The Digital Ark: Early Modern Collections of Curiosities in England and Scotland, 1580-1700
Jacobus Bontius (1592 - 30 Nov 1631)
Dutch physician and a pioneer of tropical medicine Other biography: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacobus_Bontius Authority - early modernRelevant locations: Birth place in Leiden, South Holland
Relationships: Jacobus Bontius was a associate or acquaintance (general) of Dutch East India Company (1602-)
Linked print sources: as Author (in assoc. with a ms or print source) - De Indiæ utriusque Re Naturali et Medica libri quatuordecim.
as Author (in assoc. with a ms or print source) - Historia naturalis & medicae Indiae Orientalis libri sex [DELETE]-see Piso.
as Authority - early modern - De Indiæ utriusque Re Naturali et Medica libri quatuordecim.
as Authority - early modern - Historia naturalis & medicae Indiae Orientalis libri sex [DELETE]-see Piso.
References in Documents:
Gallus gallinaceus peregrinusof
Cygnus cucullatusof
Avis
dronteof
Bon
tii H. Nat59. fig. L. vol. Indica
tii H. Nat
Ann. 12 fig.
his
Flying IavaLizard .
This wonderful Animal entire and very curiously preserved in Spirits
was given me by my Honoured and Worthy Friend Mr.
was given me by my Honoured and Worthy Friend Mr
Another of the same I also received lately from
MadamHerman
rulescente splendens,
NOBIS. Scorp.
Zeylanicusniger maxi
mus
Mus. Sibbald.Sc. 116. Indicus niger, magnitudine Can
crum fluviatile æquans
Mus. Leyd.144.
id.min. 56. Gho
nissa
Zeylon:an S. è
BarbariaMoff. 205. Fig. 204. &
ap
pend. p. 330. ad cap. 10.
pend
id.A. 1049. an Sc. de
TunisiMus.
Cospian.
The
accurateSwammerdam
in his Curious History of Insects
edit. Lat.p. 147. Tab. 6.
edit. Lat.
gives a Figure of one somewhat like
this, but bigger, and seems particularly to differ in having but
three joynts in the Tail, and ours five or six as the lesser have.
this, but bigger, and seems particularly to differ in having but
three joynts in the Tail, and ours five or six as the lesser have.
in hisHist. Natur. & Medic.
lib.5.
cap.4.
p.56.
seems to mention this, where he saysScorpiones quoque co
piosos & grandes fert hæc
partem quartam uinæ implerent, coloris è nigro cyanei &
splendescente,
which Shining and Colour this has.
Mr.Charlton
that late most Curious Preserver of all Natural
and Artificial Rarities, was pleased to give me this
and Artificial Rarities, was pleased to give me this
amongst
other Curiosities
since which Mr.
hath sent methem from
St.George
and Mr.
from theCoast
of
geniculis inferioribus carinulatis.
being the first that gave us this kind, if not this Plant,
I have attributed his Name to it for distinction sake. Its a Pa
rasitical Plant, generally growing on Trees as ourPolypodium
I have attributed his Name to it for distinction sake. Its a Pa
rasitical Plant, generally growing on Trees as our
and Misleto, the Flowers
for the most part resemblingAloes
or Orchis,
and by some are therefore calledVisco Aloes.
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
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.
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.
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.
belonged to the
describes the Animal the best of any before him, yet nei
ther he, nor others describe the Horn to any purpose.
'Tis in colour and smoothness like those of a Bull. Almost
a yard long. At the base, above half a foot over; and
there surrounded with a Garland of black and stubby
Bristles. Sharp-pointed. A little crooked backwards, like
a Cocks Spur. Quite through solid. An instance con
a)
a)
tib. Animal.
l. 3. c. 2
όλδ ζερεα τοις ελαφοις μονοις.
described by
two inches broad, like an
Apothecaries Spatule. Of what
length the whole, is uncertain, this being only part of it,
though it looks as if cut off near the Buttock; 'tis about
nine inches, black, and very rough. On the two edges, and
there only, grow also very black and shining hairs, a foot
long, stubborn, and of the thickness of a smaller
Shoomakers
Shoemaker's
Thread. Yet not round, as other hair, but rather flatish;
like so many little pieces of Whale-Bone.
