Deipnosophistae

And now we have had enough of cooks, my feasters; lest perhaps some one of them, pluming himself and quoting the Morose Man of Menander, may spout such lines as these—

1. No one who does a cook an injury
2. Ever escapes unpunish'd; for our art
3. Is a divine and noble one.

But I say to you, in the words of the tuneful Diphilus—

1. I place before you now a lamb entire,
2. Well skewer'd, and well cook'd and season'd;
3. Some porkers in their skins, and roasted whole;
4. And a fine goose stuff'd full, like Dureus.

We must now speak of the goose. For as many geese were served up very excellently dressed, some one said, Look at the fat geese (σιτευτοὶ χῆνες). And Ulpian said, Where do you ever find the expression σιτευτὸς χήν? And Plutarch

answered him:—Theopompus the Chian, in his History of Greece, and in the thirteenth book of his History of the Affairs and Exploits of Philip, says that the Egyptians sent to Agesilaus the Lacedæmonian, when he arrived in Egypt, some fatted (σιτευτοὺς) calves and geese (χῆνας). And Epigenes the comic poet says in his Bacchanalian Women—

1. But if a person were to take me like
2. A fatted goose (χῆνα σιτευτόν).

And Archestratus, in that celebrated poem of his, says—

1. And at the same time dress the young of one
2. Fat goose (σιτευτοῦ χῆνος), and let him too be roasted thoroughly.

But we have a right now, O Ulpian, to expect you to tell us, you who question everybody about everything, where this very costly dish of the livers of geese has been mentioned by any ancient writer. For Cratinus is a witness that they were acquainted with people whose business it was to feed geese, in his Dionysalexander, where he says—

1. Geese-feeders, cow-herds . . . .

And Homer uses the word χὴν in both the masculine and feminine gender; for he says—

1. αἰετὸς ἀργὴν χῆνα φέρων–An eagle carrying off a lazy goose.

And again he says—

1. And as he seized a fine home-fatten'd goose (χῆνα ἀτιταλλομένην).

And in another place he says—

1. I've twenty geese, fond of the lucid stream,
2. Who in my house eat wheat, and fatten fast.

And Eupolis mentions the livers of geese (and they are thought an excessive delicacy at Rome), in his Women Selling Garlands, where he says—

1. If you have not a goose's liver or heart.

There were also heads of pigs split in half and served up as a dish. And this dish is mentioned by Crobylus, in his Son falsely held to be Supposititious—

1. There came in half a head of a young pig,
2. A tender dish; and I did stick to it
3. So close, by Jove, that I left none of it.

After these things there was served up a haricot, called κρεωκάκκαβος. And this dish consists of meat chopped up with blood and fat, in a sauce richly sweetened: and Aristophanes the Grammarian says that it was the Achæans who gave this name to the dish. But Anticlides, in the seventy-eighth book of his Returns, says, “Once when there was a design on the part of the Erythreans to put the Chians to death by treachery at a banquet, one of them having learnt what was intended to be done, said–

1. O Chians, wondrous is the insolence
2. Which now has seized the Erythreans' hearts.
3. Flee when you've done your pork-don't wait for beef.

And Aristomenes, in his Jugglers, makes mention in the following terms of boiled meat, which he calls ἀναβραστὰ κρέα— * * * * * They used also to eat the testicles of animals, which they called νέφροι.—Philippodes, in his Renovation, speaking of the gluttony of Gnathæna the courtesan, says—

1. Then, after all these things, a slave came in,
2. Bearing a large dish full of testicles;
3. And all the rest of the girls made prudish faces,
4. But fair Gnathæna, that undoer of men,
5. Laughed, and said, "Capital things are testicles,
6. I swear by Ceres." So she took a pair
7. And ate them up: so that the guests around
8. Fell back upon their chairs from laughing greatly.

And when some one said that a cock dressed with a sauce of oil and vinegar (ὀξυλίπαρον) was a very good bird, Ulpian, who was fond of finding fault, and who was reclining on a couch by himself, eating little, but watching the rest of the guests, said—What is that ὀξυλίπαρον you speak of? unless indeed you give that name to the small figs called κόττανα and lepidium, which are both national food of mine. —But Timocles, he replied, the comic poet, in his play called The Ring, mentions ὀξυλίπαρον, saying—

1. And sharks and rays and all the other fish,
2. Which may be dressed in sauce of ὀξυλίπαρον.

And Alexis has called some men ἀκρολίπαροι, fat on the surface, in his Wicked Woman, saying—

1. Fat on the surface, but the rest of their body
2. Is all as dry as wood.

And once when a large fish was served up in sour pickle (ὀξάλμν), and somebody said that every fish (ὀψάριον) was best when dressed in this kind of pickle, Ulpian, picking out the small bones, and contracting his brows, said,—here do you find the word ὀξάλμη? And as to ὀψάριον, I am quite sure that that is a word used by no living author. However, at that time the guests all desired him to settle that as he pleased, and themselves preferred eating; while Cynulcus quoted these lines out of the Breezes of Metagenes—

1. But, my friend, now let us dine,
2. After that ask what you choose;
3. For at present I'm so hungry,
4. I can't recollect a thing.

