling in the testicles, which they rub against the trees
and so destroy them.
:

Chaptee XXVI.
1.

The female deer usually copulates, as I observed before,

from allurement

for she cannot endure the male on accountof the hardness of the penis. Some, however, endure copulation as sheep do.
When sexual desire is felt, they lie
down beside each other. The male is changeable in his disposition, and does not unite himself to a single female, but
in a short time leaves one for another.
The season forsexual intercourse is in August and September, after Arcturus.
The period of gestation is eight months. The female
becomes pregnant in a few days, and frequently in one day.
2. She generally produces one fawn, though some havebeen known to bear twins. She produces her young by theroad side, for fear of wild beasts. The growth of the fawns
is rapid.
The female has no purification at other times, but
after parturition her cleansing is sanguineous.
The female
usually conducts her fawn to some accustomed place, which
serves them for a refuge.
It is usually an opening in a
rock, with but one entrance, where they can defend themselves against those who would attack them.
3. There are fables about their long life.
They do not,however, appear to be worthy of credit and the period ofgestation and growth of the young does not agree with the
In the mountain called EIr,habits of long-lived animals.
;;

TUE HISTOET OF ANIMALS.

B. VI.]

175

phois, in Arginusa, in Asia, where Alcibiades died, all che
deer have their ears divided, so that they can be known ifthey migrate to another place, and even the foetus in utero

has this distinction. The females have four nipples, likecows.
4. As soon as the females are impregnated, the males go
and live apart from them, and, urged by their^sexual desires,
they each go apart and make a hole, in Avhich they emit astrong smell like he goats, and their faces become black, byThis continues tillbeing sprinkled like those of goats.
after rain, when they turn again to their pasture.
The
animal acts in this way on account of its violent sexual deIn sixmmer time this is so greatsires and its fatness.
that they cannot run, but are taken by those who pursue
them, even on foot, in the second or third race.
5. They frequent the water both on account of the heatand the difficulty of breathing. At the period of sexualintercourse, their flesh is inferior both in taste and smell,
In winter they are thin and weak,
like that of he-goats.
and in the spring are most active for the chase. Whenchased, they sometimes rest awhile, and remain standing till
their pursuers come up with them, when they start afresh.
They seem to do this from a pain in their intestines for;their viscera are so thin and weak that if they are only
struck gently they are ruptured, though the hide remains

sound.

Chapteb XXVII.
1. Beaes perform the act of sexual intercourse in tbe manner already described, not mounting upon each other, butlying down upon the ground. The female is pregnant thirtydays, when she produces one or two, or at the outside five
The foetus is smaller, in proportion to the size of the
CUDS.
parent, than that of any other animal for it is less than a
It is without hair andweasel, and greater than a mouse.
blind, and its legs and almost all its parts are without;

joints.

Itsseason of

The cubs are born

sexual intercourse is inat the time of concealment.

season both the female and the male are veryfat.

March.

At thisWhen

they have brought up their young, they show themselvesin the third month of the spring.
The porcupine also

THE HI8T0ET OF ANIMALS.

176

conceals itself, and is pregnant for the samedays, and in other respects resembles the bear.
difficult to capture the she bear when pregnant.

[B. VI.

number of
It is very

Chaptee XXYIII.
1. It has already been obsened that the lion both copulates
and makes water backwards. They do not copulate andproduce their young at all seasons of the year, though they
produce annually. The young are produced in the spring.
The female generally produces two, never more than six,and sometimes only one. The fable which says that theuterus is ejected in parturition is a mistake. It has arisen
from the rarity of the animal, those who invented the fable
being ignorant of the true state of the case. The race oflions is rare, and not to be found in every place, but only inthe country between the Achelous and the Nessus in thewhole of Europe. The young of the lion are very small attheir birth, so that they can hardly walk at two months old.
The Syrian lions produce five times at first five cubs, andthen one less every time. After this they produce no more,
but continue barren. The lioness has no mane, though the
The lion only sheds its four canine teeth, twolion has.
above and two below. They are shed when the animal is;six months old.
2.

The hyaena is of the colour of the wolf, but it is morehairy, and has a mane along the ridge of its back.

It is amistake to say that each individual has the sexual organs ofboth sexes. That of the male resembles the same organ inThat which has been imagined to be
the wolf and the dog.
the female organ is placed beneath the tail, and it resembles
that of the female, but is imperforate, and the anUs is beneath it. The female hyena has an organ similar to thatwhich bears its name in the male. It is placed beneath thetail, and is imperforate. Beneath this is the anus, and below
The female hyena has an
this again the true genital organ.
uterus like that of other animals of the class, but the female
certain hunter said that he caught
is rarely captured.
eleven hyaenas of which only one was a female.
3. Hares copulate backwards, as I formerly observed, for
They copulate and produce
it is a retromingent animal.

AB. VI.]THE HISTOET OF AKIMALS.

177

They become pregnant a sec3nd
their young at all seasons.
time while they are pregnant, and produce their young every
month. They do not produce their young continually, but

The female has milk
as many days as may be intervene.
before the young are produced. As soon as her young areboru, she copulates again and conceives while giving milk.
The milk is as thick as that of the sow. The young areborn blind, like those of many animals with divided feet.

1.

Chaptee XXIX.
The fox copulates, mounting on the back of the female.

The young are born blind, like those of the bear, and areeven more inarticulate. When the season of parturition
approaches, the female goes apart, so that it is rare to takea pregnant fox. When the young are born, the dam licks
them, in order to warm and mature them. She never produces more than four.
2. The periods of gestation and parturition, both in point oftime and the number of the young, are the same in the wolf asin the dog, and the young are blind, like those of the dog.
They copulate at one season of the year, and the young are
fabulous story
produced in the beginning of summer.
for they say that all the she
is told of their parturition
wolves produce their young in twelve days in the year andthe reason which is given for this fable is this, that during thisnumber of days Latona was brought from the Hyperborean
regions to Delos, in the form of a wolf, for fear of Juno.
Whether this is or is not the period of parturition has never
yet been ascertained. At present it only rests upon tradition.
It does not appear to be true, nor that other talewhich says that wolves only produce once in their life.
3. Cats and ichneumons produce their young in the samemanner as dogs, and live upon the same things. They live
about six years. The young of the panther are born blind.
They are never more than four in number. The jackal
is impregnated like a bitch, and the young are bom blind.
They produce two, or three, or four. Its length towards
the tail is great.
It runs very swiftly,
Its height is small.
although its legs are short but on account of the softnessof its tissues it can leap a great distance.
4. In Syria there are animals called hemioni which are

A

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;

THE HISTOET OF ANIMALS.

178[b. VI.

different from those derived from a mixture of the horse andAs the wild

ass, though they resemble them in appearance.

ass is named from its resemblance to the domestic kind, thewild asses and the hemioni differ from the domestic race in
speed. These hemioni are derived from their own congeners,of which this is a proof. Tor some came to Phrygia in thetime of Pharnaces, the father of Pharnabazus, and remain
there still. There are now only three, though they say thatat first there were nine.

1.

Chaptee XXX.
The reproduction of mice is more wonderful than thatof any other animal, both in number and rapidity. For apregnant female was left in a vessel of corn and after ashort time the vessel was opened, and a hundred and twenty
mice were counted. There is a doubt respecting the reproduction and destruction of the mice which live on thegroimd for such an inexpressible number of field mice havesometimes made their appearance that very little food remained. Their power of destruction also is so great thatsome small farmers, having on one day observed that theircorn was ready for harvest, when they went the following
day to cut their corn, found it all eaten.
2. The manner of their disappearance also is unaccountable for in a few days they all vanish, although beforehand they could not be exterminated by smoking anddigging them out, nor by hunting them and turning swine
among them to root up their runs. Poxes also hunt themout, and wild weasels' are very ready to destroy them but
they cannot prevail over their numbers and the rapidity of
their increase, nor indeed can anything prevail over thembut rain, and when this comes they disappear very soon.
3. In a certain part of Persia the female foetus of the miceare found to be pregnant in the uterus of their parent.
Some people say and affirm that if they lick salt they become
pregnant without copulation. The Egyptian mice have hairnearly resembling that of the hedgehog. There are otherkinds which go upon two feet, for their fore feet are small
and their hind feet large.'' They are very numerous. There
are also many other kinds of mice.
;

;

;

;

1

Perhaps ferret, Mustek varo, or weasel.
Dipus gcrbillus, or D. jaculiu.

' Serboa,

B. VIT.]THE HISTOB.Y OF ANIMALS.

179

BOOK THE SEVENTH.
Chaptee I.
1.

The circumstances attending on the growth of man, fromhis conception in the womb even to old age, derived from hisWehave alreadypeculiar nature, are after this manner.
treated of the distinctions of the male and female and theirparts.
The male begins to have semen at about the age offourteen complete. At the same time hair begins to appear on
the pubes. As Alcmseon of Crotona says that flowers blossom
before they bear seed, about the same period the voice begins
to become more harsh and irregular.
It is neither quite
harsh, nor deep, nor all alike, but it resembles a discordantand harsh instrument. This is called r^ayi^siv, to have avoice like a goat.
2. This is more conspicuous in those who attempt thegratification of sexual desires
for those who are vehementin these desires rapidly pass into a man's voice.
In thosethat refrain themselves the contrary occurs. In those who,
like some singers, endeavour to avoid this change, the voice
will continue for a long while, and never undergo any greatchange. The breasts also and pudendum not only increasein size, but their general appearance is changed.
At thisperiod of life, if a person is urged to the emission of semen,
the discharge is accompanied with pain as well as pleasure.
3. About the same period also the breasts of females enlarge, and the catamenia make their appearance.
They resemble the blood of a newly killed animal. In young girls
only do they appear white, especially if they make use of
fluid food.
This complaint stops the growth and weakens
the body of girls.
The catamenia usually appear when the
mammae are about two fingers high. The voice of girls also
becomes deeper at this period, for on the whole the voice of
women is more acute than that of men, and the voice ofgirls than that of old women, as the voice of boys is more
;

BT

2

THE HISTOET OF ANIMALS.

180[b. TTI.

acute than the voice of men. The voice of female children
also is more acute than that of males, and the windpipe ismore acute in girls than boys.
4. They also want especial care at this period, for theirsexual desires are very strong at the commencement, sothat if they now take care to avoid every excitement, except
such as the change of their body requires, without using
venery, they generally remain temperate in after-years. Eor
girls who indulge in venery when young, generally grow up
intemperate and so do males if they are unguarded either
one way or Ijoth ways ; for at this age the ducts open, andafford an easy passage for the fluid through the body, andat the same time the memory of past pleasures causes adesire for present gratification,
5. Some men never have hair on the pubes from theirbirth, nor seed, on account of the destruction of the parts
appropriated to the semen. There are some women also
who never have hair on the pubes. The male and female
also change their habits of sickness and of health, andthe proportions of their body, whether slight or stout,
Some thin boys after they attainor of a good habit.
puberty become stout and healthy, in others the contraryThis is the case also with females for whetakes place.
ther boys or girls have their bodies loaded with excrementitious matter, this is separated in the one by puberty,
They become more healthy
in the other by the catamenia.
and thriving when that which had prevented health and;;growth is removed.
6. Those which are of the contrary habit of body become
more thin and delicate for their naturally healthy condition is separated in the puberty of one sex., and the catamenia of the other. There is also considerable variety inthe bosoms of young girls, for in some they are very large,;

in others small.

This generally takes place in those girls

which have much superfluous humour, for when the catamenia are about to appear, but before they arrive, the more
fluid the patient is, the more necessary it is that the breasts
should increase until the catamenia make their appearance,
and the breasts, which then begin to increase, remain so afterwards.
In youths and aged men the breasts are more conspicuous, and more like those of females ; and in those who

THE HISTOBY OF ANIMALS.

B. VII.]181

are of a soft habit of body, and are smooth and not full ofveins, and in dark persona also more than fair ones.
7. Until twenty-one years of age the semen is unproductive, afterwards it becomes fertile, though boys and girls
produce small and imperfect children this is also the casewith other animals. Young girls conceive more readily,
but after conception suffer more in parturition, and theirbodies frequently become imperfect. Men of violent passions, and women that have borne many children, grow old
more rapidly than others ; nor does there appear to be any
increase after they have borne three children.
Women ofviolent sexual desires become more temperate after they:

have borne several children,
8. "Women who have attained thrice seven years are well
adapted for child-bearing, and men also are capable of becoming parents. Thin seminal fluid is barren. That which
is lumpy begets males what is thin and not clotted, females.
The beard also appears on the chin of men at the same;

period.

Chaptee II.
1. The catamenla appear when the moon is on the wane, fromwhich some persons would argue that the moon is a female,for the purification of women and the waning of the moon
occur together, and repletion occurs again in both after the
purification and waning.
In few women the catamenia
occur every month, but in most at every third month.
Those in whom they continue for only two or three days
escape with ease: it is more difficult for those in whom
it continues

for a longer time, for they suffer during the
In some the purification takes place all atwhole period.

in all, however, the pain is cononce, in others by degrees
siderable as long as they are present.
In many women, when the catamenia are nearly ready to appear, thewomb suffers so much from strangulation and disturbance,
untn they are discharged.
2, Conception naturally takes place immediately after
this discharge in women, and those who do not then conceive, are usually barren.
Some women, however, who;have never menstruated, conceive.

Such persons containin themselves as much of the fluid as is usually left behindTHE HISTOKY OF AKIMALS.

182[b. VII,after the purification, but not so much as to make its appearance externally. Some women in whom the uterus haa
closed immediately after the purification, conceive even while
menstruating, but do not conceive afterwards. The cata-menia sometimes occur even in pregnant women.

Suchwomen usually bear imperfect children, and their offspring
either do not grow up, or are weakly.
3. It frequently happens that from the want of sexuaiintercourse, or from youth and the period of Hfe, or fromlong abstinence, the uterus descends, and the catamenia
occur several times in the month, until they conceive ; after
which the parts return to their proper place and sometimes:

even in women with a good habit of body, if the humours
axe abundant, an effusion of the semen takes place if it is
too moist.
4. It has already been observed that this purification ismore abundant in women than in any other creature. In
animals that are not viviparous no symptoms of anything of
the kind occur, for this superfluous matter is returned into
their own body, for in many the females are superior to themales in size, and in many it is turned to the formation ofplates, or scales, or abundance of feathers. In viviparous animals -ndth feet, it is turned to the formation of hair and bulkof body (for man is the only animal that is smooth), or ofurine for in almost all animals this secretion is thick andabundant. In women, on the contrary, aU the superfluous
matter of the body is directed to this purification.
5. The case of the male is the same, for in proportion tohis size, man emits more semen than other animals ; (wherefore, also, man is the smoothest of all animals,) and among
men those which abound in humours, and are not very full;

fleshed, and fair men more than dark ones.

So also among

women.

Por in those that are full fleshed, the greater partof the secretion goes to the supply of the body, and in theact of sexual intercourse, fair women have naturally moreseminal fluid than dark ones. Liquid and acid foods also
increase this kind of intercourse.

Chaptee III.
It is a sign that women have conceived when the pudendum remains dry after coition. If the labia are smooth they1.

THE HISTOET OF ANIMALS.

B. Til.]188

nor will they if the labia
but if there is a sensation of roughness and resistance when touched with the finger, and the labia are
In order thatthin, they are then adapted for conception.
they may be able to conceive, such women must prepare theuterus, and the contrary that they may not conceive forso that some
if the labia are smooth they do not conceive

will not conceive, for it slips out

are thick

;

:

;

:

women, in order that the semen may fall outside the uterus,
anoint themselves withoilof cedar, or with ceruse, or oil

mixed with frankincense.
2. If it remain seven days, it is evident that conception
has taken place, for in this period what are called the outpourings take place. The purification takes place in many

women after conception.

Thirty days afterwards in thecase of conceiving a female child, and forty in the case ofa male. After parturition, also, the purification lasts a similar number of days, though it is not exactly the same in all.
3. In the same number of days after conception the discharge no longer takes its usual course, but is turned towards
the mammae, in which the milk begins to make its appearance.
At first the milk appears very small, and like a web in the
mammae. After conception, the first sensation generally
takes place in the iliac region, which immediately appears
more full in some persons. This is more conspicuous inIf the child is a male, a movement is usuallyslight persons.
if afelt on the right side of the groin, in about forty days
female, the movement occurs on the left side, in aboutmust not suppose, however, that an accuninety days.
rate judgment can be formed in this way, for it often happensthat the movement is felt on the right side when a femaleAll
child, and on the left when a male child is conceived.
these, and such like things, vary in a greater or less degree.
4. About this period, also, the foetus becomes divided ; it
If it pepreviously existed as an undivided mass of flesh.
rishes within seven days, it is called an effluxion ; if in
The foetus often perishes within
forty days, an abortion.
If the male fcetus is excluded within forty
this period.
days, and is put out into any other fluid, it becomes disIf placed in cold water, it becomes,
solved, and disappears.
as it were, surrounded with a membrane. When this istaken ofi", the foetus appears about as large as a large;

WeTHE HI8T0BY OF ANIMALS.

184[b. TII,

Its parts are visible, both those of generation, and all
the rest and the eyes are very large, as in other animals.
If the female foetus perishes within the three months, it
If it survives to thegenerally appears without divisions.
foiirth month, the parts appear formed,
5. The whole completion of the parts is more slow in thefemale than in the male, and parturition is more frequently
delayed to the tenth month. After birth, females attain to
youth, and puberty, and old age, more rapidly than males,
and those that have borne many children more rapidly thanothers, as it was observed before.
ant.

;

Chapteb IV.
1.

When conception has taken place, the uterus usuallycloses immediately for seven mouths.

In the eighth month it

opens, and the foetus, if properly developed, begins to descend
If the foetus is not properly devein the eighth month.
loped, but checked in the eighth month in parturition,
women who bear in the eighth month do not exclude it, nordoes the foetus advance downwards in the eighth month,and the uterus does not open itself. It is a sign that it is
not properly developed, when it is born before the circum*
stances I have described take place.
2. After conception, women suffer throughout their whole
body, and their sight becomes dim, and they are afliictedwith headache. In some, these symptoms occur very soon,in others they are delayed, in
as early as the tenth day
proportion as they have an abundance or deficiency of superNausea and vomiting often
fluous matter in their bodies.
seize upon them, and on those especially in whom the purifications become stagnant, and do not yet fly to the mammae.
Some women suffer at the commencement of pregnancy, andothers in the more advanced stages, when the foetus begins to grow. Betention of urine also frequently attacks;

them at last.
3. Those that are pregnant with a male foetus, usually
pass through the time more easily, and retain a better
colour throughout. If a female is conceived, the contrary is
the case for they are generally more discoloured, andIn many cases
sufter more during the period of gestation.
the legs swell, and a swollen condition of the flesh is also com;

B. Til]THE HISTOEY OF ATS^IMALS

185

mon. In some women, however, the condition is contrary.
Pregnant women are apt to have all sorts of fancies, whichchange very rapidly.
Some persons call this longing.
These fancies are strongest when a female is conceived, andthere is but little pleasure in their gratification.
In a few
women the condition of the body is better during pregnancy they suffer most when the hair of the foetus begins
Pregnant women lose the hair which grows on
to grow.
the parts that are hairy at birth, while it becomes more
thick upon the parts on which it appears subsequent to;birth.

A

4.
male foetus usually moves more freely in the womb
than a female, and the parturition is not so long. If a fe-

male, the parturition is slower.
The pain in the birth offemale children is continuous, and dull in the birth ofmales it is sharp, and far more severe. Those who, before
parturition, have sexual intercourse, suffer less in the proSometimes women seem to suffer, not from any pain
cess.
of their own, but from the turning of the head of the childand this appears to be the commencement of the pain.
Other animals have a single exact period for parturition,for one time is appointed for them all.
The human subject
alone varies in this particular, for the period of gestation isseven, eight, or nine months, or ten at the outside, thoughsome have even advanced as far as the eleventh month.
5. If any are born before the seventh month, they neverlive. Those of seven months are the first that are developed,
but these are usually weakly, wherefore, also, they wrap
them in wool. Many of these infants have the passages,
as the ears and nostrils, imperforate.
As they grow, however, they assume a proper form, and many of them survive.
In Egypt, and some other places, where the women sufiFer
little pain in parturition, and where they bear many children with ease, those even at the end of eight months arecapable of living, even although they should be monstrous;
but in such places children born in the eighth month may
survive and be brought up.
In Greece, however, few ofthem survive, and most of them perish and people suspectthat if any of them survive, the exact period of conception
must have been mistaken by the mother.
6. "Women suffer most in the fourth and eighth mouth.
;

;

;

;

186

THE HISTORY OF AIJIilALS.

[b. TII.

and if the foetus dies in the fourth or eighth month, theyusually die also so that not only children bom in the eighth
month often perish, but their mothers also perish with them.
In the 8ameway,the period of conception probably is mistakenby those who have been pregnant more than eleven months
for in these cases the beginning of the conception escapes
the notice of females, for frequently after the uterus has
been distended with flatulence, women have copulated andconceived, and supposed that the former condition in which
they observed the usual symptoms, was the commencementof gestation.
;

Chapter V.
1. The human subject also differs from other animals, as
to the number of the perfect offspring produced at a birth.
For the human subject differs both from animals which
produce but one, and those which produce many for,generally speaking, and, in most cases, women have but
one child at a time, though cases of twins occur frequently,
and in many places, as in Egypt, three or four at abirth have been known in some particular places, as I
have observed before. Five at a birth are the most that havebeen produced. This has been observed to take place inmany cases, but in one case only Jiave twenty been produced at four births, for five were born each time, and manyof them were reared. In other animals, if the twins are
male and female, there is no more difficulty in rearing andpreserving them, than if they were both of the same sex.
In the human subject there are few cases of twins surviving,when one was male and the other female.
2. The human female and the mare copulate after conception more than any other creatures, for all other females,
when they have conceived, fly from the males, except thosewhich, like the hare, become pregnant a second time during
But the mare, having once conceived, does notgestation.
form a second foetus, but generally produces a single foal.
In the human subject it happens sometimes, though rarely.
Those which are conceived a long while afterwards nevercome to perfection, but, from the pain which they cause,and a case has occurred in
destroy the original foetus
which twelve imperfect embryos have been produced at;;

THE HI8T0ET OF ANIMALS.

B. Til.]187

If the second conception take place soon after
the first, they bear and produce the foetus, as if it were atwin.
This, they say, was the case with Iphicles and Her-

one time.

cules.
3. The possibility of the case is manifest, for an adulteress
has been known to produce one child like her husband, andanother like her paramour and a case has occurred of awoman having conceived twins, and then conceived a thirdchild upon them and when the proper time came, thetwins were born perfect, the other was only a foetus of fivemonths old, which died immediately and in another case,a woman produced, first of all, a foetus of seven months old,
and then twins, perfectly developed the former perished,but the latter survived. And some women have conceived
at the same time as they miscarried, and haye ejected
one foetus while they bore the other. In most females,
who have cohabited after the eighth month after conception,
tlie child has been born filled with a shining mucous-like
substance, and has often appeared full of the food which has
heen eaten by the mother and if she has fed upon foodmore than usually salt, the child has been bom without nails.
;

;

:

;

;

1.

Chapter VI.
The milk that is produced before the seventh month isbut as soon as the child is alive the milk becomes good. At first it is salt, like that of sheep. Most
women during pregnancy are afiected by wine, and ifthey drink it they become faint and feeble. The beginning and the ending of the reproductive power in both
sexes is marked in the male by the emission of thesemen, in the female by the catamenia. They are not, however, fertile when these first occur, nor while they arestill small and weak.
The period of the commencementof these signs has been mentioned. In women the catamenia usually cease at forty but if they pass over this age,they go on to fifty and some have even produced children
at that period, but none later than this period.
2. The reproductive function in men usually continues
active till they are sixty years old if they pass beyond thisperiod, till they are seventy and some men have had children at seventy years old. It frequently happens that, whenuseless

;

;

;

;

;

THE HISTCKT OF ANIMALS.

18»[b. TTT.

marriages are unfruitful, both men and women become pregnant, if the marriage is dissolved and they marry again. The
same thing takes place respecting the birth of male andfemale children. For sometimes only children of one sex
are produced by a marriage and if this is dissolved, and theparents marry again, children of the other sex are produced.'
These things also vary v^'ith the age of the parents forsome when young have female children, and when older
males, though the contrary sometimes takes place.
3. The same is the case with the whole of the reproductivefunction.
For some persons have no children when they
are young, but have them afterwards others have children
at first, but none afterwards and there are some women
who conceive with difficulty, but when they have conceived
bear children others conceive easily, but the foetus nevercomes to maturity. There are also both men and women
who only produce children of one sex, as the story goes of
Hercules, who had but one daughter in seventy-two children.
Those who have been barren, and either after great care, orfrom any other cause, at last conceive, more frequently
bear a daughter than a son. It often happens also that men
who have engendered become impotent, and subsequently
return to their former condition.
4. Maimed parents produce maimed children ; and so alsolame and blind parents produce lame and blind children andj
on the whole, children are often born with anything contrary
to nature, or any mark which their parents may have, such aatumours and wounds. Such marks have often been handed
down for three generations as if a person had a mark ou
their arm which was not seen in the son, but the grandson
The
exhibited a dark confused spot on the same place.
circumstances, however, are rare and sound children are
generally produced from lame parents nor is there any complete certainty in these mattersand children resemble
their parents or their grandparents, and sometimes they
resemble neither.
This is handed dowTi for many generations as in Sicily, a woman cohabited with an Ethiopian,her daughter was not black, but her daughter's child was so.
5. For the most part the girls resemble their mother, andthe boys their father though the contrary is often the case,
aud the females resemble their father, and the males thei*
;

;

;

;

;

;

;

;

;

;

;

;

THE HISTOET OF ANIMALS.

B. VII.]

189

mother, and the different parts of the hody resemhle either
Twins have sometimes no resemblance to each other,hut they are generally much alike and one woman cohabited with a man, and conceived seven days after parturition, when she bore a child as like her former as if they had
been twins. Some women, as well aa other creatures, produce young resembling themselves, others bear those which
resemble the male, as the horse called Dicsea in Pharsalia.
parents.

;

1.

Chaptee YII.
The seminal fluid in its emission is preceded by wind.

The manner of its emission exhibits this for nothing is
expelled to a great distance without pneumatic force. If theseminal fluid is taken up by the uterus and retained there,
it becomes inclosed in a membrane.
For if it is expelled
before it becomes articulated, it appears like an ovum inclosed
in a membrane, but without any shell, and the membrane isfull of veins.
All animals, whether furnished with fins, feet,or wings, whether viviparous or oviparous, are produced in
the same manner, except that the umbilicus in viviparous
animals is turned towards the uterus, and in others to the
ovum and in some cases both ways, as in a certain kind offish.
Some of them are surrounded by a membrane, others by achorion.
First of all, the foetus is contained within the lastenvelope. Then there is another membrane over this, whichis in part iinited to the matrix and is partly separate, andcontains water. Between these is a watery or sanguineous
fluid, which in women is called prophorus.
2. All animals that have a navel increase by the navel j
and in those which have acetabula the navel is united to theacetabulum and in those which have a smooth uterus thenavel is united to the uterus upon a vein. The position of all
quadrupeds in the uterus is stretched out that of fishes is on
the side bipeds, as birds, are folded together. The humanfoetus lies folded up with its nose between its knees and its
eyes upon them, and its ears turned outwards. All animals arealike in having the head placed upwards at first.
As they
grow, the head turns round, and the birth of all animals isnaturally with the head forwards for even in those that are
folded together the presentation of the feet is unnatural.
The embryo of quadrupeds contains excrementitious matter,
;

;

;

;

;

:

THE HI8T0ET OF AJHilALS.

190[b. TH,as soon as it is matured, both fluid and solid.
The latter iscontained in the extreme parts of the intestine, the former
in the bladder.
3. If animals have acetabula in the uterus, these acetabula always become smaller as the foetus grows, and at

The umbilical cord is a covering for veins,
In those creaof which the origin is in the uterus.
tures which have acetabula it originates in them in thosethat have not acetabula it originates in the vein. In thelarger animals, such as the foetus of oxen, there are fourveins ; in smaller animals, two in very small animals, as inTwo veins reach the foetus throughbirds, there is but one.
the liver, from that part called the gates of the liver, towards
the great vein and two go to the aorta, where it is divided
into two parts and there are membranes round each pairof veins, and the umbilical cord surrounds these membranes
like a covering. As the foetus increases, these veins diminish.
The embryo, as it grows, advances into the viscera, where
Sometimes it remains rolled
its movements are manifest.
up near the pudendum.
last disappear.

;

;

;

;

Chaptee VIII.
1.

When the pains of parturition come on, they extend to

many and various parts of the body, but especially to one orother of the thighs. Those who suffer most in the bowels aredelivered most rapidly those who suffer much in the loins;

are delivered with difficulty ; those whose pain lies in thesubumbilical region, more quickly. If the child is a male,a liquid, serum-like discharge, of a pale yellow colour, precedes ; if a female, this discharge is sanguineous, but still
fluid.
Some women have neither during the period of parturition.

In other animals parturition is not painful, and it isthat they sufter but moderately in the pains oflabour. In women the pains of parturition are more violent,2.

evident

especially in those that are inactive or that are not well madein their sides, and are unable to hold their breath.
Theyalso suffer more in parturition, if they breathe in the meantime, compelled by the necessity of respiration.
At first a
fluid escapes when the foetus comes to the birth, and the mem-;

B. VII.]THE niSTOKT OF A2fIMALS.

191

branes are ruptured; after this, the embryo is excluded, theuterus being turned, and the uterus being turned inside-out.

Chapteb IX.
1.

The division of the umbilical cord often requires the carefor by skilfulness she may not

ful attention of the midwife;

only assist in difficult labours, but should attend carefully
to the circumstances, and apply the ligature to the umbilicalcord of the child for if the secundines fall out with thechild, the umbilical cord must be bound with a ligature ofworsted, and cut above the ligature, and where it is boundit joins together, and that which is joined with it falls off.
If the ligature becomes loose, the child dies from loss ofblood.
If the secundines do not come out at once, while
they remain within, and the child is outside, the umbilicalcord must be tied and divided.
2. Frequently the child, if weak, has appeared as if bomdead, until the umbilical cord was tied, for the blood flowedfrom the child to the navel and the surrounding parts but
some skilful midwife being present, by pressure on the navel
from within has revived the child, just as if it had been filledwith blood from the first. It has been already observed, that
all animals are naturally born with the head forwards.
Children also have their hands pressed down against their sides.
As soon as they are born they begin to cry and bring theirhands to their mouth. They emit excrements, some immediately, others very soon, but all in the course of a day. This
excrementitious matter is very abundant, considering the sizeof the child. Women call it the meconium. Its colour is likethat of blood, and it is black and pitch-like.
Afterwards it
becomes milky, for the child immediately draws the breast.
The child never cries before it is entirely in the world, noteven though its head is protruded in difficult cases, while
the body is within the uterus.
8. Those women in whom a flooding has preceded theperiod of delivery are delivered with more difficulty, and if
the purifications are small after parturition, and only as muchas they are at first, and do not continue for more than forty
days, such women are stronger, and more ready for conception.
After children are born, for forty days they neither laughnor weep when awake, but sometimes do both in their sleep;;

THE HISTOET OF AITIMALS.

192[b. VILnor do they usually feel when they are tickled, but they sleep
the greater part of their time. As they grow, the period otwakefulness continually increases and it is evident that they
dream, but it is some time before they remember their imaginations.
There is no difference in the bones of other aniIn children the bonemals, but they are all born perfect.
called bregma is soft, and does not become strong for sometime. Some animals are born with teeth, but children begin
The front teeth
to cut their teeth in the seventh month.
naturally appear first, sometimes the upper teeth and sometimes the under. Children cut their teeth more easily iftheir nurses have warmer milk.
;

Chapteb X.
and purification women become fuU
of milk and in some it not only flows through the nipples
but through other parts of the breast, and sometimes fromthe cheeks and if this fluid is not matured nor secreted,but remains full, hard knots are formed, which remain fora long time for every part of the breast is so spongy that,

After

parturition

;

;

;

a hair is swallowed with the drink, pain ensues in thebreasts, until it either escapes spontaneously with the milk,or is sucked out, this is called rg/p^^/ijtv. They continue tohave milk until they conceive again. It then ceases, andis quenched in other creatures as well as in the human
The catamenia seldom take place while milk issubject.
secreted, though this sometimes occurs in women while
On the whole, an eff'usion of fluid seldom takes
nursing.
place from many parts of the body at the same time, andthose that have haemorrhoids have usually less purification.
In some it takes place through ixiae (varices), andandis secreted from the loins before it reaches the uterus
those who vomit blood when the purification is suppressedif;

Buffer no harm.

Chapteb XI.
Children are very subject to spasms, and especially thosethat are in a good condition and have abundance of richWine is injurious in thismilk, or whose nurses are fat.
complaint, and dark-coloured wines more so than those thatare pale, and food that is not fluid, and windy aliments, andB. VII.]THE HISTOEY Or ANIMALS.

193

stoppage in the bowels. Children with this complaint generally die before the seventh day
wherefore also this day
has received a name, as if it gave some hope of the recoveryof the child. Children suffer most at the full moon.
Children are in great danger when the spasms originate in theback, especially if they are advancing in age.^:^ The seventh book ends very abruptly, and hence it has been thoughtthat what is now called the tenth book, in which the subject of reproduction is continued, would have its proper place here, as a continuation of the seventh.
Whether a portion of the genuine work ofAristotle has been lost which would have completed the subject isanother question ; but there can be little doubt that the tenth book, inthe form in which we have it, is no genuine work of Aristotle
some ofthe opinions are contrary to those which he has expressed, and thewhole style and language is different from that of Aristotle. Schneider
therefore has placed the tenth book at the end of the work, that he mayneither entirely exclude that which in former times was considered a
portion of Aristotle's treatise on Animals, nor yet allow a fictitious
book to interrupt the genuine writings of his Author.
;

Ki

;;

THE HISTOEY OF ANIMALS.

19-t[n, VIII.

BOOK THE EIGHTH.
Chaptee I.
1.

The nature of animals and tlieir mode of reproduction
now been described. Their actions and mode of life

has

differ according to their disposition and their food.
Tor almost all animals present traces of their moral dispositions, though these distinctions are most remarkablein man. For most of them, as we remarked, when spealcing

also

appear to exhibit gentleness or
courage or cowardice, fearor boldness, violence or cunning and many of them exhibit something like a rational consciousness, as we remarked in speaking of their parts. For they differ fromman, and man from the other animals, in a greater or lessdegree for some of these traits are exhibited strongly in
of

their

various parts,

ferocity, mildness or cruelty,;;

man, and others in other animals.
2. Others differ in proportion.
For as men exhibit art,
wisdom, and intelligence, animals possess, by way of comThis is most conpensation, some other physical power.
spicuous in the examination of infants, for in them we see,as it were, the vestiges and seeds of their future disposition
nor does their soul at this period differ in any respect fromthat of an animal so that it is not unreasonable for animals;

to present the same, or similar, or analogous appearances.
Nature passes so gradually from inanimate to animate things,
that from their continuity their boundary and the mean between them is indistinct. The race of plants succeeds immediately that of inanimate objects and these differ from eachother in the proportion of life in which they j)articipate
for, compared with other bodies, plants appear to possess
life, though, when compared with animals, they appear inanimate.
3. The change from plants to animals, however, is graFor a person might question todual, as 1 before observed.
;

,

B

THE HISTOKT OF ANIMALS.

VIII.]

195

whicli of these classes some marine objects belong for manyof them are attached to the rock, and perish as soon as they;

are separated from it. The jjinnaj are attached to the rocks,
the solens cannot live after they are taken away from theirlocalities and, on the whole, all the testacea resemble plants,
Some of them
if we compare them with locomotive animals.
appear to have no sensation in others it is very dull. The
body of some of them is naturally fleshy, as of those which arecalled tethya and the acalephe and the sjDonge entirely resemble plants the progress is always gradual by which one
appears to have more life and motion than another.
4. In the vital actions also we may observe the same manFor vegetables which are produced from seed apner.
pear to have no other w^ork beyond reproduction nor do
Bome animals appear to have any other object in their existence.
This object then is common to them all ; but as sensation advances, their manner of life difiers in their havingpleasure in sexual intercourse, in their mode of parturition
and rearing their young. Some of them, like plants, simply
accomplish their peculiar mode of reproduction at an appointed season, and others are diligent in rearing their
young but as soon as this is accomplished they separate
from them, and have no farther communication but thosethat are more intelligent, and possess more memory, use
their offspring in a more civilized manner.
5. The work of reproduction is one part of their life, thework of procuring food forms another. These two occupy
Their food differs in the subtheir labour and their life.
stances of which it consists, and all the natural increase of the
body is derived from food. That whicli is natural is pleasantand all animals follow that which is pleasant to their nature.
;

;

;

;

;

;

;

Chapteb II.
1.

AwiMALS are diAdded according to the localities which

for some animals are terrestrial, others are
They also admit of a ternary division, those that
breathe air and those that breathe water, one of these classes

they inhabit;

aquatic.

the other is aquatic the third class does notbreathe either air or water, but they are adapted by nature
to receive refreshment from each of these elements ; and somaof these are called terrestrial, others are aauatic, though theyis terrestrial,

;

o 2

;

THE HISTOET OF ANIMALS.

196[

B. Till.

neither breathe air or water ; and there are other anim,alfl
which procure their food and make their abode in either ofthese elements.
For many that breathe air, and produce
their young upon the land, procure their food from the water,where they generally make their abode ; and these are theonly animals which appear to be doubtful, for they may bearranged either as terrestrial or aquatic animals.
2. Of those that breathe water, none have feet or wings,
nor seek their food on land but many of those that are terrestrial, and breathe air, do so some of them so much so, thatthey cannot live when separated from the water, as thosewhich are called marine turtles, and crocodiles, and hippopotami, and seals, and some of the smaller creatures, as thewater tortoise and the frog tribe for all these are suffocated
if their respiration is suspended for any length of time. They
produce their young and rear them on dry land ; others doso near the dry land, while they reside in the water.
3. Of all animals the most remarkable in this particularis the dolphin, and some other aquatic animals and cetacea
which are of this habit, as the whale and others which havea blowhole ; for it is not easy to arrange them either withaquatic or terrestrial animals, if we consider animals that
breathe air as terrestrial, and those that breathe water as
aquatics, for they partake of the characters of both classes
for they receive the sea and eject it through their blowhole,and air through their lungs, for they have this part, andbreathe through it. And the dolphin, when captured in nets,
is often suffocated, from the impossibility of breathing.
Itwill live for a long while out of water, snoring and groaning
It sleeps with its snout above
like other breathing animals.
the water, in order that it may breathe through it.
4. It is thus impossible to arrange it under both of thesecontrary divisions, but it would appear that the aquatic animals must be further subdivided; for they breathe andeject water for the same reason as others breathe air, forthe sake of coolness. Other animals do this for the sakeof food for those animals which obtaia their food in thewater, must also, at the same time, swallow some of the
;

;

;

;

fluid, andhave an organ by which they can eject it.

Thosecreatures which use water instead of air for breathiag havel^esegills ; those that use it for food have a blowhole,JTHE HISTOET OF ANIMALS.

B. VIII.]

creatures are sanguineous.
malacostraca is the same ;197

The nature of the malacia andfor theseswallow water for

food.

Those animals which breathe air, but live in the water,5.

and those which breathe water, and have gills, but go out
upon dry land and take their food there, belong to two divisions of aquatic animals.

