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Leader (1850-1860), 14th July 1855, Edition 2 of 2, Page 16, PIiINT AS A NATTJRAEIST. theKatmxakvstor...

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      676 The Leader, [No. 277, Sattjkday,

      676 THE LEADER , [ No . 277 , Sattjkday ,

      Piiint As A Nattjraeist. Thekatmxakvstor...

      PIiINT AS A NATTJRAEIST . theKatmxakvstory ofPlmy i Translated , with Copious Notes and IUustrations , by ¦ ^ SS £ CB bftock , M . D ., andH . T . RUey , i : Sq . Vol . H . ( Boh * s Classical L & rary . y H . G . Bohn . Among the many false notions -which antiquity has stereotyped for us , and from which we strive in vain to free c-urselves , is one to the effect that . *™ y was a considerable person in science , —his Natural History an admirable Work . Admirable the ; work is in some respects : it is elegantl y written , laboriously compiled ; contains what no other work contains with equal fulness— -riainelv , a survey of the ignorance of the ancients on matters of Natural History , and is , moreover , to be admired as an amusing collection of fables , extravagances , credulities , and good stories . But as a work of science , it is every way contemptible ; and in saying this we do not look

      down from supercilious heights of modern achievements , but from the heights to which Aristotle had previously raised the science . Compared with the History of Animals by Aristotle , the work of his successor ( long considered his rival ) is riot more contemptible in its want of the a he of natural investigation than in itf want pf p hilosophic conception , either of method or classification . Pliny was In truth neither Thinker nor Observer . He was a Compiler— a Compiler Without sagacity , without criticism , without practical Knowledge . He was incessantly reading , and making extracts from what he read On quitting his 1 > ath a slave read to him 5 he never walked , but went in his litter , because in his litter he could read ; and he reproached his nephew with losing sp much time in walking . His faith in what was written seems to have been unshakable . Tfc is enousrh for him that he finds a fact

      recorded ; the record is proof . Thus he says : — Mentor , a native of Syracuse , was met in Syria by a lion , who rolled before him in a suppliant'manner ; though etailten with fear and desirous to escape , the wild beast on every side-opposed his flight , and licked his feet-with a fawning air . Upon this , ¦ Meiitor observed on the paw of the lion a swelling and a wound ; from which , after extracting a splinter , he relieved the creature ' s p ^ n . There is a picture at Syracuse which bears witness to the truth of this transaction . The mind ready to accept such proof would of course never question a favourite autKor ; accordingly we have a collection of the absurdest stories gravely put forth as facts , and these are made to substantiate things even -more outrageous . E . g .:

      —- Facts such , as these induce us to give some credit to what Democritus relates , who « ays that a man , called Thoas , was preserved in Arcadia by a dragon . When a boy , he had become much attached to it , and had reared it very tenderly ; but his father , being alarmed at the nature an « J monstrous size of th « reptile , had taken and left it in the desert . Thoas being here attacked by some robbers who lay in ambush , he was delivered from them by the dragon , which recognised his voice , and came to his assistance . Or this deliciously humorous instance : — 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 , arid that it so happened'that the son of its entertainer was killed by one of it 3 young ones ; upon which , returning -to its food as usual , and becoming sensible of the crime , it immediately killed the youttg one , and retttrhed to the house no more . ' The dragon becoming sensible of the crime is perfect ! " The . i | morance whichPliny ' s credulity implies is quite amazing when he treats of animals familiar " to the world . Conceive this case being gravely recorded : — -

