Chapter XVII: Book IX: The Natural History of Fishes (1)

CHAP. 1. (1.)—WHY THE LARGEST ANIMALS ARE FOUND IN THE SEA.

We have now given an account of the animals which we call terrestrial, and which live as it were in a sort of society with man. Among the remaining ones, it is well known that the birds are the smallest; we shall therefore first describe those which inhabit the seas, rivers, and standing waters.

(2.) Among these there are many to be found that exceed in size any of the terrestrial animals even; the evident cause of which is the superabundance of moisture with which they are supplied. Very different is the lot of the winged animals, whose life is passed soaring aloft in the air. But in the seas, spread out as they are far and wide, forming an element at once so delicate and so vivifying, and receiving the generating principles[2197] from the regions of the air, as they are ever produced by Nature, many animals are to be found, and indeed, most of those that are of monstrous form; from the fact, no doubt, that these seeds and first principles of being are so utterly conglomerated and so involved, the one with the other, from being whirled to and fro, now by the action of the winds and now by the waves. Hence it is that the vulgar notion may very possibly be true, that whatever is produced in any other department of Nature, is to be found in the sea as well; while, at the same time, many other productions are there to be found which nowhere else exist. That there are to be found in the sea the forms, not only of terrestrial animals, but of inanimate objects even, is easily to be understood by all who will take the trouble to examine the grape-fish,[2198] the sword-fish,[2199] the saw-fish,[2200] and the cucumber-fish,[2201] which last so strongly resembles the real cucumber both in colour and in smell. We shall find the less reason then to be surprised to find that in so small an object as a shell-fish[2202] the head of the horse is to be seen protruding from the shell.

CHAP. 2. (3.)—THE SEA MONSTERS OF THE INDIAN OCEAN.

But the most numerous and largest of all these animals are those found in the Indian seas; among which there are balænae,[2203] four jugera[2204] in extent, and the pristis,[2205] two hundred cubits long: here also are found cray-fish[2206] four cubits in length, and in the river Ganges there are to be seen eels three hundred[2207] feet long. But at sea it is more especially about the time of the solstices that these monsters are to be seen. For then it is that in these regions the whirlwind comes sweeping on, the rains descend, the hurricane comes rushing down, hurled from the mountain heights, while the sea is stirred up from the very bottom, and the monsters are driven from their depths and rolled upwards on the crest of the billow. At other times again, there are such vast multitudes of tunnies met with, that the fleet of Alexander the Great was able to make head against them only by facing them in order of battle, just as it would have done an enemy’s fleet. Had the ships not done this, but proceeded in a straggling manner, they could not possibly have made their escape. No noises, no sounds, no blows had any effect on these fish; by nothing short of the clash of battle were they to be terrified, and by nothing less than their utter destruction were they overpowered.

There is a large peninsula in the Red Sea, known by the name of Cadara:[2208] as it projects into the deep it forms a vast gulf, which it took the fleet of King Ptolemy[2209] twelve whole days and nights to traverse by dint of rowing, for not a breath of wind was to be perceived. In the recesses of this becalmed spot more particularly, the sea-monsters attain so vast a size that they are quite unable to move. The commanders of the fleets of Alexander the Great have related that the Gedrosi,[2210] who dwell upon the banks of the river Arabis,[2211] are in the habit of making the doors of their houses with the jaw-bones[2212] of fishes, and raftering the roofs with their bones, many of which were found as much as forty cubits in length. At this place, too, the sea-monsters, just like so many cattle,[2213] were in the habit of coming on shore, and, after feeding on the roots of shrubs, they would return; some of them, which had the heads of horses,[2214] asses, and bulls, found a pasture in the crops of grain.

CHAP. 3. (4.)—THE LARGEST ANIMALS THAT ARE FOUND IN EACH OCEAN.

The largest animals found in the Indian Sea are the pistrix and the balæna; while of the Gallic Ocean the physeter[2215] is the most bulky inhabitant, raising itself aloft like some vast column, and as it towers above the sails of ships, belching forth, as it were, a deluge of water. In the ocean of Gades there is a tree,[2216] with outspread branches so vast, that it is supposed that it is for that reason it has never yet entered the Straits. There are fish also found there which are called sea-wheels,[2217] in consequence of their singular conformation; they are divided by four spokes, the nave being guarded on every side by a couple of eyes.

CHAP. 4. (5.)—THE FORMS OF THE TRITONS AND NEREIDS. THE FORMS OF SEA ELEPHANTS.

A deputation of persons from Olisipo,[2218] that had been sent for the purpose, brought word to the Emperor Tiberius that a triton had been both seen and heard in a certain cavern, blowing a conch-shell,[2219] and of the form under which they are usually represented. Nor yet is the figure generally attributed to the nereids[2220] at all a fiction; only in them, the portion of the body that resembles the human figure is still rough all over with scales. For one of these creatures was seen upon the same shores, and as it died, its plaintive murmurs were heard even by the inhabitants at a distance. The legatus of Gaul,[2221] too, wrote word to the late Emperor Augustus that a considerable number of nereids had been found dead upon the sea-shore. I have, too, some distinguished informants of equestrian rank, who state that they themselves once saw in the ocean of Gades a sea-man,[2222] which bore in every part of his body a perfect resemblance to a human being, and that during the night he would climb up into ships; upon which the side of the vessel where he seated himself would instantly sink downward, and if he remained there any considerable time, even go under water.

