72 EDIBLE AND MEDICINAL 



generally very high-priced in Greece. In the luxurious 

 days of the Eomans they were esteemed as excessive 

 rarities ; as may be learned from Horace, Juvenal, and 

 Martial. 



Hippocrates gives us a detailed account of the dietetical 



qualities of fish. Speaking generally, he says, fish of all 



kinds are light food, both when boiled and roasted by 



themselves or when used with other food. Celsus ranks 



fish among those things which hold an intermediate place 



between articles of a strong and of a weak nature. 



Plutarch mentions, that, in his opinion, fish can be much 



more easily digested than flesh. The qualities of the 



finny race are largely treated of by Athenseus (Deipnos, 8). 



He tells us, on the authority of Siphnian Diphilus, that 



of sea fish, those which live among rocks are of easy 



digestion, contain good juices, are detergent, light, and 



afford little nourishment ; and that those which inhabit 



the depths of the sea are difficult to digest, are very 



nutritious, and are of slow assimilation. Galen says, that 



fishes which live in the marshes, lakes, and muddy waters, 



are the worst species of human sustenance, because they are 



little exercised in swimming, and have impure food. He 



farther tells us that such fish as live in the depths of the 



sea are almost free from fault as aliment, for they are 



more wholesome and delicious than any of the other 



kinds. The characteristics of good fish, he adds, are, that 



they have no offensive smell, have little fat, and keep sweet 



for a considerable time. 



