SPONDYLUS. 267 



" Higli on the waves Ms azure car he guides ; 

 Its axles thunder, and the sea subsides. 

 The monster whales before their master play. 

 And choirs of Tritons crowd the watery way : 

 The martial powers in equal troops divide 

 To right and left ; the gods his better side 

 Enclose ; and, on the worst, the nymphs and nereids ride," 



How sterile is the imagination of the poet when com- 

 pared with the infinite variety of creation ! The loftiest 

 inspirations of his muse are frequently suggested by the 

 humblest of created beings; and from this inexhaustible 

 source the ancients derived their most poetic illustrations. 

 Shells are also represented on modern coins : among some 

 of the most curious is one with a bust of Sebastian, king 

 of Portugal, and a kind of bivalve shell floating on the 

 ocean. 



The Spondi/lus plicatus of Linnaeus was selected by La- 

 marck as a type for the formation of the genus Flicatula, 

 in consequence of the shell exhibiting certain characters 

 intermediate between those of the genera Teckn and Spon- 

 dylus. Like the former, it has neither basal area nor disc ; 

 like the latter, it becomes attached by the lower valve, and 

 the hinge is furnished with teeth. 



Aristotle and Galen were equally delighted with the 