This last division

is represented

forby a single animal called the cordylus (water newt)
this animal has no Ivmgs, but gills and it goes on dry land;;

to procure its food.
It has four feet, so that it appears naIn all these animals nature aptural that it should walk.
pears to be. as it were, turned aside, and some of the males
appear to be females, and the females have a male appearance for animals which have but small diversity in particularparts, exhibit great variations in the whole body.
6. This is evident in castrated animals
for if a small
portion only of the body is destroyed, the animal becomesa female so that it is plain that if a very minute portionin the original composition of an animal becomes changed,
if that portion belongs to the origin of the species, it might
become either male or female or, if taken away altogether,
the animal might be neuter. And so, either way, it might
become a land or aquatic animal, if only a small change tookplace
it happens that some become terrestrial andothers aquatic animals, and some are not amphibious whicli
others are, because in their original generation they received
some kind of substance which they use for food. For thatwhich is natural is agreeable to every animal, aa I have said
before.
;;;;Chaptee III.
1. "When animals are divided in three ways into aquaticand land animals, because they either breathe air or water,or from the composition of their bodies or, in the third
place, from their food, their manner of life will be found toagree with these divisions. For some follow both the composition of their bodies and the nature of their food, and;their respiration of either water or air.
with their composition and food.

Others only agree

2. The testacea which are immoveable live by a fluid
whicli percolates through tne dense parts of the sea, aadTHE niSTOET OF AXUIALS.

198[b. VIII.

being digested because it is lighter than the sea •water, thus

That this fluid exists in the
returns to its original nature.
sea, and is capable of infiltration is manifest, and may befor if anyone will make a thinproved by experimentwaxen vessel, and sink it empty in the sea, in a night
and a day, it may be taken up full of water, which is;di'inkable.
3.

The acalephe (actinia) feeds upon any small fish which
Its mouth is placed in the centre of its

may fall in its way.

body.
This organ is conspicuous in the larger individuals
like the oyster, it has a passage for the exclusion of its food,
which is placed above. The acalephe appears to resemble theinternal part of the oyster, and it makes use of the rock, as
the oyster does of its shell.
(The patella also is free, andwanders about in search of food.)
4. Among the locomotive testacea, some are carnivorous,
and live on small fish, as the purpura, for this creature is
carnivorous, it is therefore caught with a bait of flesh::

The marine turtles
live upon marine plants.
upon shell-fish, for which purpose they have a very
powerful mouth for if any of them take a stone or anything else, they break and eat it.
This animal leaves thewater and eats grass. They often suff'er and perish, when
they are dried up as they float on the surface, for they areotherslive;

not able to dive readily.
5. The malacostraca are of the same nature, for they eat
everything they feed upon stones and mud, seaweeds anddung, as the rock crabs, and are also cai'uivorous. The spiny
lobsters also overcome large fishes, and a kind of retribution
awaits them in turn, for the polypus prevails over the lobster,for they are not inconvenienced by the shell of the lobster,so that if the lobsters perceive them in the same net withthem, they die from fear. The spiny lobsters overcome thecongers, for their roughness prevents them from falling off.
The congers devour the polypi which cannot adhere to themon account of the smoothness of their surface all the ma;;

lacia are carnivorous.
6.

The spiny lobsters also live on small fish, which they hunt

for in their holes, for they are produced in such parts of thesea as are rough and stony, and in those places make theirhabitations J whatever they capture, they bring to their mouth;THE HISTOET OF ANIMALS.

B. Tin.]199

with their double claw, as the craba do. "When not frightened they naturally walk forwards, hanging their horns down
When alarmed they retreat backwards, andat their sides.
extend their horns to a great distance. They fight witheach other like rams with their horns, raising them andstriking each other.
They are often seen in numbers as if
tliey were gregarious.
7. The malacostraca lead this kind of life.
Among themalacia the teuthis and sepia prevail over the large fish.
The polypus generally collects shells which it empties of
their contents and feeds upon them, so that those who
seek for them find their holes by the shells that are scatThe report that they eat each other is atered about.
mistakebut some have the tentacula eaten off by the;congers.

Chapteb IV.

All fish at theseason of oviposition live upon ova
in the rest of their food they are not all so well agreed, forsome of them are only carnivorous, as the selachos, conger,
channa, thynnus, labrax, sinodon, amia, orphus, and muit isrsena the trigla lives upon fuci, shell-fish, and mud
The cephalus lives on mud, the dascillus
also carnivorous.
on mud and dung. The scarus and melanurus on sea-weed,
the salpa on dung and fuci, it will also eat the plant called,horehound it is the only fish that can be caught with the
gourd.
2. All fish, except the cestreus, eat one another, especiallythe congers. The cephalus and the cestreus alone are not
This is a proof of it. They are never capcarnivorous.
tured with anything of the kind in their stomach, nor are
they captured with a bait made of flesh, but with breadOne
the cestreus is always fed upon sea-weed and sand.
kind of cephalus which some persons call chelone lives near
the land, another is called peraeas. This last feeds uponnothing but its own mucus, for which reason it is always
very poor. The cephalus lives upon mud, wherefore they
are heavy and slimy. They certainly never eat lish, on
account of their dwelling in. mud; they often emerge
JSTeither willin order to wash themselves from the slime.
any creature eat their ova, so that they increase rapidly,
1.

;

;

;

;

'

;

THE HISTOET OF ANIMALS.

900[b. Till.

and when they increase they are devoured by other fish, andespecially by the achamus.
3. The cestreus (mullet) is the most greedy and insatiableof fish, so that its abdomen is distended, and it is not good forfood unless it is poor.

When alarmed it hides its head, as if

its whole body were thus concealed ;the sinodon also is carThis fish and the channa
nivorous, and eats the malacia.
often eject their stomachs as they pursue small fish, fortheir stomach is near the mouth, and they have no oesophagus.
Some are simply carnivorous, as the dolphin, sinodon, chrj'sophrys, the selache and malacia; others, aa the phycis,
cobius, and the rock-fish, principally feed upon mud andfuci, and bryum, and what is called caulion, and any matter
which may be produced in the sea. The phycis eats noother flesh than that of the shrimps. They also frequently eat
each other, aa I before remarked, and the greater devour the

It is a proof that they are carnivorous, that they arecaptured with bait made of flesh.
4. The amia, tunny, and labrax generally eat flesh,though they also eat sea-weed. The sargus feeds after thetrigla when the last has buried itself in the mud anddeparted, for it has the power of burying itself, then the
sargus comes and feeds and prevents all those that are
The fish called
weaker than itself from approaching.
Bcarus is the only one which appears to ruminate like quadrupeds.
Other fish appear to hunt the smaller ones with
their mouths towards them, in this way they naturally swim
but the selachea, dolphins and cetacea throw themselves on
their back to capture their prey, for their mouth is placed
below them, for this reason the smaller ones escape, or if
not they would soon be reduced in number for the swiftnessof the dolphin and its capacity for food appear incredible.
5.
few eels in some places are fed upon mud, and any
kind of food which may be cast into the water, but generally they live upon fresh water, and those who rear eela
take care that the water which flows off" and on upon theshallows in which they live may be clear, where they makethe eel preserves. For they are soon sufibcated if the water
For this reason
is not clean, their gills being very smaU.
those who seek for them disturb the water. In the Strymon they are taken about the time of the rising of the
less.

;

A

B. Till.]

Pleiades.

THE HISTOET OF AlflMALS.

201

Eor the water is disturbed at this season by the

mud which is stirred up by contrary winds, otherwise it isWhen dead, eels do
useless to attempt to obtain them.
not rise and float on the surface, like other fishes, for theirstomach is small ; a few of them are fat, but this is not
usually the case.

When taken out of the water, they will live five or six

6.

the wind is in the north they will live longer thanIf they are removed from the ponds
to the eel preserves during the summer they perish, but
not if removed in the winter neither will they bear violentchanges, for if they are taken and plunged into cold water,
they often perish in great numbers. They are suffocatedThis takes placealso if kept in a small quantity of water.
also in other fish, which are suffocated if kept in a small
quantity of water which is never changed, like animals
which breathe air when enclosed in a small quantity ofSome eels live seven or eight years. Fresh-water fish
air.
make use of food, and devour each other, as well as plants
and roots, or anything else that they can find in the mud ;they generally feed in the night, and during the day dwellin deep holes. This is the nature of the food of fish.

days

;

if

if it is in the south.

;

Chaptee V.

All birds with crooked claws are carnivorous, nor are
they able to eat com even when put in their mouths. All
the eagles belong to this class and the kites, and both thehawks, the pigeon hawk namely, and the sparrow hawk.
These differ in size from each other, and so does the trior1.

This bird is as large as the kite, and is visible at all
the osprey and vulture also belong
seasons of the year
to this class. The osprey is as large as the eagle, and ashThere are two kmds of vultures, one small andcoloured.
whitish, the other large and cinereous.
2. Some of the night birds also have crooked claws, as
The bryas resembles an
the nycticorax, owl, and bryas.
owl in appearance, but it is as large as an eagle ; the eleos,aegolius, and scops also belong to this class.
The eleos islarger than a domestic fowl, the aegolius is about the size ofthat bird, they both hunt the jay. The scops is less than
ches.

;

;

THE HISTORY OF AXIMA.LS.

202
the owl ;[b. VIII

all three of these are similar in form, and cami«
vorous.
Some that have not crooked claws are carnivorous,
as the swallow.
3. Some birds feed on worms, as the finch, the sparrow,batis, chloris, titmouse.
There are three kinds of titmouse ;the spizites is the largest, it is as large as the finch.
Another is called the orinus, because it dwells in mountains ;it has a large tail.
The third resembles them in everything
except its size, for it is very small. The sycalis also, themegalocoryphus, pyrrhulas, erithacus, hypolais, oestrus, tyrannis are of this class.
The last of these is the least, it
is not much larger than a locust
it lias a purple crest, and isaltogether a graceful and well-formed bird.
The bird called
anthus also, which is of the size of the finch the orospizus islike the finch, and nearly of the same size, it has a blue stripe
on its neck, and lives in mountainous places.
The wrenalso lives upon seeds.
All these and such like birds either
partly or entirely live on worms.
4. These birds, the acanthis, thraupis, and that which iscalled chrysometris, all live upon thorns, but neither eat
worms or any other living creature, and they both roost andfeed in the same places. There are others which feed on
gnats these live chiefly by hunting for these insects, as thegreater and lesser pipo, both of which are by some perThey resemble each other insons called woodpeckers.
their cry, though that of the larger bird is the louder,and they both feed by flying against trees.
The celeosalso, which ia as large as a turtle dove, and entirely
yellow its habit is to strike against trees it generally lives
upon trees, and has a loud voice. This bird generally inThere is also another called
habits the Peloponnesus.
cnipologus, which is small, about the size of the acanthyUis
its colour is cinereous and spotted, and its voice is weak
this bird also pecks trees.
5. There are other birds which live upon fruit and grasses,
as the phaps, phatta, peristera, cenas, and trygon.'Thephatta and peristera are always present, the trygon only insummer time in the winter it is not seen, for it hides itself
The cenas is generally seen and captured in thein holes.
autumn. The cenas is as large as the peristera but less than
;

;

;

;

;

;

'

Different species of pigeons and doves.

;

fl.

THE HISTOEY OF ANIIMALS.

VTII.]

the pliaps.

It

comes to

this

203

is generally captured as it is drinking
itcountry when it has young. All the rest;

come in the summer, and make tlieir nests here, and all,except the pigeon tribe, live upon animal food.
6. All birds, as far as food is concerned, are either terrestrial or live in the neighbourhood of rivers and ponds,
or near the sea.
Those that have webbed feet pass thegreater part of their time on the water those with divided
feet near the water.
Some of these dive for their food,such as live upon plants and do not eat flesh others, as theheron and white heron, live in ponds and rivers.
The latterof these is smaller than the former, and has a flat large bill.
7. The pelargua also, and the gull, the latter is ash-coloured, and the schoenilus, cinclos, pygargus, (and tryngas)
this last is the largest of these small birds, for it is of thesame size as the thrush all these birds wag their tails. The
calidris also, this bird is variegated and ash-coloured.
The
kingfisher also lives near the water there appear to be twokinds of this bird, one of which utters its cry as it sits
upon the reeds, and the other, which is larger, is silent
they both have a blue back. The trochilus also, and the
kingfisher and cerylus also live near the sea.
The coronaalso lives upon animals which are cast on shore, for it ia
omnivorous. The white gull also, the cepphus, aethyia, and
;

;

;

;

charadrius.
8. The heavier web-footed birds inhabit the neighbourhood of rivers and ponds, as the swan, duck, phalaris, Columbia, and the boscas, which is like a duck, but smallerandthe bird called corax, which is as large as the pelargus, but
its legs are shorter, it is web-footed and a swimmer, itscolour is black this last bird perches upon trees, and is
the only one of this class that builds its nest in such places.
The great and small 'goose also, the latter is gregarious, andehenalopex, the ais, and the penelops. The sea eagle also lives
near the sea, and fishes in the waters of lakes. Many birds
are omnivorous those with crooked claws seize upon other;;;animals which they can overcome, and upon birds. They donot, however, devour their own congeners, as fish frequently
all the tribes of birds drink very little, those withdocrooked claws do not drink at all, or only a few of them,and these but seldom; of these the cenchria drinks the;THE HISTOET OF ANIMALS.

204[b. Till.

most the kite rarely drinks, thougli it has been observed
to do BO.
;

CnAPTEE VI.
Ajtimals covered with scaly plates, aa the lizard andother quadrupeds and serpents, are omnivorous, for they eat
both flesh and grass, and serpents lick their prey more thanany other animal all these creatures, and indeed all withspongy lungs, drink very little, and all that are oviparous areof this kind, and have but little blood.
Serpents are aUvery fond of wiae, so that they hunt the viper by placing
vessels of wine in the hedge-rows, and they are captured
when intoxicated. Serpents devour any animal that they
may have captured, and when they have sucked out thejuice, they reject all the remainder nearly all such animals
do this, as also the spiders. But the spiders suck the juice
without swallowiag the animal. Serpents suck the juice
1.

;

;

internally.
2. The serpent swallows any food which may be presented
to it, for it will devour both birds and beasts, and suck eggs.
When it has taken its food it draws itself up, till it stands
erect upon its extremity, it then gathers itself up and contracts itself a little, so that when stretched out the animal
it does thisit has swallowed may descend in its stomach;

oesophagus is long and thin. Phalangia andserpents can live a long while without food, this may beseen in those that are kept by dealers in medicine.

becauseits

Chaptee VII.
1.

Among viviparous quadrupeds, those that are wild andhave pointed teeth are all carnivorous, except some wolves,
which, when they are hungry, will, as they say, eat a certain
kind of earth, but this is the only exception. They will not
eat grass unless they are sick, for some dogs eat grass andvomit it up again, and so are purified. The solitary wolves
are more eager for human flesh than those which hunt inpacks.
2. The animal which some persons call the glanus andothers the hyaena, is not less than the wolf, it has a manelike a horse, but the hair all along its spine is more harsh
and thick. It also secretly attacks men, and hunts themTHE HISTOET OF ANIMALS.

B. Till.]

2CM5

it alsoit hunts dogs also by vomiting like men
breaks open graves for the sake of this kind of food.
3. The bear is also omnivorous, for it eats fruit, and onitaccount of the softness of its body it can climb trees
eats leguminous seeds also it also overturns hives and eats
the honey, and it feeds upon crabs and ants, and is carnivorous, for its strength enables it to attack not only deer,
but wild hogs, if it can fall upon them secretly, and oxen.
For when it meets the bidl face to face, it falls upon its back,and when the bull attempts to throw it, seizes its horns
with its fore-legs, and biting upon the shoulder of the bull,
throws it down. Tor a short time it can walk upright on
its hind legs.
It eats flesh after it has become putrid.
4. The lion, like all other wild animals with pointed teeth,
is carnivorous
it devours its food greedily, and swallows
large pieces without dividing them it can afterwards, fromIt
its repletion, remain two or three days without food.
drinks very little. Its excrement is small, and is not mademore than once in three days or thereabouts, and it is dry
and hard like that of a dog. The wind from its bowels hasan acrid smell, and its urine is powerfully scented, for which
reason dogs smell to trees, for the lion, like the dog, lifts its
leg to make water.
It produces also a strong smell whenit breathes upon its food, and when its bowels are laid open
they emit a strong scent.
5. Some quadrupeds and wild animals seek their food in
the neighbourhood of ponds and rivers, but none of them
except the seal live near the sea of this class are the creature called beaver, and the satherium, the satyrium, theotter, and that which is called latax.
This creature isbroader than the enydris, and has strong teeth, for it often
goes out in the night and with its teeth gnaws off the osiers.
The enydris also will bite men, and they say will not leave
its hold tiU it hears the noise of its teeth against the boneThe latax has rough hair, the nature of which is between
that of the seal and that of the deer.

down

;

;

;

;

;

;

;

1.

Chapter VIII.
Animals with pointed teeth drink by lapping, and somethat have not pointed teeth, as mice. Those which have aneven surfiace to their teeth draw in the water as horses andTHB HISTOBT OF ANIMALS.

206
oxen

[iJ,

Till.

the bear neither draws in the water nor laps it, but
down. Some birds draw in the water, but thosewhich have long necks imbibe it at intervals, lifting up theirheads the porphyrion alone gulps it down. All homed
animals, both domestic and wild, and those that have notpointed teeth eat fruits and grass, and are incapable of enduring hunger, except the dog, and this animal eats fruit
;

gulps

it

;

and grass less than any other.
2. The hog eats roots more than other animals, because
its snout is well adapted for this operation, it is more
adapted to various kinds of food than other animals. In
proportion to its size its fat is developed very fast, for it beThose who occupy themselves infatting hogs know how fast they fatten by weighing themwlien lean they will become fat after starvation for threedays.
Almost all other animals become fat, after previous
After three days those who fatten hogs feed
starvation.

comes fat in sixty days.
;

them well.
3. The Thracians fatten them by giving them drink on
the first day, then at first they omit one day, afterwards two,
three, or four, till they reach to seven days. These creatures
are fattened with barley, millet, figs, acorns, wild pears, andcucumbers.
Both this and other animals with a warm
stomach are fattened in idleness, and the sow also by wallowing in the mire. They prefer different kinds of food at
different ages.
The hog and the wolf fight together, a sixthpart of its weight when alive, consists of bristles, blood, andfat.
Sows and all other animals grow lean while suckling
their young.
This then, is the nature of these animals.

1.

Chapter IX.
Oxen eat both fruits and grass. They become fat on

flatulent food, as vetches, broken beans, and stems of beans,

and if any person having cut a hole in the skin inflates themand then feeds the older cattle, they fatten more rapidly,and either on whole or broken barley, or on sweet food, as on
figs and grapes, wine, and the leaves of the elm, and especiallyin the sunshine and in warm waters.
The horns of the calf,
if anointed with wax, may be directed in any way that is deBired, and they suffer less in the feet if their horns arerubbed with wax, or pitch, or oil.

;

B. YIII.]THE HISTOET OF AIS'IMALS.

207

Herds of cattle suffer less when moved in frost than
Tliey grow if they are deprived for a long time
wherefore the herdsmen in Epirusof sexual intercourse2.

in anow.

;

keep the Pyrrhic cattle, as they are called, for nine years
without sexual intercourse, in order that they may grow.
They call such cows apotauri. The numher of these creatures reaches four hundred, and they are the property of
They will not live in any other country, though
the king.
the attempt has been made.

Chaptek X.
1. The horse, mule, and ass feed upon fruit and grass, butthey fatten especially on drinking, so that beasts of burden
enjoy their food in proportion to the quantity of water
which they drink, and the less difficulty there is of obtaining drink, the more they profit by abundance of grass.
When the mare is in foal, green food causes her hair to befine, but when it contains hard knots it is not wholesome.
The first crop of Medic grass is not good, nor if any stinkmg
water has come near it, for it gives it a bad smell. Oxen
require pure water to drink, but horses in this respect resemble camels. The camel prefers water that i's dirty andthick nor will it drink from a stream before it has disIt can remain without drinking four
tui'bed the water.
;days, after which it drinks a great quantity.

Chaptee XI.
The elephant can eat more than nine Macedonian medimni at one meal, but so much food at once is dangerous
1.

should not have altogether more than six or seven medimni, or five medimni of bread, and five mares of wine,
the maris measures six cotylse. An elephant has been known
to druik as much as fourteen Macedonian measures at once,and eight more again in the evening. Many camels \i\Gitthirty years, and some much more, for they have been known
to live an hundred years.
Some say that the elephant
lives two hundred, and others three hundred years.

Chaptee XII.
Sheep and goats live upon grass.

Sheep pasture for along while in one place without leaving it, but goats change
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208[b. Till.

their places very soon, and only crop the top of the grass.
The sheep fatten rapidly with drinking, and for this reason

dnring summer they give them salt, a medimnus to each hundred sheep for in this manner the flock becomes more
healthy and fat, and frequently they collect and bring them
together for this purpose, that they may mix a great deal ofsalt with their foodfor when thirsty they drink the more.
And in the autumn they feed them with gourds which
they have sprinkled with salt, for this makes them give more
milk.
"When driven about in the heat of the day they drink
more towards evening. If fed with salt after parturition,
the udder becomes larger.
2. Sheep fatten on green shoots, vetches, and all kinds ofgrass, and they fatten more rapidly when their food is;;

They fatten more rapidly if previously starved for
During autumn northern water is better for
sheep than southern, and pastures towards the west aregood for them. Long journeys and weariness make themsalted.

three days.

Shepherds distinguish the strong sheep during winteris not the casefor those that are not strong
with those that are sickmove about in their weakness and shake it off.
3. The flesh of all quadrupeds which feed in marshy
grounds is inferior to that of those which live on highground. Sheep with wide tails endure the winter better
than those with long tails, and short wooUed-sheep better
than long-woolled, and those with curly wool are more
Sheep are more healthy than goats,
afiected by the cold.
though goats are the stronger. The fleece and the wool ofsheep which have been devoured by wolves, and garments
made of such wool are more subject to vermin than others.
lean.

by the frost adhering to their wool, which;

Chaptee XIII.
Those insects which have teeth are omnivorous, but thosewhich have a tongue only live upon fluids, which they collectfrom all sources with this organ. Some of these are omni1.

vorous, for they feed upon all kinds of fluids, as the fly.
Others only suck blood, as the myops and oestrus. Others,
The bee ia
again, bve upon the juices of plants and fruit.
the only insect that never touches anything putrid. It uses

THE HISIOEY OP ANIMALS.

B. Till.]209

no food that has not a sweet taste. They also take very
sweet water, wherever they fall upon any that is pure. The
different kinds of animals then use these kiads of food.

1.

Chaptee XIV.
All the actions of animals are employed either in sexualintercourse, or in rearing their young, or in procuring foodfor themselves, or in providing against excessive heat andFor they all havecold, and the changes of the seasons.
naturally a sensitiveness respecting heat and cold, and, likemankind, who either change their abodes in cold weather,or those who have large estates, pass their summer in cold
countries and their winter in warm ones so animals, also, if
they can, migrate from place to place. Some of them findprotection in their accustomed localities, others are migratory and at the autumnal equinox, escape at the approachof winter, from the Pontus and other cold places and in
spring retreat again before the approach of summer from hot
to cold countries, for they are afraid of excessive heat. Somemigrate from places close at hand, and others from thevery ends of the earth.
2. The cranes do this, for they travel from Scythia to themarshes in the higher parts of Egypt, from which the Nileoriginates.
This is the place where the Pygmies dwell andthis is no fable, for there is really, as it is said, a race of
dwarfs, both men and horses, which lead the life of trogloThe pelicans also are migratory, and leave the riverdites.
Strymon for the Ister, where they rear their young. They
depart in great crowds, and those that are before wait for
those behind, for in flying over the mountains those behindcannot see the leaders.
3. The fish also, in the same manner, migrate either fromor to the Pontus, and in winter they leave the deep water
for the sake of the warmth of the shore, and in summer
they escape from the heat by migrating from the shore into
deep water. Delicate birds, also, in winter and frosty weather, descend from the mountains to the plains, for the sakeof the warmth and in summer they return again to themountains for fear of the heat.
4. Those that are the most delicate are the first to makethe change at each extreme of heat and cold, such as the
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mackerel migrate sooner than the tunnies, and the quails thanfor some migrate in August, others in September.
They are always fatter when they migrate from cold countries, than when they leave warm countries, as the quail ismore fat in the autumn than the spring and so it happensthat they migrate alike from cold countries and from warm
Their sexual desires are also more violent in theseasons.
spring, and when they leave warm countries.
5. Among birds, as it was previously remarked, the cranemigrates from one extremity of the earth to the other, and they
As for the story about the stone, it is a
fly against the wind.
fiction, for they say that they carry a stone as ballast, which
is useful as a touchstone for gold, after they have vomited it
up. The phatta and the peleias leave us, and do not winter with us, nor does the turtle
but the pigeon stays
through the winter. The same is the nature of the quail,unless a few individuals both of the turtle and quail remain
behind in sunny spots. The phatta and turtle assemble inlarge flocks when they depart, and again at the season of
their return.
The quails, when they commence theirflight, if the weather is fine and the wind in the north, go inpairs, and have a successful voyage.
If the wind is south
it goes hard with them, for their flight is slow, and thiswind is moist and heavy. Those that hunt them, therefore,
pursue them when the wind is in the south, but not in fineweather.
They fly badly on account of their weight, for
They therefore make a noise as they
their body is large.
fly, for it is a toil to them.
6. When they come hither they have no leader, but when
they depart hence, the glottis, ortygometra, otus, and cychramus, which calls them together at night, accompany
them and when the fowlers hear this sound, they knowthat they will not remain. The ortygometra in form resemThe glottis has ables the birds which inhabit marshes.
tongue which it projects to a great length. The otus resemSome perbles an owl, and has small feathers at its ears.
sons call it the nycticorax, it is mischievous and imitative,
it is taken like the owl, as it dances from side to side, one
On the whole,or other of the fowlers compassing it about.
birds with crooked claws have short necks, broad tongues,
and a capacity for imitation. And so has the Indian bird,
cranes;:;;9. Tin.]THE HISTOET 01" ANIMALS.

211

the parrot, which is said to have a tongue like a man. It
becomes the most loquacious when intoxicated. The crow, theBwan, the pelican, and the small goose, are gregarious birds.

Chapter XV.
It has already been observed that fish migrate from thedeep water to the coast, and from the coast to the deepThosewater, in order to avoid the excesses of cold and heat.
that frequent the neighbourhood of the coast are better thanthose from deep water, for the feeding grounds are betterand more abundant. For wherever the sun strikes the plants
are more frequent, and superior, and more delicate, as in gardens, and the black shore-weed grows near the land, and the1.

other kinds rather resemble uncultivated plants. The neighbourhood of the coast is also more temperate, both in heat andcold, than the rest of the sea
for which reason the flesh offish which live near the shore is more compact, while that offish from deep sea is watery and soft.
The sinodon, cantharus, orphos, chrysophrys, cestreus, trigla, cichla, dracon, callionymus, cobius, and all the rock fish Hve near the shore. The
trygon, selache, the white congers, the channa, erythrinus,
and glauciis inhabit deep water. The phagrus, scorpius, theblack conger, the mursena, and coccyx occupy either situation indifierently.
2. They vary also in different places as in the neighbourhood of Crete the cobius and all the rock fish are fat. The
tunny also becomes good again after Arcturus, for it is nottormented by the oestrus after that period for which reason
also it is inferior during the summer.
In lakes near the sea
also there are several kinds of fish, as the salpa, chrysophrys,
trigla, and nearly all the rest.
The amia also is found insuch situations as in the vicinity of Alopeconnesus, and in
the lake of Bistonis there are many fish. Many of the colise
do not enter the Pontus but they pass the summer andrear their young in the Propontis, and winter in the^gean.
The thynnus, pelamis, and amia enter the Pontus in thespring and pass the summer there, and so do nearly all therhyades and the gregarious fish. Many fish are gregarious,and gregarious fish have a leader of the shoal.
3. They all enter the Pontus for the sake of the food(for the pasture is more abundant and superior, on account
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212[b. TtTLof the fresh water), and for fear of the large creatures,
which are smaller there and except the phocona and dolphin, there is no other found in the Pontus and the dolphin
is small, but when we leave the Pontus we find a larger
dolphin.
They enter this sea for the sake of food and rearing their young for the situation is better for this purpose,and the fresh sweet water nourishes the young fry. Whenthey have reared their young, and the fry begin to grow,they migrate immediately after the Pleiades. If the south
wind blow during the winter, they leave the place more
slowly but with a north wind they swim faster, for thenthe ^i-ind helps them along. The small fry is captured in
the neighbourhood of Byzantium, for they make no longstay in the Pontus.
4. The other fish are seen both in their egress and ingress.
The trichia is only seen as it enters, and is not observed toleave again and if one is captured at Byzantium, the fishermen purify their nets, for it is unusual for them to return.
The reason is this these are the only fish that swim up into
the Ister, and when this river divides they swim down into
the Adriatic. The following is a proof; for the converse
happens here, and they are never captured entering the
Adriatic, but as they leave it.
5. The tunnies, as they enter, swim with their right side
to the shore, and leave with their left side to the shore andsome persons say that they do this because they see betterwith their right eye, and their sight is naturally dim. The
rhyades move during the day, and in the night remain quiet
and feed, unless the moon is bright, in which case they continue their journey and do not rest themselves. And somepersons engaged about the sea say that after the wintersolstice they do not move, but remain quiet wherever they
may be till the equinox.
6. The colise are taken as they enter, but not as they
The best are taken in the Propontis before thereturn.
The other rhyades are captured more
breeding season.
frequently as they leave the Pontus, and are then in perfecThose that swim near the shore are the fattest whention.
captured and the farther they are away, the more lean they
are and frequently, when the south wiud blows, they swim
out in company with the colise and mackerel, and are taken
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B. Tin.]lower down rather than at Byzantium.
of their migrations.

213

This is the nature

Chaptee XVI.
1.

Lakd animals have also the same disposition for con-

For in winter they all hasten to conceal themwhen the season becomes warmer.
Animals conceal themselves to guard against the excessesof temperature. In some the whole race is concealed inothers only a part of them. All the testacea conceal themselves, as those which are marine, the purpura, whelk, andaU that class but the state of concealment is more conspicuous in those which do not adhere to rocks
for these
Some have an
also conceal themselves, as the pectens.
operculum on their exterior, as the land snails and thealteration of those that are not free is inconspicuous.
They
do not all conceal themselves at the same period for thesnails are torpid during the winter, the purpura and whelk
for thirty days under the dog star, and the pectens at thesame period.
Most of them conceal themselves in very
cold and very hot weather.
2. Almost all insects become torpid, except those which
dweU in the habitations of men, and those that perish anddo not survive for a year. They are torpid in the winter.,Some conceal themselves for a good while, others only inthe coldest days, as the bees, for these also conceal themThis is shown by their not touching the food which
selves.
and if any of them creep out, theyis prepared for themappear transparent, and plainly have nothing in their stomach. They remain at rest from the setting of the Pleiades
Animals pass their torpid state in warm
until the spring.
places, and in the spots they are accustomed to inhabit.
cealment.

selves, and appear again

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Chapter XYII.
1.

Many sanguineous animals become torpid, as those which

are furnished with scales, the serpent, Czard, gecko, andthe river crocodile, during the four winter months in which
they eat nothing
Other serpents conceal themselves in theearth, but the viper lies hidden among stones.
Many fish
also become torpid, especially the hippTirus and coracinus
during the winter ; for these alone are never taken but atTHE HISTOET OF ANIMALS.

214[b. T11I«

certain seasons, whicli never vary.
Almost all the rest are
taken at all seasons. The lamprey, orphus, and conger conceal themselves.
The rock fish conceal themselves in pairs,as the cichla, cottyphus, and perca, the male with the female,in which way also they prepare for their young.
2. The tunny conceals itself during winter in deep
places, and they become fattest at this season.
The seasonof capturing them commences with the rising of Pleiades,
and continues to the end of the setting of Axcturus. All
the rest of their time they remain quiet in concealment.
few of these are taken during the period of their concealment,
and so are some other hybernating creatures, if they are
disturbed by the warmth of their abode or the unusual
mildness of the season. For they come out a little fromtheir holes to feed, and also when the moon is full.
Most
fish are better tasted during the period of concealment. The
primades bury themselves in the mud. This is shown by
their not being taken, or their seeming to have a great dealof mud on their backs and their fins pressed down.
3. In spring, however, they begin to move and come tothe shore to copulate and deposit their ova. At this season
they are captured full of ova, and then also they appear to
be in season, but are not so good in autumn and winter.
At the same season also the males appear to be full ofmelt.
When their ova are small they are taken with difficulty ; but as they grow larger many are taken when they
are infested by the oestrus.
Some fish bury themselves insand, others in mud, with only their mouths above the surface.
Fishes usually conceal themselves only in the winter. The
malacostraea, the rock fishes, the batus, and selache only inAthe most severe weather. This is shown by the difiiculty ofcapturing them in cold weather.
4. Some fish, as the glaucus, conceal themselves in summer time for this fish hides itself for sixty days in thesummer time. The onus and the chrysophrys hide themselves.
The reason for supposing that the onus hides itself
for a long wMle appears to be that it is captured at longintervals and the influence of the stars upon them andespecially of the dog-star, appears to be the cause of theirhiding themselves in summer time, for the sea is then disturbed. This is most conspicuous in the Bosphorus ; for
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THE HISTOET OF ANIMALS.

VIIT.]

215

the mud is thrown up, and the fish are thus brought to thesurface and they say that, Vhen the bottom is disturbed,
more fish are often taken in the same cast the second thanand after much rain animals make their
the first time
appearance which before were either not seen at all or but
seldom.
;;Chapxee XVIII.
1.

Many kinds of birds also conceal themselves, and they

do not all, as some suppose, migrate to warmer climates
but those which are near the places of which they arepermanent inhabitants, as the kite and swallow, migrate
thither but those that are farther off from such places do
not migrate, but conceal themselves and many swallows
have been seen in hollow places almost stripped of feathers
and kites, when they first showed themselves, have comefrom similar situations.
Birds with crooked claws, and;;those also with straight claws, conceal themselves indiscriminately for the stork, blackbird,^ turtle dove, and lark hidethemselves, and by general agreement the turtle dove mostof all, for no one is ever said to have seen one during thewinter. At the commencement of hybernation it is very fat,and during that season it loses its feathers, though theyremain thick for a long while. Some of the doves conceal
themselves others do not, but migrate along with the swallows. The thrush and the starling also conceal themselves,
and among birds with crooked claws the kite and the owl are
not seen for a few days.
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Chaptee XIX.
1.

AMOxa viviparous quadrupeds the porcupines and bears

hybernate.

It is evident that the wild bears conceal them-selves ; but there is some doubt whether it is on account of
the cold or from any other cause, for at this season both themales and females are so fat that they cannot move easily.
The female also produces her young at this season, and hides

This
herself until the cubs are of an age to be led forth.
she does in the spring, about three months after the solstice,and she continues invisible for at least forty days. During
fourteen days of this period they say that she does not moveat all. For more than this period afterwards she remains
KoTTv^oc, Turdus merula, Strack, blackbird, bu* probably more tha»
one kind of bird u ii eluded under the same name. Compare 9, 86, 2,

THE HI8T0BT OF ANIMALS.

216

invisible, but moves about and is awake.

[b. Till.

A

pregnant bear
has either never or very rarely been captured and it isquite plain that they eat nothing during the whole of thisperiod for they never come out and if" they are captured,
their stomach and entrails appear to be empty and it issaid that, because nothing is presented to it, the intestinesometimes adheres to itself; and, therefore, at their firstemergence, they eat the arum, in order to open the entrail
and make a passage through it.
2. The dormouse hybemates in trees and is then very
fat, and the white Pontic mouse.
(Some hybemating
animals cast their old age, as it is called. This is the outerskin and the coverings at the period of birth.)
It has already been observed, that among viviparous animals withfeet there is some doubt as to the cause of the hybernationof bears but almost all animals with scales hybernate andcast their old age that is, all that have a soft skin and nofor both the tortoise and the erays
shell, as the tortoise
belong to the class of animals with scales but all such as
the gecko, lizard, and especially the serpents, cast theirskins for they do this both in the spring, when they firstemerge, and again in the autumn.
3. The viper also casts its skia both in the spring andautumn, and is not, as some persons say, the only serpent
that does not cast its skin. When serpents begin to casttheir skin, it is first of all separated from their eyes
and tothose who do not know what is about to happen they appear
After this it is separated from the head, forto be blind.
In a night and day
first of all it appears entirely white.
the whole of the old skin is separated from the commencement at the head to the tail and when cast it is turned inside out, for the serpent emerges as the infant does fromthe chorion.
4. Insects which cast their skins do it in the same way aa
the silpha, empis, and the coleoptera, as the beetle. All
creatures cast it after birth for in viviparous animals thechorion is separated, and in the vermiparous, as bees and
The grasshoppers, when
locusts, they emerge from a case.
they cast their skins, sit upon olives and reeds. "When thecase is ruptured, they emerge, and leave a little fluid behind
them, and after a short time they fly away and sing.
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B. VIII.]

217

5. Among marine creatures the carabi and astaci casttheir skins either in spring or autumn, after having deposited their ova and carabi have been sometimes taken witha soft thorax, because their shell was ruptured, while thelower part, which was not ruptured, was hard. For theprocess is not the same in them as in serpents. The carabi;

remain in concealment for about five months. The crabs
also cast their old skin, certainly those which have softshellsand they say that those which have hard shells dothe same, as the maia and graus. When they have casttheir shells, the new shells are first of all soft, and the
They do not cast their skins
crabs are unable to walk.
once only, but frequently. I have now described when andhow animals conceal themselves, and what creatures casttheir skin, and when they do so.
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1.

Chaptee XX.
Animals are not all in good health at the same season,

nor in the same degrees of heat and cold.

Their health anddiseases are different at different seasons in various classes,
and on the whole are not alike in all. Dry weather agrees
with birds, both in respect of their general health and therearing of their young, and especially with pigeons and wet
weather, with few exceptions, agrees with fish.
On the contrary, showery weather generally disagrees with birds, anddry weather with fish for, on the whole, abundance of drink
does not agree with birds.
2. For the birds Vfith crooked claws, generally speaking,But Hesiod was
as it was before remarked, do not drink.
for in relating the siege
ignorant of this circumstanceof Nineveh he represents the presiding eagle of the augury
drinking. Other birds drink, but not much neither do any
other oviparous animals with spongy lungs. The sicknessof birds is manifest in their plumage ; for it is uneven, andhas not the same smoothness as when they are well.
3. The generality of fish, as it was observed, thrive themost in rainy years for not only in such seasons do theyobtain a greater supply of food, but the wet weather agrees
with them as with the plants that grow on landforpotherbs, even if watered, do not grow so well as in wet
weather. The same is the case with the reeds that grow in
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218

ponds

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for they never grow, as we may say, except in rainy

weather.
4.

And this is the reason why so many fish migrate every

for the number of rivers which;flow into it render the water fresh, and also bring down asupply of food, and many fish also ascend the rivers, andflourish ia the rivers and lakes, as the amia and mullet.
The cobii also become fat in the rivers and on the whole,those places which have the largest lakes furnish the mostexcellent fish.
5. Of all kinds of water, summer showers agree best withfish ; and if the spring, summer, and autumn have been wet,
And to speak generally, if the season isa fine winter.
healthy for mankind, it will be the same for fish. They do
not thrive in cold places. Those which have a stone in theirhead, as the chromis, labrax, scicena, and phagrus, suffer
most in the winter ; for the refrigeration of the stone causes
them to freeze and be driven on shore.
6. Abundant rain confers health on most fish
but thecontrary is the case with the mullet and cephalus, whichsome call marinus ; for if there is a great supply of rainwater, they soon become blind.
The cephali are particufor their eyes
larly liable to this disease in the winterbecome white. "When captured they are lean, and at lastperish altogether. They do not, however, appear to sufier
so much from the wet as from the cold for in other places,and especially in the swamps in the neighbourhood of the
Argive Nauplia, many are found blind in severe weather, andmany also are taken with white eyes.
7. The chrysophrys also suffers from the cold ; the arachnas from the heat, which makes it lean. Dry seasons agree
better with the coracinus than with any other fish, and forthis reason, because it is generally warm in dry weather.
Particular localities are favourable to different species, as
either the neighbourhood of the land, or the deep waters to
those which only frequent one of these localities, or partiThere arecular places to those which frequent both.
especial places in which each of them thrive ; but, generally speaking, they prefer places full of sea weed for
those which inhabit places with plenty of food are generally'bund to be fatter ; for those that eat fuci obtain plenty of

Bummer into the Pontus

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B. Tin.]THE HISTORY OP A2IIMAL8.

