FISHES THE FOOD OF MAN. 21 



indeed, nothing be too hard for him, yet these men 

 he chose to call from their irreprovable employ- 

 ment, and gave them grace to be his disciples, 

 and do wonders ; I say four of twelve." 



" And it is observable, that it was our 

 Saviour's will that these four fishermen should 

 have a priority of nomination in the catalogue 

 of his twelve apostles. Matt. x. 2 ; Acts i. 

 13 ; as, namely, first St. Peter, St. Andrew, 

 St. James, and St. John, and then the rest in 

 their order. And it is yet more observable, 

 that when our blessed Saviour went up into the 

 mount, when he left the rest of his disciples, 

 and chose only three to bear him company at 

 his transfiguration, that those three were all 

 fishermen* And it is believed that all the 

 other apostles, after they betook themselves to 

 follow Christ, betook themselves to be fisher- 

 men too ; for it is certain that the greater 

 number of them were found together fishing by 

 Jesus after his resurrection, as it is recorded in 

 the 21st chapter of St. John's Gospel." 



Turning from the Egyptians and Israelites to 

 the Greeks and Romans, we find that fish was 

 in great request among those people ; and 

 among the latter in particular several sorts 

 were in high estimation. They had fish-ponds, 

 or vivaria, supplied, as the need might be, with 

 fresh or sea-water, and in these the fishes were 



