ANIMALS WHICH ARE BORN OF BEINGS THAT HAVE NOT BEEN BORN THEMSELVES — ANIMALS WHICH ARE BORN THEMSELVES BUT ARE NOT REPRODUCTIVE — ANIMALS WHICH ARE OF NEITHER SEX.
Some animals, again, are engendered of beings that are not engendered themselves, and have no such origin as those above mentioned, which are produced in the spring, or at some stated period of the year. Some of these are non-productive, the salamander, for instance, which is of no sex, either male or female; a distinction also, which does not exist in the eel and the other kinds that are neither viviparous nor oviparous. The oyster also, as well as the other shell-fish that adhere to the bottom of the sea or to rocks, are of neither sex. Again, as to those animals which are able to engender of themselves, if they are looked upon as divided into male and female, they do engender something, it is true, by coupling, but the produce is imperfect, quite dissimilar to the animal itself, and one from which nothing else is reproduced; this we find to be the case with flies, when they give birth to maggots. This fact is better illustrated by the nature of those animals which are known as insects; a subject, indeed, very difficult of explanation, and one which requires to be treated of in a Book by itself. We will, therefore, proceed for the present with our remarks upon the instincts of the animals that have been previously mentioned.
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CHAP. 88. (69.)
THE SENSES OF ANIMALS — THAT ALL HAVE THE SENSES OF TOUCH AND TASTE — THOSE WHICH ARE MORE REMARK- ABLE FOR THEIR SIGHT, SMELL, OR HEARING — MOLES — WHETHER OYSTERS HAVE THE SENSE OF HEARING.
Man excels more especially in his sense of touch, and next, in that of taste. In other respects, he is surpassed by many of the animals. Eagles can see more clearly than any other animals, while vultures have the better smell; moles hear more distinctly than others, although buried in the earth, so dense and sluggish an element as it is; and what is even more, although every sound has a tendency upwards, they can hear the words that are spoken; and, it is said, they can even understand it if you talk about them, and will take to flight immediately. Among men, a person who has not enjoyed the sense of hearing in his infancy, is deprived of the powers of speech as well; and there are none deaf from their birth who are not dumb also. 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 will sink to the bottom; it is for this reason, too, that silence is observed by persons while fishing at sea.
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CHAP. 89. (70.)
WHICH FISHES HAVE THE BEST HEARING.
Fishes have neither organs of hearing, nor yet the exterior orifice. And yet, it is quite certain that they do hear; for it is a well-known fact, that in some fish-ponds they are in the habit of being assembled to be fed by the clapping of the hands. In the fish-ponds, too, that belong to the Emperor, the fish are in the habit of coming, each kind as it bears its name. So too, it is said, the mullet, the wolf-fish, the salpa, and the chromis, have a very exquisite sense of hearing, and that it is for this reason that they frequent shallow water.
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CHAP. 90.
WHICH FISHES HAVE THE FINEST SENSE OF SMELL.
It is quite manifest that fishes have the sense of smell also; for they are not all to be taken with the same bait, and are seen to smell at it before they seize it. Some, too, that are concealed in the bottom of holes, are driven out by the fisherman, by the aid of the smell of salted fish; with this he rubs the entrance of their retreat in the rock, immediately upon which they take to flight from the spot, just as though they had recognized the dead carcases of those of their kind. Then, again, they will rise to the surface at the smell of certain odours, such, for instance as roasted sæpia and polypus; and hence it is that these baits are placed in the osier kipes used for taking fish. They immediately take to flight upon smelling the bilge water in a ship’s hold, and more especially upon scenting the blood of fish.
The polypus cannot possibly be torn away from the rock to which it clings; but upon the herb cunila being applied, the instant it smells it the fish quits its hold. Purples also are taken by means of fetid substances. And then, too, as to the other kinds of animals, who is there that can feel any doubt? Serpents are driven away by the smell of harts’ horns, and more particularly by that of storax. Ants, too, are killed by the odours of origanum, lime, or sulphur. Gnats are attracted by acids, but not by anything sweet.
