M

M
M
"
M
(u n 1R atu raI 1b f 8 t0 t Q
s ’

A N CI E N T SC I E N C E ;
Being a Co llectio n of Cu riou s Tracts o n th e
B as ilisk , U nico r n, P/z a n ix , B elzemot/z or
'

Lem at/z a n , D rago n , Gia nt Sp ider ,

'

Tarantu la , Ch ameleo ns, Saty rs ,

“

Hamine s Candal i,

N OW FI R ST TRAN SLATED FR O
THE LATI N ,
AN D

ED UN D O LDS I D, F R
QW S A se e n ) . . H . S,
.

H
( .

IN F O UR V O LU ES .

V OL . I .

E fifi fi ffi fi fi fizy ifisfiu
E DI N BUR G H .

1 886 .
 nt
fl q nau q tinlt .

T HAS se e me d t o m e t h a t th e fo llo w
ing t ra c t s o n my th s so s t ran ge y e t
, ,

so wide ly c redite d in an c i e n t t i m e s ,

c o u ld no t fai l to pro v e in t e re s t i n g e s pe ,

c ially as t h e t r a c t s t h e m s e lve s w ri t t e n
,

i n th e 1 7 th c e n t u ry by G e rm an savants ,

and pri n t e d (ve ry ba dly , by th e w ay) a t

W it te mberg F ran kfo rt o u O der & c
,
- -
,
ar e.
,

qu it e u n kno w n no t o n ly in t his c o u n t ry
, ,

b u t eve n in th e lan d of th eir pro du c t ion .

O f c o u rs e so me f e w m ay h a ve h e a rd of
,

K irc h m ay e r bu t h o w m any kn o w e v e n t h e
,

na me s of G ru b e o r Sc h o o c h iu s ?
M
M
I ntrodu ctio n

M
.

Th e m y t h s t r e a t e d of i n th e fo l lo w i n g
t r e a t i s e s are th e Ba s i l i s k ,
Un icor n ,

P h n i x Be h emo t h D r a gon G ian t Sp i der

oe , , , ,

T a ran t u la C h a me l e o n s Sa t y r s T ai le d
, , ,

e n and th e Sh in i n
, g L i l i e s of P a les t i n e .

G e o r ge Ga s p a rd K irc h m ay e r th e a u t h o r ,

of th e fi rs t six t ra c t s w as b o r n a t UHe in
,
’

h e i m i n F ran c o nia i n 1 6 3 5
, , . He b e c a m e
P r ofe ss o r at W itt e mb erg and w as a F e l,

lo w o f t h e R oya l So c i e t i e s of L on don

and V i e n na . H i s p r i n c i p a l w o rks are :

( ) C o m m e n t a r i e s o n C o rn e li u s N e po s
l ,

T a c i t u s and o t h er c la ss i c a l a u t h o r s ; (2)
,

O ra t io ns and v a r io u s po e m s o f l i t t le v a lu e
,

( )3 D e C o r a ll o
,
B a ls a m o e t S a c c h a ro

( 1 66 1 , 4 t o ) (4
; ) D e T rib u lis
( 1 6 9 2 4 );
,
t o
( 5 ) P a t h o lo ia V e t u s e t N o v a ;
g (6 ) P h i l o
s o p h ia e t a lli c a ;
(7 ) I n s t i t u t io n e s e t a l
l i c ze ; (8) T h e six T re a t i s e s h e r e t r an s la t e d
and
p r i n t e d u n de r t h e c o ll e c t i v e t i t l e o f
,

Hoxo s dispatationam Zoologit o ram a t W it t e m ,

 M
M
M
I ntrodu ctio n . vii

b e rg, in 1 66 1 . Th i s ex t r eme l y r rea

v o l u m e, p u rc h as e d by m e a t th e a i dm e n t
s a le , i s a s ma ll 8vo of s o m e 1 80 p a ge s . .

I t is n i n L a t i n w i t h n u m erou s
wr tte i ,

quo t a t io n s i n G r e e k H e bre w and Lo w , ,

G e r m an K irc h m aye r di e d i n 1 7 0 0
. .

H erman n G riibe w as bo rn a t Liibe c k i n ,

1 63 3 . He s t u di e d a t L e y de n and be c a m e ,

P r ofe ss o r of e di c i n e a t F r an kfo r t He .

i s s ai d t o h a v e p u bli s h e d s e vera l m e di c a l
w o r ks n on e of w h i c h are no w e v e r re a d
,
.

H i s t r ea t i s e De I c t u T a r a n t u lae h e re
,
“ ”
,

t r ans l a t e d i s I be li e v e qu i t e u n k no w n t o
, , ,

Bi b lio gr aph e r s I t is a s ma l l 8vo t ra c t of

.

s o m e 9 0 p a ge s p u b li s h e d a t F r an kfo rt i n
,

1 679 and i s b o u n d u w i t h m c o y of
, p y p
K irc h m ay e r .

a rt i n bor n at Ut h t
Sc h o o c h iu s w as re c

i n 1 6 1 4 A ft s t u dyi n g a t t h a t U ni s i t y
. er ve r

h b a m s u c c ssi ly P of sso of L a n
e ec e e ve r e r

u
g ga e s of E lo,
qu e n ce and H is t o ry of ,
 viii I ntrodu ctio n .

P h ysi c of L o gi and of P a c t i c a l Ph il
, c, r o so

h
p y a t U t r h t D en t ec G o nin ge n
, ev e r, r ,

M
and la s t lya t F ran kfo rt o n O der w h ere h e - -
,

di e d i n 1 66 9 He was a man of p o w erfu l

.

e n e rgy and e x t e n s i ve kno w le dge and ,

t oo k a de li gh t in o u t o f th e w ay re se a rc h e s ;
- - -

b u t b y di n t o f t ryi n g t o s h o w e ru di t ion h e ,

oft e n lo s t s i gh t of h is s u bj e c t w h i c h w as
s w a l l o w e d u p i n lo n g disgre ssio ns He .

w as i t a pp e a rs e x t re me ly sa t iri c a l and
, , ,

c e rt ai n l y m ana ge d t o t o u c h Vo s si us t o
t h e qu i c k f o r th e la t t e r c a ll s h im I mpa
,

dcntissimo Bestia (I n A pp e n d G u idiana p .

,
.

He w r o t e a pro di giou s a mo u n t of
c ri t i c is m , p h i loso p h y h i s t o ry ge n e ra l
, ,

li t e r a t u r e e tc T h os e w o rks w h i c h are
.

e i t h e r kn o w n fro m t h e e x is t e n c e of c o p i e s

i n v a r io u s li brari e s o r fr o m a ll u s io n s i n
,

th e w ri t in gs of o t h e rs are : ( 1 ) E xcrcit o

tianer Vo rior 1 6 6 3 , 4 t o repri n t e d in 1 6 88

, ,

u n der th e t i t l e of artini Tbcmioi E xcrc t ’

s z o
 M
M
M
I ntrodu ctio n .

rianes ;
( )
a A t reat ise on Bu t t er ; (3 ) On

th e a ve rsio n of s o m e p e o ple f o r c h e e s e ;
c h i c k e n ; (5) O n
(4) O n th e e gg and th e

in u n da t ion s ()
6 De Hare ngis ,
se u

Hale c ib u s , 8y o , 1 66 7 ; (7 ) De Sign at u ris

F oe t us De C ic o nns ; (9 ) De Sc e pt i
; (8)

c is m o
(1 0) O n s n eez i n g ; ( 1 1 ) De

C e revisia I z m o 1 64 8 ; ( 1 2) De T u rfiis ;
, ,
‘

( 3)
1 De S t a t u R e ip u b lic ae F oe de r a t i Be l u ;
g

( 4)
1 D e I m p erio a r i t i m o ; ( 5)
1 D e

N a t u r a Son i ; ( 1 6) De N i h i l o ; (1 7 ) De
L in gu a He le nistic a ; ( 1 8) A n a t t a c k o n
D e s c a r t e s e n t i t le d d dnziro nda ctboazc
'
s

N ot o: pbilosopbia and n u m e r o u s re li gio u s

/ '

t ra c t s of w h i c h all t h a t c an be s a id i s t h a t
, ,

th e y p r o v e t h a t Sh o o c h iu s c o u ld w r i t e

b e t t e r a b o u t Bu t t e r Sa t y r e s C h e e s e and
, , ,

T ai led e n t h a n a b ou t m a t t ers of re li gio n .

Th e t re a t is e w h i c h is h e re t r a n s la t e d s e e m s
u t t erly u n kno w n t o all Bib lio graph ers I t .

i s a s ma ll 4 t o a bo m i na b ly p r i n t e d o n
,
 M
M
x I ntrodu ctio n .

a t ro c iou s p ap e r and b e a r s t h e i mpri n t of

M
,

F ran kfo rt o n O de r 1 6 80
- -
,
T h e o n ly c o py
.

I k no w of is t h e o ne in m y p o ss e ss ion
.
.

T o m e t h e s e le a r n e d and e c c e n t ri c
t ra c t s h a v e e v e r b e e n e x t r e m e ly in t e r e s t
ing . I t r u s t t h e y m ay pro ve s o t o m y

re a de r s and I h a v e t r i e d t o i n c r e a s e t h e i r
,

v a l u e b y t r a c in g o u t i n th e no t e s t h e
v a r iou s a llu s io n s of t h e t e x t and a mp lify ,

ing fr o m s u c h s ou rc e s a s I h a v e h ad a t m y
di s p o s a l t h e s u b j e c t s s u gge s t e d ra t h e r t h an
,

dw e lt u p on b y t h e s e s a ge and quai n t o ld
w r i t e rs of th e 1 7 t h c e n t u r y .

ED UN D G O LDS ID

E DI N BUR G H, 1 4m arc/z 1 886 .

 flDn the masilis k
M
G E O R G E CASPA R D K I R C H

( 1 69 A )
,

AY E R .
 I

M
M
.

® n th e iBas ilts k,

G E O R G E GAS PA R D KI R C H AY E R .

( 1 69 1

C H A PT E R
F I RS T .

CO N T EN TS .

1 Th f q e rem iu e ntf h b il k ie nt o n ord t e as i s n sac e as we ll as in

pr f w ii g
o ane r t n s.

I I Th y m l gy f h w rd Th ki g f h b
e et o o o t e o e n s o t e ru te creatio n
hi m
.

-t e r na es.

II I A l i f imil
st o w rd wi h d i ff
s ar mo i gs t e re nt ean n s .

I V D iff
.

. m f h b ili k
ere nt na es o t e as s .

a n a cco u n t Of th e (term
”
JBfl SlllfiR .

I The very freq uent mentio n of th e basil isk i n

.

sa cred as wel l as pr o fane wr i tings demands some

accou n t of the word This Isaiah chap x i v 8, .
, . . .

has The sucking child shal l p l ay o n the hole of

the asp and the weaned child sh a l l pu t h i s h a nd
,
” ’
egalo th e ander s
’
on the cockatri ce den .

B i ble h as H e shal l put h i s hand on the hole of

,

the basil i sk I n the sam e prophet , chap x i v 29

. . .
,

we rea d O u t o f th e serpent s root shal l com e

,
’
1 4 MYT H S o r
fo rth a cockatr i ce S i milarly Luther s B i ble has
.
,
’

the w o rds F ro m the ro o t of the serpent shal l a

,

bas i l i sk c o me A ga i n chap l i x 5 They

.
”
, . .
,
“

hatch cockatr i ce eggs I n T h nd aga i n we

’
.
”
ea e r, ,

find , They hatch bas i lisk s eggs

“
C o mp a re ’
.

Jere mi ah chap v i ii 1 7
, nd Proverbs chap
. .
, a , .

xx i ii 3 2 The ter m basil i sk was n ot u nkn o w n t o

. .

the m ost an cien t wri ters of heathe n dom fact , a

wh i ch becomes clear from an i nspect i o n of the

works o f Pl i ny S lin Lu ca n Di
, i Galen
o u s, , o sc o r s, ,

and others .

I I We have first of all t o to u ch on th e

.

ety mology o f th e word The term basil i sk arose .

i n G reece cam e i nto constan t use i n Latium

, ,

and remained among the Teut oni c peoples

Basilisk ”
i s a diminut i ve f ro m bas i leu s “

(king ) wh i ch i s so t ermed from the k i ng being

,

the basis of the nat i on We know at least

”
.
, ,

that the king i s the fou ndati on of his people .

This extremely poisonou s serpent therefore gets , ,

its name of basilisk or regu lus e i ther f rom i ts , ,

virul en c e or through som e fan c i ed analogy fro m

th e diadem whi c h i t is said to c arry on i ts head .

The f ormer derivation i s probabl e fro m the

f act that the basilisk is the most virulen t of all
the lesser k i nds of reptiles while i t h a s as a , ,

further character i sti c the extre mely rapid action ,

o f i ts venom For this reaso n i t i s thought t o be

.
 A N CI EN 1 SCI EN C E . 1 5

shunned and feared by m any of the a nimal crea

t io n A mong the grea ter kind s of reptil es w e give
.

the fore most place to the dragon while we cal l ,

the l ordly eagle king o f birds , the lusty l i on , or

rather perhaps the elephant , k i ng of quadru peds
, , ,

and the dolphin pr in ce among fishes The fan cied .

analogy between i ts cr e st and a crow n allud ed to ,

above arises fro m three wh i t i sh excrescences

, ,

w i th wh i ch i ts head i s so distinc tiy m arked as t o

g i ve the creature th e appearance of carry i ng a
c o ckscomb be fore i t Joh n E useb i us says : Its
.

’
length is three ha nd s breadths its bo dy yellow , ,

its head narrow and pointed on wh i ch it has three

,

excres c en c es with wh i tish spots an d i n the shape

,

of a crown by reason o f wh i ch i t has be e n cal led

,

the king of repti l es ”

.

I I I W e pro c eed to give a l i st of di ff eren t

.

m eanings of the word The ter m basilisk i s

.

hampered by m any disadvantages ar i sing f ro m

ambiguity To su c h a n exten t is th i s the case
.
,

that w e can neither p l ace any reliance on the

word itsel f nor on the thi ng denoted by it In .

the first place , the term is appl ied to a l i ttle bird

wh i ch we commonly cal l the trochi lus or golden ,

John Eu sebiu s, a J esuit , born at N ur e mbe r g and ,

w h o be c am e P ro f e ssor o f P hysio l ogy in the Ac a demy

o f Ma dri d, is t h e aut h or q uot e d The passage oc c ur s
.

in the sixth boo k o f h is E staria N atu r f ol io 1 0 2 . .

1 6 M YT H S or

crested wren The tr o chi l us o r regulus (in Greek

.

i s that t imid bird wh i ch breeds in

thorny copses a n d i s or n a men ted w i th a bunch o f
,

s mal l redd ish upr i gh t feathers o n i ts head I t is .

half the s i ze of th e co mm o n sp a rrow the h ar ,

b i nger , espec i ally i n May , of a n un seas o nable

change of temperature , and i s co n sidered a cure
fo r ston e .

S econdly , the ter m i s gi ven to a certa in k in d of

crowned o r crested fish wh i ch i s called alau dae ,

or galeritae by orn i tholog ists The first o f .

z o ol og i sts Ulysses Aldro vandu sfi“ philosopher a n d

,

doctor of B o lo gn a i n h i s work o n Fi shes bk i

, , . .

chap 25, p 4 2, has the following words : Any

. .
“

o ne who w i shes to refer the cr o wne d o r crested

fishes or any one of the m to the basilisks o f
, ,

O pp i an which he describes as liv i ng round the

,

W born at B o l ogna in 1 525 H e spe nt h is l i f e

as .

in re searc h es in natural hi story, and, assi st e d thou gh

he w as by seve ral sove r e i gn s, by the Senate o f Bol ogna,
and by h is n e h e w, Car dina l Monta lba, w as r e duc ed
p
in h is o ld age to c om parative poverty H e di ed in .

1 60 5 . His wor k s fill 1 3 vol ume s f ol io, o f whi c h six

onl y were ac tuall y writt e n by him , th e r e st be in g
c om o se d b sun dry le arn e d me n, acc or din g t o h is
p y
lp an, by or de r o f the Se nate o f Bol ogna His work s .

c ontain muc h that is su pe rfluou s, and show l itt l e

m e thod in arrangement I t is the dun ghill o f Enniu s,
.

and ye t, in s pite o f a ll fau l t s, natura l hi s tory ow e s

muc h t o A ldro vandu s .

 A N CI EN T SCI EN C E . 1 7

rocky coast ; he , in my op i ni on w o uld

make no ,

absurd m i stake J ust as R o nde le tiu s called h is

.

fis h the gale ritae from i ts crest and j u st as othe rs ,

have ca lled the reptile wh i ch is m arked by a wh i t e

spo t on i ts head , the bas i lisk so als o i s a fish ,

call ed the bas i l i sk o n a ccount of a s i mi lar mark on

i ts head ”
.

T h irdly the w ord i s als o a ppl i ed as N u re m

, ,

bergius ” “
somewhere po i nts o ut , t o a k i nd of sh ru b .

O n th i s po i nt bo tan i sts must be c o nsulted .

F ou rthly , as a proper na me t he word basi l i sk ,

be longs to a certai n famous fa mily i n Spa i n wh i ch ,

get s the name of Bas i l i sk or Blask u s by reason of ,

the bravery of i ts m embers the m eaning o f the ,

n a m e being that by a m ere look , they ca n throw

,

the i r ene mi es i nto confus ion Th e learned .

N u re m b e rgiu s i s our author i ty on th is po i nt .

I V We subj o i n a brief l i st of synonyms of the

.

w ord . I n H ebrew i t is cal led Tz eph a a nd ’

Tz iph o ni These w ord s are translated by Bu xto r

’
.

h u s i n his lex i con i nt o regu l us b asilisk u s, and

, , ,

h oemo rrh o is the most ven omou s o f all the serpen t

,

tribe I n ancien t G reek i t i s called the basi l isk

.
, ,

as we have mentioned above I n Latin i t bears .

the n a mes o f reg ulus gal l o bu fo crested asp ,

-
, ,

de a th glancer deadly rept i le &c r

-
,
’
, .

Thi s is John Eu sebiu s m e ntion e d above, c alled ,

thu s f rom t h e plac e o f his bi rth .

1 F o r a desc ri ption o f t h e basi l i sk o r c oc katri c e ,

‘

B
 M
1 8 M YT H S o r

C H A PT E R I I .

A R G U M EN T .

I b il i k i ig d pl i h ( i m l ) r i
Th e as s s ass ne a ac e n t e an a c eat o n

ll P
. .

g i S lig d C d r f d
as s a e s n ca er an ar anu s e e rre to

1 11 A b i l i k
. .

i M i Th xi hi d y f
H ll i S x y
as s se e n n arc a e e s tenc e to t s a o
B l d Zwi wi
. .

m m
b ili k h vi g b
o nu e nts at a e, n a o n , at as e an c ca t
Th b ili k m
,
i g ne ss n to as s s a n e e n se en . e as s o st
mm i w mco on n ar e r c o u ntri e s

W w i P l d by m h w
.

I V A b ili k as s see n at arsa n o an o re t an t o

h dp , ,
.

t o u s an erso ns

V Th y k f m D
.

e s to r d J h Pi i
ta e n ro o sanu s an o n nc eru s

q iyi
. . .

VI . An e n u r nto the o pinio n o f Spe rlingiu s .

VI I . Th e s ame c o ntinu e d . atth io lu s no te d . Se b iz iu s praised .

® u th e E xis te nce of th e fi astlts k .

I To deny th e ex i stence o f the bas i l i sk i s to

.

carp at the evidence of m en s eyes an d the i r ’

exper i ences i n many di ff erent places A ccord i n gly .

,

we al l o w the basilisk a place in nature as the ,

m ost deadly an d venomou s creature and plagu e i n

the a nimal creation .

tak e n f rom tory o f Se r pent s, publ i sh ed

To pse ll s
’
Hi s

in 1 6 58 see a ppe n dix T h e H ebr e w Tz ep/l a w as a m o n

’
.
,

s t e r mor e dea dl y than the Pct/zen (Gr a spis, asp), w h i c h .

is variou sl y tran slat e d in t h e authori se d ve r sion o f the

Bibl e as cocko tricc (I saiah l ix a dder
(Jo b xx 1
4 , and . .

P rove rbs xxiii and as ser ent P rove rbs xxiii

p ( .
3 2, .

and I saiah xi Shak e s peare all u des t o i t at l ea st

.

twice first in Cy moeline

It is a basilisk unto mine e
ye
Kl i ls me t o ook o n t
”
l ’
.
 AN CI EN T SCI EN C E . 1 9

We would h a ve i t understo o d w e are no t here

m a i ntain i ng that r i d i culous and more than mon
str ou s story o f the m anner o f its birth nor the ,

deadly e ff ect of i ts l ook nor those other points ,

wh i ch a re more l i ke old w i ves stories tha n any ’

th i ng else I t i s for the existence of thi s most

.

ven o mous reptile that we are n ow contending *

.

M any unless I am m i staken wi l l oppose u s bu t

, , ,

sure l y such me n contradict the evidence of their

own senses To ga i nsay our senses and seek
.

re as on s for ou r p os i t i on i s su rely n othing bu t

folly a nd i gnorance We shal l produce eviden c e
.

not m erely of a hearsay but also o f an ocul ar ,

character ; the evidence of me n who have seen

the basilisk themselves .

A nd inR i hard I I I c

RI A D— Thin y
CH R e e es
,
s wee t lady , have in f e c t e d
mine
A NN — Wou l d they w
.

E e e r ba silisk s, to s trike the e

dead !
In h is note o n t h i s passage Mr A l di s W ri ght su gge st s
,

that th e name c oc katric e is a c orru ption o f CI OC O dllC '

O f c our se we a ll know that Basilisk: (a ge nu s o f

z
Li ar ds) e xi st ;the y be l on g t o t h e Igu ana f ami l y and ,
are c onfin e d t o A m e ri c a T h e ba si l i s k o f an c i e nt
.

tim e s w as th e K ing o f Dragon s and Se r pe nt s whose ,

br eath wi the red u p all ve ge tation and who se v e ry ,

l ook was f ata l to man ”

A f t e r thi s it is ve ry
.

di sa ppointin g to find that th e Ba si l i s k o f mo de rn

natura l i st s despit e the f orm i dabl e a pe aran c e o f o ne
, p
vari e ty, Basilzscu s mitra tu s, is absol ut e ly harm l e ss l
20 M YTH S O F
I I Ju lius C aesar S ca l i ger in order to remo ve
.
"

th esusp i c i on of i ts be i ng a myth wr i tes the ,

follow ing words S i n ce so me hav e suspected

that the st o ries told of the b s i l i sk are fabul ous a ,

I shall wr i te d own what I have read i n m oder n

authors W hen Le o was Pontifex M a x i mu
. s,

t here wa s fou nd l odged u nder the arch n ear the

T em pl e of Luci a a basilisk by the breath of ,

w h ich Ro m e was afllic ted w ith a terrible plagu e ,

&c
”
. A ga i n H i erony mus C ardan u s 1 has the fol
,
”

low i ng passage A certain pedlar had a serpen t ,

whi c h he had fou nd in the ru i ns of a house that

Born n ear V e rona in 1 4 84 he was first page to ,

t h e Em pe r o r Maximi l ian the n a su c c ess f u l so l di e r , and

,

a f t e rwar ds prac t i se d m e dic ine in Guie nne He w as a .

l e arn e d honorabl e, c haritabl e and truth f u l man bu t

, ,

co n c e it e d and wantin g in goo d ta st e The q uotation

.

above giv e n is f rom h is E x ercita tz ones contra Cardanu m,

N o 24 6 , sec t 4
. . H e di ed at Agen in 1 558 .

1
‘
Car danu s w as an i llitimat e c hi l d born at Pavia
eg ,

in 1 50 1 He w as an
. extraor dinary c harac t e r ; o f a
bri ll i ant int e ll ec t h e w as in c on stant and obstinat e
, ,

s it e f u l e xtrava gant an d a l ov e r o f win e wom e n , and

p , ,

gamin g . H avin g e xhibit e d h is won der f u l knowle dge

and wi l d f oll y at Pa dua , Mi l an , Pavia and Bol ogna , he

go t him se l f l oc k e d u p i n t h e l att e r c ity ; as soon as he

w as f re e h e w e nt to R om e obtain e d a pe n sion f rom
, ,

the po pe and starved him se l f t o death in 1 57 6 t o

, ,

ac c om pl i sh h is o w n pro ph ec y th at h e wou l d n o t l ive

beyon d the age o f se ve nty five His princ i pa l work s
-
.

c o lle c t e d in 1 0 vo l s f o l io
. 1 6 6 3 ) are
, 1 De So on/no te .
 M
AN CI EN T SCI EN C E . 21

h a d bee n p u ll ed d o w n at Mediol a nu m
I to he ad .
*

was the s i z e of a n egg a nd very large i n pr o po r

,

t ion t o i ts body I h ave preserved one o f i ts

.

bo nes The teeth in each j aw ar e th o se of a viper

. .

I ts bo dy is the s i ze of a lizard an d of a s i milar ,

shape bu t i t h a s only two feet , a n d i ts le gs are too

,

small for its s ize , wh i ch gi ves i t a somewhat o dd

appea ra n ce ”
.

I I I Chr i stopher E nc e liu s, a man in the opinion

. ,

of U lys ses Aldro v andu s of the highest excellen ce,

in general culture i n his book o n Metals (bk i ii

,
. .

chap 54 ) writes In the arch e s l and in the

' ‘
.

j ur i sdiction of The A bbot o f Zi nn i a near the town ,

of Lu c k e nv ald 1 I had the good fo rtune to se e

,

such a serpent which had been k i lled by a

,

shepherd The creat u re had a pointed head was

.
,

of a yellow and almost sa ff ron colour and had a ,

length of three hand breadths or m ore -

”
S i mi .

larly George A gricol a § ment i ons th at at Vien n a

, ,

(f ol io, 1 55o ) ; I I De reru m w rietate, (Basle , 1 557

.
,

f ol io) ; I ll His autobiography ; e tc , e tc

. . .

i“ Mi l an
.

1 P rovinc e o f Bran denburg, P ru ssia .

I O n the N iith e , 3 0 mi l e s south o f B e r l in .

§ Born at G lau c h e n in 1 4 9 4 H e ac q uire d a

.

won de r f ul knowl e dge o f mine ral s and f o ssi l s, whic h

w as give n t o the wor l d in a wor k De re metal/zed ,
Basl e, 1 56 1 , f o l io, writt e n in very e legant Latin H e .

di e d at C he m nit z in 1 551 The all u sion in the t e xt

.

is t o a pa ssage in a rare work o f h is, De or tu et co u sis

su bterraneoru m, Basl e 1 8 f o l io
, 55 ,
.
22 M YTH S OF
i n A ustri a there was on ce su ch a serpe n t and
, ,

that a picture of i t c o uld st i ll be see n i n the wal l

o f a certain house H e says somewh at the sam e
.

o f the towns of B asle and Zwick au A t H al le .

*
,

i n S axony there sti l l stands a m onume n t of un i m

,

p h bl authent i city to com memorate the fact

e ac a e ,

of a basilisk having been seen there I t is i n .

warmer lim ates espe ial l y where the m ost p ison

c , c o

ous kinds f serpents find a home that th i s deadly

o ,

c rested adder i s most com mon The E gyptia ns .

p l aced i t among their h i eroglyphics 1 When they .

!

wished to indi c ate a m an o f evil tongue they drew ,

the pi c ture of a basilisk This gave r i se to Lu c an s

.
’

verses : B reathing forth i ts hisses and strik i ng ,

out its p oison that contain s every plagu e the

, ,

basilisk drives al l the people f ar from i ts path , an d

rei gns over the desolated sand s : E ve n the
”

E thiopi ans an d M oors were far f rom being i gnoran t

o f the creature for Lucan says : What bo o ts i t
,
“
,

ye wretched M oors to trans fix the basi l isk w i th

,

*
m all town in Bohe mia , at the f oot o f th e
A s

Lau si t z G ebirge Th e re is another town o f the nam e

.

in Saxony o n the Mu l de
, .

l T h is pa ssage wou l d su pport M r Al di Wri ght s

‘ ‘
’
. s

c ont e ntion m e ntion ed in the not e

,
on
pa ge 1 9 .

: Sibilaq u e {flandens
j g cu nctas u e t enentia
p ester,

A nte v enena nccens, la te stl n su bmcwet cmne

0 o

Vu lgu s, et in warm regna t Bastliscu s arena .

 A

Pol and i n the sight of m ore th an two thousa nd

,

wr i ters i s extremely prolix ; accordingly not to

weary the reader w i th a too f ull ac c ount and in

regard for tru th on l y such part i cular points as

bear on the presen t subj ect
V
.
“
I n the year 1 587 there l i ved at Warsaw
i n Poland a certain m an named ach aero paeu s
,
M
M
N E N T SCI EN C E

persons a basi l isk w as seen , wh i ch had bee n tak en

,

fro m the rubbis h of a fallen house by m eans o f an

i ron rake D o sanu s Casse llanu s a nd Joh n
. .

Pinc ie r (Gues se s bk iii 23 ) have gi ve n a fu ll,

accoun t of this most rem arkab l e even t i n all its

deta i ls The accoun t however , of each of these
.

o rder n ot to appea r to heap up a mere empty crop of

words i t is our i ntention to adduce wi th a str i ct

,

,
CI

y ou r spe ar ? S w i f t up the bl ade the po i son sp eeds

and i nvades the

I V But evidence more trustworthy and qu i te

.

beyond cavi l is forthcom i ng A t Warsaw i n

,
,

,
.
.
.

,
,

,
,
23

To pass the t i me a child of this m an together , ,

w i th the litt l e girl of a neighbo ur as i s th e way ,

w i th children o f the tender age o f five years ,

though t o f an amusing gam e They determ ined .

t o enter the underground cellar o f a house which

had fallen into r uins 3 0 years before As so o n as .

they entered i t however they fell to the lowes t

, ,

aprodest mis eri, Basiliscu s

°

*
Q ta
.
i
p ,
cu s d e mo u ri
,

Transactu s 9 Vclo x c u rrzt per

. tela v enenu m,
I n vaditq u e manu m '
.
24

, .

M
M YT H S o n
steps a n d exp i red W he n the d i nner h o ur c ame
round , the i r respect i ve mo thers asked if a ny one
k n ew where their ch i ldre n were N o inf o rmaiio n
co uld be got The w i fe of ac h aero paeu s se n t her
.

m aid to call i n the ch i ldren She went out a n d

cellar Thi nk i ng they were overcom e w i th sleep ,

the m .
.

sh e called agai n and again , and shouted to w a ke n

.

spied the childre n ly i ng on the lowest steps o f th e

H er sh ou ts , wh i ch h ad almost m ade her

h o arse produced no e ff ect What could be the
,

matter ? The w o man took courage and went

do wn the steps to wak en the childre n wh o were
sleeping too deeply for any shaking t o wake
them .
.

A nd 10 ! at once (as was noticed ) sh e

,

herse lf sa n k down bes i de th e ch i ldren an d

.

,
-

breathed her l ast The m i stress who ha d seen

.
,

her serv an t en ter , ran to the place in aston i sh m ent ,

a nd o ut o f her senses no t kno wi ng what sh e ough t

,

to do stood stu pe fie d
, A rumour at once got
.

abroad , the ci t iz ens ran together they w ere i n a ,

state of d o ubt , and del i berated what was to be done .

The a ff air , m eanwhile was brough t before the

,

Consu l an d S enate They gave orders to have the

.

bodies drawn out with fire hook s * When th i s

- .

had been done they were f oun d to be swolle n l ike

drums their t o ngues had swe l led and the colour
, ,

* l
Lon g po es wi th iron hooks at the e nd, whi c h
w e re u se d by fire men o n the c ontinent in the 1 7 th
ce ntury .
 AN CI EN T
SCI EN C E 25 .

of the i r sk i ns w as dark wh i le their eye protru ded,

s

fro m the i r so kets large as half a n hen s egg

’
c , as .

A t the request of the C o nsul the Cha mberl i n and ,

a

an o ld m n phys i c i an to the King c lled B ne

a , , a e

di t
c u s, came to se e the tragi c spec t cle The a .

tha t serpen t o f most

’
l atter s conj ecture w as , a
.

deadly kind was l i v i ng i n the deserted cellar and ,

that the i i n i t was po isoned by it de adly breath

a r s ,

which was prevented from escaping Seeing .

,

m oreover that the weak nature of m an co ul d

,

not stan d agai nst i t he concluded that i t was a,

b as i li sk whi c h had its den i n the cellar .

O n being asked by what means the tru th o f the

a ff air could be found ou t he rep li ed that so me one ,

should be sen t i nto the cellar furnished w i th a ,

cover i ng of m irrors f acing i n all d i rect i ons F or

, .
,

sai d he the basil is k wi l l at once die i f i t sees i ts

,

o wn i m age There were there at that t i me two

.
, ,

men ly i ng u n der senten c e of death which were to ,

be executed withi n three days one 3 Pole , the , .

o ther a S iles i an The name of the Sile sian was

'

John F aurer A n o ff er was m ade to these men , to

.

s e e if one would des cend into the cellar and hun t ,

for the serpent on condition of obtaining a p ardon

, .

The Silesi an at once embraced the o ff er A ccord .

ingly his whole body was covered with leather

, ,

his eyel i ds f astened down o n the pupils , one h and

w as a rmed w i th an i ron rak e , an d the o ther with
a bl az i ng torch I n the presence of M O R E T H A N
.
26 M YT H S or

TW O THO USA N D PE R S ON S
who look ed o n in the ,

highest exc i tement the m an descended i nt o the

,

cellar a m ass of m i rrors from head to foot A fter

, .

a n hour s ex aminat ion o f every Chink and corner of

’

th e cellar , withou t any trace of the serpent be i ng

found he ask ed for a fresh torch t o be thrown
,

d o wn to h im O n being ask ed his reason for this

.

r equest b e said that there was another cell ar nex t

,

to the one he was i n bu t approach to i t was barred

,

by rubbish Whilst endeavouring to penetrate

.

this he happened to m ove h is eyes to the left and

, ,

su ddenly spied the long loo ked for serpent ly i ng ,

in a n i c he o f the wall O n signi fying the f act by.

shouting to those who were crowded round the

en trance , the chief physi c ian bade him tak e the
bru te u p w i th th e i ron rak e an d ca rry i t ou t of the ,

dark n ess o f the cellar into the broad d aylight .

This w as don e and seen by all The Chie f .

Physic i an as soon as he saw the creature pro

, ,

no u nc e d i t a basi l isk I t was the si z e of an

.

o rd i nary fowl I n i ts head i t had somewhat the

.

appea rance of an I nd i an cock I ts crest was like .

a crown part l y covered w i th a blui sh colour I ts

, .

b ack was covered with several excrescent spots ,

and i ts eyes were those o f the toad I t was covered .

a l l o ver with the hues of venomous anim a l s which ,

g ave i t a general tawny tinge I ts t ai l was curved .

back an d bent over i ts body of a yellowish h u e

, ,

beneath and o f the same colou r as th e toad at i t s

,
 AN CI EN T SCI EN C E . 27

extre mi ty This
. descr i pt i on though
somewhat ,

d i ffu se , i s perhaps gentle reader not u nwelcom e

, ,
.

V I F r o m this story some est i mate o f this m ost

.

M
venomou s creature m ay be formed That inc o m .

parabl e studen t o f N ature Spe rlingfi had too‘

,

gr eat a n i nsigh t i nto the subj ect to attempt to

deny absolutely the existence of th e basilisk .

Bu t while he observ ed that by this creature was

to be understood a po i sonous asp he at least had ,

the sense t o refute those old w i ves stor i es wh i ch ’

are conn ected with the subj ect and wh i ch will be ,

found refuted i n ou r subsequent i nvestigat i ons .

Thu s in his public lectures on Zool ogy (Bk v i

, . .
,

chap ii i S ect
. .
, i n speak in g of th e asp , he
.

comes to the fol lowing con clu s i on If there is

such a th i ng as the basilisk i t i s an asp No w , . ,

the poison o f th i s crea ture i s m ost deadly espec i ally ,

i n war m cl i mates I t is man s nature to exaggerat e

.
’

everything an d to m ake two or three fa lse add i

,

tions to every si mple fact .

V I I A ga in our beloved Pr o fessor in the year

.
,

1 63 7, i n wh i c h he first becam e k now n t o the

world and in th e fort i eth public d i scuss i on whi c h
,

h e held o n the mysteries of nature wishe d th e ,

“
following qu estion to be propounded — Is e

basilisk or cockatr i ce abl e t o kil l m e n by looki ng

* Born at Z e uc h f e ld, in Thurin gia, in 1 60 3 ;

bec am e P rof e ssor o f P hy sic s at W itte m berg whe re h e ,

di e d in 1 6 58 .
28 M YT H S o r

at the m The a n swer was m ade on the au th o r i ty

of Pl i ny (Bk 8 cap 21 ) a nd [E l i an (B oo k v ii ,
.
, . .

ca p . t o the e ff ect th a t there is a S pr i ng a mo ng

the western tribes of Afr i ca called the N iger , an d
,

co ns i dered by some to be the source of the Ni le ,

where these creatures are found and t h at they are ,

ca pable o f caus i ng d eath by be i ng looked on , by

rea s on o f the bright rays of light wh i ch they em i t .

Bo dinu s gives an opinio n ne a rer the tru th i n his

th i rd bo ok o f his Tlz eatrmn N atu rale whe n spe a k ,

ing of the breeding o f serpents and N eander * is

right i n approving i t i n the fol lowing words I
cannot think that a n an imal S h oul d have bee n
cre a ted by the Great Artific e r of su c h a deadly ,

kind as to cause the death o f the rest of the

a ni mal creat io n m erely by look i ng a t the m Bu t .

w e are safe i n believ i ng that the bas i lisk the m ost ,

d eadly of all reptiles causes death by i ts breath

, ,

wh i ch i s of the m ost noxi o us a n d pestilential

nature Thi s poisonous breath is of the m ost
.

subtle k ind , and may be i nhaled i nto the b o dy ,

and as so o n as it penetrates the syste m i t rushes ,

to the V itals an d destroys th e spi ri t o f li fe et c , .

* Joh n N ean de r mu st no t be c on f oun de d w it h

eithe r o f the two Mic hae l N ean de r s John was the .

author o f TobacoIn o a c uriou s and ve ry sc arc e wor k

’

o n Tobacc o and it s u se s It is a 4 t o vol ume publ i she d

.
,

at Leyde n in 1 6 22 The a ll u sion in the t e xt is t o a

.

p a ssa ge in h is S nta ma
y g (f o l io ,
H e w as a

doc tor at Bre m e n .N othin g e lse is known o f him .

 M
M
M
M
M
M
A N CI EN T SCI EN C E . 29

W ca n not bu t w o nd e
e s r what gr o unds ath io lu
“

h as (Co mm ent Bk vi , last chapter ) for g i v i ng

.
, . .

cred ence t o th e fabulous tales that have bee n

M
h anded dow n by t raditio n c on cerning th i s creature .

A lthough ath io lu s h as addu ced three petty

re a son s in support of h is p o s i tion yet h e has bee n ,

sat i sfact o rily answered by Melchior Sebiz iu s, 1 a

MM
'

MM
mo st learn ed man i n his A ppe n d i x to h is Trea tise
,

o n M ed i c i n e appl i ed t o the ca se of di s ea ses am ong

,

young men There a m o ng other things , he brings

.
,

f orward the evidence of H ieronymus e rc u rialis i

Pt r A n dre w atth io lu s a c e l ebrat e d doc tor and

e e ,

e l egant l itt e rat e ur w as born at Si e nna about 1 50 0

H is Commentaries on Dioscoris (Ve nic e , 1 54 8, 4 to ) and
, .

other work s show mu c h re se ar c h but c on si de rabl e

c r e du l ity H e died o f the plague in 1 57 7
. .

T S ebiz iu s, born 1
57 8 d i ed 1 6 7
4 c anon o f Strasbur g

w as c r e at e d C ount Pal ati ne by Fe r dinan d II

, , ,

His .

rin c i a l work s are I C ommentarie s o n G a l en

-
p p .
;
lI Exe rc itatio ne s e dic m ; III isc ellane ae q ue s
t io ne s m e dic ae ; I V Spe c u l um me di c inas prac ti c um
o
. .

(2 vo l s 8vo
F F
. ,

I B o rn at or l i
(an c ient orum
, L irii) ,
in t h e

provinc e o f that nam e o n the A driati c in 1 53 0 , die d ,

th e re in 1 59 6 He was c e lebrat e d f o r h is know l e dge

.

of e dec ine Un l ike most me n o f talent , he l ef t

.

behin d him a hu ge f ortune f o r tho se days ,

c rown s H e w as a good and a wi se m an His

I De arte gym nast ic a, V eni c e
. .

princ i pa l work s are

-
.
,

1 587 4 t o , a c uri ou s book o n the gymna sti c s o f t h e

,

anc i ents ; II De o rbis u lie ru m 4 t o , 1 60 1

1 584 ; I V
.
,
I II De
. o rbis Pu e ro ru m , 4 to e dec ina
, .

prac tic a f ol io, 1 6 27

, .
 M
30 M YT H S o r

Bk i chap 21 , on Po i sons and Po i s on ous

. .
, .

D i se ases ) who declares that , at the Cou rt o f the

,

E mperor Max i m i lian h e saw th e bo dy of a ,

bas i lisk , wh i c h was preserved among the treasures

o f the Palace H aving p roved now th a t w e must
.

ass ign a place i n creation to the basilisk , we have

st i ll to i nvestigate i ts character W e shall de a l .

briefly w i th th e matter i n order to pass o n to the ,

discu s s i on o f other subj ects Let u s se t t o work . .

C H A PT E R I I I .

CO N TE N TS .

l A d ip i
,
e scr t o n o f th e b il i k
as s .

ll F l h d f t h e s tate m h h b ili k i g f ro m the

k
. a se oo o e nt t at t e as s s pr n s
e gg o f an o ld c o c .

111 R eas o ns a dd d
u ce

y
. .

IV . Th e e d
mpt c o ntra ic tio n o f L Le mniu s o n t is po int . h ,

V T h e po sitio n o f Eu c e b iu s and Fe rrante s I mpe ratu s W

yh g h q
e
bl h
. .

mu s t no t e ie ve e ve r t in w e e ar f ro m any u arter wit

d
o u t c o nsi e ratio n and re aso n Th e s o u rc e o f e rro r
y f m b i g kill d b y m
. .

VI T h e fa se l bland f a u o u s s to r the
h b l k Th
o en e n e e re

g w l
.

az e of t e asi is is no t e v e n tru e o f th e o f
l i h y b w h b il k
, .

VII Natu ra ant pat wetl een t e as is and t h e e ase and

coc k .

(tbe atu re ano p ro p erties of the

JBastlis k .

I Th e basil i sk i s a crested asp the m ost deadly

.
,

of i ts kind and the greatest enemy of man I t is

, .

marked by ma ny wh i te excrescences h as a s o me ,
 A N CI EN T SCI EN C E .
31

what large head a nd i s ful l of mo st v i r u le n t

,

po i so n . By mean s of this by exh alat io n an d

by v i t i at i ng the circ u mambi ent a i r ) i t i mpregn a tes
the surround i ng space wi th i ts deadly property .

Th i s poiso n , by an obscure a ntipathy wh i ch i t

bears to a l l created th i ngs at o n ce chokes an d
,

su ffocates anything war mblo o d ed The above i s .

n ot a defin i tion bu t somewhat o f a descr i ptio n ,

,

con ta i n i ng m ore than i s essent i al to a de fi ni tion .

I t i s an asp as w e sa i d by reason of its deadly

, , ,

vir u lent and cunn i ng n atu re th o ugh i t has n ot

, ,

the sa me length of body as the rest o f the asp

t r i be W e do not bel i eve the basilisk i s a co mmon
.

rept i le nor excep t i n the deserts of warmer

, ,

cli mates i s i t l argely f o u rid

, .

Aga in we hav e called i t crested not literally

,
“
,

as we speak of the barnyard cock but analogically , .

I t ha s as may be seen by a comparison of authors

, ,

so mething analogou s to a crown o r crest H ence .

i t gets the nam e of regulus or basili sk I t i s .

cal led a most deadly asp fro m the e fie c t o f i t s

” '

poison seeing that the inj u ry i t i nfl i cts w i th i ts

,

terr i ble veno m is the m ost dead l y of al l E very .

serpe nt is an enemy of m an and every liv i ng

creature b u t th i s creature takes the pal m for dead
,

line ss .

The pun i shment of m ank i nd i n retribu t i on fo r ,

the cr i m e c o m m itte d agai nst the great Creator i s ,

that the very serpents sh o ul d be a rmed a ga i nst us .

32 M YT H S o r
H ad ou r first parents rema i ned in the sta te i n wh i h c

they were ori gi n a lly created the po wer f subduing , o

these creatu res i n common with the rest o f creat i on

w o ul d h ave rem a i n ed i n the i r hands w i thou t
i nj u y or d nger So terribl e i s the s ign i ficance to
r a .

m n f a in aga i nst his Cre a tor

a o s S uch i s the .

t err i bl e b ne wh i ch serpents are to u s now ; for i t

a

wa disg i sed i n their form that that preter

s u

nat u ral ol d D ragon the sla nderer of God and m an

, ,

o r iginally m ade h i s assaul t u pon m ank i nd We .

need not give an explanat i on of the o ther words

wh i ch were u sed in ou r descript i on f the bas il isk o .

I t is a matter o f m ere exper i en ce an d wi ll beco m e ,

clear from th e subsequen t re marks I n order .

,

however t o enable u s to d i st i ngu i sh w i th safety

,

between tru e m etal and dross between false and ,

true we must rem ove fro m our conceptio n of this

,

cre a t u re those trad i tions whether they go under ,

the na me of dream s or ser i ous facts whi c h have ,

bee n handed down to u s o n the subj ect .

I I The st o ry wh i c h is com monly credited of

.
, ,

the bas i l i sk springing from the egg of a decrep i t

c o ck n i ne years old an d bei n g hatched by a toad
, , ,

is u tterly f alse an d wi thou t f oundat i on

, We .

shall g i ve the story whi c h men of little brains tell

u s
. They say the basi l isk i s born f rom a co c k .

The cock they say when decrepit brings f orth

, , ,

an egg fro m whi ch the basilisk spr i ngs Many

,
.

th ings , h o wever must conduce t o th i s en d The

,
.
 AN CI E N T
SCI EN C E 33 .

egg m ust be pl aced in a w a r m heap of du n g wh i ch ,

hatches the c t ; no th e i n i s that the

re a u re . a e r v rs o
_

hatch i ng i d ne by a repuls i ve t oad

s o Then a .

ch i cken i hat hed wh i ch has a ta i l l i ke a snak e

s c , ,

but the rest of i ts b dy i th a t o f a cock Th o se

o s .

who s a y th ey ha ve w i tnessed the prod uct i on of

this creature de lare t h at the egg has n o shell bu t
, c ,

a sk in of such extre me strength that i t ca n w i th ,

stand the severest blows & We kn o w th i s mu ch , c. ,

that if th i i s the c ase there n ever has been i or

s , , s,

will be anywhere such a creature as the b asilisk

, , .