But Myrtilus in a pleasant manner declared that he subscribed to Ulpian's sentiments, so as to be willing to have nothing to eat, as long as he might talk; and said;—Cratinus, in his Ulysseses, has mentioned ὀξάλμη, in the following lines—

1. And in return for this I now will take
2. All you my brave companions; and will pound,
3. And boil, and broil, and roast you thoroughly,
4. In pickle, sour pickle (ὀξάλμη), garlic pickle,
5. Soaking you thoroughly in each by turns.
6. And that one which does seem most fairly roasted
7. I'll do the honour to devour myself.

And Aristophanes, in his Wasps,—

1. Breathe on me, and then put me in hot pickle (ὀξάλμη).

And of living people we ourselves use the word ὀψάριον. Plato does so too; speaking of fish in his Pisander, he says—

1. A. Now eating . . . .
2. B. What on earth? . . .
3. A. Why, all there is;
4. Fish (ὀψάριον).
5. B. You were sick, and did they give you this?
6. A. But I, the other day, eating a crab . . . .

And Pherecrates, in his Deserters, says—

1. Some one has served us up this dish of fish (τʼ ὀψάριον).

And Philemon, in his Treasure, says—

1. It is not right to cheat us in this way,
2. Nor to have worthless fish (ὀψάρια).

And Menander, in his Carthaginian, says—

1. I offered Boreas much frankincense,
2. And yet I did not catch one single fish (0ʼψάριον),
3. So I must now cook lentils for my supper.

And in his Ephesian he says—

1. Having some fish (ὀψάριον) for breakfast.

And then he goes on to say—

1. Some fishmonger
2. Sold me'some tench for four drachmas a-piece.

And Anaxilas, in his Hyacinthus the Pander, says—

1. I now, O Dion, will buy you some fish (ὀψάριον).

And a few lines afterwards he writes—

1. Now dress, O boy, the fish (τοὐψάριον) for us.

And in the Anagyrus of Aristophanes we read—

1. Unless on all occasions you do soothe me
2. With dainty dishes of fish (ὀψαρίου).

Where, however, perhaps we must take ὀψάρια as used synony- mously with προσψωήματα, for made dishes in general. For Alexis, in his Woman Sitting up all Night, represents a cook as speaking in the following terms:—

1. A. Do you prefer your high made dishes hot,
2. Or cold, or something just between the two?
3. B. Cold.
4. A. Are you sure, my master? only think;
5. The man has not one notion how to live?
6. Am I to serve you everything up cold?
7. B. By no means.
8. A. Will you, then, have all things hot
9. B. O Phœbus!
10. A. Then, if neither hot nor cold,
11. They surely must be just between the two;
12. And none of all my fellows can do this.
13. B. I dare say not, nor many other things
14. Which you can do.
15. A. I'll tell you now, for I
16. Give all the guests an opportunity
17. To practise a wise mixture of their food.
18. Have you not, I adjure you by the gods,
19. Just slain a kid?
20. B. Don't cut me, cut the meat:—
21. Boys, bring the kid.
22. A. Is there a kitchen near?
23. B. There is.
24. A. And has it got a chimney too?
25. For this you do not say.
26. B. It has a chimney.
27. A. But if it smokes, it will be worse than none.
28. B. The man will kill me with his endless questions.

These passages I have quoted to you on the part of us who are still alive, my well-fed friend Ulpian. For you too, as it seems to me, agree so far with Alexis as to eat no living animals. And Alexis, in his Attic Woman, speaks in the following manner—

1. The man who first did say that no philosopher
2. Would eat of living things, was truly wise.
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3. For I am just come home, and have not bought
4. A living thing of any kind. I've bought
5. Some fish, but they were dead, and splendid fish.
6. Then here are joints of well-fed household lamb,
7. But he was killed last week. What else have I?
8. Oh, here's some roasted liver. If there be
9. A man who can this liver prove to have
10. Or soul or voice or animation,
11. I will confess I've err'd and broken the law.