(71.) All animals have the sense of touch, those even which have no other sense; for even in the oyster, and, among land animals, in the worm, this sense is found.
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CHAP. 91.
DIVERSITIES IN THE FEEDING OF ANIMALS.
I am strongly inclined to believe, too, that the sense of taste exists in all animals; for why else should one seek one kind of food, and another another? And it is in this more especially that is to be seen the wondrous power of Nature, the framer of all things. Some animals seize their prey with their teeth, others, again, with their claws; some tear it to pieces with their hooked beak; others, that have a broad bill, wabble in their food; others, with a sharp nib, work holes into it; others suck at their food; others, again, lick it, others sup it in, others chew it, and others bolt it whole. And no less a diversity is there in the uses they make of their feet, for the purpose of carrying, tearing asunder, holding, squeezing, suspending their bodies, or incessantly scratching the ground.
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CHAP. 92. (72.)
ANIMALS WHICH LIVE ON POISONS.
Roe-Bucks and quails grow fat on poisons, as we have already mentioned, being themselves the most harmless of animals. Serpents will feed on eggs, and the address displayed by the dragon is quite remarkable. — For it will either swallow the egg whole, it its jaws will allow of it, and roll over and over so as to break it within, and then by coughing eject the shells: or else, if it is too young to be able to do so, it will gradually encircle the egg with its coils, and hold it so tight as to break it at the end, just, in fact, as though a piece had been cut out with a knife; then holding the remaining part in its folds, it will suck the contents. In the same manner, too, when it has swallowed a bird whole, it will make a violent effort, and vomit the feathers.
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CHAP. 93.
ANIMALS WHICH LIVE ON EARTH-ANIMALS WHICH WILL NOT DIE OF HUNGER OR THIRST.
Scorpions live on earth. Serpents, when an opportunity presents itself, show an especial liking for wine, although in other respects they need but very little drink. These animals, also, when kept shut up, require but little aliment, hardly any at all, in fact. The same is the case also with spiders, which at other times live by suction. Hence it is, that no venomous animal will die of hunger or thirst; it being the fact that they have neither heat, blood, nor sweat; all which humours, from their natural saltness, increase the animal’s voracity. In this class of animals all those are the most deadly, which have eaten some of their own kind just before they inflict the wound. The sphingium and the satyr stow away food in the pouches of their cheeks, after which they will take it out piece by piece with their hands and eat it; and thus they do for a day or an hour what the ant usually does for the whole year.
(73.) The only animal with toes upon the feet that feeds upon grass is the hare, which will eat corn as well; while the solid-hoofed animals, and the swine among the cloven-footed ones, will eat all kinds of food, as well as roots. To roll over and over is a peculiarity of the animals with a solid hoof. All those which have serrated teeth are carnivorous. Bears live also upon corn, leaves, grapes, fruit, bees, crabs even, and ants; wolves, as we have already stated, will eat earth even when they are famishing. Cattle grow fat by drinking; hence it is that salt agrees with them so well; the same is also the case with beasts of burden, although they live on corn as well as grass; but they eat just in proportion to what they drink. In addition to those already spoken of, among the wild
animals, stags ruminate, when reared in a domesticated state. All animals ruminate lying in preference to standing, and more in winter than in summer, mostly for seven months in the year. The Pontic mouse also ruminates in a similar manner.
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CHAP. 94.
DIVERSITIES IN THE DRINKING OF ANIMALS.
In drinking, those animals which have serrated teeth, lap; and common mice do the same, although they belong to another class. Those which have the teeth continuous, horses and oxen, for instance, sup; bears do neither the one nor the other, but seem to bite at the water, and so devour it. In Africa, the greater part of the wild beasts do not drink in summer, through the want of rain; for which reason it is that the mice of Libya, when caught, will die if they drink. The ever-thirsting plains of Africa produce the oryx, an animal which, in consequence of the nature of its native locality, never drinks, and which, in a remarkable manner, affords a remedy against drought: for the Gætulian bandits by its aid fortify themselves against thirst, by finding in its body certain vesicles filled with a most wholesome liquid. In this same Africa, also, the pards conceal themselves in the thick foliage of the trees, and then spring down from the branches on any creature that may happen to be passing by, thus occupying what are ordinarily the haunts of the birds. Cats too, with what silent stealthiness, with what light steps do they creep towards a bird! How slily they will sit and watch, and then dart out upon a mouse! These animals scratch up the earth and bury their ordure, being well aware that the smell of it would betray their presence.
