Selected quad for the lemma: love_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
love_n	dead_a	life_n	live_v	2,561	5	5.4411	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A13821	The historie of serpents. Or, The second booke of liuing creatures wherein is contained their diuine, naturall, and morall descriptions, with their liuely figures, names, conditions, kindes and natures of all venemous beasts: with their seuerall poysons and antidotes; their deepe hatred to mankind, and the wonderfull worke of God in their creation, and destruction. Necessary and profitable to all sorts of men: collected out of diuine scriptures, fathers, phylosophers, physitians, and poets: amplified with sundry accidentall histories, hierogliphicks, epigrams, emblems, and ænigmaticall obseruations. By Edvvard Topsell.	Topsell, Edward, 1572-1625?	1608 (1608)	STC 24124; ESTC S122051	444,728	331

do punish torment and throw to the ground all flying Theeues and Wormes that dare inuade secretly by any cunning passage or mine into their mansions And that they might beare the world in hand that they are no priuy or secret Theeues in their flying they make a noyse and humming which together with their flight is heard both to beginne and end Which sound whether it proceedeth from the mouth or from the motion of their winges Aristotle and Hesychius do much vary and contend Their Pipers and horn-blowers doe aedere Ziggon as Hesychus saith the Englishmen terme it Sing and that they make to be the watch-word and priuy token for their watch and ward sleepe and daily labour They loue their King so entirely that they neuer suffer him to goe abroad alone but their Army being diuided into two partes and by heapes winding themselues round they doe as it were enclose and fence him on all sides● If in any iourney the King happe to wander from his company and cannot be found beeing driuen away by the force of some stormie windes or weather they all forth-with make a priuie search and with their quick-senting pursue and follow the chace so long vntill he be certainely found and then because he is tyred with flying and the tediousnes of tempests the common sort lift him vpon their wings and so triumphantly conuey him home as it were in a Chariot But if he die by the way then they all mournefully depart euerie one to his owne place seperating themselues or peraduenture for a while they worke vp theyr hony-combes not yet finished but neuer make any more hony So that at length growing to be lazie sickly wasted consumed and distained with their owne filth and corruption they all miserably perrish For they cannot possibly liue without a King against whom none is so hardy as to lift vp his finger to offer him any violence much lesse to conspire his destruction vnlesse he after the fashion of Tyrants doe ouerthrow and turne all things vpside downe after his owne will and lust or neglecting carelesly the Weale publique setteth all vpon sixe and seauen Yea if he accustome himselfe to goe often abroad which he cannot doe without the great hurt and preiudice of his Cittizens they do not by and by kill him but they take from him his wings if he then amend his life looke better to his office they singularly affect and honour him When the King by flying away hath left his Bees they fetch him againe and being a fugitiue from his kingdome they follow him amaine by his smell as it were with liue and cry for amongst them all the King spelleth best and so bring him backe to his kinglie house None dare venture out of his owne lodging first nor seeke his liuing in any place except the King himselfe first going forth do direct them the way of their flight For I am hardly of Aristotles mind who affirmeth that the King neuer commeth abroad but when the whole swgrme doth which is seldome seene But if by reason of his tyrannie cruelty and violent rule they be forced to seeke some other dwelling places then a few dayes before the time appointed there will be heard a solitary mournfull and peculiar kinde of voyce as it were of some trumpet two or three dayes before they flie about the mouth of the Hiue so when all things are in a readines for their flight being all assembled they flie all speedilie away and kill the Tyrant whom they left behind if he attempt to follow them But a good King they neuer forsake and if at any time he pine and fall away by reason of sicknes any plague or murren or through old age all the meaner sort do make mone the whole route and multitude of Senators and Aldermen do greatly bewaile him not conueighing any meate into their hiues nor yet looking out of doores for meere griefe filling the whole house with sorrowfull hummings laments and gathering themselues by heapes about the carkasse of the dead King they doe with great noyse tragically mourne for him Neither doth cōtinuance of time mittigate or take away their griefe but at length all of these faithfull friends partly through griefe and partly through famine they are cleane consumed and brought to death Whilst they haue a King the whole swarme and company is kept in awfull order but he being gone they goe vnder the protection of other Kings They haue not many kings at once neither can they endure Vs●●pers ouerthrowing their houses and rooting out their stocke and familie And if in