So now after all this let us have some supper. For just see, while I am talking to you, all the pheasants have flown by me, and are gone out of reach, disregarding me, because of your unseasonable chattering. But I should like you to tell me, my master Myrtilus, said Ulpian, where you got that word ὀλβιογάστωρ, and also whether any ancient author mentions the pheasant, and I—

1. Rising at early morn to sail . . . .

not through the Hellespont, but into the market-place, will buy a pheasant which you and I may eat together.

And Myrtilus said,—On this condition I will tell you. Amphis uses the word ὀλβιογάστωρ in his Gynæcomania, where he speaks as follows:—

1. Eurybates, you hunter of rich smells,
2. You surely are the most well-fed (ὀλβιογάστωρ) of men.

And as for the bird called the pheasant, that delicious writer Aristophanes mentions it in his play called The Birds. There are in that play two old Athenians, who, from their love of idleness, are looking for a city where there is nothing to do, that they may live there; and so they take a fancy to the life among the birds. And accordingly they come to the birds: and when all of a sudden some wild bird flies towards them, they, alarmed at the sight, comfort one another, and say a great many things, and among them they say this—

1. A. What now is this bird which we here behold?
2. Will you not say?
3. B. I think it is a pheasant.

And I also understand the passage in the Clouds to refer to birds, and not to horses as many people take it—

1. The Phasian flocks, bred by Leogoras.

For it is very possible that Leogoras may have bred horses and pheasants too. And Leogoras is also turned into ridicule as a gourmand by Plato in his Very Miserable Man. And Mnesimachus, in his play called Philip, (and Mnesi- machus is one of the poets of the Middle Comedy,) says—

1. And as the proverb runs, it is more rare
2. Than milk of birds, or than a splendid pheasant
3. Artistically pluck'd.

And Theophrastus the Eresian, a pupil of Aristotle, mentions them in the third book of his Treatise on Animals, speaking nearly as follows—

There is also some such difference as this in birds. For the heavy birds which are not so well suited for flying such as the woodcock, the partridge, the cock, and the pheasant, are very well adapted for walking and have thick plumage.

And Aristotle, in the eighth book of his History of Animals, writes thus:—

Now of birds there are some which are fond of dusting themselves, and some which are fond of washing, and some which neither dust nor wash themselves. And those which are not good flyers, but which keep chiefly on the ground, are fond of dusting themselves; such as the common fowl, the partridge, the woodcock, the pheasant, the lark.

Speusippus also mentions them in the second book of his treatise on Things Resembling one another. And the name these men give the pheasant is φασιανὸς, not φασιανικός.

But Agatharchides of Cnidos, in the thirty-fourth book of his History of the Affairs of Europe, speaking of the river Phasis, writes as follows:—

But the great multitude of the birds called pheasants (φασιανοι) come for the sake of food to the places where the mouths of the rivers fall into the sea.

And Callixenus the Rhodian, in the fourth book of his Account of Alexandria, describing a procession which took place in Alexandria, when Ptolemy who was surnamed Philadelphus was king, mentions, as a very extraordinary circumstance connected with these birds—

Then there were brought on in cases parrots, and peacocks, and guinea-fowl, and pheasants, and an immense number of Aethiopian birds.

And Artemidorus the pupil of Aristophanes, in his book entitled The Glossary of Cookery, and Pamphilus the Alexandrian, in his treatise on Names and Words, represents Epænetus as saying in his Cookery Book that the pheasant is also called τατύρας. But Ptolemy Euergetes, in the second book of his Commentaries, says that the pheasant is called τατύρας. Now this is what I am able to tell you about the pheasant, which I have seen brought up on your account, as if we all had fevers. But you, if you do not, according to your agreement, give me tomorrow what you have covenanted to, I do not say that I will prosecute you in the public courts for deceit, but I will send you away to live near the Phasi, as Polemon, the Describer of the World, wished to drown Ister the pupil of Callimachus, the historian, in the river of the same name.

