Scaife ATLAS

CTS Library / Plutarch's Natural Questions

Plutarch's Natural Questions (37-39)

urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0007.tlg125.perseus-eng2:37-39
Refs {'start': {'reference': '37', 'human_reference': 'Chapter 37'}, 'end': {'reference': '39', 'human_reference': 'Chapter 39'}}
Ancestors []
Children []
prev
plain textXML
next
XXXVII.
WHY DO DOGS FOLLOW AFTER A STONE THAT IS THROWN AT THEM AND BITE IT, LETTING THE MAN ALONE WHO FLUNG IT?

Is it because he can comprehend nothing by imagination nor call a thing to mind, which are gifts and virtues proper

to man alone; and therefore, seeing he cannot discern the party that offered him injury, he supposeth that to be his enemy which seemeth in his eye to threaten him, and of it he goes about to be revenged? Or is it that he thinks the stone, while it runs along the ground, to be some wild beast, and according to his nature he intendeth to catch it first; but afterwards, when he seeth himself deceived and put besides his reckoning, he setteth upon the man? Or rather, doth he not hate the man and the stone both alike, but pursueth that only which is next unto him?

XXXVIII.
WHY AT A CERTAIN TIME OF THE YEAR DO ALL SHE-WOLVES WHELP WITHIN THE COMPASS OF TWELVE DAYS?

ANTIPATER in his History of Animals affirms, that shewolves exclude forth their young ones about the time that mast trees shed their blossoms, for upon the taste thereof their wombs open; but if there be none of such blooms to be had, then their young die within the body and never come to light. Moreover, he saith, those countries which bring not forth oaks and mast are never troubled nor spoiled with wolves. Some attribute all this to a tale that goes of Latona; who being with child, and finding no abiding place of rest and safety by reason of Juno for the space of twelve days, went to Delos, and, being transmuted by Jupiter into a wolf, obtained at his hands that all wolves for ever after might within that time be delivered of their young.

XXXIX.
HOW COMETH IT THAT WATER, SEEMING WHITE ALOFT, SHOWETH TO BE BLACK IN THE BOTTOM?

Is it because depth is the mother of darkness, so that it doth dim and mar the sunbeams before they can descend so low as it? As for the uppermost superficies of the water, because it is immediately affected by the sun, it must needs receive the white brightness of the light; the which Empedocles verily approveth in these verses:

A river in the bottom seems
By shade of color black;
The like is seen in caves and holes,
By depth, where light they lack.
Or, since the bottom of the sea and of great rivers is often full of mud, doth it by reflection of the sunbeams represent the like color that the said mud hath? Or is it more probable that the water toward the bottom is not pure and sincere, but corrupted with an earthy quality,— as continually carrying with it somewhat of that by which it runneth and wherewith it is stirred,—and the same settling once to the bottom causeth it to be more troubled and less transparent?

