Prev | Current Page 197 | Next

Tyson, Edward, 1650-1708

"A Philological Essay Concerning the Pygmies of the Ancients"

Because this sort of _Apes_ had so great a resemblance to Men,
more than other _Apes_ or _Monkeys_; and they going naturally erect, and
being designed by Nature to go so, (as I have shewn in the _Anatomy_) the
Ancients had a very plausible ground for giving them this denomination of
[Greek: andres] or [Greek: anthropoi], but commonly they added an Epithet;
as [Greek: agrioi, mikroi, pygmaioi, melanes], or some such like. Now the
Ancient _Greek_ and _Indian Historians_, tho' they might know these
_Pygmies_ to be only _Apes_ like _Men_, and not to be real _Men_, yet
being so extremely addicted to _Mythology_, or making Fables, and finding
this so fit a Subject to engraft upon, and invent Stories about, they have
not been wanting in furnishing us with a great many very Romantick ones on
this occasion. And the Moderns being imposed upon by them, and misguided
by the Name of [Greek: andres] or [Greek: anthropoi], as if thereby must
be always understood an _Humane Kind_, or _real Men_, they have altogether
mistaken the Truth of the Story, and have either wholly denied it, or
rendered it as improbable by their own Conjectures.


Pages:
185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209