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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A12581	The excellent and pleasant worke of Iulius Solinus Polyhistor Contayning the noble actions of humaine creatures, the secretes & prouidence of nature, the description of countries, the maners of the people: with many meruailous things and strange antiquities, seruing for the benefitt and recreation of all sorts of persons. Translated out of Latin into English, by Arthur Golding. Gent.; Polyhistor. English.	Solinus, C. Julius, 3rd cent.?; Golding, Arthur, 1536-1606.	1587 (1587)	STC 22896.5; ESTC S117641	133,961	228

The excellent and pleasant worke of Iulius Solinus Polyhistor Contayning the noble actions of humaine creatures the secretes prouidence of nature the description of Countries the maners of the people with many meruailous things and strange antiquities seruing for the benefitt and recreation of all sorts of persons Translated out of Latin into English by Arthur Golding Gent. At London Printed by I. Charlewoode for Thomas Hacket 1587. The Right Hon ble Charles Viscount Bruce of Ampthill Son Heir Apparent of Thomas Earl of Ailesbury Baron Bruce of Whorleton THE LIFE OF SOLINVS VVRITTEN BY IOHN CAMERTES THere is no certaintie left in writing by them that are skilfull in what time Iulius Solinus florished which thing I beleeue to haue happened because the monuments of such as writ after him perrished almost vniuersally at such time as the barbarous nations made hauock of all things I maruel that the cōpiler of the Supplement of Chronicles in all other respectes a base wr●ter hath reported that this Solinus floris●ed in the time of Augustus Caesar to whom he surmiseth him to haue dedicated hys Polyhistor For it is euident that in this woorke Solinus maketh mentiō of the Emperor Vespasians dooings Furthermore hee speaketh of Suetonius Paulinus whō Plinie saw as he witnesseth himself Besides this Solinus hath drawn almost all his matter out of Plinies fountaines and yet neuerthelesse in wryting these things hee desireth hys freende in the beginning of his worke to beare wyth hys simplicitie But forasmuch as he no where maketh mention of Plinie by whom he was furthered I coniecture that Solinus wrate this work while Plinie was yet aliue And therevppon by likelihoode it comes to passe that hee made no mention of hys author at that time liuing By like reason it might fall out that Plinie no where maketh mention of Dioscorides a famous wrighter of the same time that he was when notwithstanding it is apparant that Plinie borowed many thinges out of him into his work The same fault also might bee imputed to Dioscorides for it might bee founde in Ammon which of them purloyned from other if hee suppressing the name of Plinie haue filched so manie thinges out of him They that haue written moste precisely of the liues and manners of Xenophon and Plato and sundry other things of thē report that in al the nūbers of Volumes which eche of thē wrate neyther Plato made once mention of the name of Xenophon nor Xenophon of the name of Plato Beleeue ●e such is Enuies kind that Readers very seeld To wryters in their present times deserued thanks do yeeld For En●y feedeth on the quick but when that men be dead The sting of Enuie stints and hath no poison more to shead VVhich saying of Naso is very true VVhat may be sayd of Macrobius who diuers times taketh whole leaues out of Gellius Or of Placidus who boroweth of Ser●ius or of Acron who stealeth from Porphyrio What shall wee say of sixe hundred others who in long treatises suppressing the names of them from whome they borowed them haue word for word attributed all things to themselues No mā doubteth but that Aulus Gellius the very Diamond of the Latin tongue profited greatly by reading Liuie and yet he wil not in any wise that Liuie the prince of Latin Historiographers should be partaker of his Nights Yet am I not of the opinion of some mē which thinke that Solinus made no mention of Plinie in hope that Plinies works should vtterly haue perished so his collections onely haue remained and in processe of time no mā shold haue bin able to discouer his filchings as Florus Iustine are thought to haue trauelled to the like end purpose would God there were none other cause then this of the losse of so many good Authors Then to passe ouer the Greekes by the way the monuments of Cato Varro Nigidius Salust Higinius Celsus Ennius Furius Varrius Actius Neuius and Pacuuius all noble Authors which now are perrished to the