W h is bereft of reason as to al low h i mself to

'

o so

be pe rsu aded Tha t a real egg can come fro m a

com mon cock ? R eal I m e an f o r i t can not be , ,

den i ed that in som e cocks there i s fou nd a smal l

g lobu l e of w h ite ish excremen t form ed by pu tre f ac

t i on . F or i t i s qu i te p o ssible (I use the wor ds

”

of Joh n E usebius of N uremberg Royal Phys i c i an

, ,

at M adrid i n Spai n ) ,
“
that whe n c ocks h ave
passed the t i m e of life when they are able t o
perfor m their funct i ons the excrement i nclosed ,

w ith i n their bodies is co a gulate d i n to an eg by a

process of putri d conc o ct i on &c ( H ist N at
”
, . . .
,

l ib 6 , f o
. . The le arned Pe ter Lau rembe rg
s ays — There does indeed exist i n th e body of
“

the cock a growth w i th a wh i te sk i n bu t w i th o u t ,

a shell But th e cock d o es not pro dirc e thi s as

.

the hen i ts egg, nor can anything l i ving c o m e out

o f it . The h e n lays eggs not the Cock ”
, .

C
 34 M YT H S o r

I I I W h o , in fact can eas i ly bel i eve th at a

.
,

c o ck the mo st wholesome of anim als , can poss i bly

,

pr o duce a cre a ture of the m ost lo a ths o me a nd

hideous k i nd ? Wh o c an l i sten for o ne mome n t
to th i s iro nsensic al an d m ost m o n strous st ory o f
b i rth ? A serpen t co m es fro m a serpent , a co ck
f r o m a h e n b u t a basi l i sk fro m a c o ck , never !
,

Ca n an y o ne bel i eve that a c o ck whe n grow n old ,

and w i th i ts powers destroy ed , when almost no

furth er strength i s left i t , can possibly conce i ve

and prod u ce an egg ? What i s th i s hideou s to a d
that can possibly come to th e spot led by th e ,

scent and i n the regu lar o rder o f nature sit o n the

,

egg at the righ t m oment to hatch i t ? Wh o ever

you are th at can tel l such a b arefaced falseh ood
w i thou t blushing tel l us i n so oth have yo u ever , , ,

seen such things H ave you watched them care

f ully ? H ave y o u studied th em ? N o no Le t , .

th i s co c k s egg which you h ave ha u led in head

’
,

and ears cru mbl e i nto l i m e or dun g

, .

I V Laevinu s Le m niu s a most excellen t d oct o r ,

.
*
,

tells u s however that h e ma i ntains i t as a fact

, , ,

pr o ved fro m h i s o wn exper i e n ce , th at the cock

not o nly produces a n egg bu t i tsel f si ts o n i t , .

H e says —I n th e S tat e o f Ziricz ee an d i n the ,

Born at Z iric z e e in Z ee lan d in 1 50 5;w as the he

author o f I .
“
D: occu ltis nat ar re miracu lir 8vc ;
II De
. astrolo
gi a, 8vo ; III . De planti: bib/iris, 1 2111 0 ,
1 59 1 . He
— die d in 1 568 .
 A N CI EN T
SCI EN C E 35 .

lim i t o f th i s i sland there a re tw o old c o ck

s ,
s

wh i ch n o t o nly sat o n the i r o w n e ggs bu t were ,

w i th d i f ficul ty dr i ven w i th st i cks fr o m the work f o

hatch i ng them . A nd he adds that the pe ple of

”
o

the place hav i ng c o nce i ved the i dea that th e

,

ba s i l i sk comes fro m such a n gg smashed the e ,

e ggs and strangled the cock The answer of .

U lysses Aldro vandu s to these w o rds i s a s usu al , ,

m ost j ud i cious “
W h a t th i s w r i ter and others
.

a ffi rm I could never be pers u aded t o bel i eve by

a ny number of oaths I am so far from being ab l e
.

to bel ieve either that a cock sh o uld place i ts e gg

a mongst dung to le t i t be fecundated by its heat ,

o r that a bas i l i sk i s generated by toads who hatch

i t tha t I would rather cons i der the whol e th i ng a
,

j oke . A t the same t i m e I d o not deny that the

,

cock secretes w i thin i tself espec i ally a t the en d ,

of i ts l ife whe n n o longer abl e to per form it s

,

fu nct i on someth i ng like an egg which is produced

, ,

by a pro c ess of putrefaction B u t that it bri ngs .

forth an e gg co mplete an d furnished with a shel l

, ,

I cannot possibly bel i eve R eason tells u s this .

ca n only be d one i n the womb Just as no one .

thinks of m a i n taining that a co mplete f oetu s can

be pr o duced by a man so n e i ther can on e c o m e
,

from a cock .

V The bo ast i ng therefore o f Laevinu s a n d

.
, ,

Chr i stopher E nc e liu s no less than o f the N eapolitan

,

phys i c ia n , Fe rrans I mpe ratu s, whom they m e n

36

tion , is use l ess They sai d they h a d n ot o nly

who makes a boast of the wonders of na ture is to

be trusted Besides they who bel ieve i n a

N ature i n to our con fidence

.
.

seen but had i n thei r possess io n su ch eggs wh i ch

,

had been laid by cocks Surely no t every on e.

ny hi n g

easily are easi l y d ece i ved also We must t ake

t

H er powers mu st be
,
M
,
'

Y I u s or

.
,

.
,

explored ; the i r nature e fic acy and ant i pathies

'

, ,

w il l be com e c lear after a n int imate in q u iry I .

suspect the fabl e o f H er mes gave r i se to this

falseho o d H ermes had said that the regulus was
.

p roduced from the egg of the cock in the womb

or i n dung This however he di d not intend to
.
, ,

be underst ood about th e true bas i lisk but abo ut ,

the elix i r whi c h changes m etals We may com .

pare E usebiu s (H i st Na t Bk i v ch ap 29 . .
, . .
, .
,

fo .

V I B ut i t is a false a n d groundless statement

.
,

that the basilisk i s able by a m ere look to kill

e i ther a m an or any other anima l wh i c h i t i s th e
first t o se e Gale n us in h is book o n the act i on
.
,

of antidotes says The b asilisk i s a yellow i sh

,
“

c reature furnished w i th a three f ol d crown on its

,

f orehead and is of such a nature that m erely by

,

being seen or heard whe n h i ssing i t kil l s th o se

who see or hear i t A n d any an imal whatsoever .

touch i ng i t even when de ad d ies i mmediately

,
”
, .

The fi c tions wh i ch Pliny w h o i n his wr i t i ngs is ,

more celebrated for style than f o r accuracy o f

 AN CI EN T SCI EN C E .
37

statemen t (N at H ist Bk 8 cap

. . and .
, .

f Elian tell u s of are of the same nature M u ch

‘

.
,

con fusio n an d obscur i ty acc o rdingly reign i n

regard to the strength a nd poiso n o f the regu lus ;
as Pl i ny ca l ls i t The remark o f Bo dinu s i“ is a
.

good on e H e says. Who has ever seen i t i f i t

,
“
,

k ills by merely being see n ? ”

A s i f forsooth , ,

vision t oo k pl ace by emission o f rays and no t ,

rather by the rece p tion of sensible particl es The .

great Scaliger ask s f o r nothin g bu t stripes for such

collectors of falsehoo ds The vulgar have some.

stor i es lik e these abou t the wolf which Cardanu s ,

was ne i ther tired nor ashamed of defending Thi s .

was the reason of the severe crit i cism he receive d

at the ha n ds o f Sc h alige r B e wise i n t i me he
”
.
“
,

says , and let th i s be a mark of my a ff ectio n f o r

you . I want t o he ar none of these m any s i lly

fl Bo
ean din ,
born at A n ge r in 1 53 0
,
w as a

f avorite o f H e nry II I I n 1 589 , he f oll o we d the

.

Duke o f Al en con t o En gl an d wh e re h is great work ,

,

De R epu blica , bec ame a t e xt boo k at C ambri dge

"
O ne .

h is mo st c urious work s is La Demcnomame ou

’

of
'

Traite des Sorciers P ari s 1 587 , 4 t o wh e r ein h e

'

, , ,

maintains that he h ad a f ami l iar spirit that u se d t o

touc h h im o n th e ri ght ear wh e n he did a good
a c tion , and o n the l e f t wh e n he did a bad o ne .

H aving c onvinc ed him se l f that o ne c ou l d no t c atc h

the pl ague at 6 0 year s o f age, he took no pr e c aution s ,
and di e d o f that di se a se in 1 Th e q uotation is
59 6 .

f rom h is T/zeatru m N atu res bk 3 p 3 0 6 (1 59 6 8v o )

, .
, . .
,
.

Thi s boo k w as su ppr essed, and is c on se q uent l y rare .

38 M YTH S o r
st o r i es yo u h ave i ncluded i n
you r bo oks He .

cont i nues ,
“
Bu t let u s treat of the subj ect of
sympathy which yo u have t o uched o n both c o ldly
,

an d i n a c hildish m anner I n thi s respect yo u

.

requ i re so me help F or what i s i ts nature ? Why

.

do m e n grow dumb when they se e a wolf? B eca use

there is a power in i ts eyes y o u say But is there
, .

any if I do n ot se e i ts eyes ? I ts eyes d o not

penetr a te a m an s back , d o they ? or pass through
’

his head to his tongu e ? I shou l d l i ke these asser

tors of falsehood t o b e beaten wit h as m any rods
as the times I have been seen by a wol f w ithou t
any har m to my voice I k now for certai n I have
.

been see n n o l ess tha n three ti mes by a wolf w hen

hunt i ng . O nce by one wh i ch was crouch i ng i n
the m iddle of a thicket again by one o n th e brow
,

o f a m oun tain The third o ccas i o n was when one

.

had carried o ff a l i ttle child and the wolf while , ,

h i dden i n a cr o p of he mp fully grown every now , ,

and then ra i sed its head to get a vi ew of the hunters .

O ne o f the poor child s comp an io ns excl ai med

’

O h what a large dog !

,
”
My compan i ons an d
myself were seen by the beast while n on e o f u s ,

saw i t We were so far from being struck du mb

.
,

th at by shouting at the t o p of our voices w e first

of al l scar ed i t aw a y and then f ollowing i t u p
, , ,

secured i ts v i ct i m though u n fortu nately no l onger

,

i n life Let a s i mi lar test be m ad e i n th e case of

.

the bas i l i sk that d eath glancer forso o th ! I t will

,
-
,
 A N CI EN T SCI EN C E .
39

be an easy th i ng t o show what const i tu tes an act

of v i s i on When look i ng on a n obj ect n o p a rticl es
.

o f m atter are m ade t o v i brate from our eyes but , ,

o n the contra ry , we rece ive th e i mages of obj ects

wh i ch a re represented i n the crystal l ine lens .

The ch i e f author i ty to consul t is A than as i us

K i rcher " o n the Magnet i c A rt (Bk i ii part 9 . .
, ,

chap 1 , P 777)
.

V I I I f the story i s real ly true i t is a s i ngu lar

.
,

fact that the bas i l i sk flees from the presence o f a

weasel or cock Men are to be found who if
.
,

* K ir her w as a J e sui t o f F u l da, in H e sse Ca sse l

c .

H e was a good Mathemati c ian and a very le arned

man , and w as P rof essor at W itz bu rg, in F ranc o nia
ti ll driven o u t by the Swe di sh armi es H e re tire d t o
F ranc e, and ul timat el y to R ome wh ere he die d in
.

1 6 80 , at the age o f 7 0 His writings w e re e xtre m e ly

.

num e rou s, some be in g ve ry c uriou s and other s v e ry

rat e . T o t h e f orm e r c l a ss be l ong th e boo k m e n
t io ne d in the text , Prolasiones magneticae R om e , 1 6 54 , ,

f o l io A rc a N o e f ol io Turu s Babe l , f ol io, Am st e r

' '

dam 1 6 7 9 T o the l att e r , E dipu s E gyptiacu s, R ome ,

.

1 6 52 3 , 4 vol s f o l io o n H i e ro gl y hi c s
-
H e w as an
.
, p .

enthu siastic anti q uarian, and some goo d stori es are

r el ated o f him O ne might be tak e n as th e ori gina l
.

o f t h e f amou s s ton e s tory in P i c kwi c k Some youn g .

men, knowing h is weakn e ss, en grave d a numbe r o f

meanin gl ess s igns o n a stone and burie d it whe re th e y
kne w K irc he r w as about t o buil d It w as o f c our se.

foun d and c arri e d to K irc h e r w h o , a f t e r many days

,

and night s o f labour , ro du c e d a mo s t int e r e s tin g

p
r ea ding o f the unknown symbol s
l

4o M YTH S O F
they enter a ro om i n whi ch there is a c at, though
the latter be shu t up i n a ba sket , w i l l yet begin t o
t remble perspire pr o fusely and so met i mes faint
, ,
.

I n the sa m e way cattl e o n co ming t o a place at

,

which two or three d ays previous l y one of their

ki nd was slaughter ed begi n to b e llo w and are
, ,
‘

se i zed w i th f right . S o myster i ous i s M other "

N ature ! Thus do the greatest curi osi ties lie hid

in the smallest facts O n the subj ect of the dead l y
.

en mity be tween the c o ck an d the basi l isk U lysses ,

Aldro vandu s quotes a passage fro m So linu s fi “

I t i s said that thi s creatu re (wo nderf ul to rel ate ) ,

should it hap pen to se e a cock be gi ns t o tremble , ,

and on hear i ng i t approaching i s st ru ck w i th such

,

t error as to d ie o n th e S pot Travel l ers through

.

the v as t tracts of Cy re nia wh i ch are infested with

,

th i s singular pest recognising this f act t ake w i th

, ,

the m as a companion a c o ck The obj ect o f .

c arry i ng thi s cock i s to d ri ve away th i s dead l y

reptile by i ts crowing .

Thu s there i s no evi l so great or serious as no t

t o have so me an t i dote to i t Death alon e w ou l d
.

be inv in cible , did n ot the m i nd desp i se it and

l oo k forward w i th eagerness t o hopes of future
a writ e r o f the e nd o f the fi r st c entury
So linu s, .

H e h as be e n surnam e d Pl iny s Monk ey, as h e a pe s

’ ”

the styl e o f th e ma st e r A ldro vandu s q u ot e s him , as

.

s tate d in th e te xt , in the 1 4 th boo k o f h is Ornit/zalo ia,

g
fol . I 1 5
.
 A N CI E N T SCI EN C E .
41

o
jy , and thu s tr u mph even i over the greatest hard
i i
s h ps d est ny h as i n s tore O f the weasel Joh n .
,

E useb ius o f N urembe rg g i ves a defini ti o n i n the

, ,

f o llo wing te rms — ‘

The w i sdo m o f Prov i den c e
f
,

i n order to avoi d leavi ng a pest o f this n ature

without a dea dly enemy created the weasel which , ,

i s as po w erful a foe to the basilisk as the l atter i s

‘

to man
”
So mu ch f o r the bas i lisk that most
.
,

extra o rd i nary o f all creatu res .

(ten fi oottto nal Z oo lo gic al E icta .

. I The serpent by a n d i n i tself cannot pos

sibly understand the i ncantat i on o f poisoners ,

whether mal e or female , did no t that o l d dragon ,

the be trayer of the world th e slanderer of m an ,

kind the Devil lurk disgu i se d under the ou tward

, ,

f orm of a ser p ent an d play o il his won derfu l

‘ "

t r i cks of deceit and i mposture on those less

c un n i ng than himse l f .

I I The tales tol d abo ut that unique bird , th e

.

Phoen i x i f a c c epted literally are qui te fabu lous ;

, ,

i f otherw i se they becom e mere parables Won

, .

d er should never lead to credul i ty as i s so truly ,

po i nted ou t by J uli u s Caesar S caliger in his 23 3 rd

exerc i tat i on .

I I I W e shal l deal very sh o r tly wi th the ques

.

t ion as to whether the G riffi n S hould have a p lace

i n the an i mal cre a tion a qu est i on W h i ch i s ra is ed
,
42 M YTH S O F
by B F ranz iu s * (H ist Animaliu m , c
. . wh o .

says this w i nged q uadruped i s of such stre ngth

and courage that i t ca n overcome e i ght lio ns and
,

o ne hundred eagl es and carry an armed m an u p

,

i nto th e a i r The words of Gabriel Roll enhage n ?

.
“

are en ough H e says W hen the Saxon and

.
“
,

S cy th i an armies entered Greece and had landed ,

on the coast panting for spoil they u sed t o plu n ,

der beyond the walls of the t o wns where they

, ,

could n ot be rescu ed m en of the count ry wh o , ,

f led before them These they pursued and fol

.

lowed on horseback as fast as they could sh o ut i ng ,

fi rrifl greitt Den 33 n d?

‘ ’
, The t erm , acco rd
ingly, does not o we i ts orig i n to th e for m of a n y
living creature but t o a poet i c express i on and
, ,

d o es n ot app l y t o a pr odu ct o f nature but t o a ,

prod u ct o f song .

IV The opin i on of those wh o believe the

.

w h o l e race o f unicorn s to have p er i shed i n th e

flood i s ridicu lo u s I .

Thi s is an e rror the C hri s tian name o f F ranz iu s

be in g Wo l f gan g H e w as a Lutheran theol ogian ,
born in 1 564 at Plave n in Voigt l an d, and P ro f e ssor
.

at W itte m be rg whe re h e die d in 1 6 20 The work

, .

a ll u de d to is h is A nima liu m Historia sacra 1 2m o

“ ”
, .
,

1 6 6 5, a c uriou s bu t rare book .

+ 1 c annot find th e q uotatio n The on ly work o f .

R oll enh age n I c an trac e besi de s a f e w plays, is h is

,

Frosc/lmu nster, an e pi c in the styl e o f H om e r s Barra

’

c/lom oma cfiia

y R olle nhage n died in 1 60 9 aged 57
.
, .

I Thi s statem e nt is the t e xt o f our n e xt trac t

. .
 M
M
A N CI EN T SCI EN C E .
43

V We have com e to the con c lusion that th e

.

so ng at tr i buted to the swan (when dy i ng ) i s a pure

fig me n t M any reasons i nduce u s to take this
.

view and w e have th e support of S caliger an d

,

that mos t learned m an Spe rlingiu s .

VI A ltho u gh the r enewal o f moul ted feathers

.

M
is one thing an d the ren ewal of vigorous you th
,

q uite another yet J udeu s A ppell a bel i eves that

,

eagles renew their youth (I n support of this .

f able c onsult R Dav K i m chi

*
, ex R Su badia . .
, .
,

super chap 4 0 . .
,

V I I I t wou ld be the part of a very weak man

.

to beli eve tha t brute beasts ca n natu rally co n verse

a m ong themselves e lampu s l and H ieronymus .

R abbi Davi d K im hi a Spaniar d f the mo t c

, ,
o ne o s

l arned H ebrew holars f th gth entury was th

e sc o e l c ,
e

s e le ted arbitrator between the ynagogues f Spai

c s o n
an d F ran e in t h di pute about the book
c f Mai
e s s o

m nid
o Hi prin i pal work are
es. sfil l (that i c s c a s

i ) a H ebr w Gram mar print d at V ni

,

P fer ec t on , in e e e ce

i m T lm di m V eni e
,

8 ; Di i vo
5 6
c t onar u a u cu
,
c
,
1 0 ,

f o l io ,
d a work n H ebr w root
an
555 8 o e s
,
1 , vo .

+ The most urious book o n the q uestion o f th e

c ,

poss i bl e r en e wa l o f youth , I have m e t with is He r ,

m ippu s R e divivu s, whi c h I have re print ed in t hi s

pre sent seri e s .

1ZA f amou s sage o f anc i ent tim e s, sai d to have l ive d

about 1 3 80 B C a ny work s w e re printe d f rom t he
. .

1 5th t o the 1 7 th c e nturi e s as h is O ne o f th e se is .

probabl y h e re a ll u de d t o .
44 M Y T H S O F A N CI EN T SCI EN C E .

F b ri i fi of A quapendente
a c us
t
among mo dern ,

wri ter s have oppose d th i s theory (S ee the .

n the language of an i mals )

’
latter s T ti “
re a se o .

VI I I Man alon e can properly speak i ng

.
, ,

laugh weep or t al k i n a natura l m anne r N e i ther

, , .

ape croc dile m agp i e or n ightingale can do S i n

, o ,
‘

the same w ay .

I X To as sign a place i n the anima l creation t o

'

what a re ca lled the E phemer i d ae which are born ,

in the morn i ng and die at night i s su ch a n absurd ,

d octrine that w e dism i ss i t without fu rther wo rdsd ‘

X To believe that the Pe l ica n a bird w i th a

.
,

curved beak tears its own breast and restores i ts

, ,

young to li f e by bleeding itsel f i s to dream ,

.

J e rom e Fabric iu s be tt e r known as A q uapen dente ,

( th e
p l ac e o f h is birth
) w as t h e u
p p i l and s u c c e ssor o f

Fall opiu s in the Chair o f A natomy at Pa dua H is

,

anatomic a l work s w e re rint e d at Le y de n in 1 7 8,

p 3
f o l io and h is surgic a l writings w e r e c o ll ec t e d and
,

publ i sh e d in 1 7 23 f ol io He l aboure d more f o r gl ory

, .

than interest and h is f ri e n ds havin g ma de h im variou s

,

pre se nt s as a r e war d f o r h is di sint e re s te dn ess he plac e d ,

the m in a c abine t with the in sc ri ption

Lu c ri ne gle c ti lu c rum .

He di e d in 1 60 3 .

+ In pit e o f K
s irc h m a e r,
y w e kno w that t h e

E phemeri dae o f whi c h o u r En gl i sh genu s is t h e

,

may fl y on l y e xi st a f e w hours when the y ha ve

-
,

r e ac h e d thi s fina l stage o f l i f e .

 l n tantru m

M
G E O R G E C ASPAR D K I R C H
,

AY E R .
M
M
and

,
gr e a t ,

g
PR E F A C

,
b

e
e

l
ON G

P a r a di s

yi

p
n g t h e

R
th e

e,

n
p i

m an i s b y n o m e an s th e le a s t p le asi n g
T h e r e o ne m i gh t se e lo r dl y l io n s h u ge
and s t r o n e h an t s h i
,
no
p l

p
E

c t u re o f t h e
th e

an i m a l c r e a t io n b o t h s ma ll
o d of r i

c e ro s e s

o no c e r o s e s at th e w o r d of c o mma n d
m a ki n g t h e i r a ppe a ra n c e and a l l o w in g th e
,

yo ke t o b e pla c e d on t h e m by th e h an d o f
m
,

and
.

e a s an t s i gh t s

e va l

,
of

m an . A ga in o ne m i gh t se e o t h e r an i m a ls
,

w i t h f a c u lt i e s in n u m e r a b le and b e au t y ,
 M
48 Pref a ce .

u n s pe aka b le c o m i n g a t th e c o mman d of
, ’

t h e glo r io u s C r e a t o r and re c e i v i n g th e
,

n a m e s c o rr e s po n di n g t o t h e i r na t u r e s T h i s
.

w as th e fi r s t m e e t i n g o f th e an i m a l c re a t io n .

T h e s e c o n d w as a m o u r n fu l o ne i n de e d;

b u t e v e n i t w as w o n de r fu l i n th e e x t r e m e .

F o r w h e n D i v i n e Ju st1 c e c h an ge d t o s e v e r e
an ge r o n a c c o u n t of th e gr i e v o us c r i m e s
,

of m e n and de t e r m i n e d t o de s t r oy t h e
,

w i c ke d fr o m t h e fa c e of th e e a rt h b y a

floo d of a v e n gi n g w a t e r s w h i c h w as t o
,

s w e ep a w ay t h e gu i l t of m an ki n d a t t h e ,

in s t i ga t ion of t h e o s t H i gh m any pai r s

of ani m a ls w e r e c o ll e c t e d (of fi s h e s t h e r e
w as no n e e d) an d r e c e i v e d in t o t h e ark
, ,

w h i c h h ad la t e ly be e n b u i lt u n t i l i t w as
,

qu i t e fu ll .

W h a t w e r e yo u r t h ou gh t s N oa h w h e n
, ,

yo u a c t e d a s h o s t t o th e c ro w ds of t h e
w h o le a ni m a l c r e a t ion ? o r w h e n t h e

s t e n c h fr o m th e i n t e r io r o ppre ss e d yo u r
 Pref ace .
49

s e n s es , and, i ou t t h e h e a ps of de a d
w th ,

m e n and an i m a l s fl oa t e d a bo u t and t h e ,

h u ge w a v e s t h r e a t e n e d yo u w i t h i n s t an t
de a t h . Y o u did n o t m e t h i n ks r e v i le
, ,

you r G o d b u t r e p e a t e d you r pr ay e r s n i gh t
,

and da
y .W i t h H im as yo u r s t ay no t
,

on l y c o u l d yo u be fr e e fr o m an xi e t y b u t ,

s afe in t h e fu l le s t s e n s e o f t h e w o rd .

G o d c on s o l e d you He h e lp e d you He
, ,

w as t h e c o n s t a n t gu a r dia n of yo u and
‘

yo u rs T e ll u s i s i t n o t w r on g t o t h i n k
.
,

t h a t a s in gl e s p e c i e s p e r i s h e d and b e c a m e
e x t in c t t h e n w h e n s u c h a gre a t G o d t oo k
,

i n h an d th e c h a r ge o f all Bu t j u s t a s .

t h e r e i s no k i n d of c r e a t u r e s o b e au t ifu l
as no t t o p e r fo r m th e fi l t h y fu n c t io n s of
n a t u r e s o t h e r e is n o t h i n g s o sa c r e d a s t o
,
'

esc a e t h e v io la t ion of t h au d a io u s
p e c .

O v e r t h e w h o le w o r ld i t i s a c o m m o n

sayi n g t h a t th e u n i c o r n p e r i s h e d and
b e c a m e e x t i n c t a t th e fl oo d and t h a t no t a
,

D
50

S n gl
i e

s u r v i v ed
and s h a ll
.
Pref ace

in di v i dua l of t h e M
.

o no c e r o s s pec i e s
W e sh a l l c o r r e c t t h i s i nj u s t i c e

w i t h G o d s h e lp find a m e an s
,
’

o f p u t t i n g a s t o p t o t h i s u n i v e r sa l bla s

p h e m y .
,
 ® n the (u n i c o r n .

s x s xv s m m m

C I I A PTE R I .

A RGU M EN T .

1 N atu re and f rmati n o f the te

o o r m N o no c e ro s
A pa t f Ch rist s C r ss is c all d
.

“
U ni c o r n
’

2 r o o e

T h term appl i d t a mi ner l

. ,

o
3 e e

g d d
a .

th e w o r c o ntinu e
r
Explanatio n o f anal o
h
o u s u s es o
4 . .

x
5 T h e e is te nc e o f u nic o rn fis
U b ird L
. .

6 nic o rn s se e n b y the u sitanians

h dv d b y Cl d
. .

T h i C rdanu s c e nsu re

by
o ne - o rne p e rs u s e e o patra
7
'
e
gl h d b l b
. ,

8 Sin e- o rne e e t e s see n Bart h o linu s e tw e e n Sa e rno and

N pl
.
.

a es.

9 Th h d
e o ne - o rne ass o f l ndia
h dh d l h
.
.

A th e Jo n G e o rge I
S l q ly b y
10 o ne - o rne o rse
pre s e nte to ate

El
,
f H
e c to r o ano ve r imi ar c re atu re s see n f re u e nt

h p
.

ot er e rs o ns
Si gl h d xd T h i h d h wild
.

and c o ws fo u n
f R
1 1 n e - o rne o en o t s ea t e
d
, .

x i b f

ll d h yx
o en o u s s a are to e re e rre

f h w d im l
.

l
h d dl y my f h
12 An ac c o u n t o t e o n er u an a ca e t e or
hi l ph
. .

3 Th
h h m
1 e r noc e ro s, t e ea e ne o t e e e ant
hi
. .

’
1 4 Th b e rd d no c e ro s no t to e co n o u n e W it t e o no c ero s .

C d bl m d d d f d d lig p i d
,

Sc a
5 A i q i y i b h
ar anu s a e an e en e er ra s e
b i d
. .

h m i
V i y ym f h m
1 . n n u r nto t e ter u n c o rn, ot as a su st ant ve an
as a c reatu re . ar o u s s no n s o t e te r .

I The ter m monoceros i s or i ginally of Greek

.

origin comes from m onos mean ing one an d

, and , ,

t er m meaning a horn I n the A ttic method of

, .
52 M YTH S o r
pronun c i ation the word is accented on the ante
penultimate syl labl e A m ong the Latins the term .

u ni c orn furn ished w i th only on e horn ) h as

exactly the s ame m eaning By som e writers such .
,

as Bartholomew of E ngl an d N icolas Perotta, , ,

and E usebius of N uremberg the word u m eornu u s

’

, ,

i s used instead N estor o f N o varre under the

.
, ,

word u nico r n page 1 0 2 says that i t c an al so be

, ,

d ec l ined a s u m co rm z mz J oh n o f Jap u a speaks

’ '

i n almo st the same terms when he proves that ,

w o n cen t s an d m anarem are possible terms Su ch

’

matters are however to be left to philo l ogical

, ,

s c holars to d ecide I t i s ou r duty t o explai n w i th

.

c are and accuracy the common s i gni fication of the

word . O u r exertions i n th i s respect must be con

ducted with greater perseverance when we consider
what a great advantage i t i s to have t ruth cleared
o f the l abyr i nths of f alsehood I t is my O pinion .
,

i ndeed that the maj ority of th e false stor i es abou t

,

th e monoceros which are no t only m onstrous but

,

obscu re could n ot have ar i sen except through a n

,

indistin ct apprehens i on of what th e t er m signifies .

I I Th e ter m u nicorn i s one i n universal u se

.
,

n ot only in matters of art bu t i n those o f nature .

Th at i t belongs and is applied to the first of these

t w o classes is clearly seen by the ev i dence of

I ren aeus Justinus an d Tertullian a c cording to

, , ,

w hom the m iddle part o f th e m a i n beam of ,

“
the u nicorn ? A
'

Christ s C ross was call ed

“
’
 A N CI EN T SCI EN C E .
53

passage i n Deuteronomy Chap xx ii i , a ff ord e d . .

Tertu l li an a n opportu nity of making this state

m ent . The following are the word s he uses i n
chap x i of the book wri tten against the J e ws
. .

“
Chr i st he says ,
”
,
“
was th erei n m eant to be
represented by the bull , by reason o f his doub l e
attitude towards m en — hi s att i tude o f severi ty to
some as the i r j udge hi s atti tude of clem en c y to
,

oth ers as the i r S av i our The horn s of this bul l

.

w ere the extrem e p o i nts of the cross beam , whi le -

the un i corn was the m i d dle plank of the m ai n

‘ ’

beam ”
. These w o rds of Tertu l l ian have not ,

however be e n abl e to withstand the close scrutiny

,

o f c ritic ism xl N ot on l y D Georgius Calixtus i n

'

.
,

h i s n otice of the Cross wr i tten at Leips i c but

, ,

Du Dibb erru s in hi s accoun t of th e C ru ci fixion

.
, ,

have g i ven the m ean i ng of the word The C ross .

was called u nicorn part l y because it h ad a shar p

curved point partly because i t was placed i n th e
,

middle of the bea m a s the horn is i n the forehea d

,

of the ani mal and had n o other part of th e

,

structure to correspond to i t (See M agnu s son o f .

,

His gl ory is l i ke the firstling o f h is bu ll oc k ,

and h is horn s are l i k e t h e horn s o f uni c orn s with ,

the m he sha ll pu sh t h e pe o pl e toge the r to th e e n ds o f

t h e earth : and th e y are the te n thou san ds o f E phraim ,
”
and th e y are the thou san ds o f Mana sse h .

f Balzac u se d to say that the obsc urity o f Tert u llian s

’

s ty l e was l ik e the bl ac kn e ss o f Ebony ve ry bri ll iant ,

.
54

Barth o linu s

“
,

M
Magn u s O n the Un i cor n chap 23
p age 1 4 9 and fol l ow i ng )
I I I The te rm is applied to natural products
.

"
bo th mineral and natural
M YT H S o r
,

F or instance i n
“
.
, .
,

M
.
,

Bohem i a Thuring i a Moravia and I n certai n

, , ,

districts of is nia stones are dug fro m som e of

,

the mi nes whi c h possess a powerful v i rtue aga i nst

,

E pilepsy against malignant fevers and o ther

,

dise ases of less note .

Se nne rtu sfi the great doctor of G er many , is

w o rth quot i ng on this po i nt H e says A mong .
,
“

porou s stones that spe c i es deserves not i ce wh i ch

,

i s common ly sa i d to be the u ni corn s horn O thers ’

.

cal l i t a foss i l horn I n Thu ri ngi a Bohe mia and

-
.
, ,

other places su ch horns are fo u nd and n ot o nly

, ,

horns but other bo nes which have the nam e o f

be i ng good for healing w ounds and broke n bo nes ,

and for curing sores ”

E specially are the follow in g
.

words to be considere d These horns exper i en ce “

,

has t a ught u s p ossess great power espec ia lly in

, ,

cur i ng E pi lepsy m a li gnant fevers , plagu e , bowel

,

Dani e l
Se nne rt, o r Se nne rt u s, was t h e so n o f a
sho e mak e r o f Bre slaw He w as born in 1 57 2, bec am e
.

P rof e sso r o f e de c ine at W it te m bu rg, and di e d o f

l
the p ague in 1 6 3 7 His w o rk s, in 3 v o s , f o i o , l l
V
. .

l
e ni c e 1 64 0 , o r in 6 vo s , f o io , Lyon s, 1 6 7 6 , are a . l
c om pl e t e
om pe n di u m o f M e dic a l Sc ie nc e u p t o h is
c

day and are f ar mor e val u abl e than m any h i gh l y

,

rai se d m o de rn produc tions .

 AN CI EN T SCI EN C E .
55

co mpla in ts in children and other d iseases F r o m

,
.

th i s c i rcu mstance they are commonly sold as

un i co rn s h o r n
’ ”
The sto ry that the whole race o f
.

un i c o rns per i shed at the F loo d der i ves pla u sib i lity
fro m t he fact t ha t a t the prese n t day , horns
, ,

wh i ch were covered over w i th the sediment left by

the waters o f the F l o od an d wh i ch have l ai n al l
,

th i s t i m e bur i e d in the e ar th are i n m any pl a c es ,

du g u p again With th i s rem ark however we

.
, ,

w i l l deal later on .

IV A t th e presen t po i nt we have to g i ve a clear

.

a n d syste m at i c a cc o unt of the d i ff eren t cas es i n

wh i ch the term M onoceros is applied to ani mals .

We ca n n ot ga i n the desired h a ven of tru th u nt i l

w e p ass over the d i stort io ns an d a mbi gui ties th a t
i ntercep t our path .

Cre a tures that sw i m tha t fly , that creep that

, ,

wade besides i nsects all claim the name un i corn

, , .

A s far as th e first o f these d i v i s i o ns is concerned ,

the cla i m seems j ust as certa in B atav i ans o n

, ,

ret u rning fro m the Ea st I ndies in 1 60 1 , br o ugh t ,

w i th the m a huge se a beast which had a l arge -

,

s i ngle horn The grea t Clu siu s h as left us a picture

.

of i t .
(Bk . The ex i stence o f a kind of

*
The N arwha l (Mon o don Monoc e ro s), o r Se a
Unic orn is e vi de nt ly meant In the male, o ne tooth ,
.

u sua ll y the l e f t, is de ve l o pe d into a l ong s traight ,

point e d tu s k o r
“
horn o f sol i d ivory t h e sur f ac e
”
,

be ing mark e d with spiral ri dge s o r groove s Thi s .

56 M Y TH S o r
creatu re c al led the H i ppopotamus
i s affirmed by
some but doubted by others Whatever the tru th
, .

m ay be i t i s a f act that i n the year 1 576 M art i n

,

F ro b ish er cam e across a fish un i corn a mong the -

huge ice fie lds whi c h had a horn that protruded

-
,

about t wo cub i ts in fron t of i ts nose (His/c ry of .

E ast I ndia Book i i chap , O laus Magnus ?

. .
,

Bk xx i chap 1 0 on the Monoceros says : Th e

. . .
, ,

e normou s tu s k vari e s f rom six to e i ght f e e t in l e n gth .

O cc a sional l y both t e e th are de ve l o pe d into tu s k s The .

N arwhal varie s f rom te n t o sixt e e n f e e t in le ngth, and

the tusk is ge n e rall y more than ha l f t h e le n gt h o f th e
bo dy . It h as be e n c onj e c tur e d that the horn is
e m l oye d in s e arin g fish o r i n stirrin g u p f oo d f rom
p p ,

th e bottom ; bu t thi s wou l d pl ac e the f e ma l e s at a

r at di sa dvanta ge A s the tu s k s are f re ue nt l y f oun d
g e .
q
broken, they may be w ea pon s u se d f o r fi ghting ,

deve l o pe d l ike th e horn s o f un gu l at es throu gh se xua l

se l ec tion .

*
Martin F ro bish er w as o f a Devon shire f ami l y In .

1 57 5 h e sai l e d o n his fir s t voyage o f di sc ove ry, and

r eac he d the l atitu de o f In 1 57 7, h e un de rtoo k
a sec on d voyage , bu t r e turne d with o u t ac c om pl i shing
h is obj e c t H e subseq uent l y great l y di stin gui shed
.

him se l f a gain st the A rma da In 1 59 4, h e l an de d in

.

Brittany, t o be si e ge t h e f ort o f C ordon , near Bre st ,

bu t w as w o u nde dh and die d o f h is woun ds at Plymouth .

f O lau s Magnus w as A rc hbi shop o f Upsal a, in

su c c e ssion t o h is broth e r His great work Historia
.
,

G entiu m Septentriona/iu m R om e, 1 555, f ol io, c ontain s

,

muc h that is c uriou s bu t the author w as undoubt e dl y

,

very c r e du l ous O lau s di e d at R ome about 1 560

. .
 AN CI EN T sc rs u c s .
57

M o nocer o s i s a sea monster (I wou ld h ave pre

-

f erred i f O laus had absta i ned fro m the use of this

w o rd , wh i ch cas ts a slur on N ature ) wh i ch has
“

o n i ts forehead a very large horn by m e ans of ,

wh i ch i t can pier c e and wreck vessels w i th which

i t co mes i n contact an d destroy a large nu mber o f
,

persons who may be on bo ard Bu t i n th i s c as e .

,

the love o f a Divine Prov i dence gives a sou rce o f

escape to the se a man , for i n sp i te of its fer oc i ty , i t
has such an extreme slowness of mot io n th a t , i f ,

seen before i t reaches the vessel the terr i fied sa i lors ,

ca n eas i ly evade its approach ”

.

A l bertus M R o ndele tiu s h a s also made men

*
.

t ion of th i s fish i n h is book o n the M on o ceros ,

while there are ma ny who have not i ced i t when

wr i t i ng o n the subj ect of fish es We may compare .

als o O le ariu s Persian jo u r ney s Bk I chap 4

, , . . .
,

fol
.

Wi ll iam R on d lborn at Mont pe ll ier in

e e t w as
1 50 7 , and prac ti se d m e dec ine th e re His princ i pal
A Tr eati se o n F i sh 1 554 2 vol s f o l io
.

work is -
, , .
, .

R abe lai s is said to have satiri se d him un der t h e nam e

o f R ondibilis H e di e d o f a surf e it o f figs in 1 566
. .

+ A dam O le ariu s was the so n o f a tai l or o f Ste e nw ic k

in the N e the r l an ds H e be c ame se c r e ta ry to th e
e mba ssy se nt by F r e deri c k t o t h e C z ar and the Shah
.

'

o f P er sia . The journ ey l ast e d six year s f rom 1 6 3 3 t o ,

1 63 9 . O n h is r e turn he wrot e a hi s tory o f h i s

,

t rave l s, as e xac t as it is de taile d H e al so i ssue d a .

c o ll ec tion o f s tori e s maxim s, e tc

,
drawn f rom Pe r sian .
,

author s He die d in 1 6 7 1 , at th e age o f 6 8

. .
 M YT H S o r

VI E l ian (Bk 1 7 of Hi twy f A m m / chap

. { . s o
'

a s, .

h a s in tr o d u ced u nic o r n s under the head of

fly ing creatures I n the sa me w ay D u ro a writer
.
,

o f Pers i an h istory (a we learn f om the Con on of s r

C o rn eli u s N ep o s and a l so fr o m A thenaeus ) m n

, e

t io ns that u n i cor n birds were fo und i n E th i op i a - .

W he n S lim nn E n h o a was bringi ng r o u n d

u s u u c u s

h i s fleet t o port fter hav i ng s ai led o ver the Red

, a

S ea there w
, seen on the coast o f Port u gal a
as

u ni cor n bird a st a temen t wh i ch i s testified to by

-
,

Le wi s de Urreta a m o nk f the F rancisc n O rder

, o a .

History of The state m ent

E th iop ia, p .

ten dered by Tho m as Barth o linu sfi"so n o f Gasp a rd ,

p age 50 of the b oo k abo ve qu o ted i s worthy of ,

not i ce : R o m e the m other of N at i ons prod u ced

, ,

a b asilisk orn a m ented w ith a single h o rn in i ts

head of the sa m e appeara n ce as the en gr a ver h as

,

shew n in the woodcut H e i n fact gi ves a p i cture .

, ,

of the creature .

VI I A mong the m any races of R ept i les ,

.

sever al cases and these of a n agreeable na tu re

, ,

could By the exerc i se of ditf u seness be quoted

,

fro m A lbertus Magnus ? a n d U lysses Aldro vandu s .

* There w e re thr ee writ e r s nam e d Barth o linu s,

C asPard, Thoma s th e e l de r, and Thomas th e youn ger ,
f ather, so n, and gran dson Thi s is Thoma s the .

e l der .

Th u s c all e d, no t bec ause h e w as r eall y a gr eat

f
man , but be c au se h is f ami l y name w as Gr oor, the
 AN CI EN T SCI EN C E .
59

Fi rst of all however w e must quote th a t p assa ge

,

of John Ve slingiu s which i s a source of w o nder

to the anatom i sts of ou r age I n th i s p assage he .

states that i n th e suburbs of C a i ro he had several

t i m es seen one horned vipers o f a m ost deadly
-

n atu re The E gypti ans gi ve them th e n am e o f

.

M am elukes or Regia s and say that Cleo patra , i n

,

t i mes gone by had applied them to her bre asts

, .

C ard anus m entions a little worm i n h i s b oo k

on subt i lti es which sp ri ngs fr o m th e le aves o f the
,

nightshad e wh i ch i s m ark ed by a gree n a n d

,

ye l low tinge a nd carries a b o rn on its forehead

, ,

more th a n an i n c h in length I t i s my o p i n i o n .

that Card anus had confounded the m outh and

wh at corresponds t o the carti l age Th e questi o n .

i s whether i t has a horn whence the anim al m ay ,

d er i ve i ts n ame or only some m ater i al st i ff and

, ,

prickly which by the l apse of t i m e be comes

,

trans form ed int o cartil age There i s noth i ng new .

or wonderfu l in this ; i t hap pens to capons or ,

castrated co c k s as well as t o th i s creature

, .

N ow sha ll we here delay long over the hor n ed

slug of F abiu s Colu mn a which he calls by the ,

nam e Bo u c am p e or o x foo t from its ch arac

“ ”
-
,

Dut c h f o r gre at . He w
born in 1 20 5 and died in
as

1 282 . His work s we re c oll ec ted in 1 6 51 and f orm ,

2 1 l ar ge f o l io vo l um e s .

g u s di e d at Pa dua 1 64 9 H e w as a
* V e slin i
.

c e l ebra te d anatomi st .
60 M YT H S or

feature o f be i ng be n t like the curved foot

t e ris tic

o f an ox a nd wh i ch i s said by the Lat i ns to be

,

dest ru ct i ve t o nu ts .

VI I I E ven amo ng insects there are certain

.

k i nds furnished with only o ne horn The species .

of be etles of th i s k i nd (no t those doub l e hor ned

creatures wh i ch the German cal l Sc h rote r) i s
admi tted to be somewhat rare and although less
,

treated of by A u thors , i t is yet very com m on i n

I llyr i a N ext to O laus of Worms we must quote
.
,

the words o f Barth o linu s who was an eye witness

,
-

of the fact record ed an d i s a man o f the greatest

atta i n ments When j ourney i ng be tween S a lerno
an d N aples he says we came across a creature
of the k i nd I have d escribed I have cal l ed i t
.

U n i corn i n oppos i t i on to the op i ni on o f these

,

m ost lear n ed me n Aldro vandu s an d I mp e ratu s , ,

t o who m i t see ms to be better descr i bed by the

appellat ion Rh i noceros ”
But , dismissing these
.

i nstances and that of the amphibi o us animal

called the Ca mphor we m ust call attenti o n to
,

q uad rupeds and , enquire whether perhaps the , ,

v a gu e m ean i ng of the word may not be explained ,

as the resu lt o f pe tty m ist a k es and err o rs , m o re

tha n anyth ing else .

IX I n this branch of ou r subj ect such variety

.

meets our v i ew that I can n o lo nger w o nder a t

the fact that a u thors n owhere agree with o n e
another i n descr i b i ng the nature of the monoceros .
 A N CI EN T SCI EN C E . 61

This i s th e reason why many are susp i c i ous of the

stori es told of th e creature w h y very many m en ,

are sceptical on the p o i n t and m ore than on e i s

,

reduced to a state of m isgiv i ng on the subj ect .

F or (1 ) there is said to be a on e horned ass or -

un i corn of Ind ia This species i s very o ften

.

referred to by P li ny (Bk ii chap 3 7 N at . .

, .
, .

H ist ) an d by A ristotl e (Bk ii chap 1 ; Bk i ii

. . .
, . . .
,

c h ap . A nd al th ough A n dreas Marinus the ,

sworn foe of the un i corn considers th i s one horned

,
-
,

on e footed creature i n the ligh t of a ch i mera on

-
,

the ground that none of the presen t generation of

those who have t ravel led over the Indies and ,

other coun tri es unknown to the a nc i ents have ,

.

ever seen or heard of i t yet he i s completely and

,

f ul l y re f uted by Barth o linu s (page

X A gain (2) the existence of one horned
.
,
-

h orses is beyond a l l man ner of doubt It is .

only a very few years ago since the E lect or of

S axony the la te John George I o f m o s t g l or i ous
, .
,

memory w as p resented by a man named K rac c h iu s

,

(wh o had served h is f ul l term of mi l ita ry service

i n the Imperial army and cannot be u nknown t o
,

th e inhabit ant s of Krackow ) with a one horned -

horse whi c h l ost and renewed its horn annually

, .

We sh a ll here pass no remark on the test i mony

of Pliny S trabo and So linu s s i nce their au th en
, , ,

tic ity is suspe c ted by so m e (though we should

remind th ese latter th at accusation i s q u i te a

 62 M YTHS op

di ff erent thi ng fro m refutation ) John Eu sebiu s .

,

of N uremberg a great author i ty Professor of, ,

Physics at Mad rid in S pa i n (N at H ist Bk vii , . .

, . .
,

chap . says he sa w at the Court of Philip a , ,

hor n ed horse wh i ch had been brought from Ind i a .

I n the stables of the Pr i nce of S i cily Leo Allatiu s ,

sa w a horse so me years prev i ously of very m eagre ,

proport i ons but o f the greatest ferocity This i s

, .

on the testimony of Tho mas Barth o linu s .

X I There are also oxen possessed of only one

.

hor n A ny o n e who ple ases m ay consul t P l i ny ,

.

Bk vi ii , ch ap 21
. . H is i n consistency however ,
. .
,

i n at one time stating there are only I ndi an asses

wh i ch are on e horned an d at another that there
-
,

are oxen also can not be go t over S till E th i opia

, .
,

and I ndia are the native places o f this cre a ture .

