CHAP. I.] THE EIRST DAT. 75 



smaller fish so near to her, that she may leap upon her, and 

 then catches and devours her: and for this reason some 

 have called this fish the SEA- AN GLEE. 1 



Lophius Piseatorius. 



And there is a fish called a hermit, that, at a certain age, 

 gets into a dead fish's shell ; and like a hermit, dwells there 

 alone, studying the wind and weather; and so turns her 

 shell, that she makes it defend her from the injuries that 

 they would bring upon her. 



There is also a fish, called by ^Elian 2 in his 9th book 

 " Of Living Creatures," c. 16, the Adonis, or darling of the 

 sea : so called because it is a loving and innocent fish a fish 

 that hurts nothing that hath life, and is at peace with all the 

 numerous inhabitants of that vast watery element ; and truly 

 I think most anglers are so disposed to most of mankind. 



And, there are, also, lustful and chaste fishes ; of which I 

 shall give you examples. 



1 This and other credulous stories of the tactics of fish, collected from 

 the elder writers, and current two centuries ago, are now exploded. 



2 Claudius JElianus was born at Prseneste in Italy, in the reign of the 

 Emperor Adrian. He wrote "De Animalium Natura." H. 



