§15.1.41τρίτον τὸ τῶν ποιμένων καὶ θηρευτῶν, οἷς μόνοις ἔξεστι θηρεύειν καὶ θρεμματοτροφεῖν ὤνιά τε παρέχειν καὶ μισθοῦ ζεύγη·
The third class consists of the shepherds and hunters, to whom alone it is permitted to hunt, to breed livestock, and to expose them for sale or to let out teams of draft animals for hire.
ἀντὶ δὲ τοῦ τὴν γῆν ἐλευθεροῦν θηρίων καὶ τῶν σπερμολόγων ὀρνέων μετροῦνται παρὰ τοῦ βασιλέως σῖτον, πλάνητα καὶ σκηνίτην νεμόμενοι βίον.
In return for freeing the land from wild beasts and seed-eating birds, they receive a measured allowance of grain from the king, leading a wandering and tent-dwelling life.
ἵππον δὲ καὶ ἐλέφαντα τρέφειν οὐκ ἔξεστιν ἰδιώτῃ· βασιλικὸν δʼ ἑκάτερον νενόμισται τὸ κτῆμα, καὶ εἰσὶν αὐτῶν ἐπιμεληταί.
It is not permitted for a private person to breed a horse or an elephant; each is considered a royal possession, and there are caretakers for them.
§15.1.42θήρα δὲ τῶν θηρίων τούτων τοιάδε.
The hunt of these beasts is as follows.
χωρίον ψιλὸν ὅσον τεττάρων ἢ πέντε σταδίων τάφρῳ περιχαράξαντες βαθείᾳ γεφυροῦσι τὴν εἴσοδον στενωτάτῃ γεφύρᾳ· εἶτʼ εἰσαφιᾶσι θηλείας τὰς ἡμερωτάτας τρεῖς ἢ τέτταρας, αὐτοὶ δʼ ἐν καλυβίοις κρυπτοῖς ὑποκάθηνται λοχῶντες·
Having surrounded a bare piece of ground, about four or five stadia in extent, with a deep trench, they bridge the entrance with a very narrow bridge; then they let in three or four of the tamest females, while they themselves lie in wait, sitting in hidden huts.
ἡμέρας μὲν οὖν οὐ προσίασιν οἱ ἄγριοι, νύκτωρ δʼ ἐφʼ ἕνα ποιοῦνται τὴν εἴσοδον· εἰσιόντων δὲ κλείουσι τὴν εἴσοδον λάθρᾳ, εἶτα τῶν ἡμέρων ἀθλητῶν τοὺς ἀλκιμωτάτους εἰσάγοντες διαμάχονται πρὸς αὐτούς, ἅμα καὶ λιμῷ καταπονοῦντες·
By day indeed the wild ones do not approach, but by night they make their entry one by one; and when they have entered, they secretly close the entrance, and then, introducing the strongest of the tame combatants, they fight against them, at the same time wearing them down with hunger.
ἤδη δὲ καμνόντων οἱ εὐθαρσέστατοι τῶν ἡνιόχων λάθρᾳ καταβαίνοντες ὑποδύνουσιν ἕκαστος τῇ γαστρὶ τοῦ οἰκείου ὀχήματος· ὁρμώμενος δʼ ἐνθένδε ὑποδύνει τῷ ἀγρίῳ καὶ σύμποδα δεσμεῖ·
When they are already exhausted, the boldest of the drivers, secretly dismounting, slip each under the belly of his own mount; and starting from there, he slips under the wild one and binds its feet together.
γενομένου δὲ τούτου κελεύουσι τοῖς τιθασοῖς τύπτειν τοὺς συμποδισθέντας ἕως ἂν πέσωσιν εἰς τὴν γῆν, πεσόντων δʼ ὠμοβοΐνοις ἱμᾶσι προσλαμβάνονται τοὺς αὐχένας αὐτῶν πρὸς τοὺς τῶν τιθασῶν·
When this has been done, they command the tame ones to beat the bound ones until they fall to the ground; and when they have fallen, with raw ox-hide thongs they bind their necks fast to those of the tame ones.
