Folio 75r - Of fish, continued.
in turn, the larger fish is seized by an even stronger one, and thus the predator becomes the prey.
Thus it is the way among fish that when one devours another, it is devoured by a third, and they each end up in the same belly, since each has been consumed by its appropriate consumer, and together in the same entrails is a twosome, one of them preyed upon, the other avenged. Among fish this aggression grew deliberately, just as it did in us, for it did not start in nature but in greed. Or because fish are given for man's use, but are also given as a guide, that we might see in them the vices inherent in our own ways, and heed their example; lest the stronger should swallow up the weaker, he should be shown what harm he might suffer at the hand of one even stronger.
So, he who harms another, ties a noose for himself. And you, you are the fish that attacks the entrails of the other, you overpower the weak, you pursue the believer down to the depths. Take care lest, while you are in pursuit, you meet one who is stronger than you, that he who can defeat your snare does not lead you into another and that your prey is preoccupied with his own danger, before he witnesses yours.
The escarius is so called because, they claim, it alone ruminates its food, esca; other fish do not. They say it is a clever fish. For, caught in a pot, it does not try to break out with its forehead or try to stick its head through the wicker sides, but with rapid blows of its tail loosens the rear entrance of the pot and thus swims out through the back. If by chance another escarius sees it struggling, it seizes the captive's tail between its teeth and helps it to break out.
The echenais is a very small fish, six inches long, which gets its name from the fact that it holds a ship fast by sticking to it; although the winds roar and the storms rage, the ship stays still, rooted, it seems, in the sea, immobile. The fish does this, not by holding the ship back, but simply by sticking on to it. Latin-speakers call this fish mora, because it forces vessels to stay in one place, thereby causing a delay, mora.
Eels, anguille, get their name from their similarity to serpents, angues. They are born from mud; for this reason, if you catch an eel, it is so smooth that the harder you grip it, the quicker it slithers away. They say that in the River Ganges, in the east, there are eels thirty
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Commentary
Text
The eating habits of fish.
Comment
In the top right corner is a folio mark 'llll'.
Folio Attributes
- Transcription and Translation
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Transcription
est, et rursus ipse maior a validiore invaditur, et sic esca al\terius, predator alieni. Itaque usu venit ut cum ipse alium devo\raverit, ab alio devoretur, et unum ventrem utrumque con\veniat, cum devoratore proprio devoratus, sitque simul in uno\ viscere prede vindicteque consortium. Et ex ipsis sponte forte hec\ accrevit iniuria, sicut in nobis non ex natura cepit, sed ex ava\ricia. Aut quia ad usum hominum dati sunt, in signum quoque\ facti sunt, ut in his nostrorum morum vicia videremus, et eorum\ caveremus exempla, nequis pocior inferiorem invaderet, datu\rus in se potentiori exemplum iniurie. Itaque qui alium ledit\ sibi laqueum parat. Et tu piscis es qui viscera invadis aliena,\ qui demergis infirmum qui credentem persequeris usque in pro\fundum. Cave ne dum illum persequeris, incidas ipse validi\orem, et deducat te in alienas insidias qui tuas vicat, priusque\ tuam expectet erumpnam, qui te persequente propriam formidabat.\ Escarius dictus eo quod escam solus ruminare perhibetur, denique\ alii pisces non ruminant. Tradunt autem hunc ingeniosum\ esse. Namque inclusum vasis non fronte erumpere, nec infestis\ viminibus caput inserere, sed adversum caude ictibus crebris lax\are fores, atque ita retrorsum redire. Quem luctatum eius\ si forte alius escarius videat, apprehensa mordiciis cau\da adiuvat nisus erumpentis. Echenais et semipedalis\ pisciculus nomen sumpsit, quod navem adherendo teneat,\ ruant licet venti, seviant procelle, navis tamen quasi radi\cata in mari stare videtur, nec moveri potest, non retinen\do hoc facit sed tantum modo adherendo. Hunc Latini moram ap\pellant, eo quod cogat stare navigia. Anguille similitudo\ anguis nomen dedit. Origo eius ex limo, unde et quando capitur\ adeo lenis est ut quanto fortius presseris, tanto cicius elabitur.\ Ferunt autem orientis fluvium Gangen anguillas trigenis\Translation
in turn, the larger fish is seized by an even stronger one, and thus the predator becomes the prey. Thus it is the way among fish that when one devours another, it is devoured by a third, and they each end up in the same belly, since each has been consumed by its appropriate consumer, and together in the same entrails is a twosome, one of them preyed upon, the other avenged. Among fish this aggression grew deliberately, just as it did in us, for it did not start in nature but in greed. Or because fish are given for man's use, but are also given as a guide, that we might see in them the vices inherent in our own ways, and heed their example; lest the stronger should swallow up the weaker, he should be shown what harm he might suffer at the hand of one even stronger. So, he who harms another, ties a noose for himself. And you, you are the fish that attacks the entrails of the other, you overpower the weak, you pursue the believer down to the depths. Take care lest, while you are in pursuit, you meet one who is stronger than you, that he who can defeat your snare does not lead you into another and that your prey is preoccupied with his own danger, before he witnesses yours. The escarius is so called because, they claim, it alone ruminates its food, esca; other fish do not. They say it is a clever fish. For, caught in a pot, it does not try to break out with its forehead or try to stick its head through the wicker sides, but with rapid blows of its tail loosens the rear entrance of the pot and thus swims out through the back. If by chance another escarius sees it struggling, it seizes the captive's tail between its teeth and helps it to break out. The echenais is a very small fish, six inches long, which gets its name from the fact that it holds a ship fast by sticking to it; although the winds roar and the storms rage, the ship stays still, rooted, it seems, in the sea, immobile. The fish does this, not by holding the ship back, but simply by sticking on to it. Latin-speakers call this fish mora, because it forces vessels to stay in one place, thereby causing a delay, mora. Eels, anguille, get their name from their similarity to serpents, angues. They are born from mud; for this reason, if you catch an eel, it is so smooth that the harder you grip it, the quicker it slithers away. They say that in the River Ganges, in the east, there are eels thirty