Caesar also in h i s Galli c W ar states tha t

, ,
” “
,

i n the H ercynian F orest oxen w ere to be foun d ,

wh i ch had a k ind o f high straight horn in the

middle of the forehead I t is moreover true that .

i n som e pla c es cows w i th o nly on e horn are reared .

O n this po i nt we m ay q uote S caliger H e says .

In th e sam e field as I m entioned above at the ,

town of Zei la i n E thio p i a there are cows of a

, ,

black colour with stag s horns I have ca l led

,
’
.

* A native o f C hio s, w h o be c ame rof e ssor o f P

C re e k at R
ome in 1 6 0 0 e w as a f t e rwar ds . H
l
Librarian t o Car din a Barbe rini , and at e r sti l, o f th e l l
V ati can Library . H
e died in 1 66 9 , age d 83 year s .
 AN CI EN T SCI EN C E . 63

these creatures therefore Ce rvine s S om e h ave .

the h o r n i n the m i ddle o f the forehead , and i t

f or ms a greater angle tha n the foo t d oes w i th the
l eg when at rest
,
S caliger gi ves u s th e abo ve
.

statement on the a uthor i ty of Lew i s Ve rto mannu sfi ‘

who saw at the Sultan s cou rt at Ze i la c o ws o f

,
’

the de scription gi ven abo ve U nder th i s head .

i t m ay be well to bri ng the one h o rne d w i ld ox of -

R ussia which the Ger mans commonly ter m h is

,

a bt odjs end See o n th i s po i nt E r asmus Stela

‘

, ,

Bk 1 Barth o linu s in his remarks on A nc i en t

. .
,

Russia thinks these w i ld one horned o xen t o be

,
-

Lewi s V e rt o m annu s w as a R oman wh o in 1 50 3 , ,

undertook a voyage t o the East His extraor dinar y .

ac c ount o f h is j ourney was t ran sl ate d by R i c har d Eden

in 1 57 9 , and re printe d by me f o r the A u ngervy /e
Society (3 0 0 c o pi e s on l y) in 1 884 The f oll owing is .

the pa ssage r e f e rr ed t o It wi ll be see n that eith e r

.

K irc h m aye r o r h is authority, Sc ali ge r have somewh a t ,

mi sq uote d V e rto m annu s “ Th e re are a l so c e rtain e

.

kyne with hom e s l yke vu to H art es horne s, these are

wyl de ; and wh e n the y be e taken , are giu e n t o the
Sol tan o f that c itie (Z e i l a) as a k yngly pr e se n t I .

sawe th e re a l so c e rt a ne kyne h au in
y , g on l y o ne ho m e
in the mi dde st o f the f ore he ad, as hath th e V nic o rne ,
an d about a s ann e o f l en th bu t the ho m e be n de th
p g ,
bac k w arde the y are o f a brygh t sh ynyng re d c ol our .

Bu t the y that haue h art e s ho m e s, are e nc lynyng t o

bl ac k e c ol our (Bk ii , C ap 1 4 p
”
. . . . . .

f T h is is
probabl y the Uru s o f Chanc e ll o r
“

(See Biblior/ieca Cu riosa; Chanc ell or s V oya ge , p

.

’
.
64 M YT H S 0 1 ?

the sa me as those which Caesar s ays he s aw

wa nder i ng in the H ercyn i an forest .

X I I But w e m ust not pass over w i thou t men tion

.

M
the one horned oryx The oryx to expl ain the
-
.
,

word is s o c a l led from i ts power of burrow i ng

,
-
,

e i ther from a desire o f being u ndisturbed , o r be

c ause
, from a petulant nature lik e a boar i t , ,

digs up the earth not with i ts head or mouth bu t

, ,

w i th i ts feet with the i ntention of covering i tsel f

,

over w i th a blacker coat i ng so as no t to s e e the ,

ris i ng su n or m oo n Th e greatest d ivergence o f

.

opin i on reigns as to what class of animals we are

to refer the ory x to Pliny (Bk i i i chap 3 7 ) . . .
, .

and C o lumella (Bk i chap 1 ) re ie r it to the d eer

. .
, .
,

others t o th e ass t ribe H owever that may be .

,

the ory x i s a one horned creature Its h ab i tat i s

-
.

Syr i a Palestin e and G etuli a i n A f r i ca W e learn

, , ,
.

f rom Juven al and M artia l that i t was cons i dered a

great delica cy Juvenal wr i tes
.

E t Scy tfizae v olu cres, Pfizz nicopleru s ingcns,

'

er

E t Gerala s ory x .

M artial aga i n Bk
, , . 1 3, E p i gra m 9 5
a tu tinar u m non u ltima da f m
p ra e eraru

Sam/ u s or
y x constat
q ua d mi/ii morte ranu m .

The ory x has a very great power o f withstanding

th i rst i ts size i s m edium an d i ts colour very lik e ,

that o f the goat The Kings of E gypt in order

.
,

to find out w i th accuracy the m o me n t of sun ri se

 A N CI E N T SCI E C E N . 65

were accusto med t o m ou n t the o ryx and make ,

u se of a wo n derful horologue I k n o w however .

, ,

that the learned Salmasiu s den i es tha t the oryx ,

on a c count o f the slimness of i ts body can possibly ,

su pport a rider This point however , we hav e . ,

n othing to do wi th here .

X I I I The rhinoceros i s n ow i f I m i st ak e n o t
.
, ,

the on l y subj e c t left to de al w i th The ter m .

M
i t self and the confusion of i t with the mo n oceros
, ,

m ust be ex p la i ned Rh in o c eros i s der i ve d fro m .

r lz inos a s n out and éem s (co rnu ) a hor n Thi s

, ,
. .

horn grows f ro m its nose and is a m os t deadl y ,

weapon and the m o rtal drea d o f the eleph a n t

, .

H ence c aptio ns persons who ar e very ready to ,

blame others and find fault with everythi ng are

, ,

s ai d to have a rhinoceros s n o se (See Mart i al

’
.
,

Bk i E pig
. .
, .

The rhin o ceros though so mewha t l o wer th an th e ,

e l ep h an t in st ature and shor ter in length is yet , ,

hi s mat c h I t h as a di vided h oo f a h i de th e
.
,

c o l ou r o f box wo o d an d i s protec ted by a d ou bl e

-
, .

fol d o f th i s coveri ng (I use the words o f Ca m e

rariu s
1 Book i chap
,
'

wh i ch like a sol i d
.
, .
“
,

bre ast pla te forms an impenetrable sh i eld

-
,
”
I t is .

The well known o ppo nent -

of M i l ton .

1 Thi s is C ame rariu s th e youn ger , born

'
1 53 4 , die d
1
59 8 Be si de s work s o n natura hi story and bo tany ,
. l
he wrot e a Li f e o f e lanc th o n, 1 6 55, 817 0 .

F
66 M YT H S O F
armed with a horn of bone like its hoof pla c ed on ,

its snout with whi ch its custom is to strike an d

,

pier c e the belly o f the elephant its irreconcilable ,

enemy . N ature h as p l aced an insurmountable

an ti pathy bet ween the rhinoceros an d the elephant .

In the year of Gra c e 1 51 3 May I st one was , ,

brought to the K ing o f Portuga l This king t wo .

,

years a f ter f o r the sake of m aking a S how at

,

Ulyssipo na let this creature and an ele phant loose

,

t o gether and the R hino c eros c ame o ff vi c torious

, .

This is so mu c h an ascertained f act that it is q uite

beyond the possibility o f doubt .

(S ee Pau lus Jovi as C ardanus book x folio 3 28

, , .
,

S c aliger exer c itation 20 5 se c tion 1

, , F ranz iu s
, .
,

and also Thom as Barth o linu s on the Unicorn , ,

amongst the addenda on page I n the 4 3 rd

ch apter o f Su e to niu s we are told the sam e thing
,

of O c tavius A u gu stus H en c e those that deny it

.
,

deny it i n vain In 1 51 5 a P ortugu ese knigh t

.
, ,

Dam ianu s a G oes saw a l ike spectac l e at the same

,

p l a c e in the reign o f K ing E mmanuel

, .

X IV Care m u st be t aken however not to

.
, ,

c on f ound th e Rhinoceros with the Mono c eros a ,

m istake the student o f an c ient times f re q u ent l y

fal ls into S ca l iger a c cuses Cardanus of this same
.

mistake (E xe rc 20 5 se c . in these words

, . Of .
“

wh at i l l d est i ny are you the victim that i n S pite ,

o f the fre q uent castigations you receive f rom the

rod of the gra m marian s you S hou l d now fall ,

 AN CI EN T SCI EN C E . 67

un der the censure o f the naturalists ? Y ou are

p ast any he l p Card anus when you describe th e
, ,

m ono c eros un der the heading o f rhinoceros ,

a l though these creatures are q uite dist i nct "

Su ch .

are the words of S c a l iger a m an for who m we ,

have as mu ch reveren c e as the great Con q ueror o f

the wor l d had for h is own H om e ; f o r in my opinion ,

there is no thinker more deep or m ore accurate

than S c aliger A l though then I w ish his memory
.
, ,

every good I cannot de f end him in the present

,

i nstance There i s no doubt he has thrown a n

.

u ndeserved slur on Cardanus who h as taken q uite ,

th e opposite view to that here i mputed to h im .

( Bk x f o lio 3 26 ; B as l e H Peter s E dition )

’
.
. .
, , .

F or a f ter gi ving a definition o f the rhinoceros and ,

cleari ng the way f o r the c onne c tion between it

and the monoceros he makes the f ollowi ng inter
,

p atio n
l I t is clear that this creature
“
o

the rhino c eros o f whi c h he was ti l l then spe ak

,

ing ) is q uite distin ct f rom the monoceros with ,

whi c h its on l y relation is a sim ilar i ty of name .

Un l ess perhaps Sca l iger real ly has i n h i s m ind

, ,

som e other passage o f Cardanus wh i ch I ca n ,

nowhere fi nd in his works .

X V Up to this point we have cons i dered m a n y

.

ki nds o f monoceros though us i ng the ter m rather

,

as an a dj ective than a no un No w af ter o u r .

,

general state ment ab ou t one horned a n i mals , we -

h ave st i ll to investigate wh at par excellence, was ,

68

n
m ea t to
u n ic o r n

r , em
,
a,

M
M Y T H S o r A N CI EN T SCI EN C E
be i m pl i ed by wh t th e Lati n s
a

the Greeks mo noc eros the H ebrew

the G erm ans fl ag Q
c alled

JUTII the F re nch

ly corne the I ta l ians a lz co rno a nd Zio n ro m o and
,

o ther n ations by other na mes

’

N ow there f or e
we have to invest igate what the unicorn is where
i t exi sts and the q ualities with which it is
e nd o wed
,

. This we proceed to do
.

.
,

,
.

,
,

EN D Vo n I .

G Go ldsm ia , E dinbu rgh

’
Pr intcd by E . .
 M
M
M
M
[COL L ECT AN E A ADA AN TE Ar KYJ —

mu s taatu ral fiatsto rv ,

m) a fi) 5

AN CI EN T SCI EN CE ;
Bei a Collectio n of Cu riou s Tracts o n th e
as ilisk , Unicorn, or
Levia t/z an, Dragon , Gia nt Spider ,
Tarantu la , C/z ameleons, Saty rs ,

é ‘
o

N OW FI R ST TR AN S L AT ED FR O
TH E L ATI N ,

AN D
matted with mates su b allu s trau o ns .

BY

ED UN D G O LDS I D,
F 5 J L (& mn )
IN FO UR VO LU ES .

VOL . II .

PRIV AT E L Y PR I N T E D .

E DI N B U RG H .

1 886 .
maths of an c i en t S c i en c e
.
mu

AN CI

ED M
MM
M s tnatu ral lb ts to rr

UN D
EN T
B eing a Co llect io n of

N OW FI R ST

I BLF O
G O LDS
E SA
.

UR
.

VOL II

EDINB U RGH
z

1
.

VO L U

886
(

.
S
SCI
Cu r io u s Tr acts o n
B as ilisk , Un ico rn , P/z a n ix , Befz em o t/z o r
Lev iath a n , D r ago n , G ia n t Spide r ,
Tarantn la , C/z anz e/e o ns , Saty rs ,
Hom ines Ca u dati,
fa e

THE L ATI N
AN D
t

TR AN S L AT E D FR O
.

c ot

.
.
I D,
.
)
M
,

.
EN CE

F R
.

ES .
. HS
.
;
,

e
 (th e (u n i c o r n Continu e d
“
.

C H A PT E R I I .

C O N T EN TS
D
.

1 e finit io n o f u nrc o rn.

l d
G o d him e lf h as imp ante d bl
th e in o mita e feroci ty hf of t e
l y y
2
l
.

u nic o rn in it I t is a s o itar anima T h e te s ti mo n

T k h
o

d
. .

I daith Aga a u r is x
w riter, e amine

p i d by G h im l f f i
.

3 Th i e u n c o rn ra s e g dp d od se or ts c o u ra e an s ee

Sy i T r y E h i pi d
. .

4 I i i h bi f A b a, an
M by h g V
t s an n a tant o ra ia, r a, a tar t o

I di Tw i ,
.

M y f h m k p b y h Ki g f P
n a . o u n c o rns s e - n at ec ca t e re at ert o
m annu s an o t e e t t e n o ersia

h p b dil y h b i d d p
. .

5 A f h iz
d by h M
. n ac c o u nt o t e s e s a e, o a ts, an so u n s ro
,
d u ce t e o no c e ro s

6 Th p y d i p d r R
.

e e tt f w sp u te s o 50 111 : ri ters ass e o ve easo n

gi d d il d
. .

m
ve n. x V e rto annu s e c u se an re c o nc e

fi m d by
.

7 Th xi e e f h M s te nce o gm t e o no c e ro s c o n r e ar u e nts .

g d h i i A Dr d
.

8 Th i m wi h
A F d i k b g i D
e u n co no t t ou t oo au t o r t es t e s e n, a
m k
. ,

i i w
b y A ld d
u n c o rn o n c o ns tant v e . t re er c s ur , n en ar ,
w ti o u n c o rns s e e n ro van u s .

T h id f i d h i i l h f l i
k by
e s e o ex e r e nc e , s e ns e an s to r c a tru t u ness s to
9 p ,
b e ta en u s

Fl d
.

10 T h f bl f h
e xi ia e f h
o i rt e e h t nc t on o t e u n co n at t e oo
f d
re u te .

1 1 I . h S i id f
t e u n c o rn an ant ll p i o te or a o so ns .

12 Hw h. o m y b di i g i h d f m h f l
t e tru e a i h e st n u s e ro t e a s e u n c o rn orn.

1 3 N . ho te d to t e rea er .

I The u ni orn (of wh i ch w e are at present

. c

speak i ng ) is a four footed an i m al with a single -

,

and very long horn on i ts forehead The creature .

is i ncapabl e of b i ng ta med o f a very fierce e , ,

6 M YT H S o r

sol i t a ry , an d brave t em pera ment and possesses ,

extra o rdi n ary speed . I t i s an i nhabitant of the

w i ld w as tes o f A rab i a Syr i a E thiop i a a n d I nd i a
, , , .

I t i s of the size of a horse an d h as th a t creature s

,
’

m an e I t has the feet head an d legs of a st ag

.
, , ,

a n d the ta i l o f a goat o r hog I ts c ry i s o f the .

m ost terrible descript io n .

O f the fo rm of the an i mal as of everyth i ng else ,

w i th the exception of man we are d pri o n , , ,

ignorant A ccordingly the de fini tion we g i ve i s

.
,

m erely an enumeration of certai n peculiar pro

pertie s and distinctive marks and is at the same , ,

tim e somewh at v agu e We pr o ceed as best we

, .

can n ot as w e ought for that is i mposs i ble

, , .

That i t i s an animal a q uadruped and carr i es a

, ,

s i ngle h o rn o n its forehead i s devo i d of al l doubt

, .

O n the n ature and val ue o f th i s hor n we shall

speak further o n , in some notes t o o u r m ain
treatise W hat foll o ws requires the corrobor a t i on
.

of proof .

I I We have used the words

.
“
incapable o f
” ”
being tamed , an d of a very fierce n ature .

God himself said th i s I n J ob chap xxxix ,

.
, . .

”
v 9 1 0 , we read
.
-
Wil l the unicorn (N B . .

So me i ncorre c t l y substitute r i inc ceros here an d

l
/

elsewhere for u nicor n i n t rans l ating the H ebrew

r e7n, bu t against them we have no t only Luther
, ,

bu t the Sep tuagi nt, a n d F ren c h , Italian , Spanish ,

E ngl i sh and B elgi an tra nsl ators, to sa y n othing
,
 A N CI EN T SCI EN C E .
7

of Dru siu s S chl i nder, Flac iu s an d others ) W i ll

, ,
“

the u nicorn be willing t o serve thee or abide by ,

thy crib ? Canst thou bind the unicor n w ith h is

ban d i n the furrow ? or wil l he harrow the vall eys
after thee ? ”
H ence i n Psal m xxii verse 21 .
, ,

the cru el persecutors of our Lord are not inaptly

compared to uni corns and placed by the S id e o f
,

th e lion The Messiah complains thus

.
— “
Save
me from the lion s m ou th : for thou hast heard m e
’

fro m the horns o f the u n i corns .

That i t is a solitary animal i s c lear from m any

proo f s I t is an i n fa ll ible tru th of z o olog y that a l l
.

creatures o f a fierce disposit i on such as the l i o n , ,

l eopard panther and bear, delight i n so l itude

, , . .

Special points to be noted are that i t inhabit s

untrodden tracts an d distr i cts furthest removed
from the h aunts of man With very f e w e xc e p
.

tions i t h as never come into the possession o f m an ,

unless i n the sense that its horn s when cast are , ,

somet i mes fou nd The rarity of these horns makes

.

them coveted and dear This is my reason for

.

be lieving that I daith A ga (an A mbassad o r o f

Solyman at the Court o f the E mperor Maxi milian ,

known as Mar c us S c herer be f ore his abj uration o f

the Christian relig i on and a great f rien d o f
,

Ulysses A ldrovan d as ) did not take th e word

u nicorn in its pecu l iar and di stin c tive sense when ,

he dared to say in a ful l m eet i ng o f the first men

of Vie nna that he had se en these animals i n a
8 M YTHS o r
desert part o f A rab i a w an der i n g a bo u t i n fl o cks
,

l ike herds of cattle .

I I I I ts courage i s S hown forth by God h i msel f

.

to Job i n the bo ok called after him chapter xxx i x , .

v 11.
, Wil t shou trust hi m because his stre n gth
“

i s great ? an d i n N umbers chap xx ii i v 22

”
, .
, .
,
“
God hath brough t them out of E gypt ; he hath
as it were the strength of an un i c orn ”
The sam e .

words exactly occur again i n chapter x xiv 8 We

, . .

m aintain that the speed of the un i corn i s n ot

i n f erior to th at of th e goat p anther hare horse
, , , ,

o r dog Psal m xx i x 6 i s especia l ly notew o rthy

.
, , ,

where we read that Jehovah m ak es the ce dars of ‘

Lebanon to skip lik e a young Any

c reature may b e possessed of extreme speed whe n ,

i t i s not overburdened with a m ass of flesh Indeed .

a mong both men and the lower anima ls t he str o ng ,

a re the swi f t .

I V That it i s an i nh ab i tan t o f A rab i a and S yri a

.

requires n o further fpro o f tha n that i n very m any

p assages of Sacred Wri t i t i s m ade an i nhabitant
o f Phoenicia Syria and A rabia These an i mals
, , .
,

according l y were not alto gether u nknown

, A .

clearer proo f o f this may be got I believe f rom , ,

Psalm xx ix 6 where i t is sai d : Thou m aketh

, ,
“

Thi s ve rse is mi sq uot e d In the authori se d

.

ver sion it rea ds H e maketh th e m (the c e dars) ski p

l ike a c al f ; Le banon and Sirion l ike a youn g Unic orn ” .
 A N CI EN T SCI EN C E .
9

the m (that i s the cedars ) to skip like a cal f ;

M
,

Lebanon an d Sirion l ike a young uni corn ”

H ere .

i t i s conj oined with Lebanon and Sirion in a sort

of treble compar i son and i n a fol l owin g verse *
wi th the wi lderness of Kadesh F rom these .

quotations I bel i eve the argum ent holds g o o d

, ,

that i n this case the thing contained has som e

relation to the thing containing i t (i e the Un i corn . .

to the w i lderness of Kedesh Lebanon or Sirion ) , , .

We have the au thori ty o f the most u nimpeach able

authorities for saying that it is an inhabitant o f the
the wi l ds of E thiopia and I ndia Lewis Vert o .

mannus o f Bolo gna who m S c aliger speaks of as

, ,

an excel l ent m an i n his 20 5th Discu rsus saw two ,

uni c orns at M e c ca which he says were sen t over

, , ,

by the Prince o f E thiopia as the means o f cement

i ng a closer friendship w i th the Su ltan l M .
' ‘
.

T he 8th .

ssa ge a ll u de d t o is as f o ll o w s :
1 The a h “
‘

p O n t e

othe r part o f the t e m pl e are park e s o r pl ac e s inc l o se d ,

whe re are sc e ne t w o V nic o rns name d o f the G ree k e s

,

e , and are th e r e sh e we d t o t he
o no c e ro t a e o le f o r
p p
a myrac le , and no t without good re a son , f o r the ir
se ldo m e ne sse and s tran ge natur e The o ne o f them
.
,

whic h is muc h h ygh e r the n the othe r, ye t no t muc h

v nlik e t o a c o o lt e o f t h rt e mon e th s o f age in th e
y y ,

f or e h e ad growe th on l y o ne hom e , in man e r rygh t

f o o rt h , o f th e l e n gth o f thr e e c u bite s The other is
.

m uc h youn ge r o f t h e age o f o ne ye e re, and l yke a

,

young c o o lte , the hom e o f thi s is o f the l e n gth o f

f oure han df u l s . Thi s bea st is o f the c ol oure o f a
 IO MYT H S O F
Paulus V n t fl fro m h i s long a cqua i ntance with
e e us
‘

the Tartars nd more espec i ally the E astern

, a

tribes f them (Bk ii i chap 1 5 on O riental

o , . . .
,

wr i t i ngs ) says that u n i corns and elephant s are

fou nd in great numbers i n that country S i milarly .

Leonard R n h w lff wr i tes to the e ff ect that he

a c o

had heard f rom a certain Persian tha t the Sophy , ,

King of Persia brough t up t wo or three uni c orns

,

a t S amarcand Thomas Barth o lin u s i n the

.
,

passage q uoted a bove says : S ailors and m er ,

“

chants who h ave returned t o E urope f rom China

hor se of w e esell c o l our

hath t h e h e a d l yke an
e , a nd

hart , l
bu t no on g n ec k e a thynne man e h angyng ,

o nl e o n the syde t h e r l egge s are thyn an d sl e n de r

y y
lyke a f awne o r hyn de ; t h e h o o f e s o f the f ore f eet ,

are diu ide d in t wo mu c h l ik e th e f e e t o f a goat , the

,

o u t w arde
part o f t h e hyn de r f e e te is ve ry f u ll o f h eare .

Thi s be a st do u btle sse see m e th wy l de and fi e rc e ye t ,

te m pere t h that fie rc e ne s se with a c e rtain c o m eline sse .

The se V nic o rne s o ne gaue t o th e So l tan o f M ec ha as ,

a mo st pre c iou s and rar e gyf te Th e y w e r e sent h ym .

o u t of E thiope by a kyn g o f that c o u nt re y w h o ,

desir e d by that pre sent t o grat ifie th e Sol tan o f M e c ha

”

(Voyage s o f V e rt o m ann u s in 1 50 3 t ranslate d fiby

.

R ic har d Ede n in 1 57 6, and re print e d f o r t he A u nger

vy le Soc i e ty 1 884 Seri e s I I I pp 56
. . .

O r Marc o Po l o He w as a Ven e tian by birth and

.

trave ll e d in Tartary with h is f athe r and un c l e O n .

h is r e turn t o I tal y in 1 29 5 h e wrot e an ac c ount o f ,

h is j ourn e y and se ve nt e e n ye ar s r e si de nc e at the

’

c ourt o f t h e G ran d K han , whi c h w as fir s t

print e d at
Venic e in 1 4 9 5, 8vo .
 AN CI EN T SCI EN C E .

a n d o ther d i str i cts of Ind i a " bear

wi tness to this
fac t
. They say t hat when traversing th e vas t
d eserts with cautious footsteps they h ave seen , ,

in the deserts of Arabia and other solita ry places ,

a wild beast of this descript i on take refuge i n

woods and untrodden places and not without a ,

feel ing o f fear i n their own hearts B ut so great .

was i ts speed they s ay that it very quickly was

, ,

lost to v i ew an d prevented those who saw i t from

,

obta i ning a more accurate look at i t ”

.

V The other points n amely, those that concern

.
,

its size shape and habi t of body an d cry we shall

, , ,

no w consider S hortly i n order to make our work ,

as brief as poss i ble We are not however w ithout

.

p roo f s A fter Card anus fro m whom we have

.
,

above quoted a p assage w e must give an extract ,

fro m S c aliger whi c h i s to the fo l lowing e ff ect

,
“
Uni c orn s are about the si z e of a horse ; they
have the head f e et and l egs of a st ag thei r hair
, , ,

an d coat is o f a dark chesn u t tinge They h ave .

the mane of a horse though scantier an d n ot so ,

long Their h ips are covered with ha i r I have

. .

seen a horn of on e of these cre atures at N icea ,

an d others at di ff erent places O ne of these was .

yel lowish , another o f a du l l tinge more like the ,

* C hina d
di st ri c t s o f In dia ! Barth o linu s
an /
o t z er

may have bee n very l e arne d, bu t he ce rtain l y w as no

G eographe r .
12 M YT H S O F
col ou r of box than anythi ng else A nother was .

reddish I have a piece o f one i n my possess i on

.
,

whi c h i s of a whit e c o lour ”

I ts cry [E lian
describes as m ost u nearth ly an d shri l l P l iny says
it is a deep bel l ow whi l e So linu s ca ll s i t terrible
, .

The words o f the l ate Spe rlingiu s in hi s Lectu res ,

o n Zo o lo
gy (O n the U ni c orn , c ap vi part . .
,

a p p l y i n this ins tan ce The cry o f this anima l .

“

cannot be ex act l y described apart from other

”
cries . E usebius says The cry of the cat and
u nicorn is disgusting an d has a weird ring abo u t ,

i t There is no d oubt abou t the cry o f the cat

. .

Their cries vary with their di ff erent wants When .

g o aded by desire they give f orth unearthly cries ,

”
and fill a house with their loud yells .

V I A f ter what has been said on thi s point we

.
,

pass o n to the common tradition whi c h has not ,

been unopposed by authorities as to the hoo f s , ,

f eet horn and s i milar adj uncts of the uni c orn

, , .

S ome for in stan c e s ay its hoo f is so l id others

, , ,

that i t is c le f t Som e declare its feet are hai ry

.
,

o thers that they are soft an d smooth Some say .

i ts horn i s of the l ength o f two cubits others that ,

i t is more or less ; and while som e say the colour

of this horn is d u sky grey and others black or ,

dusky there are even some who m aintain i t is o f

,

a brigh t hue These points however, are of too

.
,

A fa c t that c an be sw orn to by mi l lions

 AN CI EN T
SC I EN C E 13
.

i
m nor mpo i rtance to req u i re a detai led di scuss i o n .

The i nd i vidual varies w ith the locality We can .

se e one kind of dog i n E ngland another i n G er ,

ma ny though bo th are o f the sam e S pe cies

, An d .

w i thout further words we m ay say that the vari ety

,

of the hu man race i s s o great th at a compar is o n

o f German s wi th E thiopians o f these with I tali an s , ,

of I tal i an s wi th Danes Greenland ers Lapl anders , , ,

or Muscovites would be a sou rce of great surprise

,

to us I n the m eanti me however are we t o

.
, ,

admi t that the unicorn i s a peaceabl e creature i n

the sense that Scaliger a n d V e rto m annu s d o ”
I o f course agree w i th the Scriptures an d
, , ,

experien c e of other men who attribute t o i t ,

unsat iable ferocity ; but are w e to side with

Barth o linu s and say that some small corrupti on
,

has cre p t into the tex t o f V e rto m annu s ? H ad

we , however any reason to o ff er f o r the statemen t
,

of e ither o f these authori ties we woul d say tha t ,

the two un i c orn s which were seen by V e rto mannu s

had been ta med by a long capt ivity and su bj ec

tion whereby th eir otherwise u nconquerabl e

,

ferocity had been c o mp l etely crushed ou t There .

i s no doubt that this is the case with l ions bears , ,

and panthers the f i er c est o f the animal creation

, .

V I I Su c h being the case who car e s any longer

.
,

* V e rt o m annu s say s nothing of the kin d ; see

e xtrac t give n p 9, . note.

1 4 M YT H S or

to be of
such s i mpli city or obstinacy as no t to
h e s titate to oppose h is o wn v i ew to so m any proofs ,

both div i ne and hum an f o r the exi sten c e of the ,

u n i corn ? Who does n ot dread to do so ? The

s acred writ i n gs speak ou t on the subj ect and i n ,

many places praise the unicorn Sha l l we now .

M
stand up an d co ntend for the non ex i sten c e o f
,
-

the U ni c o rn ? N ature hersel f complains and is ,

l oud in her own defence while from time to tim e ,

sh e urges that the Creator o f the world was not so

u tterly careless o f the an i mal crea ti on at the time

of the impending F lood as these writers t ry to ,

m ake out The power of procreation w as not

.

g i ven them for n o pu rpose Though the individ ual .

d i es the spec i es certa i nly survives

,
”
I f says .
“
,

the a c ute S c a liger a nything were wanting a

,
“
,

vacuum would be created i n th e forms of animal

l i f e This would be a far greater f aul t in N ature
. ,

than a vacu u m i n space w i thou t substance We .

have already fully seen how many are the S pe c ies

of unicorns Lew i s Ve rto m annu s saw two unicorns
.

cal led su c h par exce l lence , This m an two .

,

centuries ago m ad e a m inu te examination o f the

,

who l e of the E ast bo th E gypt and the two ,

A rabias A f ri c a an d In dia as th e j ournal of h i s

, , ,

whole j ourneys clearly sh o w s This Ve rto .

“ o

”
m annus (I u se the words o f Barth o linu s ) on “

c o m ing to e c ch a a great c i ty i n the A rabi an

,

desert , accom pan i ed by his compa ni ons i n his

 AN CI EN T SCI EN C E . 1 5

j ourney went first over the celebrated temple of

,

M ahomet H av i ng turned to one side of this

.

temple he saw two creatures which he recogn i sed

as u nicorns This is testified to by h is own words
. .

(Bk I cap 1 8 On “
. . .
,

VI I I I s there any Prin c e Duke or King i n

.
, ,

the world who has not either seen or possessed

, ,

and regarded as among th e most prec i ou s of his

M
possessions a u nicorn s b o rn ? The Dre sden
,
’

a word which ,

though confused is yet i ngenious and is u sed by , ,

Vec h ne ru s, i n his breviary or d escr i ption of

G erm any certainly i s not wi thou t a specimen
, .

There i s also i n F re dric k sbu rg (the finest fortified

to wn o f the King of Den mark ) a un i corn s horn ’

seven feet in length (Rom an m easure ) and with a ,

girth o f seven in c hes I t is a conspicuous obj ect .

,

and has been described by D Thom as Barth o linu s .

,

3
. Dane U lys ses Aldro vandu s a m an of the
.
,

widest re ading in his discussions on q uadrupeds ,

(Bk I page says I have seen at Rome “

. .
, ,
’
two unicorns horns one which belonged to Pope ,

C l ement V I I and another which was the

.
, ,

p roperty o f my own nephew the very fa m ous ,

prince P eter Cardinal Aldro v andu s &c

, , .

Poor Ho w wou l d he a c c ount f o r

K irc h m aye r !
th e num e rou s extin c t Spec i e s no w known onl y f rom
the ir bon es th e ast o do u s, M e gatherium s, &e
, .

+ N o w th e Mu se um .
I 6 M YTH S o r
IXTo H i stor i an s we m ust e i ther gr ant bi stori
.

cal accuracy o r the fact must be proved m ore fu lly

,

by o u r ow n e ff orts Where i n tr uth are we i f

.
, , ,

history does n o t stand on i ts ow n legs ? Cer ta in

* m ay now co m e an d try t o cry m e
m ad Thom ists
down by bringing u p at one ti m e the di ff erence
of opinion existing among som e authors when
describing this anim al ; at a n o ther , so m e e mpty
argumen t or other My an swer is a short one I
. .

d o not listen to them The words of a very learned

.

m an Aldro vandu s (Na t H ist Q uad Bk I cap

, . . . . . .

are worth qu o ting “

Those to whose m inds
.

my answers are lack ing i n tru stworthiness I m ain ,

ta i n are want i ng i n i ntel lect , and I cal l them

,

obstinate who do not blush to deny the ev i den ce

of the ir senses s i nce so m any proo f s of th e existence
,

o f the u ni corn are everywhere apparent I t i s ”

.

my O pinion nevertheless that m any of the se

, ,

S pec i mens have been obtained m ore from d esert

pl aces , than as th e actual results of hunting The .

horns are those that have f allen and c an easily be ,

d i stingu ished f ro m other horns by the i r general

appear ance c olour size and shape
, , , .

i“ F rom th i s may rank K irc h m aye r as a Sc oti st

we .

Th e Thomi s t s and Sc oti s t s re pre se nt e d the rival

or der s o f th e Domini c an s and F ran c i sc an s Th e i r .

the ol ogi c a l di sput e s la st e d f o r c e nturie s Th e nam es .

r e f e r to th e ir l e a ders, Thomas A q uinas and Dun s

Sc otu s .
 M
A N CI EN T SCI EN C E . 1 7

X B u t at th i s point we m ust on ce for a l l dest roy

.

that error which i s fir mly fi xed i n many minds

,
.

I t is said that th ese an i mals perishe d at th e grea t

flood , an d that their bones are n ow dug u p f rom
the ear th B ut i t is a f act which must be a sou rce
.
,

of j oy an d congratulat ion t o vendors of trifl e s ,

t hat this i s a kin d of m in eral wh ich neither by

*
,

its h ardness nor weight no r so lidity n or scent

, , , ,

has any thing i n common wi th the horn w e are

discussing n o t to S peak of several o f its h i gher
,

p roperties .

I t is dug u p i n Thuringia Bohemia the H er , ,

c ynian F orest n ear E lbinge ro d at H ildesheim , ,

H eidelberg, in S i lesia M oravi a and m any places , ,

o f is nia Clu siu s F e rrante s I mp e ratu s (Bk

.
, .

an d F ran c i scus h is so n m ention that i t is found

, ,

i n It aly O lau s VVo rmiu s possesses several pieces

.
,

one o f which on the authority of Barth o linu s is

, ,

w hite friable, soft , an d of a very agreeable scen t

, .

Se nne rtu s m akes a t ru e remark when he says

Why is i t m ore like l y that these horns should
be foun d in some places rather than others i n
wh i ch the u nicorn l ived ? ”

X I I n order however , to separa te th e gol d

.
,

f rom th e d ross an d the true f rom the false we ,

propose to p l ace two m inor q uestions in the

* Thi s passage is f ar f rom c l ear, bu t evi de nt l y re f e r s
t o tho se ston e s, m e ntion e d in V o l I , as be in a
p 54 g . . .
,
c ur e f o r brok e n l imbs u l c e r s 8x
, , .

B
1 8 M YT H S or

a ppend i x , wh i ch will hel p us O ne quest io n i s to

.

the follow i ng e ff ect : Is the un i corn h o rn a cure for

-

all diseases or does i t possess even i n the sl i ghtest

, ,

d egree those v i rtues which are attr i bu ted to i t ?

,

I answer — The world i s prone to be dece i ved .

No man does an i nj ury w ill i ngly A j u st man .

g o es to ex tremes o c c asion ally Ru mour i s b u t an

.

echo ; i t doubles and trebles everyth i ng M any .

things are said i n pra i se of great m en to w i n the i r

favour Pois o ns are of such var i ed natures th at
.

i t i s imp o ss i ble for a s i ngle antidote to be g i ven

f o r them all M en ex aggerate everything by the i r
.

i ndiv i dual treat ment of ru mour D ecei t is rampant .

i n m arket places an d such l i ke h aunts o f m e n .

The greatest doctors a m ong the A rab i ans E th io ,

pians Greeks or Lat i ns w ou l d not have been

,

struck dumb at these m ost d i v i ne properties .

N othing i s now praised except what comes fro m

the In dies an d the Malay i slan ds E very day .
-

events although of the greatest i mportance pass nu

, ,

noticed f rom con stant repetiti o n A m ost learned

writer D Thomas Barth o linu s quotes Crato of
, .
,

C rafl th e m Bac c iu s H oratius Angeniu s Ho rstiu s

, , ,

I t is no t easy t o se e what all thi s has to do with

t h e q u e stion pro po se d I s tbe Unicorn s lzorn a cu re f or
’

a ll diseases I t r e ads rathe r l ike the c e lebrat e d

“
What ! no soap ! So he di e d, and sh e , very im pru
”
de ntly marrie d the barber, e tc e tc
,
. .
 AN CI EN T SCI EN C E . 1 9

and others and decl a res th at the h o rn of the st ag

,

a n d the h o r n of the rhi n ocer o s a re every whit as

good a s the u n i corn s The same dec i s i on is
’
.

com e to by Aldro vandu s by A ndreas M ar in us and,

A pollonius .

X I I H o w can the true unicor n s horn be d i s

.
’

tingu ish e d fro m the false ? The answer g i ven i s

I f whe n thr o w n in t o hot water i t causes bu b ble s to
,

rise ; if whe n p oi so n i s presen t , i t prod uces per

,

spir a t i on ; i f i t heals d ogs that have drunk of poison

if by m eans o f th i s horn a circl e m ay be drawn in
, ,

which a l i zard scorp io n or sp i der be i ng placed

, , ,

i t d o es not a tte mpt t o retreat I n al l th i s how

.
,

ever superst i t ion a n d tru th str i ve for the m astery

,
.

I t i s fa l se tha t the unicorn horn sweats that i t ’

,

is the only t h i ng that ca n always cause bubbles i n

ho t water The account which Jo rdanu s g i ves of
.

a certa i n Jew an d other beggars * i s m erely a ,

result of superstit i on a n d m agic for these m en ,

used m ag i cal i ncantat i ons to prevent their spiders ,

serpents and scorp i on s from cross i ng a drawn lin e ,

and did no t w o rk with the help o f a u nicorn s horn ’

.

I f there i s any substratum of truth in the state

m ent ; i t i s not by a c i rcle bu t certai n hidden ,

qua li t i es o f wh i ch i t i s an allegory that they ,

* ays a e w and his c om panions rew

J o rdanu s
J s d
a c irc l e with U nic orn H orn , wh enc e no re pti l e c ou l d
e sc a e
p .
20 M YT HS O F
produced the e ff ects they did Barth o linu s i n .
,

chapter 1 0 an d i n wh at he s ay s on several
,

occasi o ns agrees w ith u s when he cal l s this

, ,

accoun t the greatest nonsense M eanwhile we .

are sa f e i n saying that n o one denies that the

u n i corn s horn is an antidote to poison
’
.

N OT E TO T H E R EA DE R .

X IV I ask for these lines a kindly reading

. .

To the good all things are good to the wi c ked

, ,

t he best th i ngs appear the worst I have under .

taken this writ i ng by the advi c e o f frie nds I .

am on the present occasion i ndebted to many

, ,

w ise m en to whom I bear a m ost humbl e

,

sense o f reverence To Barth o linu s so n o f

.
,

C asparu s a m an of the greates t distinction I

, ,

am u nder the greatest obligation a nd own i t w i th ,

p leasu re .I neither could no r ought to h ave ,

spu rned the s tories alluded to herein o f my own

’
c on sciousness Barth o linu s s lot i t was to do that
.

be f ore me I have on eve ry occasion however

.
, ,

u sed m own talen ts in discrim inating and have

y ,

n o t given a hasty c reden c e t o every chan c e pro

m is c u o u s ta l e A n impartia l reader wi ll se e this
.
,

and if I h ave done anything amiss he wi l l i mpu te ,

i t t o m e ; if anything good to G od to whom , ,

a l on e be g l ory everl asting .

AM E N
 69 11 th e

G EO R G E G A SPA R D
boentr

M
KI R C H
,

AY ER .
 P R E FA C E .

H AT i s s c arc e i s pr i z e d .

P o e t s are n o t th e o n l y
so u r c e s of profi t and ple a
s u r e P h i l o s o ph e rs are s o
.

t oo.
,
I w h o am t h e lo w e s t and la s t of
t h e le a rn e d c lai m no n e of t h e s e qua li t ie s
,

f o r mys e lf . C o u ld t h ere b e i n de e d a
, ,

m o re immo de s t c lai m t h an s u c h a o n e o n
my p a rt Y e t w h i l e t h e re s u lt I c o m e t o

m ay be a v e ry s m a ll o ne I t a ke c re di t fo r
,

t h e a t t e mp t as b e i n g a prai s e w o rt h y o n e .

A y e ar ago I h e ld a di ss ert a t io n o n t h e
Ba s i li s k w h ile qu i t e re c e n tly th e U n i c o rn
,
24 PR E F AC E .

w as th e s u bj e c t
of my i n v e s t i gat i o n s O n
ano t h er o c c a s io n I sh all t r e a t of t h e
t

b eh e m o t h and le v ia t h an if Sp a r e d A t .

th e p r e s e n t t i m e I r o o s t o e n qu i r e i n t o
p p e

t h e s u b j e c t of th e P h oe ni x I do so i n
.
,

o r de r t o b r i n g t o ge t h e r th e gr e a t n u m b e r
of s i m i li t u de s p r o v e r b s ph e no m e na and
, , ,

r e m a r ks w h i c h h a v e b e e n m a de o n t h i s
s u b j e c t and w h i c h are fou n d c o l l e c t e d
,

no w h e r e e ls e I h a ve t o e n qu i r e w i t h th e
.
,

h e l p of G o d w h a t r e a l t r u t h t h e r e IS in
,

t h e P h oe n i x .
 ® n th e lpboentr .

C HA PT E R I .

M
A R UM ENT
G .

r. Th e te rm P h oeni x
T h e pa m, its natu re
. l .

2 ,
N o te s o n th e ac c e ntu atio n o f th e wo r d .

3 . Ex planati n o o f d iff e re nt me anin g s o f th e ter m .

4 Th e Ph ce nic ians , no t th e firs t se a me n, no r t h e di s c o ve re rs o f

l
.

e t te rs

D iff
.

5 and 6 e rent me anin g s o f th e t e r m, c o ntinu e d

Sy ym f h w d
. .

7 no n s o t e or

f h Ph b y my h l g i
. .

8 A d ip i esc r ix gi
t on o t e oen as ven t o o s ts

i l g iy
. .

9 V i d diar e d ibl p r
an nc re e re o ts as to ts o n ev t

S pp d b h l y p i m f i ki d i h w ld
. .

Aq
IO u ose to e t e on s ec en o ts n n t e or

f m Cl m f R m
.
.

i u o tat o n ro e e nt, o o e .

n S id i g i f mi w h M
a to r s e a a n ro h f ts o n as es anne r t e re o

by
. . .

1 2 A i d m x
c u r o u s an m f h i m o re e ac t s tate e nt o t e c rc u s tanc e s,
Cl m f R m
.

e e nt, o o e .

13 Th m i l f m whi h i i
e ate r a s b m f di p ro c t s re - o rn a atte r o s u te
m g h
.

a on au t o rs

l li y d b i h pl
.

I ts I i d h b
fP
14 o ca t anpp rt - ac e t s su o se to ave e e n an

i h bi d i by L i Fi m
. .

n a tant o ara se ac tant u s rr anu s

h iy h j d h i f h
.

f h g
y b i g my h d p d
en o t e re ate s t au t t ave re e c te t e no t on o t e
15 or

hi i l f
,

Th m
s to r e n a t ,
an ac c e te i t as an s to r c a ac t .

ei r na es .

6 E im f Cl m vid '
1 . st ate o e e nt s e e nc e .

I N o one can rightly est i m ate what he kn ows

.

nothing abou t The bli nd are thus i n the hab i t .

o f forming opin i ons about colours I n ord er to .

26 MYTHS or

conduct our e n qu i ry in good fa i th I sh a ll first ,

speak of th o se th i ngs that are everywhere me n

tio ne d by au thors o n the m yth i cal subj ect of the

Phoen i x and then shal l pr o ceed i n o rder t o the

,

full discussion of the whole subj ect T o begin .

,

then with the word i tself The ter m ph oen i x

, .
”

is so called accord i ng to Pl i ny fro m the p a l m

, ,

t ree be cause the b i rd is o f a br i ght pu rp le c o l o ur

, .

I t n eed n ot be m e n t io ned that the Greeks cal l the

pal m phoenix ”
Jud aea and the whole of Syr ia
.

a re very abundant in p al m trees This is proved .

by the H o ly S cr i ptures and by Pliny when , ,

speak i ng of the pal m trees of Syr i a (Bk I 3 0 .

, .

P l i ny s words i n h i s d escr i pt i on of the palm tree

’

are very wel l chosen H e says I n m any places

.
— “

this tree i s used as a k in d of rough coat as i t ,

were t o protect the wal ls o f houses agai nst d amp

, .

The palms o f greater height for m whole forests ,

the tru nks of the tree be i ng protect e d all r ou nd

by pointed leaves which are arr an ged in the for m
,

of a co mb ; these are i t mu st be u nderst ood

, ,

w i ld palms th o ugh so m et i mes by so m e wayw ard

,

fa n cy or other they are kn o w n t o m ake the i r

appe arance among the cult i vated variet i es The .

o ther kinds are tall , ro un d , and taper i ng , a nd ,

be i ng fu rnished with dense proj ecting knobs or

c ircles i n the bark arranged i n regu lar gradat i on
, ,

they a re found easy o f asce n t by the people i n the

Ea st ; in o rder t o d o wh i ch the climbe r fa sten s a
 A N CI EN T SCI EN C E . 27

loop of os i er ro u nd h i s body and the t runk and ,

by th i s contr i vance ascends the tree w i th gre at

speed A ll the fol i age i s at the summit and the
. ,

fru it as well this l ast being s i tuate no t among the

‘

le aves as i s the c ase w i th other trees , but h angi ng

,

in clusters fro m roots of the i r o wn am ong the

bran ches and partak i ng of the n at u re both of the
,

grape and apple The leaves ter mi n ate i n a sharp

.

po i n t like that o f a k n i fe while the s i d es be i ng

, ,

deeply i ndented were first l o oked u po n as l o vely

,

gems A t the present day they are spl i t ope n to

.

f or m ropes and wyth es for fasten i ng as wel l as ,

”
light u mbrell as f o r covering the head .

I I There i s another expl anation of the n ame

.

fo und i n Is i dorus (Bk xii chap “

The .
, .

A rab ians he says call anyth i ng ou t of the

, ,

ord i n a ry phoenix and the ph oen i x is a s i ngu lar

‘
, ,
’

a nd uniqu e creat i on a mong the feathered t ribes ”

.

Th i s however has little to do w i th o u r subj ect

, , .