The next thing to be mentioned is the woodcock. Aristophanes, in his Storks, says—

1. The woodcock, most delicious meat to boil,
2. Fit dish for conqueror's triumphal feast.

And Alexander the Myndian says that it is a bird a little larger than a partridge, and spotted all over the back, about the colour of earthenware, but a little more ruddy. And it is caught by the hunters, because it is a heavy flyer in consequence of the shortness of its wings; and it is a bird fond of dusting itself, and very prolific, and it feeds on seeds.[*](I have translated ἀτταγᾶς the woodcock, because that is always considered to be the bird meant, but it is plain that the description here given does not apply in the least to the woodcock. In some particulars it is more like the landrail.) But Socrates, in his treatise on Boundaries, and Places, and Fire, and Stones, says,—

The woodcock having been transported into Egypt from Lydia, and having been let loose in the woods there, for some time uttered a sound like a quail: but after the river got low, and a great scarcity arose, in which a great many of the natives of the country died, they never ceased uttering, as they do to this day, in a voice more distinct than that of the very clearest speaking children, ' Threefold evils to the wicked doers.' But when they are caught it is not only impossible to tame them, but they even cease to utter any sound at all; but if they are let go again, they recover their voice.

And Hipponax mentions them thus—

1. Not eating woodcocks or the timid hare.

And Aristophanes, in his Birds, mentions them also. And in his Acharnians he speaks of them as being very common in the district about Megara. And the Attic writers circumflex the noun in a manner quite contrary to analogy. For words of more than two syllables ending in ας, when the final α is long, are barytones; as for instance, ἀκάμας, σακάδας, ἀδάμας. And we ought also to read the plural ἀττάγαι, and not ἀτταγῆνες.

There is also a bird called the porphyrion. And it is well known that this bird is mentioned by Aristophanes. And Polemo, in the fifth book of his treatise addressed to Antigonus and Adæus, says that the bird called the porphyrion, when it is kept in a house, watches those women who have husbands very closely; and has such instantaeous perception of any one who commits adultery, that, when it perceives it, it gives notice of it to the master of the house, cutting its own existence short by hanging itself. And, says he, it never partakes of food before it has walked all round the place seeking for some spot which may suit it; land then it dusts itself there, and washes itself, and after that it feeds. And Aristotle says that it has cloven feet, and that it is of a dark blue colour, with long legs, with a beak of a scarlet colour beginning at its very head; of about the size of a cock of the common poultry-breed; and it has a small Gullet, on which account it seizes its food with its foot, and divides it into diminutive morsels. And it drinks greedily and it has five toes on each foot, of which the middle one is the largest. But Alexander the Myndian, in the second book of his treatise on the History of Birds, says that the bird comes originally from Libya, and that it is sacred to the gods of Libya.

There is also another bird called the porphyris. Callimachus, in his treatise on Birds, says that the porphyris is different from the porphyrion, and enumerates the two birds separately. And he says that the porphyrion takes its food while hiding itself in darkness, so that no one may see it; for it hates those who come near its food. And Aristophanes also mentions the porphyris in his drama entitled The Birds. And Ibycus speaks of some birds which he calls lathipor-phyrides, and says; There are some variegated ducks with purple necks which frequent the highest branches of the trees; and the birds called lathiporphyrides with variegated necks, and king-fishers with extended wings." And in another place he says—

1. You're always bearing me aloft, my mind,
2. Like some bold porphyris, with out-stretch'd wings.

The next bird is the partridge. A great many authors mention this bird, as also does Aristophanes. And some of

them in the oblique cases shorten the penultima of the noun; as Archilochus does where he writes—

1. πτώσσουσαν ὥς τε πέρδῖκα,

in the same way as ὄρτῦγα and χοίνῖκα have the penultima short. But it is usually made long by the Attic writers. Sophocles, in his Camici, says—

1. A man arrived, who in the famous hills
2. Of Attica is a namesake of the partridge (πέρδι·κος).

And Pherecrates, or whoever it was who wrote the Chiron, says—

1. He goes against his will, like any partridge (πέρδι·κος τρόπον).

And Phrynichus, in his Tragedians, says—

1. And Cleombrotus the son of Perdix (πέρδι·κος),

(for the bird is sometimes cited as a model of lasciviousness).

Nicophon, in his Handicraftsmen, says—

1. The hepseti, and all those partridges (περδι·κας).

But Epicharmus, in his Revellers, uses the word with the penultima short, where he says—

1. They brought in cuttle-fish, who swim the deep,
2. And partridges (πέρδικας) who fly in lofty air.

And Aristotle gives the following account of the bird— "The partridge is a land bird, with cloven feet; and he lives fifteen years: but the female lives even more. For among all birds the female lives longer than the male. It lays eggs, and hatches its young itself, as the common hen does. And when it is aware that it is being hunted, it comes away from its nest, and rolls near the legs of the huntsman, giving him a hope that he may catch it; and so it deceives him, until its young have flown away, and then it flies away itself also.

But it is a very ill-disposed and cunning animal; and moreover it is much devoted to amatory enjoyments; on which account it breaks the eggs of its hen, that it may not be deprived of her while she is hatching them; and therefore the hen, knowing this, runs away and hides her eggs.

