A deputation of persons from Olisipo (Lisbon) that had been sent for the purpose, brought word to the Emperor Tiberius that a triton[127] had been both seen and heard in a certain cavern, blowing a conch-shell, and of the form under which they are usually represented. Nor is the figure generally attributed to the nereids 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 by the inhabitants at a distance. The legatus of Gaul, 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, 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 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; among the rest there were elephants 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 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.
Marcus 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 in thickness.
The balæna penetrates even to our seas. 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. This fact, however, is known to the orca, 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 with its young, in its places of retirement, and as they turn to defend themselves, it pierces them just as though they had been attacked by the beak of a Liburnian galley. The balænæ, devoid of all flexibility, without energy to defend themselves, 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 either kill them 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 infuriated against itself; not a breath of wind may be felt in the bay, and yet the waves by their pantings and their repeated blows will be heaved aloft in a way which no whirlwind could effect.
RORQUAL.—Physalus Böops.
SPERMACETI WHALE.—Cátodon Macrocéphalus.
An orca has been seen even in the port of Ostia, where it was attacked by the Emperor Claudius. While he was constructing the harbor there, an orca came, attracted by some hides brought from Gaul, which had happened to fall overboard there. Feeding upon these for several days it had quite glutted itself, and hollowed out a channel in the shoal water. Here, 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 across the mouth of the harbor, from shore to shore, while he himself went there with the prætorian cohorts, affording 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 sunk by the water which the animal, as it respired, showered down upon it.
The swiftest not only of the sea-animals, but of all animals whatever, is the dolphin.[128] He is more rapid in his movements than a bird, more swift than the flight of an arrow, and were it not for the fact that his mouth is much below his muzzle, almost, indeed, in the middle of the belly, not a fish would be able to escape his pursuit. But Nature, 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, 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 breathe, 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 of a ship.
Dolphins generally go in couples. They suckle their young like the balæna, and even carry them during the weakness of infancy; in addition to which, they accompany them long after they are grown up, so great is their affection for their progeny. The young ones grow very speedily, and in ten years arrive at their full size. The dolphin lives thirty years; a fact that has been ascertained from cutting marks on the tail, by way of experiment. It conceals itself for thirty days, at about the rising of the Dog-star, so effectually, that it is not known whither it goes; a thing the more surprising as it is unable to breathe under water. Dolphins are in the habit of darting upon the shore, for some unknown reason. The tongue, contrary to the nature of aquatic animals in general, is movable, being short and broad, not much unlike that of the pig. Instead of a voice, they emit a moaning sound similar to that made by a human being; the back is arched, and the nose turned up. For this reason they all recognize in a most surprising manner the name of Simo, and prefer to be called by that rather than by any other.[129]
The dolphin is an animal not only friendly to man, but a lover of music as well; he is charmed by melodious concerts, especially by the notes of the water-organ. 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 when in full sail.
In the reign of the late Emperor Augustus, a dolphin which had been carried to the Lucrine Lake 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 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 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 came again and again 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 a few years another dolphin at Hippo Diarrhytus, 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 proconsul of Africa, he was lulled to sleep, as it appeared, by the sensation of an odor 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, as though he had received some affront or other; but at the end of that time he returned, and afforded 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, for whom a dolphin was long observed to have conceived a most ardent affection, until one day the animal eagerly following him as he was making for the shore, was carried by the tide on the sands, and there expired. Alexander the Great appointed this boy high-priest of Neptune at Babylon, interpreting this extraordinary attachment as a convincing proof of the favor of that divinity.
DOLPHIN.—Delphinus Delphis.
Hegesidemus informs us, that in the same city of Iasus there was a boy, 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 tells us, that the very same thing happened at Naupactus; nor, in fact, is there any limit to similar instances. The Amphilochians and the Tarentines have similar stories about children and dolphins; and all these give an air of credibility to the one that is told of Arion, 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.[130]
There is in the province of Gallia Narbonensis and in the territory of Nemausus a lake known by the name of Latera, where dolphins fish in company with men. At the narrow outlet 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 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 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 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; 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 vigor, 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. Not one among them attempts to make its escape by leaping, which at other times is their favorite amusement, except when the nets are purposely lowered for it; and even after 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; 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.
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 of torches.
Dolphins, also, form among themselves a sort of general community. Once, when one of them had been captured by a king of Caria and chained up in the harbor, 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 are always attended by a larger one, who acts as a guardian to them; and before now, they have been seen carrying off the body of one which had died, that it might not be devoured by the sea-monsters.
