The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Natural History of Pliny, Volume II., by Pliny the Elder.

750 The position of this island has been much discussed by geographers, as being intimately connected with the subject of Hanno’s voyage to the south of Africa. Gosselin, who carries that voyage no further south than Cape Non, in about 28° north lat., identifies Cerne with Fedallah, on the coast of Fez, which, however, is probably much too far to the north. Major Rennell places it as far south as Arguin, a little to the south of the southern Cape Blanco, in about 20° 5′ North latitude. Heeren, Mannert, and others, adopt the intermediate portion of Agadir, or Souta Cruz, on the coast of Morocco, just below Cape Ghir, the termination of the main chain of the Atlas. If we are to trust to Pliny’s statement, it is pretty clear that nothing certain was known about it in his day.

751 The “Pillars.” Marcus thinks that these were some small islands near the Isle of Socotra.

752 Hardouin says that this is not the Atlantis rendered so famous by Plato, whose story is distantly referred to in B. ii. c. 92 of this work. It is difficult to say whether the Atlantis of Plato had any existence at all, except in the imagination.

753 Medusa and her sisters, the daughters of Phorcys and Ceto. The identity of their supposed islands seems not to have been ascertained. For the poetical aspect of their story, see Ovid’s Met., B. iv.

754 It is not improbable that these were the skins of a species of uran-outang, or large monkey.

755 The Purpurariæ, or “Purple Islands,” probably the Madeira group.

756 Or Islands of the Blessed—the modern Canaries.

757 Supposed to be the modern island of Fuerteventura.

758 Supposed to be that now called Ferro.

759 Probably the modern Gomera. In B. iv. c. 36, Pliny mentions them as six in number, there being actually seven.

760 He does not appear on this occasion to reckon those already mentioned as belonging to the group of the Fortunatæ Insulæ.

761 The present Isle of Teneriffe.

762 Supposed to be that now called Gran Canaria.

763 The smoothness of its surface.

764 It is impossible to see clearly what he means. Littré says that it has been explained by some to mean, that from the Purpurariæ, or Madeira Islands, it is a course of 250 miles to the west to the Fortunatæ or Canary Islands; but that to return from the Fortunatæ to the Purpurariæ, required a more circuitous route in an easterly direction.

765 Or Pluvialia, the Rainy Island, previously mentioned.

766 Salmasius thinks that the sugar-cane is here alluded to. Hardouin says that in Ferro there still grows a tree of this nature, known as the “holy tree.”

767 Or the Lesser Junonia; supposed to be the same as the modern Lanzarote.

768 Or “Snow Island,” the same as that previously called Invallis, the modern Teneriffe, with its snow-capped peak.

769 So called from its canine inhabitants.

770 As to the silurus, see B. ix. c. 17.

771 Hardouin takes this to mean, both as to the continent, with the places there situate, and the seas, with the islands there found; the continent being the interior, and the seas the exterior part. It is much more likely, however, that his description of the interior of the earth is that given in the 2nd Book, while the account of the exterior is set forth in the geographical notices contained in the 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th.

772 The Straits of Gades or Cadiz.

773 The Straits of Gades.

774 Littré has the following remark: “Is it possible that Pliny can have imagined that the extent of a surface could be ascertained by adding the length to the breadth?” It is just possible that such may not have been his meaning; but it seems quite impossible to divine what it was.

775 He means to say that the interior is not inhabited beyond a distance of 250 miles from the sea-coast.

777 He is probably speaking only of that part of Asia which included Egypt, on the eastern side of the river Nile, according to ancient geography. His mode, however, of reckoning the breadth of Asia, i. e. from south to north, is singular. See p. 104.

778 On a rough calculation, these aliquot parts in all would make 42643/42900 parts of the unit. It is not improbable that the figures given above as the dimensions are incorrect, as they do not agree with the fractional results here given by Pliny.

781 See end of B. iii.

782 See end of B. ii.

783 See end of B. iii.

784 See end of B. ii.

785 See end of B. iii.

786 See end of B. iii.

787 See end of B. iii.

788 See end of B. v.

789 See end of B. ii.

790 See end of B. v.

791 See end of B. iii.

792 See end of B. ii.

793 See end of B. iii.

794 The famous Roman historian, a native of Padua. He died at his native town, in the year A.D. 17, aged 76. Of his Annals, composed in 142, only 35 Books have come down to us.

