HALIEUTICA, or FISHING 



II 



Thus do fishes range and feed, thus roam the tribes 

 of the sea ; in such mating, in such breeding they 

 delight. All these things, I ween, someone of the 

 immortals hath showed to men. For what can 

 mortals accompUsh without the gods ? Nay, not 

 even so much as lift a foot from the ground * or open 

 the bright orbs of the eyes. The gods themselves 

 rule and direct everything, being far, yet verj' near. 

 And doom unshakable constrains men to obey, and 

 there is no strength nor might whereby one may 

 haughtily wrench '' with stubborn jaws and escape 

 that doom, as a colt that spurns the bit. But ever- 

 more the gods who are above all turn the reins all 

 ways even as they will, and he who is wise obeys 

 before he is driven by the cruel lash unwillingly. 

 The gods also have given to men cunning arts and 

 have put in them all wisdom. Other god is namesake 

 of other craft, even that whereof he hath got the 

 honourable keeping. Deo '^ hath the privilege of 



The Schol, has rbv jroSa e/c rod ixi'oi's, and a possible rendering 

 would be " to move one foot past another. Cf. Hora. //. ix. 

 547 6\i70J' 7(');'i' yovvbs dfiei^iiii'. 



* For the behaviour of the dcrroixos irwXos or " unmouthed " 

 colt cf. Aesch. Pers. 195 crwapird^ei ^iq., Soph. El. 723, Eur. 

 Hipp. 1-234 ^ic/L (pepovcrti', Aesch. Aff. 1066, Xen. Eq. 3. 5. 



' Demeter. 



283 



