INDEX. 



cut off by diseases ; how men lived so much longer in earlier 

 times than at present, 66. Proportionably stronger for his 

 size than any other animal ; to compare the strength of a 

 lion with that of man, it must be considered the claws of 

 the animal give a false idea of his power, and ascribe to its 

 force the effects of its arms ; another manner of comparing 

 the strength of man with that of animals, is by the weights 

 which either can carry ; Dr Desaguliers speaks of a man 

 able to raise two thousand pounds, by distributing the 

 weights in such manner that every part of his body bore its 

 share, i. 436. Exercised in running, outstrips horses ; a 

 stout walker, in a journey, walks down a horse ; those em- 

 ployed as messengers at Ispahan, in Persia, runners by pro- 

 fession, go thirty-six leagues in fourteen hours, 439. Every 

 animal endures the want of sleep and hunger with less inju- 

 ry to health than man ; he cannot, uninjured, live four days 

 without eating, drinking, and sleeping, ii. 2. One said to 

 live without food for seven days ; requires sleep for double 

 motives, the refreshment of the mental as well as the bodily 

 frame, 10. A young man deaf and dumb from his birth, 

 knew nothing of death, and never thought of it till the age 

 of twenty-four, when he began to speak all of a sudden, 43. 

 In those countries where men are most barbarous and stu- 

 pid, there brutes are most active and sagacious, iii. 314. 

 One without hands or legs, by practice used his stumps for 

 the most convenient purposes, and performed astonishing 

 feats of dexterity, 330. Man dies under wounds which a 

 quadruped or a bird could easily survive, vi. 178. 

 Manati, may indiscriminately be the last of beasts, or the first 

 of fishes ; its description ; the female has breasts placed for- 

 ward, like those of women ; the tongue so short, some have 

 pretended it has none ; never entirely leaves the water, only 

 advances the head out of the stream to reach the grass on 

 river sides; it feeds entirely on vegetables; places where 

 found ; graze among turtles and other crustaceous fishes, 

 giving or fearing no disturbance ; unmolested, they keep 

 together in large companies, and surround their young ; 

 bring forth in autumn ; and supposed to go with young 

 eighteen months ; the manati has no voice nor cry ; its in- 

 testines are longer in proportion than those of any other 

 creature, the horse excepted ; the fat which lies under the 

 skin, exposed to the sun, has a fine smell and taste, and ex- 

 ceeds the fat of any sea animal ; the heat of the sun does 

 not make it rancid ; it tastes like the oil of sweet almonds, 

 and serves every way instead of butter ; any quantity may 

 be taken inwardly, having no other effect than to keep the 

 body open ; the fat of the tail, boiled, more delicate than 

 the former ; the lean takes a long time in boiling, and eats 



