II] OF DOGS 219 



and in the bargain were included the dogs, but not 

 the shepherds who were to take the sheep down to 

 the forest clearings near Metapontum and the mart 

 of Heraclea. The shepherds having performed their 

 task returned home; but a few days later, the dogs, 

 missing sorely their human friends, came back of 

 their own accord to the shepherds in Umbria, having 

 got themselves food from the surrounding country 

 — and this though the journey took many^ days. 

 Yet none of the shepherds had followed the advice 

 given by Saserna, when writing on farming, to the 

 effect that any one wanting a dog to follow him 

 about should throw him a cooked frog. 



It is of great importance that your dogs should 

 be of the same"" blood, for when akin they are the 

 greatest protection to one another. 

 7 In the fourth place comes the question of pur- 

 chase. Change of ownership is effected by delivery 

 from the first to the second owner. As to health 

 and liability for damage the same guarantees are re- 

 quired as in the case of cattle (oxen), save that in 

 this case (of dogs) due exceptions ' are made on the 



' Dierum multorum. A distance of about 300 miles. 



' Eodem semine. Cf. Geoponica, xix, 2: eptirrtov Si rouf 

 KvvoQ Kurd <rvyyivuav. dfivvovai yap dWfiXoiQ ipvaiKuti. 



' Exceptum est. On these exceptiones cf. Justinian, Inst., 

 where a chapter is devoted to the subject. 



Keil makes the hie in this sentence refer to pecoris, and 

 pecoris he takes in the limited sense of *' sheep." But turning 

 to ii, 2, 6, we find that the "exceptions" in the case of sheep 

 closely resemble what is mentioned here about dogs, pretio 

 facto in singulas arues^ ut agni cordi duo pro una ove adnumer- 