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CHAP. 95. (74.)
ANTIPATHIES OF ANIMALS. PROOFS THAT THEY ARE SENSIBLE OF FRIENDSHIP AND OTHER AFFECTIONS.
Hence there will be no difficulty in perceiving that animals are possessed of other instincts besides those previously mentioned. In fact, there are certain antipathies and sympathies among them, which give rise to various affections besides those which we have mentioned in relation to each species in its appropriate place. The swan and the eagle are always at variance, and the raven and the chloreus seek each other’s eggs by night. In a similar manner, also, the raven and the kite are perpetually at war with one another, the one carrying off the other’s food. So, too, there are antipathies between the crow and the owl, the eagle and the trochilus; — Between the last two, if we are to believe the story, because the latter has received the title of the “king of the birds:” the same, again, with the owlet and all the smaller birds.
Again, in relation to the terrestrial animals, the weasel is at enmity with the crow, the turtle-dove with the pyrallis, the ichneumon with the wasp, and the phalangium with other spiders. Among aquatic animals, there is enmity between the duck and the sea-mew, the falcon known as the “harpe,” and the hawk called the “triorchis.” In a similar manner, too, the shrew-mouse and the heron are ever on the watch for each other’s young; and the ægithus, so small a bird as it is, has an antipathy to the ass; for the latter, when scratching itself, rubs its body against the brambles, and so crushes the bird’s nest; a thing of which it stands in such dread, that if it only hears the voice of the ass when it brays, it will throw its eggs out of the nest, and the young ones themselves will sometimes fall to the ground in their fright; hence it is that it will fly at the ass, and peck at its sores with its beak. The fox, too, is at war with the nisus, and serpents with weasels and swine. Æsalon is the name given to a small bird that breaks the eggs of the raven, and the young of which are anxiously sought by the fox; while in its turn it will peck at the young of the fox, and even the parent itself. As soon as the ravens espy this, they come to its assistance, as though against a common enemy. The acanthis, too, lives among the brambles; hence it is that it also has an antipathy to the ass, because it devours the bramble blossoms. The ægithus and the anthus, too, are at such mortal enmity with each other, that it is the common belief that their blood will not mingle; and it is for this reason that they have the bad repute of being employed in many magi- cal incantations. The thos and the lion are at war with each other; and, indeed, the smallest objects and the greatest just as much. Caterpillars will avoid a tree that is infested with ants. The spider, poised in its web, will throw itself on the head of a serpent as it lies stretched beneath the shade of the tree where it has built, and with its bite pierce its brain; such is the shock, that the creature will hiss from time to time, and then, seized with vertigo, coil round and round, while it finds itself unable to take to flight, or so much as to break the web of the spider, as it hangs suspended above; this scene only ends with its death.
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CHAP. 96.
INSTANCES OF AFFECTION SHOWN BY SERPENTS.
On the other hand, there is a strict friendship existing between the peacock and the pigeon, the turtle-dove and the parrot, the blackbird and the turtle, the crow and the heron, all of which join in a common enmity against the fox. The harpe also, and the kite, unite against the triorchis.
And then, besides, have we not seen instances of affection in the serpent even, that most ferocious of all animals? We have already related the story that is told of a man in Arcadia, who was saved by a dragon which had belonged to him, and of his voice being recognized by the animal. We must also make mention here of another marvellous story that is related by Phylarchus about the asp. He tells us, that in Egypt one of these animals, after having received its daily nourishment at the table of a certain person, brought forth, and that it so happened that the son of its entertainer was killed by one of its young ones; upon which, returning to its food as usual, and becoming sensible of the crime, it immediately killed the young one, and returned to the house no more.
