The Natural History of Pliny, Volume 3 (of 6)Pliny, the Elder
History
The Natural History of Pliny, Volume 3 (of 6)
Pliny, the Elder
Natural history -- Pre-Linnean works
Those among the horned animals which have teeth in one jaw only, and
pastern bones on the feet, produce tallow or suet. Those, on the other
hand, which are cloven-footed, or have the feet divided into toes, and
are without horns, have simple fat only. This fat becomes hard, and
when quite cold turns brittle, and is always found at the extremity of
the flesh; while, on the other hand, the fat which lies between the
skin and the flesh forms a kind of liquid juice. Some animals naturally
do not become fat, such as the hare and the partridge, for instance.
All fat animals, male as well as female, are mostly barren; and those
which are remarkably fat become old the soonest. All animals have a
certain degree of fatness in the eyes. The fat in all animals is devoid
of sensation, having neither arteries nor veins. With the greater part
of animals, fatness is productive of insensibility; so much so, indeed,
that it has been said, that living swine have been gnawed even by
mice.[308] It has been even asserted that the fat was drawn off from
the body of a son of L. Apronius, a man of consular rank, and that he
was thus relieved of a burden which precluded him from moving.
CHAP. 86.—THE MARROW: ANIMALS WHICH HAVE NO MARROW.
The marrow seems also to be formed of a similar material; in the young
it is of a reddish colour, but it is white in the aged. It is only
found in those bones which are hollow, and not in the tibiæ of horses
or dogs; for which reason it is, that when the tibia is broken, the
bone will not reunite, a process which is effected[309] by the flow of
the marrow. The marrow is of a greasy nature in those animals which
have fat, and suetty in those with horns. It is full of nerves, and is
found only in the vertebral column[310] in those animals which have no
bones, fishes, for instance. The bear has no marrow; and the lion has a
little only in some few bones of the thighs and the brachia, which are
of such extraordinary hardness that sparks may be emitted therefrom, as
though from a flint-stone.
CHAP. 87.—BONES AND FISH-BONES: ANIMALS WHICH HAVE NEITHER. CARTILAGES.
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