Chapter III.
1. Some fish are gregarious and friendly together, others that are less gregarious are hostile. Some are gregarious while they are pregnant, others during the season of parturition. On the whole, the following are gregarious: the tunny, mœnis, cobius, box, saurus, coracinus, sinodon, trigla, muræena, anthia, eleginus, atherinus, sarginus, belona, (mecon,) teuthus, iulus, pelamis, scombrus, and colias. Some of these are both gregarious, and live in pairs, for all the others pair together; and some are gregarious at particular seasons, as it has been said, while they are pregnant, and others in the season of depositing their ova.
2. The labrax and cestreus, though most hostile, will at certain seasons congregate with each other, for not only do congeners congregate together, but all those which feed upon the same kind of food, where it is abundant. The cestreus and the conger often survive after having been deprived of their tail up to the anus, for the cestreus is eaten by the labrax, and the conger by the muræna. The stronger are hostile to the weaker, for the strong fish eat the others. This much concerning marine creatures.
Chapter IV.
1. It has been already observed, that the dispositions of animals vary in cowardice, mildness, courage, gentleness, intelligence, and folly. The disposition of sheep, as I have said before, is foolish, and without sense; they are the most cowardly of all animals, and steal away into desert places for no purpose, and in winter often escape from their fold. When overtaken by a snow-storm, they will not get away, unless the shepherd drives them, but will stay behind and perish, unless the shepherds carry off the males, when the rest will follow.
2. If a person takes any of the goats by the beard (which is like hair), all the rest stand by as if infatuated, and look at it. Sheep will sleep in colder places than goats, for sheep are more quiet, and are ready to submit themselves to mankind. Goats do not bear the cold so well as sheep. Shepherds teach sheep to come together when they make a noise, and if any of them is left behind and does not join the flock when it thunders, it will cast its young, if pregnant; wherefore, when a noise is made, they will collect together in their sheds according to their custom. (Bulls are destroyed by wild beasts, if they wander away from their herd.) Sheep and goats lie down to rest separately in their races, and when the sun begins to descend, the shepherds say that the goats do not lie down with their faces to each other, but they turn their backs upon each other.
Chapter V.
1. Cows pasture in herds, and in companies, and if one of them wanders to a distance, all the rest follow, so that the herdsmen, if they do not find her, immediately examine all the herds. Mares in herds, if one of them happens to die, will bring up her foal among them, and the whole race of horses appears to have warm natural affections, of which the following is a proof: the barren mares will take away the foals from their mothers, and treat them with affection, though they soon die for want of milk.
Chapter VI.
1. Of all wild quadrupeds, the deer appears to be one of the most prudent in producing its young by the wayside (where wild beasts do not come, for fear of men); as soon as the young is born, the dam eats the chorion, and runs to the plant called seselis, which she eats, and having so done, returns to her kid. She then leads her kid to the station, to which it may learn to retreat in case of danger; this is usually a chasm in a rock with a single entrance, which they say that it stays and defends. When the male gets fat (which usually happens in the autumn) he does not show himself, but gets out of the way, for his fat makes him an easy prey. He sheds his horns in difficult and scarcely accessible places, from whence arises the proverb, "where the stag sheds its horns," for they are afraid of being seen, as if they had lost their means of defence. It is said that the left horn never has been seen, for he conceals it as if it had some medicinal power.