795 L. Annæus Seneca, the Roman philosopher and millionnaire. He was put to death by Nero.

796 P. Nigidius Figulus, a Roman senator, and Pythagorean philosopher, skilled in astrology and other sciences. He was so celebrated for his knowledge, that Aulus Gellius pronounces him, next to Varro, the most learned of the Romans. He was an active partisan of Pompey, and was compelled by Cæsar to live at a distance from Rome. He died in exile, B.C. 44. There is a letter of consolation addressed to him by Cicero in his Epistles “ad Familiares,” which contains a warm tribute to his worth and learning.

797 See end of B. v.

798 For Hecatæus of Miletus, see end of B. iv. Hecatæus of Abdera was a contemporary of Alexander the Great and Ptolemy Lagides. He is thought to have accompanied the former in his Asiatic expedition as far as Syria. He was a pupil of the sceptic Pyrrho, and is called a philosopher, critic, and grammarian. He was the author of a History of Egypt, a work on the Hyperborei, and a History of the Jews.

799 See end of B. iv.

800 See end of B. iv.

801 For Eudoxus of Cnidos, see end of B. ii. Eudoxus of Cyzicus was a geographer and a native of Egypt, who was employed by Ptolemy Euergetes and his wife Cleopatra in voyages to India. He made attempts to circumnavigate Africa by sailing to the south, but without success. He is supposed to have lived about B.C. 130. See B. ii. c. 67 of the present work.

802 See end of B. ii.

803 See end of B. v.

804 See end of B. iv.

805 He commanded the fleets of Ptolemy Philadelphia, and of Seleucus Nicator, by whose orders he paid a visit to the coasts of India. Strabo speaks of his account of India as the best guide to the geography of that country.

806 A native of Miletus—see the tenth Chapter of this Book. He appears to have written a geographical work on Asia, from which Pliny derived considerable assistance.

807 Son of Deinon, the historian; he accompanied Alexander in his Asiatic expedition, and wrote a history of it. Quintus Curtius censures him for his inaccuracy. Cicero, Quintilian, and Longinus, also speak in slighting terms of his performance.

808 See end of B. ii.

809 He alludes to the letters of that monarch, and the journals which were kept on the occasion of his expeditions. In the middle ages several forged works were current under his name.

810 See end of B. iv.

811 See end of B. ii.

812 See end of B. v.

813 See end of B. iv.

814 See end of B. ii.

815 See end of B. iv.

816 See end of B. iv.

817 See end of B. iv.

818 See end of B. iv.

819 See end of B. iv.

820 See end of B. iii.

821 See end of B. ii.

822 A Greek writer of uncertain date, who wrote, as Pliny tells us, (c. 20 of the present Book), a work on the people called Attaci or Attacori. He also wrote another, describing a voyage, commenced at Memphis in Egypt.

823 See end of B. iii.

824 See end of B. ii.

825 See end of B. ii.

826 The admiral of Alexander, who sailed down the river Indus, and up the Persian Gulf. It is not known when or where he died. After the death of Alexander, he supported the cause of Antigonus. He left a history or journal of his famous voyage.

827 See end of B. v.

828 Mentioned by Pliny in c. 21. He measured the distances of the marches of Alexander the Great, and wrote a book on the subject.

829 See end of B. v.

830 A native of Soli. He is mentioned by Diogenes Laertius, as the author of a work on Æthiopia, of which some few fragments are preserved. Varro and Pliny mention him, also, as a writer on agriculture.

831 A writer on geography and botany, again mentioned by Pliny in B. xx. c. 73. He is supposed to have lived in the first century after Christ. See also c. 35.

832 Said to have been a native of Meroë, and to have written a History of Æthiopia; nothing else seems to be known of him.

833 The author of a work on India, of which the second Book is quoted by Athenæus. From what Pliny says, in c. 35, he seems to have also written on Æthiopia. He is mentioned by Agatharchides as one of the writers on the East: but nothing more seems to be known of him.

