voice to be fonorous; that it fings lefs often than other Birds, except during the production of its young, or any great feverity of cold, and that in the waters of the North; he afterwards adds, that the Hunters know by experience, that these Birds are naturally delighted by the fweet fong of the harp and pipe, and therefore having formed the image of an ox or horfe, or under one of these real Animals, they play near the fhore, until the Swan approaching, and intent on its melodious voice, they plunge into its breaft a point of iron fastened to a fpear, and then draw it to fhore by means of a string." I come next to the great Naturalift of the 16th Century Aldrovandus, who has fupported by thefe arguments in his Ornithology 21 the fong of the Swan. 21 the fong of the Swan. "1ft, By the univerfal affent of the ancient Philofophers and Poets of the Greeks and Romans, fince this must be fuppofed to have had fome foundation. 2d, Because this Bird was the hieroglyphick of Mufick among the Ægyptians, to whom the Græcians were indebted for their philofophy. This appears from the teftimony of Orus Apollo 22, who tells us, that when they wanted to reprefent an old mufician, they depicted a Swan, as that in an advanced age fings the most enchanting melody. Pierius 23 Valerianus alfo afferts the fame in regard to this hieroglyphick. 3d, Because the Swan was confecrated by the Ancients to Apollo, the inventor of Mufick. 4th, Becaufe diftinguished Philofophers deferve affent to their tef 21 Tom. III. 1. 19. p. 21. ed. 1603. 22 24 timony, Γέρον]α μεσικὸν βυλόμενοι σημῆναι κύκνον ζωγραφᾶσιν· ὗτος γὰρ ἡθύτατον μέλος de yngάoxwv. L. II. c. 3. ed. Pauw, p. 100. 23 Hieroglyph. 1. XXIII. p. 228. ed. 1602. 24 Demum quod viris philofophis nominatim clariff. & excellentiff. D. Frederico Pendafio, timony, fuch as Frederick Pendafius, who afferted, that, as he was failing on the lake of Mantua, he frequently heard Swans fing moft melodioufly: And George Braun attested, that near London 25, a Mart of England, flocks of Swans receive the fleets entering with joyful acclamations in the fea, and welcome them with feftive fongs. The writings of Albertus declare, that he had obferved the mournful ftrain of this Animal on any occafion of forrow; but I am of opinion, that they do not only fing through melancholy, but alfo in joy: And Antonius Mufa Brasavelus attefts, that he had remarked that fome Swans would fing towards the conclufion of their life, but not all. 5th, Becaufe fome maritime Belgæ, as the Frifi, Batavi, and others adjacent to them, among whom, from the multitude of their lakes, Swans are extremely frequent, call them in their vernacular Philofophiæ Profeffori celeberrimo, fe Cycnos frequenter cantantes fuaviter in lacu Mantuano cymbâ vectum audivifle afferenti, tanquam fide digniffimo non illibenter fidem adhibentes fuffragamus: Georgius Braun Cygnos tentatur prope Londinum Anglia emporium in mari agminatim leto occurfu & feftivis cantibus fubeuntes clatles excipere. Scribit item Albertus fe hujufmodi vores lugubres in quâlibet triftitiâ ab eis edi animadvertiffe; Ego autem non in triftitiâ tantum eos canere exiftimo fed in gaudio etiam: Antonius Mufa Brafavelus in Comment: ad Porphyr. Ifagag. Cycnos fub vitæ exitum canere fefe oblervâlie teftatur, fed omnes id facere negat. (Tom. III. 1. 19. p. 2 21.) 25 It is remarkable that Drayton fpeaking of the Swans on the river Thames fays, The Swans with mufick, that the roothers make, And Milton in his Latin Poem to the Marquis of Villa supposes the modulation of Swans on the Thames near the fea: Nos etiam in noftro modulantes flumine cygnos Oceani glaucos perfundit gurgite crines. Ed. Newton, vol. III. p. 671. v. 33. tongue, tongue Huyler, which is a word not very unlike Olor, and is closely expreffive of its propriety; for it fingnifies to lament, to cry, or to weep; by which they denote, that they utter a fort of plaintive fong, and modulate it with a sweet lamentation: But because it appeared melancholy, the Poets therefore feigned, that it was adapted, as a funeral dirge to their death, and was fung by them in the approaching hour of diffolution, as prefaging it. 6th, But I have often obferved very accurately and myself heard Swans murmur a curtain harmonious, but melancholy ftrain, fo that the Syrians did not without reason suppose that Swans were Sirens, who after bathing in the water attune their pleasant melody; we will therefore with Paufanias conclude, that the glory of mufick is the property of the Swan. 7th. What rivets him in this opinion, is the remarkable and wonderful structure of the arteria afpera, or the windpipe in the Swan, first obferved by him; on the properties of which he has exfpatiated, and has also delineated 26 the anatomy of it; and fays that he is easily prevailed upon to think the opinion of those more plaufible, who maintain the melody of this Bird, and particularly at its approach towards death." Such is the outline of the teftimony collected from Aldrovandus. Hence I pass to the evidence of Olaus Wormius, which is here stated, as extracted from his Mufæum 28. "There is no inconfiderable contention, fays he, among Authors concerning the song of the Swan: Some, who have observed that they utter a harsh and difagreeable found, attribute no fweetness to their fong: 26 Pl. 13, 14, 15. tom. III. 27 27 Facilè inducor ut verifimiliorem eorum effe credam fententiam, qui dulce melos præfertim morti vicinos cantare dicunt. Tom. III. 1. 