The Historie Of The World

The birds of Ethiopia and India are for the most part of diverse colours, and such as a man is hardly able to decipher and describe. But the Phœnix of Arabia passes all others. Howbeit, I cannot tell what to make of him: and first of all, whether it be a tale or no, that there is never but one of them in the whole world, and the same not commonly seen. By report he is as big as an Eagle: for colour, as yellow & bright as gold (namely, all about the neck); the rest of the body a deep red purple: the tail azure blue, intermingled with feathers among, of rose carnation colour: and the head bravely adorned with a crest and panache finely wrought; having a tuft and plume thereupon, right fair and goodly to be seen. Manilius, the noble Roman Senator, right excellently well seen in the best kind of learning and literature, and yet never taught by any, was the first man of the long Robe, who wrote of this bird at large, & most exquisitely. He reporteth that never man was known to see him feeding: that in Arabia he is held a sacred bird, dedicated unto the Sun; that he liveth 660 years; and when he groweth old, and begins to decay, he builds himself a nest with the twigs and branches of the Canell or Cinnamon, and Frankincense trees; and when he hath filled it with all sort of sweet aromatic spices, yieldeth up his life thereupon. He saith moreover, that of his bones & marrow there breedeth at first as it were a little worm, which afterwards proveth to be a pretty bird. And the first thing that this young new Phœnix doth is to perform the obsequies of the former Phœnix late deceased: to translate and carry away his whole nest into the city of the Sun near Panchæa, and to bestow it full devoutly there upon the altar.