Aristotle himself in his works upon natural science accepts such properties to a considerable extent. A few citations from his _History of Animals_[128] will show that we have not been misled in inferring from Pliny that Greek science at its best was not untainted by magic. The _History of Animals_ seems to attribute undue influence to the full moon and the dog-star,[129] and to hold that honey is distilled from the air by the stars and that the wax alone is made by the bees.[130] Aristotle repeats the story that the salamander is a fire-extinguisher.[131] He mentions as a cure for the sting of a certain snake the drinking of a small stone “taken from the tomb of one of the ancient kings.” Like Pliny, he makes human saliva a defense against serpents.[132] He says of certain things that they are ominous of certain events.[133] He affirms that the hen-partridge is affected by the mere breath of the cock or by a breeze from his direction.[134] He thinks that insects are spontaneously generated from mud, dung, wood, or flesh.[135] He says it is plain that the Narce causes stupefaction in both fish and men.[136] He has not only an idea that those with lice in their hair are less subject to headaches, but also a notion that those who have lice and take baths become more liable to the pest when they change the water in which they wash themselves.[137] Another amusing illusion which he records is that calves will suffer less in their feet if their horns are waxed.[138] Thus the pages of Aristotle give ground for belief that the fantasticalness of mediæval science was due to “the clear light of Hellas” as well as to the gloom of the “Dark Ages.” The book by a Roman which we are to consider as illustrative of the condition of science before the age of the Empire is Cato’s treatise on agriculture. Several passages emphasize the importance of such conditions as that the moon should be new or waning or not shining during the performance of such acts as the transplanting of trees or the manuring of meadows.[139] It is also directed that in administering medicine to oxen the man giving the dose shall have fasted previously and that both he and the ox stand upright during the operation.[140] One medicine prescribed for cattle is a mixture of 3 grains of salt, 3 leaves of laurel, 3 fibres of leek, 3 tufts of ulpican leek, 3 sprigs of the savin, 3 leaves of rue, 3 stalks of the white vine, 3 white beans, 3 live coals, 3 sextarii of wine. Each ox is to be given a portion for three days and the whole is to be divided so that it will suffice for exactly three doses.[141] To heal a sprain or fracture the singing of the following nonsensical incantation or formula is recommended: “In alios S. F. motas vaeta daries dardaries astataries dissunapiter.”[142] This was written by a man generally supposed to have had much common sense and who was enlightened enough to wonder how two augurs could let their eyes meet without laughing.