Delphi Complete Works of Pliny the Elder
Page 63
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CHAP. 13. (11.)
THE CLASSIFICATION OF BIRDS.
The first distinctive characteristic among birds is that which bears reference more especially to their feet: they have either hooked talons, or else toes, or else, again, they belong to the web-footed class, geese for instance, and most of the aquatic birds. Those which have hooked talons feed, for the most part, upon nothing but flesh.
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CHAP. 14. (12.)
CROWS. BIRDS OF ILL OMEN. AT WHAT SEASONS THEY ARE NOT INAUSPICIOUS.
Crows, again, have another kind of food. Nuts being too hard for their beak to break, the crow flies to a great height, and then lets them fall again and again upon the stones or tiles beneath, until at last the shell is cracked, after which the bird is able to open them. This is a bird with a very ill-omened garrulity, though it has been highly praised by some. It is observed, that from the rising of the constellation Arcturus until the arrival of the swallow, it is but rarely to be seen about the sacred groves and temples of Minerva; in some places, indeed, not at all, Athens for instance. In addition to these facts, it is the only one that continues to feed its young for some time after they have begun to fly. The crow is most inauspicious at the time of incubation, or, in other words, just after the summer solstice.
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CHAP. 15.
THE RAVEN.
All the other birds of the same kind drive their young ones from their nest, and compel them to fly; the raven, for instance, which not only feeds on flesh, but even drives its young, when able to fly, to a still greater distance. Hence it is that in small hamlets there are never more than two pairs to be found; and in the neighbourhood of Crannon, in Thessaly, never more than one, the parents always quitting the spot to give place to their offspring. There have been some differences observed between this and the bird last mentioned. Ravens breed before the summer solstice, and continue in bad health for sixty days — Being afflicted with a continual thirst more particularly — Before the ripening of the fig in autumn; while, on the other hand, the crow is attacked by disease after that period. The raven lays, at most, but five eggs. It is a vulgar belief, that they couple, or else lay, by means of the beak; and that, consequently, if a pregnant woman happens to eat a raven’s egg, she will be delivered by the mouth. It is also believed, that if the eggs are even so much as brought beneath the roof, a difficult labour will be the consequence. Aristotle denies it, and assures us in all good faith that there is no more truth in this than in the same story about the ibis in Egypt; he says that it is nothing else but that same sort of billing that is so often seen in pigeons. Ravens are the only birds that seem to have any comprehension of the meaning of their auspices; for when the guests of Medus were assassinated, they all took their departure from Peloponnesus and the region of Attica. They are of the very worst omen when they swallow their voice, as if they were being choked.
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CHAP. 16.
THE HORNED OWL.
The birds of the night also have crooked talons, such as the owlet, the horned owl, and the screech-owl, for instance; the sight of all of which is defective in the day-time. The horned owl is especially funereal, and is greatly abhorred in all auspices of a public nature: it inhabits deserted places, and not only desolate spots, but those of a frightful and inaccessible nature: the monster of the night, its voice is heard, not with any tuneful note, but emitting a sort of shriek. Hence it is that it is looked upon as a direful omen to see it in a city, or even so much as in the day-time. I know, however, for a fact, that it is not portentous of evil when it settles on the top of a private house. It cannot fly whither it wishes in a straight line, but is always carried along by a sidelong movement. A horned owl entered the very sanctuary of the Capitol, in the consulship of Sextus Palpelius Hister and L. Pedanius; in consequence of which, Rome was purified on the nones of March in that year.
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CHAP. 17. (13.)
BIRDS, THE RACE OF WHICH IS EXTINCT, OR OF WHICH ALL KNOWLEDGE HAS BEEN LOST.
An inauspicious bird also is that known as the “incendiary;” on account of which, we find in the Annals, the City has had to be repeatedly purified; as, for instance, in the consulship of L. Cassius and C. Marius, in which year also it was purified, in consequence of a horned owl being seen. What kind of bird this incendiary bird was, we do not find stated, nor is it known by tradition. Some persons explain the term this way; they say that the name “incendiary” was applied to every bird that was seen carrying a burning coal from the pyre, or altar; while others, again, call such a bird a “spinturnix; though I never yet found any person who said that he knew what kind of bird this spinturnix was.
(14.) I find also that the people of our time are ignorant what bird it was that was called by the ancients a “clivia.” Some persons say that it was a clamatory, others, again, that it was a prohibitory, bird. We also find a bird mentioned by Nigidius as the “subis,” which breaks the eggs of the eagle.
(15.) In addition to the above, there are many other kinds that are described in the Etruscan ritual, but which no one now living has ever seen. It is surprising that these birds are no longer in existence, since we find that even those kinds abound, among which the gluttony of man commits such ravages.
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CHAP. 18. (16.)
BIRDS WHICH ARE BORN WITH THE TAIL FIRST.