As also in the Musæum of
a rude half draught,
and without any Description, as well
as the former.
had seen one of them. a)
a)
l. 5. c. 8
but a very bad one. Else-where I find it not. He hath
also
described him, but very defectively, and with several
mistakes.
by the Natives of
'tis mixed of ash-colour with cancellated work of
brown;
pents. Towards the Head it is somewhat slenderer, than
about the middle; where it is in compass, half a yard.
'Tis
almost seven yards long. See the Description of the
Serpent in
not so venimous, as are many others. I have now
at home,
saith the Skin of a Serpent (of
this kind) twelve yards long, which I kill'd in
a Wood in
in that
Kindgom, was one taken thirteen yards and ½
long, with a Boar in her Belly; of which, being boyl'd,
the general a)a)
l. 5. c. 3
b) That in
vince of the quatuor Orgyas longi,
and so big, as to
swallow a Stagg whole, horns and all. b)
c. 1
Of such kind of Serpents, see also
and c)c)
b)
b)
H. N. l. 5
called RHINOCEROS
Avis. It was brought from the
Mr.
hath a Crown on the top of the Bill, of the
same colour
and substance therewith, and prolonged in the
shape of a
ward, as in that of
It is spongy behind, and hollow before;
so that it is very
light, although so big. The Bird described
by
probably this also, breeds in
called RHINOCEROS
Avis. It was brought from the
Mr.
hath a Crown on the top of the Bill, of the same colour
and substance therewith, and prolonged in the shape of a
ward, as in that of
It is spongy behind, and hollow before; so that it is very
light, although so big. The Bird described by
probably this also, breeds in
Cygnus Cucullatus, by
Gallus Gallinaceus Peregrinus;
by
Dronte; who saith, That by some it is
called (in
Dutch)
lughby
especially distinguished from other Birds by the Membra
nous Hood on his Head, the greatness and strength of his
Bill, the littleness of his Wings, his bunchy Tail, and the
shortness of his Legs. Abating his Head and Legs, he
seems to be much like an
Ostrich; to which also he
comes near, as to the bigness of his Body. He breeds
in
long; yet above five in thickness, or round about the
Joynts: wherein, though it be inferior to that of an
Ostrichor a
Cassoary, yet joyned with its shortness, may ren
der it of almost equal strength.
growing upon it.
Given by the Honorable
Mr. Gum is perfectly like
to that of the Wood. The Colour, like that of the purest
and
most lucid Alœ, called Succotrina: for with the light
reflected, it looks almost like Pitch; with
the light trans
mitted, it glisters like a Carbuncle; powder'd, it is of a
reddish
yellow. This, or some other like Aromatick
Gum,
the Alœ of the Hebrews: whence the other, from simili
tude, hath its Name.
The Tree is described by a) a)
c.
76
bigness of the Olive. This Wood is the Heart of the Tree,
the outward part, commonly called the Sap of a Tree,
being whitish and soft. 'Tis said by Sir
(b)
b)
Trans.
N. 43
hurtful, that if any of it lights in the Eyes, it
causeth blind
ness; or scabbiness, if on any other
part of the Body. But
this, doubtless, is to be understood
neither of the Heart,
nor the Sap; but only of the Barque:
there being no
Milk-Vessels in either of the former, that I
remember, in
any Tree, by me observ'd.
Of this Tree there are two sorts: (a) a)
l. 1. c.
76
Calamba, and grows most in
used in
Beads and Crucifixes. The
wilder, called Palo Daguilla, and grows most in
their Bramenes and other men of account, in token of honor.
See hereof also b)b)
Garsiam
Aer-Vessels.
And also very bitter, as the former.
They grow in divers places of the
cial Uses,
being an excellent Remedy (a) a)
l. 1. c. 75
Bitings of Vipers and other
venemous Serpents. They are
also, saith
Intermittent Fevers.