great hinderaunce of Students shoulde haue remained vnto this day But howsoeuer the case stādeth Solinus courteously confesseth that whatsoeuer he hath comprehended in hys Polyhistor proceedeth out of most allowable Authors hechalengeth nothing for his owne in as much as sayth he the diligence of men in olde time hath beene such that nothing hath continued vntouched to our dayes And againe he sayth plainly that hee leaueth the auouchi●g of the trueth of thinges to such Authors as hee hath followed in this worke Neither is it to be vpbraided to Solinus as a shame that hee hath euery where followed Plinie more then Virgill is to be found fault with for translating into his worke the verses of the auncient Poets specially of Homer For it is no small commendation to counterfet singulerly a singuler Author That Solinus was a Romaine it is to be coniectured both by his phrase of wryting and also for that commonly when occasion serueth to speake of the Romaines hee is wont in most places to call them our men or my countrymen Not onely the latter wryters as Sipontinus Perottus Domitius Calderinus Angelus Politianus Hermolaus Barbarus Ianus Parrhasius and diuers others such like whom not without cause a man might account among the auncient wryters But Seruius also in his seconde booke vpon Virgills Husbandry and Priscian two of the sixe notable Gramarians haue cited the authoritie of Solinus by name Also the interpreter of Dennis whither it were Priscian or Rhemninus hath oftentimes put whole sentences of Solinussis in his verses If I be not deceiued all that which Macrobius reciteth of the diuision of the yeere and of the odde dayes are Solinussis Moreouer the Doctors of the Church Ierom Ambrose and Au●ten and other Doctors also haue many times borowed sentences worde for worde out of Solinus There are some that terme Solinus by the name of Plinies Ape in like manner as Iulius Capitolinus Plinius Caecilius and Sidonius Apollinaris reporte that Titian was called the Ape of the Orators and Arulen the Ape of the Stoiks But these men consider not that such are wont to be called Apes as eyther repeate things writtē by others altogether in the same order without alteration or els such as counterfet not the Authors but theyr shadowes But Solinus hath so followed Plinies phrase that vnder correction bee it spoken there may scarce any other be found that hath approched neerer to the maiestie of Plinies stile He intitled his Booke as is found in certaine old Coppies to his freend Autius to who also he deliuered it to be corrected Some hold opinion that he left other monumēts also of hys wyt which eyther by force of time are perished or els perchaunce lie hyd in some blinde corner among Mothes Finis ¶ C. Iulius Solinus sendeth hartie commendations to his freende Autius FOrasmuch as certain persons rather of too much eagernesse then of good vvill haue hasted to snatch vp this little peece of vvorke that I

Serpents Finally the inhabiters chased the Serpents from Amycle which the Amycleans of Greece had builded before There is great store of a kinde of Uyper whose byting is incurable They be somewhat shorter then the reste of Uipers that are founde in other places of the world and therefore while they bee not regarded they hurt the sooner Calabrie swarmeth with Snakes that liue bothe by water by land called Chersydres and it bréedeth the Boa which is a kinde of Snake reported to grow to an vnmeasurable bignesse First it seeketh after Heardes of mylche Kyne and what Cowe soeuer yeeldeth most milke her dugs dooth hée draw And batling with continuall sucking of her in processe of tyme hee so stuffeth out hymselfe wyth ouerglutting hym tyll hee bée readie to burste that at the last no power is able to withstande hys hugenesse So that in fine rauening vp the lyuing creatures hee maketh the Countries waste where he keepeth And in the raigne of Claudius there was séene a whole Chylde in the mawe of a Boa that was kylled in the ●ilde which nowe is called Vaticane Italy hath Wolues which are vnlike the Wolues of other Countryes and therefore if they sée a Manne before a Man sée them he becommeth dumbe and beeing preuented with theyr hurtfull sight although hee haue desire to crie out yet hath he no vse of voice to doo it withall I passe ouer manie thinges willingly concerning Wolues This is moste certainly tryed that in this beastes tayle is a very fine hare that hath the power of loue in it the which hee is willing to loose and therefore casteth it away when he feareth to bee caught