All from Pliny the Elder’s Natural History:
[A] Praeparant hiemī et īrēnāceī ac volūtātī suprā iacentia pōma adfixa spīnīs, ūnum amplius tenentēs ōre, portant in cavās arborēs.
[B] (īrēnāceī) … ubi vērō sēnsēre vēnantem, contractō ōre pedibusque ac parte omnī īnferiōre, … convolvuntur in fōrmam pilae, nē quid conprehendī possit praeter aculeōs.
[C] Mīrum pardōs*, panthērās, leōnēs et similia condītō in corporis vāgīnās unguium mucrōne, … ingredī āversīsque falculīs currere nec nisi in adpetendō prōtendere. [*Pliny is referring here to a male panther]
[D] leōnī praecipua generōsitās tunc, cum colla armōsque vestiunt iubae
[E] Panthēra et tigrīs maculārum varietāte prope sōlae bēstiārum spectantur
[F] in Olympō Macedoniā monte nōn sunt lupī nec in Crētā īnsulā, ibi quidem nec vulpēs ursīve atque omnīnō nūllum maleficum animal praeter phalangium* [*a species of spider: arānea, -ae (1/f)]
[G] Alia sollertia in metū mēlibus: sufflātae cutis distentū ictūs hominum et morsūs canum arcent.
cutis, -is [3/f]: skin
morsus, -ūs [4/m]: bite; sting
mucrō, mucrōnis [3/m]: sharp point
The translations of the text and the answers are at the end of the post.
Exercise [1] Which of the extracts [A] to [G] refers to:
[i] animals with spots
[ii] apples
[iii] dog bites
[iv] something remarkable / wonderful
[v] the island of Crete
[vi] the neck and shoulders
[vii] the shape of a ball
Exercise [2] Which animal(s) as stated by Pliny the Elder:
[i] are noble
[ii] senses the approach of hunters
[iii] have a smart reaction when frightened
[iv] stores food for the winter
[v] have claws
[vi] can prevent human blows
[vii] only show claws when seizing prey
[viii] stores food in tree hollows
Exercise [3] Which of the following statements are specifically made by Pliny the Elder?
[i]
[A] Wolves are found both on Mount Olympus and on Crete.
[B] Wolves are found on Mount Olympus but not on Crete.
[C] Wolves are not found either on Mount Olympus or on Crete.
[ii]
[A] Bears and foxes are found on Crete.
[B] Neither bears nor foxes are found on Crete.
[C] Only bears are found on Crete.
[D] Only foxes are found on Crete.
[iii]
[A] Panthers and tigers are almost the only spotted animals.
[B] Only tigers have spots.
[C] Panthers and tigers are the only spotted animals.
[iv]
[A] The lion is considered noble from birth.
[B] Some lions don’t have manes.
[C] The lion is considered noble when it has a mane.
[v]
[A] Hedgehogs use their quills to pierce food.
[B] Hedgehogs use their quills to attack.
[C] Hedgehogs use their quills for protection.
____________________
Exercise [1] Which of the extracts [A] to [G] refers to:
[i] animals with spots [E]
[ii] apples [A]
[iii] dog bites [G]
[iv] something remarkable / wonderful [C]
[v] the island of Crete [F]
[vi] the neck and shoulders [D]
[vii] the shape of a ball [B]
Exercise [2] Which animal(s) as stated by Pliny the Elder:
[i] are noble │ lions
[ii] senses the approach of hunters │ hedgehogs
[iii] have a smart reaction when frightened │ badgers
[iv] stores food for the winter │ hedgehogs
[v] have claws │ panthers; lions
[vi] can prevent human blows │ badgers
[vii] only show claws when seizing prey │ panthers; lions
[viii] stores food in tree hollows │ hedgehogs
Exercise [3] Which of the following statements are specifically made by Pliny the Elder?
[i] [C] Wolves are not found either on Mount Olympus or on Crete.
[ii] [B] Neither bears nor foxes are found on Crete.
[iii] [A] Panthers and tigers are almost the only spotted animals.
[iv] [C] The lion is considered noble when it has a mane
[v] [A] Hedgehogs use their quills to pierce food; [C] Hedgehogs use their quills for protection
[A] Hedgehogs also lay up food for the winter; rolling themselves on apples as they lie on the ground, they pierce one with their quills, and then take up another in the mouth, and so carry them into the hollows of trees.
[B] When they perceive the approach of the hunter, they draw in the head and feet, and all the lower part of the body … and then roll themselves up into the form of a ball, so that there is no way of taking hold of them but by their quills.
[C] It is a remarkable fact, that pards, panthers, lions, and other animals of this kind, walk with the points of their nails concealed in a sheath in the body, … and that, when they run, their hooked claws are turned backwards, and are never extended, except in the act of seizing their prey.
[D] the lion (has) particular nobility when the manes cover the neck and shoulders
[E] The panther and tiger are almost the only beasts seen with a variety of spots
[F] Upon Olympus, a mountain of Macedonia, there are no wolves, nor on the island of Crete. Indeed there are neither foxes, nor bears, nor any kind of harmful animal, with the exception of the phalangium
[G] Badgers have another clever trait when frightened: by the expansion of inflated skin they ward off the blows of men and the bites of dogs
https://penelope.uchicago.edu/thayer/e/roman/texts/pliny_the_elder/home.html
https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/L/Roman/Texts/Pliny_the_Elder/8*.html
https://www.attalus.org/translate/pliny_hn8b.html?utm_source=chatgpt.com
Images #1 and #2: lions and tigers and bears in the Ancient World, including Rome’s most beloved wolf.
Image #3: there are no depictions of badgers from the Roman world (as far I could find) but we have one to thank for unearthing the biggest hoard of Roman coins ever found in Spain:
https://www.thearchaeologist.org/blog/hungry-badger-unearths-largest-ever-roman-coin-hoard-in-spain