We m ust m ake a note on the acce n tu at i o n of the

word .
p 5
( ow /L has the vowel i o ta short th o ugh ,

by pos i tio n i t woul d be long while i n all the o ther ,

cases except the vocative i t i s l ong by nat u re .

E u s tath iu s i s our a u th o r i ty o n th i s po i nt .

W e lle ru s sa ys that in
¢ 0
$
LVL , 6 6 mg } v
,
{< 1

and i n all su ch words the last syllable is by

n ature long as i s see n in the ge ni t i ve (Greek
, .

G ra m mar O n A ccen ts rule 3 p

‘
,
’
P aso r , .

i n his tr a ct o n a cce n tuat i on rul e 1 2, reco gni ses i n

,
28 M Y TH S O F
th i s as in sim i lar instan ces an except i on to the
, ,

general usage F or this reason we sh al l accuse

.

no o ne .

I I I To pre ve nt our con fou nding truth with

.
r

error or rej ecting it al together w e mus t remove

, ,

all amb iq u ity f ro m the term The word P hoenix

'

is co mmonly accepted as m eaning reddish (being

used as a n adj ect i ve ) or something very n ear l y ,

approa c hing red A n i nstance o f this occurs in .

A poll A rgent
. which be i ng translated
.
, ,

means The helmet shone w i th ruddy plu me

“ ”
.

I t is also co m monly used as a substantive .

(I ) AS the n ame o f a m an Thus i n H om er s

’
.

I li ad Bk i the tu tor of A chilles i s cal l ed

, . .
,

Phoen i x The so n of A ntenor the Troj an and

.
,

brother o f C admus was also called by this ,

n am e O ros i us however says that Cadmus was

.
, ,

the so n of Amyndo r The matter is of little im .

portance here In Pliny a certai n P hoenix the

.
, ,

disciple of Lysippus a statuary i s mentioned , , ,

Bk x xx i v chap 8 I n Pau sa nias (i n his Itinerary

. .
, . .

of Greece ) w e hear of a certain p oet whose n ame

,

was Phoen i x Those who have dipped deep l y into

.

mythological lore tel l us that Phoenix was the s o n

o f N eptu ne and Lyb ia F rom him or perhaps .
,

from th e brother of Cadmus the nat i on al nam e ,

of Phoeni c i ans has sprung We know the verse .

of Si l ius
Et q u i l onga de dit t e rri s c ognomina P hoe nix .
 M
M
F
AN CI EN T

IV H ow great was th e won drous genius of the

.

to discover the art o f navi gation

Dionysius

u t ave re do m u
l
er r e c avis, orbi s c omm e r c ia
A lso Lucan
’

Bk iii
,

ans u ram ru
.

Ph ce nic e s primi (f am ze
.

dibu
While I do not deny that the Phoenician s were
,
SCI EN C E

P hoenicians that enab l ed them to ex c el a l l the rest

o f the world They are considered by m ost m en
to have invented letters and to have been the first
Let m e q u ote

Ph oenic u m re gio e st hi rubro gu rgite q uon dam

m , prim iq u e pe r
Lu st rave re sa um , primi do c u e re
.

si c re dit u r

s vo c e

the m ost ski l f u l m ariners and were espe c ia l ly

pre eminen t in their study o f the mathem atica l
-

scien c e I yet maintain that they were not the

,

first of mankind to d is c over the art of navigation

.

ae q u o ra ve c t i,

c arinis

) au si
m signare figu ris

,
.
29

and o f l etters F or what in su c h a case be c omes

.

o f N oah to whom an d to whose posterity as a

,

n atu ral conse q uen c e the Creator himsel f imparted

,

the skil l of n avigation ? * O n this po i n t we are

opposed by Sim on T(Maj or i n Dieb c anic u l c ol l . . . .

Ou r author m s h e re t o sugge st that N oah h ad

se e

som e thin g t o do with t h e navi gatin g o f t h e ark If .

so , I f e ar h e mu s t have c ome into c oll i sion with the

o rthodox be l i e v e r s i n Sc ri ture a lmo st as muc h as the

p ,

late Doc tor Colen so, w h o dare d t o e x pre ss a doubt as

t o the ve ry e xi st e n c e o f that fl oatin g m e na ge rie .

1
"
R i c hard S imon ,
born at D ie ppe in 1 6 3 8, di e d
3o M YT H S OF
23 , p . by An drew
S e n ftlebe n a nd rece n tly ,

O n Mar i t i me and
*
by Lo cc e niu s B k i , chap , . . .

N aval Law (Thes i s i i p . To the H ebrews

. . .
,

aga i n and the S acred Peopl e o f G o d we are to

, ,

attribute the custody of letters rather than to the

Ph oenicians The s o und shews this to be the
.

c ase : i t i s attested by the sense of order : a healthy

an d reasoni ng m i nd i s satisfied with noth i ng else :
the sacred wr i t i ngs themselves demand i t Th i s .
,

however by the ,

V A gain
. a certa in h o rse belongi ng to
Cleo sth e nis E pidamnu s was called Ph oen i x .

(3 ) Pausan i as h as recorded that a r i ver of Thessalia ,

which emptied i tself into the A sopus bore the ,

n ame of Ph oen i x (Pl i ny Bk i v cap 9 ; Strabo , . .

, .
,

Bk . There i s also another wh i ch flows

through the n ia n terri tory and falls i nto the se a ,

as again Pau saniu s declares i n h i s I tinerary ”

.

(4 ) There is also a m ounta i n of th e same n am e the ,

h i ghest i n al l the neighbo ur i ng region and on ,

which there w a s once a citade l standing I t is .

t he re in 1 7 1 2 H e w as a pri e st o f muc h l earning

.
,

and wrote a num be r o f c urious works more o r l e ss

c onn e c te d with r e l i giou s

q u estion s .

John Lo c c e niu s was o ne o f the prof e ssor s at th e

Univer sity o f U psala in 1 6 7 0 His most c urious work .

is Leger ” f est Got/zin e f ol io

, .

l K irc h m ayer, as we know, has been proved t o be

"“

wron g .
 A N CI EN T SCI EN C E .
31

situate i n the southward direction and cl o se to ,

the Isthmus of the Dorian Ch e rso nesu s This .

isthmus however m any author i t i es do not recog

, ,

ni se as the Ch e rso ne su s f o r i t is the Pe le po nne su s

, ,

as S tephanus warns u s (S trabo Bk x i v ZEn , , .

, .

Sylv O n A s i a M inor cap

.
(5) There is also a
, .

certain plant thus named which is very comm o nly ,

found by road sides the flower o f wh i ch i s very

,

l ik e the darnel (I use the words o f Aldro vandu s ) ,

whence i t i s also called wood darnel (Dio sc o ris -

Bk i v cap 3 9 ; Pliny , Bk xx i i cap

. .
, . . .
, .

V I ( 6 ) Several o f the ancient astrologers d i d (I

.

speak on the authori ty of H yginus ) ca l l the L i ttle

Bear constellatio n by th e name Phoen ix The .

reason no doubt was that Thales (who w as the

first to cal l that constel l ation A rc to a ) w as by
birth a Phoenician There is another of the
.

Sou thern constellations wh i ch has recently been

discovered by sailors a star o f which is known by
“

this n ame (7 ) V e have noticed above that the

.
V

palm tree was called the ph oenix by the Greeks .

(8) There is also a k ind o f dye which gets the na me

o f Ph oenic ianfi
“
(9 ) A cert ai n musical instrumen t
also wh i ch was i n vented by the Ph o en i cians gets
the sam e nam e O f this A then aeus speaks i n his
.

fourteenth book ( 1 0 ) Ph oenix i s also said to

.

denot e the E liz ir o f Li f e by Aldro v andu s (Bk , .

The pur ple of Ty re .

32 M YTH S o r
1 2. O rnith ,h ap c . N ay
( 1 1 ) the word also ,

sign ifies an oin tment or ey e salve as w e are to l d ,

by S tephanu s in his Greek an d Latin Lexico n .

Bu t ( 1 2) by far i ts prin c ipal m eaning is that o f

the mythical bi rd w ith which we have st a t ed it is
our present purpose to deal .

V I I Th e synonym s of thi s ter m are m any an d

.

varied C l au dian c a ll s the phoenix par excellence

.

the long lived bird (Bk 2) for speak i ng of the

-
.

R ape o f Proserpine he says

Q ui c q u i d ab e xtr e mi s lo ngze va c ol oni s
C o lligit, O t at ae re f e re ns e xor dia vit a
e
p .

A ga i n , Ov id (2 A mor . E1 . always calls i t th e

Uni q ue Bird .

Et vivax Ph nix uni c a

oe se m pe r avi s .

I n Textor i t has the followi ng n am es — The

bird of secon d bi rth the Pharian bird long l ived
, ,
-
,

tenacious o f li f e the bird o f the G anges of

, ,

A ssyria the bird of the su n o f Titani a of I n c ense

, , ,

and of F ire By the F rench i t is ca l led Phoenix

.
,

by th e I talian s F en i c e by th e Span i ards F enix, ,

by the G erman s Der B agel df etl tx Bu t let u s

'

now return to the m atter i n hand .

V I I I A ccording t o pa i n ters an d poets the

.
,

P hoen i x is a bird o f very large size and of great ,

beau ty very te na c ious of l i fe being the only

, ,

spec i men in the whole creation of n e i ther s e x ,

and suddenly re appea ring fro m i ts own ashes

- .
 AN CI EN T SCI EN C E .
33

W e shall cons i der the Phoen i x

part by part ,

an d shall enquire i nto those various q ualit i es

whi ch are commonly attr i buted to i t by credul ity
or superstition I n the first pl ace let u s explain
.
,

or enquire i nto i ts size I t i s sa i d to be equal .

i n si z e to the eagl e H erodotus i n th at book.

,

of h is histor i es whi ch goes u nder th e n am e

of E u terpe not only claims f o r i t a size equal
,

t o the eagle but declares that i t i s sim i lar to

,

that bird i n every bodily ch aracterist i c This .

,

however he d raws not fro m his own bu t from

, , ,

others exper i ence Ph ilo s tratu s on the author i ty

’
.
,

o f Tz e z e (Bk v H ist Chil i ad

. . writes th at i t
. .

i s l arger than the peacock and so di ffers very ,

littl e f ro m H erodotus N ext as t o i ts be auty .

,
.

Lac tantiu s F irm ianu s than whom there i s not a ,

greater fanati c on this point (to u se a strong ,

term ) h as written a complete poem which he h as

,

called P hoenix ”
H e says : .

Mitia q uem c roc eo P unic a grana le gu nt,

Ho c hum e ri pe c tu sq u e dec c a s, velam ine f u l gent
,

Ho c c aput , h o c c e rvix s u m m aq u e t e rga nit e nt

, .

C au daq u e po rrigit u r f u l vo distinc ta m e tall o .

I n c uj u s mac u l i s pur pura mi st a rubet .

C laru m int e r pe nna s in si gne e st de su pe r iri s,

P inge re c e u nu be m de su pe r al ta sol e t
u at u r toti c a iti ra diata c orona
q p ,

Ph oe be i re f e re ns ve rti c i s al ta de c u s , .

Efiigie s int e r P avoni s mi s ta figu ram

C e rnit u r, e t m istam Ph asidis int e r ave m .
 M
34 M YTH S O F
IX N ex t as t o i ts lo ngevity W r i ters vary o n
. .

this point more than on any o ther so m any are ,

the varied forms whi c h falsehood presen ts Cor .

ne liu s Tacitus writes Many di ff eren t accounts

-

are given of the number of years the Phoen i x l i ves .

A sp ace o f five hundred years is the most common

acceptation Pliny gives 660 as the nu mber
.
,

H erodotus an d M ela 540 Ph ilo stratu s 6 00 Seneca

, ,

50 0 Al bertu s 3 50
, To minds steeped i n su per
.

s titio n su c h an age as this c ould n ot have seemed

too great had n ot Ch aere m o n the E gyptian and

, , ,

other s ix poets (whose privilege i t is to t alk

nonsense ) g i ven more tha n 70 0 0 years as the years
of the li f e o f the Phoeni x O vi d i s more reason
.

able an d i n the 1 5th Book of his

,
tamorplz oses
he has spoken the ord i nary sen timent o f m en
H aec u bi q uin q ue su ae c o m plevit sec ul a vit ae
I lic is in rami s, tre m u laq u e c ac u m ine pa l mae,
Ungu ibu s et duro nidu m sibi c on struit o re , e tc .

Longer l ived than a Phoen i x has becom e a ”

p roverb O ppian h as brough t fo rward a reason

.

f or the long li f e o f thi s bird when he says that i t

cannot be k i l led by arrows stones or by the other
, ,

c ontr i van ces o f man .

X I t i s common ly said that the Phoenix is the

.

only b i rd of i ts kin d in the whole wor l d , an d

accord i ngly i t is of neither gender This, at least .
,

is what we read i n the lately d iscovered m anu -

scr i pt — I m ea n the l et ter of Cle m ent of R ome to

.
 A N E N T SCI EN C E
CI .
35

the Cor i nthians What value is to be attached to

.

th i s we shal l hereafter en q uire Let us c onsider .

the wonderfu l m arvel which i s found i n E astern

c o untr i es and i n A rab i a I t i s a bird which is .

c alled the P hoenix ; this creature is the on l y on e

of its kind is soli tary i n its l i f e and lives for 50 0

, ,

years .

Lac tantiu s says

F aefiipia ve l m as h mc , ve n e ut rum sitl mage fe l ix

F l ix V
,
e q u ae e n e ris f ce dera nu a c o lit ll
i ll i V nu
,
Mor s e s e st, s ol a e st in mort e vo l u ptas
Ut po sc it na sc i h we , a ppe tit ante mori .

A lso ,
the bard o f Mantu a * sings
So l a int r e v o lu c re s , ne c m as neC f ce m ina, se x u .

So la ar t c e , ve n e ris sol a adve rsat u r honore s .

I l e nc ethere has arisen a dispute amo ng gram

m ar i ans as to the gender of this bird which ,

be l ongs to neither se x But such a discussion i s .

m erely a case of splitting h airs .

X I N o one who worships this idol of the poets

.

denies th at the Phoenix springs to li f e f rom i ts o wn

ashes Pliny who himself regards the Phoenix i n
.
,

the light of a my th quot es f rom Manilius (Bk x , . .

,

Chap 2 N atu ral Hz s to f y )

’
“
.
, The best accoun t o f .

all h as been g i ve n by M an i l i us a Senator an d the , ,

m ost a c tive of state o fficers Th i s man who has .

,

beco me famous i n th e deepest sciences w i thou t

V i gil r .
36 M Y T H S OF
any teacher says that n o one has ever seen the
,

bird feeding that i n A rbi a i t is sa c red to the

,

su n and lives f o r 660 years ; that when ol d age

,

comes on i t build s a nest of tw igs com posed o f

,

Cinnamon and thyme fills i t w i th s c ented herbs , ,

and dies on it F rom its bones an d marrow there

.

springs a creature like a little worm ; f rom i t comes

a f ow l This anima l as its first act per f orms
.
, ,

the f uneral rites to the f ormer and then takes ,

away the who l e nest to near Panc h aj a a City o f ,

the S un a n d there p l a c es it on the altar

,
”
Lac .

tantiu s Firm ianu s is worth quoting on this point

I psa sibi pr o l e s suu s e st pat e r e t suu s h aere s

, ,

N u t rix i psa s u i se m pe r a l umna sibi

, .

I psa q ui de m se d no n ea de m , q uia e t i psa, nec i psa

,
e st ,

{ E t e rnam vitam morti s a de pta bono .

A gain , we have the words of O vid

Una e st
q uae re pare t , s e q u e i psa re se m ine t ale s
Assyrii t i a
a c v o c ant

A better view of the m atter n be obtain ed as ca ,

w e l l as one f a m ore d etai l ed natu re f rom the

o ,

letter f C l ement of Rom e to the Corinthians

o , , ,

which Patri c i as Jun ius its first editor considered , ,

o f the h ighest va l ue The words are as f ollow .

,

an d are taken from th e rev i sed edition o f B oer/em s

(i n Pro gram m at A cad xii p . When . .
, . ,

however it p erceives its ow n en d approaching i t

, ,

m akes a sma l l nest f o r i tself with thym e and

myrrh and other S pices and when i ts time has ,
 A N CI EN T SCI EN C E .
37

f ully c o me i t steps i nt o it and dies Then when

,
.
,

the flesh h as disappeared into a pu tr i fy i ng mass a ,

w o r m is born which is susta i ned by the moisture

,

o f the defu nct animal and begins to grow feathers ,

and havi ng become stronger i t takes the nest ,

where the bones of its parent are and carries

them into E gypt i nto th e City cal l ed H eliopo l is
, .

There i n ful l daylight and i n the S ight o f all i t

, , ,

places them on the altar of the sun etc These , .

word s are almost identi c al with those fou nd i n

O vid (Bk xv M etam F ab
. .
, and stated wi th
. .

su ffi cient pro l ixity in Lac tantiu s who among , ,

other remarks has the fo ll owing

,

po stq u am vitae jam mi e pe rege rit anno s,

Q u a: ll
Dirigit in Syriam c e le res lo ngzr va vo lat u s .

l l
Tum e git ae rio s ub im e m ve rti c e pa mam , l
F lagrat e t am bu st u m s o lv it u r in c ine re m .

X I I I O n this point of course many doubts

.
, ,

are raised as to the precis e nature of the materia l

f rom which the Phoenix i s sa i d to spring Ulysses .

Aldro vandu s i n h is very excel lent work on

,

O rnitho l ogy (Bk xii cap . says . P l iny

, .
“

m aintains that a creature like a very small worm

i s first o f a l l created f rom the bon es an d m arro w
of the old Phoenix from wh i ch there n ext springs
,

a fow l .
”
Ph ilo s tratu s as q uoted by Vo late rranu s
, ,

withou t any m ention either o f bones or marrow has ,

the nonsensical story that from the Ph oenix , without

any ashes there spr i ngs a worm fro m the worm
,
38 M Y T H S OF
a new b i rd i s b o rn wh i ch flies i nto E gy pt from
,

a n unknown qu arter Su idas though he gi ves u s.

,

no authority seems to follow this accou nt Tz e z e s

, .
,

however q uotes the book of Ph ilo stratu s in another

,

l ight when he m aintains that this w o rm whi c h

,

has S prung from the ashes of the dead Phoenix

i s the paren t o f the new Phoenix O ppi an .

does no t even mention this worm but thinks

‘

that from the ashes alone there springs a

f ow l .I t is f rom thi s source again that O rus , ,

A po l lo gets his very di ff eren t accou nt o f the birth

o f the Phoenix when he says , D esiring to be
’
born f rom the blood that flows f rom its par ent s
w ou nd which is in flicted by a v i olent though
,

volun tary dashin g of itsel f to the ground So .

mu ch for Aldro vandu s .

X IV We must now make a f ew rem arks as

.

regards the home of this i maginary bi rd Pliny .

,

Soli o ns and with them Div A mbrosiu s (Bk v

, . . .
,

He xae m c .wr i te that the Phoen i x dwells i n

,
.

A rabi a Corne l ius Ta c itus an d A thenaeus te ll u s

.

that i t w as first seen i n the E gyptian C i ty of

H el iopo l is N ic eph o ru s (Bk xv E cclesias tical
. . .

Hz stm ) decl ares that i t is fou nd near th e equator

’

t o the e as t an d sou th Claudian and Lac tantiu s .

are q uite opposed in view and dream o f s o me ,

E lysi an fie l d or other or of so me kin d o f ,

Utopian Paradise Meanwhile let u s hear what

.
,

Lac tantiu s has t o say

 AN CI EN T SCI EN C E .
39

N on hu c
ex angu e s morbi no n a gra senec t u s
,

N o n mor s c ru de lis no n m e tu s a spe r a dit

, .

Lu c t u s ac e rbu s abe st, e t e ge sta s o bsita pan ai s ,

E t c urac inso m ne s e t viol e nta f am e s .

N o n ibi te m pe stas, nec vis f u rit horri da ve nti ,

N ec ge l ido te rram v e re pruin a tegit .

Hic ge nu s arbore um pro c e ro sti pite su rge ns

N o n lapsu ra so l o mitia poma ge rit ,
Ho e n e mu s h o s lu c o s avi s inc o lit uni c a, Ph ce nix ,

Unic a, sed vivit morte re f ec ta su a

, .

AS to what f ood i t eats so me m a i nta i n that ,

i t l i ves on ambrosia an d nectar ; others on a ,

very nour i shing k ind of dew O vi d says its .

tears are of i ncense an d its blood o f ba l sam ,

etc. O f i ts note which i s the m ost tu ne

,

f u l and inimitab l e in the world the greatest ,

nonsense i s t a l ked ; I am too annoyed to add

anything on this subj ect ; n ay my gorge ri ses at ,

such f alsehoods .

XV N otwithstanding the flimsy nature of these

.

facts innu merable people have l i ved who h ave both

,

accepted an d prom ulgated them as histori c al tru th .

O f O vid , Claud i an Virgil and other poets I , ,

shall say nothing f o r we must remember

, ,

at q ue Poe tis
Pic to ribu s

Q uodl ibe t au de ndi se m e r f uit

p a q ua pot e sta s .

Tac i tus So linu s and Ph ilo stratu s are us ual l y

, ,

q uoted fro m among the historians The l atter .

i ndeed i s quoted by C er , a S wiss

Profess o r of M edic i ne now
4o

l owing e ff ect — “
. .
,
M
deceased (Bk iii p 6 9 2 De A m bu s ) to the fol
.
’

YI

I believe th e Phoenix i s a b i rd
wh i ch every five hundredth year flies over Indi a
on i ts way t o E gypt ”
Can Valeri an tells u s i n
.

P liny that the Phoenix had flow n over into E gyp t

HS OF

Sebast i an Mu nster q uotes a l etter of a n E th i opi an

mon ar c h to the R om an Ponti ff The following
.

.
’

are i ts contents I n my country there i s a bird

c alled th e Phoenix the years o f whose li f e are 3 0 0
, .

This creature near the end of i ts l i f e fli es upward s

s o n ear th e su n that i t i s burnt to ashes by the

heat M any o f the fathers o f the early Church

.
,

as for instance A mbrosius Lac tantiu s Lyra , , ,

Tertul l ian and as F ranz iu s declares , N ic e ph o ru s

, , ,

allowed themselves to be i mposed on by th ese

n onsensical stories H erodotus an d P l iny wen t
.

f ar more cautious l y to work than these m en .

W ould that they had don e so o f tener

XVI A t th i s point we wou l d have had t o
.

deplore the mistak e m ade by S ca l iger when he

writ es (E xe rc . We read i n the records of
navigators that th e P h oenix is not abso l utely
,

a mythi c al creature They afli rm i t is found i n

.

the i nland parts o f I ndia I t is called the Sem enda

.

by the i nhabitants ”
We are spared this task
.
,

however by the fact that he seem s in the f o l lowing

,

p assages to ab andon hi s faith i n this story .

Among recen t writers Patric iu s junius swayed by ,

t he letter o f C le me n t , has pronounced the tal es

 A N CI EN T SCI EN C E .
41

of the Ph oen i x to possess histor i c al a c c ura c y .

Whether however this l etter be ficti tious as some

, , ,

ma i ntain and as Bo e c le ru s remarks or genuine

, , ,

the m oderate j udgment of Gerhard Joh Vossius .

which is c ontai ned i n his Christi an Physiology

(Bk iii c ap . is worth quo ting
. . I t i s no t .

n ecessary to believe th at C lemen t k ne w eve rything

”
that m ight a ff ect the secrets of nature .

C H A PT E R I I .

C O N T E N TS .

Th e P h ix v x p i pi Evid e nc e o f th e
S ip
1 oen ne e r s e e n e ce t n c tu res

g i h f dd d i g d i
. .

cr tu re s a a ns t t e a c ts a u ce n re ar to t

h lf d d m i h fl yi g
,

2 N atu re e rse R o es no t a t su c a n c re atu re e aso ns

gi
. .

Ad p f h S l m d I d
ve n

3 . e sc ri ti o n ol li fi t e aa an e r . t o es no t i ve n re . The
reas o n

y hi l y
.

Th e m of th e Ph a nix ps e ts th e pe ac e of

h hy m d
4 . t ca s to r u a
e alt in .

T he h
s o u rc e o f t e s e a s u r b d i s to r es

f L b gq d
.

Th e d
e vi e nc e o au t e n e r u o te and appro ve d .

I s t he Ph a nix to b d d if h o w, to ive po int g

h yi g f
e u se an so to a

pro ve r b ,
or to an y ot
,
er s a n s o l
a s imi ar natu re .

I This [f abu lous! c reature is q u ite a myth an d

.
,

has n ever been seen ex c e p t i n pictures (I u se the

words o f H erodotus ) N o man has ever seen it .

i n t rue rea l i ty E xcept a tis said ”

tis
.
“ ’

,
“ ’

” “ ’
reported tis a tale or
, s o they say no , ,

one can bring forward a Cle ar statement i n

42 M YTHS o r
regard to the matter (Gesner page . I ,

regard as impossible absurd and open l y r i diculous

, ,

whatever ex cept i n the way of a fiction has been

, ,

tol d of this creature S uch a belief as that in the

.

Phoenix i s a slander against H oly Writ , n ature ,

and sound re ason W e shal l proceed regularly

.
,

and prove all our steps N ow i t is clear from

.
,

the Scriptures that the Creator made m ale and

femal e in all the brute tribes Wi th th i s i ntention .

the task of procreation was c ommitted to all .

To all alike did the same command proceed

I ncrease an d mu ltip l y ”
The Phoenix cannot
.

be exempted f rom this command A nd at the .

flood not only did the q uadruped s bu t al l the

,

winged tribes go in w i th N oah two by two of the ,

u nclean and seven couples of the clean The

, .

Ph oeni x i s to be referred to the clean , nay to the

most Clean Class o f animals if any is But where
, ,
.

can we now discover either a male a female or , ,

seven couples ?
I I N ature herself suppl i es us w ith arguments
.

to de f eat the defenders of the Phoen i x F rom .

death sh e dec l ares there is no natural regress to

l i f e The Phoen ix on ce dead has en tered on a
.
, ,

stage of total extinction This i s the fiat of death

. .

N ature declares that whatever is born into the

worl d is born from what i s similar to i tsel f In .

th i s w o rk an e q u i vocal b i rth has n o place I f .

from a wor m there spr i ngs a Ph oen i x , i ts b i rth

 AN CI EN T SCI EN C E .
43

would be doubtful nay the bird itself woul d be

, ,

under a Cloud o f grave doubt N ature says .

“
Birds are bo rn f ro m eggs not from ashes ,
.

Birds likewise are oviparous not viviparous , .

F rom the ashes of a fowl no one look s for a

f owl nor f rom those of a pheasan t do we expect a
,

pheasant The same thing applies to the Phoenix

. .

N ature tells u s that without the fecundation and

parturition of the female no kind of creature can ,

be preserved on the earth N ature too teaches .

, ,

that no animal can be born from fire n ay nor , ,

even be p reserved i n such great heat as i s spoken

of in the story of the Ph oenix .

I I I The statement made about the S alamander

.
,

t o the e ff e c t that it can remai n i n the midst o f

flam e without re c eiving any harm i s fa l se There , .

is however as we intend briefly to S how such a

, , ,

poisonous creatu re as the Salamander w hi ch is ,

very like a lizard and is very f re q uent l y fou nd i n

,

I ta l y o f a bla c k and tawny co l ou r I ts tail is

, .

l ong an d flexibl e i ts skin rough an d it is marked

, ,

w i th d arkish spots o n its back like stars The .

statements o f Galen an d Dio sc o ris are more rel iable .

They s ay that the Sala mander l i ves a long time in

the fire but i s burn t and consumed by a too grea t
,

heat . If fire can subdue i ron why should i t not ,

destroy a living body which is soft and extremely

,

porous ? Though it may extin guish flam e i t d o e s ,

no t do this by the coldness of its body but by its ,

44 MYTH S o r ?

toughness as is the case with m any other k i nds

,

of flesh The S alamander however suc c umbs to

.
, ,

this We m ay compare S caliger E xe rc 1 85

.
, . .

N ow to return to our present subj e c t .

I V The Phoen i x i ntrodu ces the think ing m ind

.

to many and i nexp li c ab l e di ff i c ult i es We S hal l .

relate som e of the absurd stories I t i s said that .

death is its li f e When i t di es i t arises and when

.
,

dissolving away i t is born again S uch non .

sense ! This bird i s sai d to be of no se x O u r .

common sense te ll s us this i s f alse I t is declared .

to be a so l itary creature an d the only spe c imen ,

o f its kind . S ober phi l osophy demands that this

do c tri n e be relegated to the regions of the absurd .

Lucret i us rightly argues

Hfic ac c e dit u t i in su m m é, re s nu ll a sit u na
‘

UI l ICEl q 11 $ gignat u r CI uni c a sola q u e C I CSCEl t

.
'

There i s an absurd story too th at th e Phoenix , , ,

by flying very high towards the sk y i s s c orc hed ,

and burn t to death by the su n The statemen t .

,

i n the first place rests on a f alse supposit i on that

,

the su n is the source of heat an d i tse l f warm ”

,
“

as they say I n the next place so far is it f rom

.
,

be ing the case that the highest region o f the ai r is

the war mest those who have climbed the highest
,

mountains in I ta l y Greece and th e Canaries

, ,

have always f ound the co l d to be m ore intense .

I t is only the part of a madman to think that

th i s bird lives so m any thousands of years as ,
 AN CI EN r SCI EN C E . 45

the world i tsel f has nei ther be en established nor

shal l be i n existence so l ong and at the sam e ,

time to t alk su c h an amount of nonsense about

its death A l l m en m ust s e e th e propriety o f
.

the words of the learned Lau re nbe rgiu s which ,

are to be f ound in Tb e Pfiz lologw s Casket, cent ’

’

ii hist 1 7
. .

V I n the meanwhi l e we shall make i t a s p ecial

.

point to speak freely what we think on those

passages wh i c h rel ate to a matter which i s
obscure and covered w i th the vei l of enigma .

N ext to the H ebrews the E gyp tia ns were the

,

first to m ake use of and dis c over the li beral

arts and sciences as they were the first to empl oy
,

various fig u res pain tings and hieroglyph i cs

, , .

They were a l l kept secret and lest they might , ‘

c om e to be k nown among the common peo p le ,

every e ff ort was made to keep them hid That .

age which we call fiq o y , that i s u ncertai n

and obs c ure was a long one
, The age that .

f o l lowed next we m ay consider the m ythic or f abu

lous I n this P oetry, especial l y that of Greece an d
.
, ,

through her th at o f Rome produced wide spread ,

-

traditions We can the more free l y pardon this art

.

the cr i m e o f creating these f ables the more we ,

remember th e license poetry is allowed in what

ever sh e touches This i s the so urce of the
.

P hoenix story I t was by it as by a h ie ro o glyph ic

.

t h at the ancients w i shed to indicate noth i ng more

46 MYTHS o r :

or l ess than th e constitution of th i s mundane

m a c hin e and the en d of everything sublunary
,
.

We have th e words of Lau rem b ergiu s wh o to ,

the passage quoted above adds the fol low i ng

,

I believe i t h as never been a real bird ; there

i s a secret m eaning hidden und er th i s fable .

N amely th i s bird cal led the Phoenix is a token o f

,
’

the whole world ; the golden head indic ate s th e

heaven with i ts stars the brigh t body the earth
, ,

the blue breast an d tail the water and air The

,
.

P hoenix or world however wi l l exist so l ong as

, ,

the heaven an d stars stan d at th at p l a c e where

they were at the creat i o n When that ends the
.

Phoen i x will be dead and if the old world renews

,

its course everything wil l beg i n again ”

.

V I I Su c h being the case we consider that

.
,

more caution and moderation sho u l d be observed

i n speaking o f the Phoeni x in adducing evidence
,

on the subj ect in comparing similar statements

,

made on it F or what is com mon er than the say

.

ing , A m an w ith more l i ve s than the P hoenix ? ”

A can did fr i end i s rarer than the Phoenix ”

To ,
“

r i se again like the Phoenix ”

The P hoenix o f
,
“

l i terature ”
. There u sed to be m any men an d ,

perhaps there are som e still who app l ied the ,

’
words whi c h are in eve ry on e s mouth i n speak
ing of this creature no t on l y to martyrs and
,

those who h ad died a death of piety bu t t o ,

the Sav i our an d th e resurrect i on o f the d ead .

 AN CI EN T SCI EN C E .
47

My auth o ri ty for th i s i s B F ranz iu s (N atu ral .

Histm part i i Chap 3 p

,
.
,
Cyprian (as
.
, .

F ranz iu s te ll s u s p 3 4 9 ) u sed the s i mi l e of the

, .

P hoen i x to describe that myster i ous divine birth

wh i ch Christ taught There i s no doubt however . , ,

that th e holy father was speaking i n a pure l y

human sense They have the best regard f o r
.

themselves who in any dispu tations , and only

,

a f ter perm ission h as been ask ed or li mitation

m ade use su c h words as these
, If what is to ld
about the P hoenix i s true ”
If there be su ch a ,

thing as the Phoenix a matter whi c h we do not ,

”
enter into here etc To our min d th e Phoenix
, .

i s a pure fi gment and nonentity Long ago this .

was the be l ie f o f such great m en as H erodotus ,

Pliny Gesner Aldro v andu S F ranz iu s and S per

, , , ,

lingiu s .To God alon e be gl o ry

f o u r Z oo lo gical fi bbenba .

I Moles are no t w i thou t eyes of their own

.
.

They have organs of vision which have not been ,

given them by nature without a u se They .

perceive m en not on l y by the wi nd b l owing the

scent to their nostrils bu t a l so by their eyes , ,

which however are of the very sm allest k i n d

, , .

Thu s the proverb B l in der than a mole i s qu i te

”
,
“
,

f alse We may com p are the recen t dissertati o n

.

on the P o wer of Vis i o n of Moles by Tho mas .

48 M YT H S o r
I I Dormice although very much add i cted to
.
,

sleep do not certainly live by sleep and without

, ,

any kin d of food during a whol e winter Bes i des .

other reasons we have the evidence of experi ence

,

against such a supposit i on They h ave been .

c aught i n the d epth of winter i n the very act o f

stea l ing eggs and Chickens Martial s dormouse .

’

i s there f ore mistaken when it says

Tota mihi do rm it u r h ye m s e t pingu io r i ll o
Tem por e s u m q u o m e nil ni si somnu s al it
, , .

I I I She bears do no t complete the work o f

.
-

gestat i on by li c king the f oetus .

I t is one thing to li c k o ff the filth from any

thing ; it is q uite another to complete th e process
of gestation by l ick ing Scaliger s ays . In our
A lps hunters have foun d pregnan t S he bears -
,

which when cut open have revealed the foetus

, ,

f u l ly developed within them

”
(E xe rc . .

I V The hare species is not a totally her ma

.

ph ro dite on e .

To proceed from the mal f ormation o f certain

individuals to assert the fact of a whole species
would be the height of f o l ly Bo dinu s has the .

“
words — These creatu res are some o f them her
m aph ro dite but by no mea n, s a ll of them Th i s I .

have learned from an experien c ed hunter on ,

asking h im to resolve a doubt I had on the

subj ect .
 ® n th e JBe

M
emoth ,

G E O R G E C ASPAR D K I R C H AY E R .
 I N TR O DUC TI O N .

ATU R E a t t r a c u s by a l o v e
ts
of h e r s e l f Sh e in v i t e s u s
.

t o h e lp h e r . H e r e b y h er
di v e r s i t y t h e r e b y h e r e c ono m y h e r e b y
, ,

h e r s u b l i m i t y t h e r e b y h e r m i r t h and
, ,

ano n b y h e r w o r l d w i de gift s do e s th e
-

b e a u t ifu l and a mp le m o t h e r of a l l di s p l ay
h ersel f . W e m u s t t h e r e fo r e fo l l o w h e r

i n a l l w e do A l t h ou gh in de e d s o m e
.

t i m e s and i n s o m e p l a c e s sh e c loth es

h e r s e lf i n m o s t b e au t ifu l ga r b y e t I am
,

i n c l i n e d t o t h i n k t h a t n o w h e r e do e s t h i s
b e au t y a t t r a c t u s m o re t h an i n t h e gr e a t
52

tribe

p ai
an d
r of
.

h
.

u ge
I N T R O DU CTI O N

an
L e v ia t h a n
.
i m a ls c a lle d
.

of th e a ni m a l c r e a t io n I t is no t m y
.

t h e Be h e

M
i n t e n t io n t o e n t e r i n t o di sp u t e d o r do u b t
fu l p oi n t s W e h a v e all t h a t w e re qu i r e
a t h an d W e s u r e l y c ann o t ge t a b e t t e r
s u b j e c t of c on s i de r a t io n t h an t h e n o b le
m

Th e na m e s o f t h e s e
c r e a t u r e s are fa m i l ia r t o all of u s .
o t

a
h

y
t h e i r na t u r e b e m a de fa m i lia r t o t h e l e a r n e d
b y th e h e l p of G o d s gra c e
’
.
 ® n t h e JBe h e mo th .

1 69 1 .

C H AP T E R I .

C ON T EN T&
1 P g r i g h B h m hq d
ass a e c o nc e n n t e e e ot u o te

gh l y
. .

2 I hi pnt g ih d m
s ass a e , ne td g b ll er e o n no r ra o n, no r u c an ri t
d d h m ig
.

b e u n e rs to o as t e e an n

f h R bb i
.

3 N i d
arrat ve s anf i c o n u tat o n o t e a s

4 By h B h m h i
. .

t e e b ed d h El ph
ot s to e u n e rs to o t e e ant

5 E ym l gy
. .

t o o

6 D iff
. ,

m i g
e re nt f h w d e an n s o t e or

7 Sy ym f h m T h f L
.

no n s o f x
t e te r e natu re o o en o u ca

Rm V q d
. . .

8 Th. lv d
e u nc u ti f h iate s tate o t e anc e nt o ans . arro u o te .

9 T h l ph
. i
e e e x m i h im l
ant s ne i t to an n t e an a c re at o n.

1 0.Th i ll g e f h El p h
nte i e nc e o t e e ant.

1 1 H f d
. IS oo .

1 2 Hi w d f l
.
s gh
o n er u s tre n t .

13 Th fig i
e co n f hi lp Th I d i
u rat o n o s se ve ra arts e n an e e
pl h ant
b di lg
. .

c an en ts e s.

14 I l m
ts nat u ra ar ou r

y
. .

1 5 I ts me at
. and nativ e co u ntr .

1 6 . dik
I ts r n .

1 7 . Th m h d
e et o o f c a tu rin
p gi t .

I That we owe the history of the Behemoth

.

and L wiath an to Job the most elegan t wr i ter ,

on physics in sacred literature and (w i th th e ,

54 M YTH S o r
ex c ept i on of A dam J a c ob and Solomon the wisest
, ,

o f all m ank ind ) clearly the grea test authority

o n nat u ral history is proved by his 4 o th and
,

4 1 5t chapters . We get our know l edge of th e

Behemoth f rom the first of the Leviathan from
,

th e secon d o f thes e c hapters Beho l d says he .

”
,

who is at on c e the Creator an d Preserver of n ature ,

“
Beho l d now Behe moth whi c h I m ade with ,

thee : he eateth grass as an ox Lo now his .

strength i s i n his loins an d his f orce is in the

,

n avel o f his be l ly H e moveth his tai l l ike a

.

cedar : the sinews of his stones are wrapped

together . H is bon es are as strong pieces o f brass ,

his bones are li ke bars of iron H e is the c hie f .

o f the ways o f God he that m ade him can m ak e

his sword to approach unto him Surely the .

mou n tains bring him f orth food where a l l the ,

beasts o f the fie l d play H e lieth under the shady

.

trees i n the covert o f the reed an d fens The .

shady trees c over him wi th their shadow : the

wil l ows of th e brook compass him about Behold .

h e dr i nke th up a river and hasteth not : he

,

t rusteth that he can d raw Jordan into his m outh .

H e taketh it w ith his eyes ; his nose p ierceth

”
through snares . So mu c h for the word s o f the
sacred book o n thi s anima l .

I I I t i s our duty t o d is c over to what creature

.

these attributes are to be assigned and what is to ,

be understood by the Behemoth I t requires .

 A N CI EN T SCI EN C E .
55

very little i ns i ght to see that a creature of mor e

than ordin ary strength and size is here t a l ked of .

Those who by re j ecting a l l li teral i n terpretatio n

, ,

seek a n a ll egor i cal meanin g whe n there is none a t ,

on ce by on e huge l eap pa ss f rom natural things ,

M
an d say that the devil h i msel f is mean t This i s .

the view adopted by Thomas an d Lyranu s (See .

Dn D O le ariu s Conc 4 9 in jo b page

. . .
, ,

Those who w ish to see a com pari son between

the Behemoth and the devi l d raw n out c an consu lt
when they wish Dn D Scultetus C o ne 23 2 o n
, . . .
,

jo b page 3 1 0 F or the presen t we shal l pass over

, .

the attemp t o f Johannes Cam e re nse s who tries to ,

trans form for us the Behemoth in to a dragon .

N or can we place m u c h c on fidence i n the idea o f

Sanc tiu s fi“ who u nderstands by the B ehem oth a
huge bu ll The l earned John E usebius of N u re m
.

berg formerly Professor o f P hysiology i n the

,

R oyal A cademy of Madrid tak es much the same ,

view when he says (Bk x i N a t Hist chap iii

. . . .
, . .
,
“

p . and m aintains by every possible ar gu ment

that an ox i s m eant i n the passage quoted above .

Thi s F ranc i s Sanc h e z, o r Sanc tiu s mu s t no t be c o n

f oun de d with the c e l ebrat e d author o f De a trimonio

Franc i s Sanc he z spe nt most o f h is l i f e at Las Broc as

.

,
in Spain and w as a f amou s phi l ol ogi st if th e t e rm c an
, ,

be a ppl i e d t o t he pe danti c grammarian s o f the 1 5th

c e ntury .H e died in 1 60 0 .
56 MYT H S o r
I I I We shall ho wever b e much less ready t o
.
, ,

ad mi t the silly storie s of th e Rabbis R abbi .

A braha m decl ares that the creature is a m onstrou s

and unna meable ani mal Rabbi M oses th at the
.
,

word B elz emo t/z i s a sort o f collective for all

t he ox tr i be By a sim i lar disregard o f what
.

the real meanin g i s one c ould vindi c ate the

,

myths o f al l the wr i ters on the Ta l mu d The .

c ir c u mcised J ews m aintain i n sober earnest that ,

i t is a huge ox whose head i s one m il e i ts ,

n eck one mi l e and its body seven m iles long

, .

They say this beast f eeds over a thousan d

mou ntain s ea c h day i n Paradise u ntil M ess i ah ,

c omes an d s l ays it as a pleasant dish for the

Jewish people S ee a l engthy accoun t o f th i s by
.

Bu xto rf (in Synagog Ju d

, . c hap p .
, . .

Com pare Gerson (Th alm u d p 9 4 c ap . .

I V We now bring f orward our o wn view and

.
,

m aint ain that that creature is mea nt by the

Behe moth to which a l one a l l these pa ssages can
re f er i f their me aning be not distorted
, The .

E l e phant alone can be m eant by the word Behemoth .

This assumpt i on of ou rs we have now t o prove We .

shall pro c eed bit by bit and shal l fix the n am e

,

as be l onging t o the El ephan t alone an d show ,

that the f acts stated ca n on ly be applied to i t .

V The E lephant gets the n am e o f Behemoth

.
,

which i s a fe min i ne and plu ra l noun j ust as if we ,

were to call i t cattle

“ ”
The H ebrew ph rase i n
.
 A N CI EN T SCI E N C E .
57

th i s p assage denotes excel len c e and Behem oth ,

is applied to the E l e phan t be c au se by reaso n ,

o f its enorm ous bodily size i t c an overcom e ,

many be asts I t d enotes the highest wisdom

. .

(P roverbs i chap v 20 and i x chap v

. .
, . By ,
. .
,
.

similar reasoning the E lephant i s c a ll ed

by the Greeks as we are t o l d by Su idas I have
, .

also seen severa l passages quoted from Latin

authors by U l ysses A ldro vandu s (Bk i c hap 9 . .
, .
,

p 9 7 on Q uad rupeds ) The Latin word is itsel f

.
, .

derived from the Greek word meani ng a hill o r

small mou ntain as Isido ru s shows
,
Such a .

though t must have been i n the mi nd of O ppian ,

u n l ess I am mistaken when he wrot e ,

Ut si illu m vide as du m im m an ia c or pora ve rsat ,

Exc e lsi monti s proc e ra c ac umina c re das .

By others the word ék égba g or éh éfia g is derived

f rom the partici p l e a
B fl
’
g o f the verb a ry w and

the noun Zh o g, which mean s a marsh because i t ,

i s a w e ll kn own f act that the m ale an d f ema l e

-

E le phant are i n the habit o f copu l ating in marshes .

V I We have now t o c lear away some ambiguity

.

at taching to the word and that i n a f e w sen tences,

.

P liny speaks of the S ea E l ephant and says it is so ,

named from the exceeding brightness of its tusks

and its great size in whi c h respe c t i t resembles
,

the land elephant ( P liny Bk ix ch ap . I , . .

, .

believe that i n th i s passage he is re f err i ng to the

w alrus There is bes i des a kind o f locust which
.
, ,
58

rej o i ces i n the n am e o f E leph an t

passage f rom Pl iny (Bk xxxii , chap
l ocu st which goes by the nam e of E leph an t i s
bl a c k an d has f our cloven f eet ; i t h as besides

on ea c h
,

two arms with two j oints and one toothed claw

”
.
,

There is also a kind o f j ug which

goes by the n am e o f e l ephant as we read in
M Y I IIS o r
'

Let us quote a
.The

,
.
.

,
.

, ,

A then aeus (Bk c ha p

. E l sewhere i n the.
,

same author (cap E pic inu s says :

.

(6
hodi e ad Cle psydram
t o rre nt is in s tar au rigabo r u t raq u e ,

es t aut e m e l e ha s Ele ph ant o s at t rah it rh ytu m

p .
,

q uo d c o ngio s c a it du o s
p
VI I We must also touch on the di ff eren t nam es
.

for the B ehemoth an d that in a f e w words By

, .

th e Latins it is c a l led perm I ndi a n/z and espe c ia l ly ,

B ella a L) bz ca
”
Som e c a ll i t barru s when c e we
'

derive bar rz tu s the c ry of the e le ph ants f

'

H ora c e asks
Q ui d ti bi v is mu l i e r ni gri s dignissim a barri s ?
By Lu c retiu s e l ephan ts are c a ll ed snake handed-

bulls ”
. H is words are
In de bove s Lu c a s turrito c or pore tauro s ,

A ngu im ano s be ll i doc u e ru nt vu l n e ra P aeni

”
Su fierre .

I do ne u m ni si tibi e le
ph ant u m
pu e r f e rat Q ui d .

e st h oc pe r Deo s ?
”
P oc ul um magnum , c h o aru m q uod
t riu m sit c a pax , e tc .

1 A nd henc e , al so barritone
‘
.
 AN CI EN T s c rnu c u .
59

He has wisely given them this name for i t is a ,

f act that the E l ephan t uses his trunk like a hand .

H e bends it ba c k and forward con tra c ts and ,

stret c hes it I t can be twisted abou t because o f

.

i ts flexibi l ity c an be m oved with great e ase and

, ,

can be wound round like a serpent The m ost .

com mon o f the other n ames of the elephant is the

Lu c a c o w The reason of this is as follows
.