And Callimachus gives the same account in his treatise on Birds. And the single birds fight with one another, and the one which is defeated becomes the mate of the conqueror. But Aristotle says that they all in turn use the bird which has been defeated as their mate, and that the tame birds also take the wild ones for their mates. And the bird which is defeated by the other patiently allows itself to be treated by him as his mate. And this happens at a particular time of the year, as is also stated by Alexander the Myndian. And they lay their eggs on the ground, both the cocks and the hens making themselves separate nests. And the leader of the wild birds attacks the decoy partridge, and when he is taken another comes forward to fight the decoy bird; and this is done whenever the bird used for the decoy is a cock bird; but when a hen is employed for the purpose, then she crows till the leader of the wild birds meets her, and the rest of the wild birds assemble and drive him away from the hen, because he is attending to her and not to them; on which account sometimes he advances without making any noise, in order that no other bird may hear his voice and come to fight him. And sometimes the hen also checks the crowing of the cock as he comes up:[*](Schweighaeuser thinks, with apparent reason, that there is some corruption in the text here.) and very often when she is sitting on her nest she gets off it on perceiving the cock approaching the decoy bird, and remains there to receive his embraces in order to draw him away from the decoy bird. And so very eager to propagate their species are both quails and partridges, that they fall into the hands of the hunters on that account, sitting on the tiles. They say, too, that when hen partridges are taken out to hunt, even when they see or smell a cock standing or flying down the wind, become pregnant, and some say that they immediately begin to lay eggs. And about breeding time they fly about with their mouths open, putting out their tongues, both hens and cocks. And Clearchus says, in his treatise on Panic Fear,—

Sparrows and partridges, and also the common barn-door fowl and the quail, are eager to propagate their species, not only the moment that they see the hen, but even as soon as hey hear her voice. And the cause of this is the excessive impression made on their minds by amatory pleasures and proximity. And you may see more easily all that takes place with respect to the propagation of their species if you put a looking-glass opposite to them. For they run forward, being deceived by the appearance, and behave as if they saw a hen, and so are caught. Only the common poultry cock does not

v.2.p.614

do so. But the perception of the reflected image operates on them only so far as to make them wish to fight.

And this is the statement of Clearchus.

Partridges are by some people called κάκκαβαι, as, for instance, by Alcman, who speaks as follows—

1. Alcman, too, began the strain;
2. And he introduced into the language
3. The compound name of κακκαβίδες:

showing plainly enough that he had learnt to compound the word from the noise made by partridges. On which account also Chamæleon of Pontus said that the discovery of music was originally made by the ancients from the birds singing in desert places; by imitation of whom they arrived at the art of music; but it is not all partridges who make the noise called κακκαβίζειν, or cackling. At all events, Theophrastus, in his treatise on the Different Noises made by Animals of the same Species, says—

The partridges in Attica, near Corydallus, on the side towards the city, cackle; but those on the other side twitter.

And Basilis, in the second book of his History of India, says—

The diminutive men in those countries which fight with cranes are often carried by partridges.

And Menecles, in the first book of his Collectanea, says—

The pygmies fight both with partridges and with cranes.

But there is a different kind of partridge found in Italy, of a dark colour on its wings, and smaller in size, with a beak inclining in the smallest possible degree to a red colour. But the partridges about Cirrha are not at all nice to eat as to their flesh, on account of the nature of their food. But the partridges in Bœotia either do not cross into Attica at all, or else, whenever they do, they are easily recognised by their voices, as we have previously mentioned. But the partridges which are found in Paphlagonia, Theophrastus says, have two hearts. But those in the island of Sciathos feed on cockles. And sometimes they have as many as fifteen or sixteen young at a time; and they can only fly short distances, as Xenophon tells us in the first book of his Anabasis, where he writes,—

But if any one rouses the bustard suddenly it is easy to catch him; for they can only fly a short distance, like partridges, and they very soon tire; but their flesh is very delicious.

And Plutarch says that Xenophon is quite correct

about the bustard; for that great numbers of these birds are brought to Alexandria from the adjacent parts o Libya; being hunted and caught in this manner. The animal is a very imitative one, the bustard; being especially fond of imitating whatever it sees a man do; and accordingly it does whatever it sees the hunters do. And they, standing opposite to it, anoint themselves under the eyes with some unguent, having prepared other different unguents calculated to close up the eyes and eyelids; and these other unguents they place in shallow dishes near the bustards. And so the bustards, seeing the men anoint themselves under the eyes, do the same thing also themselves, taking the unguents out of these dishes; and by this means they are quickly caught. And Aristotle writes the following account of them:—

It is a migratory bird, with cloven feet, and three toes; of about the size of a large cock, of the colour of a quail, with a long head, a sharp beak, a thin neck, large eyes, a bony tongue, and it has no crop.