for it hath no vertue vnlesse it be pulled from him while he is aliue Wolues goe to sault not aboue twelue dayes in all the whole yéere In time of famine they féede themselues with earth But those that are called Hartwolues although after long fasting when they haue hardly founde fleshe they fall to eating it yet if they happen to cast theyr eye vpon anie thing by chaunce they forget what they are in dooing and forsake theyr present aboundance gadde to séeke n●we reléefe wherewith to fill theyr bellyes In thys kind of beastes is also rekoned the Lynxes whose Urine such as haue narrowly searched the natures of stones doo vphold to congeale into the hardnesse of a precious stone Which thing that the Linxes themselues doo well perceiue is proued by thys tryall that as soone as the water is passed from them by and by they couer it ouer as much as they can with heapes of sande verily of spight as Theophrastus auoucheth least such matter issuing from them shoulde turne to our vse This stone hath the coloure of Amber It it draweth vnto it thinges that bee néere at hande it qualifieth the gréefe of the raynes it remedieth the Kinges euill and in Gréeke it is called Lyncution Grashoppers are dumbe among the Rhegines and not elswhere which silence of them is wonderfull and good cause why séeing the Grashoppers of y ● Locrines theyr next neighbors cry louder then all others Granius reporteth the cause thereof to bee this that when they made a yelling about Hercules as he rested there he commaunded them to cease their chyrping wherevpon beginning to holde theyr peace they continued mute from thenceforth to thys day The Lygusticke Sea bringeth foorth shrubbes which so soone as they be in the déepes of the water are lushe and almost like a grystle to touch But assoone as they come aboue the water by and by degenerating from theyr naturall sappe they become stones And not onely the qualitie but also the colour of them is turned for straight way they looke Redde as Scarelette The braunches of them are such as we sée on Trées for the most part halfe a foote long but seldome to bee found of a foote long Of them are carued many prety things to were about folkes For as Zoroastres sayth thys substaunce hath a certaine singuler power and therefore whatsoeuer is made thereof is counted among those thinges that are wholesome Other folke call it Corall and Metrodorus nameth it Gorgia The same man affyrmeth also that it withstandeth whirlwinds and thunder and lightning There is a precious stone dygged vp in a part of Lucanie so pleasant to behold that it casteth a Saffron colour vpon the starres dimmed inwardly and glimmering vnder a myste The same stone is called a Syrtite because it was founde first vpon the Seacoast of the Syrts There is also the Veientane stone so named of y e place wher it is found the colour whereof béeing blacke for the more beautie of varietie is enterlaced distinctly with white lynes and whitish strakes The Ilande which faceth the coast of Puell is renowmed with the Tombe Temple of Diomed and alonely nourisheth Diomeds birds For this kind of Foule is no where els in al y e worlde but there And that thing alone might séeme woorthy to bée recorded though there were not other thinges beside not méete to bee omitted They are in fashion almost like a Coote of colour whyte with fierie eyes and ●oothed bylles They flie in flocks and not without order in theyr setting forth They haue two Captaines that rule theyr flight of whom the one flyeth before and the other behinde the sormost as a guyde to direct them certainly which way to flie the hindermost as an ouerséear to haste forward them that lagge behinde with continuall calling vpon them And this is the order that they keepe in theyr fléeting When bréeding time is at hande they digge pits with their billes and then bending wickers ouer them after the manner of Hardles they close in that which they haue made hollow vnderneath And least they might bee vncouered if paraduenture the windes should blowe awaie theyr woodden roofes they coope this watling ouer with the earthe which they hadde throwne out when they digged the pittes So they build theyr nestes with two entryes and that not at a venture insomuch that they caste their entries in and out according to y e quarters of the heauen The dor● that they goe out at to their féeding openeth into the East and that which receiueth them home againe is towarde the West To the intent the light may both hast them when they make tariaunce and also not faile them to return home by When they will purge their paunches they mount aloft against the wind to the intent it may carrie their ordure the further from them They discerne a straunger from a man of the Country For if he be a Gréeke they approche vnto him and as far as may bee vnderstanded doo fawne gentlie vppon him as their Countriman But if he be of anie other Nation they flye vpon him and assault him They frequent the holy Church euery day after this maner They wash their feathers in the water when they haue wet their wings throughlie they