From
whence, and their bitter Tast, one may guess, That
they are
either of kin to the Tree whereof the Pulvis Patrum; or might give occasion, to some who
have been in
both the
MUM,
figur'd by
others with the Name of the Middle Cardamum. The Plant
it self,
both Lesser, and Greater, described and figur'd by
a) a)
c. 36
it will. The Lesser grows
about a yard high, with a joynted
Stalk, like a Reed. But bears its Spikes, with the Flower
and Seed, near the Root. The Greater grows two yards
in
height, the Stalk not joynted, with a Spike of Flowers
at the
top, somewhat like to that of a Jacynth. Both
of
them plentiful in
green, might weigh four or five ounces. And is said to be
dug up, sometimes, of fourteen Ounces. The
Plantun
certainly describ'd.
La
chryma Jobi;Lobelius ,(
chryma Jobi;
c)
c)
Bals
Reed;Garcias , to a
Flag;
Cod.
of the Male, the other of the Female: and supposeth, that
the uncertainty of Relations hereof may proceed partly
from the not distinguishing betwixt them. The Stalk of
the Male indeed seems to have some little likeness to a
Flag.
But the Seed-Cod is there neither figur'd nor describ'd.
Leonard Baltner, a Fisherman of Strasburgh, a Rhene near that City, as also all the
Fish and Water-Insects found there, drawn with great curiosity and exactness by
an excellent hand. The which Fowl, Fishes, and Insects the said Baltner had himself taken, described, and at his own
proper costs and charges caused to be drawn. Which curiosity is much to be
admired and commended in a Person of his Condition and Education. For my part, I
must needs acknowledge that I have received much light and information from the
Work of this poor man, and have been thereby inabled to clear many difficulties,
and rectifie some mistakes in Nurenberg
in Germany he bought a
large England as beyond the
Seas, to be drawn by good Artists.
Thomas Brown, Professor of Physick in
the City of Norwich,
frankly communicated the Marggravius's,
and some out of Clusius his Exotics,
Piso
his Natural History of the West Indies, and
Bontius his of the East.
TheDodo,
called byClusius Gallus gallinaceus peregrinus,
byNieremberg Cygnus cucullatus,
byBontius Dronte.
Hist. Natur. & Medic.
Indiae Oriental.
lib. 5. cap.
17. Bontius writes, that this Bird is for
bigness of mean size, between an Ostrich
and a Turkey, from which it partly
differs in shape, and partly agrees with them, especially with
the African Ostriches, if you consider
the Rump, quils, and feathers: So that it shews like a Pigmy
among them, if you regard the shortness of its Legs. It hath a
great, ill-favoured Head, covered with a kind of membrane
resembling a hood: Great, black Eyes, a bending, prominent, fat
Neck: An extraordinary long, strong, bluish white Bill, only the
ends of each Mandible are of a different colour, that of the
upper black, that of the nether yellowish, both sharp-pointed
and crooked. It gapes huge wide, as being naturally very
voracious. Its body is fat, round, covered with soft,
grey feathers, after the manner of an Ostriches: In each side instead of hard Wing-feathers
or quils, it is furnished with small soft-feathered Wings, of a
yellowish ash-colour; and behind the Rump, instead of a Tail, is
adorned with five small curled feathers of the same colour. It
hath yellow Legs, thick, but very short; four Toes in each foot,
solid, long, as it were scaly, armed with strong, black Claws.
It is a slow-paced and stupid bird, and which easily becomes a
prey to the Fowlers. The flesh, especially of the Breast, is
fat, esculent, and so copious, that three or four Dodos will sometimes suffice to fill an
hundred Seamens bellies. If they be old, or not well boyled,
they are of difficult concoction, and are salted and stored up
for provision of victual. There are found in their stomachs
stones of an ash-colour of divers figures and
magnitudes; yet not bred there as the common people and Seamen
Ostrich kind in that they swallow any
hard things, though they do not digest them. Thus