219

food, while those that are carnivorous find an abundant
supply of fish.
8. They are also afifected by northern and southern aspects,
for the long fish thrive best in northern situations, andin northern places in the summer time more long fish
than flat fish are taken in the same locality.
The tunnyand xiphia sufier from the oestrus, at the rising of the dogstar, for both these fish at this season have beneath theirfins a little worm which is called oestrus, which resembles ascorpion, and is about the size of a spider they sufier somuch from this torment that the xiphias leaps out of the sea
as high as the dolphin, and in this manner frequently falls;

upon ships.
9. The tunny delights in warm weather more than any
other fish, and they resort to the sand near the sea-shore forthe sake of the warmth, and there they fioat on the surface;

the small fish are safe because they are overlooked, for large
The greater portion offish pursue those of a moderate size.
the ova and melt are destroyedby the heat, forwhatever they touch they entirely destroy,
10. The greatest number of fish are taken before sunrise
and after sunset, or just about sunrise and sunset, for the
For thiscasts made at this period are called seasonable.
reason the fishermen take up their nets at this time, forthe sight of the fish is then most readily deceived. During
the night they remain quiet, and at mid-day, when thelight is strong, they see very well.
11. Fish do not appear to be subject to any of those pestilential diseases which so often occur among men and quadrupeds, as the horse and ox, and other animals, both domestic
and wild. They appear, however, to sufier from ill health,and the fishermen consider that this is proved by the captureof some lean, and apparently weak individuals, and others
that have lost their colour, among a number of fat ones ofthe same kind. This is the nature of sea-fish.
12. No pestilential disease attacks river and pond fish,
though some of them are subject to peculiar diseases, as theglanis, from its swimming near the surface, appears to bestar-struck by the dog-star, and it is stupefied by loudthunder. The carp suffers in the same way, but not soeeverely.

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THE HISTOET 01" AITIMALS.

220[b. Till

In the ballerus and tilon a worm is
produced, under the influence of the dog-star, which makes
them rise to the surface and become weak, and when theycome to the surface they are killed by the heat; a violent disease attacks the chalcis, which is destroyed by a number ofno other fish appear
lice, which are produced under its gills
to be subject to such a disease.
13. Fishes are poisoned with the plant called mullein, forwhich reason some persons capture them by poisoning thewaters of rivers and ponds and the Phoenicians poison the
There are two other plans which aresea in the same way.
adopted for the capture offish for since fish avoid the deepparts of rivers in cold weather (for even otherwise the riverwater is cold), they dig a ditch through the land to the river,which they cover over with grass and stones so as to resemblea cave, with one opening from the river, and when the frost
comes on they capture the fish with a basket. The other modeof fishiug is practised both in summer and winter. In the
middle of the stream they raise a structure with faggots andstones, leaving one part open for a mouth ; in this a basket
is placed, with which they catch the fish, as they take away
the stones.
14. Rainy years agree with all the testacea except the purpura this is a proof of it, if placed near the mouth of ariver, they take the fresh water, and die the same day.
The
purpura will live about fifty days after it has been taken.
They are nourished by each other, for a plant like a fucus
or moss grows upon their shells. They say that whatever iscast to them for food is done for the sake of weight, thatthey may weigh the more.
15. Dry weather is injurious to other testacea, for it
renders them fewer in quantity and inferior in quality, and thepectens become more red. In the Pyrrhaean Euripus the pectens perish, not only from the instrument with which thefishermen scrape them together, but also from dry weather.
The other testacea thrive in wet weather, because it makes
the sea-water fresher. The cold of the Pontus and of therivers that flow into it renders bivalve shells rare.
The univalves, however, are frozen in cold weather.
This is thenature cf aquatic animals.

by the dragon-serpent.

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B. VIII.]THE HISTOET OF ANIMAIiS.

221

Chapteb XXI.
1. Among quadrupeds, swine suffer from three diseases, oneof these is called sore throat, in which the parts above thejaws and the branchia become inflamed it may also occur inother parts of the body, and frequently seizes upon the foot,and sometimes the ear. The neighbouring parts then become putrid, until it reaches the liings, when the animal dies
the disease spreads rapidly, and the animal eats nothing fromthe period of the commencement of the disease, be it where
it will.
The swineherds have no other remedy but theexcision of the part before the disease has spread far.
2. There are two other diseases which are both called
craura.
One of them consists in a pain and weight in thehead, with which many of them are afflicted the other isan excessive alvine discharge. This appears to be incurable.
They relieve the former by the application of wine to thenostrils, and washing them with wine.
Eecovery from thisdisease is difficult, for it generally carries them off on thethird or fourth day.
3. They suffer particularly from sore throat, when thesummer bears abundantly, and they are fat. The fruit of
the mulberry is good for them, and abundant washings
with warm water, and scarification beneath the tongue.
If the flesh of swine is soft, it is full of small lumps
for in these(chalazae) about the legs, neck, and shoulders
parts the chalazae are most frequent.
If there are but a few,
the flesh is sweet if many, it becomes very fluid and soft.
4. Those which have these chalazse are easily distinguished
for they exist in the greatest numbers under the tongue,
and if the hair is plucked from their mane it appears
bloody underneath. Those which have chalazse cannot keep
their hind legs still.
They are not thus affected as long as
they suck. The grain called tipha, which also forms excellent food, is the remedy for the chalazae.
Vetches and figs
are useful both fcr fattening and rearing pigs and on thewhole their food should not be all of one sort, but varied
for swine, like other animals, derive advantage from achange in their food and they say that at the same time
their food ought to inflate them, and to cover them bothwith flesh and fat. Acorns are good for their food, but
;

;

;

;

;

;

;

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222

THE HISTOET OF ANIMALS.

make their flesli watery[b. VITI.

and if they eat too many while
pregnant, they produce abortions, as sheep also doforthese animals evidently suffer tliis from eating acorns.
The swine is the only creature that we know of which
has chalazaD in its flesh.
;

;

1.

Chaptee XXII.
Dogs suffer from these diseases which have received thesenames, lytta, cynanche, podagra. The lytta produces madness, and they infect every creature which they bite, except

mankind, with the same disease. This disease is fatal todogs and to any other animal they may bite except man.
The cynanche also is fatal to dogs and there are comparatively few which recover from the podagra. Camels also are
seized with lytta.
(The elephant does not appear to sufferfrom any other infirmity except flatulency.)
2. G-regarious oxen suffer from two diseases, one called
podagra, the other craurus. The podagra affects their feetbut it is not fatal, nor do they lose their hoofs. They derive
benefit from their horns being smeared with warm pitch.
When attacked with craurus, their breathing becomes warm
and thick. Fever in mankind is the same as craurus in cattle.
It is a sign of this disease, when they hang do^vn their ears
and will not eat. It soon proves fatal, and when dissected,
their lungs appear putrid.
;

1.

Chaptee XXIII.
HoESES when grazing are free from all diseases except

podagra;from this they suffer, and sometimes lose theirhoofs, which grow again as soon as they are lost, and the lossof the hoof usually takes place as soon as the first recommences its growth. It is a sign of the disease when theright testicle throbs, or when a wrinkled hollow place appears

a Httle below the middle of the nose. Horses that are brought
up in a domestic state suffer from several other diseases
they are attacked with a disorder in their bowels, and it isa sign of the disease when they drag their hind legs up to
their fore legs, and keep them under in such a way that theyalmost strike together: if they go mad after having abstained from food for several days, they are relieved bybleeding and castration.^
2. The tetanus is another disease of horses, which is thus*

The passage is altogether corrupt.

;THE mSTOKY OF ANIMALS.

B. Tin.]228

recognised; all the veins, and the head and neck are extended,and their legs are stiff when they walk the horses also become
full of corrupt matter.
They are also attacked by anotherdisease in wlaich they are said to have the crithia ;^ the softness of the roof of the mouth, and heated breath, are thesigns of this disease, which is incurable, unless it stays of
its own accord.
Another disease is called nymphia,^ whichis relieved by the sound of a flute
it causes them to hangdown their heads, and when anyone mounts they rush forward until they run against something. The horse is always
dejected if afflicted with madness
this is a sign of it, if
it lays down its ears upon its mane, and then draws themforward, and pants and breathes hard.
3. These also are incurable if the heart is affected.
It isa sign of this disease if the animal suffers from relaxation.
And if the bladder alters its position, difficulty inmaking water is a sign of this disease it draws up the hoofs
and loins. It is also fatal for the horse to swallow the staphilinus, which is of the same size as the spondyla.
Thebite of the shrew mouse is injurious to other animals also
it causes sores, which are more severe if the creature is pregnant when it bites, for the sores then break. If they are notpregnant, the animal does not perish. The creature called
chalkis by some persons and zygnis by others, inflicts eithera fatal or very painful bite. It resembles a small lizard, andis of the same colour as the serpent called the blind worm.
4. And, on the whole, those who understand horses saythat both these animals and sheep suffer from all the in;

;

;

;

firmities with whichmankind isafflicted.

The horse, andevery other beast of burden, is destroyed by the poison of
sandarach.'
It is dissolved in water and strained.
The
pregnant mare casts her young with the smell of a lamp goingout.
This also happens to some pregnant women. This is
the nature of the diseases of horses.
5. The hippomanes, as it is called, is said to be produced
upon the foals the mares when they have bitten it off lick thefoal and cleanse it.
The fables on this subject have been invented by women and charmers. It is, however, agreed thatmares before parturition eject the substance called polion.
6. Horses recognise again the voices of any with which;''

Indigestion caused by eating barlej when heated.
' Bed sulphuret of arsenic.
Phrensy.

;

224

THE HISTOEX OF ANIMALS.

[b. Till

They delight in meadows andthey may have fought.
marshes, and drink dirty water and if it is clean, they first
disturb it with their hoof, and then drink and wash themselves.
And on the whole, the horse is an animal fond ofwater, and still more fond of moisture wherefore, also,
the nature of the river-horse is thus constituted. In thisrespect the ox is very different from the horse, for it will
not drink unless the water is clean, cold, and unmixed.
;;

Chapter XXIV.
As8Es only suffer from one disease, which is called meHs,
which first attacks the head of the animal, and causes a
If thethick and bloody phlegm to flow from the nostrils.
disease extends to the lungs, it is fatal but that which first
1.

;

This animal cannot bear cold,
for which reason there are no asses in the vicinity of theattacks the headis not so.

Pontus and in Scythia.

Chaptee XXV.
1.

Elephants

sufferfrom flatulent

diseases,

for

which

reason they can neither evacuate their fluid or solid excrements. If they eat earth they become weak, unless used
to such food. If it is accustomed to it, it does no harm.
Sometimes the elephant swallows stones. It also suffersfrom diarrhoea. "When attacked with this complaint, they are
cured by giving them warm water to drink, and hay dippedin honey to eat and either of these remedies wiU stop thedisease.
"When fatigued for want of sleep, they are cured
by being rubbed on the shoulders with salt and oil, andwarm water. When they suffer from pain in the shoulders,
they are relieved by the application of roasted swine's
flesh.
Some elephants will drink oil, and some will not
aud if any iron weapon is struck into their body, the oil
which they drink assists in its expulsion; and to thosewhich will not drink it, they give wine of rice cooked withoil.
This, then, is the nature of quadrupeds.
;

Chaptek XXVI.
Insects generally thrive when the year is of the samekind as the season in which they were born, such as the
Certain creatures are produced
spring, moist and warm.
1.

B. YIII.]225

THE HISTOET OP ANIMALS.

in beehives, whicli destroy the combs, and a little spinning
worm, whicli destroys the wax. It is called clerus, or bysome persons pyraustes. This creature produces a spiderlike animal like itself, which causes sickness in the hive,
and another creature like the moth, which flies round theThis produces a creature filled with a woolly subcandle.
stance.
It is not killed by the bees, and is only driven out
kind of caterpillar also, which is calledby smoking it.
The bees do not drive it
teredo, is produced in the hives.
away. They suffer most from diseases when the woods
produce flowers infected with rust, and in dry seasons. All
insects die when plunged in oil, and most rapidly if theirhead is oiled, and they are placed in the sun.

A

Chapter XXVII.
Animals also differ in their localities

for some are enfrom some localities which exist in others,though small and shortlived, and not thriving. And frequently there will be a great difference even in adjoining
places, as the grasshopper is found in some parts of Milesia,
and is absent from those in the immediate vicinity. And in
Cephalenia a river divides the country, on one side of which
the grasshopper is found, and not on the other.
2. In Poroselene a road divides the country, on one sideInof which the weasel is found, and not on the other.
Bosotia there are many moles in the neighbourhood ofOrchomenus, but in the adjoining Lebadian district there
are none, nor if they are imported, are they willing to bur1.

:

tirely absent

If hares are taken into Ithaca they will not live,
but are seen dead on the sea coast, turned in the direction
In Sicily the hippomyrmex
in which they were brought.
is not found, and in Cyrene there were formerly no croak-row.

ing frogs.
3.

In all Libya there is neither wild boar, nor stag, nor
And in India, Ctesias, who is not worthy ofwild goat.

but
credit, says, there are neither domestic nor wild swine
the exsanguineous and burrowing tribes are all large. In
the Pontus there are no malacia, nor all the kinds of tesbut in the Ked Sea all thetacea, except in a few places
In Syria there are sheep withtestacea are of a great size.
tails a cubit in width, and the ears of the goats are a spau;;

THE HI8T0BY OF ANIMALS.

226[b. VIII.

and four fingers, and some of them bring their ears down
to the ground and the oxen, like the camels, have a maneupon the point of the shoulder. In Lycia the goats areshorn as the sheep are in other places.
4. In Lib^a the horned rams are born at once with horns^
and not the males only, as Homer says, but all the rest also.
In the part of Scythia near the Pontus, the contrary is thecase, for they are born without horns.
And in Egypt someof the cattle, as the oxen and sheep, are larger than in
Greece, and others are smaller, as the dogs, wolves, hares,
foxes, ravens, and hawks.
Others are nearly of the same
size, as the crows and goats.
This difference originates in
the food which is abundant for some, and scarce for others.
For the wolves, hawks, and carnivorous creatures food is
scarce, for there are but few small birds.
For the dasypus
and others which are not carnivorous, neither the hard nor
soft fruits are of any long continuance.
5 The temperature is also very influential ; for in lUyria, Thrace, and Epirus, the asses are small.
In Scythia,
and Celtic countries, they do not occur at all, for in theseIn Arabia the lizards are moreplaces the winter is severe.
than a cubit long, and the mice are much larger than thosewhich inhabit our fields, their fore legs being a span long,and their hind legs as long as from the first joint of thefinger ....
6. In Libya, the serpents, as it has been already remarked,
For some persons say that as they sailed
are very large.
along the coast, they saw the bones of many oxen, and that
it was evident to them that they had been devoured by theserpents. And as the ships passed on, the serpents attacked
the triremes, and some of them threw themselves upon one
There are more lions inof the triremes and overturned it.
Europe, and especially in the country between the AcheIn Asia there are leopards whichlous and the Nessus.
are not found in Europe.
7. On the whole, the wild animals of Asia are the fiercest,
those of Europe the boldest, and those of Libya the mostvaried in form and it has passed into a proverb that Libya
For the want ofis always producing something new.
water brings many heterogeneous animals together at thedrinking places, where they copulate and produce young, if:;

B. Vlir.]

THE HISTOET OF ANIMALS.

227

happen to be the same, and their
The desire of drinking makes them

their periods of gestation
size not very different.

gentle to each other, for they differ from the animals of othercountries, in wanting to drink more in winter than in summer for on account of the great want of water during thesummer they are habituated to do without water ; and if
the mice drink they die.
8. Other animals are produced by the intercourse ofheterogeneous creatures, as in Cyrene the wolves copulate
with the dogs, and produce young and the Laconian dogs
are bred between a dog and a fox.
They say that the Indian dogs are derived from the tiger and the dog ; not directly, but from the third mixture of the breeds ; for they
say that the first race was very fierce. They take the dogs
and tie them up in the desert. Many of them are devoiired,
if the wild animal does not happen to desire sexual inter;;course.

Chapteb XXVIII.
DiFPEBENT localities produce a variety of dispositions,as mountainous and rough places, or smooth plains.
They

1,

are more fierce and robust in appearance in moimtains, as theswine of Athos ; for the males of those which inhabit theplains cannot endure even the females of the other kind anddifierent situations have great influence on the bite of wild
animals.
All the scorpions about Pharus and other places
are not painful, but in Caria and other localities they are
frequent, and large, and fierce, and their sting is fatal toeither man or beast, even to sows, which are but little influenced by the bite of other creatures, and black sowsare more easily affected than others.
The swine die verysoon after being stung, if they come near the water.
2. The bite also of serpents varies much ; for in Libya
the asp is found, from which they form a septic poison,
which is incurable. In the plant silphium is found a small
serpent, for the bite of which a remedy has been discovered
in a small stone, which is taken out of the tomb of one of
the ancient kings
this they drink dipped in wine.
Insome parts of Italy the bite of the gecko is found to befatal.
If one poisonous animal eats another, as, if a::'Probably assafaetida,

Q 2

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228

THE HISTOET OF ANIMALS.

[b, TIIL

viper eats a scorpion, its bite is the most fatal of all.
The saliva of a man is hostile to most of them. There
one small serpent, which some persons call hierus,iswhich is avoided even by large serpents.
It is a cubit"Whatsoever it bites immelong, and appears rough.
mediately becomes putrid in a circle round the woirnd.
There is also a small serpent in India, the only one forwkich there is no remedy.

Chaptee XXIX.
1. Animals also

being in good condition or notduring gestation. The testacea, as the pectens and the malacostraca, as the carabi and such like, are best when pregnant for this word is also used of the testacea. For themalacostraca have been observed both in the act of copulation and oviposition
but none of the testacea have ever
The malacia, such as the teuthis,been seen so occupied.
sepia, and polypus, are most excellent when pregnant
andalmost all fish are good during the early part of the period
but as the time advances some are good and some not so.
The form of the
2. The msenis thrives during gestation.
female is round, that of the male longer and broader. And
when the period of gestation commences in the females, themales become black and variegated, and are not fit to eat.
Some persons call them tragi at this period. Those which
are called cottyphus and cichla also change their colour
and the caris also changes at this season and some birds,
which are black in spring and afterwards become white.
for it is white at
3. The phycis also changes its colour
all other seasons, and variegated in the spring.
This is the
only sea fish that, as they say, makes a nest in which
differ in

;

;

;

;

The msenis, as it was before obit deposits its ova.
served, and the smaris also change their colours, and frombeing white in summer become black.
This is particularly conspicuous about the fins and gills.
The coracinus
The cestreus,
is best when pregnant, and so is the msenis.
labrax, and nearly all creatures that swim are inferior at thisseason.
4. There are a few which are good, whether pregnant or
Old fish also are inferior; and oldnot, as the glaucus.
tuimies are not even fit for salting, for much of the fiesh ia

;

B. Till.]

THE HISTOET OF ANIMALS.

229

The same thing also happens with other fish.
The older fish are distinguished by the size and hardness

dissolved.

of their scales ;fifteen talents,

an old tunny has been taken which weighed
and the length of the tail was two cubits

and a span.
5. Biver and pond fish are most excellent, after depositing
Some oftheir ova and semen, and recovering their flesh.
them, however, are good while pregnant, as the saperdis
and others bad, as the glanis. In all the male is better than
the female ; but the female glanis is better than the male.
Those which they call female eels are better than the males.

They call them females, though they are not so, but only
difier in appearance.

THE HISTORY OF ANIMALS.

230[b. IX.

BOOK THE NINTH.
Chapter I.
1.

The dispositions of obscure and short-lived animals arethan those of long-lived animals forthey appear to have a certain inclination towards each natural affection of the soul, such as prudence and folly,
courage and cowardice, mildness and cruelty, and such otherhabits.
Some also, which have the sense of hearing, appear
to be capable of a certain degree of instruction and discipline, both from one another and from mankind, for they
not only distinguish the difference of sounds but also ofless easily observed;

signs.
2. And in aU animals in which there is a distinction of
the sexes nature has given a similar disposition to the males
and to the females. This is most conspicuous in man, andthe larger animals, and in viviparous quadrupeds for the
disposition of the female is softer, and more tameable andsubmissive, and more ingenious as the females of the LaceIn thedemonian dog are more gentle than the males.
Molossian race of dogs, those employed in hunting differ inno respect from other dogs while those employed in following sheep are larger and more fierce in their attack onwild beasts.
mixture of the Molossian and Lacedemonian
races is both braver and more capable of enduring fatigue.
3. The females of all animals are less violent in their
passions than the males, except the female bear and pardalis,for the female of these appears more courageous than the
male. In other animals the females are more soft and insidious, less simple, more petulant, and more active in thecare of their young. The disposition of the males is opposedto this for they are more passionate and fierce, more straight;

;

;

A

;

The vestiges of these disposiforward, and less invidious.
tions exist, as we may say, in all, but are more conspicuousin those which have the strongest moral habits, and most of

THE HISTOEY OF ANIMALS,

B. IX.]

231

for the nature of the human subject is the
all in mankind
most complete, so that these habits appear more conspicuous
in mankind than in other animals.
4. Wherefore women are more compassionate and more
readily made to weep, more jealous and querulous, more
fond of railing, and more contentious. The female also is more
subject to depression of spirits and despair than the male.
She is also more shameless and false, more readily deceived,
and more mindful of injury, more watchful, more idle, andon the whole less excitable than the male. On the contrary,
the male is more ready to help, and, as it has been said,
more brave than the female and even in the malacia, if thesepia is struck with a trident, the male comes to help thefemale, but the female makes her escape if the male is;;struck.
1.

Chapter II.
Animals often fight with each other, particularly thosewhich inhabit the same places and eat the same foodwhen food becomes scarce, congeners fight together.

;

for

They

say that seals which occupy the same locality will fight, themales with the males and the females with the females, until
one party is either killed or ejected by the other, and theircubs also will fight in the same way. All animals also willfight with carnivorous creatures, and these will fight withother animals, for they feed upon living creatures for which
reason augurs observe the disputes and agreements ofanimals, considering that their disputes betoken war, andtheir agreements peace with each other.
2. When supplied with plenty of food, animals that are
naturally afraid of man and fierce appear to submit themselves to him, and to conduct themselves quietly towards
each other. The care which is taken of animals in Egypt
demonstrates this circumstance for even the fiercest creatures live together, when they have food enough, and are
not in any want for they become tame from the supply of
their wants which they receive, as the crocodiles are tamedby the priests by the care which is bestowed on their food.
The same thing may be observed in other countries and in;;;their different parts.
3. The eagle and the dragon are enemies, for the eaglo
feeds on serpents.
The ichneumon and the spider are alac;

THE HISTOET OF AKIMALS.

282[B. IX.

enemies, for the ichneumon hunts the spider. Among birds
the poecilis and the lark and the wood-pecker and chloreus
are enemies, for they eat each others' eggs.
The crow andthe owl also are enemies for at mid-day the crow, taking
advantage of the dim sight of the owl, secretly seizes anddevours its eggs, and the owl eats those of the crow during
the night and one of these is master during the day, theother during the night. The owl and orchilus are enemies
for the latter eats the eggs of the owl.
During the dayother birds fly round the owl, which is called " astonishingit," and as they fly round it pluck ofi" its feathers.
For thisreason fowlers use it in hunting for all kinds of birds.
4. The presbys contends with the weasel and crow, forthey eat its eggs and young. The turtle and pyrallis arefoes, for their food and mode of life are the same.
The
for theceleus and libyus, kite and raven are enemies
kite, from the superiority of its claws and flight, cantake from the raven anything it may have caught, so that
their food is the cause of their enmity also.
Those thatobtain their food from the sea also are foes, as the brenthus,
The triorches is a foe to the toad andlarus, and harpa.
the serpent for the triorches eats the others. The turtle
and chloreus are foes, for tlie chloreus kills the turtle, andthe crow kills the bird called typanus. The little owl andall other birds with crooked claws eat the calaris, from
;

;

;

;

whence their enmity arises.
5. The gecko and the spider are enemies, for the gecko
The pipo is a foe to the heron, for it deeats spiders.
vours the eggs and young of the heron. Enmity also exists
between the segithus and the ass; for the ass frequents thorny
places, that it may scratch its sores, and by this means, andwhen it brays it overturns the eggs and young of the aegithus,
for they fall out of the nest from fear of the noise, and the bird,
to revenge this injury, flies upon the ass and inflicts wounds.
The wolf is the enemy of the ass, bull, and fox for being acarnivorous animal, it attacks both oxen, asses, and foxes.
The fox and circus are enemies for the same reason; forthe circus having crooked claws, and being carnivorous,
attacks and inflicts wounds with its claws.
6. The raven is an enemy to the bull and ass, for it flies
round them and strikes their eyes. The eagle and the heron;;THE niSTOET OE ANIMALS.

B. IX.]

238

are foes, for the eagle has crooked claws and attacks it,
and the other dies in defending itself. The sesalon is a foe
to the vulture, and the crex to the coleus, blackbird, andchlorion, which some persons fabulously say derives its
origin from a funeral pile, for it destroys both themselves and
The sitta and trochilus are foes to the eagle,
their young.
and the eagle, as well for this reason, as because it is carnivorous, is a foe to them all.
7. The anthus is the enemy of the horse, for it drives thehorse from its pasture, for the anthus also feeds on grass
it is dim-sighted and not quick ; it imitates the voice of thehorse, which it frightens by flying at it, and drives it from
if the horse can seize upon it, he wUl kill it.
Theits pastureanthus lives near rivers and marshes ; it is of a fine colour,
and lives well. The ass attacks the colota, a creature which
lives in the manger, and prevents it from eating, by making
its way into its nostrils.
8. There are three kinds of heron, the black, the whitesort, and the one called asteriasof these, the black restsand copulates with difiiculty, for it utters a cry, and, as they
Bay, bleeds from the eyes during coition, and the process ofparturition is severe and painful ; it attacks creatures which
injure it, as the eagle, for it seizes upon it, and the fox, forthis creature attacks it during the night, and the lark,
which steals its eggs.
9. The serpent is an enemy to the weasel and the hog,
for if the weasel and serpent live in the same house theyboth require the same kind of food ; and swine eat serpents.
The aesalon is a foe to the fox, for it strikes and pecks it, anddestroys its young, for it has crooked claws. The raven andthe fox are friendly, for the raven also attacks the a?salon,and so they help each other in the attack. The little owl
and the aesalon are mutual foes, for both have crooked claws.
The little owl and the swan attack the eagle, and the swan
Of all birds the swans are mostoften comes ofi" victorious.
disposed to devour ' each other.
10. Some animals are always ready to attack each other,and others, as mankind, only at particular times. The ass
flud the acanthis are foes, for the latter feeds entirely on
The anthorns, but the former only when they are tender.
;;'

To fight with eacli other.

—See Liddell and Scott's Lexicon, .

:THE HI8T0ET OF ANIMALS.

234[b. IX.

thus, acanthis, and aegithus are foes, and it is said that the
blood of the anthua and aegithus will not mix. The crowand heron are friends, and so are the schoenion, lark,
laedus, and celeus, for the celeus lives by the side of rivers
and thickets, but the laedus lives among rocks and mountains, and is fond of the place in vrhich it lives.
The
piphinx, harpa, and kite are friends the fox and the serpent also, for both live in holes ; and the blackbird and the;turtle.

11. The lion
rous, and live

and jackal are foes, for both are carnivoon the same substances. Elephants also
fight fiercely vnth. each other, and strike with their tusks
the conquered submits entirely, and cannot endure the voice
and elephants diifer much in the courageof the victor
they exhibit. The Indians use both male and female elephants in war, though the females are smaller and far lesscourageous. The elephant can overthrow walls by striking
them with its large tusks it throws down palm trees by
striking them with its head, and afterwards putting its feetupon them, stretches them on the ground.
;:;

12. Elephant-hunting is conducted in the following way

men mount upon some tame courageous animals when they;

have seized upon the wild animals they command the others
to beat them till they fail from fatigue. The elephant-driverthen leaps upon its back and directs it with a lance verysoon after this they become tame and obedient. When theelephant-drivers mount upon them they all become obedient,but when they have no driver, some are tame and others
not so, and they bind the fore legs of those that arewild with chains, in order to keep them quiet. They hunt
both full-growTi animals and young ones. Such is thefriendship and enmity of these wild animals originating inthe supply of food, and the mode of life.
;

1.

Chapteb III.
Some fish are gregarious and friendly together, others

that are less gregarious are hostile. Some are gregarious while
they are pregnant, others during the season of parturition. On
the whole, the following are gregarious the tunny, moenis,
cobius, box, saurus, coracinus, sinodon, trigla, muraena,»nthia,eleginu8,atherinus,sarginus,belona, (mecon,) teuthua:

B. IX. ]THE HISTORY OF ANIMALS.

235

Some of these are both
iulus, pelamis, scombrus, and colias.
gregarious, and live in pairs, for all the others pair together ;and some are gregarious at particular seasons, as it has beensaid, while they are pregnant, and others in the season ofdepositing their ova.
2, The labrax and cestreus, though most hostile, will at
certain seasons congregate with each other, for not only docongeners congregate together, but all those which feed
upon the same kind of food, where it is abundant. The
cestreus and the conger often survive after having been deprived of their tail up to the anus, for the cestreus is eatenby the labrax, and the conger by the mursena. The stronger
are hostile to the weaker, for the strong fish eat the others.
This much concerning marine creatures.

Chaptee IV.
It has been already observed, that the dispositions ofanimals vary in cowardice, mildjiess, courage, gentleness,
intelligence, and folly.
The disposition of sheep, as I havesaid before, is foolish, and without sense they are the mostcowardly of all animals, and steal away into desert places
for no purpose, and in winter often escape from their fold.
When overtaken by a snow-storm, they wiU not get away^
unless the shepherd drives them, but will stay behind and1.

;

perish, unless the shepherds carry off the males, when therest will follow.

If a person takes any of the goats by the beard (which
lookat it. Sheep will sleep in colder places than goats, for sheep
are more quiet, and are ready to submit themselves to mankind.
Goats do not bear the cold so well as sheep. Shepherds teach sheep to come together when they make a noise,
and if any of them is left behind and does not join the flock
when it thunders, it will cast its young, if pregnant wherefore, when a noise is made, they will collect together intheir sheds according to their custom.
(Bulls are destroyed
by wild beasts, if they wander away from their herd.) Sheepand goats lie down to rest separately in their races,
and when the sun begins to descend, the shepherds say thatthe goats do not lie down with their faces to each other, butthey turn their backs upon each other.
2.

is like hair), all the rest stand by as if infatuated, and

;

;

236

1.

THE HISTOET OF ANIMALS.

[b. H.

Chaptee v.
Cows pasture in herds, and in companies, and if one oftliem wanders to a distance, all the rest follow, so that theherdsmen, if they do not find her, immediately examine all
the herds. Mares in herds, if one of them happens to die,will bring up her foal among them, and the whole race ofhorses appears to have warm natural afiections, of which thefollowing is a proof the barren mares will take away thefoals from their mothers, and treat them with affection,
though they soon die for want of milk.
:

Chapter VI.
1. Of all wild quadrupeds, the deer appears to be one of themost prudent in producing its young by the wayside (where
wild beasts do not come, for fear of men) as soon as the young
is bom, the dam eats the chorion, and runs to the plantcalled seselis, which she eats, and having so done, returns to her
She then leads her kid to the station, to which it may
kid.
learn to retreat in case of danger this is usually a chasm
in a rock with a single entrance, which they say that it
When the male gets fat (which usually
stays and defends.
happens in the autumn) he does not show himself, but getsout of the way, for his fat makes him an easy prey. He
sheds his horns in difficult and scarcely accessible places,from whence arises the proverb, " where the stag sheds its
horns," for they are afraid of being seen, as if they had lost
It is said that the left horn nevertheir means of defence.
has been seen, for he conceals it as if it had some medicinal
power.
2. "When a year old they have no horns, but only a commencement, as it were a sign of what is to be this is short,and covered with thick down. When two years old, they
have straight horns, like sticks, for which reason they are
In the third year
called pattalia (from -rarraXog, a stake).
In the fourth year they become
their horns are divided.
rough. In this manner they are regularly developed tillthey are six years old. After this age their horns are always the same, so that their age cannot be distinguished bythem. Old stags, however, are recognised by two signs
some of them have no teeth at all, others only a few j and;;;THE HISTOET OF AKIMALS.

B. IX.]

237

they never have the defensive part of the horn, that partof the growing horn which bends forwards, with which they
defend themselves, this the old stags never possess, but all
the increase of their horns is upwards.
3. They cast their horns every year about the month ofApril.
When they cast their horns they hide themselves
during the day, as it has been already observed. They conceal themselves in thickets, to protect themselves from theDuring this period they feed (in the thickets) duringflies.
the night, until their horns are grown. They are produced
at first under the skin, and are covered with down.
Whenthey grow they expose them to the sun, that the horn may
be matured and hardened. When they cease to give them
pain if rubbed against trees, they leave such places, forthey are confident in their means of defence. An Achainianstag ^ has been taken with a considerable quantity of green
ivy growing on its horns as in green wood, for the horns
are tender when first produced.
4. When the stags are bitten by the phalangium or any
such creature, they collect together a number of crabs andeat them.
It appears to be wholesome for mankind to
drink the same substance, but it is not pleasant. The
females, as soon as their young are born, eat the chorium,
and it is not possible to obtain it, for they seize upon it
before it can fall to the ground it appears to have somemedicinal properties. The females are captured by thesound of the pipe and by singing, and they are charmed bysinging.
When two persons go out to capture them, one
shows himself, and either plays upon a pipe, or sings, andthe other strikes behind, when the first gives him the;signal ;when the ears of the deer are erect, it hears quickly,

and cannot be deceived, as it may be if they hang down.

Chapteb VII.

Whe

bears are in flight,they drive theircubs before them,or take them up and carry them.
When nearly overtaken,
they climb up into trees. When they first come from theirhiding place they eat the arum, as it has been already observed, and gnaw the trees as if they were cutting teeth.
Many other animals also prudently provide themselves with

1.

isr

'

A bracket, or two year old stag.

—THE HISTOET OF AITIMALS.

238[b. IX.

remedies, for they say that the wild goats in Crete, whenstruck with an arrow, seek out the dittany, for this plant
assists in working the arrow from their body.
2. And dogs, when they are ill, proNdde themselves with
an emetic from a certain kind of grass. The panther, when
it has eaten the poison called pardalianches,' seeks for humanordure, for this relieves it.
This poison also will kill lions,the hunters, therefore, suspend ordure in a vessel from thetrees, in order that the animal may not wander far fromthem for the panther jumps at it and attempts to seize it,
and dies before it can reach it. They say that the pantheris aware that its peculiar scent is grateful to other wild
animals, and that it preys upon them in concealment, andwhen deer approach near, it catches hinds.
3. The Egyptian ichneumons, when they see the serpent
called the asp, do not attack it until they have invited others
to assist.
They roll themselves in mud as a protection
against its blows and wounds ; they first bathe in water andthen roll themselves on the ground. When the crocodile
gapes, the trochilus flies into its mouth, to cleanse its teeth ;in this process the trochilus procures food, and the other perceives it, and does not injure it ; when the crocodile wishes thetrochilus to leave, it moves its neck that it may not bite thebird.
When the tortoise has eaten a viper, it afterwards eatsoriganum this has been observed.
person who had often
seen this done, and had observed that when the tortoise had
tasted the origanum it went back to the viper, gathered all
the origanum, and when this was done, the tortoise died.
4. The weasel eats the herb rue before it attacks aBerpent, for the smell of this herb is obnoxious to serpents.
When the draco has eaten much fruit, it sucks the juice ofthe bitter lettuce ; it has been seen to do this. When dogs aretroubled with worms, they eat the green tops of corn. Whenthe pelargus or any other bird has been wovmded in flight,
they feed upon marjoram, and many persons have seen thelocust * settle upon the neck of serpents with which it was
The weasel also appears prudent in the way incontending.
which it attacks birds, for it kills them in the same manner
as wolves kill sheep it will fight also with serpents, andespecially with those that hunt mice ; for the weasel pursues
the same animals.
;

A

;

;

*

Perhaps Aconite.

^

Spax lacerticida.

Schneider,;

THE HISTOET OF ANIMALS.

M. IX.J239

5. Observations have "been frequently made on the instinctof the hedgehog, for when the north and south winds change,
those that dwell in the earth alter the position of the entrance of their burrows those which are kept in houses alter
their position from wall to wall, so that they say that in
Byzantium there was a person who obtained the characterof predicting the change of the weather, from observations
made on the hedgehog. Theictis ia about the size of a small
Maltese dog in the thickness of its hair, its appearance,
its white belly, and the cunning of its disposition, it resembles the weasel it is easily tamed it attacks hives ofbees, for it is very fond of honey it eats birds like catsits penis, as it has been already observed, is bony, and appears to be a remedy for stranguary in the human subject
it is administered in shavings.
;

;

;

;

;

Chaptee VIII.
1.

Many animals in their mode of life appear to imitate

mankind, and one may observe greater accuracy of intellectin small than in large animals ; as the manufacture of its
dwelling by the swallow is remarkable among birds it has
the same method of combining chaff with mud, for it mixes
the mud with straw, and if mud is not to be found, it
dips in the water and rolls itself in the dust it uses straw
in making its nest as men use it, for it places the largest
at the bottom, and makes it commensurate with its own
bulk ; both the male and female labour in support of theyoung. They feed each in turn, observing by some agreement the one which was first fed that none may receive food
twice ; at first they turn the dung out of the nest, but as
the young birds increase in size, they teach them to turnthemselves, so as to eject their excrement out of the nest.
2. There are some observations which may be made on
pigeons, for they wiU not pair with many mates, nor do they
forsake their first companion, unless they become widowed.
The care and anxiety of the male at the time of parturition
are remarkable, for if the pain causes the hen to feel languid
when near the nest, he beats her and drives her in. Whenthe young are hatched, the parent provides salt earth, whichis injected into the open mouth of the young birds, as a preparation for the reception of food.
When it is time forthem to leave the nest, the male copulates with them aJL
;

;

;;

THE HISTORY OF ANIMALS.

240[b. IX,

3. In this manner they have usually a great affection foreach other. Some females will copulate with males that are
not their own mates. This hird is contentious, they fight
together, and attack each other's nests, though not frequently, for although they are beaten when at a distance,
they will fight to the last when near their nests it appears
to be characteristic of the pigeon, phaps, and turtle not
to lean back when they drink, unless they have had sufficient.
The turtle and phatta aways remain faithful to thesame male, and will not permit another to approach them,and the male and female share the labour of incubation.
The m.ale and female are not easily distinguished, except;

by their internal structure.
4. The phatta is long-lived, they have been known tolive for twenty-five or thirty years, some even forty years
their claws grow when they become aged, and pigeon
breeders cut them off, and in no other respect are they inferior when aged. The turtle and the pigeon, if they havebeen blinded by those who use them as decoy birds, will live
eight years. The partridge lives fifteen years, the phaps andthe turtle always build in the same places.
5. On the whole, males also live longer than females, but inthese birds they say that the males die before the females
this conclusion is derived from the observation of thosewhich are brought up in houses for decoy birds. Somepersons say that cock-sparrows only live for one year, considering this as a proof, that early in the spring there are nobirds with black beneath the chin but they have it afterwards, as if none of the former birds had survived. The
hen-sparrows have a longer life, for these are taken among
the young birds, and are easily known by the hard portion
about their bills. The turtle lives during the summer incold places, and during the winter in warm places. The finch
lives during the summer in warm places, and in cold places
during winter.
;

1.

