DOG-FISH

Latine · Mayhoff 1906

Canicularum maxime multitudo circa eas urinantes gravi periculo infestat. ipsi ferunt et nubem quandam crassescere super capita, animali planorum piscium similem, prementem eos arcentemque a reciprocando, et ob id stilos praeacutos lineis adnexos habere sese, quia nisi perfossae ita non recedant, caliginis et pavoris, ut arbitror, opere. nubem enim et nebulam, cuius nomine id malum appellant, inter animalia haut ulla conperit quisquam. cum caniculis atrox dimicatio. inguina et calces omnemque candorem corporum appetunt. salus una in adversas eundi ultroque terrendi, pavet enim hominem aeque ac terret, et itasors aequa in gurgite. ut ad summa aquae ventum est, ibi periculum anceps adempta ratione contra eundi, dum conetur emergere, et salus omnis in sociis. funem illi religatum ab umeris eius trahunt; hunc dimicans, ut sit periculi signum, laeva quatit, dextera adprehenso stilo in pugna est. modicus alias tractus; ut prope carinam ventum est, nisi praeceleri vi repente rapuit, absumi spectant. ac saepe iam subducti e manibus auteruntur, si non trahentium opem conglobato corpore in pilae modum ipsi adiuvere. protendunt quidem tridentes alii, set monstro sollertia est navigium subeundi atque ita e tuto proeliandi. omnis ergo cura ad speculandum hoc malum insumitur.

English · Bostock & Riley 1855–57

Vast numbers of dog-fish infest the seas in the vicinity of the sponges, to the great peril of those who dive for them. These persons say that a sort of dense cloud gradually thickens over their heads, bearing the resemblance of some kind of animal like a flat-fish, and that, pressing downward upon them, it prevents them from returning to the surface. It is for this reason that they carry stilettos with them, which are very sharp at the point, and attached to them by strings; for if they did not pierce the object with the help of these, it could not be got rid of. This, however, is entirely the result, in my opinion, of the darkness and their own fears; for no person has ever yet been able to find, among living creatures, the fish-cloud or the fish-fog, the name which they give to this enemy of theirs.

The divers, however, have terrible combats with the dog-fish, which attack with avidity the groin, the heels, and all the whiter parts of the body. The only means of ensuring safety, is to go boldly to meet them, and so, by taking the initiative, strike them with alarm: for, in fact, this animal is just as frightened at man, as man is at it; and they are on quite an equal footing when beneath the water. But the moment the diver has reached the surface, the danger is much more imminent; for he loses the power of boldly meeting his adversary while he is endeavouring to make his way out of the water, and his only chance of safety is in his companions, who draw him along by a cord that is fastened under his shoulders. While he is engaging with the enemy, he keeps pulling this cord with his left hand, according as there may be any sign of immediate peril, while with the right he wields the stiletto, which he is using in his defence. At first they draw him along at a moderate pace, but as soon as ever they have got him close to the ship, if they do not whip him out in an instant, with the greatest possible celerity, they see him snapped asunder; and many a time, too, the diver, even when already drawn out, is dragged from their hands, through neglecting to aid the efforts of those who are assisting him, by rolling up his body in the shape of a ball. The others, it is true, are in the meantime brandishing their pronged fish-spears; but the monster has the craftiness to place himself beneath the ship, and so wage the warfare in safety. Consequently, every possible care is taken by the divers to look out for the approach of this enemy.