Pierre Davity

"The king of Spaine receives from this Estate [Milan] yearely eight hundred thousand duc∣kats of ordinarie, besides the free gifts and other extraordinarie matters: And to shew, that this king can tell how to draw as much as is possible from this Estate, or that his officers make it for him, the proverbe of Italie saith, That the officer of Sicile doth gnaw, He of Naples doth eate, but He of Milan doth devour."

"[The Corsicanes] are so full of revenge, as the Italians have a common proverbe which saith, That they must never trust a Corsicane, neither alive nor dead, for that as soone as any one is slaine, presently all his kinsmen meet to kill him, if it be possible, that slew him: and notwithstanding that they make some accord, yet there is no great trust in it, for that he may be surprised when he dreames least of it; so as the best course is to looke well to himselfe, and not to make any strict league of amitie with reconciled enemies."

"The Suevians are much given to incontinencie, and the women are as tractable as men can desire, and both the one and the other begin this lewd life soone, and leave it late: and therefore there is a common proverbe, That the countrie of Suaube alone is able to furnish all Germanie with strumpets, Franconia with rogues and beggers, [Bohemia] with heretickes, Bavaria with theeves, Westphalia with perjurers and false witnesses, and the Marquisat of the Rhin with gluttons."

"In the time of Kaykozrrao, there were in Persia two famous Philosophers, the one called Horez, the other Lokmon: of this last there are some workers found among the Persians, which shew that he was of a great spirit: among others they haue a booke of comparisons and examples very like to those of Aesope; there is also great likelyhood that they spake of him, whenas reporting his life they say that being a great Philosopher, he had beene a slave, very faithfull, and gratious, and that he dyed condemned: one thing makes it doubtfull, for that they assure he was a Jew. They have a proverbe among them, which saith, It is not needfull to teach Lokmon, to shew the deepe knowledge of this man."

"The inhabitants of Paros were sometimes accused of disloyaltie, and to be no men of their words, because Miltiades, Generall of the Athenians armie, having subdued them, and they, having faithfully promised to be their subjects, they observed not their promise; and therefore it was said as in a common proverbe: To doe as they of Paros did; which was: to falsifie their faith."

"The Hippopotame, or horse of the river, is tawnie, hath little haire, and leapes to land to feed, and in the day time returnes to the water. The Afrikans make some of them tame, and they are exceeding swift, but they must not passe over deepe rivers, for they will presently dive. There doe also ingender in those rivers certaine water oxen, which live for some dayes upon the land. The aboundance of water, together with the heat, by reason of the neerenesse of the Sun, makes the countrie exceeding fertile, and to abound in plants, fruit, hearbes, and graine, and it would yeeld much more, if the industrie of the inhabitants did helpe nature."

"In the province of Bamba, there is a mountaine, where they find many mynes of silver, and other mettalls. They have also in this countrie many Elephants, by reason of the many forests, and rivers. These Elephants are exceeding great, for that they grow unto the middest of their age, and they live commonly unto the age of one hundred and fiftie yeares. Those which we have seene in Portugall, and elswhere in Europe, were lesse, for that they were brought away too young. The greatnesse of these beasts may be conceived by their teeth, which have beene gathered up, whereof some have beene two hundred weight. In the language of Congo, the Elephants tooth is called Mene Manzao. The young Elephants are called Moana Manzo. Their eares are not lesse than the greatest Turkish targets; the greatest are six foot long, fanshioned like an egge, and they are narrow towards the shoulder. With the motion of their eares and tayle, they drive away flies, and they kill them when they rest upon them, drawing together their skin. The haire of their tayle is verie thicke, and like to little blacke shining reeds, and those of the younger are the fairest and strongest, and of greater price. Without doubt the Auncients did not know the nature of the Elephant, whenas they said they could not bend their hammes, and therefore they did leane against some tree to sleepe, and by this meanes were easie to be taken: for the Portugals and Flemings have seene the contrarie, for they get up into trees drawing up their haunches to gather leaves or boughes, or stoope easily downe when they drinke in any place where the water is low, the which they could not doe if they had no joynts."

"The same province breeds another beast called Zebre by the inhabitants, the which is like unto a mule, but it ingenders. Finally, the disposition of the haire is very strange; for from the ridge of the backe to the bellie, there are lines or strikes of three colours, white, blacke, and yellow, all being ordered by a just proportion, and every strike being of the breadth of three fingers. These beasts multiplie greatly, for that they have young every yeare. They are wild, and exceeding swift; so as the Portugals among their proverbs, have that of the swiftnesse of the Zebre. This beast being made tame, might serve for a horse in the war, bearing and drawing men and burdens, to the end we may see how God hath provided for things necessarie. But for that this countrie wants horses, and the inhabitants have not the art to make the Zabre tame, nor know how to use oxen, notwithstanding they have many in these countries: the men do the office of beasts; for being set at the corners of streets or highwaies, they carrie litters or chaires: so as they that are to make a journey speedily, change the men often that carrie them, and by this meanes they soone dispatch the way they are to go."

"They do also find other beasts, whereof some are as big as an oxe, others are lesse, which they call Empalanges: then they have wild bugles or oxen, woolves which smell very farre off, and which doe exceedingly love a certaine oyle which they draw out of palme trees. Moreover, they have foxes, stags, goats, conies, and hares, in great aboundance, for that they pursue them not to death when they hunt, as they doe in Europe. They have great numbers of Civit Cats, the which they take and make tame, to the end they may get the good scent which comes from this beast, the which is wonderfull pleasing unto them."

"There are divers sorts of serpents and vipers, whereof some are five and twentie foot long and five broad, having the bellie very large, and the throat so wide, as they will devoure a stag, or any other beast of the like bignesse. They live as well upon the land as in the water. When they are full they sleepe willingly, and then the inhabitants kill them, and feed upon their flesh, which they hold to be better than that of any foule. Finally, there are vipers whose poison is so strong, as when they have bitten any one, he dies within five and twentie houres. There are also to be seene certaine beasts as big as a ram, having wings like a dragon, they have a taile, a long beake, and many rankes of teeth. they live of raw flesh, and have but two legs: their skinne is red mixt with greene and blew."

"In the province of Pemba, in which the towne of Congo stands, the inhabitants cut the branches of certaine trees called Ogegues, and make hedges, alleys, and arbours, to keepe them from the Sunne. They carrie Tamarinde in their mouthes, to prevent thirst. The houses of the inhabitants of Congo, are low, and verie narrow; not for want of materialls (as we have shewed discoursing of their quarries of stone and marble, besides the which, there is store of lyme and tymber) but by reason of the little industrie of the inha∣bitants, who know not how to build, nor have any carpenters, nor masons, for the erecting of houses. They of Congo use cockles instead of gold and coyne, and make their traffique therewith."

"[The inhabitants of Congo] steale willingly from strangers, but they use no theft among themselves. The women are all given to make love, especially with strangers, not caring for their reputations, so as they may satisfie their lustfull desires."