Chaptee IX.
The heavy birds do not make nests, for it does not agreewith their mode of flight, as the quail, partridge, and all
but when they have made a hole in the smoothsuch birds
ground (for they never produce their young in any othei;

THE HISTOBY OF ANIMALS.

B. IX.]

241

some thorns and sticks for a
defence against the hawks and eagles, and there lay theireggs and incubate. As soon as the young are hatched, theylead them out, because their slow fiiglit prevents them fromprocuring food for them. The quail and partridge shelter
their young under their wings, like the domestic fowl.
2. They do not lay and incubate in the same place, lest
any one should discover the place while they sat there for along while and when any one in hunting falls upon thenest, the partridge halts before him, as if she could be taken,
and draws him after her in the hopes of capture, until all
the young ones have had time to escape, and after she flies
back and recalls them to their nest. The partridge does
not lay less than ten eggs, and often sixteen. As it has been
already observed, it is a bird of an evil and cunning dispoIn the spring they separate with singing and fightsition.
ing into pairs with the females which each may happen to
take. The partridge being a bird of violent passions, it tries
to prevent the female from incubation by rolling and breakThe female, opposing thising the eggs, if it can find them.
artifice by another, lays her eggs as she runs, and often,
from her desire of laying, she drops her eggs wherever
she may be, if the male is present and, that they may all
be preserved, she does not return to them. If she is observed by men, she leads them away from her eggs as fromher young ones, and shows herself just before them until
they are drawn away from the nest.
3. "When the hen has escaped for incubation, the cocks
crow and fight together. These are called widowers. The
vanquished in the combat follows his conqueror wlio alone
and if any one is overcome byhas intercourse with him
a second, or by any chance one, the victor has secret intercourse with him. This does not take place always, but only at
The quail does the same, andcertain seasons of the year.
domestic fowls also for when a new one is oiFered in thetemples, where they are kept without the females, all inturn are united with it. Tame partridges have sexual intercourse with wild ones, and strike and insult them.
4. The leader of the wild partridges attacks the partridge
used in fowling, and goes out crowing as if he would fight.
When he is taken in the trap, the other goes out and crows
place), they collect together

;

;

;

;

242

THE HISTORY OF AlTTMAJiB,

in the same manner.

[b. IX.

If the partridge used for fowling is acock, they behave in this way but if it is a female, and she
and all the rest rise up
calls, the leader answers her calland beat him, and drive him away from the female, because
he attends to her instead of themselves. For this reason
he often comes silently, that the others may not hear his;;

And some experienced
voice and come out to fight him.
fowlers say that the male approaches the female in silence,that the other males may not hear him and compel him tofight them.
The partridge not only calls, but also utters ashrill cry and other sounds.
5. And it often happens, when the hen is sitting, that if
she sees the male approaching the decoy bird, she will getup from her nest, and remain in his way, that he may haveintercourse with her, and not be drawn away by the decoy
bird. Partridges and quails have such violent sexual desiresthat they will fall upon the fowlers and often perch upon
their heads.
Chapter X.
1.

This is the mode of the sexual intercourse of the par-tridge, and the way in which they are caught, and the natureof the rest of their crafty disposition. Quails, and partridges,
and some other birds make their nest upon the ground, asOf such birds the lark, woodit has been already observed.
cock, and quail do not perch upon trees, but upon the ground.
2. The woodpecker does not settle upon the ground, but
it strikes trees in order to drive out the worms and flies
which they contain, and it picks them up with its tongue as
they emerge. Its tongue is wide and large. It walks upon
the trees in any position, even beneath the branches, like thegecko.
It has claws stronger than those of the coloeus, which
provide for its safety in climbing trees for it fixes them in
There is one kind of
the bark as it walks up the trees.
woodpecker less than the blackbird, covered with sma^l
red spots, and another kind larger than the blackbird, and;a third kind nearly as large as the domestic hen. It builds
has been already observed, both on
and it feeds upon ants and worms
olive and other trees
which live in trees. It hunts for worms so diligently thatthey say it hoUows out the trees so much as to throw them

its nest upon trees, as it;;THE HISTOET OF ANIMALS.

B. IX.]

243

A

tame bird has been known to place an almond indown,
a crack in wood, to prepare it for the stroke of its bill, andbreak it with three blows, in order to eat the kernel.

Chaptee XI.

Many prudent actions appear to be performed by cranes
for they travel great distances, and fly at a great elevation,in order that they may see farther and if they see clouds;

and wintry weather, they descend and rest themselves.
They have also a leader in front and in the rear are thosewhich give a signal by whistling, so that their voice may beheard. When they settle on the ground, the rest sleep with
their head under the wing, first on one foot, then on theother but the leader watches with his neck stretched out,
and when he sees anything he gives a signal by his cry.
The pelicans, which inhabit the rivers, swallow large smooth
shells with their drink, and when they have been digested;;

in the first part of their stomach, they vomit them up, inorder that they may pick out and eat their flesh when they
open their valves.

1.

Chapteb XII.
The habitations of wild birds are contrived with relation

to their mode of life and the preservation of their young.
Some of them are kind to their young and careful of themothers are of a different disposition.
Some manage well in
their mode of life others do not. Some dwell in clefts, andholes, and in rocks, as the birds called charadrius.
Thisbird is faulty both in its colours and its voice.
It appears
during the night, and escapes in the day time.
::

2. The hawk also builds in precipitous places
and although it is carnivorous, it does not devour the heart of the;bird it has killed.
Some have observed this with respect tothe quail and thrush, and others with other birds.
There isalso a change in their mode of hunting their prey, for they
do not seize them in the same way in summer and in winter.
It is said that no one has ever seen the young or the nest of
the carrion vulture. Wherefore Herodorus, the father ofBrison the sophist, says that they come from some distantelevated land, using this proof, that many of them appear suddenly, but where they come from is not intelligible

s 2

244

THE HISTOEY OF AlflMALS.

[b. H.

The reason is this, they make their nest in
to any one.
inaccessible rocks, and the bird is not an inhabitant of many
It produces one egg or two at the most.
countries.
3. Some birds dwell in mountains and in woods, as thehoopoe and brenthus. This bird has a good habit of life anda good voice. The trochilus dwells in thickets and holes.
It is taken with difficulty, for it is swift in flight, and its
disposition is weak ; but its mode of life is good, and it isartful.
It is also called presbys and basileus.
Wherefore
also they say that it fights with the eagle.

1,

Chapteb xin.
Theee are some which live near the sea, as the cinclus.

In disposition this bird is cunning and difficult of capture,
and when taken easily tamed. It appears to be lame, forAll birds with webbed feet live
its hinder parts are weak.
near the sea, or near rivers and ponds, for their natureteaches them to seek what is advantageous for them. Manyof those with divided feet live near waters and marshes, as
the anthus in the neighbourhood of rivers. Its colour is
The diver lives near
beautiful, and its mode of life good.
the sea, and when it plunges into the sea it remains
as long a time as it would take a man to walk over a plethrum of ground. This bird is less than a hawk.
2. The swan also is web-footed, and lives in ponds andIts manner of life and disposition is good, and somarshes.
If an
is its mode of rearing their young and its old age.
eagle attacks the swan, it defends itself and comes off victoSwans have therious, but will not commence the fight.
power of song, especially when near the end of their life
for they then fly out to sea, and some persons, sailing near
the coast of Libya, have met many of them in the sea singing a mournful song, and have afterwards seen some oftliem die.
3. The cymindis is seldom seen, for it inhabits mountains.
It is black, and about the size of the hawk called pigeon(It shines with a
hawk.
Its form is long and slight.
The
metallic lustre, wherefore also it is caDed chalcis.)
lonians call it cymindis: wherefore Homer writes in the
Iliad, "the bird which the gods call chalcis, and mortals
cymindis." (Some persons say that the hybris is the same;;

THE HISTOEY OF ANIMALS.

B. IX.j245

This bird does not show itself in the
day-time because its sight is dim but it hunts its preyduring the night like the eagle. It fights so fiercely withthe eagle that both are often taken alive by the shepherds.
It lays two eggs, and builds in rocks and caverns.
Cranesfight so fiercely with each other that these also are taken
alive by the shepherds while they are fighting.
The cranebird aa the ptynx.);

lays two eggs.

Chaptee XIV.
The jay changes its voice frequently, for it utters a
different one, as we may say, almost every day it lays about
1.

;

nine eggs it makes its nest upon trees, of hair and wool
when the acorns fall, it conceals and stores them up. Many
persons have reported that the stork is fed by its young,and some people say the merops also, and that they are fedby the young, not only in their old age, but as soon as the
young birds are able to do so, and that the parents remain
within the nest in appearance, this bird is green beneaththe wings, and blue above, as the kingfisher, and its wings are
red at the extremity. It lays six or seven eggs in the autumn,
in muddy caverns, and digs as much as four cubits into theground.
2. The bird called chloris from being yeUow beneath,is of the size of the lark, and lays four or five eggs
itmakes its nest of Symphytum, which it pulls up by the root,and lines it with straw, hair, and wool. The blackbird andjay do the same, and line their nests with the same materials
the nest of the acanthyllis is also artfully constructed, for it is folded together like a ball of flax, and has
a small entrance. And the natives of those places say that
there is a ciunamon bird, and that they bring the cinnamon
from the same places as the bird, and that it makes its nestof it.
It builds its nest in lofty trees and among theirbranches, but the natives of the country tip their arrows
with lead, with which they destroy the nests, and then pickout the cinnamon from the other material.
;

;

;

;

1.

Chaptee XV.
The halcyon is not much larger than a sparrow; ita

colour is blue and green, and somewhat purple;

its wholo

THE HISTOBY OF ANIMALS.

246[b. TX,

body is composed of these colours as well as the wings andis any part without every one of these colours.
Its bill is somewhat yellow, long, and slight ; this is its external form.
Its nest resembles the marine balls which arecalled halosachnse,' except in colour, for they are red in form

neck, nor;

it resembles those sicyaj (cucumbers) which have long necks ;some are greater,
They are covered up, and have a thick solid
others less.
part as well as the cavity it is not easily cut with a sharpknife, but when struck or broken with the hand, it divides
readily like the halosachnse.
The mouth is narrow, as itwere a small entrance, so that the sea-water cannot enter,even if the sea is rough its cavity is like that of the sponge ;the material of which the nest is composed is disputed, but
it appears to be principally composed of the spines of theIt also ascends
belone, for the bird itself lives on fish.
rivers ; it does not produce more than five eggs it continues
to reproduce throughout the whole of its life, from the timeof being four months old.
its size is that of a very large sponge, for

;

;

;

1.

Chapteb XYI.
The hoopoe generally makes its nest of human ordure.

It changes its appearance in summer

and winter,

like

most

The titmouse, as they say, lays theother wild birds.
greatest number of eggs, some say that the bird called melancoryphus lays the greatest number of eggs after the Libyan
sparrow, seventeen have been observed, but it will produce
more than twenty, and, as they say, it always lays a great
many. This bird also builds in trees, and lives upon worms.
It is characteristic of this bird and the nightingale not tohave any tip to their tongue. The segithus has a good modeof life, and is careful of its young, but is lame upon its feet.
The chlorion is a clever and diligent bird, but its fl,ight isdifficult, and its colours bad.
2. The elea, like some other birds, has an excellent modeof life, and dwells during the summer in groves and in theshade, and during the winter in sunshine, perching upon thereeds on the sides of marshes. It is a small bird, with agood voice.
8.

The bird called gnaphalus has a sweet voice, its coloun^

Probably a Zoophyte, Alcyonia.

J;B. IX.TTHE HISTORY Of ANIMALS.

247

are beautiful, its mode of life good, and its form elegant
it appears to be a foreign bird, for it is rarely found ia
places where there are no houses.
4. The disposition of the crex is pugnacious, but it is ingenious in providing for its own subsistence, though other-

The sitta is pugnacious, but its
wise an unfortunate bird.
disposition is gentle and tractable, and its mode of life good.
It is said to be medicinal, for it is skilful in many things.
It produces many young, which it treats with kindness, andobtains its food by striking trees.
5. The little owl feeds during the night, and is rarely visibleby day. It lives in rocks and caverns, for its food is of two
kinds and in disposition it is diligent and ingenious. Thereis a small bird called certhius, which is bold in disposition,and lives on trees and eats the thrips (timber worm). In
disposition it is diligent in search of food, and its voice isbrilliant.
The disposition and hue of the acanthis is bad,but it has a shrill voice.
;

Chapter XVII.
1.

Among the herons, as it was before observed, the black

heron copulates with diificulty, but it is an ingenious bird.
It carries its food about, and is skilful in procuring it.
Itworks during the day. Its colour, however, is bad, and its
stomach always fluid. Of the other two (for there are threekinds of them), the white heron is beautifully coloured andcopulates without pain, and builds its nest and attends its
young carefully in trees. It inhabits marshes and lakes,
The bittern, which is called ocnus
plains and meadows.
(the idle), is said in fables to have been originally a slave.
Its name indicates its very idle disposition.
The bird called poyx
2. The herons live in this manner.
is peculiar, for it is its

disposition to eat the eyes of othercreatures, and is therefore theenemy of the harpa, which

lives upon the same food.

1.

Chapteb XVIII.
Theee are two kinds of cottyphus.

The one is black,and is found everywhere the other is white. In size tliey
are alike, and their voice is very similar.
The white one ia
found in Cyllene, in Arcadia, and nowhere else. The 1»U8;

;THE HISTORY OF ANIMALS.

248[b. II,

cottyphus, but is rather smaller.
It
It has not a dark
beak, like the blackbird.
The one is called
2. Of thriishes there are three forms.
misselthrush, for it lives upon nothing but miseltoe and resin.
The
It is as krge as the citta the other is called fieldfare.
voice of this bird is shrill its size is that of the blackbird.
There is another kind, which some persons call iUas, whichis smaller than the others and less variegated.
8. There is a certain bird living on rocks, vrhich is called
It lives
blue thrush. This bird generally inhabits Scyrus.
upon the wing. It is less than the blackbird, but larger than
the finch. Its feet are black, and it climbs up upon rocks.
It has a smooth, long beak, but its legs
It is entirely blue.
are short, and resemble those of the woodpecker.
is similar to tlie black

makes its house upon rocks and tiles.

;

;

1.

Chaptes XIX.
The oriole is entirely of a yellowish green.

is not visible in the winter.

This bird

It is seen in the greatest num-bers at the summer solstice, and takes its departure when
Arcturus rises. It is of the same size as the turtle.
The
malacocraneus always perches upon the same place, and is
captured there. This is its appearance its head is large,
and has the form of cartilage ; its size is smaller than thethrush its beak is strong, small, and round its colour isentirely cinereous its feet are strong, and its wings weak
it is generally captured by the owl.
2. There is another bird, called the pardalus, which is
generally gregarious, and a single bird is never seen.
Its
In size it resembles thosecolour is entirely cinereous.
already mentioned. Its feet are strong, and its wings are
not weak. Its voice is frequent and not deep. The collyrion lives on the same food as the blackbird, and in size
much resembles those just named. It is generally taken in
the winter. These birds are visible all the year round, and
80 are those which live in the neighbourhood of towns, theraven and crow for these are always visible, and neither
migrate nor conceal themselves.
3. Of the jackdaw there are three kinds, one called coracias, which is as large as the crow, and has a red beakanother is called lycius ; there is also a small one called
:

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B. IX.]

THE niSTORY OF ANIMALS.

249

bomolochus; there is also another kind of jackdaw in Lydia
and Phrygia which is web-footed.
One dwells ou
4. Of the lark there are two kinds.
the ground, and has a crest. The other is gregarious, andnot solitary. Its colour is similar, though it is a smaller
It is used for food.
bird, and has no crest.
6. The ascalopas is generally taken in enclosed gardens.
It is of the size of the domestic fowl, it has a long beak,and in colour resembles the attagen. It runs quickly, andTheis very partial to the neighbourhood of mankind.
starling is variegated, and is of the size of the blackbird.
6. There are two kinds of ibis in Egypt ; the white andthe black. The white live in aU the rest of Egypt, but
The black occur in Pelusium,
are not found in Pelusium.

but not in other parts of Egypt.
7. One kind of scops, called brown owl, is seen throughout
the year, but it is not eaten, for it is not fit for food. Others
occur sometimes in the autumn, when they appear for one,
They are eatable, and areor not more than two days.
highly esteemed. They differ in no respect from the brown
and they are silent, whereas theowl, except in fatness
other has a voice. No observations have ever been madeon their mode of generation, except that they appear when
the west wind blows. This is manifest.
;

Chaptee XX.
1. The cuckoo, as it has been already observed, makes nonest, but lays its eggs in the nests of other birds, especiallyin that of the phaps, and in those of the sparrow andlark on the ground, and in the nest of the chloris in

It lays one egg, upon which it does not sit, but
the bird in whose nest it lays both hatches the egg andnurses the young bird and, as they say, when the young
cuckoo grows, it ejects the other young birds, which thus
trees.

;

perish.
2. Others say that the mother bird kills them, and feeds
the young cuckoo with them for the beauty of the young
cuckoo makes her despise her own offspring. People assertthat they have been eye-witnesses of most of these circumstances, but all are not equally agreed as to the mode inwhich the other young birds perish. Some persons say;THE HISTORY Or ANIMALS.

250[u. H.

that the old cuckoo comes and devours the young of theother bird.
Others say that the great size of the young
cuckoo enables it to seize upon the food which is brought
to the nest, so that tke rest perish from starvation.
Others
Bay that the cuckoo, being the stronger bird, kills those thatare brought up with it.
3. The cuckoo appears to act prudently in thus depositing
her egg for it is conscious of its own timidity, and thatit cannot defend its young, and therefore places them under
the protection of another bird, in order that they may be preserved for this bird is very cowardly, and when it is peckedby even small birds, it flies away from them.
;

;

1

.

Chapteb XXI.
That the swift, which some persons call cypsellus, resem-

bles the swallow, has been already observed, and it is noteasy to distinguish them apart, except that the legs of theapos are covered with feathers. These birds rear their young
in small nests made of mud, which have a passage sufficientfor their admission.
The nest is constructed in a narrowplace under rocks and caverns, so that it avoids both beasts

and men.
2. The goatsucker,

as it is called, is a mountain bird,
larger than the blackbird, and less than the cuckoo.
It laystwo, or not more than three eggs, and is slothful in its disposition.
It flies against the goats and sucks them, whence
its name (segothelas, the goat-sucker). They say that when
the udder has been sucked that it gives no more milk, andThis bird is not quick sighted
that the goat becomes blind.
by day, but sees well at night.
3. The ravens in small districts, and where they have notfood enough, are found only in pairs and as soon as their
young birds are able to fly, the old birds first of all turn themout of the nest, and then drive them from the piace. The
When the hired soldiers ofraven lays four or five eggs.
Medias perished in Pharsalus, Athens and the Peloponnesus
were deserted by the ravens, as if they h^d some means ofcommunication with each other.
;

Chapter XXII.

Theee are several kinds of eagles. One which is calledpygargus (hen-harrier), which is found in plains and groves.
1.

;:THE HISTOKT OP ANIMALS

B. IX.]and in the vicinity of towns.

251

Some persons call it nebro-

It is a courageous bird, and flies to mountains, andwoods also. The other kinds rarely appear in plains andphonus.

There is another kind of eagle called plangus, thesecond in point of size and strength, which lives among
thickets, and valleys, and marshes. It is called nettophonus
and morphnus. Of this kind Homer speaks at the departureof Priam.
It is smaller,
2. There is another kind, which is black.
and stuonger than the others. It inhabits mountains andwoods. It is called melanaeetus, and lagophonus. This is
the only one that rears and educates its young. It is swift,
elegant, liberal, fearless, warlike, and of a good omen, for itneither cries nor screams. There is another kind with spottedwings.
It has a white head, and is the largest of all eagles.
Its wings are short, and its rump very long, like the vulture
groves.

and hypseetus. It inhabits groves.
It has all the faults of the rest, and none of their good

it is called oreipelargus,

is taken and pursued

by ravens and otherand its mode of life is bad. It
carries about dead creatures; it is always hungry, andscreams and cries.
3. There is another kind of eagle called sea eagle, which
has a long and thick neck, curved wings, and a wide rump.
When they have seized
It inhabits the sea and the coast.
their prey, and cannot carry it away, they are borne down
into the sea.
There is, again, another kind of eagle, called
qualities

birds.

;

It

for

it

is a heavy bird,

true eagle. They say that these alone of all other birds aretrue, for the other kinds are mixed and crossed with eachother, both eagles, hawks, and other smaller kinds.
This
is the largest of all the eagles, greater than the pheneone
and a half times as large as other eagles, and of a red colour
it is seldom seen, like that called cymindis.
4. The time for the activity of the eagle, and for its flight,
is from dinner till the evening, for it sits aloft till the time
when the market-piace begins to fill. When eagles grow old,
their beaks become more and more curved, so that at last theydie of famine.
The story goes, that the eagle was once a man,and suffers this as a punishment for inhospitality to a guest.
Any superabundant food is put aside for their young in tLeir
nests, for it is not easy for them to procure it every day, andsometimes they have no place from whence to bring it.
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252

THE nisTOK^ or aj?imals.

[b. ix.

5. If they find anyone attempting to take their nest, they
beat them with their wings, and tear them v.ith their claws.
They do not make their nests in plains, but in high places,
especially in precipitous rocks, but never on trees.
Theyrear tlieir young till they can fly, and then turn them outof
their nests, and drive them to a great distance for one pairof eagles occupies a wide space of country, so that they will
suffer no others to live near them,
6. They do not hunt their prey near their nests, but at aconsiderable distanceand when they have hunted andtaken anything, they lay it down and do not take it away atonce, but carry it away when they have tried its weight.
They do not capture hares at once, but let them escape tothe plain. They do not descend to the plain at once, but
Theywith large though gradually decreasing circles.
do this in order that they may not be ensnared. They
settle upon eminences, because they cannot rise easily from
They fly aloft, that they may see the greater
the ground.
extent of country. For this cause men say that the eagle
is the only divine bird.
7. All birds with crooked claws avoid sitting upon rocks,
The eagle hunts
for its hardness is injurious to their claws.
fawns, hares, and other animals which it is able to conquer.
This is plain from the long conIt is a long-lived bird.
tinuance of their nests in the sarn" place.
8. In Scythia there is a kind of bird as large as a bustard,
which produces two young ones. It does nob sit upon its
eggs, but hides them in the skin of a hare or fox. It watches
them from a neighbouring tree all the while it is not engaged in hunting its prey. And if anyone approaches them,
it fights and strikes with its wings, like the eagle.
;

;

1.

Chaptee XXIII.
The owl and nycticorax, and the other birds which see

imperfectly by daylight, procure their food by hunting in
the night. They do not this all the night, but in twilightand at early dawn. They hunt mice, and lizards, andbeetles, and such other small animals.
2, The bird called asprey produces many young, is ofa good habit of body, diligent in search of food, and gentle ;and feeds both its own young and those of the eagle for:THE niSTOEr 05 A>-IMALS.

B. IX.l253

when the eagle turns out its young, the phene takes themup and feeds them for the eagle ejects them before theproper time, when they still require feeding, and are unable
to fly. The eagle appears to eject its young from the nest
from envy for it is an envious and hungry bird, and not quick
It captures large creatures when it can.
in seizing its prey.
When its young have grown, it envies them, for they aregood for food, and tears them with its claws. The young
also fight in the nest for particular places, and for the food.
The parent then turns them out of the nest and strikes;;

them. When they are turned out they begin to scream,
and the phene comes and takes them up. The phene is
dim-sighted, and its eyes are imperfect.
3. The sea-eagle is very quick-sighted, and compels its
young to gaze on the sun before they are feathered. If any
one of them refuse, it is beaten and turned round and theone of them which first weeps when gazing on the sun is
killed, the other is reared. It lives near the sea side, and obtains its food by pursuing marine birds, as it was before
remarked. It pursues and takes them one at a time, watchingthem as they emerge from the sea.
And if the bird, as it
rises, sees the eagle watching it, it dives again from iear, inorder that it may rise again in another place but the eagle's
quick sight enables him to pursue the bird till it is either
sufibcated, or taken on the wing but it never attacks themin any numbers, for they drive it away by sprinkling it with::;

their wings.
4. The petrels are taken with foam, for they devour it.
They are therefore taken by sprinkling them. All the restof its flesh is good
the rump alone smells of seaweed, and;they are fat.

Chapter XXIV.
The buzzard is the strongest of the hawks

next to thisthe merlin. The circus is less strong; the asterias andphassophonus, and pternis are different. The wide-winged
1.

;

hawks are called hypotriorches, others are called perci andspiziae ; others are the eleii and the phrynolochi ;these birds

live very easily, and fly near the ground.
2.

Some persons say that there are no less than ten kinds
they differ from each other, for some of themof hawks;

254i

THE HISTOET OF ANIMALS.

[b. II

it perches on the ground, and carry it
away, but do not touch it in ilight others attack it as itsits upon the trees, or in some such situation, but will nottouch it when upon the ground or in flight other kinds ofhawks wiU not strike the bird when perching upon the
ground or anywhere else, but will endeavour to attack itkill the pigeon as;;

when in flight.
3. They say that the pigeons can distinguish each of thesekinds, so that if they see one of those which attack them in
the air flying towards them, they remain sitting where
they are, but if it is one of those which strike them on the

ground, they do not remain still, but fly away.
4. In the city of Thrace, formerly called Cedropolis,
men are assisted by hawks in pursuing birds in themarshes.
They strike the reeds and wood with sticks
in order that the birds may fly up, and the hawks appearing above pursue them, the birds then fall to theearth through fear, when the men strike them with theirsticks and take them, and divide the prey with the hawks,
for they throw away some of the birds, and the hawks
come and take them.
5. On the Palus Mceotis, they say that wolves areaccustomed to assist the fishermen in their calling, and ifthey do not give them their share of the food, they destroy
the nets that are laid to dry on the ground. This, then, isthe nature of birds.

Chapter XXY.
1. Maeine animals also have many artful ways of procuring their food, for the stories that are told of the batrachus, which is called the fisher, are true, and so are those of
the narce.
For the batrachus has appendages above its
eyes, of the length of a hair, with a round extremity toeach like a bait it buries itself in the sand or mud, andraises these appendages above the surface, and when thesmall fish strike them, it draws them down, till it brings
the fish within reach of its mouth.
2. The narce stupefies any fish it may wish to master,with the peculiar force which it has in its body, and thentakes and feeds upon them it lies concealed in sand and;;THE HISTORY OF ANIMALS

B. IX.]

255

mud, and captures as they swim over it any fish that it cantake and stupefy; of this circumstance many persons havebeen witnesses the trygon also hides itself, but not in thesame manner; the following is a proof of their mode of;for they are often taken with the cestreus in theirstomach, which is the swiftest of fishes, and they are theslowestand the batrachus, when nothing is left on thehair-like appendages, is taken in an emaciated condition.
The narce also has plainly caused stupefaction in men.
3. The onus, batus, psetta, and rhine also bury themselvesin the sand, and when they have hidden themselves, the appendage which is in their mouth stands up, this thefishermen call their staff", and the small fish approach it
as if it was the sea-weed, on which they usually live.
Wherever the anthias is found there are no obnoxious creatures when this sign is observed, those who collect sponges
dive for them there, and call the anthias the sacred fish
this is only a coincidence, just as the pig and partridge
are never found where there are snails, for they eat them
life,

;

;

;

aU.
4. The marine-serpent, in colour and in the form of its
body, resembles the conger, but it is darker, and more powerful.
If it is captured and allowed to escape, it buries itself
in the sand, which it pierces with its snout, for its snout
is sharper than that of a serpent.
The creature called
scolopendra when it has swallowed the hook turns itself
inside out, till the hook is ejected, Vv^hen it turns to its

original form.
The scolopendra, like that which inhabits
the land, is attracted by the smell of cooked meat it does
not bite with the mouth, but stings with the contact of
the whole body, like the creatures called sea-nettles.
5. The fish called alopex, when one of them has swallowed the hook, assist each other in this matter, as thescolopendra also does, for they collect together roundthe line and bite it off" in some places, where the water isswift and deep, they are taken with many hooks in them.
The amies also collect together when they see any obnoxious
creature near them, and the largest swim round them ina circlewhen attacked, they defend themselves they
have strong teeth, and the lamia and other creatures when
attacking them have been seen to be repulsed with wounds.
;

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THE HI8T0ET OF AXIMALS.

256[b. II.

6. Among river fish the male glanis is very careful of
hia young fry, but the female goes away as soon as she has
deposited her ova, but the male continues to vpatch by thegreater number of the ova, paying them no more attention
than to drive away other fish, that they may not carry away
he is thus employed for forty or fifty days,
the ovauntil the young fry are so far grown that they can escape from other fish the fishermen know when it is guarding
its ova, for it drives away other fish, and as it jumps at them
It remains with such afit makes a noise and a murmur.
fection beside its ova, that if they are 'deposited in deep
water, and the fishermen attempt to bring them into
shallow water, the fish will not forsake thembut ifyoung it is easil}'' taken with a hook, from its habit of seizing
upon any fish that may come in its way ])ut if it is experienced, and has swallowed a hook before, it does notleave its ova, but with its hard teeth it will bite and destroy
the hook.
7. All creatures with fins, and stationary animals, inhabit
either the places in which they were born, or similar localities, for their peculiar food is found in such places.
Thecarnivorous fish are the greatest wanderers all are carnivorous with a few exceptions, as the cestreus, salpa, trigla,
and chalcis. The mucous substance which the pholis emits
forms around it, and resembles a chamber. Of the apodal testacea, the pecten is the most locomotive, for it flies
by means of its own valves the purpura and its congeners
;

;

;

;

;

;

advance very slowly.
8. All the fish except the cobius leave the Pyrrhic Euripus
during the winter on account of the cold, for the Euripus is
In thecolder than the sea, and return again in the spring.
Euripus the scarus, the thrissa, all the thorny fish, the galus,acanthia, carabus, polypus, bolitaena, and some others arewanting, and of those that are produced in the Euripus, thewhite cobius is not an inhabitant of the sea. Those fish
which have ova are in the highest season in the spring,
before they produce their ova those that are viviparous in
the autumn, and besides these the cestreus, trigla, and theircongeners. In the neighbourhood of Lesbos, both the marine fish and those of the Euripus produce their ova inthe Euripus; they copulate in tHe autumn, and deposit;B. IX.]THE IIISTOET OF ANIMALS.

237

The males and females of the setheir ova in tlie spring.
lachea also mix together, in numbers, in the autumn, for the
purpose of copulation
but in the spring they separate
until they have produced their young at the period of
sexual intercourse, they are often taken united together.
9. The sepia is the most cunning of the malacia, and is
the only one which uses its ink for the purpose of concealment, when it is not alarmed. The polypus and teuthis
emit their ink only when alarmed. These creatures neveremit all their ink, and as soon as it is emitted it is secreted
again.
But the sepia, as it has already been remarked,
makes use of its ink for the purposes of concealment, andwhen it pretends to advance, it returns into its ink. With
its long extended tentacula it not only pursues small fish,
but frequently attacks the cestreus. The polypus is a foolish;;creature, for it will approach a man's hand if brought near
It is an economical animal, for it collects all its prey inthe hole in which it dwells, and when the most useful partit.

has been consumed, it ejects the shells, the coverings ofthe cancri, and conchylia, and the spines of the fish, it pursues any fish that may come in its way, changing its colour
and imitating that of any neighbouring stone. It does thesame thing when alarmed.
10. Some persons say that the sepia has power to do thesame thing, and that it can imitate the colour of the place
it inhabits.
The rhine is the only fish endowed with thesame power, for it can change its colours like the polypus.
The polypus rarely lives for two years, for it is bynature subject to decay. This is a proof of it, that whenpressed, this animal always emits something, until at last it
consumes away. The females suffer so much from this in
the period of parturition, as to become foolish, and not perceive any agitation of the waves, so that they are easily
taken by the hand of the diver they become like mucus,
and are not able to pursue their prey.
11. The males become hard and shining. This appears to
be a proof that they do not survive a year, that in thesummer and autumn, after the production of the young,
it is diflScult to find a large polypus, though large ones
were abundant a short time before
when they have produced their ova, they say that both sexes grow old and be;;3

THE HISTORY OiT AXIilALS.

25S|

B. IX.

come so weak, that they are devoured by small fish, andare easily dragged out of their holes, though before theywould have permitted nothing of the kind. They also saythat the small and young ones will not endure this, and thatthey are stronger tban tbe large ones. The sepia also only
lives one year
the polypus is the only one of the malacia
that ever ventures upon dry land, it advances upon a roughIn other respects, it issurface, but avoids smooth places.
a strong animal, but its ueck, if pressed, becomes very weak.
They say that
12. This is the nature of the malacia.
.... form their rough shells round themselves like a hardbreastplate, which increases as they grow, and that they
can leave these, as if they were a hole or a habitation.
The nautilus is a polypus peculiar both in its nature and its
for it sails upon the surface of the sea, risingactions
up from the depths of the waters. It is brought to thesurface with its shell inverted, in order tliat it may go out
more easily and navigate in an empty shell. When it
There is areaches the surface, it turns its shell over.
membrane extended between two of its tentacula similar
to the web feet of birds, except that theirs is thick and thatof the nautilus thin and like a spider's web. This it uses
for a sail when the wind blows, and it extends two of its
tentacula for rudders. If alarmed, it fills its shell and sinks
No one has made any accurate observation on thein the sea.
production and growth of the shell. It appears not to originate in sexual intercourse, but to be produced like that ofother conchylia, uor is it clear whether it can live whentaken out of its shell.
;

;

1.

Chaptee XXYI.
The most laborious of all insects, if compared with therest, are the tribes of ants and bees, with the hornets, wasps,

Some of the spiders are more
and their other congeners.
neat, graceful, and skilful than others in their mode of life.
Every one may see the diligence of the ant for it is on thesurface, and that they always travel in one direction, andmake a store and treasure-house of food, for they work evenin the night when there is a full moon.
Of
2. There are many kinds of spiders and phalangia.
tbe phalangia that bite there are two sorts. The one re;;B. IX.J

THE niSTOEY OP ANIMALS,

259

sembles those called wolves. It is small, variegated, sharp,
and active iu jumping. It is called psylla. The other islarger.

Its colour is black, and its fore-legs are long.

Itsmovements are slow, and it can scarcely walk. It is notstrong, nor capable of jumping. The other kinds, which thedealers in medicine offer for sale, either do not bite at all, orvery slightly.
One
3. There is another kind of those called wolves.
is small, and makes no web, and the larger sort makes acoarse inferior web upon the ground or in hedges. It always
makes its web over chinks in the soil, and with the origin ot
the web in the interior it keeps guard until something falls
into the web and moves it, when it comes out.
The variegated kind makes a small inferior web among trees.
4. There is another third kind, which is very skilful andgraceful.
It commences the process of weaving by extending its web to the extremities on all sides, and then it draws
a thread from the centre, and takes up the centre corUpon these threads it weaves, as it were, the woof,
rectly.
and then weaves them altogether. Its sleeping place andstore-room are situated at a distance. In seeking its prey
it watches in the middle of its web.
When anything
falls into the web and the centre is moved, the spider surrounds and encloses it in a web, until it is rendered powerless, and then takes it up and carries it to her store.
Ifhungry, she sucks it, for this is their method of enjoyment
and if not hungry, hastens back for the pursuit of more
prey, and in the first place mends her broken web.
5. If anything in the meanwhile has fallen into the web,she first goes to the centre, and from that point, as before,
falls upon her victim.
If anyone destroys the web, she
begins spinning again at the rising or setting of the sun, for
it is at this time that her prey usually falls into the web.
The female both makes the web and pursues the prey. The
male only enjoys it with her.
6. There are two kinds of graceful spiders that spin athick web, one large and one small.
The one with long legs
keeps watch suspended above its web, that the creatures
which fall into the web may not be frightened when taken,
and then it falls upon them from above, for its size prevents
s 2

2G0
it

THE niSTOET OF ANIMALS.

from being easily concealed.

[b. IX

But the smaller kind con-ceals itself in a small superior chamber of the web.
7. Spiders have the power of emitting their web as soon
as they are born, not from Avithin their bodies, as if it werean excrement, as Democritus says, but from the surface of
their body, like the bark of a tree, or like the ejected spinesof some animals, as the porcupine. They will attack and"Surround with their web animals larger than themselves forthey will attack small lizards, and beginning at the mouth,
will emit the web until their mouth is covered, and then willapproach and bite them. This is the nature of these animals.
;

Chaptee XXVII.
TiiEEE is a tribe of insects which has not yet received
any name, although in form all the species resemble eachother.
This tribe includes those that form wax, as the bee
and those which resemble it in shape. Of these there arenine sorts, six of which are gregarious, the bee, the king bee,
the drone, which dwells among the bees, the annual wasp,
These are solitary, the small
the hornet, and tenthredo.
siren, of a tawTiy colour, and another siren, which is large,
black, and variegated. The third, Avhich is larger than these,is called bombylius.
The ants pursue no prey, but only colThe spiders do not makelect that which is already found.
anything, nor lay up a store, but only hunt down their prey.
2. Of the rest of the nine kinds already mentioned we
The bees do not hunt for prey, butwill treat hereafter.
they both produce and lay up stores. The honey is theirfood. This is plainly shown when the honey dealers attempt
When they are fumigated and sufferto take the combs.
ing from the effects of the smoke, they devour the honeygreedily, which they are not observed to do at other times
but they spare it and store it up for food. They have also
another kind of food, which is called cerinthus (bee bread),which is of an inferior quality, and sweet like figs. They
carry this upon their legs as they do the wax.
3. There is great variety in their diligence and mode oflife.
For when a clean hive is given them, they build theircombs, bringing the drops from flowers and trees, such as
the willow, the elm, and other glutinous trees. With thisalso they smear the floor of their hive, for fear of other crea^
1.

;

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"B.

TX.]

tures.

THE niSTOET OF AJTIMALS.

261

The Iiouey dealers calls this substance commosis,

and they build up the entrance of their hive if it is too wide.
Tliey first build cells for their own habitation, then those for
They always build cells for themthe kiugs and the drones.
selves, and royal cells when there are many young but they
only build cells for the drones when there is plenty of honey.
These are4. They make the royal cells near their own.
small.
Those for the drones are placed next. These are ofa smaller size than those of the bees. They commence theformation of their combs from the top of the hives, and carrythem dowTi until several reach the floor of the hive. The cells,
whether for the honey or the grubs, are constructed with two
mouths ; for there are two cells built on each base, lilt e a double
cup, one on the inside, the other on the outside.
The cells at
the beginning of the comb, near the hives, are joined together for as much as two or three rows in a circle, and areshort, and contain no honey.
The cells which are formed
with the greatest quantity of wax contain the most honey.
5. They spread the substance called mitys at the enThis material istrance of their hives, near the opening.
black, as if it was the purification of the wax, and of aharsh smell.
It is considered a remedy for contusions
and suppurations. Next to this the pissocerus is smeared
over the floor of the hive. This substance is less usefulthan the mitys in the healing art. Some persons say thatthe drones build cells for themselves, dividing both the hive
and the wax with the bees but they make no honey, but boththemselves and their young are supported by that of the bees.
The drones generally remain in the hives and if they fly out
they rise in the air with a great noise, wheeling about as if
they were exercising and when they have done this they
return to the hive and feast themselves on the honey.
6. The king bees never leave the hives, either for food or
any other purpose, except with the whole swarm ; and they
say that, if a swarm wanders to a distance, they will retrace
their steps and return until they find the king by his peculiar scent.
They say also that, when the king is unable tofly, he is carried by the swarm
and if he perishes, the wholeswarm dies with him. And if they continue for a time
to form cells, they place no honey in them, and then theyalso perish.
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SG2/CTTIMALS.

