Fish Stories of the Fathers 13 



pricketh from below." In place of this is the sufficiently 

 savage truth that the orca, or great killer, plunges and tears 

 like a fierce aquatic bulldog. 



Pliny has left a number of interesting fish stories. It was 

 he who stated that the dolphin is not only friendly to man, 

 but a lover of music, being particularly fond (as it should 

 be) of the water organ. Pliny knew more about dolphins 

 than any of his time, and he refers to them with a confidence 

 which admits of no questioning. Speaking of the intelli- 

 gence of dolphins, he tells us of one which was placed in 

 the lake of Lucrine during the reign of the Emperor Augus- 

 tus. The animal formed so warm a friendship for a child 

 that it came to the shore always to meet it; ate from its 

 hand, presenting its back for the child to mount, and carrying 

 it about the lake. We are given minute particulars in this 

 story, so that we know it was not the cetacean or porpoise 

 (Delphinus), commonly called dolphin, but a creature with 

 a spinous dorsal fin like a fish. Pliny says : " After feeding 

 from his hand, the dolphin would present his back for him 

 to mount, taking care to conceal the spiny projection of his 

 fins in their sheath, as it were ; and so, sportively taking him 

 upon his back, he would carry him over a wide expanse of 

 sea to the school at Puteoli, and in a similar manner bring 

 him back again." Finally, Pliny states, the child died, and 

 the dolphin gradually pined away, "dying purely of sorrow 

 or regret." There is a fish called dolphin by fishermen of 

 our day, but this was not known to Pliny, and the use of 

 the name dolphin for it, is one of the eccentricities of English 

 nomenclature. 



Another dolphin on the African coast is quoted by this 

 illustrious author as being very friendly with men, bearing 

 them upon its back. This dolphin did not die of remorse, but 

 was put to death. " At last the vexations that were caused 

 them, by having to entertain so many influential men who 

 came to see this sight, compelled the people of Hippo to 

 put the animal to death." Evidently these people had not 



