All from Pliny the Elder’s Natural History:
[A] Praeparant
hiemī et īrēnāceī ac volūtātī suprā iacentia pōma adfixa spīnīs,
ūnum amplius tenentēs ōre, portant in cavās arborēs.
[B] (īrēnāceī) … ubi
vērō sēnsēre vēnantem, contractō ōre pedibusque ac parte omnī īnferiōre, … convolvuntur
in fōrmam pilae, nē quid conprehendī possit praeter aculeōs.
[C] Mīrum pardōs*,
panthērās, leōnēs et similia condītō in corporis vāgīnās unguium
mucrōne, … ingredī āversīsque falculīs currere nec nisi in
adpetendō prōtendere. [*Pliny is referring here to a male panther]
[D] leōnī praecipua
generōsitās tunc, cum colla armōsque vestiunt iubae
[E] Panthēra
et tigrīs maculārum varietāte prope sōlae bēstiārum
spectantur
[F] in Olympō
Macedoniā monte nōn sunt lupī nec in Crētā īnsulā, ibi quidem nec vulpēs
ursīve atque omnīnō nūllum maleficum animal praeter phalangium*
[*a species of spider: arānea, -ae (1/f)]
[G] Alia sollertia in metū mēlibus: sufflātae cutis distentū ictūs hominum et morsūs canum arcent.
cutis, -is [3/f]:
skin
morsus, -ūs [4/m]:
bite; sting
mucrō, mucrōnis
[3/m]: sharp point
The translations
of the text and the answers are at the end of the post.
Exercise [1] Which of the extracts [A] to [G] refers to:
[i] animals with spots
[ii] apples
[iii] dog bites
[iv] something remarkable / wonderful
[v] the island of Crete
[vi] the neck and shoulders
[vii] the shape of a ball
Exercise [2] Which animal(s) as stated by Pliny the
Elder:
[i] are noble
[ii] senses the
approach of hunters
[iii] have a smart
reaction when frightened
[iv] stores food
for the winter
[v] have claws
[vi] can prevent
human blows
[vii] only show
claws when seizing prey
[viii] stores food
in tree hollows
Exercise [3] Which of the following statements are specifically
made by Pliny the Elder?
[i]
[A] Wolves are
found both on Mount Olympus and on Crete.
[B] Wolves are
found on Mount Olympus but not on Crete.
[C] Wolves are not
found either on Mount Olympus or on Crete.
[ii]
[A] Bears and
foxes are found on Crete.
[B] Neither bears
nor foxes are found on Crete.
[C] Only bears are
found on Crete.
[D] Only foxes are
found on Crete.
[iii]
[A] Panthers and
tigers are almost the only spotted animals.
[B] Only tigers
have spots.
[C] Panthers and
tigers are the only spotted animals.
[iv]
[A] The lion is
considered noble from birth.
[B] Some lions
don’t have manes.
[C] The lion is
considered noble when it has a mane.
[v]
[A] Hedgehogs use
their quills to pierce food.
[B] Hedgehogs use
their quills to attack.
[C] Hedgehogs use
their quills for protection.
____________________
Exercise
[1] Which of
the extracts [A] to [G] refers to:
[i] animals
with spots [E]
[ii]
apples [A]
[iii]
dog bites [G]
[iv]
something remarkable / wonderful [C]
[v] the
island of Crete [F]
[vi]
the neck and shoulders [D]
[vii]
the shape of a ball [B]
Exercise
[2] Which animal(s) as stated by Pliny the Elder:
[i]
are noble │
lions
[ii]
senses the approach of hunters │ hedgehogs
[iii]
have a smart reaction when frightened │
badgers
[iv]
stores food for the winter │
hedgehogs
[v]
have claws │ panthers; lions
[vi]
can prevent human blows │ badgers
[vii]
only show claws when seizing prey │ panthers; lions
[viii]
stores food in tree hollows │ hedgehogs
Exercise
[3] Which of the following statements are specifically made by Pliny the Elder?
[i] [C]
Wolves are not found either on Mount Olympus or on Crete.
[ii]
[B] Neither
bears nor foxes are found on Crete.
[iii]
[A] Panthers and tigers are almost the only spotted animals.
[iv]
[C] The lion is considered noble when it has a mane
[v] [A]
Hedgehogs use their quills to pierce food; [C] Hedgehogs use their quills for
protection
[A] Hedgehogs also lay up food for the winter; rolling
themselves on apples as they lie on the ground, they pierce one with their
quills, and then take up another in the mouth, and so carry them into the
hollows of trees.
[B] When they perceive the approach of the hunter, they draw in
the head and feet, and all the lower part of the body … and then roll
themselves up into the form of a ball, so that there is no way of taking hold
of them but by their quills.
[C] It is a remarkable fact, that pards, panthers, lions, and other animals of this
kind, walk with the points of their nails concealed in a sheath in the body, …
and that, when they run, their hooked claws are turned backwards, and are never
extended, except in the act of seizing their prey.
[D]
the lion (has) particular nobility when the manes cover the neck and shoulders
[E] The
panther and tiger are almost the only beasts seen with a variety of spots
[F] Upon Olympus, a mountain of Macedonia, there are no wolves,
nor on the island of Crete. Indeed there are neither foxes, nor bears, nor any
kind of harmful animal, with the exception of the phalangium
[G] Badgers have another clever trait when frightened: by the
expansion of inflated skin they ward off the blows of men and the bites of dogs
https://penelope.uchicago.edu/thayer/e/roman/texts/pliny_the_elder/home.html
https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/L/Roman/Texts/Pliny_the_Elder/8*.html
https://www.attalus.org/translate/pliny_hn8b.html?utm_source=chatgpt.com
Images #1 and #2:
lions and tigers and bears in the Ancient World, including Rome’s most beloved
wolf.
Image #3: there
are no depictions of badgers from the Roman world (as far I could find) but we
have one to thank for unearthing the biggest hoard of Roman coins ever found in
Spain:
https://www.thearchaeologist.org/blog/hungry-badger-unearths-largest-ever-roman-coin-hoard-in-spain
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