But Alexander the Myndian says that it is also called λαγωδίας. And he says, also, that it ruminates, and that it is very fond of the horse; and that if any one puts on a horse's skin he can catch as many as he pleases; for they come up to him then of their own accord. And presently, in another passage, Aristotle tells us,

The bustard is something like the owl, but it is not a bird which flies by night; and it has large feathers about its ears, on which account it is called ὦτος, from ὦτα; and it is about the size of a pigeon, and a great imitator of mankind; and accordingly it is caught by dancing opposite to them.'

And it is in shape something like a man, and it is an imitator of whatever man does. On which account the comic poets call those people who are easily taken in by any one whom they chance to meet, a bustard. Accordingly, in hunting them, the man who is cleverest at it, stands opposite to them and dances; and the birds, looking at the man dancing, move like puppets pulled by strings; and then some one comes behind them, and, without being perceived, seizes on them while they are wholly occupied with the delight they derive from the imitation.

They say, also, that the screech-owl does the same thing: for it is said that they also are caught by dancing. And Homer mentions them. And there is a kind of dance,

which is called σκὼψ, or the screech-owl, from them; deriving its name from the variety of motion displayed by this animal. And the screech-owls also delight in imitation, and it is from their name that we say that those men σκώπτουσι, who keep looking at the person whom they wish to turn into ridicule, and mock all his conduct by an exact imitation, copying the conduct of those birds. But all the birds whose tongues are properly formed, and who are capable of uttering articulate sounds, imitate the voices of men and of other birds; as the parrot and the jay. The screech-owl, as Alexander the Myndian says, is smaller than the common owl, and he has whitish spots on a leaden-coloured plumage; and he puts out two tufts of feathers from his eyebrows on each temple. Now Callimachus says that there are two kinds of screech-owls, and that one kind does screech, and the other does not—on which account one kind is called σκῶπες, and the other kind is called ἀείσκωπες, and these last are of a grey colour.

But Alexander the Myndian says that the name is written in Homer, κῶπες without the ς, and that that was the name which Aristotle gave them; and that they are constantly seen, and that they are not eatable; but that those which are only seen about the end of autumn for a day or two are eatable. And they differ from the ἀείσκωπες in their speed, and they are something like the turtle-dove and the pigeon in pace. And Speusippus, in the second book of his treatise on Things Resembling one another, also calls them κῶπες without the ς. But Epicharmus writes σκῶπας, epopses and owls. And Metrodorus, in his treatise on Custom and Habituation, says, that the screech-owl is caught by dancing opposite to it.

But since, when we were talking of partridges, we mentioned that they were exceedingly amorous birds, we ought also to add, that the cock of the common poultry fowl is a very amorous bird too; at all events Aristotle says, that when cocks are kept in the temples as being dedicated to the Gods, the cocks who were there before treat any new comer as a hen until another is dedicated in a similar manner. And if none are dedicated, then they fight together, and the one which has defeated the other works his will on the one which he has defeated. It is related, also, that a cock, whenever he goes in at any door whatever, always stoops his crest, and that

one cock never yields to another without a battle; but Theophrastus says, that the wild cocks are still more amorous than the tame ones. He says, also, that the cocks are most inclined to pursue the hens the moment they leave their perch in the morning, but the hens prefer it as the day advances.

Sparrows, also, are very amorous birds; on which account Terpsicles says, that those who eat sparrows are rendered exceedingly prone to amorous indulgences; and perhaps it is from such an idea that Sappho represents Venus as being drawn by sparrows yoked in her chariot; for they are very amorous birds, and very prolific. The sparrow has about eight young ones at one hatching, according to the statement of Aristotle. And Alexander the Myndian says that there are two kinds of sparrows, the one a tame species, and the other a wild one; and he adds that the hen-sparrow is weaker in other respects, and also that their beaks are of a more horny colour, and that their faces are not very white, nor very black; but Aristotle says that the cock-sparrow never appears in the winter, but that the hen-sparrows remain, drawing his conclusions as to what he thinks probable from their colour; for their colour changes, as the colour of blackbirds and of coots does, who get whiter at certain seasons. But the people of Elis call sparrows δείρηται, as Nicander the Colophonian tells us in the third book of his treatise on Different Dialects.

