THE NATURAL HISTORY OF FISHES.
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.
Those fish, also, which are known by the name of sea-mice,[2443] as
well as the polypi[2444] and the murænæ,[2445] are in the habit of
coming ashore—besides which, there is in the rivers of India[2446]
one kind that does this, and then leaps back again into the water—for
they are found to pass over into standing waters and streams. Most
fishes have an evident instinct, which teaches them where to spawn in
safety; as in such places there are no enemies found to devour their
young, while at the same time the waves are much less violent. It will
be still more a matter of surprise, to find that they thus have an
appreciation of cause and effect, and understand the regular recurrence
of periods, when we reflect how few persons there are that know that
the most favourable time for taking fish is while the sun is passing
through the sign of Pisces.[2447]
CHAP. 36. (20.)—CLASSIFICATION OF FISHES, ACCORDING TO THE SHAPE OF THE
BODY.
Some sea-fish are flat, such, for instance, as the rhombus,[2448] the
sole,[2449] and the sea-sparrow;[2450] which last only differs from
the rhombus in the lateral position of the body. The rhombus lies with
the right side upwards,[2451] while in the sea-sparrow the left side is
uppermost. Some sea-fish, again, are long, as the muræna and the conger.
CHAP. 37.—THE FINS OF FISH, AND THEIR MODE OF SWIMMING.
Hence it is that there is a difference,[2452] also, in the fins of
fish, which have been given them to serve in place of feet, none having
more than four,[2453] some two[2454] only, and others none.[2455]
It is in Lake Fucinus[2456] only that there is a fish found that
has eight fins[2457] for swimming. Those fishes which are long and
slimy, have only two at most, such, for instance, as eels and congers:
others, again, have none, such as the muræna, which is also without
gills.[2458] All these fish[2459] make their way in the sea by an
undulatory motion of the body, just as serpents do on land; on dry
land, also, they are able to crawl along, and hence those of this
nature are more long-lived than the others. Some of the flat-fish,
also, have no fins, the pastinacæ,[2460] for instance—for these swim
broad-wise—those, also, which are known as the “soft” fish, such as the
polypi, for their feet[2461] serve them in stead of fins.
CHAP. 38. (21.)—EELS.
Eels live eight[2462] years; they are able to survive out of water as
much as six days,[2463] when a north-east wind blows; but when the
south wind prevails, not so many. In winter,[2464] they cannot live
if they are in very shallow water, nor yet if the water is troubled.
Hence it is that they are taken more especially about the rising of the
Vergiliæ,[2465] when the rivers are mostly in a turbid state. These
animals seek their food at night; they are the only fish the bodies of
which, when dead, do not float[2466] upon the surface.
(22.) There is a lake called Benacus,[2467] in the territory of Verona,
in Italy, through which the river Mincius flows.[2468] At the part of
it whence this river issues, once a year, and mostly in the month of
October, the lake is troubled, evidently by the constellations[2469]
of autumn, and the eels are heaped together[2470] by the waves, and
rolled on by them in such astonishing multitudes, that single masses
of them, containing more than a thousand in number, are often taken in
the chambers[2471] which are formed in the bed of the river for that
purpose.
CHAP. 39. (23.)—THE MURÆNA.
The muræna brings forth every month, while all the other fishes
spawn only at stated periods: the eggs of this fish increase with
the greatest rapidity.[2472] It is a vulgar[2473] belief that the
muræna comes on shore, and is there impregnated by intercourse with
serpents. Aristotle[2474] calls the male, which impregnates the female,
by the name of “zmyrus;” and says that there is a difference between
them, the muræna being spotted[2475] and weakly, while the zmyrus is
all of one colour and hardy, and has teeth which project beyond the
mouth. In northern Gaul all the murænæ have on the right jaw seven
spots,[2476] which bear a resemblance to the constellation of the
Septentriones,[2477] and are of a gold colour, shining as long as
the animal is alive, but disappearing as soon as it is dead. Vedius
Pollio,[2478] a Roman of equestrian rank, and one of the friends of
the late Emperor Augustus, found a method of exercising his cruelty by
means of this animal, for he caused such slaves as had been condemned
by him, to be thrown into preserves filled with murænæ; not that the
land animals would not have fully sufficed for this purpose, but
because he could not see a man so aptly torn to pieces all at once by
any other kind of animal. It is said that these fish are driven to
madness by the taste of vinegar. Their skin is exceedingly thin; while
that of the eel, on the other hand, is much thicker. Verrius informs
us that formerly the children of the Roman citizens, while wearing the
prætexta,[2479] were flogged with eel-skins, and that, for this reason,
no pecuniary penalty[2480] could by law be inflicted upon them.