834 See end of B. iii.

835 We here enter upon the third division of Pliny’s Natural History, which treats of Zoology, from the 7th to the 11th inclusive. Cuvier has illustrated this part by many valuable notes, which originally appeared in Lemaire’s Bibliotheque Classique, 1827, and were afterwards incorporated, with some additions, by Ajasson, in his translation of Pliny, published in 1829; Ajasson is the editor of this portion of Pliny’s Natural History, in Lemaire’s Edition.—B.

836 This remark refers to the five preceding books, in which these subjects have been treated in detail.—B.

837 We have a similar remark in Cicero, De. Nat. Deor, ii. 47.—B.

838 Ajasson remarks, that trees have two barks, an outer, and an inner and thinner one; but seems to think that by the word “gemino” here, Pliny only means that the bark of trees is sometimes double its ordinary thickness.

839 It seems to have been the custom among the ancients to place the newborn child upon the ground immediately after its birth.

840 Pliny appears to have followed Lucretius in this gloomy view of the commencement of human existence. See B. v. l. 223, et seq.

841 This term of forty days is mentioned by Aristotle, in his Natural History, as also by some modern physiologists.—B.

842 We may hence conclude, that the practice of swathing young infants in tight bandages prevailed at Rome, in the time of Pliny, as it still does in France, and many parts of the continent; although it has, for some years, been generally discontinued in this country. Buffon warmly condemned this injurious system, eighty years ago, but without effect.—B.

843 “Feliciter natus;” this appears so inconsistent with what is stated in the text, that it has been proposed to alter it into infeliciter, although against the authority of all the MSS.; but it may be supposed, that Pliny, as is not unusual with him, employs the term ironically.—B.

844 This reminds us of the terms of the riddle proposed to Œdipus by the Sphinx: “What being is that, which, with four feet, has two feet and three feet, and only one voice; but its feet vary, and where it has most it is weakest?” to which he answered, That it is man, who is a quadruped (going on feet and hands) in childhood, two-footed in manhood, and moving with the aid of a staff in old age.

845 He alludes to the gradual induration of the bones of the head which takes place in the young of the human species, and imparts strength to it. Aristotle, in his Hist. Anim., states the general opinion of the ancients, that this takes place with the young of no other class of animated beings.

846 There is little doubt that new forms and features of disease are continually making their appearance among mankind, and even the same peoples, and have been from the earliest period; it was so at Rome, in the days of the Republic and of the Emperors. It is not improbable that these new forms of disease depend greatly upon changes in the temperature and diet. The plagues of 1348, 1666, and the Asiatic cholera of the present day, are not improbably various features of what may be radically the same disease. At the first period the beverage of the English was beer, or rather sweet-wort, as the hop does not appear to have been used till a later period. At the present day, tea and coffee, supported by ardent spirits, form the almost universal beverage.

847 Pliny forgets, however, that infants do not require to be taught how to suck.

848 According to Cicero, this opinion was more particularly expressed by Silenus and Euripides. Seneca also, in his Consolation to Marcia, expresses a very similar opinion. It was a very common saying, that “Those whom the gods love, die young.” It will be observed that Pliny here uses the significant word “aboleri,” implying utter annihilation after death. It will be seen towards the end of this Book, that he laughed to scorn the notion of the immortality of the soul.

849 By the use of the word “luctus” he may probably mean “tears;” but there is little doubt that all animals have their full share of sorrows, brought upon them either by the tyranny and cruelty of man, or their own unrestrained passions.

850 This is said hyperbolically by Pliny. The brutes of the field have as strong a love of life as man, although they may not be in fear of death, not knowing what it is. That they know what pain is, is evident from their instinctive attempts to avoid it.

851 Under this name he evidently intends to include all systems of religion, which he held in equal contempt.

852 Ajasson seems to think that he alludes to man’s craving desire for posthumous fame; but it is pretty clear that he has in view the then prevalent notions of the life of the soul after the death of the body.

853 Pascal has a similar thought; he says that “Man is a reed, and the weakest reed of nature.” The machinery of his body is minute and complex in the extreme, but it can hardly be said that his life is exposed to as many dangers dependent on the volition of, or on accidents arising from, other animated beings, as that of minute insects.