We must also speak of the quail; they are called ὄρτυγες. And here the rearises a general question about words ending in υξ, why the words with this termination do not all have the same letter as the characteristic of the genitive case. I allude to ὄρτυξ and ὄνυξ. For the masculine simple nouns ending in ξ when the vowel υ precedes ξ, and when the last syllable begins with any one of the immutable consonants or those which are characteristic of the first[*](Athenæus here does not arrange his conjugations as we do; nor is it very plain what he means by an immutable consonant.) conjugation of barytone verbs, make the genitive with κ; as κῆρυξ κήρυκος, πέλυξ πέλυκος, ῎ερυξ ἔρυκος, βέβρυξ, βέβρυκος; but those which have not this characteristic make the genitive with a γ, as ὄρτυξ ὄρτυγος, κόκκυξ κόκκυγος, ὄρυξ ὄρυγος; and there is one word with a peculiar inflexion, ὄνυξ ὄνυχος; and as a general rule, in the nominative case plural, they follow the genitive case singular in having the same characteristic of the

last syllable. And the case is the same if the last syllable does not begin with a consonant at all.

But with respect to the quail Aristotle says,

The quail is a migratory bird, with cloven feet, and he does not make a nest, but lies in the dust; and he covers over his hole with sticks for fear of hawks; and then the hen lays her eggs in the hole.

But Alexander the Myndian says, in the second book of his treatise on Animals,

The female quail has a thin neck, not having under its chin the same black feathers which the male has. And when it is dissected it is found not to have a large crop, but it has a large heart with three lobes; it has also its liver and its gall-bladder united in its intestines, but it has but a small spleen, and one which is not easily perceived; and its testicles are under its liver, like those of the common fowl.

And concerning their origin, Phanodemus, in the second book of his History of Attica, says:—

When Erysichthon saw the island of Delos, which was by the ancients called Ortygia, because of the numerous flocks of quails which came over the sea and settled in that island as one which afforded them good shelter . . .

And Eudoxus the Cnidian, in the first book of his Description of the Circuit of the Earth, says that the Phœnicians sacrifice quails to Hercules, because Hercules, the son of Asteria and Jupiter, when on his way towards Libya, was slain by Typhon and restored to life by Iolaus, who brought a quail to him and put it to his nose, and the smell revived him. For when he was alive he was, says Eudoxus, very partial to that bird.

But Eupolis uses the word in its diminutive form, and in his play called Cities, calls them ὀρτύγια, speaking as follows:—

1. A. Tell me now, have you ever bred any ὄρτυγεσ?
2. B. I've bred some small ὀρτύγια. What of that

And Antiphanes, in his play called The Countryman, speaks as follows, using also the form ὀρτύγιον·—

1. For what now could a man like you perform,
2. Having the soul of a quail (ὀρτυγίου)?

It is an odd expression that Pratinas uses, who in his Dymænæ, or the Caryatides, calls the quail a bird with a sweet voice, unless indeed quails have voices in the Phliasian or Lacedæmonian country as partridges have; and perhaps it is from this, also, that the bird called σίαλις has its name, as Didymus says. For nearly all birds derive their tames from the sounds which they make.

There is also a bird called the ὀρτυγομήτρα (which is mentioned by Crates in his Chirons, where he says,

1. The ὀρτυγομήτρα came from Ithaca.)

And Alexander the Myndian also mentions it, and says that in size it is nearly equal to a turtle-dove; that it has long legs, a slender body, and is very timid. And with respect to the hunting for quails, Clearchus the Solensian mentions some very singular circumstances, in his book which is entitled

A Treatise on those things which have been asserted on Mathematical Principles in Plato's Polity,

where he writes as follows—

Quails, about breeding time, if any one puts a looking-glass opposite to them, and a noose in front of it, run towards the bird which is seen in the looking-glass; and so fall into the noose.

And about the birds called jackdaws he makes a similar statement, saying—

And a very similar thing happens to the jackdaws, on account of their naturally affectionate disposition towards each other. For they are a most exceedingly cunning bird; nevertheless when a bowl full of oil is placed near them, they stand on the edge of the bowl, and look down, and then rush down towards the bird which appears visible in the liquid. In consequence of which, when they are soaked through with the oil, their wings stick together and cause them to be easily captured.