[b. IX

7. The bees collect the wax by climbing actively on theflowers with their fore feet.
They cleanse these upon the
middle pair of legs, and their middle legs again on the
curved part of their hind legs, and thus loaded they fly
away.
They are evidently heavily loaded. During eachflight the bee does not settle upon flowers of difierent kinds,
but as it were from violet to violet, and touches no otherspecies till it returns to the hive.
There they are unloaded,
and two or three bees follow every one on its return to tliehive.
It is not easy to see what is taken, nor has theirmanner of working it been ever observed
Their manner ofcollecting wax upon the olive trees has been the subject ofobservation; for the thickness of the leaves makes themremain a long while in this tree.
8. After having done this they produce their young.
There is nothing to prevent there being grubs, and honey,
and drones in the same comb. As long as the king bee isalive, they say that the drones are produced in a separate
place but when he is dead they are produced by the beea
in their own cells, and such drones are more passionate forthis cause they are called stingers, not that they have any
sting, but that they would sting, if they had the power todo so. The drone cells are larger. Sometimes the drone
cells are placed by themselves, but are generally combinedwith those of bees, for which reason they cut them off".
9. There are several kinds of bees, as has been alreadyobserved: two kinds of kings, the better sort of which isred, and the other sort is black and variegated, and in size
double that of a good bee. The best kind is small, round,and variegated the other is long, like the wild bee. There
it is black, and has a
is another called phor (the thief)broad abdomen. The drone is another sort it is the largest
The bees that areof them all, has no sting, and is stupid.
produced from those that inhabit cultivated places are different from the natives of moimtainous countries, for those
produced from wood bees are more hairy, smaller, less, more
The best bees elaborate a smooth
diligent, and more violent.
comb, with a polished surface. The comb also is of one
form, as if entirely adapted for honey, or for grubs, ordrones and if it happens that all these are produced in theaame comb, each form will be elaborated in order.
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THE niSTOKi' OF ANlilALS.

B. IX.J268

10. The long bees make their combs uneven, and thecovering swollen, like that of the wild bee.
Their offspring,also, and the rest of their productions, are not arranged inany order, but according to chance. Among them there
are many bad kings, and many drones, and thieves, as they
The bees sit upon theare called but little or no honey.
combs, in order to bring them to maturity. If this is notdone, they say that the cells perish and become filled witha web but if afterwards they are able to continue sitting,something like an abortion is produced if they cannot sit,
Maggots are formed in those cells thatthe whole perishes.
perish, which acquire wings and fly away.
If a comb falls
down, the bees set it up, and put props beneath it, in orderthat they may be able to pass underneath for if they have nopath by which to approach the place where they sit, the cells
become covered with a web.
11. The thieves and the drones do not work, but only injure the other bees, and when taken they are killed by theuseful bees. Many of their rulers are also frequently killed,
and especially the bad ones, in order that the swarm may
not be dispersed by their numbers. They are the more disposed to kill them when the swarm is not fruitful, and no
At such times they destroy the royalcasts are formed.
cells, if any have been prepared, for they are the leaders of
the sw^arm. They destroy also those of the drones, if honey
They fight boldlyis scarce, or the swarm is short of honey.
for their honey with those that would take it from them,and drive out any drones that may be in the hive, and areoften seen sitting upon the hives.
12. The small bees fight eagerly with the long kind, andendeavour to drive them from their hives and if they prevail, it seems to be a sign of a very strong swarm but if theothers conquer, when left alone, they are idle, and do nothingthat comes to good, but perish in the course of the autumn.
Whenever the useful bees kill any of them, they endeavour
to do so outside of the hive and if any of them die in theThose which are called thieves
hive, they carry them out.
injure their own combs, and if they can do it in secret,they will enter those of other bees, but if discovered they
It is, however, difficult to enter unperceived,
are killed.
for there are guards placed at each entrance and if one con;

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THE HISTOET OP ANIMALS.

[b. IX.

trives to enter unnoticed, he is unable to fly from repletion,and is rolled out before the whole swarm;

so that it is difd-

cult to escape.
13. The kings themselves are never seen out of the hives,
except with a young swarm, and in young swarms all therest appear to be collected round him.
When a swarm
is about to separate, a peculiar and singular noise is madefor some days, and for two or three days beforehand a few
bees are seen flying round the hive and if the king isamong them he is not seen, for it is not easy to see him. And
when they are collected, all the rest fly away and separate
themselves with their respective kings and if a few of themhappen to be near at hand, they join themselves with one of
the numerous swarms. And if the king that they have left
follows them, they kill him.
This is the manner of theirleaving the hive, and of swarming.
14. They all have their proper work to perform.
Somebring flowers, others water, and others polish and erect thecells.
Water is brought when they are rearing their young.
None of them ever settle upon flesh, nor will they eat anything seasoned. They have no particular time for commencing work, but when they are properly supplied, andin good health, they are particidarly diligent during thesummer. When the day is fine they work without ceasing,and as soon as the young bees are three days old, they set
And when the swarm settles
to work, if properly fed.
some depart for food, and afterwards return. In healthy
swarms the progeny of the bees only cease from reproduction^
As soon as
for about forty days after the winter solstice.
the young bees are grown, they offer them food, and smear
the cells with it, and as soon as they are strong enough, theyoung bees rupture the covering of the cell, and so escape.
15. The good kinds of bees destroy any creatures that are
produced in their hives and destroy the combs but the otherkinds from their inferiority overlook the destruction of their
When the dealers in honey take the combs, they
work.
leave the bees some food for the winter. If sufficient is left,
the swarm is preserved but if not, they either die in thewinter, or, if the weather continues fine, desert the hive.
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This should probably be read " the bees only cea-se from their workfor forty days during the winter solstice."JTHE niSTOET OF ANIMALS.

B. IX.]

265

They eat honey both in summer and in winter. They also
lay up another kind of food, which is as hard as wax, whichsome persons call sandarache.
16. Wasps are very injurious to them, and so is the bird
The frogs
called titmouse, and the swallow, and merops.
also in marshes destroy them when they come for water, forwhich reason bee-fanciers destroy the frogs in those marshes
where the bees come for water. They also destroy wasps'
nests, and the nest of the swallow and merops, if near the-They avoid no animal, except those of
They fight among themselves, and withswarms of bees.
their own kind.

the wasps. When at a distance from their hives they will
neither injure each other, nor any other creature but whennear at home they will destroy everything that they canconquer.
17. When they have stung anything they perish, for theycannot withdraw their sting from the wound without tearing their own entrails but they are frequently saved, if theperson stung will take care to press the sting from thewound but when its sting is lost, the bee must perish.
Thc*y will kill even large animals with their stings, and aThehorse has been known to perish, if attacked by bees.
rulers are the least cruel and stinging.
and18. If any bees die in the hive, they carry them out
For thisin other respects the bee is a very clean creature.
reason they also eject their excrement when in flight, for
It has been already observed that they
the smell is bad.
dislike bad smells and the scent of unguents, and that they
They also die fromsting persons who use such things.
other causes, as when the rulers in the hive are in great
numbers, and each leads out a portion of the swarm. The
toad also destroys bees, for it blows into the entrance ofthe hive, and watches for and destroys them as they fly out.
The bees cannot inflict any injury upon it, but their keepers
destroy it.
19. Some bee-keepers say that the kind of bee whichmakes an inferior and rough comb is the young of the others,
and that it is the result of imperfect skill. They are youngwhen a year old young bees do not sting so severely as oldbees for this reason the swarms are carried to the apiaries,
for they are those of young bees.
When honey is short
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206

H

[b.

they eject the drones, and put figs and other sweet things near

The elder bees work in the hives, and become hairy
from remaining within. The younger ones go out in the fields,
and are smoother: and they kill the drones when they have nolonger any room for them, for they are placed in a recess ofthe hive. When a swarm has been weak, strange bees havebeen known to come and fight with them, and take away theirhoney and when the bee-keeper killed them the others cameout and defended themselves, and would not injure the man.
20. Other diseases, and especially one called clerus, frequently attack strong swarms. In this disease small worms
are produced on the floor of the hive, and as these increase,
the whole swarm is held, as it were, in a spider's web, andThere is another disease, which is like a
the combs decay.
wildness in the bees, and causes a strong smell in the hives.
The bees should be fed on thyme, the wh?te sort is better than
the red. In close weather they should have a cool place,and a warm one in the winter. They suffier the most when
they work with materials affected with the rust.
21. When the wind is high, they carry a stone with them
If a river is at hand they never drink anyfor a balance.
where else, first of all laying down their weight. If noriver is near, they drink in some other place, and thenvomit up their honey, and again set to work. There are
two seasons for making honey, the spring and autumn.
That formed in the spring is sweeter, whiter, and, onThe
the whole, better than that formed in autumn.
best honey is made from the new wax and young flowers.
The red honey is inferior, on account of the wax for, likewine, it is injured by the vessel which contains it thishoney therefore should be dried up. When the thyme isin flower, and the comb is full of honey, it does not become
inspissated.
The gold-coloured honey is also good. The
white honey is not formed of pure thyme, but is good for theeyes, and for wounds. Weak honey always floats on the surface, and ought to be separated. The pure honey is beneath.
at
22. When the woods are in flower the bees form wax
this season, therefore, the wax ought to be taken from the
These are the plants
hive, for they immediately make more.
from which they collect it, atractyllis, melilot, asphodel,
When they can procure
myrtle, phleos, agnus, broom.
thera.

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B. II.]THE HISTORY OF A>'TMAT,S.

267

thyme, tliey mix water with it before they smear the cells.
All the bees emit their excrements eitlier on the wing, as it
has been said before, or into a single cell. The small bees,
it has been already remarked, are more industrious than thelarge ones, so that their wings become worn at the edges,
and their colour black and burnt, but the bright and shiny
bees are idle, like women.
23. Bees also appear to have pleasure in noises, so thatthey say that they collect them into their hives by striking
earthen vessels and making noises. But it is very doubtful
whether they bear or not, and if they hear, whether theycollect together from pleasure or from fear.
The bees driveout all that are idle or wasteful. They divide the work, assome work at the honey, others at
it has been already said
the grubs, and others at the bee bread; some, again, form the
comb, others carry water to the cells, and mix it with thehoney, while others go to work. Early in the morning they
are silent, until one bee arouses them by humming two or
three times, when they all fly to their work when they
return again there is some disturbance at first, which gradually becomes less, until one of them flies round with ahumming noise, as if warning them to sleep, when on asudden they all become silent.
24. It is a sign that the swarm is strong when there ismuch noise and movement, as they leave and return to the
They are most
hive, for they are then busy with the grubs.
hungry when they begin to work after winter. They are
more idle if the person who takes the honey leaves much behind, but it is necessary that a quantity should be left proportionable to the strength of the swarm, for they work lessthey become more idle if theactively if too little is left
hive is large, for they despair of their labour. The hive isdeprived of a measure or a measure and a half of honey if
Some few will
it is strong, two or two measures and a half.
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afford three measures.

25. Sheep and wasps, as it was said above, are hostile to
The bee fanciers, therefore, catch the wasps in pans, inbees.

which they place pieces of flesh when many have fallen in,they put on a lid and put them in the fire. It is goodfor the bees to have a few drones among them, for it makea
them more' industrious. Bees discern the approach of cold.
;:THE niSTOBT OF A.XIMALS.

268[b. TX.

weather and of rain this is plain, for they will not leave
the hive, but even if the day is fine are occupied in the hive.
By this the bee keepers know that they expect severe;

weather.
26.

When they are suspended upon each other in the hive,

swarm is about to leave and when the bee
keepers see this, they sprinkle them with sweet wine. They
usually plant about the hive the achras, beans, poa medica,
Some
Syria, ochrus, myrtle, poppy, herypllus, almond.
bee keepers recognize their "own bees in the fields by sprinkling them with flour.
"When the spring is late or dry, andwhen rust is about, the bees are less diligent about their
young. This, then, is the nature of bees.
it is a sign that the1.

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Chapter XXVIII.
Thebe are two kinds of wasps, of which the wild sort are

rare they are found in mountains, and do not build theirnest in the ground, but on oak trees inform they are larger,
longer, and darker than the other sort they are variegated,
all of them have stings, and are strong, and their sting ismore painful than that of the other sorts, for their sting islarger in proportion to their size.
These live for two
years, and in winter are observed to fly out of trees, when
they are cut down ; during winter they live in holes. Their
place of concealment is in trees some of them are motherwasps, and some workers, as in those which are more do;

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mestic the nature of the workers and the mother wasps
be explained when we come to speak of the moredomestic kind.
2. For there are two kinds of thedomestic wasps,
the rulers, which they call mother wasps, and theworkers; the rulers are larger and more gentle, and theworkers do not survive the year, but all of them die, on thearrival of winter.
This is plain, for at the beginning of
winter the workers become stupid, and about the solstice
are seen no more but the rulers, which are called motherwasps, are seen during the whole of the winter, and burythemselves in the earth
for in ploughing and digging
during the winter, the mother wasps have been frequently
observed, but no one has ever seen a worker.
d. The following is the manner of their reproduction
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THE niSTOKT OF AIs'IMALS.

B. II.]

2G9

when the rulers have found a place properly situated, atthe beginning of summer, they form their combs and build
the wasps nests, as they are called these are small, with fourin these working wasps are produced,
holes, or thereabouts
and not mother wasps. When these are grown, they afterwards build larger nests, and again larger still, as theswarm increases, so at the end of autumn the nests are very
numerous and large, and in these the mother wasps nolonger produce workers but mothers. These larger maggots
are produced on the top of the upper part of the nest, infour or rather more adjoining cells, very like those of the
When the working wasps are prorulers in their combs.
duced in the combs, the rulers no longer labour, but theworkers bring them food this is evident, from the rulers
never flying away from the workers, but remaining quietly
within.
4. Whether the rulers of the previous year, when they
have produced new rulers, die at the same time as the youngwasps, or whether they survive a longer period, no one hasever observed, nor has anyone ever observed the old age ofthe mother wasps, or of the wild wasps, or any other of theiraffections. The mother wasp is broad and heavy, and thicker,
and larger than the working wasp, and her weight prevents
her from being very active in flight, neither can she fly far,but always sits in the wasps' nests, and fashions and arranges
the internal parts.
5. There are generally mother' wasps in the nests, butthere is some doubt whether they have stings or not they
seem, however, like the rulers among the bees, to havestings, though they never put them out nor stingsomewasps, like the drones, are without stings, others have a sting.
Those that are without stings are smaller, and not so angry,
neither do they defend themselves
those which are furnished with a sting are larger, and strong some call thesethe males, and those which have no sting the females.
Towards v>inter many of those that have stings appear to lose
them, though we have never met with eye-witnesses of thiscircumstance.
6. Wasps are more abundant in dry seasons and roughplaces they are produced beneath the earth, they make theircombs of collected materials and of earth, each springing
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270

[b,

IX

from one origin, as if from a root. They procure their foodfrom some flowers and fruits, but generally, they are carnivorous.
Some persons have observed them in the act ofsexual intercourse, but whether one or both had stings ornot, was not seen.
Some wild wasps also have been seen in
the act of intercourse, one of them had a sting, whether the
Their offspring does not seemother had was not observed.
to be produced from this intercourse, but is always larger
than the offspring of the wasp should be.
7. If a person takes hold of the legs of a wasp, and perraits it to buzz with its wings, those that have no stings wiU
fly towards him, which those with stings will, not do, andsome persons consider this to be a sign that the one are males,
Some are taken in caverns during thethe other females.
winter with stings, and others without them. Some of themmake small nests and few in number others make many
Many of those called mother wasps are taken
large nests.
at the turn of the season in the neighbourhood of elms, forthey collect the sticky and glutinous matter. There are agreat many mother wasps, when wasps have been abundantduring the previous year, and the weather rainy. They arecaptured in the neighbourhood of precipitous places andstraight fissures in the earth, and all appear to have stings.
This, then, is the nature of wasps.
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1.

Chaptek XXIX.
The wild bees do not live by gathering honey from flowers

like the bees, but are entirely carnivorous, for which reason

they frequent the neighbourhood of dung for they pursue
large flies, and when they have taken them they tear off thehead and fly away, carrying the rest of the body with them.
They will also eat sweet fruit. This, then, is the nature of
They have rulers, like the bees and wasps andtheir food.
in proportion to the size of the wild bee these rulers are
Their rulers also
larger than those of the bees and wasps.
keep in the nest, like those of the wasps.
2. The wild bees make their nest under the soil, which they
remove like the ants. They never swarm like bees, neither
do wasps but the young ones always remain with them, andThe
as the nest increases they carry out the heap of earth.
;;;nests become large ; and from a flourishing nest three or

B. IX.]

THE niSTORY OF ANIMALS.

271

They do not lay up
four baskets of comb have been taken.
any food like beea, but conceal themselves during the winter.
Tlie greater number of them die, but it is not known whether all of them perish. There is never more than one ruler
in the nest as in the swarm of bees, or they would divide
the nest.
3.

When some of the wild bees wander from the nest, theyand form another nest, such as
are often seen on the surface of the soil, and in this theywork themselves out a ruler and when he is grown he goesout and leads them with him to take possession of a nest, inwhich they may dwell. No one has ever made any observation on the mode of sexual intercourse in the w41d bee, nor on
the origin of their offspring. Among bees the drones andkings have no stings, and some of the wasps also are without
stings, as it has been remarked already but all the wild bees

tui'n aside to some material;;

appear to have stings, but more accurate inquiry should beinstituted as to the rulers, whether they have stings or not.

Chapteb XXX.

The bumble bees produce their young under stones on the
The comsurface of the ground in two or a few more cells.
mencement of a kind of inferior honey is found in them. The
tenthredo is like the wild bee, but it is variegated, and as
broad as the bee.
It is a dainty creature, and the only
one which resorts to kitchens, and enjoys fish and such likethings.
It deposits its young under the earth like thewasps. It is a very productive creature, and its nest ismuch larger and longer than that of the wasp. This is thenature of the work and economy of bees, wasps, and theircongeners.

Chapteb XXXI.
1.

It has been already observed that we can distinguish adifference in the dispositions of animals, especially in thecourage and cowardice, and then in their mildness and fierceness, even in wild animals.
The lion in his manner of feed-

but when he is not hungry, and is full fed,
He is not either jealous or suspicious.
He is fond of playing with and affectionate towards
those animals which have been brought up with him, and toing is very cruel;his disposition is gentle.

272

THE niSTOllT OF A^*TMALS.

[b. IX

which he has become accustomed. When hunted, he has
never been seen to retreat or be alarmed and if compelled
to jaeld to the numbers of his hunters, he retreats slowly
and leisurely, and turns himself round at short intervals.
If overtaken in a thicket, he flies rapidly till hereaches the open plain, and then again he withdraws slowly.
If compelled by numbers to retreat openly on the plain
ground, he runs at full stretch, and does not leap. His
manner of running is continuous, like that of a dog at fullstretch.
When pursuing his prey, he throws himself upon
it when he comes within reach.
2. It is, however, true, as they say, that the lion is afraidof the fire, as Homer also writes, " The burning faggots
which he fears when urged against him ;" and that he observes the person who strikes him and attacks him and if
a person aims a blow at him without hitting him, the lion, if
he can rush upon and seize him, does not do him any injury,
nor tear him with his claws, but shakes and frightens him,
They are more disposed to enterand then leaves him.
towns and attack mankind w'hen they grow old for old age
renders them unable to hunt, from the disease which attacks
They live many years and a lame lion has
their teeth.
been captured which had many of its teeth broken, whichsome persons considered as a sign that it had lived many
years.
For this could not have happened except by the
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lapse of time,
3. There are two kinds of lions. One of these has a roundbody and more curly hair, and is a more cowardly animal.
The other is of a longer form, has straight hair, and is morecourageous. Sometimes, when retreating, they stretch out
their tails like dogs and a lion has been at times observed,
when about to attack a hog, to retreat when that animal
The lion is w^eak if struck in the belly,
erected its bristles.
but will bear many blows on other parts of the body, andIf they bite or <tear anything,its head is very strong.
a large quantity of yellow serum flows from the wound,which can never be stopped by bandages or sponges. The
mode of healing is the same as in the bite of a dog.
It does
4. The jackal is an animal attached to mankind.
not injure men, nor is it much afraid of them, but it will
They are not, therefore,
fight with the dog and the lion.
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THE UISTOKY OE ANIilALS.

B. IX.]

273

locality.
The small jackal is the best.
Some persons say that there are two, others that there arefound in the same

three sorts but, like soirie fish, birds, and quadrupeds, thejackal changes at differer seasons, and has a different colour
in summer and iu winter. In summer it is smooth ; in wiuter, rough.
;1;

Chaptee XXXII.
1. The bonassus is found in Paeonia, in Mount Messapius,which forms the boundary between Paeonia and Maedia.
The Pseonians call it monapus. It is as large as a bull, andmore heavily built for it is not a long animal, and its skin,when stretched out, will cover a couch for seven persons to
In form it resembles a bull, but it has arecline upon.
mane as far as the point of the shoulder like the horse, but
its hair is softer than that of the horse, and shorter.
The
colour of its hair is red. The hair is deep and thick as far
down as the eyes, and in colour between ash-coloured andred, not like that of roan horses, but darker. Its hair below;

They are never either very black or very red.
Their voice is like that of the ox. Their horns arecrooked and bent together, of no use for defence, a span longor a little more, so thick that each of them would hold hall'a measure or a little more. The black part of their horn isgood and smooth. The fore lock is so placed between theeyes that the creature can look sideways better than forwards. Like the ox, it has no upper teeth in front, neither
have any horned animals. Its legs are rough and its hoofs
cloven. Its tail is small in proportion to its size, like that of
the ox, and it tears up the ground and digs with its hoof
like the bull.
The skin upon its sides is strong. Its flesh
is excellent food, and for this it is hunted.
3. When wounded it retreats, and stays when it can proceed no farther. It defends itself by kicking and ejecting
its dung, which it can do to the distance of four fathoms
from itself. It uses this means of defence easily and frequently.
Its dung is so caustic as to burn the hair fromdogs.
The dung is only caustic when the creature is disturbed and alarmed. It is not so when imdisturbed. Thisis the form and nature of this creature.
At the season ofparturition they collect together in numbers in the mounis like wool.

2.

THE IIISTOET OF AXIMALS.

274[b, IX.

tains, and make a circle of their dung round the place, as itwere afortification, for this animal ejects a large quantityof this excreraett.

Chapteh XXXIII.

Or all wild animals the elephantgentle;foristhe most tame andmany of them are capable of instruction andintelligence, and they have been taught to worship the king.

Itisa very sensitive creature, and abounding in intellect.

The male never again touches a female that he has once
Some persons say that the elephant wiU live
impregnated.
for two hundred years, others an hundred and twenty, andthe female lives nearly as long as the male. They arrive at
perfection when sixty years old. They bear winter and cold
weather very badly. It is an animal that lives in the neighbourhood of rivers, though not in them. It can also walkthrough rivers, and will advance as long as it can keep its
for it blows and breathes
proboscis above the surface
through this organ, but it cannot swim on account of the;weight of its body.

Chaptee XXXIV.
Camels refuse to have sexual intercourse with their dams,
even when forced for once a camel driver, who was inwant of a male camel, veiled the dam and introduced her;

When the covering fell off in the act of
copulation, he finished what he was about, and soon afterwards bit the camel driver to death. It is said also that theking of Scythia had an excellent mare, which always produced good colts. He wished to have a colt out of the mareby the best of these horses, and introduced him for copulation, but he would not do it.
When she was covered up,
however, he performed the act unwittingly. As soon as theform of the mare was shown after copulation, and the horse
saw what was done, he ran away and threw himself down ayoung to her.

precipice.

Chapter XXXV.
I.

Among marine animals there

are

many

instances re-ported of the mild, gentle disposition of the dolphin, and of
itfi love of its children, and its afiection, in the neighbourhoodr. /%.]HISTORY OF AXIMALS.

'IHE

275

of Tarentum, Caria, and other places.
It is said that whena dx)lphin was captured and wounded on the coast of Caria,
so great a number came up to the harbour, that the fishermen
let him go, when they all went away together.
And onelarge dolphin, it is said, always follows the young ones, totake care of them and sometimes a herd of large and small
dolphins has been seen together, and two of these having left
appeared soon after, supporting and carrying on their backa small dead dolphin, that was ready to sink, as if in pity
for it, that it might not be devoured by any other wild;

creature.
2. Some incredible things are also told of their swiftness,for it appears to be the swiftest of all animals, whether

They will leap over the sails of large
This is especially the case when they pursue a fishfor the sake of food for their hunger will make them pursue their prey into the depths of the sea, if it retreats tothe bottom. And when they have to return from a great
depth, they hold their breath, as if they were reckoning
the distance, and then they gather themselves up, anddart forward like an arrow, desirous of shortening theirdistance from a breathing-place.
And if they meet witha ship they will throw themselves over its sails.
Diversalso do the same thing when they have sunk themselves
into deep water, for they also gather up their strength
The males and females live
in order to rise to the surface.
There is some doubt as to thein pairs with each other.
reason why they cast themselves on the land, for they
say that sometimes they appear to do this without any

marine or terrestrial.
ships.

;

cause.

Chapter XXXVI.
1. As the actions of all animals agree with their dispositions,
80 also their dispositions will change with their actions, andsome of their parts also. This takes place among birds forhens, when they have conquered the cock, desire to copulate with others, and their crest and rump become elevated,
80 that it is difilcult to say whether they are hens or not.
In some, also, small spurs are found ; and some males, after
the death of the female, have been seen to take the same careof the young as the female would have done, leading thein
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270[b. IX.

about and feeding them, and neither crowing, nor desiring
sexual intercourse. And some male birds have been seen to
be so effeminate from their birth, that they neither crowed,
nor desired sexual intercourse, and would submit themselves
to any males that desired them.
3. Many birds at particular seasons change both theircolour and their voice, as the blackbird, which becomesrusset instead of black, and assumes another voice, for itsings in the summer time, but in winter it chatters andscreams violently. The thrush also alters its colour, for in
winter it is grey, and in summer is variegated on the neckbut its voice does not alter. The nightingale sings unceasingly for fifteen days and nights, when the mountains
As the summer advances it
become thick with leaves.
utters another voice, not quick and varied, but simple its
colour also is altered, and in Italy it is called by anothername at this season of the year. It only shews itself for a;;short time, for it lies concealed.
3. The erithacus, and the bird called phoenicurus, arechanged one into the other. The erithacus is a winter bird,
the phoenicurus a summer bird they differ in nothing but
the colour. The sycalis and melancoryphus are the same, forthese also are interchanged.
The sycalis is found in theautumn, and the melancoryphus immediately after the endof the autumn.
They also differ from each other in nothing
but their colour and voice, and to prove that it is the same
bird, each kind has been seen immediately after the change
took place and when the change was not quite complete,there was nothing characteristic of either form.
Nor is it
absurd to suppose that these birds change their voices ortheir colours, for the dove utters no sound in the winter,unless it may be on a fine day iu a severe winter, when it
will utter its sound to the astonishment of those that know
its habits
and as soon as spring commences, it begins toutter its voice and, on the whole, birds make the greatest
number and variety of voices at the season of coition.
4. The cuckoo also changes its colour, and its voice is notdistinct, when it is about to leave us.
It goes away about
the time when the dog-star rises, it having been with us
from the commencement of spring to that time.
'Hhecenanthe, as it is called, disappears when Sirius rises, and
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B. IX. "]THE HISTORY OF ANIMALS.

277

comes again wlien it sets, for sometimes it retreats before
The hoopoe also
the cold, and sometimes before the heat.
changes its colour and its forms, as ^schylus writes. " Hehad variegated this hoopoe, the witness of its own evils, andhas displayed the bold bird that dwells in the rock in
In the early spring it shakes the feathers
all armour.
for it has two forms, that of theof the white hawk
young bird and of itself, from one origin. And when the
yoimg corn of the harvest begins to grow, it is clothed in
and it always hates this place of Palspotted feathers"
lene, and inhabits deserted forests and mountains.
5. Some birds dust themselves, and others bathe.
Someneither dust nor bathe.
Those that do not fly, but live on
the ground, dust themselves, as the domestic fowl, partridge,
grouse, lark, and pheasant.
Those birds which havestraight claws, and live near rivers, marshes, and the sea,bathe themselves. Some, like the pigeon and sparrow, both
Most of those with crooked claws do neidust and bathe.
ther the one nor the other.
This is their nature in these
The act of breaking wind backwards is peculiar
matters.
to some birds, as the turtle.
Such birds make a strong
motion with their rumps when they utter their voice.
;;

Chaptee XXXVII.
Animals not only change their forms and dispositions atparticular ages and seasons, but also when castrated.
All
animals that have testicles may be castrated. Birds and1.

oviparous quadrupeds have internal testicles near their loins.
In viviparous animals with feet, they are generally external,
though sometimes internal in all they are situated at theextremity of the abdomen. Birds are castrated near the
rump, the part vnt-h which they touch the female in copulation, for if they are buixt in that part two or three times
with irons after th'iy are full grown, the comb turns yellow,
and they cease to crow, and no longer desire sexual intercourse.
If they are not full grown, these parts never reach;perfection.
2. The same is the case with the human subject, for if aboy is castrated, the hau' that is produced after birth neverappears, nor does his voice change, but continues sharp
but if a full grown man is castrated, all the hair produced

THE HISTORY OF AXIMALS.

278

[b

H.

after birth falls off except that on the pubes, this becomes
weaker, but still remains. The hair produced at birth does
not fall off, for the eunuch never becomes bald. The voicealso of castrated animals changes to that of the female. Other
animals, if not castrated when young, are destroyed by theoperation with the boar it makes no difference. All animals, if castrated when young, become larger and moregraceful than those not castrated
but if already grown,
they never become any larger.
3. If stags are castrated before they are old enough tohave horns, these never appear but if castrated after they
have horns., their size never varies, nor are they subject toCalves are castrated at a year old, if
their annual change.
not they become bad and inferior. The steer is castrated inthis manner they lay down the animal and cut the scrotum,
and press out the testicles they next contract the rootof the testicle as much as possible, and fill up the woundwith hair in order that the discharge may escape, and if it
If adult
inflames, they cauterize and sprinkle the scrotum.
bulls are castrated, they are still apparently capable ofsexual intercourse.
4. The capria of the sow is also cut out, so that theyshould not desire coition, but fatten rapidly. They are cut
They hang them up by the hindafter fasting two days.
legs and make an incision in the lower part of the belly,
where the testicles of the male are generally found thecapria is there formed upon the matrix, from which they cut
off a portion, and sew up the wound again.
5. The female camels also are cut when they wish to takeSome ofthem to war, that they may not become pregnant
those in the upper parts of Asia possess as many as three
thousand. Such camels, when they run, are far more swift
than the Nisaean horses, from the length of their stretch.
And on the whole, castrated animals are longer-bodied thanthose not castrated.
6. All animals that ruminate, derive as much use andAnimals thatpleasure from rumination as from eating.
have not cutting-teeth in both jaws ruminate, as the ox,
No observations have been made on wild
sheep, and goat.
animals except those which occasionally associate with men,as the stag, though this animal ruminates. They all lie down
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B. TX.]THE HISTOEY OF ANIMALS.

279

to ruminate, and do so most in the winter those which arebrought up in shelter ruminate for nearly seven months.
Those that live in herds, ruminate for a shorter period, forthey live out of doors. Some animals with cutting teeth inboth jaws, ruminate, as the Pontic mice and the fish, which,;from this process, is called meryx. Animals with long legs
have loose bellies, and those with broad chests vomit moreeasily than others, in quadrupeds, birdfi, and the generalityof mankind.

THE niSTOKT OF AlflMALS.

280[b. S.

BOOK THE TENTH.
(ERRONEOUSLY ASCRIBED TO ARISTOTLE.)
Chapter I.
If men and women, after they have reached a certain age,
do not have children after cohabition, the fault sometimes
rests with both, and sometimes in only one of them.
Andfirst, it is requisite to examine the uterus of the female, that
if the fault lies there it may be relieved by proper treatment.
If tlie fault is not there, attention must be paid to some othercause of sterility. We may conclude that this organ is ina healthy state, when, like the other parts of the body, it
performs its functions ndthout pain, and is free from fatigue
after the function is performed.
Just as the eye is in ahealthy state if it suffers no pain in seeing, and is not disordered withi tbe exercise of its function, or unable to perform it again, so the uterus is healthy which suffers nopain, and is well able to perform its functions, whatever
they may be, and after they are performed is not impotent,
but is free from fatigue.
2. Tbe uterus is said to be disordered, when, even if it
performs its functions properly and without pain, it does
not hinder its function by any part of itself.^ As there
is nothing to prevent an eye from seeing accurately, although
all its parts are not perfect, or if there happens to be atumour in it so the uterus may have received no injury;

in this respect, if it is properly situated in the right place.
In the first place, then, tbe healthy uterus will not be situated in this place or in that, but will always be in a similar
position but it is not difficult to decide whether it is notplaced at too great a distance without suffering and pain, or
whether it is devoid of sensation when touched. That theseparts ought to be properly placed is evident from the following considerations, for if the uterus is not near, it will not
be able to imbibe the semen, for the place from which it;'

A corrupt passage.

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B- X.]THE IIISTOKY OF AT*fIMALS.

281

ought to receive it will be at too great a distance. If theuterus is near, and not able to retire further, it will be useless, for it will be always touched so as to refuse to open
but it ought to do this, and to be obedient to its function.
These things ought to be thus ordered, and if they are not,the case requires attention.
3. The catamenia also should proceed correctly, that is, if
the general health is good, they should last for their propertime, and not come irregularly, for when, the catamenia areright, the uterus will open properly, and receive the fluidsof the body whenever they are secreted
but when they
make their appearance too often, or not often enough, or
irregularly, while the rest of the body does not sympathisewith them, and the general health is good, we must look to
the uterus for the cause of their irregularity.
The dulness of the uterus prevents its being opened at the propertime, so that it receives but a small portion, or rather theuterus imbibes the fluid from some inflammation of theparts.
So that it shows that it requires attention, like theeyes, the bladder, the stomach, and other parts.
For all theparts, when inflamed, imbibe the fluid which is secreted into
each place, but not such a fluid, or in so great quantities.
4. In like manner, if the uterus secretes more than it
ought to do, it exhibits an inflammatory tendency, if thesecretion is regular but too abundant but if the secretionis irregular, or more putrid than it should be in healthy
subjects, the disease is then quite manifest, for it is necessary that some pain should show that all is not well.
In ahealthy subject, at the commencement, and the cessation of
menstruation, the secretion appears white and putrid. All
those subjects in w^hom the secretion is more putrid than in
healthy persons, or is irregular, or too abundant, or deficient,should receive attention, for this it is that prevents childbearing.
But in those subjects who are only irregular, andunequal in the periods of the secretion, the disease is not
the preventive of child-bearing, though it shows that the
habit of the uterus is changeable, and does not always remain the same. And this affection is sufficient to prevent
those persons from conception who are otherwise well disposed towards it. It is, however, hardly a disease, but anaffection which may be restored without medical treatment,
unless it is affected by some previous fault.
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X.

•5.
If the regularity and quantity of the discharge is subject
to alteration, without any corresponding change in the rest of
the body, which is sometimes in a more fluid, at other times iu

a more dry state, the uterus is not in fault, though it ought
to follow the habit of the rest of the body, and receive andsecrete in proportion.
If the bsdy is in a good state ofhealth, but undergoing a change, when this takes place,and there is no need of medical treatment but if the secretion is too small from disease, and the secretion is taken
through some other source, the body suffers and if the discharge is too great, from all the secretions of the body being
turned in one direction, this does not point to disease of theuterus, but of the whole body.
Whenever the catamenia
coincide with the general habit of the body, it is evident thatthe fault does not lie with the uterus, which would perform
its functions properly if the general health were correct.
(5.
Sometimes the uterus is w^eak, and sometimes strong
sometimes too fluid, and sometimes too dry; and the discharge coincides with the state of the body, it is abundant
when that is full, deficient when it is less full. If the body
if the body is dry,is full of fluid, the discharge is watery
it is more sanguineous ; it begins with being white, like milk,
and is without smell.
Some are dark-coloured, and whenabout to cease they become white, at the last secretion. The
white discharge has not the smell of putrid matter, but ismore harsh and disagreeable, nor has it the smell of pus andwhen this is the condition of the symptoms, there is no wearing away, but the body becomes heated. In all that are in thisstate, the uterus is in a healthy condition for child-bearing.
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Chapter II.
"We must, then, first of all inquire whether all these particulars are well ordered and, next, we must learn the posi;tion of the body of the uterus

for it ought to be straightand if it is not so, the seminal fluid can never reach it. And
it is evident that women project their semen forwards, fromwhat happens when they have lascivious dreams for thispart of them then requires attention, being moistened as
though they had sexual intercourse, for they also project into
the place where the semen of the male is emitted, and not into
the uterus and when projected to this place, the semen is;;;THE HISTOET OF ANIMALS.

B. I.]

2S3

drawn into the uterus by inhalation, as the mucus is drawn
into the nose.
For this reason they become pregnant inevery position for the seminal fluid both in men and womenis always projected forwards
but if it were projected into
the female she would not always conceive after copulation.
2. But if the uterus is not straight, but inclined to thehips, tlie loins, or the hypogastric region, it is impossible toconceive, for the before-mentioned reason, that the uterus;;

cannot take up the seminal fluid. If this deformity is great,either naturally or from disease, the disorder is incurable.
If there is a rupture, either by nature or arising from thedisease, which contracts the parts with inflammation, thedisorder will take a diff"erent turn from this.
But in orderthat women may become pregnant, it is necessary, as it was
Baid, that the mouth of the uterus should be straight and,moreover, should be well opened. By this I mean that when the
menstrual discharge commences, the os uteri should, on contact, appear softer than before, though not distinctly expanded.
But if this is the case, let the first appearance be white.
3. But when the appearances are more the colour of
flesh, the uterus will be evidently relaxed without pain
when it is touched, and the os uteri is neither dull nor different from itself; and when the discharge ceases, let theaperture be very open and dry, but not hard, for a day anda half or two days for this shows that the uterus is in ahealthy state, and fit to perform its functions. If the 08
uteri is not immediately relaxed, but appears soft, it showsthat both the uterus and the rest of the body are relaxed,
and the uterus does not prevent, but first discharges thesecretion from the os uteri. And when the rest of the bodyhas discharged a great deal, and the os uteri becomes relaxed, it is a sign of a healthy condition.
4. And when the appearances cease to take place directly,
the uterus shows that, if there is any difficulty, it will become empty and dry, and wanting in moisture, and there will
be no remains in the passage. When the uterus, therefore,
is capable of contraction, it shows that it is in a proper state;

for receiving whatever is brought to it, when it is in thisstate without pain, and indeed is insensate and it is goodthat the os uteri should not be in any other condition.
;

This shows that there is no reason why it should not close

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284[s, X.

at the proper time.
This is the manner of considering the
OS uteri, whether it is in a healthy condition or not.

Chapter III.
These ought to be the symptoms of the uterus itself afterFirst of all, that the woman should dream ofsexual intercourse, and project her seminal fluid readily, as
and if this symptom occur
if a man were lying with her
And when she has arisen, somefrequently, it is better.
times she should require the same treatment as if she
had been with a man, sometimes she should be dry but thisdryness should not be immediate but after awaking sheshould be fluid, sooner or later, about as much as half ashort day.
The humidity should be of the same kind as if
she had been with a man. For all this shows that the uterus
is in a fit state to receive what is given it, and that the
cotyledons are drawn up and will retain what they havereceived, and be im willing to part with it.
flatulent state of the uterus is also a good sign,2.
when it enlarges and discharges the ^vind as the bowels do
without pain, and when it becomes larger and smaller without any symptom of disease for these symptoms show thatthe uterus is not in want of what is necessary nor sluggish, either naturally or from disease, but that it will beable to find room by gro^^'th for anything that it may reWhen this is notceive, for it has the power of dilation.
the case, the uterus is too thick, or some natural defect or
For this cause it cannot
disease has rendered it insensible.
nourish, but it will destroy the embryo, if the symptoms
are violent, while the embryo is small; if they are less so,when it is larger; if the uterus is slightly aflected, theoflfspring will be inferior, as if it had been fed in an inferior
purification.

