FISHING BY MUSIC— THOR'S OX-HEAD BAIT 243 



forth by ^lian (XIV. 25) in words which describe with such 

 charming nai'vdS the perfection of the Silurian palate, eye, and 

 possibly nose, enabhng it to discriminate instantly between 

 " the lungs of a wild " and other " bull," 1 that we may venture 

 upon quoting the whole passage : 



" An Istrian iisherman drives a pair of oxen near the river- 

 bank, not, however, for the purpose of ploughing. ... If a 

 pair of horses are at hand, the fisherman makes use of horses ; 

 and with the yoke on his shoulders, down he goes and takes his 

 station at a spot which he thinks will make a convenient seat 

 for himself, and be a good place for sport. He fastens one end 

 of the fishing-rope, which is stout and capable of standing a 

 good tug, to the middle of the yoke, and supplies the oxen, 

 or the horses, as the case may be, with sufficient food, and the 

 animals take their fill. 



" To the other end of the rope he fastens a strong and terribly 

 sharp hook, baited with the lungs of a wild bull ; this he throws 

 into the water as a lure — a very sweet lure — to the Istrian 

 silurus, having previously fastened a piece of lead of sufficient 

 size to the rope above the place where the hook is bound on, 

 to serve as a support for the pull. 2 



" When the fish perceives the bait of buU's-fiesh, he 

 immediately rushes at the prey, and, meeting with that he so 

 dearly loves, opens wide his great jaws and greedily swallows 

 the dreadful bait ; then the glutton, at first turning himself 

 round with pleasure, soon finds that he has been pierced un- 

 awares with the aforesaid hook, and being eager to escape 

 from the calamity shakes the rope with the greatest violence. 



" The fisherman observes this, and is filled with delight ; he 

 jumps from his seat, and, now in the character of a fisherman, 

 now in that of a ploughman, like an actor who changes his 

 mask in a play, he urges on his oxen or horses, and a mighty 



^ The head of the ox was Thor's bait when fishing for the monstrous 

 Midhgardh serpent. See D. P. Chantepie de la Saussaye, The Religion of the 

 Teutons (Boston, 1902), p. 242. C. A. Parker, The Ancient Crosses of Gosforih, 

 Cumberland (London, 1896), p. 74 fif., describes and figures a rehef representing 

 Thor's fishing. In this we see the line (below the boat) with an ox's head, 

 surrounding which are several enormous fishes. 



^ For '4pna, " support," perhaps we should read tpv/xa, " protection," i.e. 

 against erosion. 



