TheTYG MlESofthe Jncients7~ T^ 



more than other Bmtes of the fame Species do among themfelves, and 

 what we know nothing of , whatever Democritm and MeUm^odes m 

 Fliny («),or ApoUonius Tyan£m in Porphyry (o) might formerly have done. 

 Had the Pygmies ever {poke any Language intelligible by Mankind, this 

 might have fnrniftied our Hifiorims with notable Subjeds for their No- 

 vels -^ and no doubt but we Ihould have had plenty of them. 



But Albertus Magnus^ who was fo lucky as to guefs that the Tyg- 

 mjes were a fort of Apes 5 that he Giould afterwards make thefe Apes to 

 j^eak, , was very unfortunate, and fpoiled all ; and he do's it, methinks, 

 fo very awkardly, that it is as difficult almoft to underftand his Lan- 

 guage as his Apes ; if the Reader has a mind to attempt it, he will find 

 it in the Margin (p). 



Had Albertm only afferted, that the Pygmies were a fort of Apes , his 

 Opinion poffibly might have obtained with lefs difficulty ,unlefs he could 

 liave produced fomeBody that had heard them talk. But Ulyjfes Aldro- 

 •vandm (jf) is fo far from believing his Ape Pygmies ever fpoke, that he 

 utterly denys, that there were ever any fuch Creatures in being, as the 

 Pygmies^ at all ; or that they ever fought the Cranes. Cum itaque Pyg- 

 nioios (faith he) dart negemtfs^ Grues etiam cum its Bellum gerere , ut fa- 

 bulanUir^ negahimm^ ^ tarn pertinaciter id negabimus , at ne JHrantibm 

 credemus. . 



I find a great many very Learned Men are of this Opinion : And in 

 the firfl: place, Strabo (r) is very pofitive ; ""Eag^c^Me? /^V ^ «^&i$ c^«5/^T<2y 

 j^ 'Tngixi; a|iW av^^oev' i. e. No Man worthy of belief did ever fee them. 

 And upon all occafions he declares the fame. So Julit^ Ccefar Scaliger (j-) 

 makes them to be only a Fiftion of the Ancients, At ha^c omnia ( faith 

 he ) Antiquorum figmenta & mem Nug£^ ji exjiarent^ reperirentur. At 

 cum univerfus Orbit nunc nobis cognitm jit^ nuUibi hac Naturae Excrementa. 

 reperiri certijjimum eB. And Ifaac Cafaubon (t) ridicules fuch as pre- 

 tend to juftifie them : Sic noftra (State (faith he) noji defunt^ qui eand.em 

 de Pygm<£is lepidam fabeUam renovent 5 ut qui etiam e Sacris Literk, fi 

 Deo placet J fidem illis conentiir a^ruere. Legi etiam Bergei cujufdam Galli 

 Scripta^ quife vidiffe diceret. At non ego credulm iUi^ illi inquam Omnium 

 Bipedum mendacijfimo. I Ihall add one Authority more, and that is of 



(n) Plni] Nat. Hid, lib. lo. cap. 49, (o) Porpbjrm de Abjl'menfia, lib. j.pag. m. 103. 



(p) S'l qui Homines futit Silveftres, ficut Pygmem, mn [ecundum umm rationem mblfcum diUi [unt Humi- 

 nes, fed aliqmd babent Homhis in quadam deliberatione (ly Loquela, S^c. A little after adds, Voces qv^dam 

 Cfc.Animaliajformantaddiverfos conceptm quos habent, ficut Homo fy Pygmxm ; fy quAdmtnon fadunt 

 hoc, ficut midtitudo fere tota aliorum Ammdium. Adhuc autem eorum qua ex ratione coghativa formani 

 voces, qutidian fimt [uccumbentia, quedatrt autem mn fiiccumbeiitia. Dico autem hccumbentlt , a comeptu 

 Anim£ cadentia fy mata ad Nature Infiinlium,ficv.t Pygmem, qui mn, fequitur rationem Loquela fed NatM-£ 

 InjHnilum ; Homo autem mn fuccumbit fed fequitur rationem. AIbert.Magn.de Animal.Iib.i.cap.;, p.m.g. 



( q ) Vlyf. Aldrovandi Ornithokg. lib. 20. p. m. 544. \^t ) Strabo Geograph. lib. 1 7. p. m. 5155, 

 (s) Jul. c/f. Scaliger. Comment. in Arifi. HiS. Animal.iih.S. §. 126. p.m. $14. ( t) Ifaac Caufahm 

 Mt* lis' Qaftigat. iii lib. i. Strabom Geoff aph, p. m. 3 8. 



C 2 