one swarme there be two Kings as sometimes it falleth out then one part adhaereth to the one king and the other side cleaueth to the other so that sometimes in one hiue you shall find hony-combes of sundry formes fashions where they behaue themselues so honestly and neighborly that the one medled● not with the others charge and busines hauing no mind to enlarge their Empire to entyce drawe or winne by faire meanes the subiects of the side but euery one beeing obedient to his owne king without contradiction They honour him so highly that being lost they complaine being decrept they preserue and keepe him beeing weary they carry him round about with them beeing dead they bewayle him with all funerall pompe and heauinesse yeelding vp at length euen their very liues for an assurance of their loues and faithfull dealings Oftentimes they arreare deadly war against strangers borne for the hony that they haue sto●ne from them as for the catching and snatching vppe afore-hand those flowers whereon they purposed to sitte on so that sometimes the quarrell is determined by dint of sword in a iust battle Oftentimes againe they wrangle about their hony-combes and dwelling houses but then the deadly and vnappeasable warre is when the contentio● is about the life crowne and dignitie of their King for then they bestirre themselues most eagerly defending him most valiantly and receiuing the darts or stings that are bended against him with an vndaunted courage by the voluntary and thicke interposing of their owne bodyes betwixt the darts and the person of their king Neither are Bees onely examples to men of politicall prudence and fidelity but also presidents for them to imitate in many other vertues For whereas Nature hath made thē Zooa agelaia that is creatures liuing in companies and swarmes yet do they all things for the common good of their owne route and multitude excepting euer the Drones and theeues whom if they take tripping in the manner they reward with condigne punishment Their houses are common their children common their lawes and statutes common and their country common They couple together without question as Camels do priuily and apart by themselues which whether it proceed of modesty or be done through the admirable instinct of Nature I leaue it to the dispute and queint resolution of those graue Doctors who being laden with the badges and cognizances

destroyeth him Others say that the crocodile weepeth after he hath deuoured a man How-soeuer it be it noteth the wretched nature of hypocriticall harts which before-hand will with fayned teares endeuour to do mischiefe or els after they haue done it be outwardly sorry as Iudas was for the betraying of Christ before he went and hanged himselfe The males of this kind do loue their females aboue all measure yea euen to iealousie as may appeare by this one history of P. Martyr About the time that hee was in those countries there were certaine Marriners which saw two Crocodiles together in carnall copulation vpon the sands neere the Riuer from which the water was lately fallen into a certaine Iland of Nilus the greedy Marriners forsooke their ship and betooke themselues to a long boate and with great shouting hollowing crying made towards them in verie couragious manner the male at the first assault fell amazed greatly terrified ran away as fast as he could into the waters leauing his female lying vpon her backe for whē they ingender the male turneth her vpon her backe for by reason of the shortnes of her legges she cannot doe it her selfe so the Mariners finding her vpon her back not able to turne ouer her selfe they easily slew her and tooke her away with them Soone after the male returned to the place to seeke his female but not finding her and perceiuing blood vpon the sand coniectured truly that she was slaine wherefore hee presently cast himselfe into the Riuer of Nilus againe in his rage swam stoutly against the streame vntill hee ouertooke the ship wherein his dead femall was which he presently set vppon lifting vp himselfe and catching hold on the sides would certainly haue entered the same had not the Marriners with all their force battered his head and hands with clubs and staues vntill he was wearied and forced to giue ouer his enterprise so with great sighing and sobbing departed frō them By which relation it is most cleere what naturall affection they beare one to another and how they choose out theyr fellowes as it were fitte wiues and husbands for procreation And it is no wonder if they make much of one another for besides thēselues they haue few friends in the world except the bird Trochilus and Swine of whom I can say little except this that followeth As for the little bird Trochilus it affecteth and followeth them for the benefit of his owne belly for while the Crocodile greedilie eateth there sticketh fast in his teeth some part of his prey which troubleth him very much many times ingendereth wormes then the beast to helpe himselfe taketh land and lyeth gaping against the sunne-beames westward the bird perceiuing it flyeth to the iawes of the beast and there first with a kind of tickling-scratching procureth as it were licence of the Crocodile to pull foorth the wormes and so eateth them all out and clenseth the teeth thoroughly for