P yrrhus K ing o f E piru s when sum moned by th e

, ,

inhabitants o f Tarentu m against the R oman power ,

first op posed the Rom ans w i th herds o f e l ephants

in Lu c ani a where they had never been seen
,

be f ore By c onsulting P l iny we fin d f rom Book

.
,

viii of his [Va/u m ! Histo ry chapter 6 that

.
, ,

e lephants were first seen i n the war with King

Pyrrhus i n I tal y an d were ca l led Lu c a cows
, ,

be c ause they were seen in Lu c ania .

VI I I We know tha t the Romans of old

.

c u l tivated their own f arms and were their own

p loughmen A nd wh at is strange asks the

.
,

l earned R upert (p in their giving anima l s the

.

nam es they did ? They c a ll ed the ostri ch the

“
great S parrow the camelopard , the wi ld “

sheep p anthers A f ri c an mice lions N umidian

,
”
,

bears an d they were led to this like coun try f o l k

”
, ,

an d children by m aking a comparison between

,

these new animals and those whi c h they knew as

native i n their own c ountry V irgu ndu s shows .

this (Super F lor Bk i c ap . Lipsiu s had

, . .
, .
60 M YTH S o r
denied on the author i ty of Pliny
, th at th ere were ,

any b ars i n A fri

e ca S lm i
a as u s opposes Pl iny
and Lipsiu s with the authority an d evi den c e
of H erodotus Strabo Vi rgil Juvenal M artia l
, , , , ,

So linu s and M arcus A n to ni us Sab e llic u s

, We .

are now ready to return to the subj ect of the

Luca cows M Varro laughs at th e derivatio n
. .

we have gi ven above an d rebu ts th e opinion of

,

those who think that the el ephan t was call ed the

Luca cow or Lu c a bul l from the word Lu cania ,

declaring that it is not i n accord ance with the

R oman turn o f mind I be l ieve ”
he says
.
“
, ,

“
that they got the n ame o f Lu ca c ows fro m th e
word lux (l ight ) because of the far S hin i ng glitter
,
-

produced by th e towers placed on the i r backs ,

which were ornamen ted with gol d shields .

IX H aving done w i th the word i tsel f we now

.
,

pass on to th e m atter i n hand We have m ade .

the E lephant the subj ect on whi ch w e are to speak .

We S hal l i n order app l y to i t the attributes w e

, ,

quoted f rom Job Beho l d now Behemoth which

.

I mad e with thee ; he eateth grass as an ox .

This s q uares exa c t l y wi th the El ephant wh ich ,

was created wi th m an on the S ixth d ay o f creation

t o live on the earth N ay more this creatu re
.
, ,

c ontrary to and beyond the n ature o f wi l d

animals loves m an and de l ights in hi s so c iety
, .

H e all o ws himself to be l ed hither and thither by

a t i m i d A rabian boy , and suff ers himself to be
 A N CI EN T
SCI EN C E 61 .

beaten by him P liny very t ru l y says (Bk viii

. . .
,

ca
p . The E l eph an is the l argest of animatls ,

an d comes nearest to man i n i nstinct I t has .

been taugh t by its inte lligen c e (I wou ld pre f er

to cal l it i ts power o f us i ng its instinct ) obedien c e ,
’ ’
to ma n s tongu e a nd its m aster s orders and ,

remembers f avours re c e i ved ; nay m ore (a rare

c i r c u mstan c e i n man ) it can be guided by good
,

ness prudence an d j ustice

, , These are the .

words of Pl iny Bu t he stu pidly makes a f urther

.

remark i n the sam e pl ace to the e ff e c t that th e ,

keeping of f ai th th e worship o f the su n an d m oon

, ,

and some si l ly prayers or other are accustomed to ,

be pai d to the Creator by the E lephan t Pl iny i s .

here advan c ing f rom the actual to the i maginary .

{ E l ian (Bk ,
v c 4 9 ) i n c urs similar censure
.
, . .

Lipsiu s i s mu c h more cau tious i n his pra i ses of

the E l ephant . H e says I m ak e no doubt that
there a re m any true statem ents made concerning
this ani mal but there are al so many which over
,

step the truth I s there anything so strong as to

.

"
bear whatever weight is pu t on i t ?
X Th e statem ents however of the well know n
.

Ve rto m annu s o n the wond erful simil arity betwee n

th e e l ephant and man are not disp l eas i ng if
,

rece i ved by a hea l thy m ind H e declares that h e

.
“

s aw c erta i n eleph ants whi ch appeared to h i m to

have m ore sen se than the m en i n som e d istr i c ts ”

.

A m an is al ways a man and a brute a brute Y et , .

62 M YT HS o r
man weighed down by natural stupi dity o r sunk ,

i n barbarism or otherwise degraded has l ittle if

, ,

any o f the divi ne in him (I am ex cepting his ,

r eason which sometimes he is u nab l e to use ) to

distingui sh him from thi s most i nte l ligent creature .

This at least is tru e th at n one o f a ll the brute

crea tion approaches nearer man than the e l e phan t .

The e l ephant a c cordingly takes the p alm o f superi

o rity be f ore the lion H e has a more n ob l e
.

nature .A t R ome n ot long ago (I q uote f rom

“
,

A ldro vandu s ) several elephan ts were taught won

de rf u l tricks an d to perf or m evolutions very
,

di fficult to exp l ai n O ne of the i r nu mber less

.
,

tractabl e than the rest an d the rec i p i ent accord

,

ingly of m ore freq u en t sc o ldings and blows was ,

surprised during the n ight practising and t each i ng

himself of h i s ow n accord W e have ourselves a
.

very few years ago seen th i s creature taken through

m any states an d c i t i es of Ger many , a per fect
m arvel of i ntelligence I t leaped i n time t o mus i c
.
,

threw a j avelin waved a fl ag looked for a coi n

, ,

that had been h i dden , and by m eans o f i ts trunk

, ,

foun d i t an d retur n ed i t I n short i t d i d every

.

thing in the m o st pr o mpt man ner at the nod o f i ts

keeper .

X I The E leph ant i s said to eat grass lik e the

.

ox I t i s wel l k n o wn i t i s not a carnivorous

.

creature l i ke the l i on eagle o r vu lture N or i s i t

, .

a dev o urer o f i nsects l i k e the ni ght i ngale , l apwing

 A N CI EN T SCI EN C E . 63

or swallow N or i s i t omnivorous like the m ag

.

pie crow o r raven

, Cardanus (Bk x Subti l )
. . . .

has the words I t mu s t need s l i ve on shrubs

“
,

fruits and gr asses f o r o therwise i t coul d not

,

poss i bly be a good animal F or we know that .

all an i mals which l i ve on flesh are savage cunni n g ,

cruel and pugna c iou s ”

A loysius Cadamu stu s
. ,

quoted by U l ysses Aldro vandu s (Bk i de q u adru p . . .

p. bears witness to the fact that they feed most

e agerly on the leaves an d even the very trunks o f
,

trees Dio do ru s Sic u lu s following the S acred

.
,

S criptures says that they fre q uen t moun tai n pas

,
!

tures and reedy fens When their ordinary food .

fails them they do not scrup l e to eat roots an d

, ,

certain fruits su c h as m e l ons apples and barley , ,

.

A t O no ld I saw eight huge loaves devoured by

,

an e l ephant i n a short tim e N o r does it disdai n .

w ine Custom i s here a sec o nd nature

. .

X I I The strength of the E lephant i s tre me nd

.

ous They carry towers fil led with armed men

.

against the en emy , an d w i th a sword tied on to

their trunk fight w ith great e ff e c t committing
, ,

great havoc amongst the men u pon whom their

keeper urges the m C ardan u s says They have
.
“

such bod ily strength that two of them can pu ll

upon shore a laden vessel of the largest si z e ”
The .

Indians have a habi t wh i ch they s till keep u p o f

f astening two i ron cha i ns roun d the ele phants
bel l y an d f astening by th i s m eans a wooden
,
64 M YTH S o r

sadd le o n i ts back on which is pl aced a sm all ,

tower in wh i ch seve n m en can stan d upright at a

,

tim e (som etim es even as m any as f ourteen ) al l

,

armed f o r battle B ut why need we de l ay over .

m inor detail s ? A n elegan t passage o c curs in

Maccabees vi v 3 71 where i t i s stated that each
.
, .
,

E l ephant carries a tower and i n each tower there ,

are thirty t wo men not c oun ting the A f rican

-
,

dr i ver Ai li an is our authority f o r stating that

.

el ephants w ere f ormerly used to pull down the

wa l ls of an enemy s town Wi th their trunk a l one
’
.

they c an toss u p f ull arm ed m en C tesias himsel f .

saw an elephant u prooting a palm with its tusks

a t the com m and o f its d r i ver and pounding i t ,

beneath his feet O ne S hould get a sight o f two.

of the tusks o f th i s animal an d not l augh when , ,

he is told o n the authority of Card anus Bk ,

.

x.
,
p 3 1 9 that Ve rto m annu s s aw a p ai r th at
.
,

weighed 3 25 pounds Ju l ius C aesar S caliger .

himse l f s aw a single e l ephant s tooth (whence

’

we get our ivory ) longer than a m an (E xe rc .

20 4 se c
,
I have seen
. h e says a , ,
“

tusk far ta ll er than myself ”

Th o se which come .

f rom India are foun d to be the l arger and stronger .

X I I I We no w pass On to a consideration o f
.

c ertain parts o f the e l ephant In this con nection .

we m ust use the m o derate language o f Job He

moveth h is ta i l like a cedar ; the s i news of his
gen i tals are wrapped together H i s bo nes are as .
 A N CI E N T SCI EN C E . 65

strong p i eces of brass his bone s are l ike bars o f

,

i ron
.
”
The te sticles o f the elepha n t are he re th e
first point of consideration The m a l e elephant s
’

orga n o f generation is not very l arg e Cardanus .

says that it reaches to the grou n d al though this is ,

denied by so me W e shall pass over this point

. ,

a n d consider the c o lossal size o f its bones and i ts

fe et Its legs are r ough lik e colum ns an d make
.
,

deep foo tmark s on the groun d I ts thigh bo nes .

g o dow n straight and do not bend outwards like

,

th os e o f cattle H ence it is that the j oin ts o f

.
,

its k nee s are so level with its legs that u nless ,

o n e saw its l egs bending o ne wo u ld say there were

n o j o i nts at a l l H ence also has arisen the idea
.
, ,

th a t the e l ep h a nt has no knee j oints so that if i t -

,

on c e falls on the ground i t can n ot r i se a gain .

With this re mark i t was that Dio do ru s Sicu lu s and

S trabo persuaded many m e n of the t ruth of a
false accoun t of the capture o f elephants in the
w o ods The e lephants lean they said on th e trees
.
, ,

wh i ch fo rm the i r u su al S lee ping p l ace bu t wh i ch -

,

in the m ea nwhi l e have been al most completely

s a wn through I have seen these animals lyi ng
.

d o w n and at once ris i ng up agai n at the word o f

their owner O thers h ave done so too and th e
.
,

f a c t is beyond a l l doubt .

X IV W e have n ow to g i ve a d escription of i ts
.

su pe rior i ty to other an i mals an d of i ts natura l ,

po wers o f defence agai nst attack s Th e paths .

E
 M
66 M Y TH S OF

of God are glorious The E leph an t is the first

.

of the works o f God for among qu adrupeds i t i s

,

the highest an d the chie f work of God n ext to

m an . Again the elephan t is sa i d to h ave be en
,

created first of a ll living qu adrupeds My author i ty .

f o r th i s is Dn D O le ariu s (Co ne 4 9 Job p age

. . .
, ,

H owever that may be we ma i nta in that ,

n ext to man the first place i s to be given to the

E lephan t i n preference to the lion O u r reas o ns .

for this we have already st ated The nearer any .

thing comes to ma n the more ex alted is i t to be

,

reckoned We h ave already pointed ou t the

.

extre m ely docile n ature o f the E lephant To our .

own w ords those of Pl i ny m ay be worth add i ng

(Bk vii i cap
. .
,
. u tian u s w ho w as thr i ce ,

C o nsul i s my author i ty for say i ng that one o f

,

these an i mals le ar n t the formation of Greek letters ”

.

ZE lian says I have seen wi th my ow n eyes a n

E lephan t e tI ng Roman Characters on a t able w i th
i ts tru nk qu i te correctly an d w i thout an y tw i st i ng
, .

N ay more while i t was writing i ts eyes were

, ,

steadily fixed o n the table , so that one woul d say

that i t was keep i ng its attent i on fixed an d follow i ng
what i t wrote ”
No th in g of such a nature c an be
.

sa i d abou t the l i o n I t i s a so litary creature The

. .

E lephan t deligh ts in a royal ret i nue The lion is .

a cruel be ast : the elephant doci le beyon d belie f .

Cle mency bec o m es a k i ng The lordly E lephant .

rej oices i n i ts a rmour H e, says Job that

”
.
“
,
 A N CI EN T SCI EN C E . 67

made h i m can mak e h i s sword to approach u nto

him .
”
W e m ust re m ember i t has gleam i ng
tusks bes i des its trunk wh i ch i t uses as a ,

sword A ldrovand a s well says

. I t uses its trunk
like a han d and ca n so h an dle every thing w i th
,

the po i n t thereo f and so use i t for grasping obj ects

, ,

th a t not even the smallest co i ns can escape it It .

eve n takes the m u p an d han ds the m with i ts trunk

t o the keeper who i s seate d on i ts back
”
When .

abo ut t o c ross a r i ver or a deep lak e i t breathes

t hrough its trunk which i t k eeps r a i sed aloft thus
, ,

a ff ording a re m arkable i nstance of the prudence

and foresight o f n ature Pl i ny s ays “
They eat
.
-

w i th their m outh but breathe and drink and s mel l

,

w i th what has not i naptly be en called their han d .

(Bk viii chap

. .
,
.

XV . Surely the mo u nta i ns br i ng h im forth

fo o d where all the beasts of the field play H e
, .

l i eth under the sh ady trees i n the covert of the ,

reed and fens The S hady t rees cover h i m w i th

.

the i r shadow ; the w i llows of the bro o k compass

”
h im about We have already spoken o f its food
.

in the par agraphs preced i ng H ere now we have a .

de script io n of the B ehemoth from the po i n t o f

v i ew o f its quietness and h ab i ts The E lepha n t is .

d ocile by n ature a n d ca n be t a med at the first

,

atte mp t O pp i a n i s worth quot ing

. .

I ll i vastu s ine st animu s du m sal tibu s e rrat,

,

Et f e t u s ; e st homines int e r m ansu et u s e t ae q u u s .

68 M YT H S o r"

He rbif e ris e te nim at q ue u m bro sis vallibu s o l im

Pa go s at q ue o leas e t c e l sa c ac u m ine palm ae ,
Sas pe sol o stravit firm a sub ra dic e re vu lsa
, ,
In genti inc u m be ns e t ac uto robore de nti s ;
A st u bi in h u m anis m anibu s ve rsat u r e un de m
De se rit i ll e animu s f u giu ntq u e im m ania c or da
, ,

N am q u e j u gum patitur du risq u e stat o ra lu pat is

, ,
Et pu e ro s ter go disc it gesta t e m agistro s .

Thus although the E lephant is a strongly arm ed

,
-

creature i t is ye t contented with grass and it

, ,

kindly removes w ith its trunk f rom i ts p a th those

an i m als that walk i n sa f ety r o und i t to prevent ,

their being hurt by any unforeseen motio n of i ts

own (Dn D S cultetus p
. . . When they, .

have eaten thei r fill they return to the i r m oist

,

and marshy retreats a n d seek the reedy p o o ls ,

there to l ie down A t o ther ti mes they never

.

en ter the water u nless compel led a lthough the i r ,

great delight i s i n i t They h ave the greatest.

d i ffic u lty i n the i r attempts at sw i m m i ng o n a cc ou nt ,

o f the very great S ize o f the i r bo dies .

XVI . B ehold he dr i nketh up a r i ver and

“

h asteth not ; he trusteth that he can draw u p

Jordan int o h i s mou th Dr i nki ng i s w i th the
.

E l ephant a slow an d very long process a n d i t ,

t akes up su ch a large supply of water at once that

one would th i nk it mean t to i mbibe the whole
river I t does not , however dr i nk t i ll i t h as p u t
.
,

i ts feet into the water and disturbed i t Camels .

a n d horses have the same habit I t is wonderful .

 SCI EN C E AN CI EN T 69 .

ho w the brutes know what i s best for the m e lves s .

Pure water is sai d to produce colic i n the i r i ns i des .

A rist otle says The E lephant takes at one meal

nine M a cedon i a n m e asures of food a n d generally ,

d r i nks six or seven Th i s huge supply i s requ i red

.
”

by the huge S i ze f i ts b dy a n d i s no t the con

o o ,

se q uence f the mere pleasure of eat i ng Th i

o . s

Sp ling er ri ghtly m a i ntai n s in h i s Lec ture o n

u s s

Z ol o gy (chapter on the E lephant p

o , .

X VII H e t keth i t w i th h i s eyes ; h i s no se

.
“
a

p i erceth through snares S o m t ake th i s se n te n ce

.
”
e

as absolute others u nderstand i t as pu t in terroga

,

ti ly
ve we have no w i sh to disparage any one s
.
’

O p i nion on the subj ect O a u thority for th e . u r

view we have taken is Dio do ru s Sic u lu s and Pliny .

The E l ephant , although the largest of the an i mal

creation has yet n atural enem i es I ts greatest
, .

dread i s fire an d the nex t pigs , the grunting of

,

which i t cann o t endu re But its greatest enemy .

is the serpent This creature see i ng the E lephan t

.
,

dr i nk i ng bes i de the river or feeding le i s u rely , ,

su ddenly spr i ngs at i ts eyes an d sometimes go uges ,

the m out somet i mes w i th the coi ls of its long

,

t a i l takes such a gr asp of its trunk that i t is ,

either strangled as by a noo se or prevented from ,

d efend i ng i tself Thus the serpen t suck s i ts

.

blood unti l the E lephant i s e i ther o vercome by

,

exhaust i on or depr i ved of s i ght d i es outright

, , , ,

S ee Dio do ru s Sic u lu s Bk ii i chap 3 ; a n d , . .

, .
70 M Y T H S O F A N CI EN T SCI EN C E .

compare Pl iny who has preci sely the same

,

acc o unt Bk vi i i chap 1 2 ; an d S lin

,
. .
, . ch ap o u s, .

38 . O n the ordin a ry an d m u lt i far io us m eth od s f o

hu n ti n g the E lephan t our ch i ef au thor i ty i s

Ald nd
ro va and next to h im B F n i
u s, in h i s . ra z u s,

Hz slorjy of We have been co mpelled

’

A n im als .

to enter thus i nto det ai l ab ou t the E lephant ,

wh i ch i s n o t a whi t less th a n we sh ou ld h a ve
requ ired t o pr o ve th at a n y smaller an i ma l was
m ean t by Job I t i s a fact that by no other
.

an i ma l can a ll these attr i b u tes be j u stly cl ai med .

OF VO L . II .

Pai n/ed la E 69 G Goldsmz a , E dinbu rgh

’
'

°
y . .
 MM
M
M
[COLL ECT AN EA ADA AN TE A X VJ
—
.

mn mmu ral flatstorv

s
‘

M
) mfi) 35

A N O I E N T SC I E N O E ,
' ‘

Collection f Cu riou s Tm ats o n

o e

P/z ( mix , Be/z ematk or

l kv fiu fian , 1 9 nngna GEd nt éB Edn g
Tu r ani u m, C/z ameleom , Saty rs ,
Ham z nes Cau data,
' ‘

67 7 .

N OW FI R ST TR AN S L ATE D FR O
“
:

THE L ATI N ,

AN D
Betteo. wttb fl o ws alto Situ s trattou s,
BY

ED UN D D ,

I
I K F O UR V O LU E S .

VO L . HI .

PRI V ATE LY PRI N T E D .

E D I N B UR G H .

1 886 .
{ M
yths of an c i en t S c i en c e
.
 M
M
MM
M
mn lnatu ral h
= is tory ,

AN CI EN T SCI EN CE ;
Being a Co llectio n of Cu riou s Tracts o n e

B as ilisk , Un ico rn , P/z ccn ix , Bclz cmot/z or

Leniat/z an , Drago n , Gia nt Sp ider ,
Ta rantu la , C/z amc leo m , Saty rs ,
tYo m inc s Cau dat i,
.

69 c
°
.

N OW FI R ST TR ANS L AT ED FR O
THE L AT I N ,

AN D

BY

ED UN D G O LDS I D ,
F SA
. . .
(Sc o T ) .

IN FO UR VO LU ES .

V OL . III .

E D I N B U RG H .

1 886 .
 (th e iteviatban .

C H AP T E R I .

A R G U M EN T .

I A q u o tat io n

ll y m
.

z Th e C roc o h d il h S p
e no t re a
y e ant e re , no r t e e r e nt, 11 0 1 an
f h R bb i
.

f h m o i t e o ns tro s tI e s o t e a s

3 By h L i h
.

. t ei m h W h l
e v at an s e ant t e a e .

4 I . d ibl iz f h Wh l A ll i f i
nc re e s e o t e a e . co ec t o n o ns tanc es .

5 T h h g ib f e u p d i h Ch h f W i mb g
e r o o ne re s e rve nt e u rc o tte er

x m ly d g
. .

6 Th e e h
tre f h ep f h an e ro u s c arac te r o t e c a tu re o t e

Wh l a e .

7 Th m i
e sa d Th I d i m h d f p
e c o nt nu e e n an et o o c a tu re

i k i g f h ip b y h Wh l k i h
. . .

8 Th. e s n n I p o s s t e ae . ts ran s n t e sea

9 C . l io nc u s o n .

I We have no w to pass from the l argest of

.

land animals to the l argest of those that live i n

the water The n ame of th i s beast i s th e
Lev i athan The H ebre w root of this word
.

is Lavah which m eans assu mption acere , ,

tion a c cumulat i on i ncrease Henc e Lev i athan

, , . ,

whose s ize is re markabl e (F ranz iu s A n im a l .

,

Histor p The Lat i ns call i t the Cetus

.
, . .
6 M YTH S O F
There are very m any k inds of th e Cetus The .

c hief I S the common wha l e next t o which c o m e

,

the O rca , the Ph yste r the Dolphin the Sc o lo

, ,

pender and the S ea cow We are quite assured

,
-
.

that i n the presen t i nstan ce reference i s made to

the comm on whale because o f the attr i but es
claimed for i t The words of God i n the 4 l st
.

c hapter o f Job shou ld b e fam i li ar t o u s : C anst

thou draw ou t the Levi athan with an hook ? or
his tongue with a cord which thou lettest down ?
Canst thou pu t an hook i nto his nose ? or bore
his j aw through with a thorn ? Wi l l he m ake
m any supp l ications u nto thee ? Will he S peak so f t
words u nto thee ? Will he m ake a c o v e nant wi th
thee ? W i lt thou take h i m for a servant for ever ?
wi l t thou play w i th him as w i th a bird ? or wilt
thou bind him for thy m aidens ? S hall thy com
p an io ns mak e a ban q uet of him ? sha l l they part
h im am o ng the merchants ? canst thou fill h is skin
wi th b a rbed i rons ? or h i s head w ith fish spears ?
Lay thine han d upon him Remember the
.

battle do n o m ore Behol d the hope of h im i s in

, .

vai n S hal l n ot one be cast down even at the very

sight of h im ? N one i s so fierce that d are stir him
U
up .

I I We ca nn o t i n the presen t place g i ve any

.

attent i on to Beza who understood by the Levia

than a Crocodile or some kin d o f a q u ati c ser pent
,
.

\Ve mu st at the sa me t i me e xclude certai n per

.
 M
A N CI EN T SCI EN C E .
7

ve rto rs o fthe t ext who maintain that n o thing bu t

a serpen t i s here m eant The not i on o f R . .

K imc h u s we m ust also dispense with t o whom the ,

word Levi ath an sig ni fies so m e kind of very l arge

serpen t destruct i ve t o ships I cannot listen f o r .

eve n a m oment to Rabb i Man asseh Ben I srael ,

when he p rate s o n the Resurrec tion of the Dead ,

(Bk ii chap 1 9 p
. .
, and says that by the
.
, .

Leviathan i s mean t that ban q uet which God S ha l l

prepare for those who h ave live d good and ho l y
lives on th i s e arth Rabb i Moses e m o n h as
aj .

a S i milar fiction (i n M ore N e b u ch im part i ii , .

,

ch a p 23 p
. where he says that u nder the
, .

Lev i athan is in cluded a l l the general properties o f

al l bodies wh i ch are dispersed among a l l th e
,

animals that fly sw i ftly , or walk I n the Ta l mud .

,

the r i dicu lous idea o f a fis h three mi l es long h as

been i ntr o d u ced as the dai l y food of the Le viathan .

(Co m pare Bu xto rf [ n Sy nagog I ncl ) . . .

I I I We however will d ismiss these S i lly tales

.
, , ,

and continue our argumen t That on l y is pro .

per l y meant by the Levi athan wh i ch wi thout any ,

figure o f speech can claim a ll those qualities ,

attributed i t We cannot even if we w i sh m ake

.
, ,

the Levi athan larger by any e ff orts of ou r own .

When pu t t o the test i t is fou nd t o be l ess ,

than supposed We have first however t o mak e .

, ,

som e rem arks on this vast an d uncon q uerable se a

m onster E verythi ng tends to th e conclusion
.
8 MYTHS o r
that the cla i ms we m ake for i t are right N o .

anim a l in any se a approaches i n size terrible ,

ness a nd fer oc i ty to the Whale N one su rpass

, .

it . I S hall pr ove th i s F rom i ts great s i ze ,

(2) from the extreme di fficulty of its capture ,

(3 ) from i ts extreme ferocity (4 ) from the ,

i mposs i bili ty of all i ntercou rse be tween i t and

man (5) fro m the extre me di fficu lty of ki lling i t
, .

These points ca n be proved from the d es cr i pt i on

we have given of i t above .

IV That fish must surely be of v ast si z e which

.

c ou l d swallow the pr o phet Jo n ah w i th one gape

o f i ts j aws and throw him up aga i n after three

,

d ays u nh a rm ed There was a W h ale t aken i n

.

1 53 1 at H arle m, i n Batav i a wh i ch was of the

,

ordi na ry k ind , 6 8 feet long I n 1 577, not far .

f ro m A nt werp there was another taken i n the

,

river Sh e ldt 85 feet i n le n gth The one wh i ch .

w as captu red i n 1 53 2 h a ving bee n c a st up o n the

,

sh ore by th e waves w a s o f i mmense S i ze A part

, .

of i t appeared ou t of the w ater a part remained ,

bu ri ed i n th e w aves Though greatly m angled

.

and destroyed by the ravages of beasts and fishes ,

yet so m uch o f i t rema i ned as to be beyo n d the

c a pacity o f one hun dre d h u ge waggons to rem ove .

I t was 3 0 cubits i n length The gape of i ts j aws

.

e mbraced a space o f 6 % cubi ts I ts j aws were .

7 c ubits i n length I t had 3 0 r i bs e ach o f

.
,

wh i ch was 21 feet long The le n gth of i ts he ad

. ,
 AN CI EN T SCI EN C E .
9

f rom the base to the snout was 8 cubits : its ,

tongue was 7 cubits in le ngth B ut we must be .

brie f The reader may fin d several other par

.

tic u lars of th i s fish i n Letter to Po ly d oro Virgil

’
,

wh i ch can be seen i n F ranz iu s part ii i (A nimal , .

Hist chap
.
, The same writer h as also
.

the f ollowing account I n 1 54 5 i n P omerania , ,

at G ryph iswald there was taken a sm a l l Whale

, ,

in wh i ch there was yet found an i mmense a moun t

o f fishes not yet digested and among th e rest ,

a living salmon three feet in length , These .

fishes fi ll ed three casks H ieronymus W e lse h iu s

'

(chap v on I taly p 3 3 which see ) w i ll be f ound

. .
, , .
,

to give an account o f Whales o f a si z e m o re

remarkab l e than any ye t seen .

V Whi le on this point i t may not be out of

.
,

p l ace t o m ention the very large rib of a whal e

whi ch is preserved in the c h apel at the Castle o f
V itte m be rg
V
Th i s rib is 1 4 f eet long and was
.
,

de posited i n i ts presen t place (where i t i s fastened

to the wal l by an iron c h ain ) by the l at e E lector
o f Sax ony F rederick the Wis e
, I t can be seen .

by visitors an d there is a l abel attached on which

,

the f o ll owing verses are ins c r i bed according to ,

the spi ri t of th at age

O mne s int e rrige nae prze grande m c e rnit e c e t e ,

Bis se pt e m pe dum , c o s ta de at e re te ns fi l .

C u nc t ipo te ntis O pu s, no n pe r sc rutabi e c u ivis, l

l
Pe rsPic u is un di s su b, ta ia mon s tra c reavit .
IO MYTH S OF
V I M any accou nts are given of the m ethod o f
.

capt u r i ng the Whale A ll these accounts are

.

extrem e l y di ff use though this is a Ci rcumstance

,

scarcely to be won dered at O pp i an A lbertus .

, ,

R o nde le tiu s and U lysses Aldro v andu s who took

, ,

h is m ateri als fro m these wr i ters should al l be ,

consulted (I c th yo l , Bk i on Wha l es p age

. . . .
, ,

We shall deal with the m atter which i s a ,

ted i o us one i n as S hort a m ann er as possib l e

,
.

Twisted ropes are take n abou t the thickness o f

a cable to wh i ch is attached an iron ch ain
, ,

furnished with a very stro ng an d sh arp hook .

O n this hook a piece o f ox m eat is plac e d f o r a

bait The braver part o f the m en row u p to the
.

p l ace selected The Whal.e as soon as it s c ents,the

b ai t or sees it m akes for i t w i th haste and avidity 1
, ,

and unsusp i c i ous of treachery takes in the who l e

, ,

hook This cau ses a ser i ous wound and i t at on c e

.
,

attempts to get rid of the i ron chain to which the

hook is attache d After a long i ne ff ectua l e ff ort
.

t o do so an d goaded to m adness by the e xc ru c iat

,

ing pa i n caused to i ts V itals by the constant

p u l ling back an d forward of the hook firm ly
i mbedded w i th i n i t i t plunges to the bottom
,
.

T h en the hunters sl acken the rope which is ,

furnished wi th air bladders at variou s interva l s

- .

VI I The Whale having plunged to the bottom

.
, ,

rema i ns q u i et for som e tim e but the bladders ,

keep the creature though wi shing to rest , f rom

,
 AN CI EN T SCI EN C E . I I

doing so because the air i n them tr i es to com e t o

,

th e surface The Whal e n ow rouses i ts anger

.
,

and pu rsues the bladders with th e i nten t i on o f

punishing the m an d under the i mpression t hey
,

are the creatures that are caus i ng it pain The .

bladders dragged along by the ropes fro m above

, ,

flee be f ore i t The Whale , as is its custom sink s

.
,

again t o the bottom The bladders S ink a f ter it . .

The creature which has drawn t he bladders aft er

,

it is i n great pa i n and gets i n such a te rr i b l e

, ,

f ury that lashing the waves aroun d it , on e wou l d

, ,

think E o l us himself w as lodged beneath The .

Whale after a long an d weary struggle and

, ,

with its strength now a l most gone is compe ll ed ,

to fo ll ow the rowers who pu l l the rope i n the

nearest boat Then at a given signal the hunters
.

approach i t with their boats and amidst mutual ,

c heering an d e n c oura gement , with great courage

and i n the m idst o f lou d S hou ting as if they were ,

i n the m i ddle o f a battle they proceed to atta c k ,

the animal The Wha l e i s now surrou nded on

.

a l l sides by th e hun ters armed w ith j avelins ,

har poons prongs scythes axes knives and

, , , , ,

spears The Wh al e endures the blows showered

.

u pon it un disturbed and s po u ts forth great masses

,

o f w ater f rom its blow hole The hu nters endea .

vour to drive it towards shore pier c ing it with ,

c ons tan t w ounds and not withou t da nger to their

,

own lives The merchants an d thei r comrades

.
12 MYTH S O F
help them to close up i ts blow holes an d last of ,

al l to ki ll i t outright when i t i s div i ded amongst

them The E ast I ndians indeed have a di ff eren t
.

m ethod of t ak i ng i t and one attended w i th greater

,

risk and requiring greater courage for i ts aecom

,

p lish m e nt They leap on the creature un awares

. ,

a nd ride on its back and then by piercing it ,

deeply with bamboos they c l ose u p th e a i r holes,

-

and thus despatch i t A n extremely clear a c count

.

is given by G o th o f re du s (Part i page 1 3 History . .

,

f
o W est I ndies .
)
V I I I We c an se e from the above account the
.
,
’
m eaning of Job s word s in speaking of the Levia
than . They den ote the extre m e di fficulty an d not
the im possibi l i ty of capturing a nd k illing th e ,

Wha l e Surely th e Whale c an with the grea test

.

di ffi culty be brought alive i nto the possession of

man . I ts f erocity i s i nd om i tab l e its strength ,

i ncredibl e N one d are attack i t in the open s e a

. .

I t sinks whol e ships without any di ffi cu l ty It is .

a remarkabl e fact that ships n ewly painted have a

great attra c tion for whales by reason of thei r
smel l The cre atures come u p to a vessel an d
.

rub themselves against i t The sailors so mewha t .

,

i n f ear f o r the safety o f their vessel throw out ,

painted barrels to i ndu c e th e Whales to leave the

ship and the Wha l es p l ay and S port with them
, .

The Batavians E ng li sh an d the Danes tak e the

, ,

Whal es annually on the co asts of Greenla nd and

 A N CI EN T SCI EN C E . I 3

I celand and that to o , i n cons i der able q uantities

, ,
.

The I nd ia n O cean is sa i d to breed the largest si z e

of Whales The writers on such subj ects tel l u s
.

that Whales have often been seen whose ey es and

eyelids were l i ke a sold i er s head w i th a l arge '

hel met on i t Aga in R o nde le tiu s quoted by

.
, ,

Spe rlingiu s has the words

,
I have see n the
pen i s of a W hale of such a size that when m ove d ,

by a po werfu l m an i t yet rea c hed the grou nd on

,

either side of h i m F rom th i s one can get an i d ea

.

h o w huge i t must be when the Whale i s r o used by

desire Th i s g i ves u s also a clu e for m eas uring
the rest of the body The m ighty Creator herein
.

glo rifie s his own ma j esty , fi rst by the exampl e o f

th e E lephant and then by that o f the Behemoth
, .

W h o then he says ,
,
can res i st my coun
te nanc e ?
I X Let this su ffi c e f o r the Whale We n eed
. .

not describe it more minu tely for the sam e ,

reasons and for others th at we refrained f rom

, ,

going i nto detai l abou t the E le phan t N or , .

again need w e enter further i nto the subj ect o f

,

the m ethod of ge n erat i on tenacity of life (which

, ,

f rom the ev i dence o f zoologists seems i n the case ,

o f both to extend to 3 0 0 years ) or several other ,

points c onnected with the m O u r position i s .

,

that by the Behemoth i s m eant the E lephant and ,

by the Lev i athan the Wh ale We have rested .

our pr oo f on the pri nciples an d doctrines of

I 4 MYTH S O F A N CI E N T SCI EN C E .

n a t u ra l h i story W a re s o far how ever fr om

. e , ,

t u rn i ng s i de fr o m any on e who h as a better

a

theory t o pr o pose that we S h all reverence him

,

the mo re The w o rk s of God are man ifest and

.
,

always t o be magn i fied C n there be a s much

. a

power a n d m aj esty i n the i rrati onal creature as

there i s in the Creat o r H imself ? H e h thro wn as

a ve i l o ver h i s d i v i n i ty in all th i ngs nor has H e

,

left H i mself a nywhere w i thout a w i tness Tis .

’

o u rs t o a dmi re t o sea rch to o bey and to adore

, , , .
 O n th e E t age n

M
G E O R G E C ASPAR D KI R C H
,

AY ER .
 M
PR E FAC E .

N t h e s i x t e e n t h of O c t o b er o f
t h i s y e a r , n e w s w as b r o u gh t
*

fr o m R o m e of a F l yi n g Se r p e n t
t h a t h ad b e e n k i l l e d b y a
!

h u n t e r aft e r a s e v e r e and dan ge r o u s

s t r u ggl e T h i s s t o ry w h i c h app e a r e d
.
,

m o r e l i ke s o m e fa b l e t h an re a l t r u t h w as ,

a s u bj e c t of di s c u ss ion a m o n g t h e l e a r n e d .

T h e c i r c u m s t an c e w as de n i e d by m any ,

b e li e ved b y o t h e r s and le ft i n do u b t b y
,

s e ve r a l W e h a v e h e a r d th e Op in ion s
.

of m e n o n t h i s s u bj e c t e v e n t h o u gh ,

it b e it s e l f a m y t h i c a l o n e a
y t h ei r .

m e m o ry b e a llo w e d t o re s t i n p e a c e and ,

t h e i r gr e a t n a m e s b e u n di s t u r b e d Day .

u n t o day sh o w e th know l e dge W e o w e .

a ls o a de b t Of gr a t i t u de t o t h o s e w h o h a v e
in v e s t i ga t e d th e s u b j e c t a c c o r din g t o t h e
b es t of t h e i r po w e r s N a t u r e w i l l be o u r
.

m o de l t r u t h ou r qu e s t : G o d o u r h e lpe r
, .

1 69 1 .

VOL . III .
 (th e Dra go n .

C H A PT E R I .

C he matu re of (Serp ents ) Dragon s .

C ON T EN TS .

I V i y m l gi f h w d D g
ar o u s e t o o es o t e or ra o n.

Dif
.

2 . f hi g w h i h h m may b gi
ere nt t n s to c t e na e e ve n .

3 Th m i d
e sa e c o nt nu e

4 Sy ym f h w d
.
.

no n s o t e or

5 D fi ii f h D g ip h y
. .

. e n t on oI m t e ra o n. ts ant at to an.

6 P g f 1 £ li x mi d
assa e s o an e a ne

7 Di f vi w b gh f w d Siz f h D g
. .

. f ere nt e s ro u t or ar . e o t e ra o n .

8 Ex mpl a es

gh f h D g
. .

9 G S re at tre n t o t e ra o n.

A ip h y h El ph
.

10 nt at N m i
to t e h f e ant. u e ro u s ns tances t ere o

y fh D g
. .

1 1 Th i e nat ve c o u ntr o t e ra o n.

Th D g
.

1 2. i h ki g m g S p
e ra o n s t e n a on e r e nts .

13 I p i
. ts I h b
o s o no u s natu re . t as no re asts .

I The der i vat i on of a word i s far from being

.

an u nworthy subj e t of investigation as we a re c ,

freq uen tly to l d B m nn fi"f ollowing A mbrosiu s

. ec a u s

Chri tian B man a f or got ten Th ol ogian w h

s ee
,
e ,
o

di e d in 1 64 8 .
Calepinu s , l
,

s i ghted creature
,
M Y THS 0 F

der i ves the word Dragon from der

ke i n that i s
”
’ ‘

to see or lo o k The reason of

”
,
“

th i s is that the Dragon is an extremely q u i ck

H ence i t i s represented i n the
poet s as gu arding treasures and p ri sons A n other
.

explanation of this der i vation i s th at i t is very

watchful and wakeful l i ke o ther cold blo oded
°

A N CI EN T

,
SCI E N C E

.
.

-
1 9

creatures To the Dragon i t i s I bel i eve that

.
, ,

O v i d addresses th e verse
Te rrige nesq u e f e ra s, inso Pit u m q u e Drac o ne m .

Ju l C aes S caliger gives a somewhat di ff eren t

. .

accoun t — na m ely that i t is der i ved from d ran to ”

, ,

d o and ach o s pain because i t i s a p o isonous and

,
“
, ,

deadly creature H is words are Gra mm ari an s

.

and good authori ties have derived the word

Dragon from de rk e sth ai
“ ”
My op i nion i s that i t .

should rather be take n fro m dran an d ach o s “ ”

.

I t i s o f little conse q u en c e to our pre sent subj ect

which of these two account s is taken as the righ t
one Perhaps i t is n ot an error t o go to a
.

H ebrew source fo r the derivation o f this word I n .

this la nguage darak m eans he h as wa l ked or

” “

gone hence comes darek a way o r path

” “ ”
, .

Thus not only do the letters agree exact ly w i th

thei r orig i nal but th e thi ng signified c o rrespond s
,

{ A m brosiu s C ale pinu s w as the author o f the c e e l

brated Dic tionary that is in di sso ub y c onnec t e d wit h l l
his nam e e di e d n 1 51 0
. H i .
 M
20
'

M Y T H S OF
exactly w i th the term These creatures mo ve by .

creep i ng , an d by a series o f S mal l leaps The .

D ragon is the l argest of the Serpen t tribe .

I I The term i tself (to pass on to its di ff erent

.

m ean i ngs ) i s usually applied not only to m e n an d

brutes but also to plants and to a certai n
,

m ou nta i n Draco was that well known ancient ,

.
-

stern legislator of A thens who wrote his l aws n o t ,

i n i nk but in blood (We tak e this statement

, .

f rom Demas Ap no Dn l Ge llinm bk xviii , ch ap

’ ’
. . . .
,

1 2 IV E
, . and f rom S caliger E xcrc
, That , .

these laws were however abrogated by Solon o n

, ,

ac c oun t of their excess i ve severity is wel l known

t o every s c holar There was also a certai n Drac u s
.
,

leader o f the A ch aeans who was conquered by ,

Lu c i u s u m iu s a Roman general as Livy tells

, ,

u s (in his Epito m ics bk The greatest how

, .
,

ever o f this n ame is the famous S ir F rancis Drak e

, ,

of Ply mouth who last century sailed roun d th e

,

worl d to its ve ry lim its A m an at that t i me .

second to none i n n aval glory he was learne d i n ,

the laws pursuits , cu stoms habits and other

, , ,

re m ark able poi nts o f many peoples There is a .

s e a fish whi c h is com mon ly inc l uded a m ong the

”
anim al creation under the n ame o f the dragon .

W ithout re ference to S ca l iger we cannot deter ,

m ine whether this creatu re di ff ers from the Sea

Spider m entioned by P l iny bk i x chap 4 8 , . .
, . .

We k now , i ndeed , that Scaliger calls th i s the tru e

 AN CI EN T SCI EN C E . 21

D ragon as d i sti ngu ished fro m the false Th e .

f ollowing are his words

I I I The creature i s called th e D rago n not
.
,

from its shape bu t from i ts hurtf ul nature I t i s

, .

a long and th in animal while the tru e Sea Dr ag on

.
,

i s qui te di ff eren t There is a d ried S pec i men i n

.

F rance of th i s shape and w ithout feet b u t

‘

, ,

f urn i shed w i th bat s w i ngs

’
I ts head i s serrated , .

a nd i ts crest comes to a peak on its head I t h as .

a flexible ta i l two feet in le ngth and bristl i ng

,
'

w i th prickles The sk in i s lik e th at of a S kate

.
”
.

”
We also meet with a “
Dragon a mong the
catalo gue o f plants O ld v i ne shoots which h ave
.
-

born e the brun t o f m any years are ca l led Dragon s

from their k not ted a ppearance See Pl i ny bk .
, .

XVI I ch ap
.
, .N at Hist , an d c o mpare . .

S caliger E xe rc page 2 I S hal l n o t no w

. .

speak of the dracunculus We have now to refer .

to the mountai n which bears the n a m e of Dragon .

W e shall be brie f I t i s si tu ated i n Asi a ne ar

.

I m o lu s . I m o lu s l ies i n Cadmus Pl i ny should be .

con sul ted bk V chap 29 These m eanings

, . .
, . .

are however all f orei gn to the presen t d i scu ssion

, , .

O u r present purpose is to speak o f the S erpent of

th i s name an d to describe i t We sha l l no w
, .

proceed to thi s .

IV The di ff erent nam es of the Dragon are as

.

f o llo wsfz— I n H ebrew t anin m ean s aDrago n b u t

”
,

i t also m ea ns a W hale D erivat i on of th e Greek .

22 M YTH S OF
Drakon W e have to notice how th e Greek
.

term i n ation o n beco mes 0 i n Lat i n

“ “ ”
It is .

quite a usu al change Thus Leon be com es le o ;

.

D ion Dio ; Lacon L a co The D ragon i s c alled

, , .

the King of Serpents as the Regulus i s the Ki ng

,

of the sm aller kin ds o f Serpents That the Dr agon .

Should be called a W inged S erpent i s n either a

”

n ew fact nor a re m arkable on e I sh all give a.

reason for it further on I t is known to some a s

.

the r i nged an d
“ “
large Ser p ent F ranz iu s .

a n swers a q uestioner o n the sub j ect with th e

“
words The Dragon is nothing else than a
S erpent w i th coils o f a m arked nature and swoll en
by some m ea ns or other H ence arises th e
.

com m on saying Unless one S erpent swallows

”
a nother , you cannot have a Dragon By the .

F ren c h i t i s called D ragon by the I tal i ans , ,

Dracone By ourselves through a rare agree men t

.

of pronunciation i t i s calle d h er B rad y .

V We h ave now to proceed to the mai n m atter

.

u nder d i scu ssion Th e Dragon is without doubt

.

a Se rpe nt of the largest si z e o f terrible strength

‘

, ,

fond of waste pl aces the King of the Serpent

,

tr i be and especial l y m arked by th e strength of its

,

ta i l There is n o thing surprisi ng in the f act th at

.

a m edley o f purely accidental q ualit i es S hould be

ch ose n to distingu ish th i s creatu re when very lit tle
is known o f i ts S hape I t belongs to the genus of
.

Serpents , an d i s a rept i le of war m bl oo d , cun ni ng ,

 AN CI EN T SCI EN C E . 23

po i son o us a n d a deadly e nemy o f m an The

, .

orig i nal au tip ath y between man and th e dev i l h as

even extended to the n atural Serpent A lthough .

B F ranz iu s quotes examples f rom [E lian an d

.

other wr i ters of a certain sympathy bet wee n m an

an d the Dragon yet this cannot be tak en as
,

ev i dence f o r every day experi en ce The D r agon .

i s n o m ore a friend of the m an who happens to

protect i t against its destroyers than are the l i on ,
eagle an d wolf animal s which i n rapac i ty and
,

crue l ty are certain l y secon d to n one Many .

th i ngs are said in fav o ur of the tribe but the case ,

i s thus misunderstood The Devi l h i mself f re

.

q u ently lurk s under the f orm of a serpent t o

deceive m an . D eep seated i n our m ind , there
-

re ma i ns the re membrance of the great decept i o n

th a f ol d and wicked Drago n the Devil wrought in
our first parents Let h i m who w ish es find love
.

i n h i s heart for the Dragon I ne i ther g i ve i t n o r

.

take from i t any feeling of such a k ind .

V I I am not ignorant i ndeed o f what { E l i a n

.

says of the i n f ant Are as an d the Dragon My .

answer is a short one There have been m i xed.

up with the truth several mythi cal deta i ls I

, .

thi nk one migh t as well put faith i n what the sa m e

Ec olog i st tel l s us e l sewhere (v i z : bk VI I I , c hap
, . . .

A leva ) abo u t th e Dragon that fel l in love w i th

a gi rl i n Idu maea H ere AZlian g i ves us a flowery
.

li ttle sentence . H e says Ani mals are therefore

24 M YT H S O F
no t dev oi d of re a son . Y et even
thou gh i t be
gra n ted that Dragons have falle n in love with
beaut i fu l bo ys or g i rls I m a i nta i n that they di d
,

no t act th us by reason of a desire for man or for

his b e a uty They pretended t o be his fr i ends not
.
,

for h i s but for the i r ow n profit ZE lian himself

, .

