THE SHIELD OF HERACLES—DOLPHINS 91 



suitable background (as the fields, etc., in the ancient Pastorals 

 lorm an artistic background to the shepherds) for the solitary 

 figure. 



" But, on the crag a fisher sate 

 Observant ; in his grasp he held a net. 

 Like one that, poising, rises to the throw." 



The occurrence here of the Dolphin, together with the part 

 that it played in the recovery of Hesiod's body, makes this 

 an appropriate place for a brief resume of the position occupied 

 by this fish in Greek and Roman authors, and of the many 

 pretty legends in which for all time its memory is en- 

 shrined. 1 



The myth of the Dolphin — a creature of Ughtness and 

 swiftness — as the protege of the gods and the helpmate of man 

 stands out as a purely Hellenic conception, and contrasts 

 sharply with that of the Tortoise, unmoving, half-hidden, 

 which according to Eastern beUef supports the weight of the 

 world. 



In Greek and Latin Uterature (exclusive of the recipes of 

 the gourmets or the rhapsodies of the opsophagi) no fish wins 

 more frequent mention or higher appreciation than the 

 Dolphin. 



And justly so, since, of a nature essentially philanthropic, 

 it dehghts to be with man, and aid man by wiUing services. 2 

 Pliny, indeed, confesses that he could never reach the end of 

 the stories about their kindly acts, especially towards the 

 young. He notes that they found pleasure not only in the 

 society of man, but also in music, prcecipue hydrauli sono, or 



1 From the fish (in old Enghsh daulphin) came apparently the title of the 

 eldest son of the kings of France from 1349 to 1830. According to Littre 

 the name Dauphin, borne by the lords of the Viennois, was the proper name 

 Dclphinus (the same word as the name of the fish), whence the province subject 

 to them was called Danphini. Humbert III., on ceding the province, made it 

 a condition that the title should be perpetuated by being borne by the eldest 

 son of the French king. A. Brachet, An Etymological Diet, of the French 

 Language' (Oxford, 1S83), p. 113, states that the title— peculiar to S. France — 

 first appears in 11 40 : " the origin is obscure, though it certainly represents 

 the Delphinus." 



2 Lucian {Dialogues of the Sea Gods, VIII) offers an unexpected explanation 

 of this trait. On Poseidon's commending the fish for the rescue of Arion, 

 the Dolphin makes answer : " You need not be surprised to find us doing a 

 good turn to Man : we were men before we were fishes." 



H 



