Natural Hi/lory of the Ancients. 205 



" Here in a verdant cave's embowering (hade, 

 The foftering wolf and martial twins were laid ; 

 Th' indulgent mother, half reclined along, 

 Looked fondly back, and formed them with her tongue, 

 While at her breaft the fportive infants hung." 



Ornytus is alfo pictured by Virgil as wearing a 

 wolf-fkin head-drefs : 



" Caput ingens oris hiatus 

 Et malae texere lupi cum dentibus albis." 1 



Ariftotle evidently knew a good deal about the 

 habits of the wolf. It produces blind puppies like 

 a dog, he fays. A pleafant fable has attached 

 itfelf to wolves, that they all produce young in a 

 certain twelve days of the year, becaufe in fo many 

 days they once conducted Latona from the Hyper- 

 boreans to Delos, me having changed herfelf into 

 the form of a me-wolf from fear of Juno. This 

 ftatement, however, he adds, feems to be as 

 mythical as the ftory that they only bear young 

 once in their lives. They always live on flem, 

 except when ailing, and then, like dogs, they eat 

 grafs. Thofe which lead a folitary life are more 

 ready to eat men than thofe which hunt in packs. 

 In exceflive hunger they will ftoop to eat earth. 

 Clearly Ariftotle had fifted much of the popular 

 knowledge, as was his wont; but it is not fur- 

 prifing that he ftates more of wolves than experi- 

 ence warranted. 2 



Pliny, on the contrary, although he lived fo 

 much later, was an eager liftener to all old 

 women's tales. The fat of wolves was efteemed, 



1 "JEn."x\. 680. 



2 " De Nat. Animal.," vi. 29 ; viii. 7. 



