HALIEUTICA, I. 650-674- 



by the devising of Dionysus " they exchanged the 

 land for the sea and put on the form of fishes * : but 

 even now the righteous spirit of men in them pre- 

 serves human thought and human deeds. For when 

 the twin " offspring of their travail come into the 

 hght, straightway, soon as they are born they s^^im 

 and gambol round their mother and enter within 

 her teeth and linger in the maternal mouth ; and 

 she for her love suffers them and circles about her 

 children gaily and exulting with exceeding joy. 

 And she gives them her breasts,'* one to each, that 

 they may suck the sweet milk ; for god has given 

 her milk and breasts of like nature to those of women. 

 Thus for a season she nurses them ; but, when they 

 attain the strength of youth, straightway their 

 mother leads them in their eagerness to the way of 

 hunting and teaches them the art of catching fish ; 

 nor does she part from her children nor forsake them, 

 until they have attained the fulness of their age in 

 limb and strength, but always the parents attend * 

 them to keep watch and ward. What a marvel shalt 

 thou contemplate in thy heart and what sweet 

 delight, when on a voyage, watching when the wind 

 is fair and the sea is calm, thou shalt see the beautiful 

 herds of Dolphins, the desire of the sea ; the young 

 go before in a troop like youths unwed, even as if 



noise of flutes. The pirates, becoming mad, threw them- 

 selves into the sea and became Dolphins. Cf. Horn. H. vii. 



* Cf. C. iii. 16. 



* A. 566 b 6 TLKTei S' b fiev Se\<pls to. /juv iroXXa ly, (viore Si 

 Kal dvo ; Plin. ix. 21 ; Ael. i. 18 ; Phil. 86. 



' A. o-il b 23 rd K7)Tri, oiov 5e\<pis Kai <pwKi] Kal (paXaiva' Kal 

 yao ravra ^'kttovs #x" '^"^^ yd\a. Cf. A. 504 b 22, 566 b 16 ; 

 Ael. V. 4; Plin. ix. 7. 



' A. 566 b 22 TrapaKoKovOfi di ra riKva iroXiV xphwov, *rat ?(7Tt 

 tA ^tfov (piKoTiKvov ; Plin. I.e. 



271 



