aADEA]SrS AND PLETJKONECTS. 353 



former well-known sites ; why, ex. gr. is he not now 

 seen in the Nice or Neapolitan' markets, where formerly 

 his ancestors abounded ? We therefore rather incline 

 to think, as far as outward appearances go, though Be- 

 lon's individual might be the asellus, yet that a common 

 Mediterranean fish, the phycis mediterranea, or sea-tench, 

 which is a cod, and has a barbel and a large head, which 

 might make the epicures of antiquity take a great fancy 

 to it, is, more probably than any other species, the an- 

 cient 6vo<i of Aristotle and aseUus of Phny, the only 

 common gadean with barbels frequenting southern seas. 

 The old donkey-fish, then, not being the hake, we shall 

 restrict ourselves to but few words respecting it. In re- 

 gard to culinary merits it stands high. That the marine 

 ass was nearly as good as the ' river wolf,' ' aseUo post 

 lupum prsecipuam fuisse auctoritatem,' was, Pliny assures 

 us, the joint opinion of Laberius the poet, and of C.Nepos 

 the historian ; agreeably to which Galen also places such 

 prime fish as labrax, soles, mullets, and mugils, after this 

 in goodness, expressly affirming in his treatise on diete- 

 tics that a good asellus may compete with the very best 

 saxatile fish.* ' Post asellum diaria non amo,' says the 

 dainty Petronius ; 'At tam deformi non dignus nomine 

 asellus,^ says Ovidj and Apicius sufficiently shows his 

 high appreciation of its merits by giving several elabo- 

 rate recipes for dressing it. Its reputation indeed (like 

 that of the hake and haddock) stood generally high; 

 but as no fish nor any earthly creature ever yet gave 

 universal satisfaction, Turner has not scrupled to affirm 

 of the haddock that ' the flesh is unwholesome and prone 

 to excite fever,' and Archestratus to record of the wo?, 

 in the same querulous strain, that though others consider 

 it a pleasant food light of digestion, he himself by no 



* ' AseUi, si probo utuntur alimento et in mari puro degunt, 

 carnis bonitate cum saxatilibus contendunt.' 