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A

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vessel.
3.

Upon contact, the right and left side will be found tothe other parts in the same way and in
the act of copulation moisture will be produced, not frequently nor in great abundance. This affection is, as it
were, a perspiration of the place, like the saliva, which isfrequently produced both in the use of food and in speaking.
Tears also are shed from the eyes, when we look upon bril-bealike, and all;

liant objects, and under cold or greater heat, of which theseB. X."]TUE HISTOET Or AKIIIALS.

285

So theparts also partake, when they happen to be moist.
uterus becomes moist when employed, when it is of a moremoist disposition. Those that are in the best health sufferfrom this affection, for which reason women always require
more or less attention, as also the mouth requires saliva.
In some this moisture is so abundant that they cannot
imbibe the seminal fluid of the man in a state of purity,
on account of its admixture with this uterine moisture.
4.

Besides these affections, the following also is to be con-sidered, whether, when they dream of sexual intercourse, theirgeneral health is good or not, as whether they are weak, andwhether they are so always, or only sometimes, and whether
they are not sometimes strong, and whether they are dry at
first and moist afterwards for this ought to be the conditionof a woman capable of child-bearing for relaxation showsthat the body has been profuse of the seminal fluid, andbut when the uterus isthat it can perform its functions;;;

If a woman has this affection
without any disease, it shows that the emission takes placenaturally and as it ought to do. For if it were not so, there
would be disease and prostration ot strength. Sometimes,
when the uterus is dry and afterwards becomes moist, it isa sign that the whole body receives and makes away withthe seminal fluid, and that both the uterus and the body arestrong; for it has been already observed that the uterus
absorbs the semen which is placed upon it by the process of
inhalation, for it is not emitted into it but upon the same
All that takes by inhalation isplace as that of the man.
accompanied with force, so that it is plain that the body ofsuch a person must have the power of retraction.
5. It sometimes happens that women who have lascivious
dreams, ormen of strong passions, are robustnotfrom strength
but from health. This takes place when a large quantity ofseminal fluid has been collected near the place from whence
they emit it. If this makes its escape, they are in no ways
debilitated ; for they are not relaxed by the loss of a
portion, if sufficient remains behind, or if that which was

hard, it is a sign of debility.

emitted was useless, nor if it was emitted easily, as if theyparted with superfluous matter.
For which reason such
persons are not robust from strength but from dullness. But

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286[b. X.

when any part is emitted which is necessary for the bodv,
they become debilitated.
6. If a person is in good health, and of a proper age, theThis takes place in thoseseminal fluid is rapidly formedthat have not done growing and in those that are grown.
Women rarely know when they are first pregnant forthey do not think that they have conceived unless they
perceive that the semen has been emitted, suspecting that
it ought to be emitted at the same time both by the female and the male and it escapes their notice, more especially when they think that they are unable to conceive,
unless they have become dry, and that which they havereceived has disappeared entirely; but it sometimes happens that both the male and the female emit more than
could possibly disappear, and more than enough for concepWhen sufficient has been drawn in and much lefttion.
out, they become pregnant without knowing it.
7. That it is possible that this should take place, and thatthe affection does not arise from the whole of the seminal fluid,
we may learn from those animals which produce many young
ones from a single act of intercourse, or from the case oftwins produced by a single act. It is evident that tliey are
not produced from the whole semen, but each place receives
some portion of it, but the larger portion is left behind andif many young are produced from a single act of intercourse,which appears to be the case with swine and with twins, it
is evident that the semen cannot come from every part ofthe body, but it is divided out to each form. It is possible,
therefore, that it may be separated from every part of thebody, and that the whole may be divided among many, sothat it is not possible that all should have every part.
The
female also projects her semen into the os uteri, where theman also emits his, when he approaches her. From thence
she imbibes with inhalation as if it were with the mouth orfor whatever is not joined to the members is either
nostrils
hollow above and united by a symphysis, or is sucked in from
For which reason they
this place by the act of inhalation.
take care that it should be dry, as if this had happened before.
8. The path along which it passes is thus formed inwomen. There is a tube enclosed in the body like the penisof the male. The inhalation takes place through this by a
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B. X.]

287

small passage above the passage for the urine.

When, there-

fore, they desire sexual intercourse, this part is not inthesame condition as it was before. A falling down takes placefrom this passage, and the fore part of the uterus becomesmuch larger than the part where it falls into this passage.
This resembles the nostrils for, as the nostrils have a passage into the pharynx and into the external air, so this tube
has a very small and narrow passage, like a passage out for thewind. That to the fore part of the uterus is wide and broad,as the nostrils are to the external air between the mouth
and the pharynx. So women have a larger passage to thefore part of the uterus, and wider than the external passage.
9. Whatever conjecture is formed concerning these affections, it makes to the same conclusion, that the woman
The same things arise from thealso emits a seminal fluid.
same cause, for to some it seems to be the cause of disease
or of death and these consider the end at the beginning
as it ought to be considered for to some women these areimportant causes, to some of no importance and of thesecauses some are and some are not of consequence.
They
divide also in proportion the consequences which may result
from them. To some it happens to pass through all these
affections to those who have many, through many of them :and others, again, who have none,others through few
through none of them.
10. There are some persons who suffer from the affection
This ought not to be. The affection is ofcalled inflation.
In copulation they neither evidently emit semen,
this kind.
nor do they become pregnant. "Wherefore they are said tobe inflated. The excessive dryness of the uterus is the causeof this complaint; and when it has drawn the fluid into itself,
This bevwmes dried up, and having become
it ejects it again.
small falls out, without any notice being taken of the circumWhen the uterus is violently
stance on account of its size.
affected in this way, and becomes very dry, and ejects itvery soon, it is plain that pregnancy cannot take place. If
this does not take place very soon, impregnation appears fora time to have taken place until it is ejected. The samething also takes place at times in those who have conceived
properly if a long time has elapsed, the uterus becomes
elevated, so that it plainly appears as if impregnation had
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THE HISTORY OF ANIMALS.

[b. X.

falls out.
Then all becomes as it was
at first.
They refer this affliction to a divine origin. It iscurable, unless it is natural, or the disease has gone a great
way. It is a sign that this disease is not present, whentaken place until it

women appear neither to have emitted semen, nor to haveconceived after sexual intercourse.

Chapter IV.
Pregnancy is prevented also by spasm intheuterus. This
complaint attacks the uterus when it is either distended with1.

inflammation, or in the act of parturition. When any large
quantity of matter suddenly enters it, and the os uteri is
not open, spasm then arises from distension. It is a sign of
the absence of spasm, if the uterus does not appear to reachinflammation in its functions whereas, if spasm were preAgain, asent, there would be some signs of inflammation.
swelling at the mouth of the uterus, if it is much drawn out,
It is a sign that this is not thewill prevent conception.
case, when the uterus appears to open and close properly
after the discharge of the catamenia, or the use of the male.
2. In some, also, the os uteri is closed, either from the periodof birth, or in consequence of disease. Sometimes this is
It is not, however, difficurable, and sometimes not so.
cult to ascertain the state of the case, for it is not possible
either to receive or to emit anything in a proper manner.
If it appears to have received and rejected the seminal fluidof the male, it is an evidence of the presence of the disease.
But those who have no impediment in the way of conception, but are, as it has been said, as they ought to be, unlessthe man is impotent, or they are not able to have children
together, being unable to emit their semen at the sametii«e, and differ very much, such persons will have no children.
:

Chapter V.
In order to understand of sterility in the male, we musttake other symptoms. These will appear very easy, if hecopulates with other women, and impregnates them. Whenthe sexes do not appear to concur with each other, although
all the before-mentioned circumstances are present, they donut have children together. For it is evident that this is theB. I.]iHE HISTOET OF ANIMALS.

289

for if the woman contributes tothe semen and generation, it is evident that both the sexes
should be concurrent: for if the man is quick, and thewoman slow, in the emission of the semen (and many womenare comparatively slow), this will prevent conception; forwhich cause they do not produce children by sexual unionwith each other. They do so, however, when they happen to
be concurrent with each other for if the woman is desirous,and prepared for the intercourse, and is inclined for it, but
the man is suffering previous pain, and of a cold disposition,
it is then also necessary that they should be concurrent.

only reason of sterility:;

Chapt£e VI.
It is quite plain when animals desire sexual intercourse forthe female pursues the male, as hens pursue the cock andplace themselves beneath him, if the male is not desirous.
Other animals also do the same. But if all animals appear tohave these affections with respect to sexual intercourse, it isplain that the causes must be the same throughout.
Thisbird, however, has not only the desire of receiving, but alsoThis is a proof of it. If the male isof emitting semen.
not present, she will emit the semen into herself, and become pregnant, and produce barren eggs, as if she desired
both to emit semen, and when she had done so, soon ceased,just as when the male was present.
Others also do thesame, for a person has attempted to rear some singing locusts, which he had taken in a young state.
"When grown,
they became pregnant spontaneously.
2. From these considerations it is plain that every female
contributes to the semen, if this appears to take place in any
one class of animals, for the barren animal differs in no respect from the other, except that it does not produce
an animal, and this because it was formed by the union ofboth sexes. Tor this reason all the seminal fluid of themale does not appear to be productive, but some parts are
barren, when not properly compounded from both sexes.
And when women have lascivious dreams, the same affections of weakness and debility often occur, as if they had
been lying with a male. It is plain, therefore, that if they
appear to have emitted a seminal fluid in their dream, they
will then conjecture that after their dream the same place
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THE HISTOEY OF ANIMALS.

[b. I.

become moist, and they will be obliged to bestow thesame attention upon themselves as if they had had sexualintercourse.
80 that it is evident that there must be anemission of semen from both if it is to be productive.
3. But the uterus does not emit its semen into itself, buton the outside, into the place where that of the male also isreceived, and then draws it into itself.
For some females
will

produce spontaneously, as the bird produces barren eggs,
and other females do not so, as the horses and sheep
either because the bird projects her semen into the uterus,
and the place upon which that of the male is emitted is notexternal for which reason, if he does not copulate properlywith the female, it is poured out upon the ground. But
in quadrupeds there is another place for the reception of
the semen, both of the male and female, which in otheranimals it is combined with other fluids of the body,and is not collected in the uterus, because it does notenter it. But in birds, the uterus receives and matures
the seminal fluid, and forms a body similar in other respects
though not a living creature. It is necessary, therefore,
the living creature should be derived from both sexes.
;

Chapteb VII.
"We must enquire whether women speak the truth, when
they say that after a lascivious dream they find themselves
dry for it is plain that the uterus draws upwards. And
if so, why do not females become pregnant spontaneously,
since the male seminal fluid is drawn in, mixed with theirown ? And why do not she goats draw that part of it
which extends outwards ? for this affection takes place
for they proin some that have been pregnant many years
duce what is called myle (an amorphous mass of flesh), a
circumstance which has also happened to a certaiu woman
for having had sexual intercourse, and to all appearance
conceived, the size of the uterus increased, and everythingat first went on regularly
but when the time of parturition arrived, she produced nothing, nor did the enlargement become any smaller but after three or four years, adysentery occurred, which placed her life in danger, when
she produced a large mass of flesh, which they call myle.
The affection continues ia some to old age, even to the day
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B. X.]THE HISTOET OF ANIMALS.

291

2. Does this affection arise from a warm habit of body,when the uterus is warm and dry, and for this reason capableof drawing into itself in such a manner that it is taken up
and kept in it ? For, in persons so aifected, if the seminal
fluid of both sexes is not united, but, like the barren egg, istaken up by one sex, then the myle is produced, which
is not living creature, for it does not originate in both sexes,
nor is it lifeless, for it is taken to have life like the barren egg.
It remains, however, a long while, on account of the disposition of the uterus, and because the bird, which has produced many eggs in herself, when the uterus is stimulatedby these, goes and lays them and when the first is produced, the last will also come forth in proper time for there
is nothing to prevent it, but the body being productive assoon as it is full, causes the uterus to be no longer retentive.
But in viviparous animals, on account of the change offorce, as the foetus increases, and the diversity of food is required, the uterus causes parturition from a kind of inflammation.
3. But the flesh, because it is not alive, always requires
the same kind of food, for it does not cause any weightin the uterus, nor any inflammation.
So that the affection would contmue, in some cases, throughout life, unless some fortunate debility should take place, as in the
woman who was attacked with dysentery. But does thisaffection arise from warmth, as it was said, or rather from a
fluid state, because there is a fulness as it closes, either
because the uterus is neither cold enough to reject it, norwarm enough to bring it to maturity ? Wherefore, thedisease lasts a long while, like those things which remain
a long while before they are matured but those that areabout to come to maturity have an end, and that quickly.
Such uteri, being very high up, cause a long delay. And,again, not being alive, it does not cause any pain by its
movements, for the movement of the ligament which theliving foetus produces, causes pain.
And the hardness ofthe substance is the effect of imperfect production, for it
is so hard that it cannot be cut by the stroke of an axe.
All ripe and mature things become soft, but imperfectly
digested things are immature and hard.
Wlierefore, many physicians, deceived by the resem'
•i.
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THE HISTOET OF ANIMALS.

292[u. X.

blance, say that women are suffering from myle, if they
only see the abdomen elevated without dropsy, and a ces-*sation of the catamenia, when the disease has lasted fora long while.
But this is not the case, for the myle isa rare disease.
Sometimes there wiU be collections of cold
and moist excrements and fluids, and sometimes of thickones in this part of the abdomen, if either the nature or thehabit is of this kind.
For these things afford neither
pain nor heat, on account of their cold nature but if they
increase, more or less, they bring no other disease after;

them, but remain quiet, like some maimed thing.
5. The cessation of the catamenia takes place on account offche excrementitious matter of the body being directed to thispoint, as when women are nursing for they occur either not
at all, or only in small quantities.
collection of matteri'rom the flesh sometimes takes place between the uterus
and the stomach, which has the character of the myle,
but is not it. But it is not difficult to know the difference, by touching the uterus for if it is correctly placed,and not enlarged, it is evident that the disease is not there
but if it is the same as when with child, it will be warm,and cold, and dry, because all the fluids are turned inwards
and the os uteri will be in the same condition as when they
are pregnant but if the enlargement is of any other kind,
it will be cold, and not dry when touched, and the os utenv/ill always be the same.
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APPENDIX.
ESSAY ON THE LITERARY AND PECIJNIARY RESOURCES
WHICH ARISTOTLE EITHER USED, OR IS SAID TO HAVEUSED IN THE EXAMINATION AND COMPOSITION OF HISHISTORY OF ANIMALS.
Translated from the Latin of Schneider.

Abistotle had very likely more authorities, whom he has
followed, or converted to his own purposes, than those whosenames he has given. These are, however, a few, whom he
Dionysius of Apolhas named, as Alcmseon of Crotona
Herodorus of Heracleum in Pontus, the father ofBryson the sophist Ctesias of Cnidos Herodotus of HaPolybus
Democritus
Hcarnassus
Syennesis of Cyprusof Abdera Anaxagoras of Clazomene Empedocles of Siand if there are any more which do not just now occur
cily
to my memory, they are accurately enumerated in the index, with the names of the places to which they belonged.
I have said that it is probable, that Aristotle has derived information from more authorities than he has named anda reason for this conjecture is found in a passage which heextracts, almost verbatim, from Herodotus, on the Nilotic
This I have shewn in a note on
crocodile (Euterpe, 68).
the passage, book v. ch. 27, 2. And there are many places,
both in his natural history and his other works on animals,
where our philosopher refers to the ancient fables of men
who were transformed into the nature and forms of various
The oldest author of such fables is Boeus (oranimals.
Boeo, in the feminine gender, as some have conjectured).
From this book Antoninus Literalis has extracted many
chapters in Greek.
Nicander of Colophon, and others,
followed the example of Boeus.
Among Latin writers,
the Metamorphoses of Ovid have always commanded atAll who have read the work of Antoninus, andtention.
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APPEINDIX.

the Metamorphoses of Ovid, will easily perceive how muchinformation on the nature and hahits of animals our phUoBopher could have derived from the very character of thebooks which had come down from the remotest antiquity
to the time of Aristotle (compare note 9, 17, 1), especially
if they bear in mind that the ancient teachers of physics
always compared the habits of animals with those of man,and conjectured the causes and reasons of their actions,from similar impulses in man. This may be seen in thefables of ^iEsop, for they contain the first elements of themightdoctrines of the ancients on physics and morals.
also oifer a surmise on Eudoxus, and Scylax, and others,
who wrote " Travels Eound the Earth," in which theydescribed the animals of diiferent countries for our philosopher appeals to the testimony of both these authors,
There is morein his work on Meteorics, and elsewhere.
doubt whether Aristotle used, or could have used, the numerous notices of animals, of the interior of Asia andIndia, which the companions of Alexander, in his Asiaticand Indian expeditions, brought back to Greece which
Theophrastus, the pupil of Aristotle, and his successor in
the schools, is foimd to have used so well in his History of
Plants.
For this I consider to be proved, that the written
notices of the companions of Alexander were published after
the death of the king, though we have no proof of the exact
year in which they were made public. Indeed I have neverfound any evidence in the History of Animals which could
lead us to suppose that Aristotle was acquainted with theanimals of the interior of Asia and India, by information
nor have I
derived from the companions of Alexander
been able to find the slightest information from which I canform a conjecture as to either the place or time when thishistory was written but, in order that others may institutea more rigorous inquiry into the date and place of its
authorship, if any such have escaped my notice, I willplace before my readers that portion of the Aristotelianchronology which relates to this work, from the disputationof St. Croix, a learned French author (Examen Critiquedes Historiens d' Alexander le Grand, p. 603, second ediAristotle, therefore, at the invitation of Philip,tion).
King of Macedon, undertook the education of his son, Alex-

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APPENDIX.

29r)

ander, when he was thirteen years of age, in the second
year* of the 109th Olympiad, when Phythodotus was Archonof Athens. Aristotle returned to Athens in the second yearof the 111th Olympiad, in the Archonship of Evsenetus.
He taught at Athens for thirteen years, from whence hefled to Chalcis, and there he died, in the third year of the114th Olympiad, during the Archonship of Philocles.
There is, indeed, a passage in Pliny, (book x. ch. 64, sect.
84, on the fecundity of mice,) where he says, that among
other things Aristotle has spoken in his History of Animals(vi, 29) of the gravid foetus of the Persian mice ; but the
Greek exemplar contains no authority from which Pliny" Morecould have derived the words which he has added:

wonderful than all is the foetus of the mice, which we cannot
unhesitatingly receive, though derived from the authority ofAristotle, and the soldiers of Alexander the Great."Inthis and in two other places he calls those soldiers whom
others are in the habit of calling the companions of Alexander
the Great. But there is also a passage in the Meteorics ofAristotle (iii. 1), where he mentions as a recent event thedestruction of the temple of Ephesus, by the incendiary
Herostratus, on the day of Alexander's birth, in these words" As it has just now happened in the burning of the templeof Ephesus." This book, therefore, appears to have been
written at the commencement of the 106th Olympiad, andwith it the History of Animals is very closely connected, asI have shown in my treatise on the order of the books ofPhysics so that we may suppose that they were written innearly the same Olympiad, if we regard only the series of theworks; and no interruption occiirred with which we areunacquainted.
On the other hand, in the Meteorics (iii. 6),
he speaks of a lunar rainbow, and says that it is rarely seen,
and then adds, " that it has occurred but twice in more thanfifty years."
If we reckon these fifty years from the birthof Aristotle, in the first year of the 99th Olympiad, thatbook will fall in the third or fourth year of the 111th Olympiad and from this calculation it would follow that thisbook was also written in Athens, but that the first date is
to be taken in a wider sense.
From all this, we may easily perceive that at this day we
Bxe entirely ignorant of the sources of information collected:;;APPENDIX.

296

either from ancient or contemporary writers, to which ourphilosopher had access in composing and completing a workof such multiplied and varied information. Even if we assume that they were as large as the mind of Aristotle wasgreat, acute, and transparent, still, for a work so various
and extensive, spread o\er seas, rireis, earth, and heaven,even that mind would require some assistance from othersources to which it might apply in constructing and building
up a system of general instruction from the materials collected in diflferent places about various animals, and from theobservations used in describing and arranging them together
in orders, classes, genera, and species. The following were thesources Aristotle used, according to the narrative of an uncertain author quoted by Pliny (viii. 16, 17)" King Alexander
the Great," he says, " was possessed with the desire of knowing the natures of animals, and therefore delegated the work
to Aristotle, a man of very great learning.
Some thousandsof men in the whole region of Asia and Greece obeyed his
commands, all, namely, who obtained their livelihood byhunting, hawking, or fishing, or who had in their care menaso that nothinggeries, herds, beehives, fishponds, or aviaries
in nature might be unknown to him and from his examination of these, he compiled those fifty celebrated volumes,
which I have collected into one, together with those animals
with which he was unacquainted, and I hope that they will be
consulted by good scholars." In all this there is nothing
contradictory to the mind and liberality of Alexander, or theconfidence or strength of his empire. But some may prefer
the story published by ^lian, in his various history (iv.
19), who, I know not on what authority, transfers the nar"Having suprative to Philip, the father of Alexander
plied abundance of riches to Aristotle, he was the means ofmany other undertakings, and especially of his knowledge of

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—

and the son of Nichomachus completed
by the liberal assistance of Philip who also

living creatures ;his history

honoured Plato and Theophrastus.";

If this be true, it evidently refers to those seven or eight years in which Aristotle was in Macedonia presiding over the education of
Alexander, the son of Philip.
These abundant supplies for the studies of Aristotle are
ujt at all inconsistent, either with the liberality of Philip^

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APPENDIX.

297

or his love for his son and his son's tutor, nor do they surThe gold mines of Philippi supplied thepass credibility.
munificence and liberality of Philip, But there are difficulties in the narrative which make us question the credibility
For instance, theof the author of this munificence.
names of Plato and Theophrastus are mentioned but thename of Theophrastus could not be so great and illustrious,
even if it were known to the Greeks at all, as to have attracted the liberality of Philip, before the death of his master
Aristotle, whom also he succeeded in the School at Athens.
I should, therefore, rather imagine that ^lian, who wasmore diligent in the accuracy of his Attic diction than his
historical fidelity, has committed some error in the name ofPhilip, or in those of Plato and Theophrastus, whom he has;appended to his narrative.

The narrative of Athenseus, (ix. 398,) derived from thereport of an unknown author, is very difierent ; he calls
the History of Animals a very expensive work, and thenadds " There is a report that Aristotle received 800 talentsfrom Alexander, for writing the History of Animals"
a sum of money which Perigonius, in his Notes on ^lian,
To this narrative, or, as
estimates at 1,440,000 earoli.
it may be more justly termed, rumour, is opposed theopinion of lo. Henr. Schulzius, in his History of Medicine(Leipsic, 1738, p. 358).
"When I consider this matteraright, it appears to me that the whole story is very doubtful, and, ibr the most part, fabulous.
And it can easily
be proved, that the whole revenue of Macedon, if Alexander
had paid it all to Aristotle for several years, would nothave amounted to this sum. It is impossible, therefore,that he could have paid so much to Aristotle before theconquest of Asia and after bis expedition had been successfully accomplished, his affection was alienated from
Aristotle, and, in order to annoy him, he Hberally enriched other philosophers, who had done nothing to deserve
his patronage.
Their labours, therefore, are in vain, whodemand justice of our excellent Aristotle, even in his grave,
because he did not use such an immense sum of money inthe composition of a more veracious history.
" I am certainly of opinion that a great deal has been made,as usual, of a very little matter, namely, that if Aristotle

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APPENDIX.

derived any assistance ia that kingdom, all the materials
were provided for him while Philip was alive, and before
Alexander's expedition was undertaken, or in the first yearsof the expedition. But afterwards, when Alexander had
Bet out, Aristotle returned to Athens, and was engaged iii
teaching nor could he have derived any advantage fromthe resources which Pliny mentions, and the multitude of
persons who were instructed to place themselves under his
command, for he was not only occupied with other pursuits,
but would have been in danger of being destroyed by thefury of the Athenians, on the plea that he was attempting
innovations, if he had even ventured to dissect animals,
not to say men."
In a note he adds these observations" Aristobulus, nounworthy companion of Alexander in his expedition, bears
testimony, according to Plutarch, that the whole militarychest did not contain seventy talents of coin.
For the preparation of so arduous an undertaking, however, the same
person says, that two hundred talents ought to have beentaken for mutual exchange. I remember also to have read in
Eustathius's commentary on Homer, a very learned disquisition on the scarcity of money amongst the Macedonians, atthe time of Alexander's expedition but I cannot lay myhands upon the passage."
I must confess that I am not influenced by this annotation, nor does the whole of this controversy appear to me
For the greatest doubt
to have been properly conducted.
prevails as to the number of talents which Alexander is said
and theto have paid to Aristotle, to help him in his task
report only rests on the authority of a writer who lived
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To refute thiscenturies after the death of Alexander.
is useless labour, both because its origin is obscure, andalso because a sum of money set down in figures might
be easilj"" corrupted by transcribers. But the testimony ofAristobulus will give little or no assistance to the opinionof the learned, if we adopt that which is most probable,
namely, that Philip, or his son Alexander, gave large sumsof money to Aristotle, to enable him to pursue his studies
in Natural History, while he lived in Macedon, and was
employed in the education of Alexander. The question
about the date when Aristotle arranged and published!

APPENDIX.

299

the materials and notes he had collected is quite distinec
I do not think that it can be precisely ascertained at
the present time.
The conjecture 1 have hazarded (lightenough, I must confess) does not say much in favour of thestory of abundant treasures supplied by Philip, or Alexander, to our philosopher, for the composition of his Natural History.
But these persons form a very poor estimate of the study and labour bestowed by Aristotle uponthe History of Animals, who imagine that our philosopher
had only access to such books as now remain, forgetting
those of which time has robbed us.
Most of all we must regret his Zw/xa, which appears tohave given a more accurate description of animals, and his
ai/aro^/xd, which further contained notices of their internal
structure, and was illustrated by drawings to which he often
refers in his Natural History, as well as in his works on theIt will scarcely beparts and the generation of animals.
possible to fix with any accuracy on the number of books heemployed, after the great carelessness of librarians, and themany facilities for error in copyists, arising from the method
Antigonus Carystius, in his sixtyof notation by letters.
sixth chapter, increases the number of volumes given by
PUny, for he writes seventy and if the titles of the books,
as they are given by Diogenes Laertius and Athenseus, arecompared with those published, the number of books relating to Animal History to which he may have had accessare readily estimated, even should every book of every work
be reckoned as a separate book, and the list compared with
the number given by Pliny.
In the memory of our fathers and grandfathers (for, alasat the present time few trouble themselves with the worksof the ancients) there were many who blamed Aristotle forthese works, both for his manner of treating the subjects andhis narratives of the lives and habits of animals, and vexed
them with questions and disputations.
These objections will be better answered, when wecome to those passages of the History. It may, however,be of some general avail to put a stop to these objections,which were urged against bis manner of teaching and I
hope to be able to point out some peculiar sources fromwhich Ariatotle appears to have derived the more difficult

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APPENDIX.

parts of his History, and ttose whicli were obnoxious to
dispute.

Amongst other foolish and trifling questions with whichsome Grammarian, in the Deipnosophistse of Athenaeus, (viii.
has endeavoured not only to impugn, but even destroy our philosopher's credibility, is the following" I donot much admire the diligence of Aristotle, though others
praise him so highly.
At what time, I should like to know,or from what Proteus or Nereus ascending from the deep,
to give him information, did he learn what the fishes were
doing there, and in what manner they slept and took theirfood ; for he writes things of this kind, which are only the
miracles of fools,' as the comic poet says."
I will not follow the rest of his argument, which relates
to terrestrial and winged animals ; for the aquatic, and especially the marine creatures, seem to offer the greatest opportunity for questioning the fidelity of his narrative.
In thefirst place, then, we may observe, that of all mankind the
Greeks were amongst the greatest eaters of fish, at least
after the heroic and Homeric ages
for Homer is neverfound to mention fish at the suppers and festivals of his
heroes.
So that I should not wonder if the frequent andrepeated industry and observation of fishermen, following
their labours both in rivers and seas, to adorn the tables of
their fellow citizens, supplied ample and varied information
to learned men who were engaged in the investigation of
By the same means they might learn
natural objects.
from hunters the haunts and dispositions of wild beasts,
and those of domesticated animals from husbandmen.
The whole life and labour of such men was devoted to theand their observations
uses, advantages, and food of man
would be particularly directed to those animals which could
assist in sharing the labours of mankind, or whose flesh or
Their parother parts were required for food or medicine.
turition and its proper time, the number of their young, themanner of bringing them up, their nutriment, the pasturesand food of the parents, and the proper time for hunting them,
And if any
were observed with the greatest accuracy.
diseases arising from the weather, their food, or their drink
impended over them, and threatened their production or thelife of the wild cattle, or if a peculiar or common enemy
p. 352,)

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APPENDIX.

one or all, it could not easily
escape their observation and from these circumstances wemay manifestly derive the origin of those fables and narratives in which the opinions of animals are compared withthe life and manper of human beings, such as the simple
minds of hunters, fishers, and rustics could comprehend.
In these books of natural history we find traces of manystories of this kind which it is unnecessary here to point
laid in wait for the nfe of;out.

In the aquatic and marine orders of animals there is, besides these sources of information, the diligent investigation
instituted by certain writers throughout the seas and riversof Greece, at a time when every useful fish, and marine andriver animals of this class, moUusca, shell fish, and worms
formed part of their food. The time and manner of theircoition, parturition, pregnancy, and life, the nature of theirfood, places and manner of taking fish, the times in which
they were not accessible, the faults and diseases of aquatic
The twentieth chapter
animals, were minutely described.
of the eighth book of our History is on this subject, where
the food and diseases of aquatic animals are described, andparticular notice is taken of their use as food, besides theobservations on the manners of quadrupeds.
It is very evident that the life of one man would hardly
suffice for the observation of all these facts even in a single
class of animals
but, as I have said, there were writers
before the time of Aristotle who provided for the tastes andtables of these fish-eating Greeks a most exquisite apparatus
from the rivers and seas of Greece, especially in Sicily, which
has been remarkable for its wealth ever since the reigns ofGelo and Hiero, and had surpassed the rest of Greece not
only in its knowledge of nature, but in the art of poetry.
There is a passage in Plato's " Gorgias," (sect. 156, p. 246,
ed. Heind.) where mention is made of " Mithaecus, the authorof a work on Sicilian cookery, and Sarambus, the publican.
One furnished the best of food, the other the best of wine."
That the art of choosing and preparing food for the table
was treated of in this book we may conclude from the useof the word b-'^ovoita, which the Greeks especially used tosignify the kinds of fish used for food.
passage fromthis book on the manner of cooking the fish called tenia ie;AAPPENDIX.

S02<iaoted by Athenaeus, who makes tlie title of this booki^afrvTixhv, vii. p. 282, and xii. p. 506.
cannot accurately ascertain the age of Mithaeeus. The
most ancient author of such a book that we can call to mind
is Epicharmus, a Sicilian poet and physician, from whoseWefragments, collected by Athenaeus, we may certainly conclude he was acquainted with the nature of aquatic animals.
To this class we may, in the first place, refer those passages which are extracted from the drama called the Marriage of Hebe, or the INIuses, and not only teach us thenature of fishes, but also the manner of procuring and cooking them. A learned writer in the " Literary Ephemeris" ofJena, 1810, (Nos. 156, 157,) attempted to collect all theseand reduce them to order. There remain, however, many
more passages which the conjectures of the most learned
could hardly amend or explain, from the corruption of thetext by librarians and the variety of Sicilian names. And
before the time of Epicharmus, Ananius, an Iambic poet,nearly contemporary with Hipponactus, an Ionian poet, composed, among other poems, a similar work on cooking fish,
as we learn from a passage extracted by Athenaeus, (vii. p.
282.) After Epicharmus there was Terpsion, a Sicilian, who
was the first to write a gastrology, in which he taught his
disciples from what kind of food they ought to abstain. He
is mentioned by Clearchus Solensis, a disciple of Aristotle,
in his work de Pai-aemiis, in " Athenaeus," (viii. p. 337.)
Clearchus also mentions Archestratus, the Sicilian, thepupil of Terpsion, who, after having travelled through thewhole of Greece, wrote a work in heroic verse on the natureof fishes, those especially which were fit for the table, andlearn
on the manner of cooking and preparing them.
that his book was called 'Udwrakia, not only from the testimony of Athenaeus, but from an imitation by Ennius. For
Ennius, who died a.u.c. 584, one hundred and fifty-two
years after the death of Aristotle, translated and in part
imitated the poem of Archestratus, and called his work
" Carmina Hedypathetica," as Apulegius tells us in his" Apologia."
have good reason for supposing that
Arcnestratus was either contemporary with Aristotle, or a
For Archestratus mentions Diodorus Aspenlittle older.
diu8, the Pythagorean, as his contemporary, to whom Tiniaeus

We

We

APPENDIX.

303

the historian, tells us that the Epistle of Stratonicus was
written (" Athenseus," iv. p. 136). Therefore Archestratus,
Diodorus, Aspendius, and Stratonicus, an eminent harpist,
were contemporaries, and so they were with Aristotle and
Demosthenes and this conjecture is confirmed by many
Eassages in Athenseus, where Stratonicus is reported to haveeen alive with those persons whom Demosthenes mentions
Aristotle, therefore, may have used thisin his orations.
work of Archestratus in that part of his Natural History
which treats of the nature of fishes.^
The writings of physicians who prescribed the food,;both of sick and well, have handed down similar and much
more extensive observations on the animals and fishes whichwere brought to the tables of the Greeks. Of this kind
Athenseus has given many passages from Dorio, and DiOribasius has made a long extract fromphilus of Slphnus.
the work of Xenocrates, on the aquatic animals used infood, which I purpose some day to publish with Xenocrates,
if my life should be spared long enough.
* To the end of this Essay are appended fragments of Archestratus,on the fishes of Sicily, amounting to 270 lines of heroic verse, togetlior
with notes, by the author of tlie Essay.

301

1

N D E X.

eats worms, 202 ; three species,•A^voc, Vitex agnus castus, a treelays many eggs, 246
ib.
anlike a willow, the branches ofenemy to bees, 265 ; airi%iTriQ,
which the matrons strewed on theirparus major, Strack.
bptivbg,
beds at the Thesmophoria, 266,
Parus ater, Strack, or P. caudatus.
ASpiaviKai dXiKTOpiSfg, a small
kind of domestic fowl, 138.
IXaxicTOQ, Parus coeruleus,
AfiffKui//, a kind of owl.
Stryx AiyiOof, Bunting, Emberiza, Strack,
aluco, Strack, 249.
Brown Owi.
or hedge sparrow or Parus coeruThere is also another migratory
leus, dislikes the ass, builds inkind mentioned, 249, which does
hedges, 232 hostile to the anthus
not hoot.
and acanthis, 233; its food andyoung, 246.
'Aipoxp, the Boeotian name of the
Merops, M. apiaster, 138.
Alyo9i)\ag, goat sucker, CaprimulAirdg, or aitTog, Eagle, hence thegus Europseus, 250.
Latin avis, 9, 61 ; its eggs and AiyosiipaXog, Strvx otus, Strack,
young, 146; two species, the Py39.
gargus haliaetus, and the black AiyvTridg, the Vulture, it is hostileeagle, Aquila anataria or Falco naeto the ^salon (small hawk), 9,vius, ib.; several species, 201,250
23 ; and fights with the eagle, ib.
used in augury, 217 ; eats serpents, Aiyvirrog, J^gypt, the Egyptians
hatch eggs in manure, 139; two
231 food and manners, 251 ; true
eagles, Falco chrvsaetos, ib.
thekinds of Egyptian mice, one witli
iagle kills the heron, 233 ; it fights
stiff hair (Hierax, or Aulacodus
Swinderianus), another with longwith the vulture and the swan, ib. ;a kind of eagle in Scythia, 252.
hind legs (Jerboa, or Cavia), 178
;

;

;

'

;

;

;

;

'Afl^wv, nightingale, Sylvia luscinia,
its song, 95, 96
reproduction,
its tongue, 246 ; changes
108
its song and colour, 276.
A9(pivTi, Atherina presbyter, SpraU's
Lycia, or A. vera, in modern;;

Greek athemo, 159;

its reproduc-tion, 160, 234.

kiylQakog, Parus, Tit or Titmouse,

the care of animals among thea large kind of
Egyptians, 231
oxen in Egypt, 226 ; asp and ichneumon, 238
white and blackibis, 242.
Aiyu>\ios, a night bird of prey,
Stryx passerina, Strack. or S.
;;

flammea.
little owl,

Camus.
La choueftc,
kills the calarjj,
201
;

;;

;

INDEX.
232 ; its habit and mode of life,
247 in p. 139 this bird is called;

airwXioq.
Aiirog, a cartilaginous fish, one of
the class selache, Raia aquila, 104.
XiOioTria, JUthiopia, winged serpents in Ethiopia, probably Draco volans, 9 ; Ethiopian sheep,
165.
AiOio^f, ^Ethiopian, teeth, 60 ; semen, 72, 188.
AWvta, a large waterbird, Larus
parasiticus, or L. Marinus, Struck,
its reproducor L. argentatus, 2tion, 108; food, 203.
AiXovpoQ, cat, Felis cattus, copula;

305'AicavOlaQ, a kind of shark, Squalus
Acanthias, Strack, 256.
'AKavOie, thistle finch or gold finch,
Fringilla carduelis, or Fringillacannabina, Strack, or F. spinus,
brown linnet, 202 ; hates the ass,
lives on worms, 233 ; a foe to the

antbus and Eegithus, 234 ; its food,colour, song, 247.

'AKavBvWic, Parus pendulinus, or
caudatus, Strack, 202 ; its nest,
245.
"Aicapi, mite, Derraestes fatidicus, or
perhaps Bostrichus, Strack, 135.
'Affptf, locust, Tetigonia, Strack,

Acridium, 89, 95; its birth, 123;
reproduction, 132
young, food, andchanges its
skin, 216; it is said to contend
mode of life, 177 ; kills birds, 239.
with serpents, 238 : the Spex laAificppotg, or aTroppatg, a kind of
certicida corresponds with thisshell fish, perhaps Murex, 85, 86.
description, Schneider.
Ai^, goat, male and female, Ibex or
wild goat, Spratt's Lycia, Caper 'AxuXog, the acorn of the evergreen
oak,used for fattening pigs, 206.
hircus, Strack, 13, 27, 28, 31,
66; the she goats of CEta, 70; ^AXtKTopig, the domestic hen, Phais
ib.
itsianusgallus,
difi'erent kinds, 111,
inLemnos,
goat
he
the
;
sometimes produces soft138
mentioned with the chirasera or
eggs, 139 ; chickens, 140, 141domestic goat in 71 ; dreams, 97barren eggs, and times of laying,infested with ticks, 134 ; disib,; growth of the chick in the
charges of the female, 163, 164;
egg, 142 ; twin eggs, 144 the hen
food, drink, &c.,gestation, 165
sometimes takes the form of the
207 ; the wild goat, 225 Syrian
cock, 215; rolls in the dust, 277.
Caper hircus Mambricus and LyAXeKTpvojv, domestic fowl, male,cian goat, C. Angorensis, ib. ;
its
mode
of
life,
also used of the class, 5 his comb,
Egyptian, 226
36 crop, 45 ; appendages to in235 wild goats in Crete, 238 ; rutestines, ib. ; crowing, 96
mination, 278.
manner of coition, 102 appearances
Ai?, a water bird, probably Tantalus
like ova when cut open, 139 tesarquatus, Strack, Scolopax Galliticles,nago, 208.
148 ; habits in temples,
241 ; sometimes they assume thehicaXuiv, a small hawk, perhaps
form and habits of hens, 275
sparrow-hawk or merlin, Falco
method of castration, 277.
^salon, 253.
'AXiaiiToc, sea-eagle, different from
AirtoJXioc, see AiywXiof.
the osprey, perhaps Aquila albiAitaX^^jj. Medusa, and probably
cilla or Falco halioetus, 203, 251,
also some species of Actinia, 2, 3
253,
fixed and locomotive kinds, 87,
small and edible species, 'AXkv(1)v, Alcedo, kingfisher, or per88
haps Turdus arundinaceus, reproothers large and bard, 88 a fleshy
duction, 107, 108 ; two species
kind, 195 ; a large kind, its fooa,
described, 203 ; materials and form
mouth, and anus, I'JS.
tion,

103

;

its

;

;

;

;

;

'

;

;

;

;

;

;

;

;

;

—

;;

; ;

303

INDEX,of its nest, 246.

