At a later period, they set the highest value on the lupus[2402] and the asellus,[2403] as we learn from Cornelius Nepos, and the poet, Laberius, the author of the Mimes. The most approved kinds of the lupus are those which have the name of “lanati,” or “woolly,” in consequence of the extreme whiteness and softness of the flesh. Of the asellus there are two sorts, the callarias, which is the smallest, and the bacchus,[2404] which is only taken in deep water, and is hence much preferred to the former. On the other hand, among the varieties of the lupus, those are the most esteemed which are taken in rivers.
CHAP. 29.—THE SCARUS, THE MUSTELA.
At the present day, the first place is given to the scarus,[2405] the only fish that is said to ruminate, and to feed on grass and not on other fish. It is mostly found in the Carpathian Sea, and never of its own accord passes Lectum,[2406] a promontory of Troas. Optatus Elipertius, the commander of the fleet under the Emperor Claudius, had this fish brought from that locality, and dispersed in various places off the coast between Ostia and the districts of Campania. During five years, the greatest care was taken that those which were caught should be returned to the sea; but since then they have been always found in great abundance off the shores of Italy, where formerly there were none to be taken. Thus has gluttony introduced these fish, to be a dainty within its reach, and added a new inhabitant to the seas; so that we ought to feel no surprise that foreign birds breed at Rome.
The fish that is next in estimation for the table is the mustela,[2407] but that is valued only for its liver. A singular thing to tell of—the lake of Brigantia,[2408] in Rhætia, lying in the midst of the Alps, produces them to rival even those of the sea.[2409]
CHAP. 30.—THE VARIOUS KINDS OF MULLETS, AND THE SARGUS THAT ATTENDS THEM.
Of the remaining fish that are held in any degree of esteem, the mullet[2410] is the most highly valued, as well as the most abundant of all; it is of only a moderate size, rarely exceeds two pounds in weight, and will never grow beyond that weight in preserves or fish-ponds. These fish are only to be found in the Northern Ocean,[2411] exceeding two pounds in weight, and even there in none but the more westerly parts. As for the other kinds, the various species are numerous; some[2412] live upon sea-weed, while others feed on the oyster, slime, and the flesh of other fish. The more distinctive mark is a forked beard, that projects beneath the lower lip. The lutarius,[2413] or mud-mullet, is held in the lowest esteem of all. This last is always accompanied[2414] by another fish, known as the sargus, and where the mullet stirs up the mud, the other finds aliment for its own sustenance. The mullet that is found on the coast is not[2415] highly esteemed, and the most esteemed of all have a strong flavour[2416] of shell-fish. Fenestella is of opinion, that this fish received its name of mullet mullus from its resemblance to the colour of the red or mullet-coloured shoes.[2417] The mullet spawns three[2418] times a year: at all events, the fry makes its appearance that number of times. The masters in gastronomy inform us, that the mullet, while dying, assumes a variety of colours and a succession of shades, and that the hue of the red scales, growing paler and paler, gradually changes, more especially if it is looked at enclosed in glass.[2419] M. Apicius, a man who displayed a remarkable degree of ingenuity in everything relating to luxury, was of opinion, that it was a most excellent plan to let the mullet die in the pickle known as the “garum of the allies”[2420]—for we find that even this has found a surname—and he proposed a prize for any one who should invent a new sauce,[2421] made from the liver of this fish. I find it much easier to relate this fact, than to state who it was that gained the prize.
CHAP. 31.—ENORMOUS PRICES OF SOME FISH.
Asinius Celer,[2422] a man of consular rank, and remarkable for his prodigal expenditure on this fish, bought one at Rome, during the reign of Caius,[2423] at the price of eight thousand sesterces.[2424] A reflection upon such a fact as this will at once lead us to turn our thoughts to those who, making loud complaints against luxury, have lamented that a single cook cost more money to buy than a horse; while at the present day a cook is only to be obtained for the same sum that a triumph would cost, and a fish is only to be purchased at what was formerly the price for a cook! indeed, there is hardly any living being held in higher esteem than the man who understands how, in the most scientific fashion, to get rid of his master’s property.
(18.) Licinius Mucianus relates, that in the Red Sea there was caught a mullet eighty[2425] pounds in weight. What a price would have been paid for it by our epicures, if it had only been found off the shores in the vicinity of our city!