Tokens

XXXVII 1 w 6
WHY 1 w 10
DO 1 w 12
DOGS 1 w 16
FOLLOW 1 w 22
AFTER 1 w 27
A 2 w 28
STONE 1 w 33
THAT 1 w 37
IS 1 w 39
THROWN 1 w 45
AT 2 w 47
THEM 1 w 51
AND 1 w 54
BITE 1 w 58
IT 2 w 60
LETTING 1 w 68
THE 2 w 71
MAN 1 w 74
ALONE 1 w 79
WHO 1 w 82
FLUNG 1 w 87
IT 3 w 89
Is 1 w 92
it 1 w 94
because 1 w 101
he 1 w 103
can 1 w 106
comprehend 1 w 116
nothing 1 w 123
by 1 w 125
imagination 1 w 136
nor 1 w 139
call 1 w 143
a 6 w 144
thing 2 w 149
to 1 w 151
mind 1 w 155
which 1 w 161
are 1 w 164
gifts 1 w 169
and 1 w 172
virtues 1 w 179
proper 1 w 185
to 2 w 187
man 1 w 190
alone 1 w 195
and 2 w 199
therefore 1 w 208
seeing 1 w 215
he 4 w 217
cannot 1 w 223
discern 1 w 230
the 2 w 233
party 1 w 238
that 1 w 242
offered 1 w 249
him 1 w 252
injury 1 w 258
he 6 w 261
supposeth 1 w 270
that 2 w 274
to 3 w 276
be 2 w 278
his 1 w 281
enemy 1 w 286
which 2 w 291
seemeth 1 w 298
in 7 w 300
his 2 w 303
eye 1 w 306
to 4 w 308
threaten 1 w 316
him 2 w 319
and 3 w 323
of 2 w 325
it 2 w 327
he 7 w 329
goes 1 w 333
about 1 w 338
to 5 w 340
be 3 w 342
revenged 1 w 350
Or 1 w 353
is 4 w 355
it 3 w 357
that 3 w 361
he 8 w 363
thinks 1 w 369
the 3 w 372
stone 1 w 377
while 1 w 383
it 4 w 385
runs 1 w 389
along 1 w 394
the 4 w 397
ground 1 w 403
to 7 w 406
be 4 w 408
some 1 w 412
wild 1 w 416
beast 1 w 421
and 4 w 425
according 1 w 434
to 8 w 436
his 3 w 439
nature 1 w 445
he 11 w 447
intendeth 1 w 456
to 9 w 458
catch 1 w 463
it 5 w 465
first 1 w 470
but 1 w 474
afterwards 1 w 484
when 1 w 489
he 13 w 491
seeth 1 w 496
himself 1 w 503
deceived 1 w 511
and 5 w 514
put 1 w 517
besides 1 w 524
his 4 w 527
reckoning 1 w 536
he 14 w 539
setteth 1 w 546
upon 1 w 550
the 5 w 553
man 2 w 556
Or 2 w 559
rather 1 w 565
doth 1 w 570
he 17 w 572
not 3 w 575
hate 1 w 579
the 7 w 582
man 3 w 585
and 6 w 588
the 8 w 591
stone 2 w 596
both 1 w 600
alike 1 w 605
but 2 w 609
pursueth 1 w 617
that 4 w 621
only 1 w 625
which 3 w 630
is 7 w 632
next 1 w 636
unto 1 w 640
him 4 w 643
XXXVIII 1 w 651
WHY 2 w 655
AT 3 w 657
A 9 w 658
CERTAIN 1 w 665
TIME 1 w 669
OF 1 w 671
THE 3 w 674
YEAR 1 w 678
DO 3 w 680
ALL 1 w 683
SHE-WOLVES 1 w 693
WHELP 1 w 698
WITHIN 1 w 704
THE 4 w 707
COMPASS 1 w 714
OF 2 w 716
TWELVE 1 w 722
DAYS 1 w 726
ANTIPATER 1 w 736
in 12 w 738
his 5 w 741
History 1 w 748
of 3 w 750
Animals 1 w 757
affirms 1 w 764
that 5 w 769
shewolves 1 w 778
exclude 1 w 785
forth 1 w 790
their 1 w 795
young 1 w 800
ones 1 w 804
about 2 w 809
the 10 w 812
time 1 w 816
that 6 w 820
mast 1 w 824
trees 1 w 829
shed 1 w 833
their 2 w 838
blossoms 1 w 846
for 3 w 850
upon 2 w 854
the 12 w 857
taste 1 w 862
thereof 1 w 869
their 3 w 874
wombs 1 w 879
open 1 w 883
but 3 w 887
if 2 w 889
there 3 w 894
be 7 w 896
none 1 w 900
of 5 w 902
such 1 w 906
blooms 1 w 912
to 13 w 914
be 8 w 916
had 1 w 919
then 1 w 924
their 4 w 929
young 2 w 934
die 1 w 937
within 1 w 943
the 18 w 946
body 1 w 950
and 7 w 953
never 1 w 958
come 1 w 962
to 14 w 964
light 1 w 969
Moreover 1 w 978
he 32 w 981
saith 1 w 986
those 1 w 992
countries 1 w 1001
which 4 w 1006
bring 1 w 1011
not 4 w 1014
forth 2 w 1019
oaks 1 w 1023
and 8 w 1026
mast 2 w 1030
are 2 w 1033
never 2 w 1038
troubled 1 w 1046
nor 2 w 1049
spoiled 1 w 1056
with 2 w 1060
wolves 2 w 1066
Some 1 w 1071
attribute 1 w 1080
all 2 w 1083
this 1 w 1087
to 15 w 1089
a 52 w 1090
tale 1 w 1094
that 7 w 1098
goes 2 w 1102
of 6 w 1104
Latona 1 w 1110
who 1 w 1114
being 1 w 1119
with 3 w 1123
child 1 w 1128
