De Canibus Britannicis Of Englishe Dogges   By: John Caius (1510-1573)

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[em], [en]; [um], [un] (e, u with "tilde" for following nasal)

The "oe" ligature is written as the two letters oe. Greek has been transliterated and shown between marks.

Forms such as "y^e" (for "the") represent "y" with small "e" printed directly above.

The e text consists of two titles: Caius's original De Canibus Britannicis and Fleming's translation Of English Dogges , both from the 1912 Cambridge edition of Caius's Complete Works . The separate texts are followed by a combined text, giving the Latin original and the English translation in small alternating segments. Note that the single large table of the Caius original was broken into five smaller "Dialls" in the translation.

Numbers in parentheses were printed in the gutter; they represent pages (translation) or leaves (Latin) of the original editions, as used in their respective Indexes. Sidenotes (Latin only) are shown in brackets.

Additional notes are at the end of the e text.]

IOANNIS CAII BRITANNI

DE Canibus Britannicis libellus.

Ad Gesnerum.

Scripsimus ad te (charissime Gesnere) superioribus annis variam historiam de variis quadrupedum, avium, atque piscium formis, variis herbarum atque fruticum speciebus & figuris. Scripsimus & de canibus quædam ad te seorsum, quæ in libro tuo de iconibus animalium ordine secundo mansuetorum quadrupedum, ubi de Canibus Scoticis scribis, & in fine epistolæ tuæ ad Gulielmum Turnerum de libris a te editis, inter libros nondum excusos, te editurum polliceris. Sed quia de Canibus nostris quædam in eo libello mihi videbantur desiderari, editionem prohibui, & alium promisi. Quamobrem, ut promissis meis starem, & expectationi tuæ satisfacerem, homini omnis cognitionis cupido, universitatem generis, differentiam atque usum, mores & ingenium, veluti (1b) methodo quadam conabor explicare. Dispertiar in tres species, Generosam, Rusticam, & Degenerem; sic ut de illa primò, de hac postremò, de rustica, medio loco tibi dicam. Omnes Britannicos vocabo; tum quòd una Insula Britannia, ut Anglicos omnes, sic quoque Scoticos omnes complectatur: tum quòd venatibus magis indulgemus, quia voluptati ex feris & venatione, propter animalium copiam, atque hominum otium, magis Britanni sumus dediti, quàm eorum animalium indigi & negotiosi Scoti. [Ex generosis venaticis.] Ergo cum omnis ratio generosæ venationis, vel in persequendis feris, vel in capiendis avibus finiatur, canum, quibus hæc aguntur, duo genera sunt: alterum quod feras investiget, alterum quod aves persequatur. Utraque Latinis uno & communi nomine dici possunt venatica. Sed Anglis cum aliud esse videatur feras sectari, aliud aves capere, ut primum venationem, secundum aucupium nominant, ita canum nomina volunt esse diversa: ut qui feras lacessunt, venatici; qui aves, aucupatorii dicerentur. Venaticos rursum divido in quinque genera. Aut enim odoratu, aut visu fatigant feras, aut pernicitate vincunt, aut odoratu & pernicitate superant, aut dolo capiunt.