ἵνα δὲ μὴ σειόμενοι τοὺς ἀναβαίνειν ἐπʼ αὐτοὺς ἐπιχειροῦντας ἀποσείοιντο, τοῖς τραχήλοις αὐτῶν ἐμβάλλονται κύκλῳ τομὰς καὶ κατʼ αὐτὰς τοὺς ἱμάντας περιτιθέασιν ὥσθʼ ὑπʼ ἀλγηδόνων εἴκειν τοῖς δεσμοῖς καὶ ἡσυχάζειν·
In order that they may not, by shaking themselves, shake off those who attempt to mount them, they make incisions in a circle around their necks and put the thongs around along these cuts, so that because of the pain they yield to the bonds and keep quiet.
τῶν δʼ ἁλόντων ἀπολέξαντες τοὺς πρεσβυτέρους ἢ νεωτέρους τῆς χρείας τοὺς λοιποὺς ἀπάγουσιν εἰς τοὺς σταθμούς, δήσαντες δὲ τοὺς μὲν πόδας πρὸς ἀλλήλους τοὺς δὲ αὐχένας πρὸς κίονα εὖ πεπηγότα, δαμάζουσι λιμῷ· ἔπειτα χλόῃ καλάμου καὶ πόας ἀναλαμβάνουσι·
Of those captured, having selected and set aside those that are older or younger than required for use, they lead away the rest to the stalls, and having bound their feet to one another and their necks to a firmly fixed pillar, they tame them with hunger; then they restore them with green reed and grass.
μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα πειθαρχεῖν διδάσκουσι, τοὺς μὲν διὰ λόγου τοὺς δὲ μελισμῷ τινι καὶ τυμπανισμῷ κηλοῦντες·
After this they teach them to obey, soothing some with words, and others with a kind of song and the beating of drums.
σπάνιοι δʼ οἱ δυστιθάσευτοι· φύσει γὰρ διάκεινται πράως καὶ ἡμέρως, ὥστʼ ἐγγὺς εἶναι λογικῷ ζῴῳ·
Those hard to tame are rare; for by nature they are disposed in a gentle and mild manner, so as to be close to a rational animal.
οἱ δὲ καὶ ἐξαίμους τοὺς ἡνιόχους ἐν τοῖς ἀγῶσι πεσόντας ἀνελόμενοι σώζουσιν ἐκ τῆς μάχης, τοὺς δὲ ὑποδύντας μεταξὺ τῶν προσθίων ποδῶν ὑπερμαχόμενοι διέσωσαν· τῶν δὲ χορτοφόρων καὶ διδασκάλων εἴ τινα παρὰ θυμὸν ἀπέκτειναν, οὕτως ἐπιποθοῦσιν ὥσθʼ ὑπʼ ἀνίας ἀπέχεσθαι τροφῆς, ἔστι δʼ ὅτε καὶ ἀποκαρτερεῖν.
Some have even picked up their drivers who have fallen bloodless in the battles and saved them from the fight, and have saved those who slipped between their forefeet by fighting over them; and if they have killed any of their feeders or teachers in anger, they long for them so much that through grief they abstain from food, and sometimes even starve themselves to death.
§15.1.43βιβάζονται δὲ καὶ τίκτουσιν ὡς ἵπποι τοῦ ἔαρος μάλιστα· καιρὸς δʼ ἐστὶ τῷ μὲν ἄρρενι, ἐπειδὰν οἴστρῳ κατέχηται καὶ ἀγριαίνῃ· τότε δὴ καὶ λίπους τι διὰ τῆς ἀναπνοῆς ἀνίησιν, ἣν ἴσχει παρὰ τοὺς κροτάφους· ταῖς δὲ θηλείαις, ὅταν ὁ αὐτὸς οὗτος πόρος ἀνεῳγὼς τυγχάνῃ.
They copulate and give birth like horses, mostly in the spring; and the season is, for the male, when he is possessed by rut and becomes wild; at that time indeed he also discharges some oily fluid through the breathing passage which he has beside his temples; and for the females, when this same passage happens to be open.