19. p. 20. 28 B. III. c. 2. p. 357. ed. 1678. He cites Olaus Wormius Mufæum, (b. III. c. 13.) E 2 Others, Others, paying regard to the relations of fo many Poets and Hiftorians, have not the leaft doubt of their melody: Even Aldrovandus inclines to this opinion, deducing his argument from the conformation of the afpera arteria, extremely adapted for the formation of all founds. For my part, I will not conceal my own opinion: There was in my family a moft refpectable young Man, one Mr. John Roftorph 29, Student. in Theology, a Norwegian by Nation: This youth did upon his credit, and with the interpofition of an oath, folemnly affirm, that himself in the Nidrofian territory did once by the fea-fhore early in the morning hear an unusual and most sweet murmur, composed of most pleasant whifflings and founds; as he knew not whence it came, or how it was made, fince he faw no man near, who might be the author of this modulation, looking round about him, and climbing up to the top of a certain promontory, he beheld an infinite number of Swans, gathered together in a neighbouring bay of the fea, attuning this harmony; a fweeter than which in all his life he had never heard. By fome Icelanders , my Scholars, I have 30 underflood Erat in familia meâ juvenis honeftiffimus, D. Johannes Roftorphius, S. Theologiæ Studiofus, Norvagus Natione; hic bonâ fide, interpofito juramento, fanclè affirmavit fe in tractu Nidrofiano ad littus maris fummo mane infolitum ac fuaviffimum audiviffe murmur fibilis ac fonis jucundiffimè permiftum ; quod unde, aut quo pacto excitaretur cum ignoraret, fiquidem neminem vidit hujus modulationis authorem, undique circumfpiciens & jugum promontorii cujufdam fcandens, vidit Cygnorum multitudinem infinitam in finu maris vicino conglomeratam harmoniam hanc modulantem, quâ fuaviorem in vitâ nunquam audivit. Ab Iflandis quibufdam meis difcipulis percepi nihil hâc harmoniâ apud ipfos frequentius iis in locis ubi Cygni funt: quod ideo adduco, ut præftantiffimorum autorum de hâc cantione Cygneâ non vanam effe relationem vel modernis experimentis comprobari conftet. Mufæum Wormianum, p. 299. ed. Lugd. 1655. 30 In the Letters on Iceland, containing obfervations made during a voyage in the year 1772 by Uno Von Troil, there are the following remarks on the Swans, understood that nothing is more frequent with them than this harmony in thofe places, where there are Swans. I mention this circumstance, that the report of the most respectable authors concerning the fong of the Swan may appear to be not unfupported, but even attefted by modern experiments. Thus far Olaus Wormius. 31 The next authority, which I fhall produce, is that of Thomas Bartholinus, who wrote a treatise on the Swan; I difcovered this from a note of Harduin " on Pliny; and by an application to the Library of the British Museum, I found the book, correfponding to the title inferted in the note 32 below; hence I have extracted the following anecdotes on this fubject. After an analysis of its anatomy, of which the first part of the treatise confifts, he comes to the mufical quality of the Swan: "To this 33, fays he, little credit is given by Swans, as extracted from the tranflation of them into English, published in the prefent year: "They are faid to fing very harmoniously in the cold dark winter nights; but though it was in the month of September when I was upon the island, I never once enjoyed the pleasure of a fingle fong." P. 143. Res eft ea difcrepantibus inter fe fcriptorum fententiis dudum agitata; quam veritati demum afleruifle fe exiftimat, vindicato cycnorum cantu, exempli que recentibus confirmato, Thomas Bartholinus fingulari opere de cycno, a fec. 44. ad 54. (Nat. Hift. 1. X. c. 32. vol. I. p. 557.) 32 Thomæ Bartholini Differtatio de Cygni anatome ejufque cantu a Johanne Jacobo Benfelino in Academiâ Hafnienfi, nunc notulis quibufdam auctior edita ex fchedis paternis a Cafpare Bartholino Thomæ Filio, 1668. This Bartholinus was born at Copenhagen in 1616, and died in 1680: He was Profeffor of Mathematicks in that City, had also an anatomical chair, was the Phyfician of the King, and at last one of the Grand Council of Denmark: He published feveral works. See Niceron. tom. VI. p. 131. 33 Huic quidem a nonnullis parum habetur fidei ; verum ita fe rem habere teftis ego oculatus, qui et meis auribus canentem audivi, & ftatim morientem videre affirmo, fed id cafu. Quicquid enim de cantu cygni dicatur, obfervavi diligenter ferè non canere nifi verno tempore, quo fæpe in litore maris noftri Hagaftædani & Holbecani tercentos fimul concinentes, vel potius inconditum ftrepentes drenfantefque audivi, fufpicorque tum ad coitum invitari a maribus fœminas vel fæminas ova ponere. Aliàs prorfus mutos cygnos reliquo anni tempore per fluvios & maria noftra ferri obfervavi. (P.69.) |