Linceus spectacles. Written by Lodowicke Lloid Esquire

The glasse of Hunters.

TIrus a Greeke Author in descri∣bing the natures of diuerse nati∣ons,* 1.1 in warres the Athenians to be sea souldiers,* 1.2 the Lacedaemoni∣ans, land foot souldiers, the Thes∣salonians horse men. And for that the people of Creete are most giuen to hunting, and hunting much resembling warres: For the cry of hounds are as sweete musicke in Creete, as the cry of soul∣diers in Assiria: For if the crie of souldiers were altogether consonant and agreeable,* 1.3 ad primum congressum cum hoste, the Assirians were animated, and assured by the couragious crie of the Soul∣ers to haue victorie, but if they were dissonant and not agreeable, the Assirians doubted of some faint-hearted souldiers:* 1.4 for it was the onely cause why Cyrus willed his souldiers after sacrifice done to Castor and Pollux, to sing warlike songs, with loud instruments, lest they should bee terrified with the horrible cry and clamor of the enemy.

So the Lacaedemonians not with trumpets, as the Romans, nor with drums, kettles, pots, and pans, as the Parthians did, but with flutes and soft

sweete musicall instruments sing martiall songs, and dancing in their armours.* 1.5

So was the commandement of Ioshua to his sol∣diers after they had gone seuen times about the wals of leticho,* 1.6 to sound the Rams hornes, and to shout with a lond crie. And Gedeon to his souldi∣ers willed them to breake their pitcher pots, and to make a sudden Ioud crie,* 1.7 and so to set on the e∣nemies, saying, Gladius Dei, & Gedi••nis.

So the hunters iudge of their games by the con∣sent and dissent of the crie of their hounds: For by the dissent of the crie,* 1.8 they resemble the Ethiopi∣an souidiers, who withall dissonant crie, and hor∣rible houldings enter the battell.

So the old Gauies with raging and furious cla∣mors without order set on the enemy.* 1.9

So some vnskilfull hunters, that cannot recall their hounds, being at Counter, that knowe nor how to put them to the right sent againe, no more then an vnexpert Captaine can vpon the like dis∣order, know to instruct his souldiers.

Well therefore is hunting compared to warres, and the hunters to souldiers. It should seeme that Alexander the great loued hunting well,* 1.10 who gaue King Porus a Kingdome for a hundreth and fiftie Indian dogges: For Alexander brought no∣thing out of India but dogges and Elephants: For Alexander left many of his souldiers in India.

Haniball also loued hunting:* 1.11 For he hunted se∣uenteene yeares in Italy for Romes sake: For by

hunting Haniball got Tarentum and Capua.

Mithridates a great hunter,* 1.12 who for forty yeares kept wars with the Romans, vsed hunting for chiefe exercise in wars: For the cry of his hounds was as sweete to King Mithridates in Asia, as the neighing of a horse to Darius in Persia, the one saued himselfe (by hunting) from the Romains, the other by the neighing of a horse, became King in Persia.

The loue of dogs,* 1.13 compared with the loue of men, it is probable, that some dogs lept into the flame of fire to be burned with their Maisters, some haue dyed on the graues of their dead Maisters, & some haue drowned themselues, with swimming after their Maisters.

Therefore the old Romans couered their house∣hold and country Gods, with dogs skinnes,* 1.14 trimd and deckt with sundry, and diuerse kinds of Gar∣lands, made with sweete flowres & franckensence, and placed them in their gates, porches and galla∣ries, to watch and guard their houses from theeues and robbers.

In the Temples of Minerua in Achaia,* 1.15 and in the Temple of Iuno in Samos, dogs were kept with better trust to be watches, and guards of their Tē∣ples, then men: for feare of Sacriledge.

Masinissa, King of Numidia, had dogs for his guard, to watch in the next chamber to his Bed∣chamber, such was Masinissas trust to dogs,* 1.16 though he had 54 Sonnes, and a large kingdome, all the

Romans his deere friends: yet esteemed more the biting and barking of dogs before all.

It would be tedious to write examples of Dogs,* 1.17 for Cymon the great Captaine of Athens, had a dog that loued him so well, that he dyed in prison with his M. Zantippus as great a Captaine as hee in Sparta had a dog that loued him so well, that hee swam after his M^r. from Sparta to Salamina, where the Dog dyed for wearines, and his M. buried him.

In Africa, a dog was worshiped, and had in such reuerence, that they did gouerne and rule their common weale,* 1.18 by the motion and gesture of a common weale, by the motion and gesture of a dog, so did they in Ethiopia, prognosticate and cō∣iecture things to come by their dogs, euen in the like manner, as the Arabians and the people of Ca∣ria, by flights of foules, and the Romans by lyuers of beasts.

But to conclude, dogs were so esteemed in king∣domes and countries,* 1.19 that Osyris the great King of Egypt displayed a dog in his chiefe Ensigne in wars and the Emperour Heliogabolus was caried in his Triumphs, by soure great dogs.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Athenians.
• * 1.2

  Lacedemoniās
• * 1.3

  The cry of sol∣diers and the cry of hunters must be alike.
• * 1.4

  Songs of warre and sacrifices.
• * 1.5

  Ioshua.
• * 1.6

  Iericho.
• * 1.7

  Iud. 7.
• * 1.8

  The Ethiopian souldier.
• * 1.9

  The old Gauls.
• * 1.10

  Alexander. Diodor. lib. 17, Biblioth.
• * 1.11

  Hamball.
• * 1.12

  Mithridates a great hunter.
• * 1.13

  The louée of dogges.
• * 1.14

  The old Ro∣mans.
• * 1.15

  The Temples of Minerua & Iuno. Alex. ab Alex. lib. 1. cap. 3.
• * 1.16

  val. Max. lib. 9. cap. 13.
• * 1.17

  The loue of Dogs to their Maisters.
• * 1.18

  In Africa Dogs worshiped.
• * 1.19

  Osyris.