which cause the Beast is content to permit the Bird to goe into his mouth But when all is clensed the ingratefull Crocodile endeuoureth suddainely to shut his chappes together vppon the Bird and to deuoure his friend like a cursed wretch which maketh no reckoning of friendship but the turne serued requiteth good with euill But Nature hath armed this little bird with sharpe thornes vpon her head so that while the Crocodile endeuoureth to shut his chaps and close his mouth vpon it those sharpe thornes pricke him into his palate so that full sore against his vnkind nature hee letteth her flye safe away But where as there be many kinds of Trochili which are greedy of these wormes or clensings of the Crocodiles some of them which haue not thornes on theyr heades pay for it for there beeing not offence to let the closing of the Crocodiles mouth they must needes be deuoured and therefore this enforced amity betwixt him and the Crocodile is onely to be vnderstoode of the Claedororynchus as it is called by Hermolaus There be some that affirme that he destroyeth all without exception that thus come into his mouth and other-some say he destroyeth none but when he feeleth his mouth sufficiently clensed he waggeth his vpper chappe as it were to giue warning of auoydance and in fauour of the good turne to let the bird flie away at his owne pleasure Howbeit the other and former narration is more likely to be true and more constantly affirmed by all good Authors except Plutarch And Leo Afric saith that it was the constant and confident report of all Affrica that the Crocodile deuoureth all for theyr loue and kindnesse except the Claedororynchi which they cannot by reason of the thornes vppon their head That there is an amitie and naturall concord betwixt Swine and Crocodiles is also gathered because they onely among all other liuing foure-footed beastes doe without danger dwell feede and inhabite vppon the banks of Nilus euen in the midst of the Crocodiles and therefore it is probable that they are friends in nature But oh how small a sum of friends hath this beast and how vnwoorthy of loue among all creatures that neuer in nature hath but two in heauen or earth ayre or water that will aduenture to come neere it and one of these also which is the best deseruing it deuoureth and destroyeth it it get it within his danger Seeing the friendes of it are so few the enemies of it must needes be many and therefore require a more large catalogue or story In the first ranke whereof commeth as worthy the first place the Ichneumon or Pharaohs-mouse who rageth against their egges and their persons for it is certaine that it hunteth with all sagacity of sence to finde out theyr nests and hauing found them it spoyleth scattereth breaketh emptieth all theyr egs They also watch the old ones asleepe and finding their mouthes open against the beames of the Sunne suddenly enter into them and being small creepe downe theyr vast large throates before they be aware and then putting the Crocodile to exquisite and intollerable torment by eating their guttes asunder and so their soft bellies while the Crocodile tumbleth to and fro sighing and weeping now in the depth of water now on the Land neuer resting till strength of nature fayleth For the incessant gnawing of the Ichneumon so prouoketh her to seek her rest in the vnrest of euery part herbe element throwes throbs rowlings tossings mournings but all in vaine for the enemy within her breatheth thorough her breath and sporteth her selfe in the consumption of those vitall parts vvhich wast and weare away by yeelding to her vnpacificable teeth one after other till shee that crept in by stealth at the mouth like a puny theefe come out at the belly like a Conquerour thorough a passage opened by her owne labour industry as we haue also shewed at large in the story of Ichneumon But whether it be true or no that

haue wrote they haue conceiued at theyr mouth or that the Male perished at the time of engendering or the Female at the time of her deliuery Thus saith Amatus Theophrastus he likewise writeth in this manner The young Vipers doe not eate out their way or open with their teeth theyr Mothers belly nor if I may speake merrily make open their owne passage by breaking vp of the doores of their Mothers womb but the wombe being narrow cannot containe them and therefore breaketh of it owne accord and this I haue prooued by experience euen as the same falleth out with the Fish called Acus and therefore I must craue pardon of Herodotus if I affirme his relation of the generation of Vipers to be meerely fabulous Thus farre Theophrastus Apollonius also writeth that many haue seene the olde Vipers lycking theyr young ones like other Serpents Thus haue I expressed the different iudgements of sundry Authors both new olde touching the generation of Vipers out of which can be collected nothing but euident cōtradictions and vnreconcileable iudgements one mutually crossing another So as it is vnpossible that they should be both true and therefore it must be our labour to search out the truth both in their words and in the conference of other Authors Wherefore to beginne thus writeth Aristotle The Viper amongst other Serpents almost alone bringeth forth a liuing creature but first of all she conceiueth a soft