The Indian Sea produces turtles of such vast size, that with the shell of a single animal they are able to roof a habitable cottage; 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 which attend a free respiration beguile them to such a degree, and render them so utterly regardless of their safety, that their shell becomes so dried up by the heat of the sun, 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 glut themselves: upon which, they become weary, and on their return in the morning, to 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 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, in immense numbers. The turtle has no teeth, but the edge of the mouth is sharp, the upper part shutting down over the lower like the lid of a box. In the sea it lives upon shell-fish, and such is the strength of its jaws, that it is able to break stones; 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, covers them over with earth, pats it down with her breast, and 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. The Troglodytæ have turtles with horns,[131] which resemble the branches of a lyre; they are large, but movable, and assist the animal like so many oars while swimming. The name of this fine but rarely-found turtle, is “chelyon;” for the rocks, from the sharpness of their points, frighten away the Chelonophagi, while the Troglodytæ, whose shores these animals frequent, worship them as sacred. There are some land turtles the shells of which are used for the purposes of art. 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.
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, or thin slices, and to veneer beds and cabinets with it.
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, 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, the skin of which is used for polishing wood and ivory; others, with a soft skin, like the muræna; and others with none at all, like the polypus.
GROUP OF SEALS.
Of all aquatic animals the sea-calf is killed with the greatest difficulty, unless the head is cut off at once. It makes a noise which sounds like lowing, whence the name of “sea-calf.” The animals 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.[132] No animal has a deeper sleep 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 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.
There are one hundred and seventy-four species of fishes, exclusive of the crustacea, of which there are thirty kinds.[133]
Tunnies are among the most remarkable for their size; we have found one weighing as much as fifteen talents (1200 pounds), the breadth of its tail being five cubits and a palm. In some of the rivers, also, there are fish of no less size, such, for instance, as the silurus of the Nile, the isox of the Rhine, and the attilus of the Po, 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 on land. An extremely small fish, which is known as the clupea, 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 river Main of Germany, a fish that bears 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. In the Borysthenes, 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 Ganges, a river of India, there is a fish found which they call the platanista; 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 found, called worms; these have two gills, and are sixty cubits in length; they are of an azure color, 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.
The Black Sea is never entered by any animal that is noxious to fish, with the exception of the sea-calf and the small dolphin. On entering, the tunnies range along 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 Black Sea, 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. 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.[134] Hence it is, that all the fishing is at Byzantium, to the great loss of Chalcedon, 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 Black Sea with a favorable tide, and are never taken until they have entered the harbor of Byzantium. These fish do not move about in winter; 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 deck following it for hours, over a distance of several miles. If a fish-spear is thrown at them never 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, or pilot-fish.
At the present day, the first place in point of delicacy is given to the scarus, 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, 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, but that is valued only for its liver. A singular thing to tell of—the lake of Brigantia (the modern Lake Constance), in Rhætia, lying in the midst of the Alps, produces them to rival even those of the sea.
Of the remaining fish that are held in any degree of esteem, the mullet 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, 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 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 lautarius, or mud-mullet, is held in the lowest esteem of all. This last is always accompanied 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 most esteemed of all has a strong flavor of shell-fish. The masters in gastronomy inform us, that the mullet, while dying, assumes a variety of colors 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.[135] Marcus Apicus, 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”[136]—for we find that even this has found a surname—and he proposed a prize for any one who should invent a new sauce, 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.
Asinius Celer, a man of consular rank, and remarkable for his prodigal expenditure on this fish, bought one at Rome, during the reign of the Emperor Caligula, at the price of eight thousand sesterces.[137] 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.
LONG-SPINED CHÆTODON.—Heinochus monoceros.
Licinius Mucianus relates, that in the Red Sea there was caught a mullet eighty 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!
Eels live eight years; they are able to survive out of water as much as six days, when a north-east wind blows; but when the south wind prevails, not so many. In winter, they cannot live if they are in very shallow water, or if the water is troubled. They are taken about the rising of the Pleiades when the rivers are turbid. These animals seek their food at night; they are the only fish the bodies of which, when dead, do not float upon the surface.
There is a lake called Benacus, in the territory of Verona, in Italy, through which the river Mincius flows. 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 of autumn, and the eels are heaped together 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 which are formed in the bed of the river for that purpose.
In Northern Gaul the fish called muræna has on the right jaw seven spots, which bear a resemblance to the constellation of the Great Dipper, and are of a gold color, shining as long as the animal is alive, but disappearing as soon as it is dead. Vedius Pollio, 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, were flogged with eel-skins.
There is a very small fish that is in the habit of living among the rocks, and is known as the echeneis.[138] It is believed that when this has attached itself to the keel of a ship its progress is impeded, and from this circumstance it takes its name.
Mucianus speaks of a murex of larger size than the purple murex with a head that is neither rough nor round; and the shell of which is single, and falls in folds on either side. He tells us, also, that some of these creatures once attached themselves to a ship freighted with children of noble birth, and that they stopped its course in full sail. 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.
FILAMENTOUS GUNARD.—Pelor filamentosum.