It is doubtful

whether either of the speciesisour kingfisher. Schneider.
AXoadxi], probably a species ofZoophyte Alcyonia, 246.
'AXwTTjjS, fox, Canis vulpes, 6, 29 ;it breeds with the Laconian dogs,
227 ; attacks the heron, 233 isfriendly with the crow, tb.; a;web, reproduction, 123, 131, 132,is driven away by its young, 131
it sucks its prey, 213
is eaten by
the lizard, 232 ; four kinds, 258,
259. '^uXXa, Salticus scenicua
The smaller kind Dolomedes mirabilis
the larger Lycosa ruricola, another Dolomedes fimbria;

—

tus.

"ApKToc, bear, Ursus Arctus, 25,
at this*A\oJ7r»;5, Vampire, Vespertilio cani27, 29, 42 ; coition, 1U2time it becomes fierce, 161 ; period
nus, Struck, V. dinops or Sciurusitof gestation, imperfect young,prolans, 9 ; reproduction, 177
175
mode of drinking, 205 ; hyhunts mice, 178.
bernation, 215
eats the arum,'AXw7r»j?, a cartilaginous fish, reib.
149 ;represents a
the females courageous, 230 ;production,
its
Egyptian
species,
habits,226
237.
class, 151"ApKrog, a crustacean, perhaps Canstratagems, 255.
cer spinosissimus, Strack, Scyllaris*A/iia, a kind of tunny, mackerel,
arctus, reproduction, 121 ; its food
Scomber, Struck, 4, 40, 91; itsand manner of seizing it, 205.
rapid growth, 160, 199, 200; lives
troglodyte, ib.

;

;

;

;

;

;

in bays, 211; and enters rivers,
218 ; its teeth and mode of defence, 255.

'AfivySaXr),

falcon, lives

near the sea, and attacks the gulland brenthus, 232 the piphini;

Amygdala

communis,almond tree, 268 almonds, 242.
'AvOiag, a migratory sea fish, also;

Scomber ala
called dvXwiri.a£,longa, 159 ; gregarious, 234 ; also
called sacred, 255.
'AvOoQ, yellow bunting, Emberizacitrinella, Strack, Motacilla bafeeds in meadows,
rula, 202;
the neighing of theimitateshorse, 233 ; hostile to the acanthis
and ffigithus, ib. ; it lives by theside of rivers, 244.
'KvBphvt], wild bee. Apis terrestris,the larvae,
or Vespa crabro, 88
124 reproduction, 130 a diligent
makes honey, 260 ;
insect, 258
;

;

;

;

and ictinus are friendly to it, 234

mode of life, attacks the eyesof its prey, 247.

its

'ApxavoQ, a fish, see 'AxdpvaQ.
'AcncaXaiiioTTjg,
lizard,Lacerta
Gecko, Stellio veterum, 160; it
lives in holes, 213changes its
skin, 216; its bite poisonous insome parts of Italy, 227 ; it eats
spiders, 232
it can walk in an;;

inverted position, 242.
'AffKdXa<pog, probably some kind ofowl, Stryx ulula, 45.
'AiT/caXoiffoc, Scolopax gallinago,snipe, Strack, (Schneider disapproves of this identification), S.
phaeopus, 249. See OKoXoiraK'AaicapiSii;, ascaris, intestinal worm,

its manners and habits, 270.

*Airiof, the pear tree, 126.

'ArrXvtrias, a dark-coloured sponge,

124.
'AoKapiQ, the larva of

the

empis

(^gnat), 125.

119.
*A.iroppats,variousreadingfordifioppotc, Murex, or Natica.

Hirundo apus, 4also called kv^iWoq, 271.

'Attouc,"ApTTij, a bird of prey,swift,*Apdxvtt(:,

spider, 5,85, 135; its'AandXaK,
lives

mole,

in holes,

Talpa
5 ;

its

vulgaris,
eyes,

13,

90; there are many in Boeotia,
none in Lebadia, 225.
Coluber aspis, asp, from
'AffTric,;;

INDEX.
which a poison is made in Lybia,
227 in Egypt it is attacked by;

the ichneumon, 238.
AffraKOf, lobster, Cancer Gammarus, and Astacus, 138 comparedwith the spiny lobster, 77, 78,
79 a small fresh-water species,
;

;

307

BaXaypof, a fresh-water fish, Cobitis
barbus, 98.

BdXavog, Balanus, Cirripede, acorn
shell, 94, 117,

BdXavog, acorn, 221.

BaWtpof, a fresh-water

Cy-

fish,

86;
121

prinus blicca, 156, 219 (3dXtpog,(3aX2vog, (Baplvog, are various

changes its shell, 217.
'AaTa(pig, a raisin used for feedingreadings.
BaaiXiiig, also called trochilus, andpresbys, lives in holes, 244 has abright crest, 202 probably Eegulus Cristatus, golden-crested wren,or Sylvia troglodytes.
Barig, a bird that frequents bushes,
Sylvia rubicola, eats worms, 202
mentioned with finch and sparrow.
Bartc, a fish, the prickly roach,Liddell and Scott, 149, 152.
Bdrog, ray, Raiabatos,not the skate,
which is perhaps leiobatos, 8, 37 ;its manner of coition, 104 ; it does
not receive its young into itself,
150,151:; it lives in holes, 214;
its manner of taking its prey, 255.
Bdrpaxog, frog, Rana esculenta andE. temporaria, 3, 39, 87 croaks,
the female larger than the96
male, 100 ; coition, 103 tadpole,
154; its united spawn,
155;
spoken of as a class, 196
nocroaking frogs in Cyrene, 225
marsh frog* are foes to bees, 261.
Bdrpaxog, a cartilaginous fish,
Lophius piscatorius and L. barbatus, 8, 37, 38, 40 ; among the selache, 104 oviparous, 148, 150; it
produces many young, 159.
BeXovj;, fish, Syngnathus acus, 40
its reproduction, 109, 154, 160 ;the Halcyon
gregarious, 234
builds its neet with the hones of

Astacus fluviatilis, crayfish,its

reproduction,

cattle,

106,

206.

;

Aaripiag, a cartilaginous fish, 109,
Squalus asterias.
151.
'Affrepiac, a hawk, 109, 151, 253.
AaTipiag, Ardea stellaris, bittern,
233.
'Affr^p,118.

star-fish,

Uraster rubens,a plant, asphodel, A.
ramosus, 260.
'ATpaKTvXWg, a plant of the thistle'AacfioStXoQ,

tribe,;

Carthamus creticus.

'ATTayi)v, grouse, Tetrao bonasia,
or T. attagen, 249 ; it lives on
the ground, 276.
kind of locust,'ArreXafiog, aGryllus, 123; reproduction anddeath, 133.
'AvXtoTTias, the same as dvOiac, 159.
'Av^'iQ, the young tunny, 160.
'A^aicjj, plant, a kind of vetch,

208.

'A^pog, fish spawn, 157.
'AfpvTj. anchovy or sardine, Melanurus juvenculus, 157, its origin, ib.;other kinds, ib. ; in modern Greekd(l>p6tl/apo.

'Axatvr]Q t\a<pog, a variety of large
stag with a strong mane, Struck;a brocket, or two-year old stag,from his single-pointed horns,
Liddell and Scott, 39, 237.
'Axdpvai;, a sea fish, Anarrhicas
rufus, 200 ; does not bear heat,213.
male grasshopper,
AxeVac, theCicada Orni, 89.
"Axpag, a kind of wild pear, Pyrus
communis, 206, 268.

;

;

;

;

;

;

;

;

;

this fish.

BoXtT-aivaiCephalopodjEledonemoschites,
Leach, 76; also calledol^oXig
it does not exist in the
Euripus, 256.
Bo/i/SuKia, Apis cementaria, or also
Megachile muraria, and Bombua
;

x2

30S

INDEX.
forms anterrestris,

angular cellof mud, 131.
BonJSvXtoQ, larva of silk worm, 124;
the bumblebee, 260, 271.
BofijSvK, silkworm.
IBovaoaoQ, Antelope bonassns, or
Bos TJrus, Bison, 26, 28; its
country, form, habits, hunting,
273.
Boireae, Anas boscas, or A. Crecca,
203.

BoarpvxOQ,

insect,Lampyris noc-

Corvus monedula, 24§Bi»fio\(')xoc,

BwS.

gregarious fish,
Sparushoops, 234
contracted
from
B6a$, from the sound it makes.

a;TaXac, a kind of smooth shell-fish,

mya pictorum, 82.
YaXtog, a cartilaginous fish, Squalus
galeus and characliias, Strack, or
Gadus

lota,

8,

44, 49, 108, 149,

151; uterus and ova,

tiluca, Strack, 125.

Bo»'/3aXtc, Antilope Gnou, 58.
Bovg, Bos taurus, Ox, 5, 27, 28, 29,
30, 41, 62 ; milk, 69 dreams, 97 ;;lowing of the bull, 100, 112;
coition, 103; tormented with lice,
135; sexual desires, 161, 162;
discharges and urine of the cow,
163 reproductive powers of bull,
168; the castrated animal is taught;

to lead the herd, ib. ; teeth, milk,

ceives its

150;

re-

young into itself,ib. ;not foundin
Euripus, 256.

Pyrrhajan

theraXewSr], fish of the shark kind, 37,
40, 41 ; placed under the selache,
the males have appen104, 149dages, 104 ; the uterus, 149 ; galei and galeodes, 151.
FaXij, weasel, martin, polecat, Mustela Faro, M. Erminea, M. vulgaris, 20
the wild kind hunts
mice, 178; hostile to the crow,
232 it attacks serpents, 233 inPoroselene, 225
it fights with;and habits, ib. veins in the emmode of drinking,bryo, 190red
205 care of the ox, 206diseases,
cattle of Epirus, 207
serpents,
especially with thosethe ox drinks pure
219, 222
called myotherae, 238
water, 224 Egyptian oxen, 226
its formcompared with the ictis, 239 eats
wild oxen, B. Buhabits, 236
birds'
eggs, 232
mode of attackone species of ox has
balus, 26
ing its prey, 238.
oxen ina bone in its heart, 39
Phrygia which can move their Vepavog, crane, Ardeagrus, 2, 4, 64;
coition, 102
small oxen in Phasis,
migrations of thehorns, 61
male bird, 209
they migrate
71 oxen in Epirus, ib. in Torafter the quails, ib.
the cow brings forth at
the fable oftona, 72
the stone they are said to carry,a year old, 113; Syrian oxen,
castration of the young,
210 gregarious, ib. migrations,226
leaders, prudence, 243 they fight278 rumination, ib.
with each otlier, the number ofBouc, a cartilaginous fish, Raia cor;

;

;

;

;

;

;

;

;

;

;

;

;

;

;

;

;

;

;

;

;

;

;

;

;

;

;

;

;

;

nuta, 104, 152.

BpivOo^, a sea-bird, Anas tadorna,
hostile to the larus ami harpa,
232 ; makes its nest in hills andwoody places, 244.
Bpvac, a largeowl, Stryx bubo,

201.

Bpvov, algffl, both fresh-water andmarine, 155, 200, 220.
Bpvaffog, an echinite, Scutella, 102.

their eggs, 245.
Tivvog, the ofi'spring of a mule witha mare or she ass, 11 see 'ivvcg.
rXavlg, a fresh-water fish, Silurus
glanis, Scrack, 9, 38, 40, 219;
conjoined spawn, 155
two species, the greater and the smaller,
the male watches the spawn, ib. ;size of the ova, 156diseases, 219;
unfit to eat when in spawn, the
;

:

;

;

;;

309

I>'DEX.
female better than the male, 229
the male watches the young,breaks the hook with its teeth,
256.
rXdvof, Hyaena striata, 204.
rXavKog, a fish of a grey colour,
Gobius Gozo, Struck, 44 marine,
211 ; it lives in holes during the;summer, 214; when good for food,228.
rXavKiiSiie, birds of the owl kind,
36,

rXaii^, owl,

45;

39,

has crooked

and L. cuniculus, 5, 29, 49, 58,
coition, 102
superfeta64, 71
tion, 108; reproduction, 176,186;
in Ithaca, 225 smaller in Egypt,
;

;

;

226;

another species near Lake

Bolba, 41.
AtX^i;, dolphin, Delphinus delphis.
7. 13, 29, 37, 40, 46, 47, 59, 69,
91, 92, 93, 95 ; its sleep, 98 ; thefish called <p9tipa follows the dolphin, 135 ;reproduction, 104,
152 ; it breathes air, 196 ; food,200;

throws itself on its back to

how it may be taken,

take its prey, ib. dolphin in the
Pontus, 212
gentle habits, 274
210; lives in holes, 215; hostile
its speed, it sometimes throws itto the crow and orcbilus, 232 ; isself
on the shore, 275.
pecked by smaller birds, used inhawking, ib. the time for taking AiKTOfivov, plant, dittany, 238; origanum
Dictammum, Lin.
the owl, 252.
TXwrTig, a bird, Eallus crex. Struck, AopKac, Antelope dorcas, 26.
Scolopax glottis, see Ki;yxpa/ioc Apdiciov, a sea fish, Trachinus draco,
lives near the shore, 211.
andopTvyo/iijrpa, its tongue and
ApaKiov, a species of serpent in fresh
migrations, 210.
water, attacks the glanis, 219 ; isVvd^aXoQ, probably some Indian
hostile to the eagle, 231
sucks
bird, its form and food, Ampelis
the juice of the herb picris, 238.
garrulus, 246.
Vvt^aioi diToi, true eagles, Aquila ApsTravlg, perhaps the sand martin,
Hirundo riparia, 4.
Chrysaetos, 251.
loyypog, conger, Muraena conger, 8, ApofidStg, migratory fish, perhaps
species of tunny, 4, 155.
some
and
its
ova
37, 38, 40, 41, 61,
Woodpecker, 202;
fat, 160; it is destroyed by the AptoKoXd;rr»jc,
three kinds, Picus varius, P. virispiny lobster, but destroys the podis, P. martius, 242 ; habits, ib.
lypus, 198; its food, 199; black
claws, 201 ;

;

;

;

;

and white kinds, 211;

lives

in

attacked by themursena, 235 ; compared with thesea serpent, 255.
tpavg, a crustacean, Dromia lanosa,
217.
rvnaitroc, or viraiiroQ, Vultur barbatus, see hpi'nriKapyoQ, 251.
Tx<pivoQ, tadpole, 154.
Tvy\/, vulture, Vultur cinereus, or V.
fulvus, eggs and nest, 145, 243
its food, two kinds of vulture, 201.
holes, 213 ; itisAdto-cfXXoc, a fi8h,8ciaena umbra, 199.

AacvKovi,

hare,

Lepus

timidus,E
EyKpaaixoXoc, the parent of theApua, Clupea encrasicolus. Struck,157.
eel, Mursena anguilla, 8,
37, 40, 41, 61, 66, 93
is neither
male nor female, 99 the so-called
male and female are different spe-

"EyxeXuc,;;

97 migrates to the sea tospawn, 156; its origin, 158; description and habits, 200, 201 ;

cies,

;

those called female are better for
food, 229.
'EXatnc dvGoG, the flower of theolive, 127, 133, 216, 242.

;;

310

INDEX.

"EXn^Oj;, stag, Cervus Elaphus, 5,
26, 27, 28 those called Achainte,
39, 237 ; blood, 58, 67 ; horns,
60, 236. 237; the female, 100;
coition, 103, 174; voice, 112;
habits, 236, 237
the castrated
animal, 278 ; rumination, ib.
'E\«'a, Emberiza arundinacea, or
Turdus arundinaceus, Struck, or
E. Bchcenilus, 2i6.
EXtytvof, a migratory fish, 234.
'FjkiSuvt], Eledone cirhosa, Leach,(Owen, in Cyclopsedia of Anatomy), 76.
'EXttof, dormouse, Myoxus Avellanarius ;orperhapssquirrel,Sciurus vulgaris, lives in holes intrees, 216.
'EXttoi, a kind of hawk, 253 ; probably an incorrect reading.
'^\ibQ, an owl, Stryx Aluco, Struck,see 'AiidKoxp, 201.
'EXt'^ac, Elephas Indicus, 5, 14, 24,
26, 28, 29, 13, 40,43,46, 61,72;
voice, 96 reproduction, 103, 115,;;;

161, 173 ; food, 207 ; life and diseases, 222, 224; strength, 234;
capture, ib. ; habits, docility, 274.
'E\\o\p, a fish with four simple
branchia, sword fish or sturgeon,
Liddell and Scott, Centriscus scolo-

pax, Struck, Accipenser stellatus,

37;

t\oi/, 40.

'EX/itJ'e, worms, especially intestinal

worms, taenia and lumbricus, someexist in sponges, 119 origin, 123;
three kinds, flat worms, roundworms, ascarides, 124 worms insnow, Podura nivalis, 126 some;;;described as
worms, 135 ; small worms in eels,dogs,
Taenia sev1 58 ; worms in
rata, 238.
'E/iTrig, gnat, larger than Kil)vu)\p,
Tabanus, or Phryganea, Struck,insect3, 9,

larvaeare206.

'EvTtXis or trtXiQ, probably sea
bream, Sparus, Struck, Spams
Rayi, 153.
'Evrfjoa yjje, the decomposing matter in which eels have their origin,

158.
'EvTofia, insects, as a class, 3, 10,73, 123.
.

EvvSpic,

otter,

Lutra vulgaris, 2

205.

its food,'EiriXaiQ or viroXatg, Sylvia curruca,
Struck, or perhaps hedge sparrow,202.
'E-7T0\li, hoopoe, Upupa Epops, 1;

138
lives in woods andmountains, 244 ; changes its coits nest,;lour, 246, 276.

'Epij3iv9os,
seeds,

aplant,

leguminous

Ervum sativum, 221.

'EpiOaKT], bee bread, 267.
'Epi'Spaicoc,

Sylvia erithracus, or
Struck, Redstart,

S. Phoenicurus,

in its summer;
called Phoenicurus, 276.

202

plumage'Epiveog, wild fig tree, 136.

EpnvXXog,

Thymusserpyllura,

wild thyme, 261.
'Epv9p~ivog, a red kind of mullet,
Perca marina, Sparus Erythrymus,
Struck, Perca scriba, all have roes,
there are no males, 99, 153, 211'Ep(oSiitg, heron, Ardea major, 203;a foe to the woodpecker, 212
three kinds, 6 iriXXog, the black,Ardea cinerea, 6 XfVTroc, thewhite, A. egretta, 6 dartjpiag. A,
stellaris, 233, 247;
a friend of
the crow, 323.
EiiXaj, maggots in flesh.
'E<pT]fitpov,

ephemera,

insect,10,

126.
'E;^«vjjif, probably Goby or Blenny,
Forbes in Spruit's Lycia, not theRemora, which was unknown
the ancients.
Struck, 38.

toEcheneis remora,coriacea,
fresh- 'Ex^^va, viper, Coluber vivipara, C.
Testudoverus, 10 hides under stones, 213,
water tortoise, Emys lutraria, 39
teproduction, 136; habits, 194, 'Ex^vofiijrpa, Echinus Esculentus,

Efiiic,

;

216.

;

Forbes in Spratt's Lycia, 86.

;

;

311

INDEX.
•F-xi'vocaea urchin, Echinus lividus;

another species, with hard spines,
also a longis Cidaris hystrix,
species, Amphidetus Mediterraneus,

Forbes,10,

eatable11 ;kinds, 86 ; small species, E, saxalilis ; white species at Torone, E.

decadactylus, ib., 87, 94 ; at what
season they are full of ova, 110.

'Ex'voc, hedgehog, Erinaceus Eucoition,
ropaeus, 10, 46, 61, 81
102 ; changes the entrance of its
hole when the wind changes, 239.
'Ei^if, a serpent, Coluber vivipara.

mules of Syria, Equus

so-calledhemionus, 11, 172, 177.
"UiraroQ, a fish so called from its
colour, Theutis hepatus, Strack,
Stromatos fiatola, 44.
'HTTtoXoe, moth, Tinea mellonella,
225.
'HpaicXforticoc KapKivoQ, Heracleotic crab, has a long tail, 77, 81.

;

Vipera Reedii, viviparous, 49 ; reproduction, 137; how captured,©aXXof, a shoot of a plant, especiallythe olive, 208.
Oi]pin, animals larger than flies in

126 animals which destroy
honey-combs, 225 ; an animal likea moth, ib.
GiC, black shore weed, fucus, 211.
Atherina Opavirlq, a small bird like a goldfinch, Fringilla Carduelis, or F.
Cannabina, 202.
Qpiaaa, a fish with prickly scales,
fire,

;

changes its skin,216
204
becomes more poisonous by eating;

scorpions, 227.

a small fish,
Hepsetus, Strack, 156.

*E«/'»;r6c,

256.

Zvyaiva, a shark, Squalus Zygaena,
Strack, 40.
TjvyviQ, a lizard, see xoKkiq, 223.
Zw^dpia, several small animals, 135.

Qpi^, timber worm, 207.
&ufioVf thyme. Thymus

vulgaris,

266.

&vvvlg, the female tunny, 108, 109
aged, 160
food, 200 migration,
211 ; gregarious, 234.
eivvog, tunny fish. Scomber Thynnus, 4, 38 ; sleeps, 98 ; swims in
4. T. graminella.
shoals, 108 ; male and female, ib.;
Zwor, several unnamed animals.
reproduction, 109, 135 ; life, 149;
1. A small crustacean in shellfish, perhaps Pinnotheres, 86.
they appear to be a year older
than the pelamys, 160 food, 199;
2. marine creatures like small
pieces of wood,Veretillum,89.
migrates after the scombri, 209
when best for food, 211; migra8. marine creatures like shields,
Alcyonium, 89.
tions, 212; how concealed, 214;
creatureslikedelights in warmth, 219 ; old fish
4. marine
diSoiov dvSpoq, Pennatula,unfit for salting, their weight, 228.

Tinea pellionella.
2. T. sarcitella.
3. Psorus pulsatorius.
1.

;

;

;

89.
6.

winged creatures produced
maggots
pulse,
fromin
Bruchus, 126.

©wf, jackal or ounce, Felis onza, or
perhaps Canis aureus, Strack, 42
habits, 177
hates the lion, 234;

carnivorous,

;

ib. ;

severalkinds,

272.

H
Hf(U)vo£, mule, offspring of horse
and wild ass, the female larger
and more long lived, 99, 1 70 ; the'IjSic,Tantalus Ibis, Strack, two

species, white, Tantalus sacer, andblack, T. falcinellus, 249.

;;

INDEX.

312'Itpa?, hawk, 9, 39, 40 ; incubation,'Iria, willow, 155.

146; like the cuckoo, 146, 147;
the young good to eat, 147 ; akind which builds in rocks, ib. ;three species, 201 ; enumerationof species, 253 ; the Egyptian
hawk, 226 ; its nest, 243 does
not eat the heart of birds, ib.
'Ifpag or upos,& kind of serpent, 228.
'Iktivoq, kite, Falco milvius, 39,
40; incubation, 146; food, 201;
drink, 203; migration, 215; a'li/yS,;

foe to the raven, 232.

29 habits, 239.
'IWac, a kind of thrush, gregarious,
Turdus iliaceus, Sirack, 248 this;;isvery doubtful,
Schneider,'I?d/3opoe, a kind of thrush, Turdus
visciTorus, Strack, 248.
'Hof, miseltoe, 248.
"Ivvog, hinnus, the offspring of ahorse and she ass, 163.

identification

a red fish, Labrua lulis,
Strack, 234.
'lovXog, lulus, scolopendra, centi'louXi'c,pede, 73.
iTrniipdiov, giraffe, Giraffa cameleopardalis, 26.

perhaps the Nilghau,

Antilope picta, 26.
a crustacean,'Iirirtvg,

Ocyopode

cursor, 77.
lirirofivpfir]^,a large kind of ant,

Formica Herculanea, 225.
'IvTTOQ, horse, Equus Caballus,
26, 27, 29, 39,

62,

66,

Ichneumon,
ViverraIchneumon, 177; attacks the asp
in Egypt, 238.

Ichneumon'Ixvivfidjv,(insect)

Sphex, hunts spiders, 124, 232.

KdXafioQ, reed, Acorus calamus, andperhaps also some of the larger
grasses, 122, 155 its flower, 127 ;
used to support vine, 133, 155,
216 flourishes in rainy weather,217.
Kd^apig or KoXapig, a bird preyed
on by the little owl,
Motacilla
alba L., Schneider, 232. Fringilla;'Iktiq, weasel or ferret, Mustek furo,

IviriXatpoe,

wryneck, Jynx torquilla, 35.

'Ixvsvfiii)v,

69,;

petronia.

Ka\iSpis, Tringa, Sandpiper, Scolopax calidris, 203.
KaXXidJi'v/ioj,
fish, Uranoscopus,
Strack, U. Scaber, 40
lives near;

the shore,

KaWvvrpov,a shrub from theflowers of which the bees are said
to procure their young, 127; perhaps Cerinthe, L., Strack, honey-

suckle.

Kd/ijjXof, Camel, Camelus Bactria-

nus and C. Dromedarius, 25, 27,
29, 30, 70; reproduction, 103,
114, 161, 173; endurance ofthirst, 207 life, ib.; diseases, 222-,

puritj', 274 ; castration of females,

13,

70

278.
Ka/iTTij, caterpillar, 124.

KavOapiQ, several kinds of beetles,
88; a kind of fly, 106; origin,dreams, 97; neighing, 112; reproduction, age, life, 113, 161,
169; food and drink, 205, 207;
small horses in the country of the

KdvOapog, beetle, Scarabaeus pilula-Pygmies, 209 ; diseases, 219, 222,
223 ; story of a Scythian horse,

origin, 125 ; changes its skin, 216.

274.
"Ittwoc 6;

riverhorse,

amphibius,

32,

in Egypt, 32.

ImrovpoQ, fish, Coryphsena hippurus,

rius, Schneider, Cantharis lytta, 9

KdvOapog, a sea-fish, lives near theTTordfJiioQ,

Hippopotamus
196

126.

109 ; hides in holes, 213.

shore, Sparus Cantharus, 211.
Kajrpov, boar, 29; coition, age, 112,
114 ; castration, 277.
KdiTpog, a fish said to make agrunting noise.
Cottus cata-;

INDEX.
phractus, or Squalus centrina, 37 ;the Achelous, 95.
K.apa0otid>j, crustaceans, 79, 85,

m

228.

dpa^og, insect, stag-beetle, Cerambyx, Strack, 89, 125.
KapajHo^, Palinurus vulgaris. Spiny
lobster,

10; as a class, 73,

7, 9,male and female, 78 desleep,
scribed, 79, 80, 84, 93;
wherereproduction, 120
97
produced, 121 change their shell,ib.; kills other fish, is killed bypolypus, 198
habitation,thehides itself andpursuit, 129
changes its shell, 217.
KapiSiov
TTtvvo^uXal,a smallcrustacean, Pinnotheres veterum,
77

;

;

;

;

;

;

;

Bell's Crustaceans, 117.

Kapig, shrimp or prawn, Crangon,
Palaeraon, 77 ; different kinds, ib.;
reproduction, 106, 121changes;itscolour in winter, 228.

KapKiviov, hermit crab,

PagurusBernhardi, L., Bell, and probably
other species, 85 in Strorabi andalso a species in
Neritae, ib., 118
Pinnae distinguished from Kapi;;

Siov, 117.

KapKivog, crab, of various, species.
Cancer, Carcinus, &c., 4, 10, 73,
77 ; several species, 77 ; fluviatile,

Telphuraof feet,fluviatilis, ib. ;ib.

;numbershort-tailed ib. ; de-reproduc85
106 white crabs in various
shells, 117; change of shell, 121;rock crabs, 198 black crabs, hard
scription, 80, 81,
tion,

;

;

;

shelled crabs, 217.

Kdarwp, beaver. Castor Fiber, 205.
KavXiov, some kind of sea-weed,
200.
Karappa/crijc, diver, Pelecanus bassanus, L., Schneider, 45 ; modeof taking its prey, 244.
KtyxP'C' Falco tinnunculus, Schneiredder, 45 lays many eggs, 138
eggs, 139 mode of drinking, 203.
K.«X«of, large green woodpecker,
Picus viridis, 202, 232, 233.
;

;

;

313

Procellaria pelagica,
203, 253.
KspOioe, creeper, Certhia familiaris,
247.
KtpKiQ. Populus tremula, osier, 205.
KfiTTpaloi, mullets as a class, 109,
159.
Mugil. In theKsffrpkvg, mullet.
lake Silpba, .37, 44, 92
it sleeps,
birth,
108;
98; capture, 87;
enumeration of species, 109, 153,
157 ; enters rivers to spawn, 156,
'K.i<ppoe, petrel,;

159; food, 199, 228; habits,
200; near the shore, 211 associates with the labrax, 235; theswiftest of fishes, 256 ; in season
in the autumn, ib.
SpraU'aKf^aXoc, grey mullet.
Lycia, Mugil cephalus, 109, 153;;

reproduction, 159 food, 199 ; injured by cold, 218.
;K^/3oc, monkey, Simla mora or
diona, Struck, 32.
S. Cynologus.
Kjjptc, KvpiQ, or KippcQ, a sea-fish,
228.
KfipvXoQ, a sea-bird, mentioned with
the Halcyon, 203.
Tringa variabilis.

KrjpvK, whelk, Buccinum, its mecon,
80, 81, 82, 85 ; appears in theearly spring, 110; nidulary capsules, 115, 116; the small whelk,
118; hides itself, 213.
Kijrog, whale, as a class, 10, 39
whales, 69 ; other whales, 152.
KriTiiSr), Cetacea, 7, 13, 104, 196;
turn on their back to seize theirprey, 200.
Kri(pr]v, drone, 260.
KtyKXoc, probably Tringa Cinclus,
Dunlin, 244.
Linn.
Cinclusaquations.

KiOapog, a kind of turbot, Trigla
lyra, 44.
KivvdtKofiov, a spice, cinnamon, 245.
Kivvdfiionov bpveov, cinnamon bird,245; Herodotus, Book 3, c. 111.
Ktpicoc, perhaps Falco nisus, Liddell
and Scott, 232, 253. Filco pygargUfl,;

3U

INDEX.

Ktirab;, Ivy.
Hedera Helix, 130.
KiTTa or Ktffffa, Jay, Corvus glandarius, captured by the Jigolius and
EleuB, 201 ; changes its note, 245 ;Schneider. Lanius garrula or excubitor, 248.

KoXotof, Pelecanus graculus, lour
species, 248.

its nest, ib.

Kix^Vt Thrush, Turdus labrus andT. merula, nest, 138; hides, 215 ;Cucumia

cucumber,

KoXoKij'j/rjj,

Sativus, 124, 208.
KoXn^ujStv, a sea-bird, diver, Colym-

changes its colour in winter, 276',

bis, 3, 203.
Kovtv, knits, 134.
Kovijio, plant. Inula Conyza, or

three kinds, 244.
KixX»j, a sea-fish, 37; near the land,
211; in pairs, 213; changes its
colour, 228.
KXrjpog, also called wvpavarriQ, an
insect injurious to beehives, Galeria cerella and G. mellonella,I.

puliearia, flea bane, 93.

Kopaicwf,

probably

theCornishChough Fyrrocorax Graculus, 248.
KopaKtvof,

sturgeon, Accipenser
Strack, Sparus Chromis,
109, 159, 160,213, 218,228, 234.
TSiopaKoiiSCiV yu'Of, the crow tribe,
huso,226, 266.
KviSt}, sea-nettle, probably an actinia, 118, 255.

5.

KvtTToXdyoc, a species of woodpecker,
Picus varius, or minor,
202.
KvJ;// or ffKviTf/f an insect, Formica
flava, Strack, finds honey by thesense of smell, 93
eaten by the
woodpecker, 9.3, 202, 242.
'K6yxti, a bivalve shell, Mya pictorum, 82
several species, ib. ; akind of crustacean is found inthem, 85; origin, 117, 118;

Kopa^,

large smooth shell in rivers, 243.
KoyiciiXtov, a small bivalve shell,

tunny fish, 160.
KopSiXog, water-newt, Triton aqua-;;raven and rook, Corvus
Corax and frugilegus, 40, 45, 64
eggs, incubation, young, 146;
Egyptian raven, 226 hostUe to
the hawk, 232 pecks the ass andfriend of the fox, 233
bull, ib.
frequent in towns, 248 nest and
;

;

;

;

habits, 250.

K6pa$,

a water-bird, Pelecanus
Carbo, Strack, 203.
'K.opSvXri or aKOpSiXri, the young

ticus, 3, 9, 197.

198, 199.

Kotroc or KOTTCQ, a fresh-water fish.
Trout, Salmo Fario, Strack, 92.
KoccaXioi', Helix, land snail, 81.
KoicicwS, cuckoo, Cuculus Canorus,
93, 138; habits, form, and eggs,
146 ; eatable, 147 ; lays in thenests of other birds, 249 ; changes
its note when about to migrate,
276.
"KoKibq, also tXtof, and Ki\toQ,
woodpecker, 233.
KoX/ac, a kind of tunny, Scomber
colias, in the Propontis,
211
when taken, 212; gregarious, 234.
"KoXibz, Corvus monedula or Picus
viridis,36 ; in p. 242 coloeus
should probably be colius.
"ELoWvprnv, Ampelis garrula, L.
;

Siren Proteus.

Kopie,cimex,bug, C.lectularius,134.
KopvSaXbf:, lark, Alauda arvensis
cristata, 277.

KopvSbs,arborea,lark, Alauda cristata,A.

arvensis,A.
(though

Schneider thinks this identification
doubtful), its nest, 146, 249;
hybernates, 215; hostile to thepoecilis, 232 ; is said to eat theeggs of the eagle, 233 ; friendly
to the schcenilus, 234 ; perches on

the ground, 242, 245 ; two kinds,
249.
feeds
Kopuivj;, Corvus corone, 45
its young after they are fledged,
146 incubation, 147 lives near
the sea, 203; Egyptian, 226; foeto the owl, presbys, and typacua,
;

;

;

;

;;

IITDEX.
232 friend of the heron, 234
always to he seen, 248.
KoTivoQ, the wild olive tree, Eleagiius angustifolia, used as food forsheep (accidentally omitted in the;translation), 208.

Cottus Gobio,

92.

Korrv^og, blackbird, Tardus merula, Struck, but apparently notalways, Turdus merula, and T.
saxatilis, hybernate, 215 changes;

228

colour,

245

nest,

and

black

kinds,;;-white,two
247changes its plumage and voice inthe winter, 276.
ILoTTvipog, a sea-bird, 110, 214.

LabrusK6rri;^oc, a fish, 228.
Merula.
snail,
Helix,
several
Ko;^Xiac,
land-snails, 83
kinds, 73, 81•when full of ova, 110; die -whenthe shell is taken ofF, 136
form
an operculum when they hybernate, 213; eaten by swine andpartridges, 255.
Kox^oc, Fresh-water univalve shells,
Limnaea, Planorbis, 81 83, 84, 86.
;

;

;

,

Kpayywv, prawn, Cancer digitalis(Squilla mantis), Struck, Penaeus
sulcatus, 77.

cabbagecolewort,
orBrassiea, 124, 126.
KpaftfSig, caterpillars of the cabbage

Kpafifiri,butterfly, Papilio Danais Brassicae,

125.

KpaoTtg, green fodder

for horses,;

K-poruiv, Eicinus, tick, or dog-louse,

Hippobosca ovina, 135;

KpiK, Trigna pugnax, hostile to theceleus, 233
its habits, 247.
KpiOv, barley, 206.
;

Ovis

arias,

AcarusKrtlg, Pecten, 82, 84, A large kind,which has one valve flat, Pecten
maximus, 84, 94, 95 origin, 117
small crustaceans in them, ib. ;hybernate, 213 ; redpectens, 220 ;;leap, 256.
Kvafioi, beans, Vicia faba, 72, 206.
Kvavog, Turdus Cyaneus,
blue
thrush, 248.
Ktryxpa/iiog or Kv^pctf^og, Corncrake, Rallus Crex, Strack, probably a species of ortolan, Liddell
and Scott. Leads the flight of thequails, 210.
KiiKvog, swan, Cycnus olor, 4, 45 ;^food,
203; gregarious, 211 ;fights with the eagle, 233 ; habits,

244

ram, breeding

season, 114, 161, 199.
KpoKodfiXog, the Land;

when dying they go towards

the sea, ib.
KvXXapog oraKvWapog, hermit

crab, Pagurus, 85.

KvfiivSig, the Ionic nan^e of the
XaXKig, Stryx Nisoria, 244, 251.
KvvaKavOr], perhaps the dog-rose,
worms in it, 126. Rosa canina.
}LvvoKe(pa\og,
dog-headed
ape,
Simla Cynocephalus, 32. S. Porcaria.

Kvvofipa'iaTijg, dog-ticks, Ricinus
canis, 135.
Kvirplvog, carp, Cyprinus Carpio,

38

207.

Kpibg,

Crocodilus Niloticus, >>14; in Egypt, 33, 59; reprodui,
tion, 137
hybernates, 72.
dile.

ricinus, 125.

KoTTog, see koItoq.

its

315

;

tion

inhabits rivers, 91 ; producand growth of young, 156,

156 ; star-struck, 219.
KvTiaog, a shrub, Cytisus, Medicago
arborea, 71.
Ki^^j), a kind of shrimp

crocodile,

Lacerta stellio, Monitor terrestris,
25, 34 ; both kinds mentioned, 43,
46; reproduction, 137; brought
up in Egypt, 231 ; Herodotus,

Book 4, c. 192.
K-poKoSuXcg, the Egyptian croco-or pravni,
77. Palaemon Squilla or Crangon
vulgaris, also Pagurus.

Kvif^tWog, a kind of swallow, martin }Hirundourbica,

makes

its

nest of mud in rocks and caverns,
250.

Kviov,

dog,

Canis

familiaris,

Accidentally omitted in a liBt of birds in the translation.

6,

;

316

;

IKDEX.

26, 27, 29, 30, 31, 32, 42, 58
large dog of Epirus, 71
dreams,97 ; reproduction, barking, &c.,
103, 107, 112, 113, 114, 161,
163 Laconian dogs, their habits,

Aa/iia, a species of shark, Squaloa
centrina, or carachias, 104, 255.
AainrvpiQ or KvyoXafnriQ, glow-

166, 167 ; when dogs eat grass,
204, 238; diseases, 222; Egyptian dogs, 226
Cyrenian dogs,
half-bred, with wolves, Laconian

Aupog,;;;

with foxes, Indian with tigers,
227 ; the Molossian shepherd dog,
230 ; intestinal worms in dogs,
238.
Kiiwv, a cartilaginous fish, Squalus
carcharias, Struck, S. galeus, 104,
151.

worm,

Lampyrisnotiluca,see

TIvyoXafiniQ.
gull or cormorant, Larus
canus and marinus, Sterna, 45
colour, 203 ; a white kind, ib. ;hostile to the brenthus and harpa,

232.