CHAP. 40. (24.)—VARIOUS KINDS OF FLAT FISH.
There is another kind of flat fish, which, instead of bones, has
cartilage, such, for instance, as the raia,[2481] the pastinaca,[2482]
the squatina,[2483] the torpedo,[2484] and those which, under their
respective Greek names, are known as the ox,[2485] the lamia,[2486]
the eagle,[2487] and the frog.[2488] In this number, also, the
squali[2489] ought to be included, although they are not flat fish.
Aristotle was the first to call these fish by the one generic name
of σελάχη,[2490] which he has given them: we, however, have no mode
of distinguishing them, unless, indeed, we choose to call them the
“cartilaginous” fishes. All these fish are carnivorous,[2491] and feed
lying on their backs, just as dolphins do, as already[2492] noticed;
while the other fishes,[2493] too, are oviparous, this one kind, with
the exception of that known as the sea-frog, is viviparous, like the
cetacea.[2494]
CHAP. 41. (25.)—THE ECHENEIS, AND ITS USES IN ENCHANTMENTS.
There is a very small fish[2495] that is in the habit of living among
the rocks, and is known as the echeneis.[2496] It is believed that
when this has attached itself to the keel of a ship its progress
is impeded, and that it is from this circumstance that it takes its
name.[2497] For this reason, also, it has a disgraceful repute, as
being employed in love philtres,[2498] and for the purpose of retarding
judgments and legal proceedings—evil properties, which are only
compensated by a single merit that it possesses—it is good for staying
fluxes of the womb in pregnant women, and preserves the fœtus up to
birth: it is never used, however, for food.[2499] Aristotle[2500] is
of opinion that this fish has feet, so strong is the resemblance, by
reason of the form and position of the fins.
Mucianus speaks of a murex[2501] of larger size than the purple, with a
head that is neither rough nor round; and the shell of which is single,
and falls in folds on either side.[2502] He tells us, also, that some
of these creatures once attached themselves to a ship freighted with
children[2503] of noble birth, who were being sent by Periander for the
purpose of being castrated, and that they stopped its course in full
sail; and he further says, that the shell-fish which did this service
are duly honoured in the temple of Venus,[2504] at Cnidos. Trebius
Niger says that this fish is a foot in length, and that it can retard
the course of vessels, five fingers in thickness; besides which, it has
another peculiar property—when preserved in salt, and applied, it is
able to draw up gold which has fallen into a well, however deep it may
happen to be.[2505]
CHAP. 42. (26.)—FISHES WHICH CHANGE THEIR COLOUR.
The mæna changes[2506] its white colour, and in summer becomes swarthy.
The phycis[2507] also changes its colour, and while at other times it
is white, in spring it is parti-coloured. This last is the only fish
that builds itself a nest; it makes it of sea-weed, and there deposits
its eggs.
CHAP. 43.—FISHES WHICH FLY ABOVE THE WATER.—THE SEA-SWALLOW.—THE FISH
THAT SHINES IN THE NIGHT.—THE HORNED FISH.—THE SEA-DRAGON.
The sea-swallow,[2508] being able to fly, bears a strong resemblance to
the bird of that name; the sea-kite[2509] too, flies as well.
(27.) There is a fish that comes up to the surface of the sea, known,
from the following circumstance, as the lantern-fish:[2510] thrusting
from its mouth a tongue that shines like fire, it emits a most
brilliant light on calm nights. Another fish, which, from its horns,
has received its name,[2511] raises them nearly a foot and a half
above the surface of the water. The sea-dragon,[2512] again, if caught
and thrown on the sand, works out a hole for itself with its muzzle,
with the most wonderful celerity.