The only fish that builds itself a nest is the phycis: it makes it of sea-weed, and there deposits its eggs, which it defends from the attacks of enemies.
The sea-swallow, being able to fly, bears a strong resemblance to the bird of that name; the sea-kite, too, flies as well.
There is a fish that comes up to the surface of the sea, known, from the following circumstance, as the lantern-fish: 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, raises them nearly a foot and a-half above the surface of the water. The sea-dragon, again, if caught and thrown on the sand, works out a hole for itself with its muzzle, with the most wonderful celerity.
The varieties of fish which we shall now mention are those which have no blood: they are of three kinds—first, those which are known as “soft;” next, those which have thin crusts; and, lastly, those which are enclosed in hard shells.[139] The soft fish are the loligo, the sæpia, the polypus, and others of a similar nature. The last have the head between the feet and the belly, and all of them have eight feet: in the sæpia and the loligo two of these feet are very long and rough, and by means of these they lift the food to their mouths, 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.
The loligo is also able to dart above the surface of the water, and the scallop does the same, like an arrow as it were. In the sæpia, the male is parti-colored, 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 they find themselves in danger of being caught, discharge a kind of ink, and thus darkening the water, take to flight.
There are numerous kinds of polypi. The land polypus is larger than that of the sea; they all of them use their arms as feet and hands. The polypus has a sort of passage in the back, 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, with the head on one side, which is of surprising hardness while the animal is alive, being puffed out with air. In addition to this, they have cavities dispersed throughout the claws, by means of which, through suction, they can adhere to objects, 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 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 shellfish, the shells of which they can easily break in the embrace of their arms: 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, 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 color, 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 its own arms; this mischance befalls it from the congers; but it is perfectly true that its arms shoot forth again, like the tail in the colotus and the lizard.
Among the most remarkable curiosities among all the inhabitants of the sea is the animal which has the name 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 the surface. Then, extending backwards its two front arms, it stretches out between them a membrane 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 bark; while, if anything chances to cause it alarm, in an instant it draws in the water, and sinks out of sight.
Belonging to the genus of polypi is the animal known as the ozæna, being so called from the peculiarly strong smell exhaled by the head; in consequence of which, the murænæ pursue it with the greatest eagerness. The polypi keep themselves concealed for two months in the year; they do not live beyond two years, and always die of consumption. I must not omit here the observations which 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, as well as of all other sensations but those which warn them of hunger and the approach of danger. Hence the polypus lies in ambush 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 no animal in existence is more dangerous for its powers of destroying a human being 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, in the preserves there, a polypus was in the habit of coming from the sea to the pickling-tubs that were left open, and devouring the fish laid in the salt—for it is quite astonishing how eagerly all sea-animals follow the smell of salted condiments, so that for this reason the fishermen take care to rub the inside of the wicker fish-kipes 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, 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; 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, 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 despatched with the aid of a considerable number of three-pronged fish-spears. The head of this animal was shown to Lucullus; it was in size as large as a cask of fifteen amphoræ, and had a beard, 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, 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 the loligo is sometimes found five cubits in length, and the sæpia, two. These animals do not live beyond two years.
Mucianus relates that he has seen, in the Propontis, another curious resemblance to a ship in full sail. There is a shell-fish, he says, with a keel, just like that of the vessel which we know by the name of acatium, with the stern curving inwards, and a prow with the beak attached. In this shell-fish there lies concealed also an animal known as the nauplius, which bears a strong resemblance to the sæpia, and only adopts the shell-fish as the companion of its pastimes. There are two modes, he says, which it adopts in sailing; when the sea is calm, the voyager hangs down its arms, and strikes the water as with a pair of oars; but if the wind invites, it extends them, employing them by way of a helm, and turning the mouth of the shell to the wind. The pleasure experienced by the shell-fish is that of carrying the other, while the amusement of the nauplius consists in steering; and thus, at the same moment, is an instinctive joy felt by these two creatures, devoid as they are of all sense, unless, a natural antipathy to man—for it is a well-known fact, that to see them thus sailing along, is a bad omen, and that it is portentous of misfortune to those who witness it.[140]
The cray-fish, which belongs to the class of bloodless animals, is protected by a brittle crust. This creature, like the crab, keeps itself concealed for five months. But at the beginning of spring both of them, after the manner of snakes, throw off old age, and renew their coverings. While other animals swim on the water, cray-fish float with a kind of action like creeping. They move onwards, if there were nothing to alarm them, in a straight line, extending on each side their horns, which are rounded at the point by a ball peculiar to them; but when alarmed, they straighten these horns, and proceed with a sidelong motion. They use these horns when fighting with each other. The cray-fish is the only animal that has the flesh in a pulpy state, and not firm and solid, unless it is cooked alive in boiling water.
