Crayfish And Crabs
Pliny tells us that in the Indian Ocean are Crayfish four cubits in
length (six feet), and he claims for crabs a sovereign specific against
bites of scorpions and snakes:--"River-Crabs taken fresh and beaten up
and drunk in water, or the ashes of them, kept for the purpose, are
useful in all cases of poisoning, as a counter poison; taken with asses'
milk they are particularly serviceable as a neutralizer of the venom of
where asses' milk cannot be procured. Wine, too, should also be used in
all such cases. River-Crabs beaten up with Ocimum, and applied to
Scorpions, are fatal to them. They are possessed of similar virtues,
also, for the bites of all other kinds of venomous animals, the Scytale
in particular, adders, the sea hare, and the bramble frog. The ashes of
them, preserved, are good for persons who give symptoms of hydrophobia
after being bitten by a mad dog, some adding gentian as well, and
administering the mixture in wine. In cases, too, where hydrophobia has
already appeared, it is recommended, that these ashes should be kneaded
up into boluses with wine and swallowed. If ten of these crabs be tied
together with a handful of Ocimum, all the scorpions in the
neighbourhood, the magicians say, will be attracted to the spot. They
recommend, also, that to wounds inflicted by the scorpion, these crabs,
or the ashes of them, should be applied with Ocimum. For all these
purposes, however, sea crabs, it should be remembered, are not so
useful. Thrasyllus informs us that there is nothing so antagonistic to
serpents as crabs: that swine, when stung by a serpent, cure themselves
by eating them; and that, when the sun is in the sign of Cancer,
serpents suffer the greatest tortures....
"It is said that while the sun is passing through the sign of Cancer,
the dead bodies of the crabs, which are lying on the shore, are
transformed into serpents."
More
-
Amazons
The race of Amazons or fighting women, is not yet extinct, as the chronicles of every police court can tell, and as an organised body of warlike soldiers--the King of Dahomey still keeps them up, or did until very recently. According to Herodotus,... Animal Lore
We are indebted to Pliny for much strange animal lore--which, however, will scarcely bear the fierce light of modern investigation. Thus, he tells us of places in which certain animals are not to be found, and narrates some very curious zoological... Animal Medicine
We have already seen some of the wonderfully curative properties of animals--let us learn something of their own medical attainments--as described by Pliny. "The hippopotamus has even been our instructor in one of the operations of medicine. When ... Apes
Sluper, who could soar to the height of delineating a Cyclops, is equal to the occasion when he has to deal with Apes, and here he gives us an Ape which, unfortunately, does not seem to have survived to modern times--namely, one which wove for its... Crayfish And Crabs
Pliny tells us that in the Indian Ocean are Crayfish four cubits in length (six feet), and he claims for crabs a sovereign specific against bites of scorpions and snakes:--"River-Crabs taken fresh and beaten up and drunk in water, or the ashes of ... Early Men
On the antiquity of man it is impossible to speculate, because we have no data to go upon. We know that his earliest existence, of which we have any cognisance, must have been at a period when the climate and fauna of the Western continent was tot... Fish
Terrestrial and Aerial animals were far more familiar to the Ancients than were the inhabitants of the vast Ocean, and not knowing much about them, their habits and ways, took "omne ignotum pro magnifico." We have seen the union of Man and Beast... Four-footed Duck
Gesner describes a four-footed duck, which he says is like the English puffin, except in the number of its feet: but Aldrovandus "out-Herods Herod" when he gives us "A monstrous Cock with Serpent's tail." If we can believe Pliny, there are pl... Giants
This last sentence seems almost a compendium of The History of Tom Thumb, for his wit enabled him to overcome the lubber-headed giants, in every conflict he was engaged in with them--they were no match for him. Take the Romances of Chivalry. Pacol... Hairy Men
If, as we may conjecture from the above, the ancient Briton was "a rugged man, o'ergrown with hair," his full-dress toilette must have occupied some time. But extreme hairiness in human beings is by no means singular, and very many cases are recor... Moon Woman
One would have imagined that this Egg would be sufficient to test the credulity of most people, but Aldrovandus was equal to the occasion, and he gives us a "Moon Woman," who lays eggs, sits upon them, and hatches Giants; and he gives this on t... Pygmies
The antitheses of men--Dwarfs, and Giants--must not be overlooked, as they are abnormal, and yet have existed in all ages. Dwarfs are mentioned in the Bible, Leviticus xxi. 20, where following the injunction of "Let him not approach to offer the b... Remarkable Egg
No wonder that a credulous age, which could see nothing extraordinary in the Barnacle goose, could also, metaphorically, swallow such an egg, as Licetus, first of all, and Aldrovandus, after him, gives us in the accompanying true picture. The l... Satyrs
