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1 He speaks here of only one of the animals which resemble the camel; the giraffe, namely. The other, which he for the present omits, is the ostrich.
2 The description of the giraffe, here given, is sufficiently correct, but we have a more minute account of it by Dion Cassius, B. xliii. In the time of the Emperor Gordian, ten of these animals were exhibited at Rome at once; a remarkable fact, when we bear in mind that so few have been imported into Europe for many centuries past. The giraffe is figured in the mosaic at Præneste, and under it is inscribed its name, nabi.—B. It has been found that it is unable to bear the winters of Europe.
3 Its form being like that of the camel, while its spots resemble those of the leopard. Horace refers to it, when speaking of an object calculated to excite the vulgar gaze; "Diversum confusa genus panthera camelo"— "The race of the panther mingled with the camel," Ep. B. ii.; Ep. i. 1. 195.
4 According to Dion Cassius, B. xliii., these games were celebrated A.U.C. 708.—B.
5 This comparison can only be employed to indicate the mild nature of the giraffe.—B.
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