BOOK IX, Lxx. 151-LXX1. 154 



list of animals as the ' cloud ' or ' fog,' which is the 

 name the divers give to this plague. Divers have 

 fierce fights with the dog-fish ; these attack their loins 

 and heels and all the white parts of the body. The 

 one safety hes in going for them and frightening 

 them by taking the oifensive ; for a dog-fish is as 

 much afraid of a man as a man is of it, and so they 

 are on equal terms in deep water. When they come 

 to the surface, then the man is in critical danger, as 

 the poHcy of taking the ofFensive is not available 

 while he is trying to get out of the water, and his 

 only safety is in his comrades. These haul on the 

 rope tied to his shoulders ; this, as he carries on the 

 duel, he shakes with his left hand to give a signal 

 of danger, while his right hand grasps his dagger 

 and is occupied in fighting. Most of the time they 

 haul gently, but when he gets near the boat, unless 

 with a quick heave they suddenly snatch him out 

 of the water, they have to look on while he is made 

 away with. And often when divers have ah-eady 

 begun to be hauled up they are snatched out of 

 their comrades' hands, imless they have themselves 

 supplemented the aid of those hauling by curUng up 

 into a ball. Others of the crew of course thrust 

 out harpoons, but the vast beast is crafty enough to 

 go under the vessel and so cari-y on the battle in 

 safety. Consequently divers devote their whole atten- 

 tion to keeping a walch against this disaster ; the most 

 reliable token of safety is to have seen some flat-fish, 

 wliich are never found where these noxious creatures 

 are — on account of which divers call them the holy fish. 



LXXI. It must be agreed that creatures enclosed ^*""*» <>/ 

 in a flinty shell, such as oysters, have no senses. spedes. 

 Many have the same nature as a bush, for instance 



267 