He also mentions and delineates a curious Ape which closely resembles the classical Satyr: "Under the Equinoctiall, toward the East and South, there is a kind of Ape called AEgopithecus, an Ape like a Goate. For there are Apes like Beares, called ... Senses Of Fishes
He also tells us about the senses of fishes, and first of their hearing:--"Among the marine animals, it is not probable that Oysters enjoy the sense of hearing, but it is said that immediately a noise is made, the Solen (razor-sheath) will sink to... Serpents
Of Serpents Topsell has written a "Historie," which, if not altogether veracious, is very amusing; and I shall quote largely from it, as it shows us "the latest thing out" in Serpents as believed in, and taught, in the time of James I. He begins, ... Snow Birds
But we must leave warm climes, and birds of Paradise, and speak of "Birds shut up under the Snow." "There are in the Northern Countries Wood-Cocks, like to pheasant for bigness, but their Tails are much shorter, and they are cole black all o... Sponges
"We find three kinds of sponges mentioned; the first are thick, very hard, and rough, and are called tragi: the second are thick, and much softer, and are called mani: of the third, being fine, and of a closer texture, tents for sores are made; th... The Alle Alle
"There is also in this Lake (the White Lake) a kind of bird, very frequent; and in other Coasts of the Bothnick and Swedish Sea, that cries incessantly all the Summer, Alle, Alle, therefore they are called all over, by the Inhabitants, Alle, Al... The Ant
No one would credit the industrious Ant, whose ways we are told to consider, and gather wisdom therefrom, was avaricious and lustful after gold; but it seems it was even so, at least, in Pliny's time; but then they were abnormally large:--"The hor... The Antelope
When not taken from living specimens, or skins, the artists of old drew somewhat upon their imaginations for their facts, as is the case with this Antelope, of which Topsell gives the following description:--"They are bred in India, and Syria, ... The Barnacle Goose
Of all extraordinary beliefs, that in the Barnacle Goose, which obtained credence from the eleventh to the seventeenth centuries, is as wonderful as any. The then accepted fact that the Barnacle Goose was generated on trees, and dropped alive in t... The Basilisk And Cockatrice
Aldrovandus portrays the Basilisk with eight legs. Topsell says it is the same as the Cockatrice, depicts it as a crowned serpent, and says:--"This Beast is called by the Graecian Baziliscos, and by the Latine, Regulus, because he seemeth to be... The Bear
As Pliny not only uses all Aristotle's matter anent Bears, but puts it in a consecutive, and more readable form, it is better to transcribe his version than that of the older author. "Bears couple in the beginning of winter. The female then reti... The Bee
The Busy Bee, too, according to Olaus Magnus, developed, in the regions of the North, a peculiarity to which it seems a stranger with us, but which might be encouraged, with beneficial effect, by the Temperance Societies. The Bees infested d... The Cat
Aldrovandus gives us a picture of a curly-legged Cat, but, beyond saying that it was so afflicted (or ornamented) from its birth, he gives no particulars. Topsell, too, is singularly silent on the merits of Cats; but yet he mentions some interesti... The Centaur
This extraordinary combination of man and animal is very ancient--and the first I can find is Assyrian. Mr. W. St. Chad Boscawen, in one of his British Museum Lectures (afterwards published under the title of From under the Dust of Ages), speaking... The Chimaera
Aldrovandus gives us the accompanying illustration of a Chimaera, a fabulous Classical monster, said to possess three heads, those of a lion, a goat, and a dragon. It used so to be pictorially treated, but in more modern times as Aldrovandus re... The Circhos
"There is also another Monster like to that, called Circhos, which hath a crusty and soft Skin, partly black, partly red, and hath two cloven places in his Foot, that serve for to make three Toes. The right foot of this Animal is very small, but t... The Crocodile
The largest of the Saurians which we have left us, is the Crocodile; and it formerly had the character of being very deceitful, and, by its weeping, attracted its victims. Sir John Mandeville thus describes them:--"In this land, and many other pla... The Dog-fish And Ray
Olaus Magnus writes of "The cruelty of some Fish, and the kindness of others. There is a fish of the kind of Sea-Dogfish, called Boloma, in Italian, and in Norway, Haafisck, that will set upon a man swimming in the Salt-Waters, so greedily, in ... The Dolphin
Pliny says:--"The Dolphin is an animal not only friendly to man, but a lover of music as well; he is charmed by melodious concerts, and more especially by the notes of the water organ. He does not dread man, as though a stranger to him, but comes ... The Fox
By Englishmen, the Fox has been raised to the height of at least a demigod--and his cult is a serious matter attended with great minutiae of ritual. Englishmen and Foxes cannot live together, but they live for one another, the man to hunt the fox,... The Gorgon
In the title-page of one edition of "The Historie of Foure-footed Beastes" (1607) Topsell gives this picture of the Gorgon; and he says, respecting this curious animal, the following:--"Among the manifold and divers sorts of Beasts which are bred ...