In the reign of the Emperor Tiberius, a subsidence of the ocean left exposed on the shores of an island which faces the province of Lugdunum[2223] as many as three hundred animals or more, all at once, quite marvellous for their varied shapes and enormous size, and no less a number upon the shores of the Santones;[2224] among the rest there were elephants[2225] and rams, which last, however, had only a white spot to represent horns. Turranius has also left accounts of several nereids, and he speaks of a monster[2226] that was thrown up on the shore at Gades, the distance between the two fins at the end of the tail of which was sixteen cubits, and its teeth one hundred and twenty in number; the largest being nine, and the smallest six inches in length.

M. Scaurus, in his ædileship, exhibited at Rome, among other wonderful things, the bones of the monster to which Andromeda was said to have been exposed, and which he had brought from Joppa, a city of Judæa. These bones exceeded forty feet in length, and the ribs were higher than those of the Indian elephant, while the back-bone was a foot and a half[2227] in thickness.

CHAP. 5. (6.)—THE BALÆNA AND THE ORCA.

The balæna[2228] penetrates to our seas even. It is said that they are not to be seen in the ocean of Gades before the winter solstice, and that at periodical seasons they retire and conceal themselves in some calm capacious bay, in which they take a delight in bringing forth. This fact, however, is known to the orca,[2229] an animal which is peculiarly hostile to the balæna, and the form of which cannot be in any way adequately described, but as an enormous mass of flesh armed with teeth. This animal attacks the balæna in its places of retirement, and with its teeth tears its young, or else attacks the females which have just brought forth, and, indeed, while they are still pregnant; and as they rush upon them, it pierces them just as though they had been attacked by the beak of a Liburnian[2230] galley. The female balænæ, devoid of all flexibility, without energy to defend themselves, and over-burdened by their own weight, weakened, too, by gestation, or else the pains of recent parturition, are well aware that their only resource is to take to flight in the open sea and to range over the whole face of the ocean; while the orcæ, on the other hand, do all in their power to meet them in their flight, throw themselves in their way, and kill them either cooped up in a narrow passage, or else drive them on a shoal, or dash them to pieces against the rocks. When these battles are witnessed, it appears just as though the sea were infuriate against itself; not a breath of wind is there to be felt in the bay, and yet the waves by their pantings and their repeated blows are heaved aloft in a way which no whirlwind could effect.

An orca has been seen even in the port of Ostia, where it was attacked by the Emperor Claudius. It was while he was constructing the harbour[2231] there that this orca came, attracted by some hides which, having been brought from Gaul, had happened to fall overboard[2232] there. By feeding upon these for several days it had quite glutted itself, having made for itself a channel in the shoaly water. Here, however, the sand was thrown up by the action of the wind to such an extent, that the creature found it quite impossible to turn round; and while in the act of pursuing its prey, it was propelled by the waves towards the shore, so that its back came to be perceived above the level of the water, very much resembling in appearance the keel of a vessel turned bottom upwards. Upon this, Cæsar ordered a great number of nets to be extended at the mouth of the harbour, from shore to shore, while he himself went there with the prætorian cohorts, and so afforded a spectacle to the Roman people; for boats assailed the monster, while the soldiers on board showered lances upon it. I myself saw one of the boats[2233] sunk by the water which the animal, as it respired, showered down upon it.

CHAP. 6.—WHETHER FISHES RESPIRE, AND WHETHER THEY SLEEP.

Balænæ have the mouth[2234] in the forehead; and hence it is that, as they swim on the surface of the water, they discharge vast showers of water in the air. (7.) It is universally agreed, however, that they respire, as do a very few other animals[2235] in the sea, which have lungs among the internal viscera; for without lungs it is generally supposed that no animal can breathe. Those, too, who are of this opinion are of opinion also that no fishes that have gills are so constituted as to inhale and exhale alternately, nor, in fact, many other kinds of animals even, which are entirely destitute of gills. This, I find, was the opinion of Aristotle,[2236] who, by his learned researches[2237] on the subject, has induced many others to be of the same way of thinking. I shall not, however, conceal the fact, that I for one do not by any means at once subscribe to this opinion, for it is very possible, if such be the will of Nature, that there may be other organs[2238] fitted for the purposes of respiration, and acting in the place of lungs; just as in many animals a different liquid altogether takes the place of blood.[2239] And who, in fact, can find any ground for surprise that the breath of life can penetrate the waters of the deep, when he sees that it is even exhaled[2240] from them? and when we find, too, that it can even enter the very depths of the earth, an element of so much greater density, a thing that is proved by the case of animals which always live under ground, the mole for instance? There are other weighty reasons as well, which induce me to be of opinion that all aquatic animals respire, conformably to their natural organization; for, in the first place, there has been often remarked in fishes a certain degree of anhelation during the heat of summer, and at other times again, a kind of leisurely gaping,[2241] as it were. And then, besides, we have the admission of those who are of the contrary opinion, that fishes do sleep; but what possibility is there of sleeping[2242] without respiring as well? And again, we see their breath disengaged in bubbles which rise to the water’s surface, and the influence too of the moon makes even the very shells[2243] grow in bulk.

But the most convincing reason of all is, the undoubted fact that fishes have the power of hearing[2244] and of smelling, two senses for the operation of both of which the air is a necessary vehicle; for by smell we understand nothing else than the air being charged with certain particles.[2245] However, let every person form his own opinion on these subjects, just in such way as he may think best.

