And verily it was in the time of civill warre, after the battaile fought in the plains of Pharsalia, a shrewd fore-token and unhappie presage for the future event, and namely, for men of an high spirit and brave mind in those daies, unto whom this prodigious sight did prognosticate the yoke of subjection: for what should I say, how Antonie rode in that wise with the courtisan _Cytheris_, a common actresse in enterludes upon the stage? to see such a sight was a monstrous spectacle, that passed all the calamities of those times. It is reported, that _Hanno_ (one of the noblest Carthaginians that ever were) was the first man that durst handle a lion with his bare hand, and shewe him gentle and tame, to follow him all the citie over in a slip like a dogge. But this device and tricke of his turned him to great domage, and cost him his utter undoing: for the Carthaginians hereupon laid this ground, that _Hanno_, a man of such a gift, so wittie and inventive of all devises, would be able to persuade the people to whatsoever his mind stood; and that it was a daungerous and ticklish point to put the libertie of so great a state as Carthage was, into the hands and managing of him, who could handle and tame the furious violence of so savage a beast: and thereupon condemned and banished him." He then relates two examples of the gentleness of this animal, or rather of his confidence in man. On one occasion, a lion applied to Mentor, a Syracusan, for relief from a thorn which had pierced his foot; and on another, Elpis, a Samian, had the honour, when in Africa, of extracting a bone from the palate of the royal beast, for which he was rewarded by him with an abundant supply of fresh venison so long as he remained in the country. In this book Pliny follows no methodical arrangement, either as to the animals themselves or as to the descriptions and anecdotes in each article. He commences indeed with the largest, and ends with mice, which are among the smallest bred on land; but in this catalogue he includes mammalia, crocodiles, lizards, serpents, and snails. It may be said generally, that in his descriptions at least three-fourths of each article are erroneous, false, or fabulous; and that he scarcely anywhere attempts to elicit general principles, or to discover the circumstances in which animals agree or differ. It were therefore vain for the student of nature to look into this book for any information on which he could place reliance, with respect to their organization or habits. Some particulars respecting the exhibition at Rome of elephants, lions, panthers, crocodiles, and other ferocious creatures, with the combats of which the emperors and great men amused the people, and a few facts relating to the geographical distribution of the more interesting species, are all that the reader finds to recompense him for the labour of examination.