      - ¦ When 'Alexander the Great was on his . Indian expedition , he was presented by the . King of Albania with a dog of unusual size ; being . greatly delighted with its noble appearance , he ordered bears , and after them wild boars , and then deer , to bo let loose before it ; but the dog lay down , and regarded them with a kind of immovable contempt . The noble spirit of the general became irritated by the sluggishness thus manifested l > y an animal of such vast bulk , and he ordered it to be killed . The report of this reached the king , who accordingly sent another dog , and at the same time sent word that its powers were to be tried , not upon small animals , but upon the lion or the elephant ; adding , that he had had ' originally but two , and that if thia one were put to death , the raee would be extinct . Alfijcjmder , without delay , procured a lion , which in his , presence , vra » instantly , itorn ^ o pieces . He then ordered an . elephant to be brought , and never , w « v * he more , delighted with any spectacle ; for tho dog , bristling up its hair all overtlies body , began by thundering forth a loud barking , and then attacked thq animal , leaping at it first on one side and then on the other , attacking it in the most skilful manner , arid then again retreating at tho opportune moment , until at last the elephant , being rendered quite giddy by turning round and round , fell to the earth , and made it quite re-echo vvith his fall .

      Orchis : — It is well known that in Luaitania , in tho vicinity of tho town of Ollaipo and the river Tagus , the' mares , by turning their faces towards the west . wind as it blows , become impregnated by its breezes , and that the foals which are conceived in this way are remarkable for their extreme fleetness ; but they never live beyond three years . This also is notable irr-The stag , too ,, fights with the Berpent : it tracos out the serpent ' s hole , and draws it forth by the breath of its nostrils , and hence it is t / iat the smell of burnt stays' horn has the remarkable poxoer of driving away serpents . Tho very best remedy for the bite of a serpent is the rennet ' of a fawn that has been killed intho womb of its mother .

      The logic of the passage in italics must not be passed over . " We find it stated in many authors , " he says , " that n serpent is produced from the spinal marrow of man . " One of the editors of this volume is kind enough to inform , us that Ovid " makes mention of tho belief ; " but he is not kind enough to ndd that the belief is an old woman ' s belief . Indeed , the editors , who have been liberal in their notes , for which the render will thnn . k them , have not had the knowledge requisite to control such a mass of mistakes na these boolcs of Pliny olTbr . Although in the preceding observations we hnve spoken of Pliny ' s pretensions In 110 admiration , let us not conclude without instating on what tiro his claims to the attention of our age . No nioro instructive book can easil y be ; named , if rightly used . It gives us the nescience of antiquity ; which ittay help to throw light on our science . It tolls us what men thought , how they observed , with what evidence they wor « satisfied . Besides this , it is a very amusing book . Open where you will , and you light on passages like this : —«

      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 heaf , 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 . Or this : —

      When the lioness is defending her whelps , it is said that she fixes her eyes steadily on the ground , that she may not be frightened at the spears of the hunters . In all other respests , these animals are equally free from deceit and suspicion . They never look at an object obliquely , and they dislike being looked at themselves in . such a manner . It is generally believed , that , when the lion is dying , he bites at the earth , and sheds tears at his fate . Powerful , however , and fierce as this animal is , he i * terrified by the motion of wheels or of an empty chariot , and still more so on seeing the crest or hearing the crowing of a cock ; but most of all , is he afraid of fire . The only malady to which the lion is subject , is loss of appetite ; this , however , is cured by putting insults upon him , by means of the pranks of monkeys placed about him , a thing wliich rouses his anger ; immediately he tastes their blood , he is relieved .

      The only caution requisite is : Believe nothing which you there find stated . " Barring that , " as the Irishman says , the book is as pretty a book as you could desire . »

      Varieties. Some Time Ago We Noticed The ...

      VARIETIES . Some time ago we noticed the first of a series of small but solid stories , published by Mr * J . H . Parker , each pointed with a moral for the day . Two more of them are before us , The Recruit and The Strike—a tale of the political war in the East , and a tale of the social conflict ever continuing , with short truces , between those who have tho willingness to work r . nd ( jkose who have the power to pay . The ' teachings implied are not ot & very practical character ; they are resolved into the old , old exhortations : be frugal , be temperate , be persevering , and trust to the law . All good and true , no doubt , but nothing more . The writer , who illustrates the nature and effects of a strike in his romance of political economy , has sympathy for the industrious orders , and urges a strong appeal in their favour . They are generally composed of good citizens , he

