552 plIht's natueai. histoet. [BookX 



cal incantations. The thos and the lion are at war with each 

 other; and, indeed, the smallest objects and the greatest just 

 as much. Caterpillars will avoid a tree that is infested with 

 ants. The spider, poised in its web, will throw itself on the 

 head of a serpent as it lies stretched beneath the shade of the 

 tree where it has built, and with its bite pierce its brain ; such 

 is the shock, that the creature will hiss from time to time, and 

 then, seized with vertigo, coil round and round, while it 

 finds itself unable to take to flight, or so much as to break the 

 web of the spider, as it hangs suspended above ; this scene 

 only ends with its death. 



CHAP. 96. — INSTAfrCES OP AFFECTIOlf SHOWN BY SEEPEKIS. 



On the other hand, there is a strict friendship existing be- 

 tween the peacock and the pigeon, the turtle-dove and the 

 parrot, the blackbird and the turtle, the crow and the heron, 

 all of which join in a common enmity against the fox. The 

 harpe also, and the kite, unite against the triorchis. 



And then, besides, have we not seen instances of affection in 

 the serpent even, that most ferocious of all animals ? We 

 have already/' related the story that is told of a man in Arca- 

 dia, who was saved by a dragon which had belonged to him, 

 and of his voice being recognized by the animal. We must 

 also make mention here of another marvellous story that is 

 related by Phylarchus about the asp. He teUs us, that in 

 Egypt one of these animals, after having received its daily 

 nourishment at the table of a certain person, brought forth, and 

 that it so happened that the son of its entertainer was kiUed 

 by one of its young ones ; upon which, returning to its food 

 as usual, and becoming sensible of the crime, it immediately 

 killed the young one, and returned to the house no more. 



CHAP. 97. (75.) — TfflE SLEEP OP ANIMALS. 



The question as to their sleep, is one that is by no means 

 difficult to solve. In the land animals, it is quite evident that 

 all that have eyelids sleep. With reference to aquatic animals, 

 it is admitted that they also sleep, though only for short 

 periods, even by those writers who entertain doubts as to the 

 other animals ; and they come to this conclusion, not from any 

 appearance of the eyes, for they have no eyelids,indeed, to close, 

 « In B. viii. c. 22. ■ 



