IIIF Color HighRes
National Institute of Informatics - Digital Silk Road Project
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| IIIF Color HighRes |
| Marco Polo : vol.1 |
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Citation Information
I 74• ASTROLOGERS AND BOYS AND BIRDS IN MAABAR ."MARCO POLO
good for the buyer, sometimes good for both or bad for both; and they guide themselves by that. 0
These things indeed they have from experience. And again I tell you that as soon as an~isi
infant is born in this kingdom, whether he be male or female, the father or the ''4
z V B mother immediately has his nativity put in writing, that is what day he is born, the ,l
VB year, and in what month and in what moon and what hour & minute, that when they .00
are grown up these astrologers may be able to judge what they have to do. And they do this lit
because they do all their deeds' with astrologers and with diviners who know
vs much of enchantment and of magic art and of geomancy; & great faith is put in
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them, holding firm what they tell them must be firm, nor can they fail. And some there are, Olt
FB z as I have told you, [who] know astronomy and other diabolical charms. . Again, whoever
has sons, when they are of the age of thirteen years immediately sends them away from home, depriving them of the food of the home. For they say that now they are at an age at which they can get food of themselves, and trade and make gain as he himself did; and he gives to each one twenty or twenty-four grossi, or money of such a value, that they get and make gain with them.
The fathers do this indeed that the sons may become practised and quick in everything and may become used to dealings . These boys indeed do so, for the whole day they do not stop running now here now there buying one thing and afterwards selling that same thing. And at the time
R Z when the pearls are fished they run to the port and buy from the fishers • c from others •five or
six pearls, according as the fishers have them, and carry them to the merchants who stay in
houses from fear of the sun and say, Do you want these? They cost me truly so much, give IS
whatever of profit you please. And they give them something of profit above the price they owe; ld
and then they run back again. Or they say to merchants, Do you please that I go to buy some- la{
R z thing? •And so they practise themselves in many other things, • and so become very good and very
cunning dealers. But they carry the necessaries to the house of the mothers, and they cook and
prepare for them, but it is not that they eat anything at the expense of the fathers. And again z L you may know that in this kingdom and through all Indie they have all both beasts
L VB and birds very different from ours of the sunsetting except one bird only, and that is z the quail.' This bird with no mistake [81a] is like ours; but they have all their other things very strangely different from ours, for I tell you quite truly that they have bats (these are the birds which fly by night and which have no quills and no
L FB feathers,' like a mouse), birds like this they have as large as large goshawks.' They have
goshawks all black like ravens and they are much larger than ours, and they are _
good fliers and good at taking birds. Moreover I will speak to you of another
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1 lor foies Z: sua fatta FB: leurs fait B.: lor[ fait toutes] foies
2 VB: la quila 3 qe ne ont poises &' ne plumes
4 VL: notole grande come galíne 5 LT,TA: "coals"
39Z
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