Adra^, beaver, Castor fiber, 3, 205.

Adxava, potherbs, 217.
AtiojjaToQ, skate, Eaia Batis, 40,
151.
Anrag, limpet. Patella, 82, 84, 85,

86, 117.
Kw/3iof, gudgeon, Gobio, 44 ova, Ac^iSioToi, scaly fishes, see irXwrot.
153, 155 poor ones cast onshore, AtvKtpwSicc, white heron, Platalea
leucerodia, 203.
157 ; food, 200 ; live near the
probably
the unopened
land, 211 ; fatten in rivers, 218 ; AfiiKjj,
gregarious, 197
flower-bud of the grape,orPopulu8
in winter does
121.
Pyrrhic
not leave theEuripus, 256.
alba,
KioXtoTTjs, an animal inhabiting the AtvKcg, Ardea argentata, 233.
stables of the ass, a lizard accord- Ai<i>v, Lion, Felis Leo, 6, 24, 25,
ing to some, Scaliger thinks a26, 28 ; lioness, 29, 30, 32, 42,
beetle, 232, Mub minutus.
59, 61, 69; reproduction, 102,
161, 176; existing in one district
Kwvw\p, a species of gnat, smaller
than the empis, Conops calciof Europe, 226; Syrian Lions,trans, Struck, Culex pipiens or
176 ; mane and teeth, ib. ; food,springs
205 habits, 271, 272 two kinds
C. calcitrans, 89, 94 ;described, 272.
from a worm in vinegar, Mosillus
Ai^avtoTie, Rosmarinus officinalis,cellarius, 126.
Eosemary, 183.
Aj/3i/oc, a bird, enemy of the woodpecker, 232.
Aiyvts, Lygians who are said tohave seven ribs, 16.
AajSpal, perhaps Perca Labrax,
sleeps, 98
repro- AifivoaTpta, oysters, Ostrea edulis,
Basse, 8, 92
duction, 108, 109, 153, 159 food,82, 117 ; small crustaceans in
;

;

;

;

;

;

;

;

199, 200

218
228

;

;

has a stone in its head,

unfit to eat when in spawn,

at times
cestreus, 244.
;

associatedwiththem, ib.

AocaXof a species of heron, Ciconia,

dubia, 45.

Aofovpa, animals with hairy tails,
horse, ass, &c., 11, 16, 19, 30.
Aaywos;, hare, Lepus timidus, theEgyptian, 226.
AiiyS, Lynx, Felis Lynx, 28, 29,
AuiSoQ, the name of a bird living
102.
Jackdaw orin rocks and mountains, perhaps AvKiog, a kind of
it should be Xatoc, 234.
chough, Corvus monedula, C.
pyrrocorax, 248.
Ani«c, a species of thrush, Turdus
torquatus, 234, 247.
AvKog, wolf, Canis lupus, 6, 29,;

INDEX.
reproduction, 103, 161, 177; eats
grass and earth, 204 ; Egyptian,
226 attacks the ass, bull, and fox,
232 near the lake Maeotis, 254.
AvKCg, a kind of spider, Aranea tarantula, Struck, 259.
Airpa, a fish, Trigla Lyra, 95.
;

;

317
are called nymreproduction, 127;

sleep, 98 ; larva

phae,

124;

drones, chiefs, also called mothers
and kings, 28 three kinds of bees,
ib.
life,
white bees in
130plants, and other kinds, ib.
food,hybernate, 213change208
their skins, 216; diseases, 225;
industry, 258
habits, 260.
MefijSpas, an inferior kind of anchovy, Clupea sardina, 158.
Mt'pojp, bee-eater, Merops Apiaster,
;

;

;

;

;

;

;

Mala, a crustacean, Maia Squinado,
77,

81,217.

MaiviQ, sprat or sardine, Sparus
moena, (xaiviSia, 157, 158, 159
when the males are called tragi,

228 ; gregarious, 234.
MoXa/cta, the class of cephalopod
moUusks, one species which occupies a shell is probably Caraarina
mediterranea, Spratt's Lycia, 8,
10, 19, 73,87; reproduction, 105,

110, 121, 154; why they imbibe
water,
196; carnivorous, 198,
199 ; best for food when they
have ova, 228,

perhaps
MaXajcoKpai'tuf,pyrrhula, Schneider, 248.

Loxia

im-

77 ; reproduction, 106, 120bibe water, 196 omnivorous, 198;
best for food when they have ova,
228.
Mfifo/vnC' a sea-fish, 159, 218.
]VIaprt;^6pa, a fabulous animal, 30.
M«Xa-y(c6pj;0oc, probably blackcap,;;

Parus ater, or Muscicurpa atricafood, eggs, nest andpilla, 202
tongue, 246 ; in the autumn called;

Sycalis, 276.
"iAfXava'uTOQ, called also lagophonos, an eagle, Aquila melauaetus,
Falco fulvus, 251.
MeXavofjOOf, a sea-fish, Sparus melanurus, 199.
iMeXfaypic, Guinea fowl, Meleagris
Numidica, 139,
M«XtX(D7-oe, plant, Melilotus officinalis, 266.
MtXirra, bee, Apismellifica, 3, 5, 7,
9,64,

88, 89, 93,

MiXrog, vermilion, 139.
MiTvg, a substance used by bees tocover crevices in their hives, 261.
Mopfitfpog, a sea-fish, Sparus mormyrus, 159.

Mop^voQ, another name of the plan-

MaXaKoarpaKa, crustaceans, 10, 73,

8,L. or Congener, L. 138, 245, 265.
a plant, medick grass,
Medicago sativa, 71, 207, 268.
MrjKuiv, a gregarious fish, 234.
MijKcov, plant, poppy, 268.
Mt]Xo\6vGr), cockchafer, Melolonthus aurata, 9, 88, 89, 125.
Mripvl, a fish like the Scarus, said
to ruminate, Scarus Cretensis, 279.

Mjj^iicj),

95; theygus, Falco nsevius, 251.

shrew

MvyoXij,

mouse,

Sorex

araneus, 223.

MvTa, house fly, Musca domestica,
reproduction, 106,
9, 83, 89;
omnivorous, 208.
108, 126
Mtr^wv, a sea fish, perhaps somekind of mullet, 109, 159.
MvoOiipai 8(peig, serpents that hunt
mice, attacked by the weasel, 238.
sea-laniprey,"Kvpaiva,
Muraenahelena, Strack, 8, 37, 40, 61;
reproduction, 103, 109;food,
199 near the shore, 211 ; hybernates, 213 ; seizes the conger by;;

the tail, 235.
Mvpivos or Maplvog,
218.

a sea-fish,

Mvpfiri^, ant, Formica, 4; winged
and wingless, 73, 93, 108 ; reproduction, 131 ; industry, 258, 260.
Mvppivri, myrtle^ Myrtus communia^
266, 268.

318

I^'DEx:.

Mtf, mouse, Musinusculus.

The

Egyptian kind is probably Hierax,
those said to walk on two feet are
The Pontic kind
the Jerboa.
said to ruminate.
Schneider, 5, 50 ;Mus Citillus,

Ai<piac, sword-fish, Xiphias gladius,38, 40, 219.

SuXo^Odpoj, insects in wood, Phryganea, Tinea graminella, 136.

reproduction,
andPersian, Egyptian,many other kinds, ib. ; manner ofwhite mice in 'OloXtf, a cephalopod mollusk, thedrinking, 205
same as bolitaena, 76.
Pontus, 216; Arabian mice, 226;
Lybian, ib.
the Pontic mouse OivdpOt], the flower of the vine, 121.
OivdvOrj, probably the name of someis said to ruminate, '27S.
dark-coloured bird, 276.
yivQ, a bivalve mollusk, perhaps Mitylus, 82.
Oivac, a wild pigeon, Columba migratoria. Struck,Mt^ffriicjjroc, a whale, Balaena mysC. oenas, 111,
Balaenopterus musticetus, 64.
138, 2U3.
culus or Boops.
'Otc, sheep, Ovis aries, 72 ; different
kinds, 208.
VLvioi^/, horse-fly or gad-fly, Tabanu8 Caecutiens. T. pluvialis, 9, 83, Olarpos, gad fly, Tabanus corvinus,
origin, 125 ; a blood
3, 9, 83, 89
89; origin, 126; death, 127;
sucker, 208 ; the marine species
sucks blood, 208.
probably refers to certain parasites
on fish, Lernaea brachialis, Phalangium balsenarum, 135, 208,
212,219.
"S&pKTi, torpedo, Raia Torpedo, 37,
40, 104 reproduction and young, OIiTrpoc, a bird, perhaps Motacillasibilatrix, or Trochilus, 202.
109, 150, 151 ; habits, 275.
NawrtXof, cephalopod, the species '0\o9ovptov, probably
an algaSpongodium, Spratt's Lyeia, Hoadhering to its shell is probably
lothuria or Salpa, 4.
the Nautilus Pompilius, anotherspecies Argonauta Argo, Owen in "Oi-oe, ass, Equus Asinus, 27, 31^«
Ct/clopeedia of Anatomy, 76, 258.
not infested with lice
39, 68, 70
or ticks, 135; reproduction, 113,
NtjSpt'at yoXeot, dog-fish, Squalus
foodand drink, 207;
163, 171;
catulus, 149.
diseases, 224a foe to the ^giN£/3p6c, fawn, 71.
thus, 232 ; eats thorns, 233.
Nt/3po0oj/oc, aname of the pygargus,'OvoQ 6 dypioQ, the wild ass, 178
251.
in Epirus, 71; the Indian ass, per'SiKvSaXoc, the larva of the silkhaps Rhinoceros, 28.
worm, Bombyx, 124.
N»jpir»je, difi'erent littoral trochi, 'Ovof, fish, perhaps Raia squatina,
Struck, Gadus mustela, 214, 255.
Trochus, Nerita, Haliotis, 85,'Ovog, woodlouse, Oniscus asellus,
86, 94, 117, 118.
135.
Nqrra, duck, Anas Boschas, 45,'Opttvbg, a species of titmouse,
203.
Parus Ater, 202.
"Stjrrofopog or Mop^vof, 251; a'OpfiTTiXapyoc, Grypaetus Barbatus,name of the plangus.
Struck, 251.
'Siaaatoi 'iiriroi, Nisaean horses, 278.
SvKTtplg, bat, Vespertilio, 4, 9, 60. 'Ooivg, mule, 5, 11, 27, 31, 39,
females and reproduction, 163,
Ardea
Nycticorax,
HvK-TiicopaK,
Murabu, 45, 201, 210, 262.
172, 173; food and drink, 207.

178

;

;

;

;

N

;

;

;

;

;;

INDEX.
'Optyavof, plant, Origanum, 238.
'OpKvs, a large kind of tunny,

Scomber ala longa, 109.
'Opvig, domestic fowl, see dXtKropig
and aXeKrpvujv.
'Opol3og, tares, Orobus, Ervum ervilia, 71, 191.
'OpoffTTi^oc, mountain finch, Fringilla montifringilla, Struck, 202.
'OpaoSdKVTj, an insect that eats thebuds of plants, Chrysomela olera-

3ia

dytes tobianus, Struck, 38, 255
there are many kinds. Their hissing, 96; the female larger, 100;
reproduction, 103, 137 ; change
their skin, 121, 216; omnivorous,

204; hybernate, 213; a largekind in Lybia, Boa constrictor,
226
the blind serpent, Anguia;

fragilis, 223.
'O^piog, Labrus Anthia, 109.

cea, 126.

'Opri/yo/i 17 rpa, perhaps

Land rail,

Eallus Crex, 210.
'Oprt;?, quail, CoturnixVulgaris, 40,
migration,
45 nest, 146, 240
210 does not perch on trees, 242.
'Opw$, Nilghau, Antilope picta, orAntilope Oryx, 27.
'Op^^i", a sea fish, perhaps Scorpsena
porcus, Spratfs Lycia, 109, 199,
211, 214.
'OpxtXoe, a bird, Charadrius minor,
232.
;

;

;

'OarpaKoSepiJia, testaceous moUusca,
8, 10, 13, 73, 81 ; reproduction,
110,

115,

117;

compared withhybernate, 213 bestfor food when they have ova, 228.

plants,195;;'OoTptov, oyster, 3, 10, 117; difl'erent kinds, 73 ; origin, 117 havean anus, 198; to. oarptuSt], tes;

tacea, 228.

'Offrpetov, the shell used by painters,

118.

'Ovpa^, Otis houbara, 139.
Ot'c OaKUTTiov, sea ear, perhaps
Haliotis, 84.
'O^i^tov, a small serpent, found in
the plant silphium, 227
a small
serpent. Coluber ammodytes, or C.
JEsculapii, Struck, ib.
an Indian;;serpent, whose bite is fatal, ib.
'0<piq, serpent, 5 ; winged serpent inEthiopia, perhaps Draco volans,
9 ; a horned serpent in Egypt,
Coluber cerastes, 28; water-serpents. Coluber natrix, 10, 35, 38,
43, 44, 46, 49, 60 ; marine serpents, Mursena ophis, or Ammo-

ndyovpog,probably the commoa
hermit-crab, Pagurus Bernhardi,

77.
TlavOi)p,panther, Felis Panthera,
177.
TlapSilXia, 34 ; perhaps the spots on
the Leopard's skin : an unknown

animal, L, und S. Lex.
napSaXiayxtg, a plant poisonous totheLeopard,perhapsaconite,Doronicum pardalianches, or aconitura Napellus, 238.

ndpSaXig, Leopard, Felis Leopardus, 5, 27, 29, 30
Asiatic, 226
the female more bold than themale, 230 ; hunts by scent, 238.
TldpSaXog, a bird, perhaps Sturnus
Vulgaris, Starling. Tringa Squa;

ratola. Struck, 248.
UdpSiov, see iinrdpSiOv, Girafi'e.
TliXnpydg, stork, Ardea Ciconia,

203, 215 ; when wounded applies
origanum to its wounds, 238
said to be fed by its young, 245.

UiXtiag, a kind of dove, distinct
from TTtptirrtpa, 111; migratory,
210.
TleXiKuv, Pelecan, Pelecanus onocrotalus, migrates from the Strymon, 209 gregarious, 210 ; eatsshell-fish, 243.
TliXXcg, black heron, Ardea cinerea,
233, 247.
nipSi^, partridge, Perdix cinerea,
;

and

rufa,

TetraoPerdixandGraecus, 5, 45, 47, 96 ; reproduction, 106, 139, 140, 141,148;

;

320

INDEX.

nest, incubation, habits, 138, 240,

nXayyof, a species of eagle, Aquila

242; life, 145. 240; eatssnails, 255
dusts itself, 277.
Ttiptarepa, House-dove, Coluinba, 4,differs from irtXtidg,
5, 39, 45
111; reproduction, tb., 138, 139,

albicilla, 251.
UXofiog or <p\6nog, mullein, Verbas-

140, 141, 144, 145; food, 202; notmigratory, 210 habits, 239, 240
those used for lures are blinded,
240 ; wash and dust themselves,277.
tlepiarouSi]. the class of pigeon-likebirds, 111, 144, 202.
nipKT], perch, Perca fluviatilis, 38,
44, 155, 214.
UtpKvoTTTtpoQ, dusky eagle, Vultur
percnopterus or Gypaietos barbatus, or Falco barbatus, 251.
TlipKog, grey havyk, Falco subbuteo,
253.
nipvrig or irripvlg, a kind of hawk.
TlivKT), pine tree, 126.
Ufjyavov, rue, Euta graveolens, 238.
IlijAa^tc, a tunny fish of a year old,
Scomber Thynnus, 4 reproducwhere found, 109 ; thetion, 108
tunny a year older than the pelamys, 157, 160; migrate to the
Pontus, 211 ; gregarious, 235.
kind of duck, Anas
rirjvtXo;//, aPenelope, 203.
larva,
species ofn>?viov, somePhalsense geometrse, 124.
TJiOtiKotidij, the ape tribe, 26.
Tli9T)Kog, ape, Simla Sylvanus, 32.
UiKpig, a bitter herb, endive, Chicorium intybus, or Helminthia
Ecliionella, 238.
Hivva, the genus Pinna, 82, 117,
118, 195.

also of birds, 35.
marine animal of loworganization, 118.
rioa MriSiKr/ and 2vpia, Medicago
sativa, and lupulina, 268.
noiKiXig, perhaps Fringilla Cardueliflor (Enanthe, 232.
tloXinrovg, Octopus, Spratt's Lycia^
Sepia octopodia, a small variegatedkind, has not been determined,

241,

;

;

;

;

;

cum thapsus, fatal to fish, 220.
nXwrct, certain fish, as the cestreus
and labrax, 153, 256,228, 273;
Tlvivfiuiv, aOwen, 9, 73, 74, 76 ; several
kinds, 73, 258; reproduction, 105,110. 121; destroys the lobster,
198 ;

is

ib.

food,

;

destroyed by the conger,

199 ;when goodforfood, 228; ink, 75, 257; changes
its colour, ih. ;grows lean, ib, ;goes upon shore, 258.
Xlop(pvpa, Murex trunculus, Spratt's£i/cia,and probably some other81, 83, 85, 86, 89, 94;
time of appearance, 110, 115, 116,
117; several kinds, 116, 117; said
to obtain the purple from Algae,
155 ; carnivorous, 200 ; hybernates, 213, 220, 256.
Ttop<bvpiMV, a bird with a long neck,
Fulica porphyrion, S track, 46,
206.
Upaaiov, a species of alga, perhaps
Caulerpa prolifera, Spratt's Lycia,
shells,199.

living in shells and sponges, Pinnotheres veteruni, 117.

XlonfOKovpig, a grub which destroys
leeks, Clerus apiarius, 126.
Xlpta^vg, the same as Trochilufl,
wren, 232, 244.
Uprj/idStg, a kind of tunny, 214.
llpicTTig, perhaps the saw-fish, Squ»«

irinw, woodpecker,
Picus viridis, major, minor, 202,
232, 248.
HiaaoKripog, bees' wax, 261.
Hi^tj^ or ni<piy^, Alauda trivialis,234.

np6j3arov, sheep, Ovis aries, 27,29 ;black lambs, 64, 66, 67 in Epirus,
71, 72; voice of the ram, 96;
dreams, 97; reproduction, 112,
113, 163, 164. 165: sheep-ticka,

or vivvoTJjprjg, andcrustaceans
irtvvoipvXaK, small

Tlivvo6ript)Q

tliirog, Triirpa,

lus pristis, Strack,

1 52.

;

;

;

INDEX.
134; food, 208; acorns injurious
sheep,
222 ; diseases, 223
Syrian sheep, 225 Egyptian, 226;
habits, 235
hostile to bees, 261
to

;

;

ruminate, 279.
roe deer, Cervus

ripo?,

321^avSapuKt), red sulphuret of arsenic,
223; bee bread, 264.
or (rarvptov,
a plant, probably an orchid, Sa-'SaTTfipiov, aaTTt'jpiov,

tyrian, 205.

Capriolus,

39, 58, 67.
IlTfXea, elm, TJlmus campestris, 206.
llTtpvic, a species of hawk, 253.
Tlrryl, or irwiJK, a water-bird, 244.
Tli'yapyog, a kind of eagle, perhaps
Circus Cyaneus, hen harrier, 146,
250 ; also a water-bird, perhaps
Tringa Ocrophus, L. Schneider,
203, 244.
nvyoXafiTTtg, glow-worm, Lampyris
noctiluca, 73, 125.
XlvpaXiQ, a bird, enemy of the turtle
dove, 232.
XlvpavarijQ, a moth, Tinea mellonella, Struck, 225.
TlvppovXag, a red bird, Loxia pyrrula, or enucleator, 202.
TliiH, a bird living in marshes,
Ardea purpurea, 247.

"EainpSiq, a fresh-water fish, perhaps Accipenser hugo, 229.
^apylvog, the sardine, migratory,
Tetragonus niger, 231.
Sdpyof, Sparus sargus. Struck, asea-fish, 108, 109, 159,200.

^arvpiov, Sorex moschatus, 205.
2aw()a, Lizard, generic name, 5, 8,
25, 34, 35, 36, 39, 43, 44
reproduction, 103, 137; life, 204;
hybernates,
213 ;changeofskin, 216; Arabian lizards, 225,;

252.
^aiipoQ, Salmo Saurus, marine, 234.

a kind of wild bee or wasp,
Megachile muraria, 260.
XiXdxVi the class of cartilaginous
fishes, 7, 8, 14, 37, 38, 59, 60, 66
description of the class, 46, 48
kinds, 99, 104 ; reprosleep, 98
duction, 103, 149, 160; carnivorous, 199 ; marine, 211
hybernate, 214 ; male and female, 257.
'Sidpfjv,;;'PacpdvoQ, cabbage or radish, 124.

248.
a species of shark, Squalus
Squatina, Struck, 49 ; reproduction, 103, 108, 109, 150, 151;
mode of taking its prey, 255;
changes its colour, 257.
Pti/o^ari/c. Raia rhinobatus, a cartilaginous fish, 151.
'Pjjrtvij, resin,'Pii'»j,'PvaSie, fish that swim in shoals, 93,
109, 159, 211, 212.

SfXaKOfiSeiQ, cartilaginous fishes, 44,
95, 104, 214.
an umbelliferous planf,5«(TtX«f,
Seseli tortuosum, 236.
SijTria,

Sepia

ofiScinalis,

Sprutfs

Lycia, cuttle-fish, 7, 9, 10, 73, 74,
75, 80, 83, 93 ; reproduction, 105,
110, 120, 123, 125, 154; food.
199 ; the male protects the femaJwhen wounded, 231 ; emission *the ink, 257 ; said to change it8
colour, ib.
2i7c,

various

kinds

of

moths

in

clothes, in beehives, in books, 135.

SaOtpiov, a kind of otter or beaver,
Lutra Luteola, Struck, 205.
iaXafiai'^pa, salamander, Lacerta
Salamandra, 126.
Sa'XTTj;, the genus Scomber, Struck^
Sparus Salpa, 92 reproduction,
food, 201
lives
108, 109, 159
in bays of the sea, 211 ; is not car;;nivorous, 2/iti.

;'Si'iK^t],a kind of long gourd, 246.
or cucumber, Cucur-

2iici/og, gourd

bita lagenaria, 206.
2i\^>],

a stinking insect, Blatta
or Lepisma, Struck,orientalis,216.
2i\0ioi/, a plant, perhaps Assnfniiid^

Laserpitium,or Thapsus SilpL'um,
227.

322

INDEX.

^voSuv, or avvoSojv, a carnivorous
fish,

or

^fiapig, apoor
sea-fish,
Sparu*
smaris, 228.
^fivKou, see fiv^utv.
2fivpaiva, see
fivpaiva.
Sfivpog, see fivpoQ.
Sn-apoc, a sea-fish, Sparus Maina,
Strack, 44.
^TrdpTov, a shrub, broom, Genista,
Stipa tenacissima, 266.
^Trarayog, Spatangus, sea-egg, 86.
S:riKa, finch, Fringilla, 35; eats

Tetraodon hispidus, or raola,
Sparus dentex, Struck, T.

lineatus, 199, 200, 211, 234.
2trrij, a kind of woodpecker, or per-haps Sitta Europoea, creeper, 233,
247.
2irraic;j or <//irraici;, parrot,

Psitta-cus erithacus.
Seapoc, a sea-fish, supposed by theancients to ruminate, Scarus oretius, Spratt's Lycia, S. cretensis,
Struck, 37 ; has not sharp teeth,!

worms, 202 ; habitation, 240.
Sn-t^tae, sparrow-hawk, Falco Nisus,
201, 253.

38, 44 ; food, 199 ; appears torunate, 200, 256, 278.
Sxiaiva, a sea-fish, Sciaena nigra.

Swi^tT-jjc,

a kind of titmouse, Pa-ater or major, 202.

rtis

Sn-oyyof, sponge, Spongia officina
lis, 3; growth, 118; three kinds,lb.
very like a plant, 195 ; poresin sponges, 246.
irrovdvXt] or ff(povSvXrj, probably akind of beetle, living in the rootsof plants, Carabus, 107, 223, 252.

Struck, S. cirrhosa, 218.
SictWjj, ScUla maritiraa, 133.

;

perhaps the woodcock,
Scolopax rusticola, 242.
"SiKoXo-KivSpa, Scolopendra morsitans. Centipede, 8
the marine
kinds Nereis or Aphrodite, A. aculiKoKoiraK,;

2r«0u\ivoc,

an insect like theSphondyle, Staphvlinus murinus,
223.
thetunny, niackirel.
Scomber 2rp6^/3oc, Turbinated shells, Helix,
Turbo, &c., 13, 85, 86, 118.
sarda, 109, 160, 210, 212, 2-35.
^KopSvXt) or KOfiSvXT], the young 2rpo/i/3(i>2>;, univalve moUusks, 85,
86 ; on land and marine, 84 ; havetunny, 160.
an operculum, 117.
SKopTTtof, Scorpio Europseus, 89,^rpovOdc, sparrow, Fringilla domes131, 135, 227.
tica, 40, 45, 64, 102 ; eats worms,
SKOpTTiof, a sea-fish, Cottus Scorpius. Struck, 44, 108, 211.
202; the hens are said to live
longer, 240 ; compared with the
2icop7rtf,a sea-fish, Scorpsena porcus,
Halcyon, 246 washes and dusts
109.
itself,277; in Lybia, ostrich,
2icop7ri«S^tC,
a small creature in
Struthiocamelus,
246.
books, Phalangium
Cancroides,
SrpovOog, a fiat fish, Pleuronectes
89, 135.
passer, 40.
2Kw\tov, dog-fish, Squalus Stellaris,
2ri5paS, the gum storax, Storax
S. canicula, 149, 151.
officinalis, 93.
Sfw'XXapoc or cvWapof, a kind of^vKuXlg, fig-pecker, Italian beccahermit-crab, 85.
melancoryphus in its
fico, the2,K(i}\t)Kiov, a worm that eats wood,summer plumage, Motacilla Atriintestinal worm in
1 36 ; a small
capilla,or Parus ater, Struck,fish,
159 ; an insect in honeySylvia fidecula, 202, 276.
combs, 266,
^VKanivov, the fruit of the mulberry
2ica»\>j?, worm, especially the earthtree, 221.
worm, 8, 123.
Skwi/*, the screech-owl, Strix Scops, 'SvKa, figs, used for feeding swine^
leata, 38, 88, 255.

2ieo/n/3ptac> ffKOfifSpcg, fish allied to

;

|

I

|

|

Strix Otus, 201, 249.

206, 221.

;;IKDEX.

323

ZvKuv Kafi-nai, a caterpillar in £gs,

T«rpi5, a species of grouse, Tetrac
tetrix, or Otis tetrix. Struck, 138,
Symphytua
Hfi<j>vrov,
a plant,
139.
officinale, comfrey, or gypsophila TtTTiyofirjrpa, the edible larva ofarundinacea, 245.
the locust or grasshopper, 134.
Xvvaypic, a fish, Sparus dentex, 37, TeTTiyoviov, a small kind of grass40.
hopper, 90, 133.
Svpia voa, a plant loved by bees, TirriK, grasshopper. Cicada omi,
268.
90 several kinds, 95 ; origin, 123;
reproduction, 133
Cecropis Spu25c. swine, Sus scropha, no wildswine in Libya, 225 ; the domestic
marius, 134 ; changes its skin,pig eats snails, 255.
216 ; not found in Milesia andS^Qipat OaXdmai, a species of zooCephalenia, 225.
phyte, perhaps Alcyonia, 246.
TevGig, Loligo vulgaris, Owen, 9, 10,
vulgaris,
V. tec74, 75; reproduction, 105, 123;^n^, wasp, Vespa
torum, V, crabro, generic name, .3,
food, 177
its ink, 257,
larva,a
TtvOog,124;
kindLoligo media, 10, 74, 75,
88,
89;
4,
126.

;

;

;

ichneumon,
Ammophila
123 perhaps incorrectly in 234
as the name of a gregarious fish.
sabulosa, 127, 130; a diligent
Trjdva, Ascidian moUusks, Ascidia
insect, 258 ; the annual wasp, 260
hostile to bees, 265,phlusa. Struck, 82, 87, 94, 117 ;
267 ; twocalled;species, 268.

^^ipaiva,

gregarious sea-fish,
Esox sphyraena, 234.
SxoivtxXog or ffxoiviuv, a waterbird, Emberiza Schceniclus
L.
Schneider, 203, 234.
Xxotv/wv, Sylvia arundinacea, 234.
XwXi)v, Solen, Soleneuntus trigillatus, Spratt's Lycia, 82, 94, 117,
118, 195.

aa long thin fish, probably
Cepola taenia. Struck, 37.
laiviat nXartiai, flat entozoa, 238.
HaTTVvog, see TVfnravo<;.
Tavpog, bull, Bos taurus, 48, 67, 68,
168 ; horns, 100
fierce in thebreeding season, 161 ; bulls fightTati'ta,;

together, 163.
Taiif, peacock, Pavo cristatus, 6barren eggs, reproduction, 140,
148.

TivBprfSwv. a kind of bee or wasp,

Apisterrestris,

Struck,makes

honey, 260; reproduction, 271.
a caterpillar in bee-hives,

TtprjSiijv,

225.

fleshy nature of their body, 195.
Tiypig, Tiger, Felis tigris, the Indian dogs are said to be crossedwith the tiger, 227.
TiWiov, a fresh-water fish, Cyprinua
brama, 156, 220.
Ti<pat, grass or straw used as foodfor swine, Secale, 221.
TpdyoQ, the he-goat, voice, 96, 161,
175.
TpdyoQ, the male of the fish msenis,
Sparus Maina, Struck, 228.
TpiyXt}, Red mullet, Spratt's Lycia,
Mullus surculentus, Struck, 44,

108;

suflTers

from parasites, 135;

season of reproduction, 159; gregarious, ib., 234 ; can bury itself,

200;

lives near the land,

estuaries,

256 ;

ib. ;

211 ; innot carnivorous,

in season in theautumn,257.

TptopxriQ, Buzzard, Buteo vulgaris,
201, eats toads and serpents, 232 ;the first genus of the hawks, 253.
Tpixaq, Fieldfare or thrush, Turdua
tnchias. Struck, T. pilaris, 248.
Tpt;^iac or Tpix«c> a small kind offish, or spawn, Clupea Sprattus,
108, 158, 212.

a24

INDEX.

Tjox»Xof, Sylvia trochilus. Struck,
also called Presbys,

and Basileiis,

perhaps the wren, Sylvia troglodytes, S. regulus, 203, 233
alsoa bird living by the sea, charadrius Egyptiacus, 203 ; picks the;teeth of the crocodile, 238 ; hates
tlie eagle, 232.
rpi'yyac, perhaps Tringa ochropodes, Schneider, T. vanellus, 203,244.

dove, Columba
turtur, the smallest of the dove
tribe, 111; young and eggs, 1.38,
U5, 240; food, 202; migrates,
210; hybernates, 215 an enemy
to the pyrallis, but killed by thechloreus, 232; friendly with thecottyphus, 234 ; life, 240 ; habita-

Tpvyyojv, Turtle;

66

heats, 69 ;;voice, 96 ;sow, lawithout tusks, 100

reproduction,;
112, 114, 135, 162, 163;
domestic swine, 164
fiirdxotpa,
173 they dig up the runs of mice,eat roots, 206 ;1 78 ;
how fattened, ib. ; diseases, 221 ;
swine
107,

;

;

in

Mount Athos, 227

scorpions,ib.

;killed by
devour serpents,;

233 ; gelding of sows, 278.
"Yc aypiog, the wild boar, 5, 26,
161, 174.
"Yffrpi^, porcupine, Hystrix cristata,138; compared with the bear,
175; hybernates, 215; throws
out its quills, 260.

*nj3ori;7roc, a kind of

Tpvyifiv, a sea-fish, Raia pastinaca,

hawk, Falcc
palumbarius, 201.
^dypoc, a sea-fish, Sparus pagrus,

104, 149, 211; method oftaking its prey, 255.
Tpvyutv, some oviparous quadruped,^aXdyyiov, a kind of spider, Phalangium, Aranea Tarantula, 100,

tion, ib.; perhaps

PsopLila crepi-tans, or Ilallus crex, 277.

8,

103.

wren,
golden-crested
Motacilla Regulus, 202.
blind worm, Lacerta
Tv<p\iv>je,
Apus, Schneider, 154, 223.

Tvpavvog,"Yaiva,Hysena Striata, 176;

also

called yXdvoQ, 204.
'Y/Spif, a night bird of prey, 244.
"Ylpog, a water-serpent, Coluber

natrix, 3, 44.
"Y-raiiToc, a kind of eagle, also
written yvwaitroQ, 252.
"Yirepa, a kind of caterpillar, Geometra, 124.
'YTToXatc, hedge sparrow, Sylvia
hortensis or curruca,
147, 2u2,

249.
buzzard,253, see^iTTorpioxris,
rpiopxtjg.
Sus
scropha,swine,'Yr.
26 ; withsingle taof in Pceonia, 27, 29;boar, 31 ; 32 ; swine, 35, 42, 46,

211, 218.

107, 12], 123; reproduction, 132;
patient of hunger, 204 ; hostile tothe ichneumon, 232; several kinds
described, 258, 259.

4>d\ayK, a spider, 231.
^dXaiva, whale, Physeter Chacalotus, Strack, P. macrocephalus, 8,
69, 152; respiration, 196.
^a\ap\Q, coot, Fulica atra, 203.
4>aX»jpi(c») a^irjj,some kind of spawn,
158.
<taaiav6c, pheasant, Phasianus Colchicus, 134, 139, 277.
^aoaoifiovoQ, a hawk, probably thesame as <pa(ioTv\oc, 253.
^drra, a kind of pigeon, Columba
palumbus, 45, 47
the largestof the pigeon kind. 111; reproduction and eggs, 138, 144, 145,
147, 202; migrates, 210; sometimes
hybernates,
215; likes
drought, 217
mode of drinking,
240 habits, ib. ; does not coo in
winter, 276.
4>n\l/, a kind of dove, Columba livik,
;

;

;

;;

325

INDEX.
the male and female incubate by
nest, 249.
turns, 147, 202, 240*hvt}, perhaps the osprey, Vultur
theossifragus,
Buffon, nurses
young of the eagle, 146 ; its foodand shape, 201, 251.
i>9tip, louse, Pediculus capitis and;P. pubis, kSviq,

nit,

134
Lernea, 97,
120,

in birds, ib. ; in fish,
135 ; in the fish chalcis, 220.
^9tipa, a fish that follows the dol-phin, Centronotus, 135.
Xf(i>e, a waterspinosura, 266.

plant,

Poterium^oivoKoipoQ, redstart, Sylvia Pho»nicurus, 276 ; in winter calleo

on

its

back,

Lacerta chalcides.

223.

Xa\Kis, a bird, the same as KVfiivdiQ, Stryx flammea, Struck, 244.
XaXicie, a fish, perhaps Mugil auSprutt's
ratus,
Lycia,
Clupeapicta, 108, 155, 156, 256.

XaXKiVtf \iOoQ, lime stone, 126.
Xdvvr), or x^***?! a fish with a wide
mouth, Perca cabrilia, 99, 153;
food, 199; marine, 211.
XapaSpiog, lapwing
or curlew,
Charadrius oedicnemus, Schneider,
203, 243.
y'^-Soiv, swallow,

andproduction andepiOaKOQ.

o$ivoc, a river fish, Cyprinus phoxinus. Struck, 153, 155.

Hirundo urbica
40, 45, 64; renests, 111, 138,

rustica, 4,

eat animal food, 202 ;
145, 239
migration, 215
kill bees, 265.
;;

XeXidwv, flying fish, 95 ; Exocetus^pvvt}, toad, Bufo vulgaris, 39, 87
volitans.
eaten by the buzzard, 232 ; injuleguminous plants, 205.
bees,
265.
XsSpoTrts,
rious to^pvvoXoxoc, a kind of hawk, per- XdXuiv, or x^WtiJv, a fish like thecestreus, 109, 159, 199.
haps the buzzard, 253.
(fuKtov, fucus, sea- weed, 122, 125, XiXoivr], the river tortoise, Testudo
orbicularis and Europaea, 34, 39,
154, 199, 200, 255.
41, 42, 46, 65, 84, 87, 96 ; repro*i;Kte, a fish living on sea-weed,
food, 200
duction, 103, 104, 123; marine,
Gobius niger, 154
Chelonia cephalo, 196; lives onchanges its colour, and is the only
shell-fish and sea-weed, 198 ; does
fish that makes nests, 228.
not change its skin, 216, 238.
i^vKOQ, fucus, 154, 158, 218, 220.
^uKoiva, porpoise, Delphinus Pho- Xrifir}, a large bivalve shell, Chama,
212.
117.
ciena, 152,
tuKt], seal, Phoca vitulina, P. mo- Xr/v, goose, Anser domesticus andAnas segetum, 6, 27, 45, 47 ; gosnachus, 4, 7, 14, 22, 25, 26, 30,
ling, 140, 141
incubation, 146,
and39, 44, 69; reproduction
147 ; different kinds, 203, 210.
habits, 103, 152, 153, 196; food,XijvaXwTTjyf, an Egyptian goose,
205 fight together, 231.
Anas tadorna. Struck, 140, 203.
$wXiC, a fish enclosing itself inmucus, 256 ; Blennius pholis, Xifiaipa, probably the she goat, 72.
XXwptiif, perhaps the same as x^wStruck.
piu)V, a foe to the woodpecker, andwp, a kind of bee, the thief, 259.
kills the turtle dove, Falco lanarius, 232.
XXtupig, MotScilla fitis, or Loxia
chloris, Struck, eats worms, 202
shape, eggs, nest, 245, 249.
XaXa?d, Hydatids in swine, 221.
\a\KevQ, a fish. Dory, Zeus Faber, XXtJjpitov, perhaps oriole, Orioliis
galbula. Struck, attacks the blackStruck, 95.
bird, 233, 248.
KoXictc, a lizard, with a bright stripe
;

;

;

;

326

TIfDEX.

Xo(po7ri0;}eoc, ape, Simia rostrata,
S. porcaria, 34.
Xpkn^, a fish joined with labrax, 92.
Xpo/itf, a sea-fish, Sciaena nigra, 92,
94, 108, 218.
XpvvofirjrpiQ, a bird (thistle finch),Fringilla serinus, 202.

Sparus aurata L., 8,
reproduction,
98
109, 160; food, 200; near thein estuaries, ibhyshore, 211

X(iv<To<i)pvg,

44;

sleeps,;;;hernates. 21'*; impatient of cold,
218.
XvnivSiQ, the same as x«^f»c> 244.
XvToi, fish that swim in shoals, 109.

a flat fish, Pleuronectet
lingua and Rhombus, and maxima, 99. 109, 255.

"^rirra,^irrflKj;, Parrot, Psittacus erithacus,

211.

^vWa, flea, Pulex irritans, 134a;kind of spider, Salticus scenicus,

259.
"irvWoQ, parasites on

fish,

Talitrus

locusta, 97.

"iruxv, butterfly, Papilio, 89,'Qrtf, bustard, Otis tarda, 45,
incubation, 147, 252.

^apoc,

starling,

Stumus vulgaris,

215, 249.
i^jjv, gall insect, Cynipspsenes, 136.

102,

123.

102 j

'Qrbg, horned owl, Strix otus, 210,
252.
""Qxpoi, a kind of pulse, useful t«bees, Pisum sativum, 268.

THE END.

tONDOX: PRINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, LIMITED, STAMFORD STREEt
AND CHARING CROSS.

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