The Digital Ark: Early Modern Collections of Curiosities in England and Scotland, 1580-1700
Marcus Valerius Martialis (38-41 - 101-104)
Alias Martial
Marcus Cocceius Nerva (35-28 Jan 98) was a associate or acquaintance (general) of Marcus Valerius Martialis
References in Documents:
posed
indifferently to the shape of the Animal. In the
Description
whereof b)
b)
Nat. Ind.
Orient
to the truth. Yet
is he very short and defective. To
whose therefore, as far as
may be by this Skin, I shall add
a better.
'Tis a yard long, and almost a foot over; his head nine
inches
long, almost eight over at the top. His Snout
broadish, as in
a Calf. His Eyes little, as those of a Hog,
about ¼ of
an inch long. They stand low, not much more
than three inches
above his Nose end. His Ears also like a
Hogs. His Legs, as of
the Hippopotamus, rateably short;
about
ten inches long. His Tail, five and ½; flat, as that of
the Castor; but not so broad, near the Buttocks an inch
and
½, at the end ½ an inch.
The said Skin is every where thick, and very hard;
excepting
only his Ears which are softer, and extream thin.
It hath
about ten Plicæ or Folds; two under
the nether
Jaw, one on the Breast, in the figure of the letter
V, on the
Neck one on each side, one between the Shoulders
semi
circular, on the Back two transversly
extended to the bot
tom of the sides, with two more
strait ones, carry'd obli
quely on the Buttocks.
The lower part of the Forehead and Snout cover'd with
a kind of
hard Crust. His Ears naked and smooth. All
the other parts
rough with round scaly Crusts; on the
Back, Sides, and Belly,
lesser, near a ¼ of an inch over; on
the nether Chap
and Shoulders, bigger; on his Buttocks
and Legs, the biggest,
about ½ an inch over. His Hair is
black, short, and
fine. So few, that there are not many
more than scales or
shells; growing for the most part, out
of the centre of the
shell; so that he is almost naked. His
Dock is also naked on
both sides, but on the edges there
grows a considerable
quantity of longer and thicker Hair.
The Animal being very
young, had no Horn, nor so much
as any sign of it.
The Rhinoceros, says a)
a)
Nat
Elephant, saving that he is not so tall. He
will lick a Man
to death, (b)b)
rough and sharp Tongue.
In
scription,
Eyes are placed very low, as they are
also in this Skin.
But the Cloven-Feet, in the same Picture, I
find not here:
peradventure, the Skin not being well taken off
the
Feet.
In the time of
big, as to
toss not only a Bear, but a Bull upon his Horn.
(c)
c)
Epigr. 22. &
Epigr. 9.
lib.
1Rhinoceros,
Namq; gravem gemino Cornu sic extulis Ursum, &c.
I do not well understand. The Figure given by
above, represents
but one Horn only. Neither doth
both in
houses and in the woods) describe or mention any
more than one
Horn, And those who do speak of ano
ther, yet make it
a very small one, and not over against
the other, but on the
forepart of his back, and so in a
place where it is
immoveable, and can no way be made use
of for the tossing up
of any thing, as the other on his
Nose.
The Rhinoceros breeds not in d)
d)
p.
88