TASTES VARY—WHY TAILS PREFERRED 255 
For these reasons, discount as we may the personal predilec- 
tions of an author like Ennius, of a gourmet like Apicius, of a 
bon vivant like Vitellius, any list is perforce approximate, not 
absolute. It must be governed by the dictum of the great 
Greek epicure, xaipa yap 6 piv rovrore, 6 S xelvore. 
But if our opsophagists disagreed as to which was the best 
fish, they were fairly unanimous as to which part of a fish was 
best. Setting aside the peculiar partiality of the Greeks for 
the head of the Conger, the part near the tail afforded the most 
savour, and found the most favour with ancient (and modern) 
gourmets. 
Three reasons for this preference have been suggested : 
(A) That from Xenocrates. After laying down that fish 
roasted are more nutritious than fish boiled, that sea fish are 
easy of digestion and by their formation of blood impart a good 
colour to the skin, that fish from lakes and rivers are generally 
bad for the stomach, form thick juices, and are difficult of 
evacuation, this great physician affirms emphatically that the 
part near the tail of ali kinds of fish (Nonnius excepts the 
Tunny) are the most wholesome, on account of it being most 
frequently exercised.! 
(B) That from Pliny. Writing of the Murena, he says that 
it is quite clear that in its tail abides its anima (‘life’ or 
‘being ’), because a blow on that part swiftly kills it, while one 
on the head is more tedious in effect.? 
(C) That alleged in Scandinavia. To the Norseman the 
most delicate part of the salmon was its tail. His choice, 
now-a-days by no means exceptional, was explained by a 
pretty piece of etiological tradition. Loki, fleeing from the 
pursuit of the gods whose anger he had provoked, had the wit 
and the time to transform himself into a salmon. Then and 
in this guise would he have surely escaped, had not Thor caught 
him by the tail, “and this is the reason why salmon have had 
the tails so fine and so thin ever since.’’ 3 
ek Bae ee op. ee p- 73. 
3 In Krause, , ra 237, Loki, originally god of Fire, changes into a salmon 
from his predilection for the red colour of the fish! The Icelandic Eddas 
attribute the invention of the Net to Loki. 