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CHAP. 97. (75.)
THE SLEEP OF ANIMALS.
The question as to their sleep, is one that is by no means difficult to solve. In the land animals, it is quite evident that all that have eyelids sleep. With reference to aquatic animals, it is admitted that they also sleep, though only for short periods, even by those writers who entertain doubts as to the other animals; and they come to this conclusion, not from any appearance of the eyes, for they have no eyelids, indeed, to close, but because they are to be seen buried in deep repose, and to all appearance fast asleep, betraying no motion in any part of the body except the tail, and by starting when they happen to hear a noise. With regard to the thunny, it is stated with still greater confidence that it sleeps; indeed, it is often found in that state near the shore, or among the rocks. Flat fish are also found fast asleep in shallow water, and are often taken in that state with the hand: and, as to the dolphin and the balæna, they are even heard to snore.
It is quite evident, also, that insects sleep, from the silent stillness which they preserve; and even if a light is put close to them, they will not be awoke thereby.
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CHAP. 98.
WHAT ANIMALS ARE SUBJECT TO DREAMS.
Man, just after his birth, is hard pressed by sleep for several months, after which he becomes more and more wakeful, day by day. The infant dreams267 from the very first, for it will suddenly awake with every symptom of alarm, and while asleep will imitate the action of sucking. There are some persons, however, who never dream; indeed, we find instances stated where it has been a fatal sign for a person to dream, who has never done so before. Here we find ourselves invited by a grand field of investigation, and one that is full of alleged proofs on both sides of the question, whether, when the mind is at rest in sleep, it has any foreknowledge of the future, and if so, by what process this is brought about, or whether this is not altogether a matter quite fortuitous, as most other things are? If we were to attempt to decide the question by instances quoted, we should find as many on the one side as on the other.
It is pretty generally agreed, that dreams, immediately after we have taken wine and food, or when we have just fallen asleep again after waking, have no signification whatever. Indeed, sleep is
nothing else than the retiring268 of the mind into itself. It is quite evident that, besides man, horses, dogs, oxen, sheep, and goats have dreams; consequently, the same is supposed to be the case with all animals that are viviparous. As to those which are oviparous, it is a matter of uncertainty, though it is equally certain that they do sleep. But we must now pass on to a description of the insects.
SUMMARY. — Remarkable facts, narratives, and observations, seven hundred and ninety-three.
ROMAN AUTHORS QUOTED. — Manilius, Cornelius Valerianus, the Acta Triumphorum, Umbricius Melior, Massurius Sabinus, Antistius Labeo, Trogus, Cremutius, M. Varro, Macer Æmilius, Melissus, Mucianus, Nepos, Fabius Pictor, T. Lucretius, Cornelius Celsus, Horace, Deculo, Hyginus, the Sasernæ, Nigidius, Mamilius Sura.
FOREIGN AUTHORS QUOTED. — Homer, Phemonoë, Phile- mon, Bœus who wrote the Ornithogonia, Hylas who wrote an augury, Aristotle, Theophrastus, Callimachus, Æschylus, King Hiero, King Philometor, Archytas of Tarentum, Amphilochus of Athens, Anaxipolis of Thasos, Apollodorus of Lemnos, Aristophanes of Miletus, Antigonus of Cymæ, Agathocles of Chios, Apollonius of Pergamus, Aristander of Athens, Bacchius of Miletus, Bion of Soli, Chæreas of Athens, Diodorus of Priene, Dion of Colophon, Democritus, Diophanes of Nicæa, Epigenes of Rhodes, Euagon of Thasos, Euphronius of Athens, Juba, Androtion who wrote on Agriculture, Æschrion who wrote on Agriculture, Lysimachus who wrote on Agriculture, Dionysius who translated Mago, Diophanes who made an Epitome of Dionysius, Nicander, Onesicritus, Phylarchus, Hesiod.
Delphi Complete Works of Pliny the Elder Page 69
