HALIEUTICA, IV. 440-465 



rod fashioned after the manner of a spindle.** And 

 about it let him fasten close to one another many 

 hooks with recur\4ng barbs, and on these let him 

 impale the striped body of a Rainbow-wTasse to hide 

 the bent teeth of bronze, and in the green depths 

 of the sea let him trail such snare upon a cord. The 

 Calamary when it sees it, darts up and grasps it in 

 the embrace of its moist tentacles and becomes 

 impaled upon the lips of bronze. And no more can 

 it leave them for all its endeavour but is haled against 

 its ^nll, having of itself entangled its body. 



In havens of the sea beyond the wash of the waves 

 some youth in sport contrives a mode of catching 

 Eels.^ He takes a long sheep-gut and lets it trail its 

 length in the water, like a long line. The Eel espies 

 it and rushes up and seizes it. The youth perceives 

 that the Eel has swallowed the bait and straightway 

 blows in the sheep-gut and inflates it with his breath. 

 By his vehement blowing the gut swells up and fills 

 the straining mouth of the wretched Eel ; which is 

 straitened and distressed by the human breath, but 

 is held a fast prisoner for all its endeavour to escape, 

 until, swollen and wildly gasping, it swims to the 

 surface and becomes the prey of the fisher. Even as 

 one who makes essay of a full jar, takes a blow-pipe 

 and puts it in his mouth and by drawing in his breath 

 draws with the tip of his lips draught of ^^ine, which 

 streams up under the force of his breathing : so the 



rei'Oovs, OpdipaXa vulg., les prands calmars du large, on reraplace 

 les aiguilles par des hame^ons." 



* Ael. xiv. 8 describes this method of catching Eels as 

 used at V^icetia in Cisalpine Gaul. For Eel-catching in 

 general cf. A. 59-2 a 6 ; Athen. 298 b ; Aristoph. Eg. 864 flp. ; 

 Plin. ix. 74 ; Walton, ComplecU Angler, c, xiii. ; Radcliffe, 

 p. 246 ff. ; Badham, c. x\'ii. 



437 