the nature of Fishes they onely mooue theyr tongues They haue sharpe prickes on their backes which stand vppe stife when they be mooued to anger and are hidden as it were in a sheath whē their minds be quiet Men say they dont not in the water nor take any breath but aboue in the aire When y e Northwind bloweth they be light of hearing contrariwise thick of hearing whē y e wind is in the South They delight in Musicke reioysing to heare shalmes whersoeuer is harmonie thither flo●k they together in heards In the raign of Augustus a boy in Campane first trayned a Dolphin w t shiuers of bread did so much by custom that he was contented to be fedde by hand Afterward when y e boy wexed bold in playing with him he carryed him frō the land into y e lake of Laurine beare the boy as it were on horsback frō the shore of y ● bay vnto Puteolis This was doone many yeeres together so long til y e continual beholding therof made it to séeme no wonder But when the lad was dead the Dolphin mourning for y e want of him died for sorow in y ● sight of al men I wold be l●●he to vouch this thing but y ● it is registred in y e wrytings of Mecaenas Fabian many others Anon after vppon the seacoast of Affrick at Hippon Dyarrhyton a Dolphin beeing fed by y e men of Hippon offred himself to be handled and euer now an then caried such as were set vpō his back And this thing was not doon by y e peoples hands only for Flauianus y e Proconsul of Affrick handled him himselfe and anointed him w t ointments insomuch as the Dolphin being cast a sléepe with y ● strangnes of the smell was tumbled hither thither for dead and many monethes after desisted frō his accustomed kéeping of cōpany At Iassus a cittie of Babilon a Dolphin fel in loue with a lad in folowing him ouer eagerly after their accustomed sporting together shot himself into y e sand and there stuck fast Alexander y e great interpreting it to haue béene y ● loue of the God of the sea made the lad chiefe priest to Neptune nere vnto y e said citty as Egesidemus maketh report Another childe named Hirmias likewise riding on a Dolphins back in the sea being drowned by violence of the waues was caryed backe againe to lande by the Dolphin who tooke such repentance that he punished the fact with wilfull death and neuer returned more into the Sea There are store of other such examples yet I wyll not speake of Arion whose aduenture is credibly auouched by Chronicles Furthermore if theyr yong pygs at any time playe the wantons theyr auncients sette one of the elder sorte to be guyde ouer the Hearde by whose instruction they learne to slippe from the assault of greater fishes that rush in vppon them howbeit that in those Seas there be very few great Fyshes except it be the Seale In Pontus there is great store of Tunnyes and they bréede not lightlie els where For there is no place that they come sooner to their full growth in then there and y ● is by reason of the plenty of swéete waters Their comming into the Sea is in y ● spring-time and they enter in by the right side of the shore and goe out by the left side which thing they are thought to doo because they sée better wyth the right eye then with the left CAP. XXII of Ister of the beaste called a Beuer and of the precious stone of Pontus ISter riseth in the Hylles of Germanie and issueth out of a Mountaine that lieth ouer against Turgew a part of the ancient Gall. It rec●iueth into it thréescore Ryuers almoste all able to beare Shippes and it falleth into Pontus with seauen mouthes wherof the first is called Peuce the second Narcustoma the thirde Calostoma and the fourth Pseudostoma for Boreostoma the fift and Stenostoma the sixt are slower then the rest and as for the seauenth it is so dull and like vnto a Poole that it hath not anie likelihoode of a streame The firste foure are so great that by the space of forty miles together they are not intermedled with the Saltwater but kéepe theyr swéete taste with vncorrupted sauoure Through all Pontus there is great