262 PHYSICAL SCIENCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES. 



can hold back all these when they all strain the 

 same way. The winds may blow, the waves may 

 rage ; but this small creature controls their fury, 

 and stops a vessel, when chains and anchors would 

 not hold it : and this it does, not by hard labour, 

 but merely by adhering to it. Alas, for human 

 vanity ! when the turretted ships which man has 

 built, that he may fight from castle-walls, at sea 

 as well as at land, are held captive and motionless 

 by a fish a foot and a half long. Such a fish is 

 said to have stopt the admiral's ship at the bat- 

 tle of Actium, and compelled Antony to go into 

 another. Airtl in our own memory, one of these 

 animals held fast the ship of Caius, the emperor, 

 when he was sailing from Astura to Antium. The 

 stopping of this ship, when all the rest of the fleet 

 went on, caused surprize; but this did not last 

 long, for some of the men jumped into the water 

 to look for the fish, and found it sticking to the 

 rudder; they showed it to Caius, who was indig- 

 nant that this animal should interpose its prohi- 

 bition to his progress, when impelled by four 

 hundred rowers. It was like a slug; and had no 

 power, after it was taken into the ship." 



A very little advance in the power of thinking 

 clearly on the force which is exerted in pulling, 

 would have enabled the Romans to see, that the 

 ship and its rowers must pull the adhering fish 

 by the hold the oars had upon the water; and 

 that, except the fish had a hold equally strong on 

 some external body, it could not resist this force, 



