105 



deficient in resources ; wherefore they stocked not only the ponds which they 

 had constructed, but even filled natural fresh water lakes with produce brought 

 from the sea. Thus the river Velinus, the lakes Sebatinus,* Volsineusis.t and 

 Ciminius,^: nourished basse and guilt-heads and other kinds of sea-fish tolerant 

 of fresh water. Later on a succeeding age abolished that kind of fish-cultivation, 

 and the luxury of the rich made enclosures round the seas and Neptune himself, 

 so that even at that time, in the memory of our grandfathers, a certain deed and 

 saying of M. Philippus. a very luxurious man, were talked about as being exceed- 

 ingly witty. For this man, when by chance he was supping as a guest at the 

 house of Casinus, and when he had tasted basse from a nei'.4hbouring stream which 

 had been placed before him, spit the piece out of his mouth, following up his im- 

 pudent act by the expression, ' May I die, if I did not think it fish that had been 

 placed before me.' This false oath therefore made many men's throats more dain- 

 ty, and taught educated palates to disdain a river basse unless it was one that had 

 swum in the strong current of the Tiber. This led Terentius Varro to say that 

 there is not a single low fellow who does not say that you might as well stock your 

 vivaria with frogs as with fishes of this kind. 



" But still, in those days in which Varro has made mention of this luxury, 

 the severity of Cato was especially praised ; and yet he nevertheless, the tutor of 

 Lucullus, sold the fish-pomls of his ward for the large sum of 400,000 sesterces. 

 For at that time, cook-shop dninties ( delicice popinalesj were in high request, when 

 vivaria, to which men were excessively devoted, were brought down to the sea, just 

 as before that time Numantinus§ and Isauricusll (heroes) of conquered nations, 

 also Licinius Muraena and Sergius Grata, rejoiced in names derived from their 

 captive fishes. But since in this way manners became hardened, we indeed, lest 

 we should appear to be tierce reprovers of so many past ages, and in order that 

 these matters should be regarded not as common things, but as especially honour- 

 able and praiseworthy, will show that this country house business is even a gain to 

 the family. For he who has bought either islands or land adjacent to the sea, and 

 who is unable from the poverty of the soil generally prevalent near the sea to 

 derive therefrom the fruits of the earth, may make his profit from the sea. 



"Now the very first thing to consider is the nature of the locality in which you 

 may have resolved to make your fish-ponds, for all kinds of fish cannot be had 

 from all shores. A muddy region suits the flat fishes, as the sole, turbot, and 

 brill ; the same does for various kinds of shell fish. Sandy streams feed flat fishes 

 fairly well, but they are better for guilt-heads, and sea-bream whether Cartha- 

 genian or native, and for umbrae ; they are not good for shell-fish. Again, a rocky 

 sea nourishes rock-fishes, such as dwell among rocks, and are therefore so called 

 (»axatUes)—as the merulce and the turdi (wrasse ? ) and the melanuri. We ought 



* Lago di Bracciano in Etruria. 



t Now Lago di bolsena. 



j Lago di Vico. 



§ Numantinus, i.e., Scipio Africanus the younger, who received this surname from his cap- 

 ture of the city of Numantia in Spain, B.C. 133. 



II Isauricus, i.f., L. Servilius, so sumamed from his victory over the Isaurot, daring robbers 

 of Asia Minor, B.C. 75. 