store of Beuers which they call by the names of Fiber Castor Thys Beaste is like an Otter and is a very sore byter insomuch that if he fasten vpon a man hee will not let goe his holde vntill he féele the bones crash betwéene hys téeth His stones are greatly coueted for the medicinablenesse of them and therefore when he findeth hymselfe put to the pinch he byteth of his owne cods and eateth them vp to the intent men should haue no good of them when he is taken ●ontus yeeldeth also precious stones of sundrye sortes which of the Countrey wee call Pontiks for some haue starres of the colour of Golde and some of the colour of bloode in them and they are counted among the sacred for they are gathered rather for a showe then for anie vse that they serue to They are not besprent in droppes but are interlyned with long strokes of sundry colours CAP. XXIII Of the Ryuer Hypanis and the Fountaine Exampeus THe Ryuer Hypanis springeth among the Auchets It is the prince of Riuers in Scythia pure and verye wholesome to drink● vntill such tim● as it entr●th into the bo●●ers of the Ca●●pods where the Fountaine Exampeus which is iustly defamed for the bytternesse of hys spring béeing mingled wyth the cléere streame inferteth the Riuer with hys fault so that hee falleth into the Sea vnlike to himselfe Héereuppon groweth diuersitie of opinions among folke concerning Hypanis For they that know hym at the beginning doo prayse him and they that tast of hym at the ende haue good cause to curse hym CAP. XXIIII Of the Ryuer Bo●isthenes and the people that dwell thereby of the nature of dogges of the manners of the Scythians of the precious stones called the Emerawd Cyanie and Crystall WIthin the Countrey of the Neuers springeth the Ryuer Borysthenes wherein are Fyshes of excellent taste without any bones hauing nothing but very tender grystlys But the Neuers as wee haue heard in the● Sommertime are trans-formed into Wolues and afterward when they haue passed a certaine time limitted for the continuaunce in that state they returne to theyr former shape againe The God of this people is Mars in st●dde of Images they worshippe Swordes they off●r menne in Sacrifice and wyth theyr boanes 〈◊〉 ●●re to burne the Sacrifices wy●hal● Next Neyghbours to these are the Gelones They make bothe rayment for themselues and furniture for their horses of theyr enemyes shinnes Uppon the Gelones border the Agathyrses painting their faces with a blewe colour and dying theyr hayre into a blewe colour And

of which floweth a clammy gumme which of the place it commeth fro we call Ammoniack Furthermore among the Cyrenenses groweth Syrpe y e rootes whereof haue a pleasant flauor and it is more like a shrubbie hearbe then a fruite Trée Out of the stalke thereof yssueth in the summer time a fatte dew which cleaueth to the beards of Goates that feede thereon and when it is there throughly dryed it is gathered in dropps like Isickes to serue vppon Tables or rather to serue for medicine It was first called the mylke of Syrpe because it ●zeth in the manner of Mylke Afterward custome drawing it thereunto it was named Laser Thys Herbe was afterwarde almoste vtterlie dygged vppe by the Inhabiters of the Countrey by reason of the intolerable burth●n of trybute that was layde vppon them when their Countrey was wasted at the firste inuasion of strange nations On the left hande of Cyrene is Affrick on the right side Egypt on the foreside the rough and harborowlesse sea on the backpart diuers barbarous nations and a wildernesse not to be come vnto vninhabited and forlorne which bréedeth the Cockatrice such a singuler mischiefe as is not in all the whole worlde beside It is a serpent almost halfe a foote long white wyth as it were a little myter proportioned in lynes on his heade Hee is giuen to the vtter destruction not onely of man and beast or whatsoeuer hath life but also euen of the earth it selfe which he stayneth burneth vppe and seareth away wheresoeuer he hath his deadlie denne To be short he destroyeth hearbs kylleth Trées and infecteth the very aire insomuch that no byrd is able to flye ouer the place which he hath in fected wyth hys pestilent breath When hee mooueth himselfe he créepeth wyth hys one halfe and wyth the other halfe auaunceth himselfe aloft All other Serpents are horiblie afraide to heare his hyssing and as soone as they heare him they flee euerye one wyth as much haste as they can euery one hys way Whatsoeuer is kylled of his byting no wylde beaste will feede of it no foule wyll touche it And yet