and 9 w 1132
finding 1 w 1139
no 8 w 1141
abiding 1 w 1148
place 1 w 1153
of 7 w 1155
rest 1 w 1159
and 10 w 1162
safety 1 w 1168
by 2 w 1170
reason 1 w 1176
of 8 w 1178
Juno 1 w 1182
for 5 w 1185
the 19 w 1188
space 1 w 1193
of 9 w 1195
twelve 1 w 1201
days 1 w 1205
went 1 w 1210
to 17 w 1212
Delos 1 w 1217
and 11 w 1221
being 2 w 1227
transmuted 1 w 1237
by 3 w 1239
Jupiter 1 w 1246
into 1 w 1250
a 67 w 1251
wolf 1 w 1255
obtained 1 w 1264
at 16 w 1266
his 7 w 1269
hands 1 w 1274
that 8 w 1278
all 3 w 1281
wolves 3 w 1287
for 6 w 1290
ever 3 w 1294
after 2 w 1299
might 1 w 1304
within 2 w 1310
that 9 w 1314
time 2 w 1318
be 11 w 1320
delivered 1 w 1329
of 10 w 1331
their 5 w 1336
young 3 w 1341
XXXIX 1 w 1347
HOW 1 w 1351
COMETH 1 w 1357
IT 5 w 1359
THAT 2 w 1363
WATER 1 w 1368
SEEMING 1 w 1376
WHITE 1 w 1381
ALOFT 1 w 1386
SHOWETH 1 w 1394
TO 2 w 1396
BE 1 w 1398
BLACK 1 w 1403
IN 5 w 1405
THE 5 w 1408
BOTTOM 1 w 1414
Is 2 w 1417
it 12 w 1419
because 2 w 1426
depth 1 w 1431
is 12 w 1433
the 21 w 1436
mother 1 w 1442
of 11 w 1444
darkness 1 w 1452
so 4 w 1455
that 10 w 1459
it 13 w 1461
doth 2 w 1465
dim 1 w 1468
and 13 w 1471
mar 1 w 1474
the 23 w 1477
sunbeams 1 w 1485
before 1 w 1491
they 1 w 1495
can 3 w 1498
descend 1 w 1505
so 5 w 1507
low 1 w 1510
as 6 w 1512
it 14 w 1514
As 1 w 1517
for 8 w 1520
the 25 w 1523
uppermost 1 w 1532
superficies 1 w 1543
of 12 w 1545
the 26 w 1548
water 1 w 1553
because 3 w 1561
it 15 w 1563
is 13 w 1565
immediately 1 w 1576
affected 1 w 1584
by 4 w 1586
the 27 w 1589
sun 2 w 1592
it 16 w 1595
must 1 w 1599
needs 1 w 1604
receive 1 w 1611
the 28 w 1614
white 1 w 1619
brightness 1 w 1629
of 13 w 1631
the 29 w 1634
light 2 w 1639
the 30 w 1643
which 5 w 1648
Empedocles 1 w 1658
verily 1 w 1664
approveth 1 w 1673
in 23 w 1675
these 1 w 1680
verses 1 w 1686
A 23 w 1688
river 1 w 1693
in 24 w 1695
the 32 w 1698
bottom 1 w 1704
seems 1 w 1709
By 1 w 1711
shade 1 w 1716
of 14 w 1718
color 1 w 1723
black 1 w 1728
The 1 w 1732
like 2 w 1736
is 14 w 1738
seen 1 w 1742
in 25 w 1744
caves 1 w 1749
and 14 w 1752
holes 1 w 1757
By 2 w 1760
depth 2 w 1765
where 1 w 1771
light 3 w 1776
they 2 w 1780
lack 2 w 1784
Or 3 w 1787
since 1 w 1793
the 34 w 1796
bottom 2 w 1802
of 15 w 1804
the 35 w 1807
sea 1 w 1810
and 15 w 1813
of 16 w 1815
great 1 w 1820
rivers 1 w 1826
is 15 w 1828
often 1 w 1833
full 1 w 1837
of 18 w 1839
mud 1 w 1842
doth 3 w 1847
it 18 w 1849
by 5 w 1851
reflection 1 w 1861
of 19 w 1863
the 36 w 1866
sunbeams 2 w 1874
represent 1 w 1883
the 37 w 1886
like 3 w 1890
color 2 w 1895
that 11 w 1899
the 38 w 1902
said 1 w 1906
mud 2 w 1909
hath 1 w 1913
Or 4 w 1916
is 16 w 1918
it 19 w 1920
more 1 w 1924
probable 1 w 1932
that 12 w 1936
the 39 w 1939
water 2 w 1944
toward 1 w 1950
the 40 w 1953
bottom 3 w 1959
is 17 w 1961
not 5 w 1964
pure 1 w 1968
and 16 w 1971
sincere 1 w 1978
but 5 w 1982
corrupted 1 w 1991
with 5 w 1995
an 24 w 1997
earthy 1 w 2003
quality 1 w 2010
as 7 w 2014
continually 1 w 2025
carrying 1 w 2033
with 6 w 2037
it 23 w 2039
somewhat 1 w 2047
of 20 w 2049
that 13 w 2053
by 6 w 2055
which 6 w 2060
it 24 w 2062
runneth 1 w 2069
and 17 w 2072
wherewith 1 w 2081
it 26 w 2083
is 18 w 2085
stirred 1 w 2092
and 18 w 2097
the 41 w 2100
same 1 w 2104
settling 1 w 2112
once 1 w 2116
to 23 w 2118
the 42 w 2121
bottom 4 w 2127
causeth 1 w 2134
it 27 w 2136
to 25 w 2138
be 17 w 2140
more 2 w 2144
troubled 2 w 2152
and 19 w 2155
less 1 w 2159
transparent 1 w 2170