Neither the balæna nor the dolphin has any gills.[2246] Both of these animals respire[2247] through vent-holes, which communicate with the lungs; in the balæna they are on the forehead,[2248] and in the dolphin on the back. Sea-calves, too, which we call “phocæ,”[2249] breathe and sleep upon dry land—sea-tortoises also,[2250] of which we shall have more to say hereafter.

CHAP. 7. (8.)—DOLPHINS.

The swiftest[2251] not only of the sea animals, but of all animals whatever, is the dolphin.[2252] He is more rapid in his movements than a bird, more instantaneous than the flight of an arrow, and were it not for the fact that his month is situate much below his muzzle,[2253] almost, indeed, in the middle of the belly, not a fish would be able to escape his pursuit. But Nature,[2254] in her prudence, has thrown certain impediments in his way; for unless he turns, and throws himself on his back, he can seize nothing, and it is this circumstance more especially that gives proof of his extraordinary swiftness. For, if pressed by hunger,[2255] he will follow a fish, as it flies down, to the very bottom of the water, and then after holding his breath thus long, will dart again to the surface to respire, with the speed of an arrow discharged from a bow; and often, on such occasions, he is known to leap out of the water with such a bound, as to fly right over the sails[2256] of a ship.

Dolphins generally go in couples; the females bring forth their young in the tenth month, during the summer season, sometimes two in number.[2257] They suckle their young at the teat like the balæna, and even carry them during the weakness of infancy; in addition to which, long after they are grown up, they accompany them, so great is their affection for their progeny. The young ones grow very speedily, and in ten years are supposed to arrive at their full size. The dolphin lives thirty years; a fact that has been ascertained from cutting marks[2258] on the tail, by way of experiment. It conceals itself for thirty days, at about the rising of the Dog-star, and hides itself so effectually, that it is not known whither it goes; a thing that is more surprising still, if it is unable to respire under water. Dolphins are in the habit of darting upon the shore, for some reason or other, it is not known[2259] what. They do not die the moment that they touch the dry land, but will die much more speedily if the vent-hole is closed. The tongue, contrary to the nature of aquatic animals in general, is moveable, being short and broad, not much unlike that of the pig. Instead of a voice, they emit a moaning sound[2260] similar to that made by a human being; the back is arched, and the nose turned up. For this reason[2261] it is that they all recognize in a most surprising manner the name of Simo, and prefer to be called by that rather than by any other.

CHAP. 8.—HUMAN BEINGS WHO HAVE BEEN BELOVED BY DOLPHINS.

The dolphin is an animal not only friendly to man, but a lover of music as well; he is charmed by melodious concerts,[2262] and more especially by the notes of the water-organ.[2263] He does not dread man, as though a stranger to him, but comes to meet ships, leaps and bounds to and fro, vies with them in swiftness, and passes them even when in full sail.

In the reign[2264] of the late Emperor Augustus, a dolphin which had been carried to the Lucrine Lake[2265] conceived a most wonderful affection for the child of a certain poor man, who was in the habit of going that way from Baiæ to Puteoli[2266] to school, and who used to stop there in the middle of the day, call him by his name of Simo, and would often entice him to the banks of the lake with pieces of bread which he carried for the purpose. I should really have felt ashamed to mention this, had not the incident been stated in writing in the works of Mæcenas, Fabianus, Flavius Alfius, and many others. At whatever hour of the day he might happen to be called by the boy, and although hidden and out of sight at the bottom of the water, he would instantly fly to the surface, and after feeding from his hand, would present his back for him to mount, taking care to conceal the spiny projection of his fins[2267] in their sheath, as it were; and so, sportively taking him up on his back, he would carry him over a wide expanse of sea to the school at Puteoli, and in a similar manner bring him back again. This happened for several years, until at last the boy happened to fall ill of some malady, and died. The dolphin, however, still came to the spot as usual, with a sorrowful air and manifesting every sign of deep affliction, until at last, a thing of which no one felt the slightest doubt, he died purely of sorrow and regret.

Within these few years also,[2268] another at Hippo Diarrhytus,[2269] on the coast of Africa, in a similar manner used to receive his food from the hands of various persons, present himself for their caresses, sport about among the swimmers, and carry them on his back. On being rubbed with unguents by Flavianus, the then proconsul of Africa, he was lulled to sleep, as it appeared, by the sensation of an odour so new to him, and floated about just as though he had been dead. For some months after this, he carefully avoided all intercourse with man, just as though he had received some affront or other; but at the end of that time he returned, and afforded just the same wonderful scenes as before. At last, the vexations that were caused them by having to entertain so many influential men who came to see this sight, compelled the people of Hippo to put the animal to death.

Before this, there was a similar story told of a child at the city of Iasus,[2270] for whom a dolphin was long observed to have conceived a most ardent affection, until at last, as the animal was eagerly following him as he was making for the shore,[2271] it was carried by the tide on the sands, and there expired. Alexander the Great appointed this boy[2272] high priest of Neptune at Babylon, interpreting this extraordinary attachment as a convincing proof of the favour of that divinity.

Hegesidemus has also informed us, that in the same city[2273] of Iasus there was another boy also, Hermias by name, who in a similar manner used to traverse the sea on a dolphin’s back, but that on one occasion a tempest suddenly arising, he lost his life, and was brought back dead; upon which, the dolphin, who thus admitted that he had been the cause of his death, would not return to the sea, but lay down upon the dry land, and there expired.