CHAP. 44. (28.)—FISHES WHICH HAVE NO BLOOD.—FISHES KNOWN AS SOFT FISH.
The varieties of fish which we shall now mention are those which have
no blood: they are of three kinds[2513]—first, those which are known as
“soft;” next, those which have thin crusts; and, lastly, those which
are enclosed in hard shells. The soft fish are the loligo,[2514] the
sæpia,[2515] the polypus,[2516] and others of a similar nature. These
last have the head between the feet and the belly, and have, all of
them, eight feet: in the sæpia and the loligo two of these feet are
very long[2517] and rough, and by means of these they lift the food to
their mouth, and attach themselves to places in the sea, as though with
an anchor; the others act as so many arms, by means of which they seize
their prey.[2518]
CHAP. 45. (29.)—THE SÆPIA, THE LOLIGO, THE SCALLOP.
The loligo is also able to dart above the surface of the water, and
the scallop does the same, just like an arrow as it were. In the
sæpia,[2519] the male is parti-coloured, blacker than the female, and
more courageous. If the female is struck with a fish-spear, the male
comes to her aid; but the female, the instant the male is struck, takes
to flight. Both of them, as soon as ever they find themselves in danger
of being caught. discharge[2520] a kind of ink, which with them is in
place of blood,[2521] and thus darkening the water, take to flight.
CHAP. 46.—THE POLYPUS.
There are numerous kinds of polypi. The land[2522] polypus is larger
than that of the sea; they all of them use their arms[2523] as feet
and hands; and in coupling they employ the tail, which is forked[2524]
and sharp. The polypus has a sort of passage in the back,[2525] by
which it lets in and discharges the water, and which it shifts from
side to side, sometimes carrying it on the right, and sometimes on the
left. It swims obliquely,[2526] with the head on one side, which is of
surprising hardness while the animal is alive, being puffed out with
air.[2527] In addition to this, they have cavities[2528] dispersed
throughout the claws, by means of which, through suction, they can
adhere to objects; which they hold, with the head upwards, so tightly,
that they cannot be torn away. They cannot attach themselves, however,
to the bottom of the sea, and their retentive powers are weaker in the
larger ones. These are the only[2529] soft fish that come on dry land,
and then only where the surface is rugged: a smooth surface they will
not come near. They feed upon the flesh of shell-fish, the shells of
which they can easily break in the embrace of their arms: hence it is
that their retreat may be easily detected by the pieces of shell which
lie before it. Although, in other respects, this is looked upon as a
remarkably stupid kind of animal, so much so, that it will swim towards
the hand of a man, to a certain extent in its own domestic matters it
manifests considerable intelligence. It carries its prey to its home,
and after eating all the flesh, throws out the debris, and then pursues
such small fish as may chance to swim towards them. It also changes
its colour[2530] according to the aspect of the place where it is, and
more especially when it is alarmed. The notion is entirely unfounded
that it gnaws[2531] its own arms; for it is from the congers that this
mischance befalls it; but it is no other than true that its arms shoot
forth again, like the tail in the colotus[2532] and the lizard.[2533]
CHAP. 47.—THE NAUTILUS, OR SAILING POLYPUS.
Among the most remarkable curiosities is the animal which has the
name[2534] of nautilus, or, as some people call it, the pompilos. Lying
with the head upwards, it rises to the surface of the water, raising
itself little by little, while, by means of a certain conduit in its
body, it discharges all the water, and this being got rid of like so
much bilge-water as it were, it finds no difficulty in sailing along.
Then, extending backwards its two front arms, it stretches out between
them a membrane[2535] of marvellous thinness, which acts as a sail
spread out to the wind, while with the rest of its arms it paddles
along below, steering itself with its tail in the middle, which acts
as a rudder. Thus does it make its way along the deep, mimicking the
appearance of a light Liburnian[2536] bark; while, if anything chances
to cause it alarm, in an instant it draws in the water, and sinks to
the bottom.[2537]
CHAP. 48. (30.)—THE VARIOUS KINDS OF POLYPI; THEIR SHREWDNESS.
