BOOK IX. XXXIX. 77-XLi. 79 



not able to have the spectacle of a man being torn 

 entirely to pieces at one moment. It is stated that 

 tasting vinegar pai-ticularly drives them mad. 

 Their slcin is very thin, whereas that of eels is rather 

 thick, and Verrius records that it used to be used 

 for flogging boys who were sons of citizens, and 

 that consequently it was not the practice for them 

 to be punished with a fine. 



XL. There is a second class of flatfish that has Boneieit 

 gristle instead of a backbone, for instance rays, !J"^l*'^**'*^ 

 sting-rays, skates, the electric ray, and those the 

 Greek names for which mean ' ox,' ' sorceress,' 

 ' eagle ' and ' frog.' This group includes the squalus 

 also, although that is not a flatfish. These Aristotle 

 designated in Greek by the common name of selach- 

 ians, giving them that name for the first time ; but 

 we cannot distinguish them as a class unless we Hke 

 to call them the cartilaginea. But all such fish are 

 carnivorous, and they feed lying on their backs, as 

 we said in the case of dolphins ; and whereas all 

 other fish are oviparous, this kind alone with the 

 exception of the species called the sea-frog is 

 viviparous, Hke thc creatures termed cetaceans. 



XLI. There is a quite small fish that frequents Theremora 

 rocks, called the sucking-fish.'* Tliis is beheved to 

 make ships go more slowly by sticking to their hulls, 

 from which it has received its name ; and for this 

 reason it also has an evil reputation for supplying a 

 love-charm and for acting as a spell to hinder hti- 

 gation in the courts, which accusations it counter- 

 balances only by its laudable property of stopping 

 fluxes of the womb in pregnant women and holding 

 back the ofFspring till the time of birth. It is not 

 included however among articles of diet. It is 



215 



