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 animals which are viviparous, have hair; those which are
oviparous, have feathers, scales, or a shell, like the tortoise; or
else a purple skin, like the serpent. The lower part of all feathers is
hollow; if cut, they will not grow again, but if pulled out, they will
shoot afresh. Insects fly by the aid of a frail membrane; the wings
of the fish[321] called the “swallow” are moistened in the sea, while
those of the bat which frequents our houses are dry; the wings of this
last animal have certain articulations as well. The hairs that issue
from a thick skin are rough, while those on females are of a finer
quality. Those found on the horse’s mane are more abundant, which is
the case also with the shoulders of the lion. The dasypus has hair in
the inside of the mouth even and under the feet, two features which
Trogus has also attributed to the hare; from which the same author
concludes that hairy men are the most prone to lust. The most hairy
of all animals is the hare. Man is the only creature that has hair as
the mark of puberty; and a person who is devoid of this, whether male
or female, is sure to be sterile. The hair of man is partly born with
him, and in part produced after his birth. The last kind of hair will
not grow upon eunuchs, though that which has been born with them does
not fall off; which is the case also with women, in a great degree.
Still however, there have been women known to be afflicted with falling
off of the hair, just as some are to be seen with a fine down on the
face, after the cessation of the menstrual discharge. In some men the
hair that mostly shoots forth after birth will not grow spontaneously.
The hair of quadrupeds comes off every year, and grows again. That
of the head in man grows the fastest, and next to it the hair of the
beard. When cut, the hairs shoot, not from the place where they have
been cut, as is the case with grass, but at the root. The hair grows
quickly in certain diseases, phthisis more particularly; it grows also
with rapidity in old age, and on the body after death. In persons of
a libidinous tendency the hair that is produced at birth falls off
more speedily, while that which is afterwards produced grows with the
greatest rapidity. In quadrupeds, the hair grows thicker in old age;
but on those with wool, it becomes thinner. Those quadrupeds which have
thick hair on the back, have the belly quite smooth. From the hides
of oxen, and that of the bull more especially, glue is extracted by
boiling.
CHAP. 95.—THE PAPS: BIRDS THAT HAVE PAPS. REMARKABLE FACTS CONNECTED
WITH THE DUGS OF ANIMALS.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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