he had omitted a great many other things more wonderful, because he would not seem to those that have not seen them, to write incredibilities.  But notwithstanding all this, Lucian[C] will not believe a word he saith; for he tells us that Ctesias has wrote of India, [Greek:  A maete autos eide, maete allou eipontos aekousen], What he neither saw himself, nor ever heard from any Body else. And Aristotle tells us plainly, he is not fit to be believed:  [Greek:  En de taei Indikaei hos phaesi Ktaesias, ouk on axiopistos.][D] And the same opinion A.  Gellius[E] seems to have of him, as he had likewise of several other old Greek Historians which happened to fall into his hands at Brundusium, in his return from Greece into Italy; he gives this Character of them and their performance:  Erant autem isti omnes libri Graeci, miraculorum fabularumque pleni:  res inauditae, incredulae, Scriptores veteres non parvae authoritatis, Aristeas Proconnesius, & Isagonus, & Nicaeensis, & Ctesias, & Onesicritus, & Polystephanus, & Hegesias.  Not that I think all that Ctesias has wrote is fabulous; For tho’ I cannot believe his speaking Pygmies, yet what he writes of the Bird he calls [Greek:  Bittakos], that it would speak Greek and the Indian Language, no doubt is very true; and as H.  Stephens[F] observes in his Apology for Ctesias, such a Relation would seem very surprising to one, that had never seen nor heard of a Parrot.

[Footnote A:  Diodor.  Siculi Bibliothec. lib. 2. p.m. 118.]

[Footnote B:  Strabo Geograph. lib. 14. p. 451.]

[Footnote C:  Lucian lib 1. verae Histor. p.m. 373.]

[Footnote D:  Arist.  Hist.  Animal. lib. 8. cap. 28.]

[Footnote E:  A.  Gellij.  Noctes.  Attic. lib. 9. cap. 4.]

[Footnote F:  Henr.  Stephani de Ctesia Historico antiquissimo disquisitio, ad finem Herodoti.]

But this Story of Ctesias’s speaking Pygmies, seems to be confirm’d by the Account that Nonnosus, the Emperour Justinian’s Ambassador into AEthiopia, gives of his Travels.  I will transcribe the Passage, as I find it in Photius,[A] and ’tis as follows: 

[Footnote A:  Photij.  Bibliothec. cod. 3. p.m. 7.]

[Greek:  Hoti apo taes pharsan pleonti toi Nonnosoi, epi taen eschataen ton naeson kataentaekoti toion de ti synebae, thauma kai akousai. enetuche gar tisi morphaen men kai idean echousin anthropinaen, brachytatois de to megethos, kai melasi taen chroan. hypo de trichon dedasysmenois dia pantos tou somatos. heiponto de tois andrasi kai gynaikes paraplaesiai kai paidaria eti brachytera, ton par autois andron. gymnoi de aesan hapantes; plaen dermati tini mikroi taen aido periekalypron, hoi probebaekotes homoios andres te kai gynaikes. agrion de ouden eped eiknynto oude anaemeron; alla kai phonaen eichon men anthropinaen, agnoston de pantapasi taen dialekton tois te perioikois hapasi, kai polloi pleon tois peri taen Nonnoson, diezon de ek thalattion ostreion, kai ichthyon, ton apo taes thalassaes eis taen naeson aporrhiptomenon; tharsos de eichon ouden. alla kai horontes tous kath’ haemas anthropous hypeptaesan, hosper haemeis ta meiso ton thaerion.]