CHAP. 109.—THE SEXUAL PARTS.—HERMAPHRODITES.
We have already spoken sufficiently[1] at length of those animals, the males of which have the sexual parts behind. In
the wolf, the fox, the weasel, and the ferret, these parts are
bony; and it is the genitals of the last-mentioned animal
that supply the principal remedies for calculus in the human
bladder. It is said also that the genitals of the bear are
turned into a horny substance the moment it dies. Among
the peoples of the East the very best bow-strings are those
which are made of the member of the camel. These parts also,
among different nations, are made the object of certain usages[2]
and religious observances; and the Galli,[3] the priests of the
Mother of the gods, are in the habit of castrating themselves,
without any dangerous results. On the other hand, there is
in some few women a monstrous resemblance to the male conformation, while hermaphrodites appear to partake of the
nature of both. Instances of this last conformation were
seen in quadrupeds in Nero's reign, and for the first time, I
imagine; for he ostentatiously paraded hermaphrodite horses
yoked to his car, which had been found in the territory of
the Treviri, in Gaul; as if, indeed, it was so remarkably fine a
sight to behold the ruler of the earth seated in a chariot drawn
by monstrosities