BOOK IX. vn. 22-vin. 25 



for 30 days about the rising of the dog-star and hide 

 themselves in an unknown manner, which is the more 

 surprising in view of the fact that they cannot breathe 

 under water. They have a habit of sallying out on 

 to the land for an unascertained reason, and they do 

 not die at once after touching earth — in fact they die 

 much more quickly if the guUet is closed up. The 

 dolphin's tongue, unlike the usual structure of 

 aquatic animals, is mobile, and is short and broad, 

 not unhke a pigs tongue. For a voice they have a 

 moan Uke that of a human being; their back is 

 arched, and their snout turned up, owing to which all 

 of them in a sui*prising manner answer to the name of 

 ' Snubnose ' and hke it better than any other. 



VIII. The dolphin is an animal that is not only Thtdoipkt?, 

 friendly to mankind but is also a lover of music, tunMsic. ^ 

 and it can be charmed by singing in harmony, but 

 particularly by the sound of the water-organ. It is 

 not afraid of a human being as something strange to 

 it, but comes to meet vessels at sea and sports and 

 gambols round them, actually trying to race them and 

 passing them even when under full sail. In the reign casesoftamt 

 of the late lamented Augustus a dolphin that had been '^"'p''"»*- 

 brought into the Lucrine Lake fell marvellously in love 

 \\ith a certain boy, a poor man's son, who used to go 

 from the Baiae district to school at Pozzuoh, because 

 fairly often the lad when loitering about the place at 

 noon called him to him by the name of Snubnose and 

 coaxed him with bits of the bread he had with him 

 for the journey, — I should be ashamed to tell the 

 story were it not that it has been written about by 

 Maecenas and Fabianus and Flavius Alfius and 

 many others, — and when the boy called to it at what- 

 ever time of day, although it was concealed in hiding 



179 