Theophrastus[2274] informs us, that the very same thing happened at Naupactus also; nor, in fact, is there any limit to similar instances. The Amphilochians[2275] and the Tarentines[2276] have similar stories also about children and dolphins; and all these give an air of credibility to the one that is told of Arion,[2277] the famous performer on the lyre. The mariners being on the point of throwing him into the sea, for the purpose of taking possession of the money he had earned, he prevailed upon them to allow him one more song, accompanied with the music of his lyre. The melody attracted numbers of dolphins around the ship, and, upon throwing himself into the sea, he was taken up by one of them, and borne in safety to the shore of the Promontory of Tænarum.[2278]

CHAP. 9.—PLACES WHERE DOLPHINS HELP MEN TO FISH.

There is in the province of Gallia Narbonensis and in the territory of Nemausus[2279] a lake known by the name of Latera,[2280] where dolphins fish in company with men. At the narrow outlet[2281] of this lake, at stated seasons of the year innumerable multitudes of mullets make their way into the sea, taking advantage of the turn of the tide; hence it is that it is quite impossible to employ nets sufficiently strong to bear so vast a weight, even though the fish had not the instinctive shrewdness to watch their opportunity. By a similar instinct the fish immediately make with all speed towards the deep water which is found in a gulf in that vicinity, and hasten to escape from the only spot that is at all convenient for spreading the nets. As soon as ever the fishermen perceive this, all the people—for great multitudes resort thither, being well aware of the proper time, and especially desirous of sharing in the amusement—shout as loud as they can, and summon Simo to the scene of action. The dolphins very quickly understand that they are in requisition, as a north-east wind speedily carries the sound to their retreats, though a south one would somewhat retard it by carrying it in an opposite direction. Even then however, sooner than you could have possibly supposed, there are the dolphins, in all readiness to assist. They are seen approaching in all haste in battle array, and, immediately taking up their position when the engagement is about to take place, they cut off all escape to the open sea, and drive the terrified fish into shallow water. The fishermen then throw their nets, holding them up at the sides with forks, though the mullets with inconceivable agility instantly leap over them;[2282] while the dolphins, on the other hand, are waiting in readiness to receive them, and content themselves for the present with killing them only, postponing all thoughts of eating till after they have secured the victory. The battle waxes hot apace, and the dolphins, pressing on with the greatest vigour, readily allow themselves to be enclosed in the nets; but in order that the fact of their being thus enclosed may not urge the enemy to find additional means of flight, they glide along so stealthily among the boats and nets, or else the swimmers, as not to leave them any opening for escape. By leaping, which at other times is their most favourite amusement, not one among them attempts to make its escape, unless, indeed, the nets are purposely lowered for it; and the instant that it has come out it continues the battle, as it were, up to the very ramparts. At last, when the capture is now completed, they devour those among the fish which they have killed;[2283] but being well aware that they have given too active an assistance to be repaid with only one day’s reward, they take care to wait there till the following day, when they are filled not only with fish, but bread crumbs soaked in wine as well.

CHAP. 10.—OTHER WONDERFUL THINGS RELATING TO DOLPHINS.

The account which Mucianus gives of a similar mode of fishing in the Iasian Gulf differs from the preceding one, in the fact that there the dolphins make their appearance of their own accord, and do not require to be called: they receive their share from the hands of the people, each boat having its own particular associate among the dolphins; and this, although the fishing is carried on at night-time by the light[2284] of torches.

Dolphins, also, form among themselves[2285] a sort of general community. One of them having been captured by a king of Caria and chained up in the harbour, great multitudes of dolphins assembled at the spot, and with signs of sorrow which could not be misunderstood, appealed to the sympathies of the people, until at last the king ordered it to be released. The young dolphins, also, are always attended[2286] by a larger one, who acts as a guardian to them; and before now, they have been seen[2287] carrying off the body of one which had died, that it might not be devoured by the sea-monsters.

CHAP. 11. (9.)—THE TURSIO.

There is a fish called the tursio,[2288] which bears a strong resemblance to the dolphin; it differs from it, however, in a certain air of sadness, and is wanting in its peculiar vivacity. This animal most resembles the dog-fish,[2289] however, in the shape and dangerous powers of the muzzle.

CHAP. 12. (10.)—TURTLES.[2290] THE VARIOUS KINDS OF TURTLES, AND HOW THEY ARE CAUGHT.

The Indian Sea[2291] produces turtles of such vast[2292] size, that with the shell of a single animal they are able to roof a habitable cottage;[2293] and among the islands of the Red Sea, the navigation is mostly carried on in boats formed of these shells. They are to be caught in many ways; but they are generally taken when they have come up to the surface of the water just before midday, a season at which they experience great delight in floating on the calm surface, with the back entirely out of the water. Here the delightful sensations[2294] which attend a free respiration beguile them to such a degree, and render them so utterly regardless of their safety, that their shell becomes dried up by the heat of the sun, so much so, indeed, that they are unable to descend, and, having to float against their will, become an easy prey to the fishermen. It is said also, that they leave the water at night for the purpose of feeding, and eat with such avidity as to quite glut themselves: upon which, they become weary, and the moment that, on their return in the morning, they reach the sea, they fall asleep on the surface of the water. The noise of their snoring betrays them, upon which the fishermen stealthily swim towards the animals, three to each turtle; two of them, in a moment, throw it on its back, while a third slings a noose around it, as it lies face upwards, and then some more men, who are ready on shore, draw it to land.