( bk . v iii , chap
.
9) certainly
. says — I t i s the “

n at u re of ani mals t o love n ot only their own kind ,

bu t even others wh i ch m ay be beautiful ”
We .

h a ve bee n so mewhat proli x i n the above state

m ents because o f the universal false tradition th a t
h as settled in credu lous m inds Simil ar tales are .

c o mmon about l izards Bu t let the man who .

wishes t o keep clear of harm beware of th o se who ,

pr a ctise deceit .

V I I W e have begu n with i ts s i ze for i t ha s a

.
,

v a st b o dy : I n respect of size it occupies ex actly “

the sa me posit i on am ong repti les that the E leph ant

d oes a mong quad ru p eds The famous A lexander , .

whom we cal l the Great on account of his ,

great ach i eve ments m e t with Serpents of great

,

size (v i z : 1 6 cubi ts long ) wh e n on his great e xpedi

,

t i on to I ndi a agains t Porus Pt o le my King of .

,

E gypt r equ ired an ar my of armed horsem en to

,

attack a Drago n of gre a t bulk and 3 0 cubi ts i n ,

length wh i ch after grea t r i sk to h is own li f e a n d

, ,

after the death o f so me of his followers he only ,

ma n aged t o k i ll a t last by stratage m Dio do ru s .

Sicu lu s, a s qu o ted a bo ve , gi ves u s a long a cc ou nt

o f th i s

chap 1 4

,
.

t ime o f the Punic War

.
,
A N CI EN T

event (bk ii i ) In I ndia Dragons grow

,

to such a s ize that they can swallow both stags

besid e the river Bagrada (which as Dale c h ampiu s

t ell s u s i s n ow ca l led the

.
.

and bu ll s as Pl i ny tel l s u s bk vi i i N at Hist ,

V I I I I n the same place he tel ls u s how in the

.

the S econ d Pun i c

W a r as we can gather f r om L i vy bk xx x ) ,

e gera da) a Prince o f

A ttic a went ou t at the head of his whole army

and attack ed as i t were a city , a Dr agon 1 20 feet
,

i n length nor d i d he stop until he had put i t t o

death ”
,

In the l i ves of the Kings of Polan d a st o ry o f

King Crac u s (wh o bui lt Cracow ) i s o f ten m e t with
There was a Dragon which l i ved i n a rock , an d
which when compel l ed t o do so by hu nger u sed
to creep f r o m i ts cave and kill many people
Three oxen were daily brough t t o the cave o f th i s
m onster The King o f the country moved wi th
.
.

M
SCI EN C E

, .
.

,
.

,
5

Comp assion for his peopl e ordered at last a ca lf s

’

skin to be filled with pit c h su l phur and n i tre , , ,

an d o ff ered to the beast The Dragon was .

dece i ved by this tr i ck an d w i th one be l l o w f rom ,

i ts V itals perished on the S pot Co mpare F lorus .

Po lo nic u s John Pastorius bk i chap 3

, , . .
,
. .

Those who care for further i n f ormation shoul d ,

c o nsult lEliu s lxv , c and espe c i ally M

. P au l
. .

Ve n et bk ii , chap 4 0 p 3 81 History of Tartarj/

. . . . . . .
26 MYT H S o r
I X W e sh all now proceed to the sec on d
.

characterist i c o f the Dragon This is i ts terr i ble

.

stren gth Th i s fact i s proved by its vast stature

.
,

i ts insat i able vora c ity the di f ficul ty of capturi ng

,

i t an d the sy mmet ry of its limbs O n the f ormer

, .

points we h ave already spoke n ; on the last we

have som ething yet to s ay A nother Dragon .
,

w i th wh i c h A lexander th e Great had a fight i n

th e aren a was 70 cubits long when only part o f i t
,

was see n and had eyes as XElian states as big

, , ,

as a large rou n d Macedonian S hield M Paul . .

V e ne tu s has seen Dragons larger th an this i n

Caraiam a provi nce o f Tartary
, I t i s n o wonder .

that these creatures fight w i th the E l ephan t itsel f .

By w i nding the i r co i ls roun d their legs they ,

squeeze them so tightly that the huge beasts

ca nnot m ove Then by raising the i r n ecks under
.

the trunk o f the E l ephan t they strike the i r f a ngs

i nto i ts eyes and blinding i ts vis i on by the i r fiery
, ,

an d lightni ng like g l itter (I use the words of

-

Dio do ru s Sic u lu s) they dash i t to the ground and

, ,

then tear i t to pi eces .

X They are the swor n foes of the E l ephant

.
,

a nd there i s nothing so large so wild so power f ul , , ,

or active whi c h they will not at any mom ent fight

either as an e q u al or as a n inferior .

The antipathies in N ature are remarkable Thus .

there i s enmity between the l ion an d the

scorp io n . The po i son of the weasel i s in stant
 A N CI EN T SCI EN C E . 27

de a t h to th e B asi li sk the most po i sonou s of al l

,
’
Serpents The gadfl y is the crocodile s enemy
. .

The i chneumon hates the asp with a l l a step

m other s ha tred
’
The newt i s the deadly enemy
.

o f the scorpion M ice and cats are sworn f oes

. .

Cats and dogs are seldom found to agree The .

chame l eon and snake the stag an d hawk wage , ,

constan t war The cock flies be f ore the k ite the

.
,

sheep i s the vict i m of the wol f the hare that o f ,

all.

I t mu st however be n ot i ced here that we are

, ,

far from believ i ng that every single Dragon atta i ns

t o the same point i n respect of size or strength .

The i ndiv i du al varies with the locality w ith age , ,

and with other cir c umstances I t h as never bee n .

gainsay e d but that the largest Dragons are found

i n India .

X I A third poin t i n our description of the

.

Dragon was i ts nat i ve haunts I t is an i nhabitan t .

of desert p l aces I t loves m arshes se c luded an d

.
,

i nhospitab l e spots H ence i t i s ca ll ed especially

.

the i nhabitan t of the desert Malach i i , 3 In . . .

the sacred writings God is described as going to

make a l asting devastation I t sha l l be a habi.

tatio n of Dragons and a court f o r the daughters of

the owl Th e wild beast of the desert shall also
.

m eet with the wild beast of the island and the satyr ,

shal l ca l l to his fellows The same horrible desola

”
.

t i on of Drago n s i s foretold in I sai ah , chap xiii v . .

, .
28 M Y TH S O F
22 . Com pare Job xxx , v 29 . H ence, also they
. . .
,

are com monly f o u nd i n u ntrodden f orests and caves .

“
The young of the Dragon (says F ranz iu s) feel
extre me thirst i n th e m idd l e of summ er an d ,

where they are unabl e to get w ater their cries , ,

”
like those of the ostriches are terribl e to hear , .

Y et they are said to be commonly found i n Lybia,

E gypt A rabia E thiopia an d Indi a ; that i s , in
, , ,

countr i es well known t o be very w arm in c l i mate .

X I I F urther ou r des c ription o f the Drago n

.
,

in cluded the right o f dominion (so to speak ) wh i ch

i t w i el ds over other reptiles Thus f ro m i ts
:
.
,

inc o ntro vértible supremacy wr i ters have gi ven i t ,

the n am e of k i ng ”
Al though the bas i lisk must
.

no t be cheated out of i ts nam e and dignity yet i t ,

m ust only be take n into considerat i on when speak

i ng of the sma l ler reptiles The Dragon i s th e .

l argest bravest m ost powerfu l and most f o rmid

, , ,

a bl e o f all repti l es These are al l royal pre ro ga

.

tiv e s .Las t o f all our description of the Dragon

,

i ncluded an account o f i ts natural armour For .

i ts strength l i es in i ts ta i l , an d i t can use i t to such

go o d e ff ect t ha t elephan ts of great bu l k f all before
i t I n the sam e way the elephant itself fights
.

w i th its trunk the lion w i th i ts c laws the horse

, ,

w ith i ts hoo f the ox with its horns the boar with

, ,

i ts flashing tusk an d the wolf with its t eeth

, .

N o power can avail to release any thing on ce

folded wi th in the e mbrace of i ts envel o ping co i ls .
 A N CI EN T SCI EN C E . 29

I f small s nakes and Serpents small o r o rd i nary

ca n break a man s arm what must we th i nk of ’
,

the power of the Dragon

X I I I Is the Dragon equ ally powerful by re a so n
.

of i ts po i son ? This h as been a q uest i on among

scholars an d a negative answer has been gi ve n
,

by many Pliny h as d enied (though wrong l y ) a l l

.

poisonous q uali ties to the Dragon say i ng The , ,

“

Dragon h as no poison But seeing that i t is a .

S erpent an d that experience gi ves eviden ce of a

,

contrary n ature w e can put n o t rust i n Pliny o n

,

th i s point f o r the Dragon d o es po i so n the air

, .

S o me have attributed breasts to the Dragon fro m

an e rro pe o u s interpretat i on o f Tli rcn ins chap iv , ,
. .

vers 3 . I t i s not the Dragon bu t an an i mal of

.
,

higher rank that i s here m eant , as F ranz iu s

,

clearly shows and he is followe d by Spe rlingiu s

,
.

The ev i dence of our ow n eyes also in fall i bly

proves it .

C HA PT E R I I .

® n th e varieties of Drago n,
th e ano

ch teftg on f ly in g Dragons .

C ON T E N TS .

1 Th eV i y fD g
ar e t o ra o ns

D g yi g C d
. .

2 d mi d
ra o ns are a tte to be b h wi g d
ot n e and fl n ar an
d
. .

no te .
30

5
6

9
.

.
A

v
ta

E id

R
.

p i i
o es

C l i
rec ent
k i I l dl m h
f M
D g wi h wi g
ra o ns

C ti i g vid
on

gi
n
w d
en

o nc u s o n.
o
fP
nu n

o s t o n as

t e
Th b
e as o ns

-
pie c e
n re an

hw i B ig d fB z
e nc e

s
o

D h D g h b l g h bi d p i
bi d
e

D Th m B h li f ll wi g F i k h
t

S lig N i mb gi

ra

ve n.

Flyi g fi h l dmi d xi E i d f hi
att

art o
e

are a so a
as t

e
n s

o.

on
d
o f e vi e nc e

e nc e o

nu s

t en

I We do not w i sh to g i ve a d ecis i ve opin i on

.

e i ther on e way or the other as to whether th e

.

e
M
M YT H S O

o
f
o nt

ar an,
ro m R o me proves th is

ara u s,

e on
at i s no

tte
.

to e
n
ca

to
F

re u n n , an

st .
ranz

t e
.
er
,

v
ere

us

r
o

ta e s

e nc e
s
.

er
A mo ns ter

e n o , as

ec e s .

or t
u s.

t e same

s .
to

No .

Dragon i s a dist i n ct species or m erely a variety ,

of a genus Distingu i shing ch aracteristics can

.

ne i ther b e der i v ed fro m the places where i n

i t is fou nd nor i ts s i ze nor even from the
, ,

variety of i ts colou r E nglish and Germ an .

dogs however mu ch th ey m ay di ff er fro m o ne

,

another i n m agnitude an d i n locality are yet ,

one and the sam e species Su c h a distinc .

tion as th at i mp lied i n the present subj e c t ,

c ould only be brought abou t by a very distinct

configura tion of certa i n parts of their bodies .

Som e says D F ranz iu s are furnished with feet

, .
,

and W i ngs some not Some are red others bl ack

, .
, ,

others of an ashy colour Som e are 5 cubits long .

,

others are others 3 0 others 4 0 Johannes ,

.

E usebius N iere mbe rgiu s says I t can coil i tself

'

u p i nto a high co i l , and thu s contrac t its s i ze as ,

Ph i l i ppu s Pigaf e ta tell s u s in his descr i pt i o n o f

 AN CI EN T SCI EN C E .
31

the Congo There i s there foun d a t w o fo o ted

.
-

animal o f the size of an egg an d with the shape ,

of a Dragon I t is winged and has a long t ai l

.
,
.

Its head is also l ong and i ts mouth is furn i shed

,

wi th several rows of very sharp teeth .

I I There are therefore som e Dragons w i th

.
, ,

a n d some withou t win gs I n saying that there .

are winged an d flying Dragons we know w e have ,

to m eet the scepticism of C ardanus an d the ,

downr i ght oppositio n of others who on o ther ,

points are considered amongst the m ost c i rcu m

spect o f modern wr i ters These me n maintain .

that flying and winged Dragons m ust be brought

under the head o f the mythical B ut eve n th e .

well known incident reported fro m Rom e h as

-

appeared to ve ry many ridiculou s and absurd I .

”
q uote Cardanus :— I saw he says“
at Pari s , ,
“

fi ve two f ooted c reatures w i th very small wings

-
,

which one could scarcely dee m capab l e of flight ,

w i th a sm a l l head with a head like a Serpent o f

, ,

of a bright co l our an d without a n y f e athe rs 0

,

hair The size of the largest o f the five was a bou t

.

”
that of a smal l rabbi t The opinion of Prof
. .

Daniel Lagu s i s wor th q uoting We must not “

,

fro m the weakness and S mal l size o f these little

Dragons rush precipitately to a conclusion regard
,

ing the who l e species ”

We shal l not at presen t
.

quote any further author i ties .

I I I The st o ry that com es fro m Rom e has

.
32 M Y T H S OF
g i ve n u s an opp o rtun i ty of doubt i ng previous i de as
on th i s subj ect The spectators of the fact have
.

v o uched for the certain ty of th e story O n the .

27th o f O ctober 1 660 the fo l low i ng c ircumstan ce

, ,

w as described as occurr i ng at Rom e — A w i nged z

Dragon appeared i n the Cam pagn a whi h a f ter ,

c ,

w o u n ding a hunter w killed Y et the hunter him

, as .

sel f eight days a f ter (doubtless by the i nfluence of

the poison ) expired and his whole bo dy became of
,

a green hue ”
. We sha l l not here trouble ou rselves
with the quest i on whether the Dragon is a stranger
t o or an inhabi tan t of I taly A t the sam e time
.
,

I wou ld be u nwilling to be l ieve that the creature

flew by itself across from A f rica or A si a over so
m any miles of country an d I should be the last
,

to state i t as a fact F or even in our own

.

E uropean countries som e m onst r o us births occa

sio nally take place F or i nstance , last m onth
.

(o n the 6 th of N ovember ) at the H ague there

was found a certai n naked wood monster , a
male complete l y c overed over with h air and ,

which the poets used to cal l by the n ame o f Satyr ,

who was surrounded by hunters an d ki l led What .

are we to m ak e of this ? We shall speak of this

no t no w but later
, .

IV This is the p o int w e have at presen t t o

.

d emonstra te— that there are such things as flying

an d winged Serpents I u se the word winged i n
.

the sense of furn i shed w i th wi ngs although not ,

 A N CI E N T SCI E N C E .
33

w i th feath ers Le t m e quote so me wr i ters on this

.

poi nt M atthew M erian i n h is Hz sf ory of t/z e A nl z

' '

.
,

bodes part ii p age 21 1

,
n ext the well known an d
.
, ,
-

learned E astern trave l ler Joan Jacob Bre u ningu s , ,

chap 26 says
. I saw, among o th er th i ngs a
,
-
“
,

certain extremely tall an d huge two foote d S erpent -

,
”
f urnished with a pair of wings like th e bat .

M
H ieronymus Benzo i n his accoun t of th e N ew ,

World and of the F ren ch expedit i on t o F lorid a ,

chap 4 p 4 80 says
.
, I saw a certa i n k ind of
.
,

S erpent whi c h was furn i shed with w i ngs and ,

whi c h was killed near a wood by som e of our

me n . I ts w i ngs were so shaped th at by m oving
them i t could raise i tself fro m the ground and fly
along bu t on l y at a very short dist an ce fro m the
,

earth .We have here occular proof : we shoul d

surely adm it other proof after th i s .

V A mbrose Paraeu s formerly chief counsellor

.
,

to th e King of F ran ce an d a doctor o f Paris i n ,

'

th e first book of his Sf u dz es in Su rgery page 51 , ,

q u otes from Pliny that Dragons were f ound i n

”
E thiopi a of th e length of 1 0 cubits “
But h e .
,

adds , i n India there are bird creatures of 1 0 0

“

feet i n length , whi c h fly to su ch a height that

they poun c e on their prey f rom the m i ddle of the
E vidence on this po i n t is to be found i n
”
clouds .

Scaliger also , E xe rc 1 83 sect 5 The words

’

. .
, .

are — The mountai n range whi c h d i v i des the

“

ki ngdom of N arsinga from alabria is the haunt

VOL . 111 . C
34 M YTH S o r
of m any wi ld beasts A mo ng
these are winged .

sn akes which hide among the trees These are

,
.

said to k ill those who com e too near them by a

sing l e hiss or even by a look , (Th i s is surely .

an ex aggeration ) John E useb i us N ie re m b e rgiu s

.
,

a l eading naturalist agrees with u s i n our view o f ,

the su bj ect See the 1 2th book of h is N atu r al

.

His/c ry c hapter 3 6 page 282

, , .

V I F ranz iu s again w as far from be i ng o f an

.
, ,

opposite O pinion to u s whe n he wrote i n th e

4 th p art of his Hi sto ry of A n im a ls chapter 5 , ,

page 74 1 th e words— , There are two k inds o f “

true Dragons S om e are winged with a kind o f.

,

pi n i on m ad e of membrane and whi c h have the i r ,

wings not c omposed of feathers bu t of m embrane ,

f astened to the back i nstead o f ordinary w i ngs .

The great Tho mas Barth o linu s also the so n o f a , ,

great f ather i n his Treati se pub l ished at Pavi a

, ,

(ch ap 7 p
. o n th e Uni corn has painted in
, .
,

vivi d colours an d wi th faith f u l ness t o the origina l

, ,

a flyi ng Dragon i n th e m useu m o f Tobias Aldinu s .

The skeleton of this creature Louis X I I I King .

,

o f F ran ce gave as a presen t to Cardinal F rancis

,

Barb erinu s som e years be fore .

V I I N or let any on e obj ect th at whatever

.

flies i s a bird I t woul d not be su fli c ie nt

.

ev i dence for the m atter i n hand Wha t are we .

t o say to the bat ? I t i s a flyi ng creature bu t ,

it i s no b i rd ; notwi thstanding any restrictio ns

 A N CI E N T
SCI EN C E 35 .

F n i
ra z m y put upon his adm i ssion of the fact
us a .

We can easily adduce proof i f required I t is n ot .

an oviparous bu t a v i viparous an i mal

,
N ow .
,

b i rds lay eggs I t is not furnished w i th feathers

.
,

but rather w i th wings an d ha i rs N ay i t h .

, as

also got breasts an d likew i se suckles its young

, .

Agai n i t ha s teeth i t has lon g ears and pointed

,

teeth I t s q ueaks l ik e othe r m ice

. I quite d eny .
,

therefore the val i d i ty o f the argum en t of those

,

who place th e bat a mong b i rds I n this way we .

should be c ompe l led to include the flying fishes

for the sam e reason among the birds — a very
absurd i dea .

V I I I There are w i thout doubt su c h things as

.
, ,

fly i ng fishes I shall not speak of S caliger wh ere

.
,

he cr i tic i ses Cardanu s i n the words You write

y o u have seen the dea d bodies o f fly i ng fish : I
h ave seen them alive I n th e Gulf of Venice
.
,

betw e en Ve nice an d R avenna an d more than two ,

m iles beyond Q uioza , i n the year 1 550 a flyi ng ,

fis h was caught as A mbrosius Paraeu s tells u s

,
.

(Stu dies in Su rgery bk xxiv p , . . A ndre w

, .

Thevet in his Histo ry of th e W o rla w ri tes that

,
’
,

whe n he sailed across to the N e w World hundreds ,

of fly i ng fish called by the i nhabitants o f the

,

forests Bu lam b ech were met w i th , These .

creatu res leap t up fro m the sea a n d passed over

5 0 yards i n the i r flight ,
an d by frequently str i ki ng
o n the sails or mas t becam e food for the sailors .
M
M
36 M Y T H S O F A N CI E N I SCI EN C E
A con fir mat i on of the sam e state men t i to be
f oun d i n th Hi t y f B e

The N orma ns u nder Duke N icolas D n

Villago gne ,
,
il by John L i
s or

Knight of Malta captur e d an

'
a

i nnumerable q uantity o f flying fish

.
.

See a d e ta i led
ac c oun t o f th iszf ac t i n th e Histo ry of t/z e A ntipodes
by Joh n Lew i s Gott f r i ed to be f ound i n Matthew
e rian p 3 1 8 i n h i s History of th e W est I ndies
,
'

.
,

I X Does any one th i nk o f giv i ng these fis h the

.

nam e o f birds because they rfl y forsooth ? I n

f a c t j ust as the m ere possession of the power o f
,

flying does n ot argue conclusive l y for the cre a ture

possessing i t being a bird so also th e absence o f
i t does no t preven t the creature i n q uestio n f rom
being one Thus the ostrich though dev oi d of
. .

neither wings nor feathers can not fly bu t al l the

.

same i t i s a bi rd Ju st as again because w e canno t

.

d eny the power of swimming to the Dragon are

we to class i t as a fi sh ? an the dog the
,
,

,
,
r az
' '

,
,

,
,

.
.

u re
er u s

,
!

.
.

ce

.
, ,

diver the frog pum i ce ston e an d apples have

, , , ,

al l the power of floati ng There are bes i des .

, ,

i ns ects worms ca terpillars bu gs and so f o rth

, , , , .
,

which have the po wer of float i ng A subj ect i s to be .

stud i ed and d etermined n ot by propert ies wh i ch i t ,

has i n comm on w i th others bu t by those which are ,

pe c u l iar to itself and not by so me only bu t by all

, ,
.

W e h e re con c lude o u r remarks abou t the Dragon .

 ®n th e 5 p ioer

G EO RG E G A SPA R D M
KI R C H
,

AY E R .
 PR E F A C E .

H E Spi de r is a w o n de r fu l
a r c h i t e c t I t is t o t h i s c l e v e r
.

li t t le c r e a t u r e and i t s fl i m s y
t h r e a ds t h a t w e we our o

i de a of s u b t le t y T h e s c h o la r l y Sc a li ge r
.
,

Er ere i s e c t i 0 71 Szz ét/ety s ay s

. .
, . .
,
It ,
“

w o u ld s e e m t h a t w e h a v e de r i v e d t h e
w o r d fr o m t h e i de a o f fin e t h re a ds w h i c h ,

i n a fi n e l y s pu n w e b e s c a p e t h e qu i c kn e ss
of th e e y e H e n c e a p a r t of th e signific a
.

t io n h as b e e n t a ke n a nd a p pl i e d t o o t h e r
t h i n gs W e loo k u p t o ge o m e t e r s ; w e
’7
.

w on de r a t r o p e w a l ke r s ; w e a dm i r e
weaver s w h eth er men r w ome n
,
o Th e s e .

t h i n gs are all v e r y w e l l Bu t w e n e v e r
.

t h i n k of loo ki n g a t t h e Sp i de r b e c a u s e i t ,

is an e v e r y day o c c u r r e n c e and c an b e
-
,
40 Pref ace .

s e e n by e v e r y o n T h us gvgry th ing
! '

-
e .
,

t h o u gh e n do w e d w i t h a dm i r a b le qu a li t ie s ,

i f o n l y I t 1 3 c o mm o n a t o n c e fa ll s i n ou r
,

e s t i m a t io n T h u s th e gr e a t e r n u mb e r of
.

s c h o la r s t h e r e are th e le ss do w e t h i n k o f
,

t h em . So lo m on i n t h e f ar p a s t w as
, ,

S t r u c k w i t h a dm i r a t io n o f th e Spi de r and ,

e v e n in t h e r e s e n t da w e a dm i r e a n d
p y
w a t ch i t I t i s a b o r n ge o m e t r i c i an r o p e
.
,

w a l ke r and w e a v e r : n o t a m a de o ne
,
It .

i s w i s e w i t h ou t a t e a c h e r s h r e w d w i t h ou t
,

a gui de s ki lfu l w i t h o u t a m a s t e r I ts .

s u b t le po w e r s m u s t b e i n v e s t i ga t e d and ,

m ay G o d h e lp o u r e n de a v o u r s .
 (th e 5 p toer .

sorbe t . E p arti c u lar 3 nves ttgatton .

C O N T EN TS .

1 S d d by
T h e pi e r praise vario u s write rs
y l gy
.

z d
.

. T h e e t mo o o f th e wo r .

3 A d bl m
. i g fi ou e ean n o t e xplaine d .

4 C o ntinu atio n , o f th e s a me

Sy y
. .

5 no n ms o f t h e wo r d
S d
. ,

6 T h e nat u re o f t h e pi er T h e dis tinc tio n

'
'
d rawn
'

b e twe e n

l d
. .

perfe c t and impe rf e c t anima s reje c te .

7 Th e s h ape o f c ertain o f its parts

S d y
, .

8 Th e pi e r ve r
po is o no u s hw ii h m
T o th e f o w l, o e ve r, t s ar
l
. .

ess

q d f m P li y
.

9 I ts fo resi gh t an d c u nn n i g as u o te ro n

l im m d b y m f
.
, .

I o . S e nec a s
'

ju dg m e nt
p i d Th
ra s e ,
e c a a e so e or

k l dg f b
‘

no w e e on th e p art o d h pi
ru f fi i
te s an t e c o nc e t o n o n te

pu rpo s e s d e nie d .

1 1 V ario u s pro o fs of t hi s

b y Ald
. .

Th e me t hd o of g e ne ratio n o f th e Spid e r as s
,
h o wn ro

vandu s

D iff
.

f p to th e c o mpo sitio n of th e materia l

f m d b y hi
1 3 . e re nc e o o i ni o n as
or e t s c re atu re

4 D m
.

1 df dd
e o c ri tu s e en e A ld ro vand as critici s e d
5 P
. . .

1 f gi ro o ve n.

hy
.

I 6 I , h m f d im
ts o e
,
oo
,
t p g g
e o f s innin , a e , an d antipat to o t e r h
c re atu re s .

I This i s the l ittle crea ture on who m N az ian

.

z e nu s has besto wed higher pra i se t h an he has (in

42 MYTHS OF
E u cl id . A r i stotle
i n treating o f th e skil l of
,

i nsects ,
after say i ng
that h e considers the race o f
ants and bees be fore and exce l ling all animals i n
industry ad ds that th e Sp i der is the more ski l led
,

i n th e busin ess of its l ife Th i s con c l usion is come .

t o both from the fact of their work manship i n

we aving their webs an d from that of thei r
i ndustry i n working an d hunting The great .

M agnus Aldro vandu s believes that i t cou l d on ly

have been f rom the Spider th at weavers linen ,

weavers an d tapestry workers learnt their arts

,
-
,

whether we regar d the per f e c tion of their f abric

or the sym metry and i ndissol u ble comb i n ations of
the i r complete web Th e words o f C l aud ian
.

tE lianu s on this point are learned and we l l Chosen

(Hist A n io n bk v i chap
.
, We shall first
. .
, .

consider the term an d then the subeet i t i nvolves

, .

”
I I The term s araneus and arane a are q uite
.
“ “

i nterch angeab l e though Su idas does not a gree

,

w ith us on this point Greek furnishes u s wi th .

the i mmediate origi n of th e word The ter m .

arachnes or arachne is the sam e i n G reek

”
, ,

as arane a i n Latin We thus see that the ch

“ ”
.
“

h as been dropped and a added Al though “ ’

.
,

l ike Aldro v andu s m any w ish arachne to be

,
“

der i ved f rom i ts having its i c hn e ”

or foot ,

marks very i ndistinct , o r from i ts tak ing away

,

these footmarks i nto the aer or air yet we

“
,

shal l without disparaging a ny g i ve another

, ‘ ,
 AN CI EN T SCI EN C E .
43

der i vat i o n of the w o rd surely co mes .

“
A rachne
fro the H eb rew m ean i ng i t has woven o r
m ,
” “
,
“
i t has sp u n Indeed i s the nam e of a Ly dian
”
.
,

gi rl daughter of Idmon , who as Pliny tells us

, , ,

was the first i nven tor of l i nen and network Th i s .

A rachne if w e are to f ollow the stories of the

M
,

po ets d i d conten d w i th Pallas for the pal m o f

,

good workmansh i p She i s said to have l ost .

,

an d to h ave been turn ed i n to a Spider by the

v i cto rious godd e ss A nd i t i s thus they say
.
, ,

that “
aranea i s derived fro m arachne
” ”
O vi d
“
.

i s worth con sult i ng o n this point ( Trans , bk . . .

v i fables 1 and
.
,

I I I N ow to keep cle a r of all danger that

.
,

m igh t ari se fro m a doubtful a cceptat i on o f the

word we have to tak e note of some errors that
,

have been m ad e F or ( I ) there i s a se a fish

.

wh i ch i s c alled the Spider I t has eigh t feet .

,

very long i n proport i on to its body which i s ,

smal l This i s the reason o f i ts getting the na m e

.

of Spider This fish is i tsel f as Be llo niu s tells

.
,

us very com mo n i n every se a O thers refer i t to

, .

the crab genus By the Latins i t i s ca l led the

.

dac u nc u lu s or se a dragon
, By the F rench i t i s .

termed vive because when c augh t i t can co n

, ,

trary to the n ature of o ther fishes live for a lo ng ,

tim e ou t of water The E nglish cal l i t v i ver ; the

.

people o f arse iles are q u e Pl i ny bk i x chap .

,
. .
, .

4 8 a n d bk xxxi , chap 2 N at f f ist should b e

, . . .
, . .
,
44 M YT H S o n
consulted on this point (2) The A ra nea or
‘

Sp i der i s an animal o f th e W easel or mouse ki nd ,

with a poisonous b i te which destroys anyt h i ng ,

tha t m ay cross its path as Pliny holds b k vi i i , ,

'

. .
,

Ch ap 58 .
(3 ) Th e A ranea again is th e woolly
.
, ,

o f hairy seed th at grows o n the wi l low Pl iny .

,

bk ; xxiv , c hap 9 N at Hist says

. .
, The fru i t
. .
, ,

of the wi l low be fore b ecom i ng ripe becom es

woo ll y ”
.

IV A gain (4 ) th e ter m A ra nea o r Sp i der was

.

f o rrne rly app l ied to a certain part o f the astr o l abe

'

Caeliu s i ndeed when treating o f th e gnomon and

, ,

astrolabe an d their parts bk xii chap says , . .

, .

The third part i s c all ed the Dic p tric e Con ta i n i ng ,

i n i ts sheath th e m embra nes on whi c h are drawn

the equat o r an d the trop i cs Then over the se .

membranes is drawn what is called the A ranea i n ,

wh i ch i s the zod i ac etc ”

(5) A gai n the ter m
, .

A ranea i s even taken to m ean a peculiar blight

am ong olive trees I t is a kind of bug o r so m e
.

sm all worm as I gather from S caliger (in T/z eo

,

p /z r asta s iii ; 0 7: til e D isease of Pla nts chap

.
, .

We m ay co nsu l t an d add the testimony

o f Pliny bk xvii , .c hap . N at Hist
, We . . .

mu st n ot however be too di ff us e Again the .

w o rd A ranea o f ten means the web or th e e ff ect , ,

as wel l as the S pider th e cause (7 ) N or i s it

, .

u ncom m on to u se the term as apply i ng to that

m et eo ri c phenomenon (called the threads o f the
 AN CI EN T SCI EN C E .
45

blessed Mary ) wh i ch com mon l y i n spr i ng an d

autum n moves i n a c i rcul ar path through the
at mosphere O n the term ara c hn e or aran ea as
.

denoting th e proper nam e of a girl though the ,

f act w as mentioned above there is no need o f ,

m ore than ord i na ry attention N either of these .

mean i n gs have any thing to do w ith our presen t

subj ect The former of these words however
.

(Arach ne ) w e S hall treat of i n the six th paragraph .

V Di ff eren t nam es f o r the A ran ea must now be

.

g i ve n By the H ebrews it is term ed Y aka rish

.
,

which st ands for the creature as w el l as the web .

By the Greek s i t is c al l ed A r achnes and A rachn e ,

i nd i fferently j ust as the Lat i ns u se Aranea and

,

A raneus Su idas i n deed does draw the distinc

.
, ,

ti o n that A rachnes is the animal and A rachne the

web Bu t the truth i s that this distinction as we
.

have a lready sai d is worth n othing Thus i n

. .

Dio sc o ris we find the creature A ra c hne ; and i n

Plutar c h the work s of the “
A ra c hne By the .

Germ an s i t is ca l led the s p inner f rom i ts spinning ,

or rather v ice versa the term s p inning being der i ve d

,

fro m the S pinner F or fro m i ts work the art o f

.

weav i ng (as Beckm an n say s in hi s O rigin es

” “

p 3 3 8) took its begi nning j ust as the art o f sewing

.
,

did fro m the work m anship displayed i n the leaves

and bark o f trees or ar c hitecture f rom the empty
,

ca ves o f nature an d the nests o f birds ; or as

.

the art of fl u te pl ay i ng sprang from the sound

- .
46 M Y THS o r
of water or the s i gh of the trees
, . A s L u cret ius
says
Z e ph yri c ava pe r c alam o ru m sibil a primum
Agr e s es t doc u e re c ava s infla t e c i c uta s .

VI To proceed however to th e real subj ect

.
, ,

o f o u r dis c us sion I n ou r opinion the A ranea i s

.

an eight footed i nsect poisonous endowed w i th

-
, ,

great foresight and cunning an d oviparous an d , ,

especially rem arkable for th e web which i t weaves

f ro m ou t of its ow n body wi th wonderfu l industry .

We have pu t i t down as an i nsect The reason .

f o r this is not far to seek I nsects are smal l and .

,

w eak animals A s is the case with the bee the

.
,

fly the butterfly the loc u st the worm and the

, , , ,

an t so it i s wi th the spider O ne ca nnot stri ctly

, .

refer i nsects to the fly i ng creep i ng wadi ng or , , ,

sw i mming c lass es By the Greeks they a re c alled

.

entoma That i s e i ther fro m the i ncis i ons and

.

marks wi th whi c h they are orn am e nted e i ther

on their back bel ly or o n each sid e of their
, ,

b ody We c annot ad mi t th e d ist i nction that h as

.

be e n drawn between perfect and imperfect an i ma l s ,

n o r can we say t o which of the tw o classes the

A ran ea belongs Insects have al l that is necessary
.

f o r the m to have Thi s i s the case w i th the

.

bee an d the a n t , and i s true of the A ranea

as w ell I f they h ad other addit i onal qual i t i es
.

they would n o lo nger be the be e , an t or Aranea , ,

 A N CI EN T SCI EN C E .
47

bu t someth i ng else God behel d everything

.

that h e h ad made and behol d i t was al l very

,

good ”
. N ow what is good is per f e c t Co n ce ive
,
.

goodness an d then call i t i mperfect i n i ts essence

,
.

You wi ll h ave badness not goodness Suppose a , . .

distin c tion is d rawn between absolute and relative

per f ection and we en q uire into the meaning
,

of th e f ormer term We shou l d lose ourselves

.

altogether A n en q u i ry into the m eaning o f th e

.

l atter i de a results i n a contradiction Thus .

several things wou l d h ave t o be ca l led i mper f e c t

whi c h are not so .

V I I Seeing the Spider i s eight footed i t

.
-
,

exa c tl y c orresponds to the c rab The f ee t them .

se l ves vary in length a c cording to the various ,

u se s they are put to S om e o f their feet they.

u se t o thi n ou t and lengthen the threads they

spi n (I q uote f rom U lysses Aldro v andu s bk , .

v
.
, 0 72 I n sects c ha p ,13 p others are
.
, .

employed to turn these threads i nto the web and

j oi n them together ; w ith others again they ru n , ,

along these threads and hang mo tionless from

,

them when they l ike Their fron t an d hind l egs

.

are the l onger the midd l e o nes the shorter Wi th

, .

the hin d f eet they arrange the i r threads and j o i n

them i n the woo f with i nim i tab l e ski ll Their .

fron t ones they u se as hands and seize the prey ,

tha t falls i nto the webs ; their m idd le limbs are

u sed to h e l p them in th i s Thus do we lear n that .
48 M Y TH S o r
G od has given nothing t o the worl d w i th o u t
i ts u se .

V I I I B ut se c ondly We des c ribed the Spider

. .

fr om the point of vi ew o f its being a poison ous

creatu re The remarks of th e late Spe rlingiu s
.

he l p u s at this poin t (chap 6 On I nsects ) : Th e .

,
“

p oison o f th e Spid er when t aken by man whether ,

i n eating or drink ing gives great and terribl e ,

suff eri ng The patien t is troubled somet i mes with

.

feve r sometimes w i th sti ff ness som etimes wi th

, ,

i t c hing an d s o m etimes with swel l ings Spiders

, .

are eaten without danger by c o c ks an d other

birds Thu s though poisonous to som e it is not
.
, ,

so to all There are m any herbs poi son o us t o

.

u s , su ch as th e napellus an d hem l o c k which ,

are harm less to bru tes Pigs de l ight in t he .

stinki ng ex c remen t of other ani mals Such .

possesses n eith er any use f ul no r at tractive qu a l ities

f o r us . S everal kinds of sma l l birds f eed on
var i ous w orms while we eat these birds without
,

harm Thu s wh at is a pest t o one i s n ot so to

.

all . M en often die i n heaps wh en the brutes are

un tou ched an d aga i n the latter per i sh when the
,

for mer remai n u nharmed A gain the Spider .

,

does no t i nj ect its poison by striki ng l ike th e ,

scorpion bu t by i ts j aw or bite
,
H ence as soon
, .

a s they capture a fly they fetter i ts l egs and bite

i t , an d as the poets say breath a poisonou s
‘

, ,

breath o n i t and last o f a l l kill i t outright a f te r

, ,
,
 AN CI EN T SCI EN C E .
49

they have sucked every d rop of blood from i ts

body .

I X A ga i n (th i rdly ) ou r descr i ptio n of the

.
,

Sp i der i nclud ed i ts facu lty o f foresight an d cunn i ng

in the subtle work of weaving i ts web The ant .
,

indeed i s a foresee i ng and cu nn i ng creature but

, ,

i t i s far surpassed i n these qua l iti es by the S pider .

The si lkw o rm though of wonder f ul i ndust ry and

,

sk i l l is far surpassed by the Spider Th e schol ar l y

, .

words of Pliny are str i king (N at Hist , bk xi . . . .

,

c h ap . 24 ) Wi th what del i cate touch with ,

wh at fine thre ad an d equal does i t construct the ,

m a i n supports of i ts web using i ts own bo dy as a ,

counterpo i se ! I t begi ns t o weave f rom the midd l e ,

an d works i n a c ir c le j oin i ng together the cross

,

threads Leaving spa ces at certain interva l s but

.
,

gradua l ly i ncreasing from the m iddle i t fastens ,

the who l e w ith an i ndissoluble knot With what .

wo ndrous art does it c on c ea l the s nares that l ie in

wa i t for i ts prey i n the che q uered nettings H ow
l i ttle , t o o would i t see m that there is any su c h
,

trap lai d in the compactness of its web an d the

tenacious texture o f the woo f whi c h would appear ,

of i tse l f to be finished an d arranged by the exercise

o f the very highest art H o w loose too is the
. .
, ,

bo dy of the web as it yields to the blasts and ,

how readi l y does i t catch al l obj ects wh i ch com e

in i ts w ay You W ou ld fancy that i t had le f t
.

the thrum s o f th e upper port i on of i ts web

vo r 111 . D
50 M YTH S OF

un finished W i th what ar c h i tect u ral sk i ll t o o

.
, ,

is i ts web arched over and how wel l de f ended

,

by a nap of ex tra thickness t o keep out the

cold . H o w carefully too i t reti res i nto a
, ,

corner and appears i nten t on anyth i ng all ,

the while that i t i s so careful ly shut u p from

view that i t i s i mposs i ble to perce i ve whether
there i s a nything with i n or n ot A n d then too .
, ,

h o w ex traordi nary the strength of the web when

the winds blow o n i t ! When is the w i nd ever
known to break i t o r any a c cumu l at i on of dust to
,

weigh i t down ? The web o f te n stretches be tween

two trees when the creature i s exerc i s i ng i ts art
and is learn i ng to spin The thread stretches
.

fro m the top of the tree to the ground and u p ,

th i s threa d the Spider passes and repasses and ,

weaves at the same tim e the threads required .

Then when a vic tim has fa l len i nto i ts power

, ,

how ready it is to run and sei z e i t Though i t be .

caught i n the ex treme outside of the net , the

Sp i der i nvariably ru ns to th e midd le because by ,

s o doing an d by sh aki ng the whole fabric i t

, ,

most e ff ectu ally entangles i ts v i ct i m Then i t .

repa i rs the rents m ade , w i th al l a ta i lor s exact ’

”
ness.

X Aga i n the words of a wise Roman are most

.

apposite Seest thou not what ski l l the bees have

.

f o r mak i ng their own ce l ls what concord reig ns

‘

a mong the m for execu t i ng the work g i ven them

 A N CI E N T SCI EN C E .
SI

by a d i v i ne Prov i dence ? S eest thou not how

i n imi table i s the web of the Sp i der ? What a
w ork i t is to arrange the threads so m e o f them ,

placed i n straight lines as a foundation o thers ,

ru nning round i n a circle a n d be c om ing fewer ,

an d fewer as the centre i s le f t Their obj e c t i s to .

c a pture the sma l l creatures as with a ne t

”
This .

“
happy phrase is worthy of i mmortality The .

Sp i der s art is inbo rn he says not learned ; f o r the

’

, ,

young Spider as soon as hatched h as a comple te

knowledge o f the art of weaving a weh and begins ,

the work .I t has not seen nor has i t learn ed ,

w i sdom f rom former experi ments Withou t doubt .

these an d other skilfu l animals possess their kn o w

l edge as a gi f t of n ature F ol lowing the inte rpre .

tatio n of D F re itag (Disp A nti Sperling a e

’
. . . .

an y F o rnz th
. .
, and o f Dn Le ifo ld (in N ot
. . .

ad jace/z Pby s
. bk i i chap 1 0 p
.
, . Mel c hior
.
, .
, .

Co rno e u s (in Cu rr ie Pfi il Tract 3 di d and

'

. . .

John Tatingh o v (chap 8, p have argued

. .

that th i s is n ot the case an d m aintain that these ,

creatures n either have any though t nor are they

endowed wi th any kind of natural wisdom .

X I We shal l not here enter i nto the q uestion

.

a s to whether natu re per forms a l l the O perations

sh e does w i th a d i stin c t end i n view A nd no .

end can be a mot i ve or cause to work unless i t is

recogn i sed as such nor can there be such a thing
a s a des i re for an end wh i ch i s u n known But at .
52 M YT H S o n
the sa me ti m e we do not intend t o dwel l a t great
length on the manner i n whi ch nature perform s all
her O perations i n the wise and regul ar way that
she does nor on the question as to how the brutes
themselves seek out and accom modate means to
,

ends ; nor again do w e wish to q uote the gre at

names of Ty c ho Brahe A rman d de Be ll o V i su , ,

Roderick d e A rriaga Thomas F ie nu s and others

, .

Let us q uote the words o f Solomon There be

f our things whi c h be l itt l e on the earth but they are ,

exceeding wise The ants are a people n ot strong

.
,

yet they prepare thei r m eat i n the summer : the

conies are bu t a f eeble f olk yet m ak e they their ,

h ou ses i n the rocks ; the locusts have no ki ng ,

yet go they f orth all of them by bands The .

Sp i der (not the St ellio as the Vu l gate renders the

word ) taketh ho l d with her hands and is in k i ng s
, ,
’

palaces ”
Compare as especia ll y confirming our
.
,

theory the words of N ie re mbe rgiu s bk i N at

, , . .
, .

Hi st cha p 1 8 p 1 1
.
, .
, . .

X I I W hen ta l king of the Spider we said i t was

.

an oviparous creature When the f ema l e h as spun

.

out an d shaped its web the m a l e c omes and helps i t

, .

When this p rocess h as been repeated several times ,

the process o f copulation is gone through turned ,

i n o p posite dire c tions This i s rendered necessary

.

by reason o f the globe shape of the stoma c h The .

exper i m en t of Aldro vandu s deserves notice h e

says — A tter examining the eggs o f the S pider
“
,
 AN CI EN T SCI EN C E .
53

o n one o ccas i o n I foun d them to be num erous o f ,

a m oderate size dark ish covered w i th small spots

, ,

d iv i ded separated from on e another a nd st icky

, , .

I f any are by any chance lost the S p i der m akes

,

diligent search f o r them and even carries the m i n

,

i t s m ou th I h ave seen likewise f rom a si ngle

.

egg i nn umerable foetuses b o rn yet so smal l as

, ,

scar c ely to be discernible by the eye S ti ll as s oo n .

as hat c hed they wove thr e ads so fine that nothing

could be more m arvel l ous I h ave also n oticed
.

u nder the stomach of a Spider whi c h I had caught ,

a large heap of eggs so smal l as to resemble atoms .

’

X I I I The fi f t h ch aracteristi c of the Spider

.

related to the m aterial with wh i ch i t spi ns its

web . I m aintai n that i t i s fro m the internal
viscous substance of i ts own body an d not ,

from th e outer covering of woo l that the Sp i der

S pins its web A ristotle denies this an d l augh s
.
,

at Democritus for m a i nt a i n i ng such an idea The .

philosopher of A bdera (De mocritus) had held that

the S pider weaves i ts web fro m the viscous su b
stance o f its stomach at certai n very bri ef intervals
of time P liny says
. I t be gins i ts web and the ,

womb of the creature i s su f ficient for the m ater i al

required e i ther by s o m e process o f dis i ntegrat i on
in its body at a state d ti m e as D e mocri tus says ,

o r from som e so u rce whi c h produces the wooly

substance w i th i n i t ”
Ai l ian opposes A ristotle
.
,

and says The creature d o es not get its thr ea d

 54 MYTHS OF
fro m any other source tha n i ts o w n stom ac h , i t
’
constru cts its hunter s ne t for the capture of its
m i nute quarry , a n d S preads i t ou t i n the sh ape o f
a pole Then i t replenishes i ts stomach with th a t
.

subs tan ce wh i ch i t h as drained i t of for construct

ing i ts web ”
The words als o of O vid l o ng ago
.

o n the transmu tat i o n of the A rachne i nto a Sp i der

are very fine .

X IV I t is re mark abl e that on a subj ect so clear

.
,

A ldrovand as should have com mi tted su c h a mis

take . Justly he says h as A ristotle d estroyed
“ ”
,
“
,

the idea of De mocri tus F or Sp iders and other

.

sm al l creatures of the sam e kind take very littl e

nourishment a n d have very li ttle to support thei r
,

life on account of the s mall quant i ty of blood a n d

,

heat ins i de their bod i es There fo re seeing t hey

.

do n ot eat so much food as woul d accoun t f o r the

co ns umpt i on that goes o n i n th e p rocess of we av
i ng their webs we should be reduced to the
,

conclus i on that m o re com es out of thei r body in

the shape of s u rplus m atter a nd excre m ent tha n
goes i n , i n th e shap e of foo d a con c lusion which
is absurd ”
The statem e n t gi ve n here i s fals e
.
,

and n o consequence flows fro m i t W e shall

.

afterward s refute and an swer i t A t present ,

.

h o we ve rr let us put Aldro vandu s aga in st hi mself

, .

