Natural Hijlory of the Ancients. 231 



another. Thus Herodotus appears to have taken, 

 so Heeren fuppofes, a caravan journey through 

 North Africa, as defcribed by him in iv. 181-185 ; 

 and we can trace the marvels which were told him 

 in his journey becoming, on his return, part and 

 parcel of Greek thought. To this were due the 

 marvellous animals which his defcription of a large 

 ftrip of territory, being ft^joiuSirc, weftward of the 

 river Triton, allowed the play of fancy at once to 

 create : oxen which fed backwards, owing to the 

 projection of their horns in front ; fnakes, lions, 

 elephants, bears, afps, horned wild aiTes, dog- 

 headed apes, monfters with no heads and eyes in 

 their chefts, " as the Libyans tell, and wild men 

 and wild women, and multitudes of other creatures 

 in nowife fabulous," as the hiftorian feelingly fays. 1 

 It is curious that the monftrous creatures which 

 Robinfon Crufoe met are placed by Defoe in this 

 region. Moft probably many of thefe reports 

 were induftrioufly fpread abroad by the Cartha- 

 ginians to prevent troublefome neighbours from 

 interfering with their commerce ; but much muft 

 be affigned to the tendency of all ignorance to 

 exaggerate. Here, too, was the country of the 

 Garamantes, Lotophagi, and others, where Greek 

 fancy could plant marvels of any kind ; much as 

 our popular writers take New Guinea and the 

 Cannibal Iflands for the home of their ideal 

 monfters. 



Modern philology has done much to winnow 

 the corn from the chaff in thefe mythological 



1 Herod. , iv. 191. 



