The historie of serpents. Or, The second booke of liuing creatures wherein is contained their diuine, naturall, and morall descriptions, with their liuely figures, names, conditions, kindes and natures of all venemous beasts: with their seuerall poysons and antidotes; their deepe hatred to mankind, and the wonderfull worke of God in their creation, and destruction. Necessary and profitable to all sorts of men: collected out of diuine scriptures, fathers, phylosophers, physitians, and poets: amplified with sundry accidentall histories, hierogliphicks, epigrams, emblems, and ænigmaticall obseruations. By Edvvard Topsell.

OF THE TORTOYCE OF THE earth, whose shell is onely figured. [ 30]

[illustration]

[ 40]

THese Tortoyces which neuer come in water, either sweet or Salt, cleare or muddy, are called by the Graecians Che∣lone Chersaie, by the Latines Chersinae, and Testudines, Terrestres, Syluestres, and Montanae, & by Nicander, Orine: and the French peculiarly Tortue des Boys, a Tortoyce of the wood. [ 50]

These are found in the desarts of Affrica, as in Lybia & * 1.1 Mauritania, in the open fieldes, and likewise in Lidia in the Corne-fieldes, for when the Plow-men come to plowe their Land, their shares turne them out of the earth vpon

the furtowes as big as great Glebes of land. And the shels of these the Husbandmen burne on the land, and dig them out with Spades and Mattocks, euen as they doe Wormes a∣mong places full of such vermine.

The Hill Parthenius, and Soron in Arcadia, doe yeeld many of these Land-Tortoyces. The Shell of this liuing Creature is very pleasantly distinguished with diuers colours, as earthy, blacke, blewish, and almost like a Salamanders. The Liuer of it is small, yet apt to be blowen or swell with winde, and in all other parts they differ not from the common and vulgar generall prefixed discription.

These liue in Corne-fieldes, vpon such fruits as they can finde; and therefore also they may be kept in Chestes or Gardens, and fed with Apples, Meale, or Bread without Lea∣uen. [ 10] They eate also Cockles, and Wormes of the earth, and three-leaued-grasse. They * 1.2 will also eate Vipers, but presently after they eate Origan, for that herbe is an antidote a∣gainst Viperine poyson for them, and vnlesse they can instantly finde it, they dye of the poyson. The like vse it is sayde to haue of Rue, but the Tortoyces of the Sandy Sea in Affrique, liue vpon the fat, dew, and moystnesse of those Sandes. They are ingendered like other of their kind, & the Males are more venerous then the Females, because the fe∣male must needes bee turned vppon her backe, and she cannot rise againe without helpe: wherefore many times the Male after his lust is satisfied, goeth away, & leaueth the poore Female to be destroyed of Kytes, or other aduersaries: their naturall wisedome therefore hath taught them to preferre life and safety before lust and pleasure. Yet Theocritus wri∣teth, [ 20] of a certaine Hearb, that the Male-Tortoyce getteth into his mouth, and at the time of lust turneth the same to his Female, who presently vpon the smell thereof, is more en∣raged for copulation then is the Male, and so giueth vp her selfe to his pleasure without all feare of euill, or prouidence against future daunger: but this Hearb neither he nor any other can name. They lay Egges in the earth, and do not hatch them, except they breath on them with their mouth, out of which at due time come their young ones. All the win∣ter-time they digge themselues into the earth, and there liue without eating any thing, in∣somuch as a man woulde thinke they could neuer liue againe, but in the Summer and warme weather they dig themselues out againe without danger.

The Tortoyces of India in their old and full age change their shels and couers, but all [ 30] other in the World neuer change or cast them. This Tortoyce of the earth is an enemy to Vipers, and other Serpents, and the Eagles againe are enemies to this, not so much for hatred as desirous thereof for Physicke, against their sicknesses & diseases of Nature; and therefore they are called in Greeke Chelonophagoi aetoi, Tortoyce-eating-Eagles: for al∣though they cannot come by them out of their deepe and hard Shell, yet they take them vp into the ayre, and so let them fall downe vppon some hard stone or Rocke, and there-vpon it is broken all to peeces, and by this means died the famous Poet Aeschilus, vvhich kind of fate was foretold him, that such a day he should dye: wherefore to auoyd his end, in a fayre Sunne-shine cleare day he sat in the fields, and suddenly an Eagle let a Tortoyce fall downe vpon his head which brake his scull, and crushed out his braynes, whereupon [ 40] the Graecians wrote:

Aeschulographonti, epipeptoke Chelone,

Which may be englished thus;

Eschilus writing vpon a rocke, A Tortoyce falling, his braines out knocke.

The vses of this Land Tortoyce, are first for Gardens, because they cleare the Gar∣dens from Snayles and Wormes: out of the Arcadian Tortoyces they make Harps, for their shelles are very great, and this kind of Harp is called in Latine Testudo, the inuentor [ 50] whereof is said to be Mercury, for finding a Tortoyce after the falling in of the Riuer Ni∣lus, whose flesh was dryed vp, because it was left vppon the Rockes, hee strucke the sin∣newes thereof, which by the force of his hand, made a musicall sound, and thereupon he framed it into a Harp, which caused other to imitate his action, and continue that prac∣tise vnto this day.

These Tortoyces are better meate then the Sea or Water-Tortoyces; and therefore they are preferred for the belly; especially they are giuen to Horses, for by them they are raysed in flesh, and made much fatter. And thus much shall suffice for the Tortoyce of the earth.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Strabo
• * 1.2

  •…•…nus.