NOTE-BOOK or A NATURALIST. 309 



as indicating more tlian variety — it seems that tlie three 

 crocodile mmnmies, so far from being specimens of Geof- 

 frey's SiccJios, are identical with his marginatus, lacu- 

 nosus, and complanatus.'^ Souc, or Souchis, according 

 to M. ChampoUion, indicates the Egyptian name of Sa- 

 turn; and Suchos was, in all probability, the proper 

 name of the individual that Strabo saw at Arsinoe. 

 Thus Apis was the sacred bull of Memphis ; that of 

 Heliopolis was Mnevis. 



But, how^ever this may be, there can be no doubt that 

 the animal was tamed by the ancients ; and as little that 

 proper treatment meets with the same success now. 

 Plutarch relates how the crocodile can be made obedient 

 to the human voice and hand, opening its mouth and 

 suffering its teeth to be cleaned with a towel. 



Crocodiles, says Herodotus,! are sacred with some of 

 the Egyptians ; but not so Vv^ith others, who treat them 

 as enemies. Those who dwell about Thebes and the 

 lake Moeris look on them as very sacred ; and they each 

 train up a crocodile, which is rendered quite tame. Into 

 the ears of these crocodiles they put crystal and gold 

 ear-rings, and adorn their fore-paws with bracelets. They 

 give them appointed and sacred food, treating them as 

 well as possible while alive, and when dead they embalm 

 and bury them in the sacred vaults. But the people 

 who dwell about the city Elephantine eat them, not con- 

 sidering them sacred. They are not called crocodiles by 

 the Egyptians, but cJiampsw. The name of crocodiles 

 was given to them by the lonians, because they thought 

 they resembled lizards,:}: wdiich are found in the hedges 



* GeofFroy founded his C. complanatus on mummies, \vliich MM. 

 Dumeril and Bibron assert are clearly specimens of Crocodilus vul- 

 garis. 



t Eut. 69. 



X KpoKobeiXoi, In Kircher's Egyptian Dictionarij, Pi-souchi 

 is made — but upon no sound foundation — the Coptic name for a 