And the Attic writers make the middle syllable of the oblique cases of ὄρτυξ long, like δοίδῦκα, and κήρῦκα; as Demetrius Ixion tells us, in his treatise on the Dialect of the Alexandrians. But Aristophanes, in his Peace, has used the word with the penultima short for the sake of the metre, writing—

1. The tame domestic quails (ὄρτῦγες οἰκογενεῖς).

There is also a bird called χέννιον, which is a small kind of quail, which is mentioned by Cleomenes, in his letter to Alexander, where he expresses himself in the following manner—

Ten thousand preserved coots, and five thousand of the kind of thrush called tylas, and ten thousand preserved χέννια.

And Hipparchus, in his Egyptian Iliad, says—

1. I cannot fancy the Egyptian life,
2. Plucking the chennia, which they salt and eat.

And even swans in great plenty were not wanting

to our banquets. And Aristotle speaks in the following manner of this bird—

The swan is a prolific bird, and a quarrelsome one. And, indeed, they are so fond of fighting that they often kill one another. And the swan will fight even the eagle; though he does not begin the battle himself. And they are tuneful birds, especially towards the time of their death. And they also cross the seas singing. And they are web-footed, and feed on herbage.

But Alexander the Myndian says, that though he followed a great many swans when they were dying, he never heard one sing. And Hegesianax of Alexandria, who arranged the book of Cephalion, called the History of Troy, says that the Cycnus who fought with Achilles in single combat, was fed in Leucophrys by the bird of the same name, that is, by the swan. But Boius, or Boio, which Philochorus says was his proper name, in his book on the Origin of Birds, says that Cycnus was turned into a bird by Mars, and that when he came to the river Sybaris he was cooped with a crane. And he says, also, that the swan lines his nest with that particular grass which is called lygæa.

And concerning the crane (γέρανος), Boius says that there was among the Pygmies a very well known woman whose name was Gerana. And she, being honoured as a god by her fellow-countrymen, thought lightly of those who were really gods, and especially of Juno and Diana. And accordingly Juno, being indignant, metamorphosed her into an unsightly bird, and made her hostile to and hated by the Pygmies who had been used to honour her. And he says, also, that of her and Nicodamas was born the land tortoise. And as a general rule, the man who composed all these fables asserts that all the birds were formerly men.

The next bird to be mentioned is the pigeon. Aristotle says, that there is but one genus of the pigeon, but five subordinate species; writing thus—

The pigeon, the œnas, the phaps, the dove, and the turtle-dove.

But in the fifth book of his treatise on the Parts of Animals, he makes no mention of the phaps, though Aeschylus, in his tragedy called Proteus, does mention that bird in the following line—

1. Feeding the wretched miserable phaps,
2. Entangled as to its poor broken sides
3. Within the winnowing spokes.

And in his Philoctetes he uses the word in the genitive case plural, φαβῶν.

The œonas, then,

says Aristotle,

is something larger than the pigeon, and it has a puce-coloured plumage; but the phaps is something between the pigeon and the œnas. And the species called phassa is about as large as the common cock, but of the colour of ashes; and the turtledove is less than all the other species, and is o a cinder-colour. And this last is only seen in the summer, and during the winter it keeps in its hole. Now, the phaps and the common pigeon are always to be seen, but the œnas is only visible in the autumn. And the species called the phassa is said to be longer lived than any of the others; for it lives thirty or forty years. And the cock birds never leave the hens to the day of their death, nor do the hens ever desert the cock: but when one dies the other remains solitary: and crows, and ravens, and jackdaws all do the same thing. And in every kind of the genus pigeon, both male and female sit on the eggs in turn; and when the chickens are hatched, the cock bird spits upon them to prevent their being fascinated. And the hen lays two eggs, the first of which produces a cock and the second a hen. And they lay at every season of the year; so that they lay ten or eleven times a year; and in Egypt they lay twelve times; for the hen conceives again the very next day to that in which it lays.

And further on, in the same book, Aristotle says that the kind called περιστερὰ differs from the πελειὰς, and the πελειὰς is the least of the two. And the πελειὰς is easily tamed; but the περιστερὰ is black, and small, and has red rough legs; on which account no one keeps them. But he mentions a peculiarity of the species called περιστερὰ, that they kiss one another when courting, and that if the males neglect this, the hens do not admit their embraces. However, old doves do not go through this formality; but omit the kisses and still succeed in their suit, but the younger ones always kiss before they proceed to action. And the hens, too, make love to one another, when there is no cock at hand, kissing one another beforehand. But still, as there are no real results, the eggs which they lay never produce chickens. The Dorians, however, consider the πελειὰς and the περιστερὰ as identical; and Sophron uses the two words as synonymous in his Female Actresses. But Callimachus, in his treatise on Birds, speaks of the pyrallis, the dove, the wood-pigeon, and the turtle-dove, as all different from one another.