Natural History, Lore and Legend: Being Some Few Examples of Quaint and By-gone Beliefs Gathered in from Divers Authorities, Ancient and Mediaeval, of Varying Degrees of Reliability |
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affirm Aldrovandus amongst ancient authors ancient writers animals appear Aristotle basilisk beast bees belief bird blood body called century cock cockatrice colour creature credulity crocodile Ctesias cure curious dead death declares divers dolphin doth dragon eagle elephant Ethiopia eyes faith feet fish flesh gives goat gret hair hare hath head hedgehog held hence herbs Herodotus hippopotamus horn horses human hyæna idea illustration Jordanus king land legend Leucanian lion Lycanthropy Maundevile medieval mermaid Middle Ages monster Munster natural history notion Oannes Olaus Magnus old author old writer Ovid panther Phoenix Pliny poets poison Porta pygmies quaint raven readers refers remedy salamander says scarcely seems seen serpents Shakespeare skin Speculum spider stone story strange sunne swallow tail tells things tion toad travels tree truth unicorn unto various venomous whooping cough wild wind wolf wonderful
Popular passages
Page 31 - Give a man this taste, and the means of gratifying it, and you can hardly fail of making him a happy man, unless, indeed, you put into his hands a most perverse selection of books.
Page 219 - Methinks I see in my mind a noble and puissant nation rousing herself like a strong man after sleep, and shaking her invincible locks: methinks I see her as an eagle mewing her mighty youth, and kindling her undazzled eyes at the full mid-day beam...
Page 81 - Since once I sat upon a promontory, And heard a mermaid, on a dolphin's back, Uttering such dulcet and harmonious breath, That the rude sea grew civil at her song ; And certain stars shot madly from their spheres, To hear the sea-maid's music.
Page 233 - gainst that season comes Wherein our Saviour's birth is celebrated, The bird of dawning singeth all night long : And then, they say, no spirit dares stir abroad; The nights are wholesome ; then no planets strike, No fairy takes, nor witch hath power to charm, So hallow'd and so gracious is the time.
Page 125 - Like as a lyon whose imperiall powre A prowd rebellious unicorn defyes, T' avoide the rash assault and wrathful stowre Of his fiers foe, him to a tree applyes, And when him ronning in full course he spyes, He slips aside ; the whiles that furious beast His precious home, sought of his enimyes, Strikes in the stocke, ne thence can be releast, But to the mighty victor yields a bounteous feast.
Page 322 - Fill'd with the face of heaven, which, from afar, Comes down upon the waters; all its hues, From the rich sunset to the rising star, Their magical variety diffuse: And now they change ; a paler shadow strews Its mantle o'er the mountains; parting day Dies like the dolphin, whom each pang imbues •*> With a new colour as it gasps away, The last still loveliest, — till — 'tis gone — and all is gray.
Page 223 - Place me on Sunium's marbled steep, Where nothing, save the waves and I, May hear our mutual murmurs sweep; There, swan-like, let me sing and die: A land of slaves shall ne'er be mine— Dash down yon cup of Samian wine!
Page 218 - Doth the eagle mount up at thy command, and make her nest on high? She dwelleth and abideth on the rock, upon the crag of the rock, and the strong place. From thence she seeketh the prey, and her eyes behold afar off. Her young ones also suck up blood: and where the slain are, there is she.
Page 174 - ... it creeps over a beast, be it horse, cow, or sheep, the suffering animal is afflicted with cruel anguish, and threatened with the loss of the use of the limb. Against this accident, to which they were continually liable, our provident forefathers always kept a shrew-ash at hand, which, when once medicated, would maintain its virtue for ever. A...
Page 246 - The nightingale, as soon as April bringeth Unto her rested sense a perfect waking, While late- bare earth, proud of new clothing, springeth, Sings out her woes, a thorn her song-book making ; And mournfully bewailing, Her throat in tunes expresseth What grief her breast oppresseth For Tereus' force on her chaste will prevailing.