124 PEOSE HALIETJTICS. 



Greece, Milesian labrax were in highest esteem, and 

 even rivalled tjae lupus of the Tiber ; Archestratus calls 

 this variety OeoTraiBa Xd^pa/ca, the divine labrax j and 

 an invitation to partake of one would seem sufficient to 

 have turned people's heads, and made it necessary to 

 remind the elated guests, in words from the comedy of 

 ' The Knights/ that ' it was not because they had eaten 

 Milesian labrax that they were privileged to make a dis- 

 turbance.' ^han, speaking of the basse of India, repre- 

 sents them (agreeably to the custom of describing ori- 

 ental productions in his day) as of gigantic dimensions, 

 but says nothing of their quality or flavour. 



Although these fish are fond of running up rivers and 

 paying inland visits for a time, they do not, says Galen, 

 breed in fresh water, but always retire for that purpose 

 to the salt marshes, \vix,vo9dKdcraa<;, where they begin 

 to fill out their skins, and grow rapidly to full stature ; 

 this is seldom more than three feet, though here and 

 there, owing, it is supposed, to some circumstances pe- 

 culiarly favourable for development, individuals have 

 been taken of far larger size ; thus Belon had seen one 

 weighing fifteen pounds, and Salvianus reports another 

 of twenty pounds' weight. 



The basse suffers much from severe weather, and often 

 goes blind in winter ; the reason whereof, as assigned 

 by Rondolet, will amuse the incredulous. _ ' It is,' says 

 he, 'because of the stones they carry in their heads, 

 which become very cold and troublesome, when the tem- 

 perature is at a low range.' The sickly and impoverished 

 state of the fish, however, during winter, and perhaps 

 the disposition to glaucoma as well, may arise from their 

 propensity to swim near the surface of the water, so as 

 to become much more exposed than others to all vicis- 

 situdes of weather. 



As regards the capture of the basse, both poets and 

 fishermen agree that he is not easily taken prisoner, 



