38 The Complete Angler 



conversion, was remarkably carnally amorous ; and 

 after, by God's appointment, wrote that spiritual 

 dialogue, or holy amorous love-song the Canticles, 

 betwixt God and his church : in which he says, 

 " his beloved had eyes like the fish-pools of Hesh- 

 bon". 



And if this hold in reason, as I see none to the 

 contrary, then it may be probably concluded, that 

 Moses, who I told you before writ the book of Job, 

 and the Prophet Amos, who was a shepherd, were 

 both Anglers ; for you shall, in all the Old Testa- 

 ment, find fish-hooks, I think but twice mentioned, 

 namely, by meek Moses the friend of God, and by 

 the humble prophet Amos. 



-^Concerning which last, namely the prophet Amos, 

 I shall make but this observation, that he that shall 

 read the humble, lowly, plain style of that prophet, 

 and compare it with the high, glorious, eloquent 

 style of the prophet Isaiah, though they be both 

 equally true, may easily believe Amos to be, not 

 only a shepherd, but a good-natured plain fisher- 

 man. Which I do the rather believe, by comparing 

 the affectionate, loving, lowly, humble Epistles of 

 St. Peter, St. James, and St. John, whom we know 

 were all fishers, with the glorious language and high 

 metaphors of St. Paul, who we may believe was not 

 And for the lawfulness of fishing: it may very 

 well be maintained by our Saviour's bidding St. 

 Peter cast his hook into the water and catch a fish, 

 for money to pay tribute to Caesar. And let me 

 tell you, that Angling is of high esteem, and of 

 much use in other nations. He that reads the 

 Voyages of Ferdinand Mendez Pinto, shall find that 

 there he declares to have found a king and several 

 priests a-fishing. And he that reads Plutarch, shall 

 find, that Angling was not contemptible in the days 

 of Mark Antony and Cleopatra, and that they, in l 



