BOOK VII.] History of Nature. 199 



which at that time was very flourishing: and the ruin of the 

 place certainly followed. Cornelia, the Mother of the Grac- 

 chi, is suflficient proof that it is an adverse omen, when 

 Women are born with the Genital Parts grown together. 

 Some Children are born with a continued edge of Bone 

 instead of a row of distinct Teeth ; x as a Son of Prusius King 

 of the Bythinians, who had such a Bone in his Upper Jaw. 

 But Teeth are the only parts that are not subdued by the 

 Fires ; so that they are not consumed with the rest of the 

 Body; but the same parts that are not conquered by the 

 Flames are hollowed out and wasted by a Waterish Rheum. 

 They may be made White by some Medicines. They are 

 worn away by use ; and sometimes they fall first out of the 

 Head ; they serve not only to grind our Meat for our Nourish- 

 ment, but they are necessary for the framing of our Speech. 

 The Fore-teeth hold the Government over our Voice and 

 Words by a peculiar accord, answering to the Stroke of the 

 Tongue, and the series of their Formation, with their Size, 

 cutting up, softening, or restraining the Words ; but when 

 they are fallen out all explanation of Words is lost. 

 Moreover, it may be believed, that some Augury can be 

 gathered from the Teeth. Men are in possession of two-and- 

 thirty in all, except the Nation of the Turduli ; and those 

 who have above this Number suppose that they may calcu- 

 late on longer Life. Women have not so many : they that 

 have on the right Side in the upper Jaw two Eye-teeth, 

 named Canine, may promise themselves the Favours of For- 

 tune ; as was the case in Agrippinu, the Mother of Domitius 

 Aero : but it is the contrary in the Left Side. It is not the Cus- 

 tom in any Country to burn in a Funeral Fire the dead Body 

 of an Infant before the Teeth are come up : but of this we will 

 write more, when our History will take in the individual 

 Members. Zoroastres was the only Man we have heard of, 

 who laughed the same day he was born : his Brain did so 

 evidently pulsate, that it would lift up the Hand that was 

 laid on it: a Presage of his future Learning. It is certain 



1 This was also the case with King Pyrrhus. See note, lib. vii. 2. 

 Wern. Club. 



