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
We have already spoken sufficiently[351] at length of those animals,
the males of which have the sexual parts behind. In the wolf, the
fox, the weasel, and the ferret, these parts are bony; and it is the
genitals of the last-mentioned animal that supply the principal
remedies for calculus in the human bladder. It is said also that the
genitals of the bear are turned into a horny substance the moment it
dies. Among the peoples of the East the very best bow-strings are those
which are made of the member of the camel. These parts also, among
different nations, are made the object of certain usages[352] and
religious observances; and the Galli,[353] the priests of the Mother
of the gods, are in the habit of castrating themselves, without any
dangerous results. On the other hand, there is in some few women a
monstrous resemblance to the male conformation, while hermaphrodites
appear to partake of the nature of both. Instances of this last
conformation were seen in quadrupeds in Nero’s reign, and for the first
time, I imagine; for he ostentatiously paraded hermaphrodite horses
yoked to his car, which had been found in the territory of the Treviri,
in Gaul; as if, indeed, it was so remarkably fine a sight to behold the
ruler of the earth seated in a chariot drawn by monstrosities!
CHAP. 110.—THE TESTES—THE THREE CLASSES OF EUNUCHS.
In sheep and cattle the testes hang down to the legs, while in the
boar they are knit up close to the body. In the dolphin they are
very long, and are concealed in the lower part of the belly. In the
elephant, also, they are quite concealed. In oviparous animals they
adhere to the interior of the loins: these animals are the most speedy
in the venereal congress. Fishes and serpents have no testes, but in
place of them they have two veins, which run from the renal region to
the genitals. The bird known as the “buteo,”[354] has three testes.
Man is the only creature in which the testes are ever broken, either
accidentally or by some natural malady; those who are thus afflicted
form a third class of half men, in addition to hermaphrodites and
eunuchs. In all species of animals the male is more courageous than the
female, with the exception of the panther and the bear.
CHAP. 111. (50.)—THE TAILS OF ANIMALS.
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