egge of one colour aboue the egges lyeth the young ones folded vppe in a synnes skinne and some-times it falleth out that they gnaw in sunder that thinne skinne and so come out of their mothers belly all in one day for she bringeth forth more then twentie at a time Out of these words of Aristotle euilly vnderstood by Pliny and other auncient Wryters came that errour of the young Vipers eating their way out of their mothers belly for in stead of the little thinne skinne which Aristotle saith they eate thorough other Authors haue turned it to the belly which was cleane from Aristotles meaning And another error like vnto this is that wherein they affirme that the Viper doth euery day bring forth one young one so that if shee hath twentie young ones in her belly then also shee must be twenty dayes in bringing of them forth The words of Aristotle frō whence this errour is gathered are these Tectei de en mia emera kathon Tictei de pleio he ei kosni which are thus translated by Gaza Parit enim singulos diebus singulis plures quam viginti numero That is to say she bringeth forth euery day one more then twentie in number But this is an absurd translation and agreeth neither with the words of Aristotle nor yet with his mind for his words are these Parit autem vna die singulos parit autem plus quam viginti numero That is to say in English shee bringeth forth euery one in one day and shee bringeth foorth more then twentie so that the sence of these words shall be that the Viper bringeth forth her young ones seuerallie one at a time but yet all in a day But concerning her number neither the Phylosopher nor yet any man liuing is able to define and set it downe certaine for they varry being sometimes more and sometimes fewer according to the nature of other liuing creatures And although the Viper do conceiue eggos within her yet doth shee lay them after the manner of other Serpents but in her body they are turned into liuing Vipers and so the egges neuer see the sunne neither doth any mortall eye behold them except by accident in the dissection of a female Viper when she is with young I cannot also approue them that doe write that one namelie the Viper among all Serpents bringeth forth her young ones aliue and perfect into the world for Nicander and Greuinus doe truly affirme with the constant consent of all other Authors that the horned Serpent called Cerastes of which we haue spoken alreadie doth likewise bring forth her young ones aliue And besides Herodotus writeth of certaine winged-Serpents in Arabia which doe bring foorth young ones as well as Vipers and therefore it must not be concluded with apparant falsehood that onely the Viper bringeth her young ones perfect into the world The like fable vnto this is that generall conceit of the copulation together betwixt the Viper and the Lamprey for it is reported that when the Lamprey burneth in lust for copulation she forsaketh the waters and commeth to the Land seeking out the lodging of the male Viper and so ioyneth herselfe vnto him for copulation He againe on the other side is so tickled with desire hereof that forsaking his owne dwelling and his owne kind doth likewise betake himselfe vnto the waters and Riuers sides where in an amorous maner hee hysseth for the Lamprey like as when a young man goeth to meete and call his Loue so that these two creatures liuing in contrary elements the earth and the water yet meete together for the fulfilling of their lusts in one bed of fornication Vppon which Saint Basill writeth in this manner Vipera infestissimum animal eorurquae Serpunt cum murena congreditur c. That is to say the Viper a most pernitious enemy to all liuing creeping things yet admitteth copulation with the Lamprey for he forsaketh the Land and goeth to the water-side and there with his hyssing voyce giueth notice to the other of his presence which she hearing instantly forsaketh the deepe waters and comming to the Land suffereth herselfe to be embraced by that venomous beast Also Nicander wryteth thus thereof in his verses Fama est si modo vera quod haec suapascua linquat Atque eat in siccum cogente libidine littus Et cum Vipereo coiens serpente grauetur Which may be englished thus Fame saith if it be true that she her feede forsakes I meane the shore and goes vpon dry land Where for her lust the Viper-male she takes In fleshly coiture to be her husband But this opinion is vaine and fantasticall as Pliny and diuers others haue very learnedly prooued for the Lamprey cannot liue on the Land nor the viper in wet places besides the waters and therfore besides the impossibility in nature it is not reasonable that these will hazard their owne liues by forsaking their owne elements for the satisfaction of their lusts there beeing plenty of eyther kindes to worke vppon that is to say both of female Vipers in the Land to couple with the male and male Lampreys in the water to couple with the female Although I haue else-where confuted this errour yet I must heere againe remember that which is said already The occasion of this fable is this the male Lamprey is exceeding like a Viper for they want feete and haue long bodies which some one by chaunce seeing in copulation with his female did rashly iudge it to be a Serpent because of his likenesse as afore-said and