Belonging to the genus of polypi is the animal known as the
ozæna,[2538] being so called from the peculiarly strong smell exhaled
by the head;[2539] in consequence of which, the murænæ[2540] pursue it
with the greatest eagerness. The polypi keep themselves concealed for
two months in the year; they do not live beyond two[2541] years, and
always die of consumption, the females even sooner,[2542] and mostly
after bringing forth. I must not omit here the observations which L.
Lucullus, the proconsul of Bætica, made with reference to the polypus,
and which Trebius Niger, one of his suite, has published. He says that
it is remarkably fond of shell-fish, and that these, the moment that
they feel themselves touched by it, close their valves, and cut off
the feelers of the polypus, thus making a meal at the expense of the
plunderer. Shell-fish are destitute of sight, and, indeed, all other
sensations but those which warn them of hunger and the approach of
danger. Hence it is, that the polypus lies in ambush[2543] till the
fish opens its shell, immediately upon which, it places within it a
small pebble, taking care, at the same time, to keep it from touching
the body of the animal, lest, by making some movement, it should chance
to eject it. Having made itself thus secure, it attacks its prey, and
draws out the flesh, while the other tries to contract itself, but all
in vain, in consequence of the separation of the shell, thus effected
by the insertion of the wedge. So great is the instinctive shrewdness
in animals that are otherwise quite remarkable for their lumpish
stupidity.
In addition to the above, the same author states, that there is not
an animal in existence, that is more dangerous for its powers of
destroying a human being[2544] when in the water. Embracing his body,
it counteracts his struggles, and draws him under with its feelers and
its numerous suckers, when, as often is the case, it happens to make an
attack upon a shipwrecked mariner or a child. If, however, the animal
is turned over, it loses all its power; for when it is thrown upon the
back, the arms open of themselves.
The other particulars, which the same author has given, appear still
more closely to border upon the marvellous. At Carteia,[2545] in the
preserves there, a polypus was in the habit of coming from the sea
to the[2546] pickling-tubs that were left open, and devouring the
fish laid in salt there—for it is quite astonishing how eagerly all
sea-animals follow even the very smell of salted condiments, so much
so, that it is for this reason, that the fishermen take care to rub
the inside of the wicker fish-kipes[2547] with them.—At last, by
its repeated thefts and immoderate depredations, it drew down upon
itself the wrath of the keepers of the works. Palisades were placed
before them, but these the polypus managed to get over by the aid of a
tree,[2548] and it was only caught at last by calling in the assistance
of trained dogs, which surrounded it at night, as it was returning to
its prey; upon which, the keepers, awakened by the noise, were struck
with alarm at the novelty of the sight presented. First of all, the
size of the polypus was enormous beyond all conception; and then it
was covered all over with dried brine, and exhaled a most dreadful
stench. Who could have expected to find a polypus there, or could have
recognized it as such under these circumstances? They really thought
that they were joining battle with some monster, for at one instant,
it would drive off the dogs by its horrible fumes,[2549] and lash at
them with the extremities of its feelers; while at another, it would
strike them with its stronger arms, giving blows with so many clubs,
as it were; and it was only with the greatest difficulty that it could
be dispatched with the aid of a considerable number of three-pronged
fish-spears. The head of this animal was shewn to Lucullus; it was in
size as large as a cask of fifteen amphoræ, and had a beard,[2550]
to use the expressions of Trebius himself, which could hardly be
encircled with both arms, full of knots, like those upon a club, and
thirty feet in length; the suckers or calicules,[2551] as large as
an urn, resembled a basin in shape, while the teeth again were of a
corresponding largeness: its remains, which were carefully preserved as
a curiosity, weighed seven hundred pounds. The same author also informs
us, that specimens of the sæpia and the loligo have been thrown up on
the same shores of a size fully as large: in our own seas[2552] the
loligo is sometimes found five cubits in length, and the sæpia, two.
These animals do not live beyond two years.
CHAP. 49.—THE SAILING NAUPLIUS.