H e den i es of Spid ers but asserts else where o f

,

si l kwor ms , that they sp i n their silk thread s fr o m

thei r o w n b o d i es Y et the s i lkwor m i s a n an nu l o s e
.
 A N CI EN T SCI EN C E .
55

creature and see ms only to con su m e enough f oo d

,

t o account for the amount of si lk i t spins fro m i ts

body A n d a l i ttle fur ther o n he quot es V i d a a n
.
,

Ita li an poet
e fl u ndu nt q uae sita par ae vu m
'

Stamina, dit e s o pe s ut e ri .

XV But behold when after the vacat i o n last

.
,

autu mn I was try i ng so me slight ex per i men ts

,

on nat u re and was hunt i ng for Spiders of al l

,

s i zes I discovere d , a f ter repeated observat io n

, ,

that the m ater i al out of which they sp i n thei r

threads is a dark spot ted glut i nous a nd st i cky
, , ,

humour very s i milar to kneaded dough an d o f a

, ,

dark sparkl ing hue I t i s fro m this substance

, .

that they S pin out the i r fine threads thr o ugh the
womb which is s i t u ated beside the haunches
, .

This process they perfor m while walk i ng on .

O n the 7 th o f S eptembe r from a Sp i der wh i ch I

,

had fastened up on a bea m by means of a p in I

d re w out an u nbroken thread 6 6 feet i n length .

A nd on the following d ay fro m an o ther Spider ,

of medium s i ze I t o ok a thread a very fine thre ad , ,

wh i ch though so met i mes broken , was yet 1 70

,

feet long whe n stretched O n pr i c king the.

womb of the creatu re with a need le i t was foun d

still to have some o f the rich v i scous substance
in it .Thus when the Spider was dead an d
ca st aside I have t aken threads from i t
, ,

though w i th very gre a t di ffi culty Any one wh o .

 M
M
56 Y TI I S o r

cares may t ry the experiment The Sp i ders .

at least cannot be charge d w i th i gn oran ce o f th i s

art of S pinn i ng Thu s wh en caugh t (for they are
.

silly creatures an d when caugh t i n a ch i p o f

,

woo d m u st be q uickly throw n to the ground ,

frightened or kept prisoners in spittle ) they s u s

pend themselves and hol d on by the thread whi c h
they spi n lik e rope dancers .

XV I There coul d h ave been here added some

.

remark s on th e nat ive c ountries food usual time , ,

o f weav i ng age ,an d i ts oc c ult antipathy to other

,

ani mals o f the Spider We g i ve a f e w on th e

, .

native country of this creatu re There is n o country .

wh i c h does not p roduce the S pid e r N everthel ess .

,

near the town of G ratianO po lis (i t i s c o m m o nly

c alled G renoble ) in tha t part of F rance n ext t o
,

Italy G rande ntiu s (bk i v c 50

, . emo rat ) tells
.
, .
,
’
.
,
'

as well as M eru la in days gon e by that there is ,

an old tower which i s q uite free f rom Sp i ders o r

any venom ous reptile N ay further they say .
, ,

that i f any are brought into i t they perish on the

spot We se e from A ldro vandu s page 24 1 , that
.
,

th e Sp i der i s con ten t w i th very l i ttle food They .

feed o n j uicy and v i scous substan ces as can be ,

see n both f ro m a pr io r i and a poster ior i arguments ,

for they u sually live by catching fl i es and bugs ,

f rom the bodies of wh i ch they extract the i r j uicy

blood B es i des the i r womb is ful l of viscous
,

hu mo u rs As regar ds the ti me a t wh i ch they

.
 A N CI EN T SCI EN C E .
57

weave we have the f o llo wm g remarks to make

, .

They ve ry seldom mak e their webs when the S ky

is clear but o n l y when i t i s overcast H ence
, .

they fore te l l cloudy weather There are also other

.

signs to be drawn f rom this creature F or instance . ,

they m ake their webs higher th an usual when the

r i vers are t o b e i n flood as Pliny tel l s us Crowds
, .

of fli es an d Spiders a m ost u nusual phenomenon

, ,

a re an i ndi c ation o f pestilence O u r author i ty for .

this is A thanasius Kircher i n his re c ent tract on

,

the Plagu e page 1 44 A gain by their leav i ng a

, .
,

house they f orete ll it is going t o f a l l .

The li f e of the Sp i der is a s h o rt and fragi le

span for they soon rea c h their matur i ty and what
, ,

takes li ttle time to create takes litt l e to d i e , .

Again the Spider is a friend to n o other animal .

The Germans have on this fact f ounded a proverb .

I ndeed they o f ten f all u pon and destroy their own

kin d They are said to w age wonderful wars on
.

the stel l io as A ristotle says ; agai n they have an

i rreconci l able hatred f o r the t oad S ee Lauren .

tius ( Cent 5 Hist 78 A cerr Pail ) where he

.
, .
, . .

gives a wonder f ul i nciden t that o ccurred to a

British m onk .
é trngof
’

M
® n th e

e marantu la

H E R AN N G R UBE .
,
 ® n th e S t in g

B u b its c u re by;

,
,

,
M
(ta ra n t u la ,
n
of

ea s of

.
mate
In

My obj e c t being to give an a ccoun t o f the

Taran tula or poisonous Sp ider o f A pu l i a, so
calle d fro m Tarentum where large numbe rs o f
,

them are foun d I sha l l not del ay over a l ong

revis i on of what has bee n long ago sai d by other
.

I S Y M P T O MS P R O DU C E D BY T H E S TI N G o r
.

I HI S C R EA T U R E
'

writers bu t shall treat of the sting o f th e creature

an d o f the power o f m u sic in cu ring i t , and shal l
be br i e f in proportion as others have bee n pro l ix .

I shall thu s h ave two heads under whi c h to treat

m y subj ect the first dealing w i th th e sti n g of the
,

Taran tu la and the symptoms arising fro m i t , and

,

the secon d giv i ng a short accoun t o f the power o f

62 MYTHS OF

m usic to heal s u ch st i ngs The first diffic u lty

.

which one meets w i th i s the nu mber o f symptoms

o f the p oi son , wh i ch , accord i ng to S caliger ,

E xercit lxxxv co ntra Cardan u s, i s al m ost equal

. .
,

to that of the d ays of the week Those who are .

st u ng by the Taran tul a are so m e of the m , se i zed

,

with l aughter others w i th weeping others with

, ,

cont i nued wake f ulness others with stupor others

, ,

with n ausea an d vomit i ng O thers again have

.
, ,

a cold perspiratio n, dizz i ness o r deli rium Some , .

run about , others S i t listless and see m as if se i zed

,

w i th lethargy S ome are a ff ected o ne way , others

.

a n other an d so diverse are th e symptoms that

,

s o me be l i eve there are as many k i nds of th i s

ani m al as there are k inds of a ff ect i ons produ ced
by i t Scaliger however dissents fro m such a
.
, ,

v i ew a n d considers that such d i vers i ty o f symp

,

t o ms arises fro m a diversity of temperament a mong

those who su ff er from the stings , j ust as the
di ff eren t e ffects wh i ch are produced in peop le by
the excess i ve u se of w i ne or tobacco ar i se from the
d i ff eren t const i tu t i ons of those who part a ke of
these stimulan ts A nd hence i t i s that we see
.

som e pat i ents weeping others la u ghing others

, ,

sleeping , and o th e z s giv i ng ven t to the i r d i sorder

in other for ms I t is worthy o f notice (a poin t
.

wh i ch h as exercised th e m inds of m any m e n an d ,

i s a q u est io n d i sputed as much i n the Per i patet i c

as i n the subtle Carthusia n sch oo l ) th a t th is p oi s o n
 A N CI EN T SCI EN C E . 63

h as a sin gu lar ffinityj musi c wh i ch is sa i d to

a or ,

have a wonder f ul e f fe t in pacifying an d cur i ng

c

th o se stung by the Tarantula I t has i ndeed .

, ,

b en noticed that eve n old m n and those wh o

e e ,

are l most overc o me by the v i rulence of the poison

a ,

have as soon as they heard the sound of m usic

, ,

begun i mmediately to stretch their fingers and

the i r l i mbs and the n t o move the rest o f their
,

body so quickly and so accurately to the t u ne

which i s played that they seem t o su rpass young
m en i n the i r vi gou r a nd d ancing masters them -

selves i n their ski l l Whether , then the close

.
,

connection of this poison w i th music is to be

derived f ro m the pe c uliar nature of th i s tunefu l
creature we shal l cons i der a t greater le ngth
,

below .

§ II E X A MI NA TI ON o n T H E N A T U R E O F T H IS
.

PO IS O N I N T H E L I G H T OF T H E P R I N CI P L E
O F F E R M EN T A TI O N .

The haracter of this poison beco mes I ad m i t

c , ,

mo re difli lt to define a f ter the expl anation I

cu

h ave given and I m ight almost say i s to be

, , ,

pl aced among those things the discovery of wh i ch

,

i s placed as a goal for human i nvention Y et if .

we can m ake any assert i on i n mat ters wh i ch are

d i fficult of apprehension an d i n which a des i re for
,

the i r discovery i s a ll we can i ndulge in i t i s ,

w o rthy of not i ce that the pr in ciple of fermentat i o n ,

64

o r better synanche (as D

,
MYTHS
wh i ch modern th i nk ers h aYe rece i ve d i n a more
en l ightened cond ition an d understood i n a stricter
,

sense th an before does seem to throw som e light

,

o n the clearing up of the nature of thi s poison

Just as a mad dog does by i ts bit e and by m eans,

of its sa l iva that i s by the volati l e nature o f the

,

salt of i ts body , and the incubation of bad secr e

tions present an appearance of som e fury breeding
,

wi thi n i t which is ca ll ed i n medi c ine hydrophobia

,

M
or

e ib o m iu s in on e o f

his elegan t treatises cleverly shows i n quoting

fro m Josephus Aro mato riu s ) ; s o by its bite the
Ta ran tu l a ino c u lates those whom its stings as i t
were w i th the evi l power of its own viru l ence by
virtu e of an incubation or f ermentat ion whi c h i s o f
a more venomous type F or as the who l e i dea 0 ;

,
.

the plant lies hidden i n the seed o f the vegetable

which on the approach o f spr i ng when the earth is
s welli ng and bursti ng wi th h er own i ncrease and

th e heat of th e su n comes and takes part i n the

f orwarding of the process of r i pen i ng is awakened
.

,
,

,
,
.

, ,

m ade to sprou t an d pe rfe c ted so also in an ,

extremely smal l partic l e of what I call f erment ”

,

whi ch is tran s f erred by the st ing of the Tarantula

in to the hum an body and i mmedi ately a f terwards
,

begi ns gr adua l ly to grow the whole natu re of the ,

symptoms i s hidden though they a f terwards come

,

o u t i n variou s form s ac c ording to th e c haracter of

,

the patient his fancy I believe be ing s mi tten as

, , ,
 A N CI EN T SCI EN C E . 65

wel l as his sp i rits by the power of th i s foreign

,

f ermentat i on This al so happens in the c ase o f

.

bi tes from other mad an i mals the resu l t of whi ch ,

i s m adness varying a ccording to the n atu re o f the

,

creature that i nflicted the sting There are some .

who think that the patient som e times i mitates the

animal by which i t has been stung This we le arn .

among others from F eli x Plater Unz e ru s treat . ,

ing of th i s subj ect i n his li ttle work on epi l epsy ,

quotes the fo l lowing two tr agic i nstan c es f rom th e

book o f H einr i ch on Monst rosities cap 1 5 , . .

The o ne i s that o f a girl of W ratis law the other ,

of a m an whose n a me i s not given The man

, .

having fed on sow s m i lk is sa i d to have become

’

greatly en amoured o f filth The girl who i n .

,

order to cure th e e p i l epsy w ith which sh e was

attacked partook o f cat s b l ood i s said to h ave
,
’
,

assum ed the c har acter of that animal im itat ,

ing the call le aping gesture an d wa l k o f th e

, ,

creature Unz e ru s does not think this story unlike ly

.

because it is to their b l ood an d s pirit that the

tempera m en t and actions o f animals o we thei r
birth . Unz e ru s is altogether at f au l t i n what h e
brings forward as an explanation o f this Why .
,

f orsooth if the b l ood o f one animal d runk by

,

another can fre q uently ch ange i ts c haracter why ,

do not wolves a fter sucki ng the b l oo d o f sheep

, ,

take on the nature o f the S heep ? an d why do not

w e az e ls when sucking the blood of chi cke ns lay
, ,

VO L I I I
. . E
66 M YTH S o r
as i de th ei r savage n ature ? The reason i s that the
n at u re of these creatures i s as An drew Libaviu s ,

e l sewhere argues too energetic an d changes

,
“
,

the foo d more v i olently than i t is changed by the

foo d A l though they appear to be i nv i ted t o
.

some S ho w of ge n tleness , yet seeing they retu rn

to their former nat i ve f eroci ty this stronger ,

m o vem en t overcomes the weaker and the ,

weaker i s trans f or med by the stronger not the ,

s tronger by the weake r H owever that m ay be

.
,

the peculiar virtue i nhere n t i n the blood f o r

changing the temperament i s beyond c ontroversy .

N o r i s this th e case w i th bl o od only but i t ,

is true of mi l k N ay the same may even be

.
,

said o f sweat The qu al i ty and power o f mi l k

.

fo r cha nging the temperament of chi l dren and ,

the need o f caution in selecting nurses if the ,

mother hersel f be un equal or too weak f o r the

task has been fu l ly and acute l y commented upon
, ,

a mong others by G elliu s in his A tt ic I Vig/t ts

, , .

O n the subj ect of sweat and of i ts ingredients we

have a somewhat full account with notes o f ,

experi ments fro m Lep i da , t o be fou nd i n Sc alige rfi“

H e gives the f ollowing account i n his u sual br i ef
”
way The A rac an King he says thus tries
, ,
“

the te mpe rament of h is w i fe H e chooses twelve .

v i rg i ns al l of the sam e age , and orders them to

,

Exe rc . 1 0 9 . De Su btilitate c ontra C ardanu m .

 AN CI EN T SCI EN C E . 67

be completely covered over with woollen cloths .

They have then to rem ai n at m id d a y dire tc ly -

b e neath the su n s rays i n the highest flo o r of the

’

house A f ter they have perspi red whi ch they do

. ,

profu sely under the c i rcumstances the s me l l on

,

eac h s e t of the garmen ts i s t ested Those whose

.

garm ents s mell o ff ens i ve l y he gives to his friends

f o r w i ves those whose garmen ts smel l sweetly he
,

keeps for h i mself To preven t deception the

. ,

name of the father an d mother of th e m aiden i s

wr i tte n o n the clothes .
”
S o m uch for that .

F rom this we learn that eve n i n sweat itself there

are points worth observing N o r aga i n i s i t
.
, ,

di ffi cul t to see that very consider ab l e virtue i n

Changing the character o f the blood and spirits

resid es i n th e d ischarged se c retion whi ch the

Tarantul a i mparts to the bi te at the m omen t o f
i nflicting the st i ng Whether women can also
.

a l lure men to a love of themselves by m eans o f

d rugs compounded o f the i r own blood an d sweat ,

I studious l y pass by with a br i ef r emark be c ause ,

I remembe r I re f uted th is statement more at length

e l sewhere I have stated above th at this poiso n
.

o f the Tarantula acts like fermentat i on The .

whole question n o w comes to this — Wh at is the

m eaning of thi s f er mentation wh i ch i n such sma l l
,

quant i ty acts m ore qu ickly i n s o me and slower i n

o thers bu t wh i c h exerc i ses such gre a t and won
,

de rf u l p o wer in all ?
68 MYTHS OF

§ 3 . ACC O U N T O F T H E D I FFE R E N C E S
AN EE

TW EEN T H IS TA R AN T U L A P O I S O N A N D
T H E ST V IT U S S DA N C As W E LL As O F
.
’
E,

C E R TA I N K I N DS O F CON V U L SI ON S .

The k ind of m ad ness or as i t i ca l led the St ,

s .

V i tus Dan ce (clearly fro m a superstition that by

’
,

the he lp of S t Vitus the pat ients w ere believed

.
,

t o be restored to a better min d that i s to them ,

selves ) seems to have some a f fini ty with the sting

,

of the Tarantula Those a ff ected with this ma l ady

.

are as de l irious an d rest l ess as those bitten by the

Tarantula and beco m e SO engr o ssed i n dancing
,

an d runn ing abou t that they ul timate l y b e c e

quite exhausted an d f all on the groun d I n .

connection w i th this i t i s w o rth whi le re f erring to

the account given by Tu l p i us a f amous do c tor o f , ,

a m an wret c hed l y tormented w i th th e disease bu t ,

whi c h i t i s bet ter to read i n the A u thor s own words ’

than in mine This s p ecies of m adness which

.
,

is cal l ed by Plate ru s F elix Vitus s Leap brings on

’

either end l ess dan c ing or rest l ess running abou t .

A n instan ce o f this k ind o f malady it was my l ot

once to wi tness near Co rtac u m a sma l l tow n of ,

F landers i n the case o f a very wret ched man

, .

The poor creature used to run about f o r day s and

nights wi th su c h constan t leaps and en dl ess
,

agitation that h is whole body was bathed i n

,

p e rs p iration Y et he d i d not on this a c c ount

.
 A N CI EN T SCI EN C E . 69

cease h i s move me n ts i n the very least bu t was so ,

entire ly given over to this con tinual m ove ment ,

that he n ever gave himself any peace un less when ,

exhausted n atu re demanded her dues o f s l eep .

So far for this case This a c c oun t is bu t little

.

di ff erent from another g i ven by the great F e l ix

Plater to the same pu rpose with the f a m e of his ,

name and the skill of his pro f ession , to substant i ate

his statement ) ? I t is about a woman who d anced ,

on the ground for a whole m on th at Bas l e and to ,

whom the M agistrates fur nished certai n strong

men One be i ng in suffic i ent to carry o n the dance
,

wi th her F rom su ch st atement s we se e the

.

conn ection as well as the distinct i on b e tween

, ,
’
the sting o f the Tarantula an d the S t Vi tus s .

Dance That is t hose who are bitten by the

.
,

T arantula have a desire to dance i nordinate l y ,

and do begin to leap as soon as a sound o f music

or an instrum ent is heard The vi ct i ms of the S t
. .

Vitus Dan c e however , quite a part f rom any sting

’
,

from the Tarantula or bite f rom any mad anim a l

, ,

are seized with that pecul i ar ki nd of m adness ,

and w ithou t any sou nds of m us i c do t i re them

, ,

selves out by the i r m ovemen ts B u t neither do .

’
the St Vitu s s Dan ce nor the e ff ec ts produced by
.

the st i ng of the Tarantula sho w any signs O f any

kin d o f c onv u l sion for a convulsio n takes place
,

Prax , . Bk . i,
.
p 3
ca . .
70 M YTH S or

q uite apart from the w i ll of the p a t i ent a fact i t ,

would be wrong t o a ffir m of e i ther of the o ther

two phenomen a A ccordingly the A rabs a re
.
,

censured by Plater for ventu r i ng t o deduce the

orig i n of the St V i tus s D ance f ro m a j erky d is
.
’

position of the li mbs There are adm i tted t o be

.

certai n kinds of convu ls i ons wh i ch see m t o ,

i m itate very cl o sely the n ature both of S t Vi tus s .

’

Dan c e and the results o f Taran tul a b i tes bu t

, ,

wh i c h rea l ly are very distinct as we learn fro m a ,

consu l tation of m edi c al author i ties which are

easi l y accessibl e and familiar I remember when .
,

I was a bo y that i n my nat i ve place (Lubeck ) I

,

w i tnessed a m ost extraord i n a ry case in a very ,

poor m an who , although perfectly wel l th e day

,

be fore b egan o n e night to labo ur un der a

,

wret c hed ai l men t The muscles o f h i s wh o le

.

body espe c i ally of his arms an d feet were so

, ,

afl e c te d that he could not walk w i thout m o v i ng

wi l dly alter nately an arm a foot o r bo th , ,

together thus d rawi ng upon himself the a ttent i o n

,

of passers by who looked on h im some in pity ,

-
, ,

others i n wonder The accoun t of a woman who

.

was seen i n Leyde n i s somewhat s i mi lar She .

was so terribly a f flicted that when sh e was com

e lle d to walk her body m oved somet i mes on on e
p ,

side somet i mes on another an d with a m ove ment

, ,

l i ke d ancing o r l eap i ng The first s i ght of her i n

.

the temple of the Lutherans m ade me laugh ,

 A N CI EN T SCI EN C E . 71

while i t i ncreased her f renzy I was s oo n how .

,

ever lead to pity her , when I learned the fu ll

,

particu lars of her case fro m my i nt i m ate frien d ,

F iirse niu s the present successful D o ctor o f

,

M edic i n e a t H amburg S uch cases however ,.

,

di ff er comp l etely and ent i rely both from the St , .

V i tus s Dance and fro m the e ff ects of Taran tu la

’

b i tes if that i s we except the general n ature of

, , ,

the sympto ms W e se e th i s , when we cons i der

.

that i n the case of Tar an tula b i tes th e pat i e n t is

i nduced t o dance by a m addened i m agination and ,

by h i s S pir i ts wh i ch have been i rr i tated by

poisonous e l ements I n the case of S t Vit u s s
. .
’

Dance however thou gh the m ind be perfectly

, ,

heal thy yet there i s a wonderful ag i tat i on of the

,

l imbs correspon ding to a kind of l eap the m o v e

, ,

m en t being p l a i n l y invol untary .

§ 4 . E X P LA N A TI O N O F T H E POW E R o r
AN
M U SIC I N C U R I N G TA R AN T U L A B IT ES .

The c u re of the bite of the Tarantula by m u i c s

receives i llustration f ro m a great nu mb r of e

writers A lthough w e o ught perhaps here to

.

place the sweat i ng a nd dr astic m ethods of c re u ,

yet these do no t detr act fro m the recog ni sed

relat i onsh i p betwee n the po i so n o f the Tar ant u l a
a nd m u s i c Thus those wh o h a ve been b i tten
.
, ,

a o n as they he ar mus i cal a i r b g i n at once

s s o a , e

t o leap l i ke stron g y o ung m n and gi ve th m e , e

72 M YTH S o r
selves up to th i s exercise for whole month s o n
end The reason of th i s desire to dance seems
.

somewh at obs c ure a s we have al ready mentione d

,

above Musi c rouses the hotter passions and

.

softens men s fee l ings ’

Som e are charmed or .

e ntranced by som e sou nds som e by ot hers ,

.

He nce arose that famous adv i ce of Pyth a oras g

,

whi c h the great Barth o linu s praise s fl Py th a ‘

goras whe n som e young men were con

,

ducting themselves i n su c h a riotous way that

they seemed m admen ordered the fl u te player ,
- :

whom they had with the m to play them a ,

so l em n tune The resul t was they returned at

.

on ce to a modest comportment as i f they were ,

quite sober The a n c ients used various m easures

.

to rouse di ff eren t f ee l ings The Phrygian .

measu re was employed both for fighting an d f o r

m ental de l ectation the Lydian f o r sharpening the
,

i n tellect the Dorian f o r ex c iting f ee l ings o f purity

, ,

the [E o l ia n f o r soothing the mind s perturbation s ’

.

The wonderful a ffi nity between poetry oratory , ,

and m usic adds force to what I have said Their .

power f o r i nfluencing the f eelings of an

audience i s kno wn to every one I f the m ove .

m ent of our spiri ts i s too sluggish (as i s the ,

case i n sadness ) there is nothing strange i n the

fa c t th at they should be rev i ved by th e cheering

Q u aes t . N u
pt 3 , in N
. u pt xis Sc h u m ac h e ri .
 AN CI EN T SCI EN C E .
73

and ple asan t mod ulation of m us i c B u t i f agai n .

they are overstrung they can be restored to ord er ,

by a p roper harmony J ust as love song s are so .

rendered a nd sung th at they becom e sometimes ,

strong som etim es gentle now slow an d now f ast

, , ,

so metimes givi ng the e ff e c t o f an as c ent sometime s ,

o f a d escen t i n the scale accor ding as th e Lydia n ,

pl a i nt the Dorian grav i ty or the Hipp o do rian

,

revel ry prevai l s i n the sa m e w ay a correspondi ng

,

m ove men t i n the pul se is found to tak e place i n

case of some who are i n love the pu l se be i ng ,

foun d to be som etimes stronger an d som etimes ,

weaker I t i s weaker if the person is under f ear

.

or sadness stronger if hope of O btaining h i s

,

darling com e over his mind and especial l y on the ,

mention i ng o f her nam e This c hange i n the pulse .

i s so we l l k nown th at a good doctor ca n f r o m

the mere pulse an d with the necessary pre ,

cautions re c ogn i se the fire o f love lu rk ing i n the

,

patient The sto ry o f E rasistratus i s we l l know n

.

i n the s c hoo l s O f medi cine who by feel ing his , ,

pulse re c ognised that A n tiochus was vehementl y

,

d evoured by a passion for Strato nic e a concubine ,

’
O f his f ather s When sh e advanced toward s him
.
,

he noti c ed the pulse of the young man becom e

var i ously a ff ected H e i nformed the father of the
.

symptoms of the malady a nd rece i ved 1 0 0 t alents ,

i n reward I n the sam e suc c essfu l w ay di d Gale n

.

le a rn from the var i ations of her pulse at the

74

.
MYTHS o r
m ent ion of her lover that the w i fe o f e nippu s
,

was capt i vated by Pylas a perform er i n the circus

,

F o re s tu s ( Observ 3 0 ) tells a tragic story of

madde n ed l o ve , i n the case of a bu xo m young gi rl
of 22 of good const i tuti o n who whe n se i zed by
,

love for a cert ai n youth beca m e so wret c hed ly

,
,

tortur e d by a feeli ng o f su ff ocat i on or h ypo ch o n

dr i a or so called hysteria conj oined with e pilept i c
fits that S he was considered a m ad wom an
,
,

F o re stu s however su ch was his n atural sagacity

, ,

an d med i cal sk i ll began to susp ect th at the young

,

woman was labouring under the e ff ects o f love

,
M .

and th i s he d i d by observin g her pu l se H is .

susp i c i ons were rea l ised , fo r having been i n f o r med

of the youth whom S he loved (f o r he could get no ,

answers to the quest i ons he pu t to her o r to her

m istress ) he m entioned h i s name in her presence ,

and a sked the by standers what he did and where

-
,

th i s Joh n of Le i da dwelt The gi r l began to .

laugh a n d talk and her pulse u nderwen t at the

,

same t i m e a wonder f ul c hange H aving hitherto .

expla in ed the aff i n i ty between musi c an d ou r

S pir i ts , we have now to deal with the connect i on
betwee n mu si c a nd th e Tarantula as well a s with ,

the po i son ej ected by this crea ture I observed i n .

the ve ry beginni n g of this treatise that th o se who ,

are stung by the Tar a ntula are so severe l y i nj ured

a s t o be com e i mm ed i ately restless an d a ffl icted
w i th v a r ious k i nds o f pains I s ai d that they
.
 SCI EN C E A N CI EN T 75 .

usual ly ru n bo ut o r l i k e th o se dead li e o n the

a , , ,

ground qu i te overco me A s soon however a s .

, ,

they hear a t u ne they begin i mmedi a tely as i f r i d

, ,

of the i r p ain to leap a n d dance no t merely in a n

, ,

Intelligent way but so qu i ck l y a s t o out r i val th e

,
-

most robust of youths A s soon however as th .

, , e

m us i c stops they return to th e u nhappy state

,

produced by the b i te i f they were the v i t i ms , as c

o f som e fate II n h armony i s to them i n the

. e ce

place o f m ed i c i ne for by m ean s of i t the S pir i ts

, ,

nerves and m uscles are m ade t m ove A gai n o .

when the mot i on is i ncreased and the p o res all ,

over the body are opened an d the sw eat po u red ,

out th e nh lty atoms as they a re called of the

, u ea , ,

d i sease are cast out and the virulence of the

, ,

m alady destroyed wh i ch a llows the n o f th e ,

appl i cat i on f antidotes and sweat i ng m i xtures i n

o ,

order to e ff ect cure H ence I ca nnot under

a .

stand why C din den i es th at the victims of the

ar u s

Tarantul b i te can be cured by m us i c ; or t o

a ,

s p eak i n a m ore ph iI ph i strain I am u n able O SO c ,

to why h e denies th a t the cure of the m alady

se e

i du e to mus i c
s H is reason for saying so i
. s,

that the n ature f mus i c makes i t quite unequal

o

t o the e ff ect i ng o f s u ch a esult I consider r

there fore that Cardanus qu i te deserves the eriti

i m he rece i ves at the hands of Scaliger
c s You .

are r i gh t he says
,
”
in deny i ng that the ,
“

T b it c a n be c u red by mus i c for the

'

nt l
ara u a e ,
76 M Y T H S OF
p oison is q uen ched by the exertions gon e through
by the patien t and the sw eat he exudes whi c h ,

takes the virus along wi th i t bu t y ou ought ,

to have foun d an ex p l anation of the f a c t tha t

though over c om e by drowsiness a f te r being bitten ,

the patient is immediate l y roused u p by h ear i ng

musi c I have seen patients qu ite l angui d and
.

weary who have been roused t o su c h a pitch o f

,

heat at the sound o f the l u te that the spectators ,

becam e weary o f watching their dan cin g During .

this movement i t is that the pai n is q uieted the ,

poison being tak en from the heart an d diffused i n

every direction while the m ind i s re l ieved from
,

al l sense o f i ll ness W hen th e musi c stops th e

.
,

p atien t does n ot recover i mmediate l y but on l y ,

by d egrees and when i t i s repe ated the i l lness

,

disappears During this whole time the patient

.

”
is treated w ith antido tes These are the rem arks
.

of S c a l iger F rom them we can learn that from

“

this process of c ure we cannot altogether banish

the power o f musi c O ne obj ection lies i n the
.

d i ff icu l ty why the S piri ts nerves an d muscles, ,

re q uire the song or m usi c al i nstrum ents to rouse

them i nto activi ty and dancin g A second difficulty .

is why m usi c can so sudden l y cure p ains and other

symptoms that th e patient seemingly on the brink
,

o f the grave c an as soon as he hears the music

, , ,

recover strength t o dan c e and leap A third .

d i f ficul ty i s the explanation why our spirits are s o

 AN CI EN T SCI EN C E .
77

wretchedly aff ected by the bite of the Tarantul a .

There appears to be so m e k ind of c l ose connection

t raceabl e between the S pirits of the Taran tul a (so
t o speak ) and our own spirits I sh al l deal w i th
.

each o f these points separate l y I n the fi rst place

.

w e have the obj ect i on that when a l l parts o f the

bod y are im pregnated with poison there i s n o ,

proclivity to lea p and dance bu t whenever a tun e

,

is h eard th e air arouses o u r spirits an d p lays

,

prank s on them O u r nerves an d mus c l es are

.

roused to movemen t and even to dancing and

lea p ing The more the movemen t continues th e
.
,

grea ter and m ore pro fuse i s the expendi ture o f

sweat an d th e f reer do our spirits become while
, ,

the parti c les o f poison m ake thei r way f rom the

interior to the ex terior sur f ace O f ou r bodies The .

f act that on the remova l o f th e mus i c the patient

returns gradua ll y to his bad sym ptoms i s due t o
the fermentation in the poison whi c h increases and
developes i n its passage th rough th e body This .

statemen t is seen t o be true both in the c ase of

those who are intox i c ated an d o f those who are
,

su ff er i ng from a burning f ever Those who are

.

su ff eri ng from f ever by a wond er ful l y deranged

,

fan cy and under the i nfluen c e o f the bu rni ng f or c e

,

w i thin them l eave thei r beds an d are worked i n to

,

a state o f high bodi l y ex c i tem ent a l though be fore

,

neither hand n or foot coul d f u l fi l their pro p er

function an d the patients the mselve s seemed litt l e

,
78 M YT H S OF
d i stan t fro m the threshold of th e grave A ga i n .

those wh o a re th e v i cti ms of i ntoxicat i o n S how the

strengt h of their bo dy although the day before
they may appear exhausted with fiery breath i ngs
wh i ch rack the i r whole being and see m as i f ,

sc ourged with l ashes This mobility a n d e xcessive

.

fervour i s freque n tly the cause why eve n grave

m e n when they h a ve drunk too much , by the
,

fiery i nhalations wh i ch have s u ddenly been car ri ed

to the i r brain are compe l led to dance and act lik e
,

clowns flinging their arms and legs ab ou t i n all

,

direct i ons and co n ducting themselves in a way for

,

whi c h they are heart i ly s orry on the m o rrow The .

case is simil ar w i th those who have been bit ten by

the Tarantula , wh o ev i nce su ch a sudden recovery
o f strength th at i t appears due to some Super
,

natural agency Th e reason also is cl ear why the

.

v i ctims of the Taran tula are so gr i evously a ff ected

by i ts poison A s t o how the sou nds which are
.

merely brought to our ears can have such a po wer

fu l i n fluence i n mov i ng ou r sp i r i ts a n d our mi nds ,

i t i s a doubtfu l po i nt .

5 CA N M U
. SIC C U R E O T H E R D IS EA S E S B E SI D E S
THE S TI N G O F THE TA R AN T U L A
A lexander among other wr i ters ma i n t ins
,
*
, a

that mu s i c i s a cure for other i l l s besides the

Tarantula s st i ng H e tel l us that Theo phrastu
’
. s,

Di e r Ge nia1 , bk
. . .
p 7
ca . .
 AN CI E N T SCI EN C E .
79

the philosopher a man of wonderful wisdom the

, ,

successor of A ristotle in the A cademy who was ,

we l l k nown and esteemed in phys i cal and m athe

m atic al s c i ence states th at the strain s of pipes o r
, ,

lyres an d other w in d i nstru ments played i n a

proper manner can cure the b i tes of v i pers .

E sc le piade s a l so the anc i en t d octo r states the

, ,

sa me fact H is opi nion was that those who were

.

tro u bled wi th f renzy or m en tal a ff ection s could

be st be rest o red and cured by harmony an d songs .

W e a re tol d also that I sm e nias the Theban cured

several B oeot i ans who were labour i ng u nder h i p
,

j o i nt dise as e by pl ay i ng o n the lute SO great do

, .

we perceive i s the connect i on between the nature

o f man and a harmony o f so u nd The f act that
.

some hip j oint p atients were restored to health by

-

s o me Phrygi an strains (as they are cal led ) can be

seen fro m the w o rds of Theophr astus E re siu s ,

wh i ch I quote O ne cou l d m ake them p er f ectly

wh o le and f ree from their troub l e by singing t o
them i n the P hrygi an strai n ”
There are those
.

who a ffirm that a sound or tune has di ff erent

e ff ects on di ff erent persons mai ntaining that it has
,

provoked som e to the pouring out o f their own

blood whi l e in other cases i t has insp i red as i t
, ,

were new b l ood and l ife The latter fact we

, .

l earn fro m P liny the former fro m S caliger

, .

Scaliger mentions in his treatise o n subti l ty ,

written aga i nst Card anus , that i t was a s o und

80 MYTH S OF A N CI EN T SCI EN C E .

whi c h rou sed the e ff em inate m onsters o f Cy bele to

pour o u t their o wn blood whi l e P l iny as if i n , ,

praise of H om er hi s authority reminds u s that i t

, ,

was by a song that Ulysses or the sons o f Au to lic u s

(whom De le c ampu s m ention s i n his n otes to P l iny
as having been meant by H omer ) stopped the flow
o f b l ood Whether these statements are over
.

d raw n or savour somewhat o f the magi c al I p ass ,

over wit h ou t c omment though I m ay perhaps ,

some d ay d is c u ss the q uestion A t present how .

,

ever m y rema rks must be general and brief I f

, .

music provides a S pel l as it were against the , ,

a foresaid troubles I th i nk it does s o by no o th er

,

means than by the soothing e ff ect o f i ts not es ,

whereby the m ovements o f the mind are variously
stirred . H ence we se e if the story i s true why , ,

those so cal l ed e ff em inate m on sters were induced

-

by hear i ng a sound to pour out the i r own blood .

F or whether u rged by heat or f ury they cut i nt o ,

the i r veins n erves muscles or other parts o f their

, , ,

bo dy This however opens to u s a wid e an d

. , ,

u nexplored fie l d of i nvestigation Wi th m y small .

powers and espe c ially w i th th e sma l l space at my

,

disposal I dare no t venture f urther than I have

,

done Later when my studies are more c o m

.
,

p l e,te I m ay venture to return to this subj ect .

Meanwhile k i nd reader fare thee we l l

, , .

{Bu
r is e h e to Gi st! E h rrlasting !

EN D O F VO L . III .
{ moths of Elu cient fi cieu ce
.
 AN CI

NOW

m ites

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. .
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”
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.
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886
.
SCI
Being a Co llectio n of Cu r io u s Trac ts o n fire
lb E
“

B as ilisk , U nico r n , P/z a nix , Belz er notlz or

Leviath an , Drago n , Giant Spider,
Tarantu la , Ch a meleo ns , Saty rs ,
Ho tnines
ér c ’

FI R ST TR AN S L AT ED FR O
TH
Canaati,
.

CO T .

IV

.
’

.
EN CE

fittnstratrens

.
ES .
;

.
fiDn amo rou s ,

I S AAC SC HO O C K I US
.
 ®u (t h a m e l e o n s ,

I SAA C SC HO O C K I US .

( I OSO J

C HAPTF R I .

G be c h ameleo n Do es not [to e on air alone

‘

W in g au o (I ertu lltan crtttctse o

‘
.

Th e q u est ion of th e Chamel e on l i v i ng e n t i rely

o n air w i ll be o ur first p oi nt o f in vest i g a t i o n An
.

affir mat i ve o p inio n in deed i s fully defende d by

Bu stamantinu s, a write r of great learn i ng i n other
respects , a nd the last l i kely t o g i ve creden ce t o

f ables .
( On R eptiles, B k v chap . . . a
s i mi lar pos i t ion w a s take n by Pl iny l ong ago (N at .

Hist B k v ii ch ap 3 3 ) where h i s w o rds are t o th e

. . . .

foll o win g e ff ect : “

The Cha m el e on w o u l d be o f
8 MYT H o r S

the sha p e a n d s i ze of the l i zard were i t n o t that it s

l egs are straight an d longer i ts m ovem ents S lower

,

l i ke those of the tortoise i ts body rough lik e th e

crocodile ; i ts eyes pl aced i n hol low sockets o f ,

k een p o wers of v i s io n and s o mewhat large an d o f

the sa me col o u r a s i ts body I t n ever opens the m
.

or mo ves th e pup i ls but k eeps gazin g w i th th e

,

whole eye A lon e of an i mals i t i s s u sta i n ed w i th

.

ou t food drink bu t o nly air

, , Tertullia n agree .
”
s

thoroughly with th i s p assage of Pl i ny i n h i s

p amphlet on the Pal l iu m chap 3 where an African
, . .

wr i ter i s qu oted to the fol low i ng effect The “

creature i s a quadruped i s foun d i n the fields i s a

, ,

ge n tle and altogether i n significa nt a ni m al Bu t .

he who hears the name chamel eon w i th s o m e pre

i
v ou s knowledge o f what i t m eans fears i t even ,

more tha n the lion I t never eats anything and

.
,

k eeps u nimpa i red the brightness of i ts ski n ; it

f eeds with i ts m ou th aga p e an d ru m i n ates whil ,
e

its sides pu l se like bellows I t food i s the a i r

. s .

S o m uch for Tertulli an The words of this passa ge

.

I t n ever eats anything and keeps un i mpa i red the

br i ghtness of it S kin s h ave been accepted an d
,

i llustrated by S lm i
a as u s .

I f i ndeed we had extan t the work of De mo crit u s ,

that m ost i ndustr i ous student f natural obj ects o ,

which he wrote as the l earned Plut arch tel ls u s

,

on the subj ect f the Cha meleon everythi ng w ould

o ,

be clear a n d free fr o m doubt

,
M eanwh i l e l .
, a
M
AN CI EN T
SCI EN C E

M
9 .

though w e are w i th o ut th i s trea sure house o f -

learn i ng we ought t o rem ark that Pl i ny and Ter

,

tullian n y a l l the others who follo w them as

,
a ,

leaders and as m any as follow agai n the lead of

,

these l a tter (among whom w e even fi n d the o ther

,

w i se most learn ed doct o r Joubert P d 2 dec , ara . . .

go astray from the truth Dalec ampiu s re mark ed

.

this after G esner when re f err i ng t o the passage o f

,

Pliny we h ave q uoted above and Scaliger , E xerc , .

1 9 6 sect 4 agrees w i th them when g i v i ng h i s

.
, ,

d i ff use des c r i ption of this anim al according to the ,

accoun t of J oh n Landiu s Bro daeu s the dil i ge n t .

,

critic also remark s on Pliny when speaking o f

,

th i s account (6 th Bk of
'

. scella n ies chap

.
, .

Bu t before all other author i ties w e ough t to co n .

sul t John F aber Lyc e u s i n h is elegant com mentary

,

(I ndex of a nima ls chapter on the C hameleon )

, .

where h e sets h imsel f to explode this wide spread -

fable The sam e m ay be sai d o f Cre s c e ntiu s o n

.

Gross/ tits
”
to be foun d i n Paul Zac ch ias Bk i v
, , . .

edical a nd L ega l Q u estio ns (Lib Qu , . .

n. The error has then ce ar i sen that this

“

creature whi c h resembles a l i zard can live for

, ,

severa l d ays w i thout taking any add i t i on al food

dur i ng that time F or as Cre sentiu s re marks
.
,
“
after t he creature h as swal lowed one fly af ter
a nother (wh i ch it p asses i nt o i ts thr o at with extra
ord i nary rap i d i ty by means o f fts forked tong u e on ,

wh i ch they are caught by a sl i my substa n ce ) th e

I O MYT H S O F
process o f d igest i ng these takes u p several h o urs ,
a nd i t subs i sts o n n oth i ng else fo r several full days ,

seve n o r eight i n nu mber I am sure H ence we , .

see the m istake c o mm i tted by th ose wh o ,

fro m the Cha m eleon con tended that a i r had the ,

power o f nutr i tion Su ch a n idea though re ce iv

.
,

ing the support no t only o f R o nde le tiu s (Bk i

, , . .

o n F ish es chap 3 3 ) bu t o f the subtl e A rgentar i us ,

, .

( Co mmentaries ii in pr im Hippoc Ap/t or is ) i s

. . . .

yet qu i te alien fro m the truth : u nless , o f cou rse ,

o ne i ntended t o m ea n by the word
” “
alimen t
a nything th at formed a n ad dition or gave a help
t o a fu n c t i on as was d one by H i ppocrates i n hi s
,

b oo k on Diet ; because i t cannot be den i ed tha t

by the i nhal at i on of the ai r w e rece i ve a help in
preserv i ng l i fe .

C H A PT E R I I .

(the Ch amele on
ass u mes all s rts of o
c
h u es ex ep t reo ano white R eas n .
“

o
n
give f or th is ta t, au o p ass ages of c
s everal au th rs il lu s trateo o .

H aving demolished the p i n i on of those wh o m O

we S pok e of i n the last chapter on the Cha meleo n ,

w e have for th e present determined o n a n i nvest i

ga tio n i nto the q uest i o n whether th i s cre atu re ca n
Con su lt Ca leb John de Mey Sacred Plzy siology, ”

pag e 1 50 .
 A N CI EN T SCI EN C E . I I

assu m e every kind o f colour Th e a ffir m a t i ve .

answer t o such a question i s m ainta i n ed by

A r i stotle wh e n speak i ng of th i s animal , (wh i ch i s
placed a mo ng the u n clean k i nd o f food i n Lev i t .

ch a p i i v 3 0 an d i s frequen tly m et w i th in Syr ia

. . .

and Palest i ne ) F rom A r i st o tle Bk ii chap ii

.
, . . . .

of Hi story of A n imals Pl i ny N at Hist B o ok

”
, , . .

v i i i chap 3 3 So linu s chap 4 3 and E l i an Bk ii

. . .
, .
, . .

ch ap 1 4 we gather the foll o w i ng statemen t : th e

.
,

Chameleon does not present only one and the same

colou r I f for i nstan ce on e m ee ts i t of a black
.
, ,

col o ur i t changes an d q u i ck l y t ransforms i tsel f

,

in to a green ; then as i f by a change O f sk i n i t

, ,

prese n ts still another appearance , by pu tt i ng o n a

wh i te colou r , j ust as a n act o r puts on a m ask .

S u ch be i ng the c ase on e would say that al though

,

i t may not rub an d s mear i ts body w ith p oi so n s

l i ke a M edea or Circe i t i s yet i n itsel f a creature ,

of poison an d witchcra f t Th i s gave r i se t o .

Plutarch s rem a rk s o n the di ff erence be tween a

’

fl atte rer and a fr i end A flattere r he says a cts

.
, ,

j ust lik e a cham eleon ; for j ust as the latter can

'

Show u s all colours except white so the fl attere r ,

be i ng unable to excel i n those things which are

w o rthy of p ursuit , i m i tates everything base as far as
h e ca n S o mu ch for Plutarch The com pari s on
. .

drawn by Casio do ru s (Bk v Var iou s Letters , . . ,

Letter 3 4 ) between the nature of the Chameleo n

a n d th e dece i vi ng debt o r i s qu i te as clever Um ,
.
I 2 M YTH S OF

w i ll in g t o defend h i msel f i n court ignorant o f h i s ,

pr o mise terri fied when ca u ght he breaks his w o rd ,

, ,

changes the prin ciples he admits and not conten t , ,

w i th on e m ean ing f o r h i s words h e puts o n ,

vari o us d i sguises A Cham eleon is very similar i n

.

f or m t o the serpent i t has a golden colo ured head ,

and wh i le the rest of its m embers are of a wh i t i sh

tinge its body is marked by a bright gree n
,

h u e When one looks at i t and i ts o wn speed

.
,

cannot avai l i t to escape i n the ut most t error i t

,

c hanges i ts colours i nto various others and ,

appears n ow blue no w wh i te n ow green now

, , ,

purple F or the sam e reason A lcibiades re

.

c e ive d the nam e of Chameleon as Plu tarch tells ,

us. Again Socrates (Bk i chap i ii Hist ) says

, . .
, . . .

(13 9 a t k éo vr es er d a k k o v
X n
a
p fi ,
that is they ,

changed about like Chameleon s M any indeed .

,

to return to ou r subj ect have determ ined to accept

,

th i s as q uite fabu lous but if we accept red and

,

wh i te the Cham eleon does take on every colou r ,

,

as is shew n by John F aber Lyc e u s quoted i n the

l as t chapter when h e c i tes eye witnesses on each
,
-

point . Pl i ny l ikew i se m akes an ex ception of b o th

of these col o urs i n the passage quoted He says :
, .

A n d the nature of i ts colour i s m o re wonderful

for i t cha nges i t bo th on its eyes i ts tail an d its , ,

whol e body w i th great quickn ess always assu m ,

i ng an o ther c o l o u r after the former h as disap

e ared
p .
 A N CI EN T S CI EN C E . I 3

N i ndeed exc ludes white lik e Plu

az ianz e nu s , ,

tarch I n O rat i on 3 h e says

. The Chameleon :

is said to eas i ly hange colou r an d suddenly to

c ,

assum e al l hues w i th the one except i o n of white

, .
”

A lthough the d es ript i on by A ristotle of th i s an i

c

mal is as u sual with h im very a ccu rate yet when

, , , ,

speaki ng of i ts colour an d its changes he says ,

sim pl y : Whe n in flated w ith air i t changes its

co l our . M eanwh i le we evident ly can no t thin k
,

of listen i ng to John He sro nita an d G abriel Sio nita ,

seei ng that i n th e pamphlet which they subm i tted

to the N ub i an geograph er A rabi (c hap they , .

try to m ake ou t that all these authors are l i ars .