      believes , who , in their most desperate hours , love peace , and are loyal to the state . In parallel with them he alludes to the class of . masters , and affirms that many a factory is a bed of thorns to choke the lessons of the school . Ear has not heard , and pen has not described , the vicious life of an ill-regulated mill . This springs from the moral apathy of the cotton lords . and their indifference produces , or perpetuate ? , the coz-ruption of their workmen . Up to this point , then , education is the author ' s desire . But he goes further , and asks for limited liability , to open a prospect of independence to the operative . When the spinner , the weaver , and the engineer , possess this power of profitable combination , tliey will desist from strikes ; they will cease to fight with the cross-bow of Agincourt when they can use tho artillery of Alma . Meanwhile , the theory spreads out in cold platitudes , l of social

      and does not sharpen to a point , or lay bare the vitsiparts our anatomy . What is wanted now is , not ; i salvo of loose rattle and flnsli , but steady and precise firing , —logic at close quarters , a descent from generalisation to analysis . The fictions in Mr . Parker ' s series are more amiable than telling ; they draw portraits of the poor with little satire or idealism ; but they add not a word to the argument by which this world is nt last to be persuaded , that while engines are perfected , while pendulums are watched like sacred vestal flames , and while looms are anxiously improved , men sire not to remain as they were when steam only sang out of the kettle . Fn The Recruit there is less opportunity for social discussion , yet it touches on the fretting topics of the day , on the inducements which bring troops to our army , on the career they follow in its ranks , and on the channel through whicli the mental energies of our vounger sectaries arc encouraged to flow .

      The writer ' s satire on debating societies is ill-directed , and provokes a suspicion of his sincerity . At the same time lie deals temperately with the subject , though entirely missing an obvious opportunity for saying n little on the other side . There was probably in Waylbrd another plnce , besides tin" Young Men ' s Union , '" in which " sound and fury , signifying nothing , " was poured forth . A reference to this was necessary , for the sake of reason and truth . We make tho allusion , because it seems to 119 that The Recruit is occupied too exclusively with a Jeremiad on tho weaknesses of wnywanl and uncultivated young debaters . Tliei'e are two sets of our fellow-croMtuvcH whoso existence is equally to be deplored;—men who pass their youth without education ; and men who receive education without benefit to themaelves or others . Here is matter for satire also , or better , for plain and earnest writincr .

      N " ot so ambitiously , yet in n similarly didactic style , Mr . Herbert Uyup ; Hall writes Soldiers and Sailors , in Peace as in War . ( Chapman and I la 11 . ) In his opinion the qualities of the common soldier and sailor are habitually underrated . The seaman of mock-naval novels mid minor theatres is a good-humoured , lively , random being , never very selfish , never wry sober , always a child , and rarely with 11 soul above a quid ia piping times of peace , or a long shot in war . As for the ranks , —they arc supposed to bo filled from ** tho scum of people . " Theso two idea * , kindred and coeval , are set down by Mr . Hall as wrong , and ho mtikes out a pnrt of hiH case . Few readers , however , are persuaded by narratives which , however based on truth , Iiuve the dress of fief ion . Thoy arts to plain facts what figuren of speech are to reasonings : thoy aid and adorn tho forms of rhetoric , but aro not convincing in themselves . The incidi-nfH amplified by Mr . Hall , himself an old campaigner , arc , nevertheless , * i «» :-gestive as well as interesting . Tluiy aro ploat-ungly related , and varied judiciously .

      Again a book on Avar ; but the war of Prophecies . One sign of a perturbed social state is the appearance of writers wlio pretend to un-vfil 11 *** future , and to diacloae tho bcltoIh of that which hain not been . Wo liivo little partiality for dogmas on tho afJairH of agea anterior to history ; wu even doubt tho v ^ M of disputes on tho fashions worn in t . ho Bun ; ' t

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), July 14, 1855, page 16, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_14071855/page/16/