κύουσι δὲ τοὺς μὲν πλείστους ὀκτωκαίδεκα μῆνας ἐλαχίστους δʼ ἑκκαίδεκα· τρέφει δʼ ἡ μήτηρ ἓξ ἔτη·
They carry their young for eighteen months at most, and sixteen at least; and the mother rears them for six years.
ζῶσι δʼ ὅσον μακροβιώτατοι ἄνθρωποι οἱ πολλοί, τινὲς δὲ καὶ ἐπὶ διακόσια διατείνουσιν ἔτη· πολύνοσοι δὲ καὶ δυσίατοι.
Most of them live as long as the longest-lived men, and some even reach two hundred years; but they are subject to many diseases and hard to cure.
ἄκος δὲ πρὸς ὀφθαλμίαν μὲν βόειον γάλα προσκλυζόμενον, τοῖς πλείστοις δὲ τῶν νοσημάτων ὁ μέλας οἶνος πινόμενος, τραύμασι δὲ ποτὸν μὲν βούτυρον (ἐξάγει γὰρ τὰ σιδήρια), τὰ δʼ ἕλκη σαρξὶν ὑείαις πυριῶσιν.
The remedy for ophthalmia is cow's milk used as an eye-wash, and for most of their diseases dark wine drunk, and for wounds, butter taken as a drink—for it draws out the iron pieces—while they foment the sores with pig's flesh.
Ὀνησίκριτος δὲ καὶ ἕως τριακοσίων ἐτῶν ζῆν φησι, σπάνιον δὲ καὶ ἕως πεντακοσίων, κρατίστους δʼ εἶναι περὶ τὰ διακόσια ἔτη, κυΐσκεσθαι δὲ δεκαετίαν.
Onesicritus says they live even up to three hundred years and rarely even up to five hundred, and that they are at their best around two hundred years, and are pregnant for ten years.
μείζους δὲ τῶν Λιβυκῶν καὶ ἐρρωμενεστέρους ἐκεῖνός τε εἴρηκε καὶ ἄλλοι· ταῖς γοῦν προβοσκίσιν ἐπάλξεις καθαιρεῖν καὶ δένδρα ἀνασπᾶν πρόρριζα διανισταμένους εἰς τοὺς ὀπισθίους πόδας.
Both he and others have said that they are larger and stronger than the Libyan ones; at any rate, with their trunks they throw down battlements, and tear up trees by the roots, raising themselves on their hind legs.
Νέαρχος δὲ καὶ ποδάγρας ἐν ταῖς θήραις τίθεσθαι κατά τινας συνδρόμους φησί, συνελαύνεσθαι δʼ ὑπὸ τῶν τιθασῶν τοὺς ἀγρίους εἰς ταύτας, κρειττόνων ὄντων καὶ ἡνιοχουμένων.
Nearchus says that foot-traps are also placed during the hunts along certain pathways, and that the wild ones are driven into these by the tame ones, which are stronger and are guided by drivers.
οὕτως δʼ εὐτιθασεύτους εἶναι, ὥστε καὶ λιθάζειν ἐπὶ σκοπὸν μανθάνειν καὶ ὅπλοις χρῆσθαι νεῖν τε κάλλιστα· μέγιστόν τε νομίζεσθαι κτῆμα ἐλεφάντων ἅρμα· ἄγεσθαι δʼ ὑπὸ ζυγὸν * καὶ καμήλους· γυναῖκα δʼ εὐδοκιμεῖν εἰ λάβοι παρὰ ἐραστοῦ δῶρον ἐλέφαντα.
And they are so easily tamed that they even learn to throw stones at a mark, to use weapons, and to swim excellently; and a chariot of elephants is considered the greatest possession; and [...] and camels also are driven under the yoke; and a woman is highly esteemed if she should receive an elephant as a gift from a lover.
οὗτος ὁ λόγος οὐχ ὁμολογεῖ τῷ φήσαντι μόνων βασιλέων εἶναι κτῆμα ἵππον καὶ ἐλέφαντα.
This statement does not agree with the one who said that a horse and an elephant are the possession of kings alone.