In the Phœnician Sea they are taken without the slightest difficulty, and, at stated periods of the year, come of their own accord to the river Eleutherus,[2295] in immense numbers. The turtle has no teeth, but the edge of the mouth is sharp, the upper part shutting down over the lower just like the lid of a box. In the sea it lives upon shell-fish,[2296] and such is the strength of its jaws, that it is able to break stones even; when on shore, it feeds upon herbage. The female turtle lays eggs like those of birds, one hundred in number; these she buries on the dry land, and covering them over with earth, pats it down with her breast, and then having thus rendered it smooth, sits on them during the night. The young are hatched in the course of a year. Some persons are of opinion that they hatch their eggs by means of the eyes, by merely looking at them, and that the female refuses to have any intercourse with the male until he has placed a wisp of straw[2297] upon her back. The Troglodytæ have turtles with horns,[2298] which resemble the branches of a lyre; they are large, but moveable, and assist the animal like so many oars while swimming. The name of this fine, but rarely-found turtle, is “chelyon;”[2299] for the rocks, from the sharpness of their points, frighten away the Chelonophagi,[2300] while the Troglodytæ, whose shores these animals frequent, worship them as sacred. There are some land turtles also, the shells of which, used for the purposes of art, are thence called by the name of “chersinæ;”[2301] they are found in the deserts of Africa, in the parts where the scorched sands are more especially destitute of water, and subsist, it is believed, upon the moisture of the dews. No other animal is to be found there.

CHAP. 13. (11.)—WHO FIRST INVENTED THE ART OF CUTTING TORTOISE-SHELL.

Carvilius Pollio, a man of prodigal habits and ingenious in inventing the refinements of luxury, was the first to cut the shell of the tortoise into laminæ, and to veneer beds and cabinets[2302] with it.

CHAP. 14. (12.)—DISTRIBUTION OF AQUATIC ANIMALS INTO VARIOUS SPECIES.

The integuments of the aquatic animals are many in number. Some are covered with a hide and hair, as the sea-calf and hippopotamus, for instance; others again, with a hide only, as the dolphin; others again, with a shell,[2303] as the turtle; others, with a coat as hard as a stone, like the oyster and other shell-fish; others, with a crust, such as the cray-fish; others, with a crust and spines, like the sea-urchin; others, with scales, as fishes in general; others, with a rough skin, as the squatina,[2304] the skin of which is used for polishing wood and ivory; others, with a soft skin, like the muræna;[2305] and others with none at all, like the polypus.[2306]

CHAP. 15. (13.)—THOSE WHICH ARE COVERED WITH HAIR, OR HAVE NONE, AND HOW THEY BRING FORTH. SEA-CALVES, OR PHOCÆ.

Those aquatic animals which are covered with hair are viviparous, such, for instance, as the pristis, the balæna,[2307] and the sea-calf. This last brings forth its young on land, and, like the sheep, produces an after-birth. In coupling, they adhere after the manner of the canine species; the female sometimes produces even more than two, and rears her young at the breast. She does not take them down to the sea until the twelfth day, and after that time makes them become used to it by degrees.[2308] These animals are killed with the greatest difficulty, unless the head is cut off at once. They make a noise which sounds like lowing, whence their name of “sea-calf.” They are susceptible, however, of training, and with their voice, as well as by gestures, can be taught to salute the public; when called by their name, they answer with a discordant kind of grunt.[2309] No animal has a deeper sleep[2310] than this; on dry land it creeps along as though on feet, by the aid of what it uses as fins when in the sea. Its skin, even when separated from the body, is said to retain a certain sensitive sympathy with the sea, and at the reflux[2311] of the tide, the hair on it always rises upright: in addition to which, it is said that there is in the right fin a certain soporiferous influence, and that, if placed under the head, it induces sleep.

(14.) There are only two animals without hair that are viviparous, the dolphin and the viper.[2312]

CHAP. 16.—HOW MANY KINDS OF FISH THERE ARE.

There are seventy-four[2313] species of fishes, exclusive of those that are covered with crusts; the kinds of which are thirty in number. We shall, on another occasion,[2314] speak of each individually; but, for the present, we shall treat only of the nature of the more remarkable ones.

CHAP. 17. (15.)—WHICH OF THE FISHES ARE OF THE LARGEST SIZE.

Tunnies are among the most remarkable for their size; we have found one weighing as much as fifteen[2315] talents, the breadth of its tail being five cubits and a palm.[2316] In some of the rivers, also, there are fish of no less size, such, for instance, as the silurus[2317] of the Nile, the isox[2318] of the Rhenus, and the attilus[2319] of the Padus, which, naturally of an inactive nature, sometimes grows so fat as to weigh a thousand pounds, and when taken with a hook, attached to a chain, requires a yoke of oxen to draw it[2320] on land. An extremely small fish, which is known as the clupea,[2321] attaches itself, with a wonderful tenacity, to a certain vein in the throat of the attilus, and destroys it by its bite. The silurus carries devastation with it wherever it goes, attacks every living creature, and often drags beneath the water horses as they swim. It is also remarkable, that in the Mœnus,[2322] a river of Germany, a fish that bears[2323] a very strong resemblance to the sea-pig, requires to be drawn out of the water by a yoke of oxen; and, in the Danube, it is taken with large hooks of iron.[2324] In the Boryrsthenes, also, there is said to be a fish of enormous size, the flesh of which has no bones or spines in it, and is remarkable for its sweetness.

