HALIEUTICA, II. 393-413 



he springs upon his back and casts his various bonds 

 about him, oppressing hini with the long chains of 

 his strong feet and ^^•ith the ends of his tentacles 

 withal he constricts and strangles the warm channel 

 in the niidst of his mouth and suffers not his airy 

 breath to pass either out or in (for fishes too draw 

 the tide of air)," but holds him in his embrace. And 

 the Crayfish now swims, now halts, and again 

 struggles, and anon dashes against the jutting crags. 

 But the Poulpe relaxes not the contest of might, 

 until hfe and strength forsake the other in death. 

 Then when the Crayfish falls prone, the Poulpe sits 

 by him on the sands and feasts, even as a child 

 draws with his hps the sweet milk from the breast 

 of his nurse ; even so the Poulpe laps the flesh of the 

 Crayfish, sucking and drawing it forth from its pricklv 

 vessel, and fills his belly with sweet food. Even as a 

 day -sleeping ** man, with predatory craft de^^sing 

 dark counsels, never honouring the majestj* of justice, 

 skulks at evening in the narrow streets and Hes in 

 wait for one passing by after a banquet ; the ban- 

 queter, heavy with wine, goes forward, singing drunk- 

 enly, bawling no very sober melody ; and the other 



am not of their judgement. For vvhy ? Nature if she be so 

 di.sp>osed, may give insteed oif lights [i.e. lungs] some other 

 organs and instruments of breath "(Holland's trans.), princi- 

 pally on the ground that (1) they are seen to pant in hot 

 weather, (9) they sleep — " quis enim sine respiratione sorano 

 locus ? " (3) they have the senses of hearing and of smell— 

 "ex aeris utrumque materia. Odorera quidem non aliud 

 quam infectum aera intelligi potest." 



' From Hesiod, W. 60 fj-rj Tori a' vntpoKoiTOi avrjp dxo 

 Xprif^O e\7?Tcu. Cf. E.M. s. ijaepoKotrov 'Hcrio5os, yiij-rori 

 S , . . iXrfTai- 6 TT]v Tjuuepav KadtvSwv, tt]v de vvKTa aypinrvGiv. 

 rovreariv 6 KXeirTj/s. Cf. Suid. and Hesych. s.v. TjnepoicoiTos- 



317 



