HALIEUTICA, II. ^35-^54^ 



Rainbow-WTasses " ; them do men who explore the 

 depths of the sea chiefly abhor — divers and toilsome 

 sponge-cutters.* For when they behold the searcher 

 of the sea hasting to the depths for his labour under 

 the water, in tens of thousands they spring from the 

 rocks and rush around the man and throng in swarms 

 about him and stay him in his course as he labours, 

 on this side and on that stinging him \vith relentless 

 mouths. He is wearied by his conflict with the water 

 and the hateful Wrasses. With hands and hasting 

 feet he does all he can to ward off and drive away 

 the watery host. But they pursue him stubbornly, 

 like unto flies, the grievous hosts of harvest, which 

 on every side fly about the reapers at their work 

 when they toil in autumn ; and the reapers sweat at 

 once with their toil and the intemperate shafts of 

 the air and they are vexed exceedingly by the flies ; 

 but these abate nothing of their shamelessness until 

 they die or have tasted the reaper's dusky blood. 

 Even such lust have these fishes also for the blood 

 of men. 



No feeble bite verily hath the reptile Poulpe " when 



"Equally and even more vivid are the Wrasses, of which 

 raany gorgeous sorts are common among the rocks close 

 to the shore. The lulis Mediterranea [ = Coris hilis] is the 

 brightest of these painted beauties, exceeding all fishes of 

 the Mediterranean for splendour of colour" ("Beacon" 

 Report on E. Mediterranean Fishes ap. E. Forbes, p. 

 196). 



* Ael. ii. 44 al iovKiSti ixOvi eltfi Trirpais evTpotjxu. koI ix°^<^i-* 

 iou TO (TTo/ia ffiirXecji' . . . Xuirowri 5e Kal roi'S ev raiy vSpodrjpiais 

 vxoovouevovi re Kai vrjxof'-^i'ovs, iroWai Kai SrjKTiKai irpoa- 

 ir Lit Tova at, ws avr6xpvt'-°- ^""i '''V^ 7')* oi /ivlai. 



' Ael. V. Hi fiv 5e &pa orjKTiKov Kal 6 otT/jLijXos Kai 6 iroKO- 

 irous. Kai Saxoi fxev av ovtos ffijjrfas ^laibrepov, toO de iov fitOirjaiv 



ipTOV. 



Y 321 