N or are th e colours wh i ch t he an i mal assumes

merely apparent as some have supposed bu t real
, , .

They are produced in deed j ust as pal lor is i n

, ,

m an wh en terri fied or a blush when he i s asha m ed

, .

F or whe n th e blood i s rece i ved i nto the in ward

parts o f the body pallor i s the result a s blush i ng
, ,

is the resu lt o f the blood com in g to the surface .

H ence also f ro m the character of the sensati ons ,

which i n the case of the Cham e l eon i s manifol d

, ,

and f requently vary i ng on the hu mour being ex,

cited the exterior surface o f the body ch a nges

,

colour N ow that which is accu stomed to happen

.
,

to m an i n the f ace a l one tak es place in the case

, ,

of the Chame l eon over the whole body The

, .

reason of i ts not assuming a red c olour is that i t

has a very moderate supply o f blood which ,
I 4 M Y T HS O F
accord i ngly re m a i ns persistently in the neighbour
ho o d of the creatu re s heart A gain i t d oes n ot
’
.
,

ass u m e a wh i te colour because there i s i n i ts body

,

no hu mour to which that colou r i s natural Again .

,

as i n m an the blood i s red and the bile ye l low ,

,

so l i kew i se the body of the Chameleon contains

v a r i ous humours m arked by th eir o wn peculiar

colours f rom the diff eren t m ingl i ng O f which
, ,

various colours corresponding to the various aff e c

,

t i ons o f i ts m i nd a re produ ced whi c h though

, , ,

c o m i ng quick l y i nto and disappearing q uick l y

,

from view yet i t cannot be doubted are rea l I t

, .

i s i ndeed from the f act of i ts assu ming such var i o u s

c o lours that th i s creature seems to der i ve i ts n am e .

Fo r as Bu stam antinu s rightly observes (Bk v . .

,

chap 14
. on R ept i les )
, i t gets the name ,

a ta f lteo v i n Greek f rom X oij

“
xp aa
,
labour
, and ,

A60) , I se e as i f i t m ea n t a labor i ou s o r diff i

”
,

cult s i gh t beca u se i t i s transformed i nto so many

,

c o lours th at there i s di fficulty i n recognising i t as

the same (Rea d Michael A postol Param p
. .
, . .

The Chameleon is like the li zard which i s ,

sai d to have a strong l ove for man an d o f ten to ,

gaze at h im f o r a very long t i me as if enj oying such

a sight an enj oyment which i t seems to express
,

even by its movements f o r i t frequently moves its

,

ta i l and fawn s upon h im like a dog o r other

,

domestic an i mal A gain when i t sees a serpent

.
,

l urk ing i n the grass i t i s said t o use stronger

,
 A N CI E N T SCI EN C E . 1 5

gestures in order to as i t were warn man by th i s

, .

redoubled m ovement aga i nst the po i son by the

serpent H ere we have a very str i k i ng p i cture o f
.

those who are naturally endowed w i th the p o iso n

o f wick edness and ne i ther seek nor are ca pable of
,

a nything but l ay i ng sn ares for an d at tack i ng ,

o thers bu t who are by a div i n e providence so

, , ,

g o verned i n the i r condu ct that they are made the

,

u nwilling i nstruments of good to others There is .

a re markabl e instance of this i n the case o f

B al aam who came w i th the inten tion o f curs i ng
,

but was compel led to bless There is anothe r i n .

the case of P haraoh who though deter mi ned to

, ,

destroy the Jews roo t and bran ch was forced to ,

send the m a way an d equip the m w i th an i mmense

s u pply o f provis i on s for their j ourney Aga in we . ,

h a ve the truth en u n c i ated in the Pr o verbs of S o lo

mo n Whe n the ways of a man ple a se the
Lo rd he turns even h i s enem i es towards h i m
, .

O u r enem i es frequently becom e ou r benefactors by

the w i ll o f God .

W e read that l i zards do n o t breed i n England ,

but of this fact I cann o t speak w i th the certainty

o f experi ence (Consul t the Posthumous Zoologi
.

cal Works o f Caleb Joh n Spe rlingiu s ) A s the .

Chamel eon cannot i mitate red or wh i te so als o ,

tyrants can copy every k i nd of life ex cept that o f

th e upright man N az ianz e nu s i n his 4 7 th
.

oration brings the charge against Jul i an of be i ng

1

b
6

m f v t
l mni t
u

t
ea s
s oe er
M Y T H S OF A N C I E N T SC I E N C E
abl e to do everything o f every k i n d like the
C ham eleon or Proteus bu t yet o f be i ng i ncapable
o

A ga i n the natu re f the court i er i s like th at o f

,
,

th e Chameleon when he copies the bl ack an d ev i l

to thei r sensual desires A

H i st ) says that fi tt
.

ac
’
t g lt

.
o
.
o

hab i ts of his pr i nce but cannot represen t the pure

,

an d chaste tra i ts of his character Pr i n ces g i ve

asy access to those lever m n who ca n administer c

has becom e proverb i al as wel l as on

a o rs

those who raise vexatiou s l aw act i ons The word

A rg ive means a cal umniator D i l w m w
m
,

f f eel i ng c o mpassion t owards the Chr i st i a n s

nn t (Bk ii

have destroyed m any

princes Batav i ans call a Sycophan t m m ij
.
a

The m aled i ct i on bestowed on

.

e re rs

F or ant iq u i ty not i ced that the

ree e

l awsu i ts [Consult A nd C n nb o n Calumny

.

A rgives f old w ere sycophan ts and very fon d of

Delat i on and D etractio n A lso my ow n d i ssertat io n ’
.

:
e

a
:
M
o
,
e
.

arc o

er
.

ze
.

e c

r e
.

er ,

ca

ar
.

on D elatores i n my note o n Tac i t u s Bk i v , . .

,

chap 3 0 o f the
.
fiDn l Beats li ckin g thei r

sprin g into pettett sha pe ,

I SAA C SC HO O C K I US
.
Gbe rais in

x.
,chap
.

.
M
® n JBears li c ki n g t h ei r ®ft
s p r i n g i n t o p er f ec t fi bape

I SAA C SC HO O K I US

g oi th e Statemen t th at Sh e
bears give :iBirtb to a s h ap eless ano
blo oop ass inete ab oi a p rop erlp
Develop eo jf oe tu s wh ic h tbep p er:
f eet bp I tc hin g ® rigin ot th e Sable

Ou r
.

author i t i es for the statement th at sh e bears

g i ve b i rth to a shapeless m ass of flesh which they
perfect by l i cking are A ristotle (c 3 0 B k iv
,

f l irt A nima l) E lian (Bk ii chap 3 9 and Bk

i n the I sth bo o k of his Metamorphoses wr i tes

N ec
Se d
c at u lu s
q u e m partu
,
.

O ppian (Bk de A m prol ) O vi d

.
.

ur sa re c enti
re ddidit
,

mal e viva c aro e st l ambe n do mat e r in artu s

F ingit e t in f ormam q u ant am c aput i psa re duc i r
. .
.

.
,
.

,
,

.
-

.
,
4

.
.

.
20

M
M
M Y TH S O F
Virgil th e p rince of poets i s himsel f said to have
,

dec l ared that h e brought f orth verses a s bears br i ng

forth their you ng (G ell B k v i ch ap
wa s with this idea i n h i s m i nd that B m nn

q u e

Ut nu lo l
.

the m ost re fi ned of Germ an p oets wrote an d be

ath e d us this ep i gram

u s is

A ssi dua do c t i s u a imant c armina c ura

(His t A m m chap 1 2 and l ast l y I so do ru s ought

.
'

. .

to be c onsu l ted and i t m ay not be amiss to quote

,

the words o f the last n amed (Bk 1 2 chap

They are somewhat to the f ollowing e ff ect
It

inte rpe lle nte v ac are t ,

Part h e no Pe s adiit r u ra q ui e ta a ro
Ursaq u e lambe n do c at u lo s c e u f ormat in e rte s
C u de bat ve r su s sic po lie ndo suo s
l
Et s u b j u di c iu m s in gu a ve r ba v o cant

J u l iu s Pollux (O no m ast B k v chap Philo

The
.
,

l
.
.

.
,
.
,

.
.

.
e rs

,
.

.
a

.
s,

bear or u rsus is said to b e so cal led because i t

, ,

a rm s th e f oetus w i th i ts m ou th or o s
‘
as i f i t w ere ,
’

c a ll ed i nstead o f ursus F or i t is sai d

‘ ’ ‘ ’
o rsu s .

that these creatures bring f orth a shapeless o f f

s pring and that a mass o f flesh is born
, which the ,

mother f orms in to the several members by a pro

c ess of li cking H en ce comes the bel i e f that the
.

s h e bear a f ter partur i ti o n brings

-
the foetu s i nto
s hape wi th her tongu e I t is however the i mma .

t u rity of th e birth that causes this f o r partur i t i o n ,

t ak es place o n the th i rtieth day The resul t i s .

that {a hurr i ed bu t shapeless birth is p roduced .

 A N CI EN T SCI E N C E . 21

The head of the bear is not s trong : i ts grea test

power lies in i ts legs and shoulders H e n ce they .

sometimes stand upr i ght ”

S o says I so do ru s Al l . .

such statemen ts however are (with al l du e de

, , ,

f erence to so many great men ) l ittle i n accord ,

w i th the truth H un ters u ndeniably prove that

.

whe n they have taken pregnant she bears and cu t -

,

o pen the i r bo dies they h ave f ound the young per

,

f e c tly f or m ed i n all their parts Th e fa i th which .

R itte rsh u siu s (ad d l O p piani) places i n th e

. . .

st atemen t o f su c h hunters allows m e to cla i m him ,

as of my O p i ni o n i n regarding this t ale of the sh e

bear i n the l igh t of a f able .

The cause of the error is cl early threefold .

I Certai n wri ters among who m i s R David

. , .

K i mchi (chap x i ii think that the young o f the

,
. .
,

bear i s so enc i r c led in thick folds w i thin the

womb tha t i t appears to be embedded there i n an d ,

the m other has to dim i nish th i s obstru ct i on by th e

use o f he r teeth Th i s opin i on i s favoured by
.

C 1 D Joachim Cam e rariu s (Cent 2 E m bl 2 1

. . . . . .

I t must be gra nted that mos t quadrupeds bring

forth their youn g wrapped u p i n folds of skin an d ,

that they not on l y disengage this covering but even

eat i t A ny one c an prove th is by the evidence
.

o f his o wn eyes i n the ca se of cats and dogs

, .

I I O thers bel i eve that th i s i dea takes its rise

. ,

li k e m any others fro m the h ie ro gly ph ic s o f th e

'

E gyptia n s because these people when w i sh i ng to

,
22 M YTH S O F
p icture an un cu l tured m an , bu t o ne who is gr a d
u all
y advancing , u sed to draw the figu re o f a
p regn an t be ar (H o A pollo Bk i i chap
. .
, . .
, .

I I I The opin i o n of Juliu s C aesar S ca l iger has

.

m any upholders H e thinks that a circu mstance

.
,

wh i ch tak es p lace i n t he case o f al l the bru tes ,

t hrough being observed with spec i al care i n th e

case of the sh e bear , h as gi ven r i se t o th e fabu l o us

-

sto ry .

The foll o wing a re his remarks (E xe rc 1 82 , .

,

Sect.
“
I t is said that sh e bears bri ng th e i r -

shapeless f oetus wh i ch present the appea rance of

,

formless balls i nto shape by the i r t ongue The

, .

falsehood of such a sup po sition I have she wn else

l

w here , for every an i mal licks i ts you ng to make i t

free fr o m i mpurit i es I n all of the abo ve v i ews
.

the presence of truth enables each to be capabl e

o f a defen ce proportionate to that t ru th The .

secon d o f them h o wever i s far the most p robab l e

, ,

in o u r est i mat i on F or as w e shal l have ve ry

.
,

frequ e n t occas i o n t o shew i n these book s E gy p t ,

was beyond al l other count ri es the most l earn ed

i n m aking and fash i oni ng fables a nd dece i ve d t he ,

poor c o nfiding G reeks i n thousan ds C o u su lt .

Caleb Se ngu e rd Pfiy sic E x erc itat p 1 51

, . A . . .

story i s to l d of a bear wh i ch carri ed away a g i rl

t o a cave k i ssed h er every day , chose f o r he r t he
,

ripest an d fa i rest o f wil d apples an d pears and ,

o ff ered her the m t o eat with al l a l over s so lic i tude ’

.
 A N CI EN T SCI EN C E . 23

Joh n S ax o a nd O lau s Ma gnus w r i te that the

,

Dan i sh K in gs had a be a r fo r th e progen i tor o f

the i r race, wh i ch st o le away a ve ry bea u t i fu l virgi n
wh o bo re a so n t o th e v i l e cre a ture , el egantly
sh a ped bu t very hai ry , wh o m sh e call ed U rsu s
, ,

a f ter his father N ie re mb ergiu s has shew n that

.

this can not be literally bel i eved We ca nno t

.

th i nk that fr o m the i nterc o urse o f a man and a

brute a real m an ca n poss i bly b e produced .

The sense o f touch i s very str o ngly developed

i n the snou t of the be ar H e n ce when st ru ck o n
.
,

that p art of i ts body i ts anger i s great This i s .

the origin of the saying Do n ot m eddle with a

bear s n ose ; that i s : D o no t meddle with th ose
’

wh o can work you mi sch i ef A g ai n , w e have the

.

phrase to lead by the n o se . H e i s s ai d to be lead

by the nose who ca n be l e a d beyon d wh a t h e
k nows hi mself to be r i ght at the d i ctatio n o f
an o ther The m et a phor i s tak e n fro m an i m als o f
.

the stag order who are lead ab o u t by a ri ng

,

placed i n th e e n d of th e snou t j u st as horses are

,

gu i d ed by a b i t Th e be ar del i ghts i n the soun d

.

o f m u src o f wh i ch i t i s passionately fo nd Paul us

.

Diaconus an d O l au s Magnu s tell u s th a t i n

norther n l o cal i ties sh epherds whe n s u rrounded
, ,

by be a rs are i n the hab i t of a t on ce play i ng o n

,

lutes , i n order that th e bears m ay be ench an ted

w i th the soun ds a n d they the m selves esca pe th e
,

f er o city of the creatures . There are cert ai n k i nd s

 24

of white bears wh i ch are amphibious and which

as A lbertus tells u s are as m u c h at home i n the
water as on land H el i ogabalus used to place
be ars a nd such like an imals o n a c o uch where
were ly i ng fr i ends of h i s whom h e ha d made
.

dru nk The pecul iar character i st i c of the bear i s

.

i ts growl H ence co mes the proverb H e growls

.
,
M
Y I u s o r"
’

, ,

”
like a bear with a sore head The sh e bear .
-

shows great a ff ect i on for her y o u ng places them ,

on h er breast a n d fre q uen tly sits on them l ike a

,

hen on her chickens to keep them warm Bears

, .

w i th young are extremely f ierce , espec i a l ly if they

are taken f ro m her H ence in Proverbs 1 7, v 1 2
.
, .
,

i t i s sa i d : Rather m eet a bear robbed o f her

“

whelps than a fool in h i s folly

,
”
A gain H osea .
, ,

13 v 8
, . I shall m eet them like a bear robbed
,

of its whel ps &c 2nd S a muel 1 7 where the

, .
, , ,

counsellors of David are c o mpared to such bears .

O f the cha n g i ng o f me n into bears we need say

n oth i ng as such a th i ng
, .

Though the bear is present you c annot see its

f ootmarks
”
Th i s saying is to be understood as
.

apply i ng to obscure matters The sh e bear bri ngs .

-

forth her young i n winter after wh ich sh e seeks a ,

hid i ng pla ce and de fying the k een ness and b i tter

, ,

n ess of the cold awaits the arr i val of sp r i ng and

, ,

n ever brings o u t her young before th ree m onths

have elapsed When th e creature f eels hersel f
.

pregn an t i n d read of her t rava i l as i f i t were a

, ,
 A N CI EN T SCI EN C E . 25

d i sease sh e seeks out a cave S he enters her l ai r

, .
,

no t by w a l k i ng on her f eet bu t by throw i ng h er

,

sel f on her back and thu s h id i ng her footmarks

,

fro m the h unters She then drags herself i n on

.

her back and then lies down i n pe ace

, .

B es i des the authors q uoted m ore i nfor mation

,

can be got on the subj e c t of the bear i n Aldro

v andu s
, Gesner F ranz iu s Sc h o ttu s N ylantiu s
, , ,

and He xto r .
flDn %! atprs , sp ermains, sp en
t

wi th fitails, ett

I SAA C SC HO OC K I US
.
 ® n 5 atprs ano mermaios,

I SAA C SC HO O C K I US .

(th e q u es tion 5 af p rs Dis cu ss eo, ano

of
an ex p la ati n on
give of wh atn pi i o n on
s h o u lo h e h elp on
th e s u bj
ect R ef er.
“

e nees mao e at th e s ame time to p ass ages

in s everal z lu th o rs .

S atyrs c ommon l y c al l ed by the Greeks (Tof rvpo e

,
‘

derive thei r n ame f rom their las c ivious propens i ties

as w e are told by th e expoun der o f Theocr i t us .

Again the wo rd h as been tak en by the auth or of

,

the E ty m o logz c w zz fil agzz z w z f ro m the virile member

’

which the ancient G ree k s c alled a denv, because

the Saty rs conti nual p ro pe nsity to lasc ivio u sne ss (a
’

fact on which all authors agree ) and also bec a use

they are never sa ti at ed in this habit . H en ce als o
 M YT H S OF

in M acro biu s (B k i chap . they are.

, .

c a lled Sath mni (others a mo ng wh o m Ges n er

u ,

i s on e calli ng them S th ni) f ro m S atu r n

, a u

wh o i s called as i t were S th im n fr o m S athe n a us .

Again the E tymo l ogy o f the ter m n be refer red ca

to th e sathe n a cc o rd i ng to N at li Co mes
, a s

Bk ch a p . as i s i nd i cated by the
v, , .

f ac t that stat u es o f Pr i apu s are u s u ally placed i n

gardens t o rouse lustfu l d es i r e s .

A ccording to R h digin (Bk xix hap 25 o u s .

, C .
,

Lectu res o n A ntiq u ity ) , as told by h is translator ,

(Bk . iii , chap 4 0 , Var Him) , the S atyrs were so
. .

called from the gap e of the m outh an O pinion ,

a ls o shared i n by Ph o nu ntu s to who m a Satyr ,

m eans a sy mbol o f ectasy or mental exc i tement , .

H ence a s mall S atyr i s called by Cicero a Satyri !

cus (Bk i D iv inatio n) an d the I on i ans cal led

.
, ,

the S a tyrs themselve s (I nipea g, or Centaurs By ,

.

the word Satyr however i n the present i nstance

, , ,

we do not u nderstan d e i ther such Satyrs as are

sp ok en of by the poets or those figures ,

wh i ch are d rawn w i th a dev i l i sh bu ff oonery or ,

lastly those m e n who may h ave chanced to bear

the nam e We refer to the fou r footed satyrs
.
-
.

These creatures are very cur i ously descr i bed by

E l ia n Hist A nimal B k xvi ch 21 where w e find
, .
, .
, .

these w o rds The traveller over the n eighb o u r

i ng mo unt ain s of I nd i a i s m e t at the outset by th e
a ppe a ra n ce of very de nse val leys in a d i strict called
 SCI EN C E A N CI EN T 31 .

Co rru d There creat u res b ear i ng th e appearan ce

a .
,

a nd shape of S a tyrs nd w i th the i r whole b o dy , a

covered w i th ha i r a n d furn i shed w i th the ta i l f

, o

a h orse are said t o a bound Th ese creat u res

, .
,

when n o t d i st u rbed by hunters are accust o m ed t o ,

l i ve i n the th i ckest parts of the forest on l eaves

and fru i ts When however they hear the shout
.
, ,

o f the hunters an d th e h aying of th e dogs they ,

retreat with i ncred i ble speed to the t o ps of the

-

mountains for they are used to pass ove r these

,

heights They easily keep o ff their pu rsuers by roll

.

ing down huge st ones fro m th e to p of the mountains ,

by the force of which m a ny of the hu nters are

f re q u enty kil led A ccord i ngly the i r capture is a
.
,

very dlfllCll lt m atter , an d even th o se that are taken

‘

are o nly th o se who are too weak or are f emales ,

w i th y o ung The former owe the i r capt u re to

.

so m e d i sease the latter to the fact of their being

,

pregnant Those that fall into the hands of the

.

hunters are taken to the t r i be cal led the Prasii on ,

”
the banks of the G anges S uch are the words o f .

E l i an Pl i ny i n d escr i bing the same ani mal

.
, ,

wrote as f ollows I t i s a q uadruped an inh abi ,

tant o f th e tr o pical m ou ntains o f Ind i a and ,

e xtremely fleet of fo o t i t has a human shape , but

has the feet o f a g o at an d has the whole of i ts
body covered w i th hair I t h as n o ne of ma n s .
’

h abi ts bu t delights i n the thickets of woods an d

, ,

avo i ds all in tercourse w ith human bei ngs (Bk ,

32

VI I ,

goat
“
chap

”
,

the extre m
.
.

nose and had a f orehead on which grew horns

M
di ff ers so m ewhat from these re m arks of Pl i ny
(L i fe of A nton i u s the H er mit )
I t was he says a human being w i th hooked
” “
Y I IIS or
'

Th e descript io n o f H i erony mus

i t i es of i ts body en de d i n the f eet o f a

Ptolemy i n h i s geograp/zy (Bk vii
.

, . .
.

ch ap . m akes out two i slands o f the Satyr s ,

oppos i te the coast o f I ndia and beyond the Ganges ,

the inhabitants of which are descr i bed as having

ta i ls l ik e those we fin d in p i ct ures of the Sa tyr .

These islands Pausanias calls The Sa ty ria n “

”
Isl ands \Vhen treating o f the kingdo m o f the
.

Greeks he men tions the i r ex iste n ce on th e extrem e

,

coasts o f the s e a in th e f o l lowi ng words Whe n

I was c arrying o n my i nvestigatio ns as t o the
nature o f the S atyr and whi c h w en t beyond any
,

previous e fforts I h a d very f requen t opportun i t i es

,

of speaking with persons on the subj e c t E u ph e .

mius Cares tol d m e that on a voyage he m ade to

I taly h e was dr i ven out o f his c ourse by the
,

v i olence of the w i nd an d carr i e d to the limits of

,

the ocean which were q u i te ou t o f the ordin ary

tra c k o f n av i gation H e said there were there
.

i slands many in nu mber and desert bu t i nhabited

, , ,

by wil d men A t som e of these the sailors re f u sed

.

to pu t in because certain of them who had been

,

dr i ven on the c oast and exper i enced the barbarity

,

o f the i nhabi tants a f ter a voyage of many days had

,
 A N CI EN T
SCI EN C E 33 .

reached the place they were then a t The sailors .

,

he said called these i slands the Saty r i slands

, .

They d eclared the i nhabitants of the m were red ,

and had a t ail which was not much small er tha n

that of a horse These are the wor d s of P au
.
”

sanias.

A lthough , however i t has been a ttem pted t o

,

ascri be such S atyrs to the cl ass of m ankind ye t ,

except som e s o rt of s i mi litude i n shap e a n d figure ,

they have n othing of the hu man abou t them .

This is noticed by Mela (Bk i ii chap ,

and
. .
, .

Pliny follows h i m ( Bk v i ii , chap

. . The
. .

lat ter does n ot i ndeed hes i tate (Bk v chap 8) , . .

,

t o refer the creatures to the c lass of A pe .

Som e have a suspicion that whatever has bee n

said by the an cien ts o n th e subj ect of the ani mal
called the Satyr i s a comp lete falseho o d But to
, .

such we h ave to oppose the words of a very

experienced doct o r of A msterdam D r N i c olas , .

Tulpius (Observ
, . B k i ii Chap 56 ) w here
. .
,
.

h is words are to the f ollowing e ff ect A lthough

i t is ou ts i de the subj ect of Medicine I sha ll yet ,

annex t o thi s subj ect a n ote i n eviden ce o f the

Satyr of Ind i a .W i thi n our own tim e one was
brough t fro m A ngola an d given as a presen t to
Pr i nce F rederick H enry Th i s was a f ourfooted
.

S atyr bu t by the I ndians it gets a nam e derived

,

f ro m the hu m an spec i es na m e ly O rang O utang

,
-
,

or ma n of the woods I t i s as lo ng as a boy o f

.
34 M YT H S O F
three a n d a s th i ck a s on e o f six years I ts b o dy
, .

w a s neither fat no r th i n bu t o f a sq u are shape

, ,

and i t was extremely agile and sw i ft I ts l i m bs .

were ex tre m ely tough and had huge mu scles ,

capable o f d oing and dar i ng eve ry thing I n fr on t .

i t was qu i te smooth whi le behind i t was br i stly

a n d covered w i th black hairs I ts face was a .

distorted copy o f that o f m an wh ile i ts n o s e w a s

,

flat an d hook ed l i ke that of a wr i nkled a n d tooth

l ess ol d wo man . I ts ears i ndeed were j ust th e
s a m e a s those o f man The sa m e m ay be sa i d of
.

i ts breast which was l i ke a female s ; and i ts ’

st o m ach had a n avel though som ewhat deeper

,

tha n that o f m an I ts l i mbs both upp er and

.
,

l o wer , were as like those of m an as on e egg i s l ik e

an other I ts elbow had th e proper j o i nts ; i ts
.

h an d the sam e nu mber o f fi ngers i ts thu mb th e ,

sa m e shap e as that o f m an ; i t had thighs and ,

there w as an an c le i n i ts foot The resul t of this

.

skilful a nd orderly adaptation o f its limbs was that

i t coul d walk erect and i t coul d lift a s lightly as
,

i t c o uld transfer easily any very heavy weigh t

,

wh i ch m i ght be g i ven i t When abou t to

.

d rink i t grasped the h and le of th e j ug w i th on e

hand a nd supported the botto m of i t w ith the
,

o ther an d i t wiped away the moisture left o n i ts

,

l ips as n eat ly a s the best trained wa i ter It .

d i splayed th e sam e d exter i ty whe n going to l ie

down B ending i ts head u p o n the c o v e rlet an d
. ,
 A N E N T SCI EN C E
CI .
35

c o veri ng its body w i th the bed cl o thes i t e nsco nse d ,

i tself q ui t e as c om fort ably as the m ost pampered

d an dy A ga i n , the k i ng o f Sambac ia t o l d my
.

relat i ve S am u el Blo martiu s , that these Satyrs

, ,

espec i al ly the m ales in the i sland of Borne o h ave

, ,

s u ch dar in g a n d such str o ng m u scles , th at they

cha rged again st ar m ed me n mo re tha n o nc e and als o ,

a ga in st defe n ce less wome n an d g i rls S o meti m e s

‘

t hey were so fire d with th e des i re o f the m that ,

they se i zed and rav i shed the m o ver an d over a ga in .

They are extremely add i cted to lust (a circ u mstance

wh i ch i s c o mmo n t o the m an d th e Satyrs o f th e
a n c i en ts ) N ay sometimes th ey are so wanton
.
,

and lustfu l that the women of Ind i a have a greater

,

dre a d of groves an d th i ckets , than they have of

d ogs o r snakes , for i n the fo rmer these wa n to n
cre atures a re alw a ys ly in g h i d The truth o f all th i s
.

l eads u s t o the c on clus io n that the i d e a s of

a ncients were dr a w n fr o m the m S u ch are the
.

w o rds o f Tulp i us AS in the first place i t i s clear

.

fro m th i s passage that Pt o le my (tho u gh others

have thought d i ff erently ) w as n o t alt o gethe r
,

dece i ved whe n he sp o ke of the “

Islands o f the
S atyrs so i n the sec o n d the a n c i e n t idea of the
,
”

gre a t lustfulness o f these creatures rece i ves con

firmatio n The pass age o f Pausa ni as already
.
,

partly qu o ted i s h ere also in po i nt H e tells u s

, .

there , that E u phe mius Cares sa i d to h im that when ,

they a r r i ved at the S a tyr i sl a n ds the Satyrs as , ,

36 M Y T H S OF
s o on as they saw them , ran d ow n t o the ship a n d ,

u ttere d a soun d w h i ch was no vo i ce b u t a kin d o f ,

horr i ble and i nart i culate shr i ek But whe n .

wo me n had lan ded there , they la i d ha n ds on

the m and attacked the m s o fur i ously that they
,

c oul d w i th d i ffi cul ty though beaten with torches

, ,

b e dr i ve n away , and kept from do i ng them h ar m .

The sailors fear i ng they m igh t su ff er i nj ury kept

, ,

o n bo ard the S hip wh i ch th ey anchored a t a

,

distance fr o m the shore but exposed on th e sh o re

,

a barb ar i a n w o m an whom th ey had w i th the m .

Th i s w o m an after m ost obscene gestures m ade by

,

t h e creatures w as the vict i m of the i r lust not o nl y

, ,

i n cun h o se d etiam i n t oto corpore

,
This .

story o f Pausanias recalls the accoun t which

Ph ilo stratu s g i ves of a heard of S atyrs wh i ch were
se i zed w i th a d es i re for O ly mpus “
A herd of .

Satyrs ,
”
he s ays when seized with desire w i th
, ,

flushed and smili n g face gazes i ntently on a y o ung

o ne o f the i r kind now seek i ng to t ouch h i s breast ,
,

now t o Clasp h i s neck and aga i n to snatch a k i ss

,
.

They all s catter flowers over h im and ad o re h im ,

like a statue Then the w i sest o f them snatches a

.

reed wh i ch h a s been w arm ed by h i s tongue an d ,

ea ts i t , a n d by thi s ac t h e believes he k i sses

O ly m pu s a n d h as even a tast e of its sp i r i t
”
.
,

Such i s the acco u nt given by Philo s tratu s Pas .

sages fro m Lu c i a n an d o th er authors could be

q uoted in scores in support of th i s The re m ark s
.
 A N CI EN T SCI EN C E .
37

o f the learned Tulp i us have been personally co n

fi rmed t o m by several sa i lors i n H o lland and
e ,

o thers w ho h ave tr a versed th e coast o f A fr i ca .

They say that in var i ou s places s i m i lar w i ld beast s

are found an d are c o m monly regarded as coming

,

u nder th e class of apes o f wh i ch th ere are many ,

k in ds Thus i t i s n ot n ecessary t o suspect the

.

tr u stworth i ness o f t he anc i ents M any o ther .

k i nds of prodi gi es outs i de the o rd i nary kinds of

,

an m l I attract the attention and w o nder of the

a s,

learned an d vulgar U lysses Gesner and o ther .

wr i ters state that i n t he an d N ile m ermen se a

hav e been seen a n d captured They also cite .

cases of S atyrs m n of the w o ods and m en c o m

, e ,

p l t ly covered w ith ha i r
e e I t i s sa i d that a m . er

m a i d was captured in a lake i n H ollan d i n 1 4 3 0 ,

A D . an d tha t sh e was brough t to H aarlem an d

.
, ,

lived for m any years She learned to wear her .

h a i r over her n eck and p erform many o ther of ,

the task s of a woman but sh e rem a i ned perfectly ,

m ute to the en d I n 1 526 a sea m an with beard

.
-

and ha i r is said to have been capture d i n F r i s i a ,

who after l i ving for several years was a t length

, ,

cu t o ff by a p l agu e U lysses Aldro vandu s has .

publishe d a comp l et e book on the subj ect o f

m onsters on e very page o f which many state
,

m ents worthy o f re m ark o c cu r He te lls us says

”
.
,

h e o f A ugustine tha t when preaching the gospe l

,
“

i n E th io pia he saw several m en a nd wo men who

38 MYT H S o r
:

had no h e a ds , bu t w i th ey es pl a ced in the ir

bre as ts , an d w i th the rest o f the i r me mbers l i ke
o u r ow n Ulysses th i nk s th a t these crea t u res
”
.

ha d really no n eck , an d th a t th i s made the i r ey es

S eem i n the i r breast bec a use the he a d was i mme
,

diate ly c o nnected w i th the th o r a x Read S t o ry.

of an I nd i an S atyr br o ugh t t o H o lland a mong

M
,

the med i cal observat i ons o f th e reverend d o cto r

Ni ch o las Tulp ius O n the subj ect of sea men
.
-
,

m any cur i ou s and re markable facts can be fou nd

i n P N ylant and J oh n He xto r
. .

o
® ll p e p le W ltb trails .

Le a v i ng the subj ect o f the Satyrs , w e Shal l c on !

v e nie ntl
y pass o n to a d i scuss i on as t o people w i th
t ails
. A t first s i ght i t w oul d appea r th at the i r
existe n ce was a fact for Pl i ny (Bk v ii , chap
, . . .

Hist A m m ) m ention s that i n I nd i a m e n are bo rn

’

. .

w i th hairy tails ; Pau l Ve ne tu s agai n i n Bk v . .

,

chap . of his own Journ eys says th a t in th e

,

k i ngdom of La mb ru m men are fou nd wh o have

short ta i ls like dogs a n d they l i ve not in c i t i es
, ,

but in the mountains ”

I n th e islan d o f N e maneg
.

in the E astern S ea , there i s a nat i on of ta i led me n .

I n sp i te however , o f th e testimony of Cardan u s ,

,

(O n Subtilt i es B k . . that a boy wh o had

bee n brought up by w i ld beasts in the i sl a n d o f
isnia, h a d n ot o n ly contr a cted w i ld habits and ,
 A N CI EN T
SCI EN C E 39 .

h d th e face and nails of a w i ld beast but had

a ,

even gr o wn a t a i l i n sp i te of the ev i dence of

:

A lbertus Magnus (Bk xx ii chap . On A n im l

.
, . a s,

Tract that t wo m n were bor n in a w o od in

e

Germa ny who had ta i ls i n S p i te aga in o f the fact

that the great B th lin m ent i ons a Dan i sh b o y
ar o u s

who had a t ail in sp i te f al l th i s we m a in ta in

— o ,

i t i s q u i t e f alse tha t m n w i th ta i l s are anywhere

e

found i n any quarter of the globe The st o ry .

com mo nly tol d abo u t the early E ngl i sh rece i v i ng

ta i ls through th e curse of A ugust i ne the A p o stle ,

o f Gregory the Great m u st be cons i dered a

, m co

p l t
e e f alseho o d n d they are qu i te i n th e dark
: a
,

who believe that th i s people has the a

.

ygi s cocc s

either higher u p or l o nger than i s usual Th i s .

i dea seems to have arise n fro m the fact that s o m e

m n in Dorsetsh i re i nte n d i ng to i nsul t August i n e
e ,

and his comp ani on s faste n ed the tails of ray fish

,

to their clothes as G n b d, q u o ting fro m

e e rar u s ,

W il liam of N wb g Chroni cles tells us The

e u r
’
s , .

abo ve statem en ts appear m ore probable than those

which John M aj or ment i ons (De Gestis Scotoru m ,

Bk ii chap
. .
,
. where the following accoun t
occurs A ugustine on crossing over to Dorset
shire on a m iss io n t o E ngland organ i sed by S t , .

G regory the Great began t o preach the G o spel

, .

Bu t the c o m mo n people I n ridicule held forth the

t ails o f fish es to the m an o f God Therefore , .

A ugust i ne prayed to Go d on h i s k ne es th a t f o r the ,

40

,
M I

chi l dre n were born w i th ta i ls

THS o r
pu ni sh ment of th i s S i n th e childre n of the di str i ct
S houl d be b o r n w i th ta i ls an d that by th i s warn
,

ing they shoul d l earn not to despise God A nd

by reason o f th i s as the ann als of E nglan d tell u s
I t i s no t at al l then
.

fro m the i nflue n ce o f the C l i mat e that they had

ta i ls
. N or do I th i nk th at at th e p resen t t i me
,
.

m e n are here born w i th ta i ls bu t the tr i be was

,

a ffl i cted w i th th i s pu n i shment u nti l such t i m e

as they m i gh t feel trust i n G od s servant
’

I g i ve no assent to th o se S cotchm en and F rench

m e n who m aintain the opposite v i ew There i s
.

a ls o sa i d t o be a tr i be of th i s nature i n Spain ”
.

I n the case of a Danish boy i ndeed as Barth o li ,

n u s ia the passage above c i te d t ells u s , there

seem ed t o be a tai l formed f ro m the large num ber
of bones an d cart i laginou s fo rmations i n the o r
coccy gis . \Ve inric h d escribes var i ous m onsters ,

an d speaks of a boy born at Cracow i n Poland i n ,

1 59 4 fr o m whose back there hung a l i ve serpe nt

, ,

w h i ch stil l kep t gnaw i ng at his dead body This .

h o wever can be a ccou nted for by s om e d i sease

,

u nder wh i ch the pregnan t mother was l abouring .

Fo r i f any portion of the embry o becoming pu trid ,

g i ves b i rth to a s e pe nt this creature when re l eased

, ,

can cling to th e rema i ning part which stil l r em ains

u ndec o mposed Thus Pl i ny (N at Hist B k i x
. . . . .
,

Chap . asserts that i n E gyp t when the N ile i s

,

gett in g lower , (a fixed an nual o ccurren ce ) s mal l ,

 A N CI EN T SCI EN C E .
41

i
m ce a re c aught.
w h i ch are partly c o mp o sed of
earth .

H ere , and i n th i s regard I o ught t o trea t o f an d

,

expla i n three cur i ous sayings .

I O ne should pu ll the ha i rs out of a horse s

’
.

ta i l one by o ne
,
F or what i s i mp ossible t o be
.

done by force and v i olen ce , ca n be e ff ected by

tim e a n d d i lige n ce Th i s i s the m ea ni ng of the
.

p roverb I n Ger m an w e express the sam e i dea

.

by say i ng that he n s h a tch their ch i ck e n s only by

degrees .

II .You are ty i ng a dolph in by i ts ta i l

“ ”
.

You have a h o ld o f an eel by i ts tail A ap t .

rem ark is here m a d e to describe th o se who have

to d eal w i th m e n o f slippery Character a n d d oubt
ful fa i th .

III A f o x i s know n by h i s tail Th i s phrase

.
"
.

w e are accusto med to u se i n descr i b i ng those whose

true character comes ou t whe n danger appears .

The foxes tai l is too large for its body and i s so ,

b u shy that i t cann ot eas il y hide i t .

t h e W h ite l ilies oi p ales tin e .

Ou blessed S av i our i n the ser mon which he

r ,

del i vered a nd wh i ch i s foun d in M atthew chap

, , .

V I , v 28 in o rd e r to teach h i s disciples t o be
. .
,

conten t w ith thei r present c i rc u mstances a n d ,

w i thdraw the m fr o m a n xi ety a bo u t w o rldly th i ngs ,

 42 MYTH S OF

uses th e foll o wi ng word s An d why take ye .

th ough t for raim e n t ? Con s i der the l i l i es o f th e

field h o w they grow They t oi l not ne i ther d o
, .
,

th ey sp i n : and yet I say un t o y o u that eve n ,

S o l o m on i n al l h i s glory , was n o t a rrayed lik e

,

o ne o f these A paral lel passa ge occu rs i n Luke

”
. .

I on ce heard cert a i n learned me n b u t labo ur in g ,

u n der the gre at t u l i p m a ni a who bel i eved th a t the ,

l i l i es sp o k en of by o u r S a v i o u r in the ab o v e ,

w o rds were the sa m e as their o wn tulips alth ou gh

, ,

these men the m selves w ere wel l deserving o f be i ng

calle d t u l i ps th a t i s , stup i d and dull for i n th e
‘
,
’
,

old Be lg i c to ngu e a tu lpe o r tu lp iscfi i s a nother

word for a s i lly m an I am q u i te aw a re i n deed ,
.
,

th at a ny beaut iful fl o wer may be cal led a l i ly I t .

i s qu i te well k no w n th at the Sacre d W r i t ings d o

no t d i s agree w i th s u ch a m ann er o f e xpress ion
(for in the S o ng o f S o l o mon chap ii , v 1 6 th e , . . .
,

p a ssage o cc u rs , M y bel o ved feedeth a mo ng th e

l i l i es and ag ain Chap i v , v is,
,
”
,
“
Thy tw o
. . .

breasts are l i ke tw o y ou ng r o es that a re tw i n s ,

wh i ch feed a m on g th e I n the s ame w ay
we are aw a re that th e G reek w o rd Ae ip t o v
mea n s any be a u tiful fl o wer a s has been noted by ,

Hesych iu s a n d Su idas i n the i r rem a rks on The o

,

c ritu s , Idyl 1 9 A ga in H o mer has m o re tha n

.
,

o n ce th e express ion , “
lily t i nted m ou th , and
”
-

Ap 0 110 i s by the sa m e poet , called a lily

, A g ain , .

S u s a , a fa m ou s c i ty , i s c al le d in H ebrew by a
 A N CI EN T
SCI EN C E 43 .

na me wh i ch s ig n i fies a l i ly Th u s A the n eus . a

(Bk . E t th i (i nu s a a n d He y h i
u s s c u s

c a lled th a t oin t ment S sin m the pr in c i pl e ou u ,

ingred i ent of wh i ch was taken fr o m l i l i es I t i s .

also w ell k no wn that the N arc i ssus was cal l d lily e ,

for this has bee n no t i ce d by Theophrastus (Hi t s .

Pl nt Bk vi chap
a . .
, I ca n no t however be
.
, ,

persuaded t o understa n d th a t anyth i ng el se was

m ean t i n the w o rds o f Chr i st b u t the wh i te l i ly ,

properly call ed for th i s alone can compete w i th

so ,

the splen dou r of a Solom o n A t fi rst S ight th i s .

a ssu mpt i o n of beaut i ful workmansh i p i n the lily

does not appear j ust i fiable B ut let any on e t ak e
:

on e of the ne w k i nd of opt i cal i nstru m ent s wh i ch

magnifi es m inu te obj ects placed n ear the eye a nd ,

l o ok through i t at the graceful sta m e n s o f th i s

flower or at i ts filam ents and tiss u es an d he w i ll
, ,

be forced to con fess that such beauty a n d wo n de r

ful structure su rpass t he powers of any t o ng u e to
express Pl i ny has descr i be d the wondrou s
.

beauty o f the str u cture o f th i s l ily (Bk 21 chap .

, .

I can not r e fra in fr om quot i ng a f w f h i s e o

w o rds .
“
The lily h e says i s nex t the r ose
,
”
,
“

i n the scale of beau ty an d whe n placed a m o ngst ,

a bunch o f th e l at te r fl o wers a very becoming ,

e ff ect i s the resul t Th e leaves a re m u ch prized

.

in th e mak i ng f o i ntm e nt an d o il S uch a re

o .
”

the w o rds o f P li ny The n flower o f Peru i s

. su

m u ch taller tha n th e l i ly a n d he n ce m er i ts the ,

44 M YT H S o r

n am e o f g i a n t fl o wer bu t at the t i me o f Pl i ny i t
,

was not kn own H e n ce w e can se e how apt was

.

the na me g i ve n t o th i s flowe r by the Cor i nth i ans ,

wh o cal led i t ambros i a as A then aeus t ells u s , .

( Bk xv ) The poets feigned i t sprang f ro m the

. .

m i lk whi ch fel l on the earth fro m the sl eeping

J uno whe n H ercules w i shed t o carry her off
, .

Com pare Caeliu s Bk v i chap To . .

, .

return however to the words of our S av io ur

, .

F rom the well k nown fact that he was accustom ed

t o d raw s i miles fro m the c i rcu mstances of ordinary
da i ly exper i e n ce w e can understand the great
,

aptness o f h i s i ntrod u ci ng the subj ect of lilies ,

because even in th e p resent day they grow i n

great pr o fus i on i n the va ll eys o f Palesti ne as ,

Joh Co to vic u s Ultraj

. e c tinu s a knight of Jeru ,

salem i n his description o f the Ho ly Land

, ,

follow i ng A dric h o nu s of Delphi observes The , .

beauty of th e l ily i s p refe rred t o t h at of the mag

nific e nt d ress of Solom on because the former i s ,

n atural wh i le the l atte r is i mi tat i ve S olon also

,
.

recogn i sed th i s f act as we are told by Dioge nes,

Laé rtiu s (Bk for being asked by C r oesus

'

, .
,

w ho was bl azin g in the most Spe ndid o rnamen ts ,

i f he had ever seen a m ore beau ti ful sight he ,

repl i ed that cocks pheasants and peacocks were , , ,

far more spl endidly adorn ed for they were clad ,

i n n atural brightness an d su rp assing b eauty The .

l ily bl ossom s as A nato liu s tells u s wi l l remai n

, ,
 AN CI EN T
SCI EN C E .
45

green for a wh o le ye a r if whe n

they are closed ,

after the i r t i m e o f being ope n for the day i s past ,

t hey are pluck ed an d placed i n e arth e rnware

vess els w i thout ena mel an d pai nt , a nd covered
carefully u p to be pu t bye By th i s m eans they .

can be preserve d fresh for a wh o le year When .

after a t i m e they are brough t ou t for u se , they

,

inst a ntly ex pan d on be i ng brought i nto the s u n ,

and fee li ng i ts heat The bulbs i f the flowers ar e .

,

required i n success i on or at cert ai n t i mes are so , ,

planted as to be placed some at the dep th of t wo,

so me of fou r a n d some of eigh t in ches The
, .

lil ies will c o m e u p on di ff erent days by this method ,

wh i ch is also said to be success f ul with other
flo wers A n o i l i s extracted fro m the flower by
.

bruisi ng wh i ch possesses the po wer o f softening

,

th e skin Som e u se the bulb to cure sores (See

. .

I E tiu s B k i
-

, c hap . The rose can be

.
,
.
,

m ade green yel low or purple by cu tting the

, , ,

stem near the roots o r by bor i ng a ho l e in th e ,

t ree an d filling th e hole or aperture thu s exposed

,

wi th say copper rust i f a green coloured rose is

, , ,

wanted ; w i th I ndian ston e or lapis lazu l i we l l

pounde d down i f a b l u e co l ou r i s wanted ; wi th
,

sa ff ron if a ye ll ow e ff ect is desired ; an d so o n

, .

Lastly the i ncis ion must be tied u p and properly

,

p l astered ove r and protected agai nst external ih

,

j uries (Read Joachim Sru ppiu s on Ga rdening )

. .

The rose is a col d a nd dry plant a n d is c o m ,

46 MYT H S o r A N CI EN T SCI EN C E .

p o sed o f b i tter and astr i ngen t s u bstances I ts .

s mell i s goo d for a fever or headache bu t b a d for ,

a c o l d and i n du ces drows i ness T a ken for feve rs

, .
‘

ar i sing fr o m b i le i t has g o od e ff ects and

,

s trengthe n s the st o ma ch and l i ver I t affects the

.

the test i cles in a pecul i ar w a y and p revent, ,

strong exhalat i ons from be i ng carri ed to the head .

(See S i meon S th m n F d ) I must now stop

e u o oo s .

as my paper i s fi n i shed . M e an wh i le farewel l ;

a nd give m e yo ur good w i sh es for my f uture
success

mi 2
( l
5011 h e C hu nk s anh fi o p
r ’

THE E N D .
 M
31 o
Go l dsmi d,

M
Edmu nd

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