In the Granges, a river of India, there is a fish found which they call the platanista;[2325] it has the muzzle and the tail of the dolphin, and measures sixteen cubits in length. Statius Sebosus says, a thing that is marvellous in no small degree, that in the same river there are fishes[2326] found, called worms; these have two gills,[2327] and are sixty cubits in length; they are of an azure colour, and have received their name from their peculiar conformation. These fish, he says, are of such enormous strength, that with their teeth they seize hold of the trunks of elephants that come to drink, and so drag them into the water.

CHAP. 18.—TUNNIES, CORDYLA, AND PELAMIDES, AND THE VARIOUS PARTS OF THEM THAT ARE SALTED. MELANDRYA, APOLECTI, AND CYBIA.

The male tunny has no ventral fin;[2328] these fish enter the Euxine in large bodies from the main[2329] sea, in the spring, and will spawn nowhere else. The young ones, which in autumn accompany the females to the open sea, are known as “cordyla.”[2330] In the spring they are called “pelamides,”[2331] from πηλὸς, the Greek for “mud,” and after they are a year old, “thynni.” When this fish is cut up into pieces, the neck, the belly, and the throat,[2332] are the most esteemed parts; but they must be eaten only when they are quite fresh, and even then they cause severe fits of flatulence; the other parts; with the flesh entire, are preserved in salt. Those pieces, which bear a resemblance to an oaken board, have thence received the name of “melandrya.”[2333] The least esteemed among these parts are those which are the nearest to the tail, because they have no fat upon them; while those parts are considered the most delicate, which lie nearest the neck;[2334] in other fishes, however, the parts about the tail have the most nutriment[2335] in them. The pelamides are cut up into small sections, known as “apolecti;”[2336] and these again are divided into cubical pieces, which are thence called “cybia.”[2337]

CHAP. 19.—THE AURIAS AND THE SCOMBER.

All kinds of fish grow[2338] with remarkable rapidity, and more especially those in the Euxine; the reason[2339] of which is the vast number of rivers which discharge their fresh water into it. One fish, the growth of which is quite perceptible, day by day, is known as the amia.[2340] This fish, and the pelamides, together with the tunnies,[2341] enter the Euxine in shoals, for the purpose of obtaining a sweeter nutriment, each under the command of its own leader; but first of all the scomber[2342] appears, which is of a sulphureous tint when in the water, but when out of it resembles other fish in colour. The salt-water preserves[2343] of Spain are filled with these last fish, but the tunnies do not consort with them.[2344]

CHAP. 20.—FISHES WHICH ARE NEVER FOUND IN THE EUXINE; THOSE WHICH ENTER IT AND RETURN.

The Euxine, however, is never entered by any animal[2345] that is noxious to fish, with the exception of the sea-calf and the small dolphin. On entering, the tunnies range along[2346] the shores to the right, and on departing, keep to those on the left; this is supposed to arise from the fact that they have better sight with the right eye, their powers of vision with either being naturally very limited. In the channel of the Thracian Bosporus, by which the Propontis is connected with the Euxine, at the narrowest part of the Straits which separate Europe from Asia, there is, near Chalcedon, on the Asiatic side, a rock of remarkable whiteness, the whole of which can be seen from the bottom of the sea at the surface. Alarmed at the sudden appearance of this rock, the tunnies always hasten in great numbers, and with headlong impetuosity, towards the promontory of Byzantium, which stands exactly opposite to it, and from this circumstance has received the name of the Golden Horn.[2347] Hence it is, that all the fishing is at Byzantium, to the great loss of Chalcedon,[2348] although it is only separated from it by a channel a mile in width. They wait, however, for the blowing of the north wind to leave the Euxine with a favourable tide, and are never taken until they have entered the harbour of Byzantium. These fish do not move about in winter;[2349] in whatever place they may happen to be surprised by it, there they pass the winter, till the time of the equinox.

Manifesting a wonderful degree of delight, they will often accompany a vessel in full sail, and may be seen from the poop following it for hours, and a distance of several miles. If a fish-spear even is thrown at them ever so many times, they are not in the slightest degree alarmed at it. Some writers call the tunnies which follow ships in this manner, by the name of “pompili.”[2350]

Many fishes pass the summer in the Propontis, and do not enter the Euxine; such, for instance, as the sole,[2351] while on the other hand, the turbot[2352] enters it. The sepia[2353] is not found in this sea, although the loligo[2354] is. Among the rock-fish, the sea-thrush[2355] and the sea-blackbird are wanting, as also purples, though oysters abound here. All these, however, pass the winter in the Ægean Sea; and of those which enter the Euxine, the only ones that do not[2356] return are the trichiæ.[2357]—It will be as well to use the Greek names which most of them bear, seeing that to the same species different countries have given different appellations.—These last, however, are the only ones that enter the river Ister,[2358] and passing along its subterraneous passages, make their way from it to the Adriatic;[2359] and this is the reason why they are to be seen descending into the Euxine Sea, but never in the act of returning from it. The time for taking tunnies is, from the rising of the Vergiliæ[2360] to the setting of Arcturus:[2361] throughout the rest of the winter season, they lie concealed at the bottom of deep creeks, unless they are induced to come out by the warmth of the weather or the full moon. These fish fatten[2362] to such an extraordinary degree as to burst. The longest period of their life[2363] is two years.

