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
The kinds of cheese that are most esteemed at Rome, where the various
good things of all nations are to be judged of by comparison, are those
which come from the provinces of Nemausus,[328] and more especially the
villages there of Lesura and Gabalis;[329] but its excellence is only
very short-lived, and it must be eaten while it is fresh. The pastures
of the Alps recommend themselves by two sorts of cheese; the Dalmatic
Alps send us the Docleatian[330] cheese, and the Centronian[331] Alps
the Vatusican. The kinds produced in the Apennines are more numerous;
from Liguria we have the cheese of Ceba,[332] which is mostly made
from the milk of sheep; from Umbria we have that of Æsina, and from
the frontiers of Etruria and Liguria those of Luna, remarkable for
their vast size, a single cheese weighing as much as a thousand pounds.
Nearer the City, again, we have the cheese of Vestinum, the best of
this kind being that which comes from the territory of Ceditium.[333]
Goats also produce a cheese which has been of late held in the highest
esteem, its flavour being heightened by smoking it. The cheese of this
kind which is made at Rome is considered preferable to any other; for
that which is made in Gaul has a strong taste, like that of medicine.
Of the cheeses that are made beyond sea, that of Bithynia[334] is
usually considered the first in quality. That salt exists in pasture
lands is pretty evident, from the fact that all cheese as it grows
old contracts a saltish flavour, even where it does not appear to any
great extent;[335] while at the same time it is equally well known
that cheese soaked in a mixture of thyme and vinegar will regain its
original fresh flavour. It is said that Zoroaster lived thirty years in
the wilderness upon cheese, prepared in such a peculiar manner, that he
was insensible to the advances of old age.
CHAP. 98. (43.)—DIFFERENCES OF THE MEMBERS OF MAN FROM THOSE OF OTHER
ANIMALS.
Of all the terrestrial animals, man is the only biped: he is also the
only one that has a throat, and shoulders, or “humeri,” parts in other
animals known by the name of “armi.” Man, too, is the only animal that
has the “ulna,” or elbow. Those animals which are provided with hands,
have flesh only on the interior of them, the outer part consisting of
sinews and skin.
CHAP. 99.—THE FINGERS, THE ARMS.
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