The cray-fish frequents rocky places, the crab spots which present a soft surface. In winter they both choose such parts of the shore as are exposed to the heat of the sun, in summer they withdraw to the shady recesses of deep inlets of the sea. All fish of this kind suffer from the cold of winter, but become fat during autumn and spring, particularly during the full moon; for the warmth of that luminary, as it shines in the night, renders the temperature of the weather more moderate.
There are various kinds of crabs, known as carabi, lobsters, maiæ, paguri, heracleotici, lions, and others of less note. The carabus differs from other crabs, in having a tail; in Phœnicia they are called hippoi, or horses, being of such extraordinary swiftness, that it is impossible to overtake them. Crabs are long-lived, and have eight feet, all of which are bent obliquely; besides which, the animal has two claws with indented pincers. The upper part only of these forefeet is movable: the right claw is the largest in them all. Sometimes they assemble together in large bodies; but as they are unable to cross the mouth of the Black Sea, they turn back again and go round by land, and the road by which they travel is to be seen all beaten down with their foot-marks.
The smallest crab known is the pinnotheres. It is peculiarly exposed to danger, but its shrewdness is evinced by its concealing itself in the shell of the oyster, removing as it grows larger, to those of a larger size.
Crabs, when alarmed, go backwards as swiftly as when moving forwards. They fight like rams, butting at each other with their horns. They have a mode of curing themselves of the bites of serpents. It is said, that while the sun is passing through the sign of Cancer, the dead bodies of the crabs, which are lying thrown up on the shore, are transformed into serpents.
To the same class also belongs the sea-urchin, which has spines in place of feet; its mode of moving along is to roll like a ball, hence it is that these animals are often found with their prickles rubbed off. Those among them which have the longest spines of all, are known by the name of echinometræ, while at the same time their body is the very smallest. They are not all of them of the same glassy color; in the vicinity of Torone they are white, with very short spines. The eggs of all of them are bitter, and are five in number; the mouth is situate in the middle of the body, and faces the earth. It is said that these creatures foreknow the approach of a storm at sea, and that they take up little stones with which they cover themselves, and so provide a sort of ballast against their volubility, for they are very unwilling by rolling along to wear away their prickles. As soon as seafaring persons observe this, they at once moor their ship with several anchors.
To the same genus also belong both land and water snails, which thrust the body forth from their abode, and extend or contract two horns. They are without eyes,[141] and have, therefore, to feel their way, by means of these horns.
To the same class belong the sea-scallops, which also conceal themselves during severe frosts and great heats; as well as the onyches, which shine in the dark like fire, and in the mouth even while being eaten.
Let us now pass on to the murex and other kinds of shell-fish, which have a stronger shell, and in which Nature, in her sportive mood, has displayed a great variety—so many are the hues of their tints, so numerous are their shapes, flat, concave, long, crescent-shaped, rounded into a globe, cut through into a semi-globe, arched in the back, smooth, rough, indented, streaked, the upper part spirally wreathed, the edge projecting in a sharp point, the edge wreathed outwards, or else folding inwards. And then, too, there are the various distinctions of rayed shells, long-haired shells, wavy-haired shells, channelled shells, pectinated shells, imbricated shells, reticulated shells, shells with lines oblique or rectilinear, thickset shells, expanded shells, tortuous shells, shells the valves of which are united by one small knot, shells which are held together all along one side, shells which are open as if in the very act of applauding, and shells which wind, resembling a conch. The fish of this class, known as the shells of Venus, are able to navigate the surface of the deep, and, presenting to the wind their concave side, catch the breeze, and sail along on the surface of the sea. Scallops are also able to leap and fly above the surface of the water, and they sometimes employ their shell by way of a bark.
But why mention such trifles as these, when I am sensible that no greater inroads have been made upon our morals, and no more rapid advances have been made by luxury, than those effected through the medium of shell-fish? Of all the elements that exist, the sea is the one that costs the dearest to the stomach; seeing that it provides so many kinds of meats, so many dishes, so many exquisite flavors derived from fish, all of which are valued in proportion to the danger undergone by those who have caught them.
But how insignificant is all this when we come to think of our purple, our azure, and our pearls; it was not enough, forsooth, for the spoils of the sea to be thrust down the gullet—but they must be employed as well to adorn the hands, the ears, the head, the whole body, in fact, and that of the men pretty nearly as much as the women. What has the sea to do with our clothes? What is there in common between waves and billows and a sheep’s fleece? This one element ought not to receive us, according to ordinary notions, except in a state of nakedness. Let there be ever so strong an alliance between it and the stomach, on the score of gluttony, still, what can it possibly have to do with the back? It is not enough, forsooth, that we are fed upon what is acquired by perils, but we must be clothed, too, in a similar way; so true it is, that for all the wants of the body, that which is sought at the expense of human life is sure to please us the most.