854 Ajasson refers to various classical authors for a similar statement. It is scarcely necessary to remark, that it is contrary to many well-known facts.—B. The cravings of hunger and of the sexual appetite, are quite sufficient to preclude the possibility of such a happy state of things among the brutes as Pliny here describes.

855 It was this feeling that prompted the common saying among the ancients, “Homo homini lupus”—“Man to man is a wolf;” and most true it is, that

“Man’s inhumanity to man makes countless thousands mourn.”

856 He alludes to the description already given in his geographical Books, of man taken in the aggregate, and grouped into nations.

857 These are less known, as being less easy of access to travellers, and it is accordingly in connection with these, that we always meet with the most wonderful tales.—B.

858 This feeling is well expressed in the old and hackneyed adage, “Omne ignotum pro mirifico”—“Everything that is unknown is taken for marvellous.”

859 Cuvier remarks, that Pliny generally employs this kind of oratorical language when he is entering upon a part of his work in which he betrays a peculiar degree of credulity, and a total want of correct judgment on physical topics.—B.

860 Being debarred from holding converse, the first great tie of sociality.

861 Ajasson does not hesitate to style this remark, “ridiculum sane;” as every one knows that the Greeks were more noted for their lively imagination, than for the correctness of their observations.—B. Surely Ajasson must have forgotten the existence of such men as Aristotle and Theophrastus!

862 Pliny has previously denominated the Scythians “Anthropophagi;” and in B. iv. c. 26, and B. vi. c. 20, he employs the word as the proper name of one of the Scythian tribes.—B.

863 See B. iii. c. 9.

864 See B. xxxvi. c. 5.

865 There can be no doubt, that cannibalism has existed at all times, and that it now exists in some of the Asiatic and Polynesian islands; but we must differ from Pliny in his opinion respecting the near connection between human sacrifices and cannibalism; the first was strictly a religious rite, the other was the result of very different causes; perhaps, in some cases, the want of food; but, in most instances, a much less pardonable motive.—B. Still, however, if nations go so far as to sacrifice human beings, there is an equal chance that a religious impulse may prompt them to taste the flesh; and when once this has been done, there is no telling how soon it may be repeated, and that too for the gratification of the palate. According to Macrobius, human sacrifices were offered at Rome, down to the time of Brutus, who, on the establishment of the Republic, abolished them. We read, however, in other authorities, that in 116, B.C., two Gauls, a male and a female, were sacrificed by the priests in one of the streets of Rome, shortly after which such practices were forbidden by the senate, except in those cases in which they had been ordered by the Sibylline books. Still we read, in the time of Augustus, of one hundred knights being sacrificed by his orders, at Perusia, and of a similar immolation in the time of the emperor Aurelian, A.D. 270. These, however, were all exceptional cases, and do not imply a custom of offering human sacrifices.

866 Pliny, in describing the Riphæan mountains, B. iv. c. 26, calls them “gelida Aquilonis conceptacula,” “the cold asylum of the northern blasts;” but we do not find the cavern mentioned in this or any other passage. The name here employed has been supposed to be derived from the Greek words, γης κλειθρον, signifying the limit or boundary of the earth.—B. “Specuque ejus dicto,” most probably means “the place called its cave,” and not the “cave which I have described,” as Dr. B. seems to have thought.

867 They are merely enumerated among other tribes of Scythians, inhabiting the country beyond the Palus Mæotis. See B. iv. c. 26, and B. vi. c. 19.—B.

868 The figures of the Gryphons or Griffins are found not uncommonly on the friezes and walls at Pompeii. In the East, where there were no safe places of deposit for money, it was the custom to bury it in the earth; hence, for the purpose of scaring depredators, the story was carefully circulated that hidden treasures were guarded by serpents and dragons. There can be little doubt that these stories, on arriving in the western world, combined with the knowledge of the existence of gold in the Uralian chain and other mountains of the East, gave rise to the stories of the Griffins and the Arimaspi. It has been suggested that the Arimaspi were no other than the modern Tsheremis, who dwelt on the left bank of the Middle Volga, in the governments of Kasan, Simbirsk, and Saratov, not far from the gold districts of the Uralian range.