112 



SALMASIUS 



SALMON 



ti.-ni religion he had been secretly attached. So 

 insatiable at this time was hi* thirst for knowledge 

 book-knowledge, at least that he was wont to 

 devote two whole nights out of three to hard read- 

 ing, in consequence of which he brought himself 

 to within an inch of the grave. In 1608 he pub- 

 lished from MSS. two treatises of the sectary, 

 Nilu-. Archbishop of Thessalonica, and a work of 

 the monk Barlaam on the primacy of the pope. In 

 1629 appeared his chief work, Pliniance Exercita- 

 t tones in Caii Julii Solimi Pot yhistora (2 vols. 

 Paris, 1629); after the publication of which he 

 set himself vigorously, and without the help of a 

 master, to acquire a knowledge of Hebrew, Arabic, 

 Coptic, and other oriental tongues. In 1631 he 

 was called to Leyden, to occupy the chair that 

 Joseph Scaliger had held there, and it is from 

 this period that his European reputation as a 

 scholar and critic dates. Various efforts were made 

 ( 1635-40) to induce Salmasius to return to France, 

 but he declined them on the ground that his spirit 

 was too ' liberal ' for his native land. Queen 

 Christina of Sweden, however, managed to bring 

 him to Stockholm, and fix him there for a year 

 (1650-51), after which he returned to Holland. 

 He died of a fever caught by imprudently drinking 

 the waters at Spa, 6th September 1658. 



In the scholastic world Salmasius was probably 

 the most famous personage of his day in Europe. 

 ' A man not in my opinion only, but by the common 

 consent of scholars, the most learned of all who 

 are now living ; ' ' the miracle of the world, the 

 most learned of mortals. ' Such were the expressions 

 of his contemporaries regarding him. The most 

 exalted personages courted his friendship. Christina 

 of Sweden declared that ' she could not live with- 

 out him.' When Mazarin failed to induce him to 

 return to France he nevertheless sent him the order 

 of knighthood, as a proof of Louis XIV. 's desire to 

 honour him as a Frenchman. Though his attain- 

 ments were prodigious, Salmasius does not rank 

 with scholars like Casaubon or the younger Scaliger. 

 He had neither Casaubon's balanced judgment nor 

 Scaliger's grasp or insight. Hence, though his 

 industry and learning could not have been inferior 

 to theirs, his work has no distinctive value in the 

 history of scholarship. In England Salmasius is 

 best known in connection with his controversy 

 with Milton regarding the execution of Charles I. 

 At the request of Charles II.. Salmasius, as the 

 highest scholastic authority in Europe, published 

 ( 1649) his Defensio Reyia j>ro Carolo /., which was 

 answered in 1651 by Milton in his Pro I'opulo 

 Anglicano Defensio. The preparation of his pam- 

 phlet cost Milton his eyesight, but, as Salmasius 

 died shortly after writing a rejoinder, the English 

 poet boasted that his adversary had the worst of 

 the encounter. The brutal coarseness of both dis 

 putants alone gives a certain significance to their 

 controversy at the present day. Vet it must be 

 remembered that the standard of taste in public 

 controversy in the 16th and 17th centuries only 

 corresponded to the license of everyday talk iii 

 the most refined society. 



For the life of SalniasitiH. see De Laudibut et Vita 

 <'/. SalmaiU, prefixed to the collection of his letters 

 published at Leyden in 1650. For his controversy with 

 Hilton, lea Mauon, Life of Milton, vol. iv. 



Salmon (Salmo), a genus of fishes of the 

 family Salmonidae (q.v.), which, as characterised 

 by Cuvier, has teeth on the vomer, both palatine 

 bones, and all the maxillary bones ; and includes 

 mi meroiis species more recently divided by Valen- 

 ciennes into three genera, Salmo, Fario, and Salar: 

 the first characterised by a few teeth at the end of 

 the vomer ; tin- second by a single line of teeth 

 running down the vomer; "the third by two rows of 

 leeth on the vomer, without any remarkable group 



ut its upper end. To many naturalist*, however, 

 this division seems too artificial ; and the charac- 

 ters, although excellent for distinguishing |>ecies, 

 not such as ought to divide genera ; an opinion 

 confirmed by the fact that the teeth are numerous 

 along the vomer in the young of the species (as the 

 Common Salmon) which finally retain only a group 

 of them at the end. The division nuule by *! 



. 



ciennes separates the Salmon, the Salmon trout, 

 and the (I ray or Hull Trout, the only British species 

 which ascend rivers from the sea, into the two genera 

 Salmo and Fario. A much more natural division. 

 having regard to characters really conspiciiou- ami 

 important, and to the habit* of the species, i.- t In- 

 simple one of Pennell, which is really nothing more 

 than a formal recognition of gronps practically remg- 

 nised by every one acquainted with the lish'es that. 

 compose them : '(1 ) The Silver, or Migratory species 

 (i.e. those migrating to and from the sea) ; (2) the 

 Yellow, or Non-migrator} 1 species ; (3) the Chairs. 

 or Orange and Hed-coloured species." The present 

 article is devoted to the first of these groups. The 

 second is noticed in the article TROUT ; the third, 

 in the article CM AIM:. 



By far the most important of the Salmonidit- 

 which ascend the rivers of Britain from the sea i< 

 the Salmon (Salmo salar), in commercial import 

 ance far superior to any other fresh-water fish, ootn 

 on account of the abundance in which it is procured 

 in the northern parts of the world and of its rich 

 and delicious flavour. From ancient times it has 

 furnished important supplies of food ; and the sal- 

 mon-fisheries of Britain have long been a subject 

 of anxious attention to the legislature. Even the 

 river* of Iceland now yield a rent, and are regularly 

 netted for the supply of the British market, to 

 which the salmon are brought, as from other 



Fig. 1. Salmon (Salmo >alar). 



northern regions, fresh, in ice. Many rivers and 

 streams, also, are rendered valuable by the salmon 

 w hich periodically visit them, as affording sport 

 to anglers ; and those of Norway, as well as those 

 of Britain itself, are now frequented by British 

 anglers. 



The salmon is one of the largest species of the 

 genus, having been known to attain the weight of 

 80 Ib. , whilst salmon of 40 or 50 Ib. , and even up- 

 wards, are occasionally brought to market Very 

 large salmon, however, nre not common, owing to 

 the eagerness with which the lii-hery is prosecuted. 

 No fish is more symmetrical or Iteautifnl than the 

 salmon ; and its form is admirably adapted to rapid 

 motion even against powerful currents. The head 



Fig. 2. .Salmon-trout (Salmo trutta ). 



in about one fifth of the whole length of the fish. 

 The under jaw of the male becomes hooked during 

 the breeding season with a kind of cartilaginous ex- 

 crescence, which is used as aweajion in the combats 



