CHAT. XIII. THE THCENIX. 303 



the Phoenix, of which he gives the following ac- 

 count* : — *'I have never seen it but in a painting, 

 for it seldom makes its appearance, and, if we may 

 believe the Heliopolitans, it only visits their country 

 once every 500 years, on the death of its father. If 

 it is like its picture, its wings are partly gold, partly 

 red, and its general appearance is similar to an eagle 

 both in form and size. They relate a peculiarity 

 respecting it, which to me appears incredible. It 

 comes, as the Egyptians say, from Arabia, bringing 

 with it the body of its father enveloped in myrrh, 

 and buries it in the temple of the Sun. For this 

 purpose it makes a mass of myrrh into the form of 

 an egg, of the weight which it thinks itself capable 

 of carrying, and having raised it and found it por- 

 table, it proceeds to hollow out the mass ; and then 

 introducing the body of its father, and closing the 

 orifice with myrrh, the egg is found to be of the 

 same weight as when solid ; and this being done, 

 it brings it to Egypt and deposits it in the temple 

 of the Sun." 



*' The Phoenix of Arabia," says Pliny t, "sur- 

 passes all other birds ; but I do not know if it be 

 a fable that there is only one in the whole world, 

 and that seldom seen. According to report, it is 

 the size of an eagle, of a gold colour about the 

 neck, the rest being purple, its tail blue, varied with 

 red feathers, its face and head richly feathered, with 

 a tuft on the top. Manilius observes that no man 

 ever saw it feeding; that in Arabia it is held sacred 



* Herodot. ii. 73. f Plin. x. 2. 



