Plinies Naturall Hirxdne. 



A gold under the ground, without the privitic of any man : requefting him wiihall^to employ that 

 iunerallprovifion which he had prepared for hinijabouthis ovmc buriail and fepulture. As hee 

 ■ was relating this matter, hisbrothersfecvitorscamein greathaft to the houfe of this elder bro- 

 ther^and brought wordjthat their maifter was departed this life; and the tieaiiirc beforelaid was 

 found in the place accordingly , And verilyjthere is nothing more common in our daily fpeech 

 than of thefe divinationSjbut they arc not to be weighed in equall ballance with ihefe-nor to hee 

 reported or credited all fo confidently .For as much as for the moft part they are mcere iieS;,as we 

 will prove by one notable example. In the Sicilian voiagc it fortuned,ihat Gabtmm^ on£ of the 

 braveft fervitours that C^ir had at fea^was taken prifoner by Sex,Pomfeiu^s:zn<\ by commaunde-« 

 mentfrom him, hishcadwasftricketioff in amanncr, andfcarcehungtothe necke by the skin, 



B and Co lay he all day long upon the fands in the fhore. When it grew toward the cvening5& that 

 acompaniewere flocked about him, hee fetched a great grone, and requeued that fm/?£W 

 would come unto him, or £lt leaftwife fend fomc one of his deerefamiliars that were ncere unto 

 him :andwhy ? ComeIam(quoth hc).fromthe infernallfpiritsbeneath,andhave ameflagc to 

 deliver untohim.Then Pompey ftnt divers of his friends to the man,unto whom Gabknm related 

 in this mannerjThat the infetnall gods werd well pleaftd with the juft qiiarrell and caufe of Pom- 

 feji and therefore hee fhould have as good an ifliie thereof as hee could wifli.Thus much(quoth 

 he)was I charged & commanded to deliver. And for a better proofe of the truth in effed/o Toon 

 as i have done mine errand,! fbali forthwith yeeld up the ghoft. And fo it came to palle indeed, 

 Hiftoriesalfomakc mention of them that have appeared after they were committed to earth, 



C B ut our purpofe is to write of Natures workesj and not to profecute llich miraculous and pro- 

 digious matters* 



^ Chap, liii, 



of fit ddiiim deaths i, 



AS forfuddainc death, thatis to fay, the greateft fclicitie and happinefTe that can fall unco 

 a man; many examples we have tlicreof,that alwaies feeme ftrange and marvellous^ not- 

 withftandiiig they are common. Fermi^s hath fet forth a number of them, but I will keepe 

 within a mcancjand makechoife of them all . Befides Chiion the Lacedasmonian,of whom wee 

 D fpake before5there died fuddainely for very joy Sophocles the Poet 5 and Denis ^ a kingor tyrant of 

 Sicilie:both of them upon tidings brought unto them jthat they had won the beft price among 

 the tragicall Poets. Prcfently after that famous defeature at Cann2e,a mother died immediately 

 upon the fight of her fonne aHvc, whom by a falfe mefienger fhcc heard to have beene flaine in 

 that hmclDiodoms a great profefed Logician,for very (bamc that he could not readily affoik 

 a frivolous queftion,nor anfvvere to Tome demands propoledby i'/i/^^?,rwouned and never came 

 againe. Without any apparent caufe at all that could be feehe, divers have lefc their life ; name- 

 ly ^two of the Crfars jthc one Pretourforthetime being: the other who had borne that digni- 

 tie,the father of C^/^r the Diclatour : both of them in the morning when they were newnleDj 

 and putting on theii fiioes : the one atPif^,the former atRomc.In like manner ^^^Fjtu^ Maxi^ 

 E mm in his very Confullli{p,upGn the laft day of December5[woich wasthe lafl alio of his magi- 

 ftraciCjif hee had lived longer] in whofe place Kcbilui made fuit to bee C onfull, for a very few 

 houres that remained of thatyeerc.Semblably,Cj^//to/>^G//r^£'5aSenatour. All of them in 

 perfedhealthjfoluftie and well liking,that they thought to goe forth prefently, and of nothing 

 lellethantodiebefore. J^^/«)f//?/<ji;f^/^/^,evcnashewasgoingout0^ his bed-chamber, hiE 

 his great toa againft the dore fiBe,and therev^ith died* dAufdiU'sms gotten forth of his hoiife^ 

 and as hee was going to the Senatejftumbled with his fooiiti the Comitium or common place 

 of afremblies,and died in the place. Moreoverja certaineEmbalTadourof thcRhodians, who 

 had tcBthe great admiration of all that were prcfenr^plcaded their caufe before the Senatc^in the 

 very cntrie oi the Counfell houfe> as he was goingforth,fell dowiie dcad,and never fpake word* 

 p C/^.B£shmPamph!im^\shohad bc^ Pretour,died fuddainely, as he was asking a boy what it was 

 aclocke. v^.Ptfz»/?W0i^,fofooneash€hadworrhippedthegodsin theCapitollj and faid hisO-* 

 raifonsjimmediately died. So did MJuventiu^ Taha the Confull,as Ije wa^facrificing. And Cau 

 usServtlm Panfa^ as hee ftood at a lliop in the market place, about eight of the clo :ke in tha 

 niorning^leaning upon his brother /'.P^/?/* his fhoulders, ^^^^/^^ thcjudgejas hcewas adjour- 



R iij Ring 



