6 THEORY OF THE EARTH. 



ment, and a great number of medals. In fact, 

 this animal was repeatedly seen by the Romans ; 

 having been exhibited by Scaurus, Augustus, 

 Antoninus, Commodus, Heliogabalus, Philip, 

 and Carinus *. 



The two species of Camel, the Bactrian and 

 Arabian, are both very well described and charac- 

 terized by Aristotle f . 



The Giraffe, or Camelopard (Camel-Leopard), 

 was also well known to the ancients. A live one 

 was shewn at Rome, in the circus, during the 

 dictatorship of Julius Caesar, in the year of Rome 

 708 ; and ten of them were exhibited together by 

 Gordian III. all of which were killed at the se- 

 cular games of Philip J, a circumstance which 

 may well surprise the moderns, who have only 

 witnessed a single individual, which was sent by 

 the Soldan of Egypt to Laurentius de Medicis, 

 in the fifteenth century, and is painted in the 

 frescoes of Poggio-Cajano. 



If we read with attention the descriptions of 

 the Hippopotamus, given by Herodotus and A- 

 ristotle, and which are supposed to have been 

 borrowed from Hecataeus of Miletum, we shall 



* See the chapter on the Hippopatamus, in the first 

 volume of Recherches. 



t Hist. Anim. Lib. ii. cap. 1. 

 J Jul. Capitol., Oord. iii. cap. 23. 