CHAP. 21.—WHY FISHES LEAP ABOVE THE SURFACE OF THE WATER.

There is a little animal,[2364] in appearance like a scorpion, and of the size of a spider.[2365] This creature, by means of its sting, attaches itself below the fin to the tunny and the fish known as the sword-fish[2366] and which often exceeds the dolphin in magnitude, and causes it such excruciating pain, that it will often leap on board of a ship even. Fish will also do the same at other times, when in dread of the violence of other fish, and mullets more especially, which are of such extraordinary swiftness, that they will sometimes leap over a ship, if lying crosswise.

CHAP. 22. (16.)—THAT AUGURIES ARE DERIVED FROM FISHES.

Auguries are also derived from this department of Nature, and fishes afford presages of coming events. While Augustus[2367] was walking on the sea-shore, during the time of the Sicilian war, a fish leapt out of the sea, and fell at his feet. The diviners, who were consulted, stated that this was a proof that those would fall beneath the feet of Cæsar who at that moment were in possession of the seas—it was just at this time that Sextus Pompeius had adopted[2368] Neptune as his father, so elated was he with his successes by sea.

CHAP. 23.—WHAT KINDS OF FISHES HAVE NO MALES.

The females of fishes are larger[2369] in size than the males, and in some kinds there are no males[2370] at all, as in the erythini[2371] and the channi;[2372] for all of these that are taken are found to be full of eggs. Nearly all kinds of fish that are covered with scales are gregarious. They are most easily taken before sunrise;[2373] for then more particularly their powers of seeing are defective. They sleep during the night; and when the weather is clear, are able to see just as well then as during the day. It is said, also, that it greatly tends to promote their capture to drag the bottom of the water, and that by so doing more are taken at the second haul[2374] than at the first. They are especially fond of the taste of oil, and find nutriment in gentle showers of rain. Indeed, the very reeds,[2375] even, although they are produced in swamps, will not grow to maturity without the aid of rain: in addition to this, we find that wherever fishes remain constantly in the same water, if it is not renewed they will die.

CHAP. 24.—FISHES WHICH HAVE A STONE IN THE HEAD; THOSE WHICH KEEP THEMSELVES CONCEALED DURING WINTER; AND THOSE WHICH ARE NOT TAKEN IN WINTER, EXCEPT UPON STATED DAYS.

All fish have a presentiment of a rigorous winter, but more especially those which are supposed to have a stone[2376] in the head, the lupus,[2377] for instance, the chromis,[2378] the sciæna,[2379] and the phagrus.[2380] When the winter has been very severe, many fish are taken in a state of blindness.[2381] Hence it is, that during these months they lie concealed in holes, in the same manner as land animals, as we have already[2382] mentioned; and more especially the hippurus,[2383] and the coracinus,[2384] which are never taken during the winter, except only on a few stated days, which are always the same. The same with the muræna[2385] also, and the orphus,[2386] the conger,[2387] the perch,[2388] and all the rock-fish. It is said that, during the winter, the torpedo,[2389] the psetta,[2390] and the sole, conceal themselves in the earth, or rather, I should say, in excavations made by them at the bottom of the sea.

CHAP. 25.—FISHES WHICH CONCEAL THEMSELVES DURING THE SUMMER; THOSE WHICH ARE INFLUENCED BY THE STARS.

Other fishes,[2391] again, are unable to bear the heat of summer, and lie concealed during the sixty days of the hottest weather of midsummer; such, for instance, as the glaucus,[2392] the asellus,[2393] and the dorade.[2394] Among the river-fish, the silurus[2395] is affected by the rising of the Dog-star, and at other times it is always sent to sleep by thunder. The same is also believed to be the case with the sea-fish called cyprinus.[2396] In addition to this, the whole sea is sensible[2397] of the rising of this star, a thing which is more especially to be observed in the Bosporus: for there sea-weeds and fish are seen floating on the surface, all of which have been thrown up from the bottom.

CHAP. 26. (17.)—THE MULLET.

One singular propensity of the mullet[2398] has afforded a subject for laughter;[2399] when it is frightened, it hides its head, and fancies that the whole of its body is concealed. Their salacious propensities[2400] render them so unguarded, that in Phœnicia and in the province of Gallia Narbonensis, at the time of coupling, a male, being taken from out of the preserves, is fastened to a long line, which is passed through his mouth and gills; he is then let go in the sea, after which he is drawn back again by the line, upon which the females will follow him to the very water’s edge; and so, on the other hand, the male will follow the female, during the spawning season.

CHAP. 27.—THE ACIPENSER.

Among the ancients, the acipenser[2401] was esteemed the most noble fish of all; it is the only one that has the scales turned towards the head, and in a contrary direction to that in which it swims. At the present day, however, it is held in no esteem, which I am the more surprised at, it being so very rarely found. Some writers call this fish the elops.

CHAP. 28.—THE LUPUS, ASELLUS.

At a later period, they set the highest value on the lupus[2402] and the asellus,[2403] as we learn from Cornelius Nepos, and the poet, Laberius, the author of the Mimes. The most approved kinds of the lupus are those which have the name of “lanati,” or “woolly,” in consequence of the extreme whiteness and softness of the flesh. Of the asellus there are two sorts, the callarias, which is the smallest, and the bacchus,[2404] which is only taken in deep water, and is hence much preferred to the former. On the other hand, among the varieties of the lupus, those are the most esteemed which are taken in rivers. CHAP. 29.—THE SCARUS, THE MUSTELA.