Among foreigners, a person called Hylas is thought to have written the best treatise on the subject of augury. He informs us that the owlet, the horned owl, the woodpecker, which makes holes in trees, the trygon, and the crow, are produced from the egg with the tail first; for the egg, being turned upside down through the weight of the head of the chick, presents the wrong end to be warmed by the mother as she sits upon it.
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CHAP. 19. (17.)
THE OWLET.
The owlet shows considerable shrewdness in its engagements with other birds; for when surrounded by too great a number, it throws itself on its back, and so, resisting with its feet, and rolling up its body into a mass, defends itself with the beak and talons; until the hawk, attracted by a certain natural affinity, comes to its assistance, and takes its share in the combat. Nigidius says, that the incubation of the owlet lasts sixty days, during the winter, and that it has nine different notes.
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CHAP. 20. (18.)
THE WOOD-PECKER OF MARS.
There are some small birds also, which have hooked talons; the wood-pecker, for example, surnamed “of Mars,” of considerable importance in the auspices. To this kind belong the birds which make holes in trees, and climb stealthily up them, like cats; mounting with the head upwards, they tap against the bark, and learn by the sound whether or not their food lies beneath; they are the only birds that hatch their young in the hollows of trees. It is a common belief, that if a shepherd drives a wedge into their holes, they apply a certain kind of herb, immediately upon which it falls out. Trebius informs us that if a nail or wedge is driven with ever so much force into a tree in which these birds have made their nest, it will instantly fly out, the tree making a loud cracking noise the moment that the bird has lighted upon the nail or wedge.
These birds have held the first rank in auguries, in Latium, since the time of the king who has given them their name. One of the presages that was given by them, I cannot pass over in silence. A woodpecker came and lighted upon the head of Ælius Tubero, the City prator, when sitting on his tribunal dispensing justice in the Forum, and showed such tameness as to allow itself to be taken with the hand; upon which the augurs declared that if it was let go, the state was menaced with danger, but if killed, disaster would befall the prætor; in an instant he tore the bird to pieces, and before long the omen was fulfilled.
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CHAP. 21. (19.)
> BIRDS WHICH HAVE HOOKED TALONS.
Many birds of this kind feed also on acorns and fruit, but only those which are not carnivorous, with the exception of the kite; though when it feeds on anything but flesh, it is a bird of ill omen.
The birds which have hooked talons are never gregarious; each one seeks its prey by itself. They nearly all of them soar to a great height, with the exception of the birds of the night, and more especially those of larger size. They all have large wings, and a small body; they walk with difficulty, and rarely settle upon stones, being prevented from doing so by the curved shape of their talons.
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CHAP. 22. (20.)
THE PEACOCK.
We shall now speak of the second class of birds, which is divided into two kinds; those which give omens by their note, and those which afford presages by their flight. The variation of the note in the one, and the relative size in the other, constitute the differences between them. These last, therefore, shall be treated of first, and the peacock shall have precedence of all the rest, as much for its singular beauty as its superior instinct, and the vanity it displays.
When it hears itself praised, this bird spreads out its gorgeous colours, and especially if the sun happens to be shining at the time, because then they are seen in all their radiance, and to better advantage. At the same time, spreading out its tail in the form of a shell, it throws the reflection upon the other feathers, which shine all the more brilliantly when a shadow is cast upon them; then at another moment it will contract all the eyes depicted upon its feathers in a single mass, manifesting great delight in having them admired by the spectator. The peacock loses its tail every year at the fall of the leaf, and a new one shoots forth in its place at the flower season; between these periods the bird is abashed and moping, and seeks retired spots. The peacock lives twenty-five years, and begins to show its colours in the third. By some authors it is stated that this bird is not only a vain creature, but of a spiteful disposition also, just in the same way that they attribute bashfulness to the goose. The characteristics, however, which they have thus ascribed to these birds, appear to me to be utterly unfounded.
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CHAP. 23.
WHO WAS THE FIRST TO KILL THE PEACOCK FOR FOOD. — WHO FIRST TAUGHT THE ART OF CRAMMING THEM.
The orator Hortensius was the first Roman who had the peacock killed for table; it was on the occasion of the banquet given by him on his inauguration in the college of the priesthood. M. Aufidius Lurco was the first who taught the art of fattening them, about the time of the last war with the Pirates. From this source of profit he acquired an income of sixty thousand sesterces.
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CHAP. 24. (21.)
THE DUNGHILL COCK.