for all this he is ouercome of Weasels which menne bring thether and sende them into the dennes where he lurketh Notwithstanding he wanteth not power euen when he is dead The Cittizens of ●ergamus gaue a full * Sestertium for the carkasse of a Co●katrice and hanged it vpp in a nette of gold in the Temple of Apollo which was notable for the great workmanshypp thereof to the intent that neyther Spyders shoulde spynne there nor byrds flye in there About the vttermost nooke of the Syrts there runneth by the Cittye Berenice the Riuer Lethon which as is supposed issueth from the springes of hell and is renowmed among the auncient Poets for his forgetfull waters The foresaide Cittie was builded and fortified in the great Syrte by Berenice that was marryed to the third P●olomie All the large contry that lyeth betwéen Egypt Aethyope and Lybia as farre as there is anye woods to cast shaddowe is replenished wyth sundry kyndes of Apes and I would not that any man shold be greeued at the mistaking of the name For surely it is not expedient to omit any thing wherein the prouidence of nature is to be séene Among these is the common sorte of Apes which we sée euery where not without great aptnesse to counter●et by means wher of they are the easier taken For while they desirouslie practise the gestures of Hunters who for the nonce leaue byrdlime to noynt them withall they dawbe vp theyr eyes as they had séene them pretende to doo before and so when theyr sight is stopped vppe they are easie to be caught They make merry at the newe of the Moone and they become sadde when shee is in the wane They loue their yong ones out of all measure in so much as they easiler loose the whelps that they are most chare ouer and carry in theyr armes because those that are not set by doo euer folow their dam hard at her bréech The Moonkyes haue tayles and this is the onely difference betweene them and the Apes The Dog-heads are also of the number of Apes most plenteous in the parts of Aethyop sprightish in leaping cruel in byting neuer so tamed but that they be more rather wyld Among Apes are also accounted the Sphinxes shacke hayred side and déepe dugged apt to be taught to forget theyr wyldnesse There are also that menne call Satyres very swéetefaced and full of mopping and toying continually The Callytriches are almost altogether vnlike the other On their face is a bearde and on their rumpe a broade tayle To catch these is no hard matter but so bring them out of the Country is a rare thing For they liue not but in the soyle of Acthiop that is to say in their owne soyle CAP. XL. Of the nation of the Hammanients and of the houses therein builded of salt BEtween the Nasamonits and the Troglodits is the nation of the Hammanients which build theyr houses of Salt which they heawe out of y e Mountaines in manner of stone and laye it with morter Such is the aboundance of this vaine that they make them houses of Saltstones These are the Hammanients which haue intercourse of Merchandise wyth the Troglodits The precious stones called Carbuncles are on this side the Hammanients more néerer the Nasamones The Asbysts lyue by Laser This is their nourishment and this is their ●oode CAP. XLI Of the Garaments and of a wonderfull fountayne among them Among the Garamants is the Towne Debris with a wonderfull Fountaine in it which by turnes is ●old a day times and hote a night times one while séething like water on the fire and another while becomming as cold as Ise both contrarieties procéeding out of y ● selfe same veynes It is a meruailous thing to be spoken of y ● in so short a time nature should so strangly disagrée with her selfe that whosoeuer tried her doings in the dark would think there were a continuall fire in the spring and he that felt it in the day would beléeue it were none other thing then a winters Water continually frozen By meanes whereof not with out good cause Debris is famous among those nations for that the waters change their propertie according to the moouing of the heauen though after a maner cleane con●rarie to the disposition of the Planets For whereas the euentide asswageth the heate of the world this spring beginneth to heate in such wise at the Sunne going downe that if yee touch it yee shall find it scalding Againe when the Sunne is rysen aboue the ground and all things are chauffed with hys rayes the water thereof is so excéeding colde that no man is able to drinke it be he neuer so thirstie Who then would not wonder at a Fountaine y ● becommeth cold through heate and hote