At the present day, the first place is given to the scarus,[2405] the only fish that is said to ruminate, and to feed on grass and not on other fish. It is mostly found in the Carpathian Sea, and never of its own accord passes Lectum,[2406] a promontory of Troas. Optatus Elipertius, the commander of the fleet under the Emperor Claudius, had this fish brought from that locality, and dispersed in various places off the coast between Ostia and the districts of Campania. During five years, the greatest care was taken that those which were caught should be returned to the sea; but since then they have been always found in great abundance off the shores of Italy, where formerly there were none to be taken. Thus has gluttony introduced these fish, to be a dainty within its reach, and added a new inhabitant to the seas; so that we ought to feel no surprise that foreign birds breed at Rome.

The fish that is next in estimation for the table is the mustela,[2407] but that is valued only for its liver. A singular thing to tell of—the lake of Brigantia,[2408] in Rhætia, lying in the midst of the Alps, produces them to rival even those of the sea.[2409]

CHAP. 30.—THE VARIOUS KINDS OF MULLETS, AND THE SARGUS THAT ATTENDS THEM.

Of the remaining fish that are held in any degree of esteem, the mullet[2410] is the most highly valued, as well as the most abundant of all; it is of only a moderate size, rarely exceeds two pounds in weight, and will never grow beyond that weight in preserves or fish-ponds. These fish are only to be found in the Northern Ocean,[2411] exceeding two pounds in weight, and even there in none but the more westerly parts. As for the other kinds, the various species are numerous; some[2412] live upon sea-weed, while others feed on the oyster, slime, and the flesh of other fish. The more distinctive mark is a forked beard, that projects beneath the lower lip. The lutarius,[2413] or mud-mullet, is held in the lowest esteem of all. This last is always accompanied[2414] by another fish, known as the sargus, and where the mullet stirs up the mud, the other finds aliment for its own sustenance. The mullet that is found on the coast is not[2415] highly esteemed, and the most esteemed of all have a strong flavour[2416] of shell-fish. Fenestella is of opinion, that this fish received its name of mullet [mullus] from its resemblance to the colour of the red or mullet-coloured shoes.[2417] The mullet spawns three[2418] times a year: at all events, the fry makes its appearance that number of times. The masters in gastronomy inform us, that the mullet, while dying, assumes a variety of colours and a succession of shades, and that the hue of the red scales, growing paler and paler, gradually changes, more especially if it is looked at enclosed in glass.[2419] M. Apicius, a man who displayed a remarkable degree of ingenuity in everything relating to luxury, was of opinion, that it was a most excellent plan to let the mullet die in the pickle known as the “garum of the allies”[2420]—for we find that even this has found a surname—and he proposed a prize for any one who should invent a new sauce,[2421] made from the liver of this fish. I find it much easier to relate this fact, than to state who it was that gained the prize.

CHAP. 31.—ENORMOUS PRICES OF SOME FISH.

Asinius Celer,[2422] a man of consular rank, and remarkable for his prodigal expenditure on this fish, bought one at Rome, during the reign of Caius,[2423] at the price of eight thousand sesterces.[2424] A reflection upon such a fact as this will at once lead us to turn our thoughts to those who, making loud complaints against luxury, have lamented that a single cook cost more money to buy than a horse; while at the present day a cook is only to be obtained for the same sum that a triumph would cost, and a fish is only to be purchased at what was formerly the price for a cook! indeed, there is hardly any living being held in higher esteem than the man who understands how, in the most scientific fashion, to get rid of his master’s property.

(18.) Licinius Mucianus relates, that in the Red Sea there was caught a mullet eighty[2425] pounds in weight. What a price would have been paid for it by our epicures, if it had only been found off the shores in the vicinity of our city!

CHAP. 32.—THAT THE SAME KINDS ARE NOT EVERYWHERE EQUALLY ESTEEMED.

There is this also in the nature of fish, that some are more highly esteemed in one place, and some in another; such, for instance, as the coracinus[2426] in Egypt, the zeus,[2427] also called the faber,[2428] at Gades, the salpa,[2429] in the vicinity of Ebusus,[2430] which is considered elsewhere an unclean fish, and can nowhere[2431] be thoroughly cooked, wherever found, without being first beaten with a stick: in Aquitania, again, the river salmon[2432] is preferred to all the fish that swim in the sea.

CHAP. 33.—GILLS AND SCALES.

Some fishes have numerous gills, others again single[2433] ones, others double; it is by means of these that they discharge the water that has entered the mouth. A sign of old age[2434] is the hardness of the scales, which are not alike in all. There are two lakes[2435] of Italy at the foot of the Alps, called Larius and Verbanus, in which there are to be seen every year, at the rising of the Vergiliæ,[2436] fish remarkable for the number of their scales, and the exceeding sharpness[2437] of them, strongly resembling hob-nails[2438] in appearance; these fish, however, are only to be seen during that month,[2439] and no longer.

CHAP. 34. (19.)—FISHES WHICH HAVE A VOICE.—FISHES WITHOUT GILLS.

Arcadia produces a wonder in its fish called exocœtus,[2440] from the fact that it comes ashore to sleep. In the neighbourhood of the river Clitorius,[2441] this fish is said to be gifted with powers of speech, and to have no gills;[2442] by some writers it is called the adonis.

CHAP. 35.—FISHES WHICH COME ON LAND. THE PROPER TIME FOR CATCHING FISH.