Next after the peacock, the animal that acts as our watchman by night, and which Nature has produced for the purpose of arousing mortals to their labours, and dispelling their slumbers, shows itself most actuated by feelings of vanity. The cock knows how to distinguish the stars, and marks the different periods of the day, every three hours, by his note. These animals go to roost with the setting of the sun, and at the fourth watch of the camp recall man to his cares and toils. They do not allow the rising of the sun to creep upon us un- awares, but by their note proclaim the coming day, and they prelude their crowing by clapping their sides with their wings. They exercise a rigorous sway over the other birds of their kind, and, in every place where they are kept, hold the supreme command. This, however, is only obtained after repeated battles among themselves, as they are well aware that they have weapons on their legs, produced for that very purpose, as it were, and the contest often ends in the death of both the combatants at the same moment. If, on the other hand, one of them obtains the mastery, he instantly by his note proclaims himself the conqueror, and testifies by his crowing that he has been victorious; While his conquered opponent silently slinks away, and, though with a very bad grace, submits to servitude. And with equal pride does the throng of the poultry yard strut along, with head uplifted and crest erect. These, too, are the only ones among the winged race that repeatedly look up to the heavens, with the tail, which in its drooping shape resembles that of a sickle, raised aloft: and so it is that these birds inspire terror even in the lion, the most courageous of all animals.
Some of these birds, too, are reared for nothing but warfare and perpetual combats, and have even shed a lustre thereby on their native places, Rhodes and Tanagra. The next rank is considered to belong to those of Melos and Chalcis. Hence, it is not without very good reason that the consular purple of Rome pays these birds such singular honours. It is from the feeding of these creatures that the omens by fowls are derived; it is these that regulate day by day the movements of our magistrates, and open or shut to them their own houses, as the case may be; it is these that give an impulse to the fasces of the Roman magistracy, or withhold them; it is these that command battles or forbid them, and furnish auspices for victories to be gained in every part of the world. It is these that hold supreme rule over those who are themselves the rulers of the earth, and whose entrails and fibres are as pleasing to the gods as the first spoils of victory. Their note, when heard at an unusual hour or in the evening, has also its peculiar presages; for, on one occasion, by crowing the whole night through for several nights, they presaged to the Boeotians that famous victory which they gained over the Lacedæmonians; such, in fact, being the interpretation that was put upon it by way of prognostic, as this bird, when conquered, is never known to crow.
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CHAP. 25.
HOW COCKS ARE CASTRATED. A COCK THAT ONCE SPOKE.
When castrated, cocks cease to crow. This operation is performed two different ways. Either the loins of the animal are seared with red-hot iron, or else the lower part of the legs; after which, the wound is covered up with potter’s clay: this way they are fattened much more easily. At Pergamus, there is every year a public show of fights of game-cocks, just as in other places we have those of gladiators.
We find it stated in the Roman Annals, that in the consulship of M. Lepidus and Q. Catulus a dung-hill cock spoke, at the farm-house of Galerius; the only occasion, in fact, that I know of.
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CHAP. 26. (22.)
THE GOOSE.
The goose also keeps a vigilant guard; a fact which is well attested by the defence of the Capitol, at a moment when, by the silence of the dogs, the commonwealth had been betrayed: for which reason it is that the Censors always, the first thing of all, attend to the farming-out of the feeding of the sacred geese. What is still more, too, there is a love-story about this animal. At Ægium one is said to have conceived a passion for a beautiful boy, a native of Olenos, and another for Glauce, a damsel who was lute-player to King Ptolemy; for whom at the same time a ram is said also to have conceived a passion. One might almost be tempted to think that these creatures have an appreciation of wisdom: for it is said, that one of them was the constant companion of the philosopher, Lacydes, and would never leave him, either in public or when at the bath, by night or by day.
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CHAP. 27.
WHO FIRST TAUGHT US TO USE THE LIVER OF TEE GOOSE FOR FOOD.
Our people, however, are more wise; for they only esteem the goose for the goodness of its liver. When they are crammed, this grows to a very large size, and on being taken from the animal, is made still larger by being soaked in honeyed milk. And, indeed, it is not without good reason that it is matter of debate who it was that first discovered so great a delicacy; whether, in fact, it was Scipio Metellus, a man of consular dignity, or M. Seius, a contemporary of his, and a Roman of equestrian rank. However, a thing about which there is no dispute, it was Messalinus Cotta, the son of the orator Messala, who first discovered the art of roasting the webbed feet of the goose, and of cooking them in a ragout with cocks’ combs: for I shall faithfully award eac
h culinary palm to such as I shall find deserving of it. It is a wonderful fact, in relation to this bird, that it comes on foot all the way from the country of the Morini to Rome; those that are tired are placed in the front rank, while the rest, taught by a natural instinct to move in a compact body, drive them on.
A second income, too, is also to be derived from the feathers of the white goose. In some places, this animal is plucked twice a year, upon which the feathers quickly grow again. Those are the softest which lie nearest to the body, and those that come from Germany are the most esteemed: the geese there are white, but of small size, and are called gantœ. The price paid for their feathers is five denarii per pound. It is from this fruitful source that we have repeated charges brought against the commanders of our auxiliaries, who are in the habit of detaching whole cohorts from the posts where they ought to be on guard, in pursuit of these birds: indeed, we have come to such a pitch of effeminacy, that now-a-days, not even the men can think of lying down without the aid of the goose’s feathers, by way of pillow.