[Footnote A: Photij. Bibliothec. Cod. 72. p.m. 145.]
[Greek: Hoti en mesae tae Indikae anthropoi eisi melanes, kai kalountai pygmaioi, tois allois homoglossoi Indois. mikroi de eisi lian; hoi makrotatoi auton paecheon duo, hoi de pleistoi, henos haemiseos paecheos, komaen de echousi makrotataen, mechri kai hepi ta gonata, kai eti katoteron, kai pogona megiston panton anthropon; epeidan oun ton pogona mega physosin, ouketi amphiennyntai ouden emation: alla tas trichas, tas men ek taes kephalaes, opisthen kathientai poly kato ton gonaton; tas de ek tou po gonos, emprosthen mechri podon elkomenas. Hepeita peripykasamenoi tas trichas peri apan to soma, zonnyntai, chromenoi autais anti himatiou, aidoion de mega echousin, hoste psauein ton sphyron auton, kai pachy. autoite simoi te kai aischroi. ta de probata auton, hos andres. kai hai boes kai hoi onoi, schedon hoson krioi? kai hoi hippoi auton kai hoi aemionoi, kai ta alla panta zoa, ouden maezo krion; hepontai de toi basilei ton Indon, touton ton pygmaion andres trischilioi. sphodra gar eisi toxotai; dikaiotatoi de eisi kai nomoisi chrontai osper kai hoi Indoi. Dagoous te kai alopekas thaereuousin, ou tois kysin, alla koraxi kai iktisi kai koronais kai aetois.]
Narrat præter ista, in media India homines reperiri nigros, qui Pygmæi appellentur. Eadem hos, qua Inda reliqui, lingua uti, sed valde esse parvos, ut maximi duorum cubitorum, & plerique unius duntaxat cubiti cum dimidio altitudinem non excedant. Comam alere longissimam, ad ipsa usque genua demissam, atque etiam infra, cum barba longiore, quàm, apud ullos hominum. Quæ quidem ubi illis promissior esse cæperit, nulla deinceps veste uti: sed capillos multò infra genua à tergo demissos, barbámque præter pectus ad pedes usque defluentem, per totum corpus in orbem constipare & cingere, atque ita pilos ipsis suos vestimenti loco esse. Veretrum illis esse crassum ac longum, quod ad ipsos quoque pedum malleolos pertingat. Pygmeos hosce simis esse naribus, & deformes. Ipsorum item oves agnorem nostrotum instar esse; boves & asinos, arietum fere magnitudine, equos item multosque & cætera jumenta omnia nihilo esse nostris arietibus majora. Tria horum Pygmæorum millia Indorum regem in suo comitatu habere, quod sagittarij sint peritissimi. Summos esse justitiæ cultores iisdemque quibus Indi reliqui, legibus parere. Venari quoque lepores vulpesque, non canibus, sed corvis, milvis, cornicibus, aquilis adhibitis.
In the middle of India (saith Ctesias) there are black Men, they are call'd Pygmies, using the same Language, as the other Indians; they are very little, the tallest of them being but two Cubits, and most of them but a Cubit and a half high. They have very long hair, reaching down to their Knees and lower; and a Beard larger than any Man's. After their Beards are grown long, they wear no Cloaths, but the Hair of their Head falls behind a great deal below their Hams; and that of their Beards before comes down to their Feet: then laying their Hair thick all about their Body, they afterwards gird themselves, making use of their Hair for Cloaths. They have a Penis so long, that it reaches to the Ancle, and the thickness is proportionable. They are flat nosed and ill favoured. Their Sheep are like Lambs; and their Oxen and Asses scarce as big as Rams; and their Horses and Mules, and all their other Cattle not bigger. Three thousand Men of these Pygmies do attend the King of India. They are good Archers; they are very just, and use the same Laws as the Indians do. They kill Hares and Foxes, not with Dogs, but with Ravens, Kites, Crows, and Eagles.'
Well, if they are so good Sports-men, as to kill Hares and Foxes with Ravens, Kites, Crows and Eagles, I can't see how I can bring off Homer, for making them fight the Cranes themselves. Why did they not fly their Eagles against them? these would make greater Slaughter and Execution, without hazarding themselves. The only excuse I have is, that Homer's Pygmies were real Apes like Men; but those of Ctesias were neither Men nor Pygmies; only a Creature begot in his own Brain, and to be found no where else.
Ctesias was Physician to Artaxerxes Mnemon as Diodorus Siculus[A] and Strabo[B] inform us. He was contemporary with Xenophon, a little later than Herodotus; and Helvicus in his Chronology places him three hundred eighty three years before Christ: He is an ancient Author, 'tis true, and it may be upon that score valued by some. We are beholden to him, not only for his Improvements on the Story of the Pygmies, but for his Remarks likewise on several other parts of Natural History; which for the most part are all of the same stamp, very wonderful and incredible; as his Mantichora, his Gryphins, the horrible Indian Worm, a Fountain of Liquid Gold, a Fountain of Honey, a Fountain whose Water will make a Man confess all that ever he did, a Root he calls [Greek: paraebon], that will attract Lambs and Birds, as the Loadstone does filings of Steel; and a great many other Wonders he tells us: all of which are copied from him by Ælian, Pliny, Solinus, Mela, Philostratus, and others. And Photius concludes Ctesias's Account of India with this passage; [Greek: Tauta graphon kai mythologon Ktaesias. legei t' alaethestata graphein; epagon hos ta men autos idon graphei, ta de par auton mathon ton eidoton. polla de touton kai alla thaumasiotera paralipein, dia to mae doxai tois mae tauta theasamenois apista syngraphein;] i.e. These things (saith he) Ctesias writes and feigns, but he himself says all he has wrote is very true. Adding, that some things which he describes, he had seen himself; and the others he had learn'd from those that had seen them: That he had omitted a great many other things more wonderful, because he would not seem to those that have not seen them, to write incredibilities. But notwithstanding all this, Lucian[C] will not believe a word he saith; for he tells us that Ctesias has wrote of India, [Greek: A maete autos eide, maete allou eipontos aekousen], What he neither saw himself, nor ever heard from any Body else. And Aristotle tells us plainly, he is not fit to be believed: [Greek: En de taei Indikaei hos phaesi Ktaesias, ouk on axiopistos.][D] And the same opinion A. Gellius[E] seems to have of him, as he had likewise of several other old Greek Historians which happened to fall into his hands at Brundusium, in his return from Greece into Italy; he gives this Character of them and their performance: Erant autem isti omnes libri Græci, miraculorum fabularumque pleni: res inauditæ, incredulæ, Scriptores veteres non parvæ authoritatis, Aristeas Proconnesius, & Isagonus, & Nicæensis, & Ctesias, & Onesicritus, & Polystephanus, & Hegesias. Not that I think all that Ctesias has wrote is fabulous; For tho' I cannot believe his speaking Pygmies, yet what he writes of the Bird he calls [Greek: Bittakos], that it would speak Greek and the Indian Language, no doubt is very true; and as H. Stephens[F] observes in his Apology for Ctesias, such a Relation would seem very surprising to one, that had never seen nor heard of a Parrot.
[Footnote A: Diodor. Siculi Bibliothec. lib. 2. p.m. 118.]
[Footnote B: Strabo Geograph. lib. 14. p. 451.]
[Footnote C: Lucian lib 1. veræ Histor. p.m. 373.]
[Footnote D: Arist. Hist. Animal. lib. 8. cap. 28.]