The Natural History of Pliny, Volume 2 (of 6)Pliny, the Elder
History
The Natural History of Pliny, Volume 2 (of 6)
Pliny, the Elder
Natural history -- Pre-Linnean works
Æthiopia produces the lynx[1713] in abundance, and the sphinx, which
has brown hair and two mammæ on the breast,[1714] as well as many
monstrous kinds of a similar nature; horses with wings, and armed
with horns, which are called pegasi;[1715] the crocotta, an animal
which looks as though it had been produced by the union of the wolf
and the dog,[1716] for it can break any thing with its teeth, and
instantly on swallowing it digest it with the stomach; monkeys, too,
with black heads, the hair of the ass, and a voice quite unlike that
of any other animal.[1717] There are oxen, too, like those of India,
some with one horn, and others with three; the leucrocotta, a wild
beast of extraordinary swiftness, the size of the wild ass, with the
legs of a stag, the neck, tail, and breast of a lion, the head of a
badger, a cloven hoof, the mouth slit up as far as the ears, and one
continuous bone instead of teeth;[1718] it is said, too, that this
animal can imitate the human voice. Among the same people, there is
also found an animal called eale; it is the size of the river-horse,
has the tail of the elephant, and is of a black or tawny colour.[1719]
It has also the jaws of the wild boar, and horns that are moveable,
and more than a cubit in length, so that, in fighting, it can employ
them alternately, and vary their position by presenting them directly
or obliquely, according as necessity may dictate. But the wild bulls
which this country produces are the fiercest of all; they are larger
than our domestic bull, and exceed all the others in swiftness; are of
a tawny colour, with azure eyes, and the hair turned the contrary way;
while the jaws open as far as the ears, and the horns are as moveable
as those of the eale. The hide of this animal is as hard as flint, and
effectually resists all wounds. These creatures pursue all the other
wild beasts, while they themselves can only be taken in pitfalls, where
they always perish from excess of rage. Ctesias informs us, that among
these same Æthiopians, there is an animal found, which he calls the
mantichora;[1720] it has a triple row of teeth, which fit into each
other like those of a comb, the face and ears of a man, and azure eyes,
is of the colour of blood, has the body of the lion, and a tail ending
in a sting, like that of the scorpion. Its voice resembles the union of
the sound of the flute and the trumpet; it is of excessive swiftness,
and is particularly fond of human flesh.
CHAP. 31.—THE TERRESTRIAL ANIMALS OF INDIA.
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